I couldn't wait.

An abundance of work has been sitting dormant on my drive doing nothing but chillin' digitally. Most of it has been produced for my AIO classes. I've been focusing on completing the assignments w/ the mindframe that they're going to be added to my portfolio site. So far I've been pretty happy w/ what I've produced.

The problem w/ adding the work is that I also need to separate my works folio into catagories rather than than visual free-for-all that it is now. Which also brings into light all the past inherent problems I've encountered w/ my site. Every change has distinct elements from the previous idea or comp workup. I want to build a site from the ground up, w/ nothing existing from the previous version. I also want to hand code it (as I've said previously), but I should have the knowledge by the end of my present scripting course. Yet the work needs to get up.

So I started working on another design. I'm trying to incorporate both how I want the next version to possible look as well as retain the elements of the present so it doesn't lose its continuity. To further add to the butchering, I have to add some local navigation. I never really went w/ a true global navigation, or at least one that stands out. Now I'm going to have a dominant local that blows the global out of the frame. Hell the page is going to kill the previous versions as well.

Guess I have to put out some wet floor signs again. I'm cleaning house.


Technorati Tags: design, web design, Artboredom.com,

Back to the future (sorry...)

It's interesting to watch the changes in web design since the medium is so new at least in design terms. When it started there wasn't much to look at other than hideously colored HTML text sites. Yet they were getting the job done delivering information in any way they could. I haven't done a ton of research on the different stages that the web has gone through, but the latest switch has been a contridiction of sorts.

We've gone from displaying the technology and advances that programming, hardware, and internet speeds had fostered, to going on a crash diet looking lean and mean. Flash intros were obviously so abused that this new direction was inevitable but somehow I feel that going retro so soon is too abrupt. Flash isn't gone, it's just more integrated. You'll see it in the navigation interface, as well as replacing the sinfully ugly tag that I used in my site. There's still some motion used, but it's way toned down.

The new web "2.0" in addition to ultra-clean design and layout is also striving for efficient and standardized coding. So it still reeks of modernization and forward progress. It looks great and loads like early HTML w/ a BB connection. I think that for my AIO class I'm going to redo my portfolio site in this style. I'm interested in seeing how that would turn out.

I do miss the days of discovering all the dope Flash sites back in '99 (for me) waiting for my dial-up to finally load them. Once I got broadband, it was like mainlining narcotics 24/7! Change is good though.

I'm still mainlining narcotics unfortunately... NO! I just kid you! Is joke!


Technorati Tags: web, web design, Flash, web 2.0, CSS, standards

can't leave well enough alone.

I realize that constant change can alienate and confuse visitors to a site; but hey, since no one is visiting I'm going to play!

I've been sucking down as many CSS galleries that I can lately. I can't get enough of their uber-clean aesthetic. As much as I like gettin' durrty, I'm increasingly being drawn to that look. Since I just put my portfolio site up in June, it doesn't make much sense to start another. I'm probably going to do some wireframes to see what it could look like though.

So for the time being, I'm going to screw around w/ what I've already got. 3 Blogger accounts w/ CSS all ready for me to obliterate. As you can see I've already started adding some of the trendier looks that are synonymous w/ many of the sites I'm digging. I got my striped background, my 2.0 badge, and a clean header w/ some reflected type. Overdose on sugar.

I've also added some images for the links to my other endeavors. Overall things are starting to look very 2.0! Whatever. What I really need to do is fire up Dreamweaver and hand code a standards based page. I haven't had the time to sit down and learn the language. My next class will get us up to speed on XHTML, as well as CSS and JavaScript. I need to be able to mold all of these together; the sooner the better.


Technorati Tags: CSS, web, web programming, CSS, XHTML, Blogger

durty dirrty.

i'm like, into grunge and stuff...
I guess you could file this under another case of missing the boat. I've always been a huge fan of "grunge" or dirty design.

Unfortunately it seems that everything is using it these days. The killer for me was watching HGTV and a large majority of their show's logos were durty dirrtee! Everything takes its turn in the trend department and it looks like grunge is getting humped right now.

The problem for me is that my creative process is heavily dependant upon building up and breaking down resulting in the waste of that process. I like that waste. There is an implied structure to nearly everything placed upon a canvas, whether it's stretched and primed or you simply press Ctrl+N. Altering that structure creates a natural tension that everyone can feel. Some are more attuned to it's process while others are perplexed. Grunge alters that structure but as it's been used frequently the general public becomes numb (more numb...) and it becomes accepted; then tired. Once a design style or trend hits the mainstream, the design world has already moved on to something different.

It's obvious that I haven't abandoned filthiness completely when looking at my site Artboredom. I felt that I couldn't betray what has been a part of my inherent style by not including it in the design. It's been pushed back (a little) and I've brought forth some cleaner, crisper elements along w/ fonts not commonly associated w/ this genre. I think that it is still a viable stylistic use depending on the task. For me, or other similar projects I can see its implementation, but for most jobs today I'd have to go the other direction putting on a suit and tie and see how well I clean up!

I'm highly intrested in very minimal sites utilizing CSS and XHTML rather than a bunch of JavaScript. CSS is being pushed very hard to be ass feature rich as Java, but still being lite and airy on the load times. I'm working on getting familiar w/ the language, but between school, other personal work, and finding a JOB, it's on the backburner. I hope that I can beat the school cirriculum and start to really learn it before then.


Technorati Tags: design, web design, CSS, grunge, XHTML

can't get it all done

I have so many ideas that I want to get out, but everything I think of I put through a mental filter. I always have some reason for wanting to put it off: I can do this better so I should wait, I have too much to say so I should wait, or this is going to take too damn long I'm going to wait. So I end up not posting here at all. How pathetic is 11 posts since starting in February? This one should be the most prolific since it's what I do everyday! That's also probably the reason why as well. Anyway.

Here's one of the things I've been trying to add here. This just plain sucks.















This is so Merlin. This is right up there w/ all the nail salons named 'Le Touche'. Either they thought of this themselves, or some country hick sign shop thought this would be a hoot.


Technorati Tags: design, bad design, signs