I love it!

An introspective article over at A List Apart by Luke Wroblewski delves into the reasons why…

we can do better. In fact, I believe we can get people engaged with digital services in a way that tells them how such services work and why they should care enough to use them. I also believe we can do this without explicitly making them fill out a sign-up form as a first step.

The blog is an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks (Rosenfeld Media, 2008), and you can read it here!

The article is super informative, and expounds upon the practice of gradual engagement, whereby a user is drawn into the website due to useful or practical information that pertains to their specific needs. Avoid gradual engagement solutions that simply distribute the various input fields in a sign-up form across multiple pages. It’s a good possibility that this will reduce efficiency and not delight anyone.

Over at Bitt Box.com a blog was posted today alerting designers to the growing importance to tailor web design to the increasing number of iPhone and iTouch users.

WebClip Icons are strictly for iPhone & iPod Touch users, but since they are quite the popular little devices, website owners might want to think about adding a WebClip icon soon. A WebClip icon is the icon that the iPhone/iPod Touch uses if a user adds your site to their (now customizable) homescreens.

The icon itself gets cropped a bit when the iPhone adds the glossy effect to your icon. So, you’ll want logos and text to fall within 47×47 pixels within the 57 pixels. Also scaling the icon a few pixels larger than 57×57 will increase its resolution a bit when the iPhone scales it back down.

Here is an example that apple provided for scale & image optimization.

My morning tea is always piping hot due to our splendid watercooler of local fresh spring water. I know I am blessed to have such a healthy work environment that is equally environment conscious of plastic and paper consumption and recycling. The figures are staggering when you realize how costly the individual bottles of name-brand spring water.
Read the rest of this entry »

While I work in an interactive development agency, I still find my self a little lost sometimes with all of the new technology and online developments. Recently Chris Brogan wrote a great blog on how to help others understand social media, and I found that this was probably one of the most helpful blogs I’ve read in a long time.

Instead of using the most technical terms for everything, Brogan uses Common Craft videos to go over the three main aspects of social media in the simplest terms. The first of the three is Understanding Blogs, the second is Understanding RSS, and the last of these is Understanding Social Networking. If you click on those links, it will take you directly to the video page from Common Craft - which, by the way, has such a plethora of videos that help you understand a wide range of topics in terms you’re sure to understand. Even if you read blogs or have your MySpace or Facebook page, these videos are sure to shed some additional light on these subjects for you.

Another great outlet Brogan covers is literature. He goes over a list of books that might be helpful for you, your friends, coworkers and even your boss. The most important in his list is The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. You can also go to their website (www.cluetrain.com) and download/read the entire text for free.

The last call to action in this blog is for others to share additional resources, books and sites that are helpful in understanding these subjects. What are some of the resources that you find helpful? Please feel free to share them with us!

Alright! I never had a childhood dream to become a magician, but the internet has changed many things in my life. Here is the wonderfulness that is Vector Magic. And boy, is it a doozy. Read the rest of this entry »

The internet has effectively eradicated designers’ pretenses for secrecy of technique, and opened an unparalleled forum for sharing knowledge.

Though many hoarders still exist out there, they are missing a large opportunity for self-promotion through the web. Aspiring designers web-search design terms to self-teach themselves Illustrator, Photoshop, and so on.

Many industrious designers caught on and have converted their profiles to the blog format in order to draw a fresh audience to their domain. By generating traffic, their ideas and talents are shared with the world, and their work is not only displayed but demonstrated.

nDesign Studio
Bitt Box
jlw Design

Web Designer Wall

And even though the competitive designer in me cries out: “NO! Don’t share your secrets!” The digital native in me reminds me that the difference between a seeker and a finder is vast, and the more we share, the more we grow!

Now there are plenty of expensive tutorial resources out there of course, my favorite being Lynda.com but unless you have a couple hundred to burn, you can find ample instruction for the best price, free!

With the avalanche of bloggers facilitated by ease of sites such as wordpress.com, blogspot, and many more, the key to designing outstanding blogs is in the small details. Not every blog should look like a typical weblog.

“The blog needs a solid visual structure, a profound hierarchy of site elements; it also has to be able to build some kind of a bridge between the content and its presentation. To do this, you need to think about precision, minimalism and sound use of illustration.” — Smashing Magazine.com

The above site lists their top 45 excellent blog designs based upon their criteria.

Another site, PhotoshopSupport.com has a very different approach to the quality elements of a blog. They rate the header graphic as the number one factor in determining uniqueness and style of a blog. The nature of the site, a tutorial, gives freedom in this post to provide tips and tools for making your blog your own!

A favorite example from this site, KarenCheng.com.au demonstrates that
clearly it is not the flashiest or newest designs that gain attention, but the blogs that portray a bit of personality, let audiences into the blogger’s personality that keep them coming.

Specially designed with a doctor’s office in mind, “Simple Inspiration” is the latest free WordPress theme from LevelTen. Here you can download it for WordPress 2.1, then upload it to your themes folder in your WordPress Blog. The screenshot is below or visit Weight Loss Alabama to see the theme on a live blog. The combination of diagonal lines and neutral colors makes this theme ideal for a professional blog.

If your blog is in need of a makeover, our new free WordPress theme Red Chrome is a great way to revamp its look. Check out the screen shot below or visit HoustonLBS.com to see the theme on a live blog. You can download Red Chrome for WordPress 2.1, then upload it to your theme folder on your WordPress Blog. With a right sidebar and a built in sidebar for sponsor ads, this site is worth checking out.

“Modern Simplicity” is the latest free WordPress theme from LevelTen Design. It is named for its clean shapes and lines. With both a left and right sidebar, this theme is perfect for a professional blog. Download it for WordPress 2.1, then upload it to your themes folder on your WordPress Blog. Below, you can see a screenshot of the theme or check it out at LABariatric.com.