Entries Tagged as 'Web Design'
Web Typography 2009: What Was…
Last night On Slideshare.com, I posted an edited version of the slides I used in my Web Typography lectures last year, and they seem to have gotten some notice. Slide share featured the slides on their main page, resulting in several hundred views.
I’m currently working on a new revised lecture for 2010 to present at SXSW and Voices That Matter, as well some other possible venues TBD. In the meantime, here’s a look back at what was happening in 2009 with Web Typography.
View more documents from Jason CranfordTeague.
For more details on Web typography, pick up my new book Fluid Web Typography
10 Last-minute Gifts for Web Designers
Q: What do I get for the Web designer who has everything?
The short answer is real estate.
The slightly longer answer is, anything that helps spark their creativity.
The long answer is that, whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or another December holiday (I prefer Saturnalia myself) the Winter Solstice is traditionally a time of gift giving. So, what to give to that Web designer you know who has everything they need to actually make Web sites?
Here are 10 ideas for gifts they will love but not expect.
NOTE: All prices are in US Dollars and rounded to the nearest dollar.
1. Icons Web Design Books by Taschen
Taschen Web Design book from their Icons series.
$10/each
Taschen makes beautiful books. They make especially beautiful books about visual design, and the books in their Web Design series are chock full of cool Web sites with brief, to the point descriptions. I like to pick these up while I’m brainstorming to get ideas and inspirations.
At 10 bucks a copy, they also make an inexpensive gift or great stocking stuffer. Get these online from Taschen, Amazon, or Powels or find them in a local book shop.
Choosing the Right Color Value: RGB or Hex
Q: Should I use Hex or RGB values to define colors in CSS?
Adobe's Kuler Web application lets you choose a color palette and see each colors value in multiple formats, including HEX and RGB.
The short answer is RGB.
The slightly longer answer is that Hex values have become the de facto standard for use in CSS code and both developers and designers are used to them.
The long answer is that, in the final design on the screen, there is no difference between using Hex or RGB values in your code. Which system you use is really a matter of you own personal preference (and those of the team you are working with) as to whether or not you use Hex or RGB values to define colors.
Expand Your Font Repertoire
Q: Are there alternatives to Arial, Times, and Georgia for Web designers?
Web Safe Fonts Desktop
The short answer is YES!
The slightly longer answer is that most designers use Arial, Times, or Georgia, and, to a lesser degree, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Courier, and Comic Sans because they think that’s all they have at their disposal, but they are wrong.
The long answer is that the core Web fonts (the one listed above plus Impact and Web Dings) are used because they are almost guaranteed to be installed on the vast majority of computers your designs are likely to be installed on. One fact of life in Web design is that unless the end user’s computer has access to the font file, then the browser cannot use it.