Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

How on Earth did I manage to miss this place? What astonishing architecture.

Discovered here – The Melbourne Recital Centre and MTC Theatre, http://www.melbournerecital.com.au and http://www.mtc.com.au respectively:

Man, I miss Australia…

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 line of work; learning the ropes becomes a tough challenge when even the veterans are gasping, trying to keep up. There’s plenty you can do to try and keep on top; a while ago I wrote an article on how to improve yourself as a designer. In Barbara’s guest post, she looks at some aspects of ‘redesigning yourself to keep fresh’.

There was a time when everybody who knew something about designing web pages wanted to jump on the Internet bandwagon because it was a money-making train, one that could get you to financial security. But then saturation set it, and the only ones who could survive beyond the initial scramble were those who stood out from the rest of the crowd because of the uniqueness of their work. So if you’re a web designer, the important thing to do today is to survive and see off the recession, and to do that, you must redesign yourself by:

• Continuing to change: People change, as do their tastes and needs. So if you’re stuck in a time warp, even one that’s just a few months old, you’re going to be left behind in today’s fast changing world. And before you know it, your methods are going to become outdated and obsolete. The Internet is evolving by the day, with newer ideas and ways to do things. So continue to change according to the changing times, because this is the only way to you can survive over a long period when your work depends on the Internet.
• Keeping yourself updated: You may think you know everything there is to know, but new information and methods are being discovered every now and then, and if you don’t bother to keep yourself updated with the latest trends and ways to design, you’re going to find the going tough as time goes by. The best time to update your knowledge is in a recession, when jobs and assignments are hard to come by and you have time on your hands. This free time is best used in pursuing and updating your knowledge about the latest that’s happening in the web.
• Willing to accept new ideas: Trends change with time, especially when it comes to designing for the web. So even if you have a certain style of working and are used to it, you must be willing to accept new ideas and learn how to design according to them if you want to survive in this industry. The ideas may not be your idea of what is good, but if the trend changes, you must be willing to reorient yourself to adapt to the new way of doing things.
• Focusing on the process: And finally, although people tend to focus only on the end product, the process of designing is what is important to web design. You need to ensure that your groundwork and foundation are adequately planned and executed so that there are no hitches at a later date. If there are, you could be spending all your time trying to do repair work instead of concentrating on new assignments. If you’re able to plan your design according to your clients’ needs, and execute it according to plan, you’re going to be one web designer who’s always in demand.

Amongst the ramble, several tricky and often avoided questions emerged:

• Can you train your mind to be more creative and have better ideas?
• Are there any exercises to develop creative thought processes?
• Is creativity really ‘99% perspiration and 1% inspiration’?
• Is creativity a teachable/learn-able skill of coming up with good ideas consistently and on demand?

Some of the remarks in the comments section addressed these questions from several different viewpoints, all putting up very good arguments. I’ll look at a few excerpts shortly, but first I think it’s important to consider what creativity really is.

What is creativity?

I’ve always believed creativity to be far more than just ‘coming up with ideas’. Although this is often seen as a genuine starting point; the big bang, the light bulb, the ‘Eureka!’ moment – I’m sure there’s far more to it than that.

I believe creativity is an amalgamation of many traits that when honed, revised, expanded and fused together can create dramatic results.

Problem solving, empathy, social awareness, imagination, inspiration and taste, passion, logic, technical understanding, critical thinking, general knowledge, research and an open mind.

I feel that real creativity, the stuff stories are made of, requires fear, and the ability to overcome that fear.

That may be fear of failure, fear of competition, fear of loosing your job, fear of displeasing someone.

Taking all of this and much more into consideration; creativity’s a little more than ‘having good ideas’. In environments such as the ones we work in, it’s often the case that we’re required to solve a problem, sometimes without even realising it exists.

The big idea

We need to perform research, share thoughts and ideas with others, put pencil to paper and put ourselves in the position of those we’re designing or building for. Ideas may come and go, some may seem brilliant first but are later pulled apart either by ourselves or others. Perhaps there is never a ‘big idea’ moment but a bunch of smaller ideas can be fused together to form fantastic solutions.

On occasion, there is a ‘Eureka!’ moment. I’ve been in meetings with some fantastic creatives and have truly been blown away by some of the ideas that appear to have popped out of thin air. I’ve even felt jealous and angry at myself – “Dammit, why didn’t I think of that!” and in circumstances have been afraid of failing to come up with ideas, of failing to ‘do my job’.

This fear will only hold creativity back, but the desire to overcome this fear can motivate us to come up with even greater ideas.

Can creativity be taught?

Honestly, I don’t think it can. But it can be learned. I believe many of the various facets of creativity can be taught and trained, such as general knowledge, social awareness, problem solving etc. But the other elements are what I believe are generally considered as ‘creative traits’. The ability to honestly empathise, a keen imagination, passion for what you do and an open mind are qualities attributed to our personalities.

They are in some respects part of our nature, but also the product our of lives, the people we interact with and the media and literature we consume.

So in some respects they can be learned, but only if we choose to, and work hard at it.

So 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration? I don’t quite agree with that. I believe that a lot of work is involved and that ideas don’t simply appear from nowhere, but inspiration also plays a much larger role.

A few other thoughts

It’s worth noting that I’m still very young to this industry and in a few years, or even months, my views may change radically. That’s why I’d love to hear your thoughts.

However here are a few excerpts from comments on the original post that inspired the inspiration for this article:

“It’s the abstract connections in *your* brain that do the creativity bit. The more things you stuff inside your brain to connect to other stuff, the better your creative leaps. And no one but you can teach you that.”
Jonny

“In general terms, I would say creativity derives from curiosity.”
John W

“Having ideas shouldn’t be a problem. The real genius is in spotting them.”
Ben Kay

“Encourage fearlessness of being wrong. When it comes to being creative, some people can barely put pen to paper due to an innate fear of doing something ‘wrong’.”
Paul F

“The brain is lazy. It will also take the quickest route. Go the long way. Get lost. Try routes other people would take. You may find you really enjoy it. That’s when the ideas will start to happen.”
Deborah Khan

“Being creative to me is about seeing abstract patterns in human behaviour and identifying, absorbing and learning from them.”
Sunitha

“Creativity is nothing less than a mystery. It’s as profound and complex as life itself. So enigmatic, in fact, that the great artists themselves cannot agree on what it is. Still, the artists seem to fall into eight categories:

The tormented. The courageous. The lovers. The dreamers. The mad. The spiritual. The stumblers. And the juvenile.”
Per Robert Öhlin

What are your views on this? What do you think defines ‘creativity’? Is it something that can be taught, learned and trained, or is it a natural talent? Have your say below.

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:

• Phil Thompson
• How to always enjoy a conference

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:

• How to sell a website
• Why I hate Flash sites
• CSS Horizontal Menu
• Creating a Wordpress Theme Parts 1, 2 & 3
• Death to IE6!
• A selection of top CSS Showcase websites
• What to do when you get Bloggers cramp
• Accessible Web Design – The Whats and Whys
• The power of Wordpress Custom Fields
• Increasing and maintaining blog traffic
• Different blog post styles
• Improving yourself as a designer
• Accessible Web Design – The How
• Managing brand consistency
• 10 SEO elements all websites should have
• Designing with data
• Designing from the inside out – Part 1 & 2
• Design constraints
• Designing with empathy

That’s just a selection. I’ve also write and have guest written for other blogs including the Flame blog and iFoh designs.

Shout Outs

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,  Ian James Cox, 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!

10 Awesome Free Wordpress Magazine Themes

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.

1. Branford Magazine

A simple but stylish layout, this theme enables you to display content in a format similar to that of an online newspaper. With a lead article dominating the top of the home page, glimpses of further articles within the subsequent categories are displayed below to entice the reader to click the links to read further. This easy to navigate theme is customisable and even has dedicated advertising spaces within the layout.

2. Mimbo

The Mimbo theme is very similar to Branford and in fact the author of the Branford Magazine theme attributes his inspiration to Mimbo. It provides a grid layout with a great white space balance which ensures that each section is clearly demarcated so that the page does not appear too busy. Mimbo is highly customisable and it is possible to upload thumbnails, both large and small, against posts.

3. The Morning After

This unique Wordpress magazine theme will ensure that your blog stands out from the rest. This widget-ready theme is fully customisable as even the header image can be changed. As it is a true magazine format, readers are also able to print a printer friendly version of posts. With an abundance of features, The Morning After is the ultimate professional magazine theme.

4. Guzel Magazine

For publications consisting of many different categories which extensive content, the Guzel Magazine Wordpress theme offers the perfect solution. The feature article is prominent, occupying the top of the home page and there is even space provided for sponsor adverts. It also possible to upload thumbnails against stories and has space for video content.

5. Arthemia

This contemporary theme offers a professional magazine layout unlike most themes as the category listing and description is inserted beneath the main feature article, providing the reader with insight as to what they can expect within each category. The home page is clearly divided into separate sections, making the content easy read and user friendly.

6. Jello-Wala-Mello

If you are looking for a completely different magazine theme, then the Jello-Wala-Mello Wordpress theme may be just the one for you. Its bold colour usage is consistent throughout and its grid layout on the home page ensures that the content is easy to view and navigate. There is a standard advertisement space on the home page and it even includes a sub page design for viewing single posts.

7. Zinmag Remedy

A sleek Wordpress theme, Zinmag gives the impression of a glossy magazine. A brilliant feature not seen on many other free Wordpress themes is the sliding carousel of feature post images, which is great for capturing the reader’s attention. A highlighted feature section is standard on the home page and thumbnails can be posted against subsequent stories.

8. Linoluna

This theme gives the look and feel of a glossy magazine, while still being easy to navigate. The multiple sections on the home page are clearly defined and even though a substantial amount of content can be displayed, the well-balance white spacing ensures that the reader isn’t bombarded with information on a relatively busy page.

9. Ikarus

One of the most versatile magazine themes, Ikarus comes with over 2,000 user variations and options which is rare amongst free Wordpress themes. There are many features included with the Ikarus theme including video support, slideshow support, social bookmark tools and much more. All user settings are easily maintained in the admin area.

10. Revolution Lifestyle

Marketed as suitable for a women’s interest magazine, the Revolution Lifestyle Wordpress magazine theme has a softer, more feminine look and feel while still presenting the content in a highly professional manner. As expected from a magazine site, it enables multiple categories and subsections to be maintained. The homepage even has space for sponsor advertisements and a well placed subscription invite where the reader can sign up for email alerts for site content changes.

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.

Standing out from the pack

The fact today is that with so many so-called designers and developers cramming into the industry, actually getting ahead of the pack and standing out as a skilled professional requires generalisation as well as specialisation. It’s not enough just to be able to code “bad-ass” HTML quickly or whip up sexy designs in Photoshop.  A good web designer has to understand how websites are built, how they are used, on which devices and platforms, how they affect and interact with the end user.

Aside from a wider knowledge of the different areas of web and interactive design and development, a core, fundamental and essential ability of a great designer is the ability to empathise with the end users, the people you are designing for. Because they are what matters.

The trouble is that websites are supposed to deliver an experience, normally whilst promoting a brand or product. Therefore to do this successfully a website must be 3 things – attractive, usable and functional, thus it must look good, be easy to use and provide a service or end result. To handle all that by yourself is quite a task, hence the reason why the full website creation process is normally handled by a team of people. However, to rise to the top of the pack it helps to have a broad understanding of all the many criteria that make a ‘good’ website.

How to empathise

Simple, I couldn’t give an easier piece of advice:

Stop. Listen. Learn. Watch. Open your mind. Read. Research. Ask questions. Ask for critcism and don’t ignore it when it’s given to you. Try to look at every challenge from a different perspective.

OK, I can throw out plenty of verbs. Great, how does that really help?

Sometimes, empathising and putting yourself in the place of the people you’re designing for is just a state of mind, somtimes it’s born out of experience and sometimes it requires some additional learning to get comfortable with.

When designing for any project, for any purpose or userbase, but especially for an end user group you’re not familiar with (for example, in my case – model boat sailors) – conducting design research is the best method of gathering and consoldiating information to help you empathise with different people. Because don’t forget – you’re designing for people.

Overcoming your ego

I design pretty much everyday. Perhaps not always in Photoshop or with a pencil and paper but in some way or another I’m usually in front of a computer working on website design work. I’ve been doing this for not far off 3 years now (eesh I can’t believe it’s been that long!), so I like to think I have an idea of what I’m doing! Does this mean I should dictate all my designwork and not listen to the people who will ultimately be interacting with it?

It seems a stupid question, I know. But it’s true that a lot of the time, we designers think we know best. Ignoring or failing to even consider what our end users feel and think makes us bad designers.

Get over your ego, you’re not right all the time (unless the client requests an obscene scrolling, flashing ad banner across the width of their header to obtain a bit of extra revenue… then it’s time to put your foot down!).

Care a little more…

This post was just a musing. A quick run through some ideas in my head, but as usual a lot of the inspiration and ideas come from the minds of others as well. For more information on ‘Designing with Empathy’, user testing and design research, check out some of the following:

• Jeffrey Zeldman’s 2008 speech at AIGA
• Don’t Make Me Think!
• Designing for interaction

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.

When learning: Read, Meet, Talk, Listen, Teach

And further verbs. Although it sounds cliche and quite extreme, if you want to get ahead in your game (and this doesn’t particularly relate to web design), you have to eat, sleep and breath design. Make contacts wherever possible, let people know what you do – you never know when it might come around and help you.

Reading

Resources for web designers are hardly scarce. Get subscribing to RSS feeds, get a good selection of favourite sites with regular news and tutorials and visit them regularly. I make an effort to spend a good 30-40 minutes (more if I get to the office early) every morning checking my feeds and bookmarking new sites full of inspiration.

Then don’t forget the print world, there are still a fantastic number of great quality web design, development, graphic design, copywriting and project management books popping up all the time. Hit up Amazon and see what tickles your fancy. Then don’t let them gather dust on a shelf – have them open on your desk, read on the train, in bed, wherever… you’ll be surprised how much information you can pull out a book if you take the time to actually absorb it.

Don’t forget magazines and journals, although we’re rather deprived in the UK of any decent regular publications.

A few sites I’d recommend:

• Smashing Magazine
• CSS Drive
• A List Apart
• Web Designer Wall
• Design Float
• DesignM.ag

And a few books to check out:

• The Principles of Beautiful Web Design (Jason Beaird)
• Designing with Web Standards (Jeffrey Zeldman)
• Web Design Index by Content
• Bulletproof Web Design (Dan Cederholm)
• Web Standards Solutions (Dan Cederholm)

They should keep you busy for a while. And that’s before we even consider the various branches off web design itself. So get yourself an RSS reader like Bloglines and get into the routine of checking decent sites regularly and sourcing as much valuable information, resources and tools and inspiration as possible.

Meeting / making contact with people

Making contacts within the industry can only benefit you. It may lead to job opportunities and work but also creates new avenues through which to learn from others.

You can meet new people through all sorts of mediums, such as:

• Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter (follow me!) and Digg
• Contacting other designers through their contact pages on their sites
• Attending web conferences and meet-ups. In Manchester 2 popular regular meet-ups at the moment are GeekUp and Northern Digitals.
• Bringing other people in on jobs can teach you a lot – sometimes it’s better than struggling to work out how to do something when you can pay someone to teach you or help out.

I talk – you listen

I know, it sounds ridiculously obvious but get talking. To mates, to people you know in the industry, to colleagues or fellow students. Ask questions, try to help each other out and share intersting new finds with others. Share the wealth!

Teach

Doesn’t agree with the idea of ‘improving yourself‘? On the contrary, teaching is one of the best forms of learning. Whether you’re teaching a friend how to use Wordpress, writing an informative blog article (as I am now), lecturing a class or giving advice in a forum; the processes you have to go through to gather the information in the first place, then absorbing the feedback and further questions that develop, creates a perfect environment to learn so much more, almost subconsciously.

Blogging

Blogging helps to improve yourself not just as a designer but in so many various ways. Redswish has forced me to learn new things to create interesting articles, my writing style has improved and my understanding of the ‘blogosphere’ and social web has improved.

What to blog about

It depends on what you wish to achieve from your blog, whether it be commercial or personal gain. If you want to make money from your blog, prepare to work hard writing regularly and building your site to pull in traffic. But if you just want to ‘express yourself’, promote yourself or just want to write and pass on knowledge to others – then do it as when you feel like it. Don’t feel pressured to blog.

Blogging isn’t for everyone. It takes a lot of time, energy, focus and dedication. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off, but it’s always worth giving a shot.

Taking criticism

This doesn’t just refer to blogging but all forms of criticism. However if you go out on a limb and broadcast your views and writing to the world – you can rest assured that some people are compelled to spite you, whether it be justified or not. Prepare for a few off-colour comments.

Criticism isn’t always constructive, but try to imagine why the comments have been made and consider how you can improve on this and try to avoid it happening again. Do not react harshly – angry retorts can drive visitors away and do nothing for your profile. Words can easily be misinterpreted on the web so be careful.

Useful input from commenters

The main benefit of comment areas on blogs is the opportunity for readers to contribute and provide their own expertise and insight. Take full advantage of this, promote it and try to generate conversation with your commenters. Doing so will help to increase the chance of more input in future.

Pushing yourself when working

All the above are examples of ways to learn new tricks and skills, expand the imagination and develop a better understanding of the industry. However, improvement can be established constantly while working in your existing environment. A few tips:

• Working for an agency. Working in an environment with other professionals is a perfect environment for absorbing new tricks and ideas, as well as sharing. Since I started working at Flame Digital 4 months ago I’ve progressed in leaps and bounds and can honestly say I’m loving it!
• It’s never too late to go back to school. More and more web design and development related courses are popping up – you’re never too old to mooch along and check out the benefits.
• Find ways to measure progress. Set targets, aim to reach them in 1 month/6 months. This will help to push you to develop, and acts as a measure to observe how much you’ve improved.
• Money is a motivator. Let’s not lie, we can design for the love of design but if you do it for a living – money is essential. Loosely speaking, the better a designer you are – the more money you’re likely to earn. It’s not always as simple as that but money is certainly a powerful motivator – perhaps the thought of that salary raise will entice you to push that little bit harder.

Explore other avenues of creativity. Design doesn’t have to remain in Photoshop on your monitor. Grab a camera and go for a walk to capture some photography, or grab a sketch pad and relax in the garden and swap the mouse for a pencil! Try to seek creativity and inspiration in different forms.

Focusing on design

I’ll hand you over to a nice article on a new website, Web Design Ledger, written by Adelle Charles, that covers ‘10 easy steps to become a better web designer‘.

The article outlines ideas and techniques that should be considered constantly and should be second nature to designers:

• Build a toolbox. Create a tidy catalogue/toolbox or resources, scripts, background and stock images, bookmarked sites, tutorial files, plugins, .psds etc. You never know when they might come in handy.
• Think on paper. Always default back to paper before you start squiggling away with the mouse.
• Keep up to date with trends. The web is like the catwalks of Milan and Paris – new fashions are revealing themselves all the time. Keep on top of what’s cool, or even get a step ahead and set the trend!
• Know your audience.
• Ask other’s opinions.

Read the full article here.

Self-improvement

‘Improving yourself as a designer’ requires a lot more than reading books, toiling through tutorials and blogging around. There are so many contributing factors that make a good designer, and these vary from person to person.

Perhaps it’s a case of building confidence, or even suppressing an ego. You can never have too much inspiration and in such a fast paced industry – there’s never any way you can know everything.

Whether you’re a student doing a part-time course, an experienced industry veteran, an up-and-coming design superstar or a jack-of-all-trades; I hope there’s something in this article that may have proved useful to you.

Never settle for second best, and never assume you’ve covered all the bases – there’s always room for improvement.