Most sites have at least one element, like a navigation feature, a header, or a simple piece of text, that appears on multiple pages. (I really worry about the sites that don’t.) Dreamweaver users can use templates and the library to store repeated elements, and if they do, they need only change the repeated item once, rather than many...
Last week, we discussed the Diagnostics section of Google’s webmaster toolset. This week, it’s Statistics, where you’ll find lots of information about how your site is indexed and how it appears in Google’s search results. The various categories and sub-categories of data are discussed below. Top Search Queries You can get some of this information no matter what package...
Stereohype, an online graphic art and fashion boutique, has announced the 4th annual 1″ Stereohype Button Badge Competition. Professional designers, artists, photographers, and illustrators are encouraged to participate. The winning designs will be packaged with t-shirts and/or sold separately. All shortlisted designs will be featured at stereohype.com, and a short bio or mini profile of each winning designer will...
The new year is almost here, and it’s time to make some resolutions. Remember to write 2008 on your checks, and…add Blue Iris to your design projects?! Blue Iris is the color of 2008 according to the gurus at Pantone. This shade of blue-purple, also known as PANTONE 18-3943, was chosen for its calming and somewhat mystical properties. Wave...
If you’ve been reading the blog lately, you’ve probably noticed that I’m on a bit of an “(insert Apple thing here) for Designers” kick. First it was Safari plug-ins, then Dashboard widgets, and now podcasts. The is because I’ve recently discovered that though I’m an early adopter, I rarely take full advantage of the features that come with my...
Just about everyone can remember painting with watercolors as a child. Little tin trays with a small rainbow of colors. Just add water, and brush the mixture onto the paper. The simple materials made watercolor a sensible choice for children’s paintings—no dangerous turpentine, no expensive canvases. The simplicity of watercolor appeals to experienced artists as well. Elizabeth Groves, author...
So, after reading Part 1 of this series, you signed up for Google’s webmaster tools and added and verified some of your sites. Now what are you going to do? Well, why not start using the tools to understand and improve your Google page rank, and squash some bugs in the process? Here’s what’s available via Google’s webmaster tools:...
In October, Business Week published an article entitled “The Top Design Schools.” Most of the schools mentioned in the piece were those one would expect to see under such a heading. However at least one, the Harvard Business School, seemed just a bit out of place. Over at Design Observer, Steven Kroeter took issue with the inclusion of HBS,...
FFFFOUND! is a social bookmarking site similar in kind to del.icio.us, except that its focus is images. Using FFFFOUND!’s downloadable bookmarklet, users can “collect” images as they traverse the web. The images, once marked, are saved to the user’s profile and posted to the FFFFOUND! page. Users can also bookmark images that have been selected by other site participants,...
At the Future of Web Design conference in New York, Ryan Singer of 37 Signals and Jonathan Snook of snook.ca led interesting seminars on web application usability and Ajax design, respectively. These subjects are very much related, as Ajax is commonly used to create web applications and so can positively or negatively affect usability. Ajax’s biggest benefit to the...
