I often talk to many people about design and the web. One of the more common criticisms I receive of the Web Design industry as a whole is that it isn’t a necessity. It should instead be an afterthought in a very large scheme of building a concept & of course content. I’ve always in one way or another, explained that design, when done correctly should be part of the plan for a project, and in no way hinder its value or substance.

When a small business decides to create an online presence, they have many things to consider about where to put their man-hours or their money. This is often why people consider design to be an after-thought of the actual process. Why waste money on a site built specifically to their specifications when they could find a simple template for 10 dollars? There are quite a few reasons as to why a business should make sure to have an original and personalized site for their purposes, but one of the most important is simply the emotion and tangible interaction between the user of the website & and the website itself.

I was recently reading an older article in the Design Observer and came across this great comparison between Design and a Wine Glass.

Graphic design has been likened to a wine glass. When we drink wine we barely notice the glass it’s served in. It wouldn’t be true to say that we don’t care what glass we drink out of — we wouldn’t choose to drink a rare vintage out of a Tupperware mug, for example — but it’s the wine that matters, not the vessel it comes in. Adrian Shaughnessy

The glass is not only an aesthetic addition to the wine, but something that makes the wine more enjoyable and brings out the flavor and notes. While the wine (or content & idea) are king, the cooperation between it and the glass make sure that the wine is received in its true form.

Although personally, I’d much rather have a Yeti Imperial Stout in a Snifter.

Most people outside of the Web Design & Development community probably have never heard of the term “responsive web design”, and almost surely don’t know what exactly it is. I’ve been keeping up with Responsive Web Design for a while now since first reading about it on A List Apart, and looking curiously at sites by the likes of Simon Collison & Ethan Marcotte.

In the simplest terms I can describe it, Responsive Web Design is design that uses new HTML & CSS features to allow a single piece of content be flexible enough to allow easy viewing on many different types of devices. Well, that wasn’t quite simple, so lets take another stab at it; design that reacts to the device it is shown on. That is a bit better, but still vague. Either way, this is a new (and old) take on creating sites for the web now. 5 years ago, the web was generally restricted to a PC or Laptop Monitor. Just about then smart phones began to shake the world up with their tiny 320px screens. This sent us designers into fits. We’ve always been waiting for the days we can ignore 800×600, then 1024×768, and now they throw this curveball at us and we’re regressing! Well, not really. The Mobile Web is a huge part of the web as a whole now, and finding a solid solution to create websites that work well in both the PC Monitor and Smartphone was a challenging, but exciting thought for many designers. Up until recently, most people would create a site with a stylesheet for a Computer, and then create another site for mobile. This works in most cases, but its extra work, for designers who’d rather pretty something up than we’d want to code two sites instead of one.

On May 25th of last year, Ethan Marcotte wrote an article on A List Apart explaining a fancy way to create sites that work in any imaginable size constraints by using CSS Media Queries and semantic markup. It took a bit for it to catch on, but it finally is now. Creating a new workflow for designers doesn’t always go over well.

When I first started in Design, the web was just moving towards the at-that-time standards-based floated div layout from the dreaded table structure that had plagued the web up until that point. I’ve built many sites using fixed-width float techniques and while I don’t think its that hard, and feels more natural than table-based layouts I’ve used in the past. Sure there was always a bit of frustration with the issue of clearing floated divs, whether it be by a clearfix method, or another method. None we’re exactly elegant, but did get the job done.

Well what are my thoughts on Responsive Web Design? I’ve built a few sites using parts of this newfangled technology, but I’m currently in the process of making a full responsive site. I’ll be chronicling my inevitable excitement and struggles with it. I can say that so far, I look at it as a very large step forward. However, it is not a perfect solution. As web designers, we’re all very familiar with making things work the best they can, so its all about choosing the path of least resistance and right now this looks it’ll be that path.

I often get asked where people should go to get a question answered about [anything]. Whether you’re looking for help, to network, or just to enjoy some common company with others online with similar interests, forums are a great place to head to.

You may be wondering, why the hell is Andy writing about forums? Well, I just read a great blog post by Jane Wells of Automattic (the company behind WordPress) titled In Praise of the Forums. In this article she explains why people often get upset when she sends them to WordPress’ support forums, but then goes into detail about why it is a great resource, and often times faster and more helpful than a private support system. I want to go a bit further and say that Forums can be looked at as one of most powerful ways to use the web.

I am definitely biased in the fact that I own and run a Camaro forum (and have run others in the past), so I wanted to get that out of the way first. However, I don’t think that there can be enough emphasis placed on how great of a tool online forums are. There are a few ways to look at what defines an online forum. From the stalwarts like vBulletin, phpBB, and other “bulletin board” software, to something more specific or custom, like Yahoo Answers. I like to think of Yahoo Answers as a forum in the general sense. You have a topic (question), and responses (answers). Other similar sites are found all over the web. Even more custom and niche sites like Forrst (a Designers & Developers community) could be looked at as a forum if you break down the 4 types of posts. Each type of post has a main topic, and then responses from other users.

When it comes down to it, I think most all of the social sites have roots in forum-esque ideas. I’ve heard many people in the past few years stating that the forum is a dead breed, and that everyone has moved onto social media. I agree that social media is great, and has done great things for the internet and people’s lives. What I don’t agree with is the thought that forums are dying. Sure, some forums die, just like some social networks do. I still don’t see a better architecture for getting crowdsourced answers and using the sum of everyones knowledge to help teach yourself something, solve a problem, or help others. So next time you have a question, or want to learn more about a specific topic, take a look at forums and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

For years now, I’ve tried to be “normal”, in the sense that I work a “nine to five” work schedule. When I first started freelancing more, I was looking for any advice I could get and everywhere you turn you read that you need to have a set schedule for work. I’ve found that in my case, this theory is bullshit. I’ve always enjoyed working at night. I always seem to focus more on the tasks at hand, I have no distractions, whether their in my own head or from the outside world, and I just feel like I’m more creative when working my weird hours.

So I’ve decided I’m not going to fight it anymore. Why I was so afraid to just work the hours I really want to work I may never know, other than to think I need to fit a mold.

There is not much I like better than to work creatively with my headphones on at 2:00 AM on a weekday.

As a freelance designer, often I get harassed by my friends that I should be really happy to be working for myself. They’re right, I should be happy about it and I am. However, I also have the stigma that almost all self-employed people are tagged with; working less and doing less. I don’t bother to correct them that I put tons of extra hours into my work because I know most of my friends are simply poking fun and usually not serious. I do work very often, and find personal time harder to come by which is a big issue. I really need to find more time for me. Along the same lines, I sit at the computer for 9 or more hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. It isn’t always fun, and it sure makes getting fat easy, which I’m good at.

Fat & Lazy

So, I’ve decided I’m tired of being overweight. My friend and client, Marc Halpern of Halpern Fitness and I have started a workout routine. Marc is a great Personal Trainer, and I’ve gone at this for a week now and already feel better about myself, and have more energy. I’ve always had Marc around, but never seriously got into a workout regiment made by him to cater directly to me. This morning I was thinking how very stupid I have been for waiting this long. I’ve tried many workouts, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt that any of my own workouts with equipment at a gym are nearly as beneficial as working directly with Marc. We’ve set up daily nutrition goals, as well as my goal of making it to 250lbs by March.

Excuses, everyone has them and they all…

One excuse I constantly used was that I was going to lose too much of my billable hours & productivity by worrying about exercising. To put it gently, I was stupidly wrong. I’m not losing any time. I think knowing I have to make room for exercise each day makes me more proficient with the rest of my scheduling. On top of this, I feel like I have more energy mentally to get through longer days and not get creatively burnt out. Maybe the release of aggression & pent-up energy just helps me focus the rest of the day. I’m no doctor, but I sure as hell feel better.