Design

In response to the proliferation of other frameworks used to create rich Internet applications such as Flex from Adobe (formerly from Macromedia) and AJAX-based frameworks, Microsoft Silverlight was recently introduced. All three of these applications, as well as the others on the market, enable a Web developer to create an interface on a Web page […]

Adobe CS3 (Creative Suite 3) is a suite of products that combines traditional Adobe programs with programs that Adobe acquired and has since rebranded from Macromedia. The suite includes Dreamweaver, Flash, and Fireworks, as well as Illustrator and Photoshop. All of the programs in Adobe CS3 that were formerly Macromedia have been streamlined and given […]

Full-time freelancing: 10 more things provides a useful list of things he learned in his first year of freelancing full-time as a Web designer. Though it focuses on Web design, much of the advice if useful for other business. Here’s my commentary from a freelance writer’s perspective.
Speed: I try to work fast when doing freelance […]

Your About Page Is a Robot caught my attention especially since I’ve been reviewing over 100 sites in a specific industry. Some don’t have About pages, some had them — but they were not helpful, and a select few succeeded.
The About page also gives your company a human touch. What your About page should contain […]

Little has changed in what works in writing for the Web as experts have recommended most of these tips for good writing for years. I apply the following when writing for the Web:

Insert bolded sub-heads every few paragraphs for scanning.
Keep paragraphs about four to six lines long otherwise when the reader loses his place, the […]

I’ve noticed a nasty trend for the past two years… so it sounds like it’s not a fad: Gray text on white. This isn’t a cool trend as it’s harder to read text. On top of that, on many sites you can’t change the size of the text unless you’re using a browser like Firefox. […]

Have you ever abandoned a shopping cart during the checkout stage — other than to find out the price (like Amazon says to add to basket to find out price)? I’m sure I have, but the reasons why are not coming to me at the moment (call it human virus-infected memory syndrome — no worries, […]

I survived a weekend-long family celebration. Afterward, I learned that some people didn’t make it to the party because MapQuest didn’t have the right information or street for the location of the party. I was horrified. I used Google Maps and it was perfect in giving directions and showing the location of the event.
This is […]

Someone interested in breaking into information design contacted me to ask about the field, whether a degree or certificate would help, and the tools and skills used. It’s a very broad question as information design covers everything including print. But I answered the question from the online perspective and thought others may benefit from this […]

I’ve had more than a few copywriting clients ask me, “Do you know of a good designer who can create an email newsletter template for me?”
Mind you, I’ve designed at least three custom ezine templates using my, ahem, limited creativity skills. They’re certainly respectable-looking enough. They’re not even remotely spammy. And yet, when I think […]

I see you have come back to the Web developer dojo for more training young master. Have you ever though about how important having a good 404 error Web page is? It is more important than snatching the pebble from my hand. If you play your cards right - you might be […]

Should you really be flashing your visitors? Sure we all love flash movies and how neat it make everything look. Just like with anything though, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Call me old fashioned, but I do not want a Web site looking like a Las Vegas casino. […]

Over the past few weeks I have been working hard at collecting some above average links to share with you on and about the world of design and CSS. No matter how many guides and tutorials get launched out there, this is still going to be an area that has a bad habit of […]

I got an E-mail from a Lockergnome reader the other day named Tom. Tom wanted to know where he could find a good quality version of that orange RSS icon that you see on just about every Web site out there today. Well, there is no reason to search long and hard. […]

When it comes to planning a Web site, some folks out there remember the special toppings on the pizza, but forget the crust. There are a some real basics that every Web site must have, and it really does annoy me to no end when they do not. All of these can be […]

I recently got an E-mail from a Lockergnome reader who wanted to ask about titles for Web sites. When push comes to shove, you might get a lot of different views on this, but I will share my own and leave the comments open to others to dispute anything I say. I am […]

Not often do I find a really good external resource to share with folks when it comes to learning how to create a CSS design. For the most part, in the past I have suggested people take a look at some of the basics layouts that are already out there and then make them […]

Browsing around the Web, I am always looking for new tools to help in the art of Web site design. Especially when it comes to building the basic foundations, this is not always an easy task to do. Many Web sites feature the basic designs that you can build upon, but often the code for […]

When designing a Web site layout or just playing in CSS on your recent project, you might run into the same problem I have been having since day one. It is hard to determine exactly where all of these pixel marks are. You say you want the menu 100 pixels to the left, […]

I got a question E-mailed to me last week wanting to know if I knew of any good places to find fancy fonts that you could use on Web site banners and graphics. Now there are plenty of places Online to find fonts - that should not be a problem. The problem comes […]