Resource
Subtle Patterns
When I started working on the websites for my class material, CSS for graphic designer and WordPress, I questioned why I was doing this. It’s a lot of unpaid work and I have no idea if people appreciate it. But now and again, I’m reminded that people all over the web share their content for Free.
Today, I discovered Subtle Patterns, a web project by Atle Mo. Atle is a Norwegian designer and his subtle patterns projects is both wonderful and Free. You can browse the various patterns, preview them, download the one you wish to use or download them all. How wonderful!
Teach your clients about the mysteries of the web
As designers or web developers, we’ve all been there. We create an initial mock up based on the client’s request, they love it but ask for changes, we revise again, add more bells and whistles, they still love it, but now that they see it, they think it needs more of this or that want… next thing you know your design looks like crap.
If you don’t know what I mean, take a look at this comic from the Oatmeal. This is obviously an exaggerated scenario, but sooner or later, as a designer, you will be in the same situation.
So what can we do to avoid this?
One of the best way is to educate ourselves and our clients. Paddy Donnelly & Jack Osborne have gathered a great list of resources just for you. Make sure to bookmark it and then simply send your client to one of their topic pages for a quick intro on the subject. Hopefully that will provide them with the wee nudge that was needed.
Domain name and web hosting, what’s the difference?
When setting up your first website it’s not uncommon to get confused between domain name registration and web hosting.
Your domain name is the name of your site or your url (www.mynewcompany.com) and can be purchased by going to a domain name registrar. Domain names usually range from about $10 to $50/year depending on the extension. (.ca are more expensive than .com.)
An Event Apart: The Design Conference For People Who Make Web Sites
On a tour to Sweden many years ago, Ringo Starr was asked the following question about his role as the narrator in the famous children’s television series:
“Prior to working on Thomas the Tank Engine, what did you do?”
To which Ringo’s humble reply was:
“I was part of a wee band”.
For some reason, this story stuck in my head, not because of Ringo’s humility or the ignorance demonstrated by the interviewer, but rather, by the fact that anyone working away in any industry can get trapped so deep in their own work that they forget that there’s a whole world out there.
In the case of web design that world is changing fast. Much can be self-taught on the web by reading tutorials, viewing videos and demos but in my opinion, the best way to stay ahead of the curve is to attend conferences such as An Event Apart. When asked why I love going to An Event Apart, I always think of Ringo’s interviewer. Perhaps if he had been less obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine maybe he would have heard of the Beatles.
Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer and everyone involved with An Event Apart never fail to impress. Their speaker line-up is always stellar and cutting edge technology is always on the menu. More importantly the speakers are approachable and genuinely nice people. During each others presentation you can find them in the back listening to each other and commenting via blog posts or twitter. How often have you been to a conference where the speaker comes in for his talk and then immediately leaves once done? There’s a sense from both the audience and the speakers, that there’s always something to be learned, no matter how experienced or talented.
As their tagline says, An Event Apart is a design conference for people who make web sites. If you’re in that industry, you should check it out, you will learn something, I assure you.
Basic blog theme updated
A few years ago, I was asked to teach how to use WordPress to students enrolled in the Electronic Media Design Program at Langara. The goal was to provide the students with enough knowledge and understanding of WordPress so that they can create an online portfolio.
Download the Basic Theme Files
Once the curriculum in place, my first decision to make was what theme to start with. At the time, WordPress version 2.6 was around and I didn’t particularly want to use the Kubrick theme. I always disliked it and found it too messy. I had built quite a few sites with a now defunct theme, and decided that if I removed all of the unnecessary code and style, this theme would be a great starting point for my class and all of my projects. Thus was born the Basic Blog theme.
This theme has all the functionality of a typical WordPress theme but very little styling. It’s a bare bones theme or a framework for you to work from and has the following following features:
- Two column website measuring 960px wide.
- Widget enabled.
- Sidebar can be positioned on the right or left simply by switching the float direction in the CSS.
- Can be used to create a website with blog and static pages or just static pages if no blog is required.
- Requires no plugin.
Having gone through 3 intakes of students, I’ve had many opportunities to refine the theme. With the release of WordPress 3.0, I’ve now had to make further updates and the theme now also includes the following:
- Custom post thumbnails
- Custom menus
- Easy jQuery integration
- Excess information from header file is removed
Here’s a copy of the Basic Theme for you to download and play with. If you have any suggestions, comments on how it could be improved, please let me know.
I would also like to say thanks to Tzaddi and Catherine for providing their input on this theme and of course to all my EMD students who have thought me so much.
Chris Coyier’s Blank WordPress Theme
In case you missed it, a few weeks ago, Chris Coyer, one of the authors of “Digging into WordPress“, released his blank theme. In his article he states the following:
I have a “blank” WordPress theme for myself, because I make a lot of WordPress themes. Starting from Kubrick, or any other pre-made theme, would be absurd. There is to much stuff there that would have to be stripped out or fought against to be useful. So, I have my own.
Music to my ears. When I started using WordPress years ago, I couldn’t get my head around Kubrick. Cleaning the code took way too much time and energy. I originally created my own theme for a WordPress class. In order to teach students how to theme a site in 6 weeks, I needed something clean and void of excess stuff so I set up my Basic Theme.
I was thus curious when I read Chris’s article and downloaded his theme. It’s super clean and to my delight it’s not so different from mine. I have a lot more CSS than he does and he’s got some fancy stuff going on in his header.php, but overall I would highly recommend it. Starting from a clean theme to design a WordPress site is the best way to work. If you haven’t had a chance to try a blank theme, you should check it out.
20 WordPress theme Frameworks
Over at 1st Web Designer, Dainis Graveris, has put together a great list of resources that will help you get started if you are looking at building a WordPress site from scratch.
Free Easter Bunny Icons at Icon Dock
Just in time for Easter, Icon Dock has released a set of 40 free icons which you can use on your marketing material, blog, etc…
Check out their website for other great icons.
Web Search explained by Common Craft
The web wouldn’t be what it is without the ability to search. My home page is set to Google and use it to search for everything. Finding information is often quite tedious because there are so many web pages out there. Luckily a few tricks are available to allow you to refine your search.
Lee Fever at Common Craft has created this wonderful video explaining how web searches work and offers tips on how you can avoid being swallowed up by the web.
Web Search Strategies in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.
Free Guide to Learn How to Create Web Videos
So you’ve been blogging for a few years now and started podcasting… but video is what you really want to do? Via Kate, I discovered this great website put together by video blogger Jim Kukral. Simply sign up for free and you’ll learn what equipment to use, how to set up lighting, where to upload your videos and a whole lot more for free.