December 24th 2005 / taught
Graphic design is an important and time consuming element of web development and design. One of the best software programs for creating graphics for your web-site is Adobe Photoshop. With its wealth and depth of features it’s the single most powerful program I work with on a daily basis. I know for a fact that a lot of my peers use this program as well. What I’m not positively sure of is, if they use the program as efficiently as is possible, I know often I don’t, even though I know better. In this article I’m going to discuss and explain one of Photoshop’s most incredible and awesome features, but also one of the—I believe—most overlooked and under touted features. Quite simply, “Actions”.
December 22nd 2005 / shared
On today’s Internet the term usability is flooding web design firms, design freelancers and standards Blogs alike. Usability is an important task in developing web-sites and web based software applications, however, I believe that the real term or keyword we should be focusing on is not “usability” but “usefulness”. You can have a usable web-site or application but if it’s not useful it’s not going to give the user much benefit or value. In the long-term, big picture scheme of things; the application or web-site, will fail its audience.
December 20th 2005 / taught
I’ve often been asked, “Hey Jim, What kind of obstacles did you have to tackle, and how did you solve them when you first started out designing web pages?” or “How does one get started designing web pages for a living?” While both these questions are good, and completely fair I’ve yet to answer either in a fair or good manner. My usual response has always been “Uh, just start reading and doing it.” A—I’m too busy to answer—cop out. To those I’ve left pondering with this menial answer; I sincerely apologize and now offer to you a real answer, hopefully a helpful answer, maybe even—dare I say it—a good answer.
December 19th 2005 / shared
Let’s discuss the current state of the internet, and the relative Internet dinosaur “The Message Board”. Currently, almost every site you visit has one, it’s become the new about page, and the new contact us. It has been like this for quite a while now. I can remember just a few years ago—when I first came on the Internet scene—the message board was not a “site staple” but, in fact a “site extra” and was available only on the busiest, most popular of personal/hobby sites or on business and corporate sites that could afford the fees associated with buying, running and maintaining a web forum. There were only a couple of choices of software worth using, and it all cost green backs, something that for a majority of Internet web masters was in short supply. There were a few free alternatives, but nothing that came close to being as functional or easy to use as their pay-to-use brethren.
this dude's a real star
I’ve been working in the web development industry for five years now. For five years I’ve been able to sustain a specific lifestyle, working solo. Working in an industry I both love and admire. I’ve seen designers, programmers, ideas, businesses and so on, come and go, come again then leave once more. I’ve heard just about every conceivable pitch for projects from one page brochures to one-hundred page social networks. I’ve been offered partnerships, equity, free hosting and heard promises of more work to come. Basically I’ve heard it all.
There is one thing I do above all else that keeps my business running and my mind clear. Keeps me riding the karmic bicycle in the right direction if you will.
That thing. That one, simple thing is; Respect.
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I don't need no stinkin' hierarchal organization