The big trend right now in web design is what is often referred to as the “Web 2.0-style.” It includes large fonts, gradients, the word ‘beta’ and gloss. As a designer it’s good to learn and be able to utilize these trends but be careful not to become the trend. One of the things I always enjoy hearing from...
The title may not sound web design centric but I swear I’ll tie it altogether. Web designer’s live and die by the Internet. We seek out and view numerous web sites for inspiration and to see what the “competition” is doing. Most of us pay our bills online, shop online, have “friends” online we’ve never actually met and we...
With CSS becoming more prevalent in web design (thank goodness!) there are things you can do in design that was much more difficult to accomplish using tables. An area that is often overlooked for design is the sites’ footer. There is no reason not to think of footer design in the overall design of a site. Below are some...
There are many things blogging can do for a web designer—it shows your knowledge and expertise in the field, it helps you make new contacts with other designers and developers and most importantly it will improve your own writing skills. I have made several contacts with other designers I admire because of my blogging and being able to bounce...
There will come a time when a client hires you and they request a design that is less than “aesthetically pleasing.” Part of the business of web design is doing something you wouldn’t normally do. I have sites that I could include in my portfolio but choose not to because they’re poorly designed by request of the client and...
Some folks aren’t aware how powerful Firefox is for web development. There are several extensions available to help with our job of designing web sites. Below is a short list to help get you started. • The Web Developer Toolbar: Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools. • Colorzilla: Advanced Eyedropper, Color picker...
I don’t mean personal validation, though to many that’s important too. What I’m referring to is validating your web sites’. Besides having the personal satisfaction of writing well-formed code, it also offers the end-user some benefits. Benefits of Validation • A valid web site loads faster because the browser doesn’t have to correct errors. • A valid web site...
When I first started doing web design, you’d see sites with the text “This site best viewed with….” I always took exception to this because I’ve been a Mac user for some time and this usually meant the site I was visiting wouldn’t work for me. I make it a point to make sure every site I design works...
I sometimes think of myself as the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of web design. I go forth and plant seeds of knowledge with potential clients and I do it not because I want to seem like a know-it-all but because it helps them down the road, which in turn can help me. Sometimes as web designers we forget that we’re working...
To have continued success as a web designer, you must diversify your skill set. Not only do you need to know how to create a web site but you should also know how to create and edit themes for various content management systems, know how to design blog templates and possibly even design Myspace pages. This sometimes means downloading...
