New home!

I'll no longer be posting here as I've moved to my permanant home and portfolio site, Artboredom.com. I've started using Movable Type which I've integrated into my portfolio as well. Come check it out.

last.fm: My social makeover!

Even w/ all my talk about Web 2.0, I've neglected to join the social sites that are defining this revolution. I've done bookmarking at del.icio.us as well as tagging my blog entries for Technorati, but until this point I've avoided participating in the direct social sites.

Well, I've jumped head-first into last.fm. It makes the most sense for me right now. I don't have a huge network of friends where I'd benefit from something like Myspace, although I do have to start an account so I can contact an old friend that I found recently. I've never been a poster, or a commenter for all the blogs and Digg articles I've read. I guess I've been more concerned about the backend of the sites rather than what they were for. Enough of that.

last provides a download that plugs in to your media player (iTunes, WMP, WinAmp, etc.) and monitors what you're playing. You're given a set of tools that allow you to tag your tracks/albums and artists. Once you've started a free account your playlist of recent tracks shows on your overview page. Here's where it gets social. You can see what other random people are playing at the moment. You can search for what others have played or are playing based on tags. The tags can be yours as well as theirs. This allows you to see possible artists that you may not have known about in your favorite genre, or you can discover styles of music you weren't aware of.

You can contact these people and build your social music network. You can also join or build a group of people based on a particular music style, a label, an artist(s), or whatever you feel. You're able to post blog entries about the music and message people in your group. So far I have no friends, but I'm starting to invite some people to join, and I think I'm going to get my present AIO class to build a group so we can all see what we're listening to for inspiration while working on the web.

The FM part is based on your tags as well. As you build a foundation you create radio stations based on your favorite music genres. Now you can listen to your custom radio that streams music from your tag styles so you can hear many different artists that others have tagged as such! All artists/albums are clickable and are linked to Amazon if you want to purchase the music.

I'm sure I could've done a better job at describing the site, but I just joined less than 24 hrs ago, so give me a break! My username is: Artboredom and I'm building my tags steadily since then.


Technorati Tags: web 2.0, social sites, bookmarking, last.fm,

Site contrast and legibility

I think my Dad was being nice...
I've started to grow a conscience. Who knew? It's taken me over 30 years though.

As I've been redesigning my new portfolio site, I've become increasingly aware of the W3C + 508 accessibility guidelines, and that my site was not going to pass them. A quick way to find out if your contrasts are working w/in the W3C is to check out JuicyStudio's Luminosity Contrast Ration Analyser.

Based on these findings, I've started to up the contrast on my greys. Some of my colors still won't pass, but the font it's used in is pretty big, so it seems like it's darker. Not everyone conforms to these standards, so that's mostly a judgement call on your part. Regardless, you should be thinking of these things as you create your projects.

I'm also about to convert all my pixels to ems. I found a site forum that describes the best ratio to start your body em at so all other ratios will make more sense. Unfortunately I can't find the damn site in my immense bookmark file, so that will hopefully be soon.

Dad, I'm sorry for insinuating you can't see, but...


Technorati Tags: web design, CSS, accessibility, standards, WAI

No Flickr: Host your own damn photos!

Quick gripe. Artists/Designers: I don't want go to Flickr! Why am I leaving your site? Host your damn photos on your site, and if you need to socialize 'em, give me a link to your page and I'll peruse if I feel like it. There's no reason, especially if you're a web designer, that I should be leaving your site.

I want to remain in the warm, fuzzy confines of your walled garden.


Technorati Tags: web design, interactive design, navigation

Blogger troubles

I've been working on getting a sweet corner banner added to my Cycleboredom blog, but Blogger is giving me no love. Problem is that the preview version, and the published version have nothing to do w/ each other. Why would the outcome be different? It's happening on this blog as well; there's not supposed to be much of a margin on the section headers to the right but there is. Except in Safari, but that's another post!

Whatever. No banner. At least I've been able to center the new blog title over there.

This program is pissing me off. I want to build my own.


Technorati Tags: programming, CSS, Blogger

Big Ass Pants: Design Observation

All growed up or dead style?
This is something near and dear to my heart, since I was a part of the Hobo skateboard style of the early 90's. Yes, I said hobo. We were trying to look like shit, and we did a great job of it. In fact I didn't relinquish my big ass style until about a year or two ago. Granted it was more refined, but my pants still were saggin'.

I started thinking about this today after looking over Andy Howell's book Art, Skateboarding and Life. He was largely responsible for bringing urban styled art to skateboarding in general. The New Deal skate company was the nexus for it all. Their graphics, ads, videos, and clothing were all tool of influence. But this is about big ass pants, and they made jeans called "Big Deals". They were huge. They had the ND sun logo on the top of the pocket by your belt which was my favorite thing about them. I had them in grey, and dirty, crap brown. Both of them had no hems on the bottom so the jeans were eternally coming unravelled; extra dirty steelo!

Anyway, seeing kids, and or adults wearing baggy clothing now just seems outdated. I can't figure if it's just me knowing that I have to conform a little and look the part if I want to have a successful career, or are big clothes just plain stupid? Skateboarding has always been on the cutting edge of many style types, but big isn't hot now; tight ass punk rock jeans are in now. Slim styles that I could never imagine myself skating in are normal. Now here I am w/ a pair of fitted jeans in a size 34 where in the past I was looking at 38s'. In fact, these 34s are a little loose!

Here's a little add-on story re: skate clothing sizes. I was "downair en Ballmar" (Baltimore) skating in Fell's Point w/ a couple of my friends and some of the local pros' when celebrity Ballmar skater Bucky Lasek rolls up wearing a pair of light blue jeans, and a nearly fitted white undershirt. We looked at him like he was crazy for not wearing the idiotic clothes we were, but that my friends was a turning point in skate style. W/in a year we were all wearing normal colored blue jeans, white (normal sized) shirts, and my favorite to this day, white skate shoes. Nice, clean and efficient.

I hate getting older. But I have to admit I'm coming around on the mature clothing style. Too bad nothing else is following.


Technorati Tags: design, style, Andy Howell, skateboarding

Daily painters: In a perfect world!

I was doing some gardening over in Technorati trying to get my crops to grow a little when I stumbled onto a blog where a guy made a new years resolution to finish a painting a day for the entire year. On his homepage he had a link to a USAToday article about daily painters. They're doing it and selling them as well!

I'm a huge fan of repetition in most aspects of my life, but in art I think it's invaluable. Depending on how and what you're repeating, that is. Part of the curriculum of my 3rd year at the Corcoran College of Art + Design was something called "80 Works". You're given a list of objectives that are very loose and open to interpretation. If I can find my work from then I'll see if I can find the list and post it. I can't remember the length of time we had to do them, but you had to scramble I can tell you that! It forces you to push boundaries that you otherwise would've never crossed as an artist. When you finish one, you know you have another waiting so that intensity never wanes. Then there's bad repetition...

A couple of years ago I wanted to start pushing my design further, so I came up w/ the idea of "The Daily Vitamin" that goes along the lines of creating something everyday. Unfortunately I was also running the most successful bicycle shop in the Washington, DC Metro area, and that didn't leave much time for my own work. I did get some design work done for them while I was there, but that was about it.

I'm still working on getting back in the swing of creating in the fine art vein, but web design has been added to my future as an artist so I have to push that as well.

I just checked the domains for "the daily vitamin" and "daily vitamin", and they're both taken, but neither of them have content!? Which reminds me I have to transfer my Artboredom domain over to Media Temple from the thieves at Network Solutions. Damn they're expensive. Wish I'd checked that a long time ago.


Technorati Tags: painting, daily painting, art repetition, fine art

Serve'daGoodSite: Booreiland

Just when you think you're getting a handle on this web design thing you see something like Booreiland. I've been on the Anti-Flash Hunger Force lately, but this is so unobtrusive and different. It reminded me of when I first started searching for cool sites (late 90's), marveling at how they were created.

First off, the main image is sick! I love appropriation combined w/ unexpected utilization; they look like a mod rock band. The tone is set right there: we're rock stars, we'll dress your site right! Then more of their attitude is added by the mission statement/anecdote to the right and the name of their portfolio: RESPECTABLE & SUPERDELUXE. I'm a huge fan of incorporating yourselves into your work as much as possible. There are so many designers/artists/creators out there that are "me too" that personable work stands out. Not everyone likes it, but you have to ask yourself, would you want to work for/with someone that doesn't feel remotely similar? Don't get me wrong, for a crapload of cash I'll stand in line, wear a grey jumpsuit, and look like everyone else!

Navigation through the portfolio is sweet as well. Every image is displayed in a tannish monotone, but when activated, the same image drops down, but in full color. That was completely unexpected. The site is available in both English and Dutch since they're Nederlanders.

The work speaks for itself. Very solid. Take a look at the personal site of Wimer (one of the founders of Booreiland): MONOKAI. He does some ridiculous Flash animation. He also programs a mean beat in the music section.

The clock has to be my favorite part. At first it's the only indication that this isn't just XHTML and CSS. I still wasn't convinced that it was Flash so I had to right-click just to find out. Like I said, unobtrusive.


Technorati Tags: web design, flash, actionscript, portfolio site, Booreiland