Archive July 2008
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Google Maps Re-Design! 30.07.08
Is it a new logo? A new nav, perhaps? Maybe some more Javascript goodness? Nope… it’s a drop shadow! Go on maps.google.com and you’ll see it, sitting there quite neatly under the main bar.I personally love it… well, I’m impartial to the drop shadow itself, but the attention to detail. I’m a big fan of spending time and effort fussing over the pixels, it’s what makes the difference between a mediocre and a great website!
I guess it’s the battle between Google’s motto “Less is More” and “God is in the Details”
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Project Bubble 30.07.08
Project Bubble is a super-simple free webapp that lets creatives manage, track and share their freelance and personal projects. Supporting time sheets, file uploads, deadlines and more – it’s the only tool a freelancer will ever need!It’s still in beta, but if you want to know more about it give me a shout. Will keep you updated!
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Tiling Backgrounds 29.07.08
Recently I’ve started saving interesting tiling backgrounds I come across on the net – especially since this image (Duchy) took so long to tile seamlessly! So below is a little showcase of a few tileable images.
Click on each image to see a tiling demo:
I’ve got no record of where these are from (sloppy, sorry!) – so let me know if they’re from your site! Obviously use with caution, as I can’t guarantee you’re not breaching any sort of copyright.
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Obama ‘08 28.07.08
I’m in total awe of these brilliant posters for Barack Obama by Scott Hansen and Shepard Fairey – so I thought I’d share. Plus, if you haven’t already been there, check out the brilliant Obama website.
I know I sound like a fanatic – and technically being British, I shouldn’t give a damn… but this is probably the best designed political campaign I’ve seen!
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Intensify.org 28.07.08
I was trying to remember the address of this site the other day, and now I found it again! A brilliant example of CSS and graphic-minimal (sort of) design. Visit Intensify.org -
Blog Design 25.07.08
In the past year I’ve noticed a significant increase in clients wanting blogs – and it’s not hard to see why. Blogs are now such an integral part of our net experience, any company/individual with a story to tell has got one.
I’ve recently finished designing blogs for the likes of Duchy Originals, Silver Cross (left), myself and a host of other freelance clients. I’ll admit that some blogs have gone better than others* – but there is one thing I’ve learned… and it’s that a blog is bigger than you think!What I mean is that there’s more to think about than just how the homepage looks and works – there are a whole host of other things you have to consider. So I’ve written a definitive guide to the elements you’ll need when launching into the design of a truly successful blog. Read more
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Outsourcing? Think again! 23.07.08
I think that the more technical outsourcing an agency does, the more their service fails. And eventually they’ll end up losing out for it.
A quote from developer, David Walsh. This is something I’m seeing more and more recently – and it’s causing some real big issues. If outsourcing development work (usually back-end) to India is cheaper, it’s probably because the service and end product you receive is far far worse. Read more
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New Facebook 21.07.08
Facebook are soon to launch their new-look site, including changes to pretty much all pages. I’m sceptical of re-designing something of such social ‘importance’ – is it such a good idea changing a site that was already good?A good example of this kind of thing is the new design of Last.fm. Although only launched at the end of last week – Last.fm’s forums have already seen tens of thousands of negative comments.
So what do you think of the new Facebook?
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Your Own Custom ‘Pin’ 17.07.08
I found this site when I was designing the Google map part of YO! Sushi a while back – but then lost it. It’s a site that will generate a Google Map pin shadow – and even give you the API code to impliment it!It’s quick, free and easy – and faster than trying to comp together your own PSD version of Google Maps! Try it out here.
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Cows vs. Milk Maids 16.07.08
In most agencies, account executives outnumber the designers two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers as you had cows? - David Ogilvy
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Duchy Won! 15.07.08
I’m privileged to have been one of the designers for the new Duchy website – which scooped ‘Best Designed Website’ at the 2008 APA Creative Awards last Wednesday. An extended congratulations to Duchy (the client), Large (the agency), Russ (the other designer) and all the other people involved in this success! -
5 (more) Qualities 15.07.08
I’ve already touched on the topic of being a better web designer. The original post mentioned that to be a good web designer, you should have an understanding of how the web works (i.e. you should have good css/xhtml skills) – much like a car mechanic should be able to drive, in order to understand how a car functions. But I’ve come across another similar post which mentions some other important qualities…
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