Web Career 0.8 (a beginners guide to freelancing, part 1)
Posted on November 21, 2008
Filed Under The Web Business | Leave a Comment
I’m writing this while I’m in the middle of a mad dash to get everything ready for the re-launch of my business endeavor Victory Creative. Victory Creative is a web consultancy based in Raleigh, North Carolina where we special in Web and UX Design/Development, Information Architecture and Project Management.
So, I wanted to share with you [...]
A Tale of Two Frameworks (Times Two)
Posted on November 7, 2008
Filed Under The Web Business, Uncategorized, Web Design, Web Development | Leave a Comment
I’ve got a couple of upcoming projects on the horizon and I decided to start researching some well known frameworks both the server side and the client side. Most of my programming has been with custom libraries that either I’ve created or ones created by a client/employer. Up until now, I’ve been the wheel reinventor for a while with the notion that I can best get into the guts of the code if I built the libraries. Now, that’s ok for smallish projects, but as projects get larger and more complex, there are definite problems with that approach.
So, today I wanted to share my justifications for using frameworks and what that means to site owners, designers and developers alike. There are many considerations when you’re shopping around for frameworks and understanding the business implications can help you decide. [...]
Action! Intrigue! CMS Impossible.
Posted on November 5, 2008
Filed Under Information Architecture, The Web Business, Web Design, Web Development | 1 Comment
I had fun writing a guest blog for my friend Elizabeth of Only Even Prime fame. It’s the story of the MI team looking for a real CMS. Take a look.
The Real Deal Behind Table-less Layouts.
Posted on October 28, 2008
Filed Under Web Design, Web Development | 2 Comments
Tables, as a part of HTML, have gotten a bum deal over the last few years. Yeah, they were the darling of web design for a long time. Strutting their stuff with the latest and greatest cutting edge sites. Going to all the fancy website parties like Amazon and CNN. She even made it to [...]
Web Design on a Dollar a Day
Posted on October 22, 2008
Filed Under The Web Business, Web Design, Web Development | Leave a Comment
Starting this week and running for the next few months, I’ll be publishing a series of articles that I hope to turn into a book titled Web Design on a Dollar a Day. This passionate little endeavor will be my attempt to give back to the community of web designers and site owners out there.
The premise behind this book is pretty simple. I’ll be putting together a series of web design/development projects and walking you through each one of them from conceptual start through to basic code and delivery. The difference here is that I’ll be starting with a tight budget of $365 for all the tools that we’ll need to build professionally design websites and applications. And that’s including web hosting and software. [...]
Why Designers Need Subversion!
Posted on October 13, 2008
Filed Under Web Design, Web Development | Leave a Comment
So for the entire weekend, I’ve been pondering one simple fact. Something that’s been bugging me for a long time and that my girlfriend Katrina and my roommate Elizabeth would find utterly humorous. Something that as I get older, seems to become more a part of my day-to-day life. [...]
Writing for Usability and Findability
Posted on May 16, 2008
Filed Under Information Architecture, Web Design | Leave a Comment
It seems to me, these days, that real usable content is taking a back seat to whizbang-widget-this-AJAX-that graphic self-indulgence. I’ll be the first one to jump up and down when the subject of good design and solid user experience are on the table. We know, as professionals in the field, that a well-designed, aesthetically pleasing (not overly done) website creates user confidence and keeps them from hitting the BACK button immediately when they find your site. However, the key to keeping visitors on your site is to give them what they came for. Content.
Information Hierarchy in Design
Posted on April 27, 2008
Filed Under Information Architecture, Web Design | Leave a Comment
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on redesigning our company website and we went through the standard process of looking at visual comps, tweaking the design and iterating. One of my challenges was to produce an “academic” design, this was important because we plan on having a rather text heavy site.
Granted, typography is an important thing with our new site, absolutely, but good typography is not enough. You need a solid information hierarchy.
