This guest post has been kindly contributed by Barbara Williams, who writes on the topic of Computer Technician Programs. You can get in touch with her here.
Working in the digital industry requires constant attention to the incredibly fast paced developments going on around us. For those, like myself, that are still relatively new to this [...]
An interesting, and rather long-winded question posed to Dave Trott on creativity caught my attention today. Dave, likely flabbergasted by such an exhausting query, posted it on his blog and allowed the world to share their views instead.
Amongst the ramble, several tricky and often avoided questions emerged:
Can you train your mind to be more creative [...]
A couple of great articles I’ve stumbled on recently that focus on the essence of new media design. 10 logo design tips from David Airey which might as well be printed onto stone and regarded as the 10 commandments for all I’m concerned. And a nice post from Tracy Grady that tackles common misconceptions about design and designers – What Graphic Design Isn’t.
Great advice all around!
Oh, and where are my posts you ask? Yeah I know sorrrrrry been reallllly busy but will honestly get some chunky tasty lick your lips content up here soon. Promise.
Imaginative title.
Yep, I was there last week. Had a great time but decided to write about it on the Flame blog instead of here, sorry loyal readers!
It was great to meet some new people and some familiar faces (although some of them from only a small Twitter avatar), the event itself was good, inspirational fun and the after party topped everything off nicely!
Some other reviews can be found here:
I noticed it was a year today that I first posted on Redswish. The site’s come a way since then but hasn’t been anything ground-breaking, not that I intended it to. I’ve tried to put a decent amount of time into the site but it’s not always that easy. Plus over time I discovered the value of quality of quantity (I think)!
Through constantly trying to better myself and the quality of my writing I’ve learnt a lot and hopefully crafted some articles that have helped and inspired people. If not, well I’ve wasted a lot of time then! But I do feel that if you were to read through all the articles mentioned below you’d see how my writing and understanding has matured over the past 12 months…
Anyway, just a quick thank-you to the regular visitors and commenters and even those that have popped in and never returned again. The odd bits of support and kind comments keep me going. Here’s to another year!
A quick summary of some of the more popular articles from the past 12 months:
That’s just a selection. I’ve also write and have guest written for other blogs including the Flame blog and iFoh designs.
There are a lot of people, designers and companies that have inspired and influenced me over the past year. I’m really sorry if I forget anyone but off the top of my head I’d like to thank David Airey, Jacob Cass, Matt@ifohdesigns, Andy Clarke, Jeffrey Zeldman, Vandelay Design, Smashing Magazine, Adelle Charles, Chris Spooner, Carsonified, Elliot Jay Stocks, Nick La and so many more people…
Working at Flame since last June has been great fun, the people here are great and learning so much. So, here’s to another year!
This selection of 10 fantastic free Wordpress Magazine themes was compiled by Tom Walker, a self confessed gadget addict who writes for Manchester-based ink cartridge supplier, Cartridge SAVE.
Wordpress has risen to become the online publishing tool of choice that enables anyone to create a blog or multi-page content website with relative ease. Fully customisable, this open source platform is now powering some huge online properties, including many online magazines. Of course, there are thousands of free-to-use Wordpress themes which you can use to create your own magazine with minimal programming knowledge. Here are 10 of the best free Wordpress magazine themes to try out.
Being a web designer is a tough job. “Oh give over!” I hear you cry, and you wouldn’t be the only one. This misconceived view is justified by the general lack of understanding as to exactly what a web designer does.
Okay, being a good web designer is a tough job – but so is being a good barrister, doctor, teacher or engineer etc. The difference is that in the latter instances this is widely acknowledged based on the fact that professions of this nature have been around for a while. But due to the short lifespan of the Internet and it’s architects, coupled with the all too common ‘anyone-can-do-it’ mentality that is attached to the term ‘web design’; true web designers are rarely afforded the respect we deserve (yes, I’m considering myself a good web designer. A little bit of ego won’t hurt, will it?).
I’m not soliciting sympathy, I simply wish to raise awareness that designing for the web requires so much more than a knowledge of HTML and a copy of Photoshop. Depending on which side of the playing field you’ve approached from, development and functionality may hold precedence whereas those from a more traditional print design background rather fancy a more aesthetic approach. Then there’s fussy usability and accessibility wizards in the middle.
I’m never happy with my current skill level, I never quite feel like I’ve reached a particular stage that I’m aiming for. Maybe it’s just me; maybe I’ll never quite be happy with myself. Maybe that’s a good thing… maybe not.
But one things for sure – I’m constantly improving and bettering myself as a designer and much more, which is a good feeling. To be able to look back over the past 6 months and observe what new skills I’ve learnt, bad habits I’ve dropped, speed, accuracy and imagination I’ve gained and generally concede that I have improved in more ways than one is pleasing.
So, I’d like to offer some tips and ideas that may help others help themselves more, hopefully provide some inspiration and educate. And I’d sure like to hear what you think, if you’ve got anything to add please comment.
A fantastic method of getting your name out and enticing people to your site(s) is to submit them to CSS/website galleries and showcase sites. I’ve done it myself and know several designers who do it religiously every time they redesign or feel that traffic is dropping. Your site won’t get everywhere, some sites are far more strict than others – but providing your design is pretty and well-built, chances are you’ll get some free coverage!
Filling tons of forms in over and over get’s extremely repetitive, so to speed up the process get hold of auto-complete software like Roboform. Enter all your details once and it will fill in the majority of fields for you at the click of a button. Trust me, it’s a godsend.
So, mouse finger twitching, get your tabs ready, set and go!
Being a cool kinda guy, I was sat at home last night and decided to listen back to some of the recordings from last year’s Future of Web Design conference in New York. I know you’re jealous.
Elliot Jay Stocks, a designer I respect (possibly more due to his hair than his skills…) decided to rant about web 2.0 design. How could he commit such a heinous act? Well someone has to, and it may as well come from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
His ‘beef’ was not regarding the web 2.0 culture and technologies, but the design mindset; that accompanying this explosion of social web interaction and development is a sidelining assumption that to be ‘web 2.0′ you have to show off a glossy navigation bar, reflected logos, banners and badges, beveled edges etc. You all know what I’m talking about. And many of us are guilty – myself included.
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