January 13, 2005
Since the launch of this redesign a few weeks ago I’ve had quite a lot of emails asking how I built it using Expression Engine. A large proportion of these emails have been from designers who see, and want, the benefits of a low-cost, flexible content management system for their own portfolio websites. Hopefully I can answer some of the specifics here.
December 31, 2004
So, here we have it. Version 5.5 of this site. More of a Reversion than a Redesign. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, MovableType was beginning to be difficult to use because of the Spam problems (which they seem to have now fixed) and the increasing problem of stretching the intended useage of MT - ie. to run a portfolio (I know this is possible, as I did it before, it’s just not as easy as i’d like). I moved to using Expression Engine as the software to power the site.
Read on for more about the design ethos behind this site. Why do a redesign and what I discovered about web standards, css, expression engine and mac IE 5.5 on the way.
December 01, 2004
After spending the morning, and most of the afternoon, taking photographs for one of the sites i’m working at work I came to the conclusion that I like Winter, pre Christmas that is. Winter after Christmas is rubbish.
It’s not often I get out with a camera, which is a shame because I should do it a lot more. Driving round this morning was great until I realised I must be missing so much being in a car, so I abandoned the car and set out on foot. I was right, I was missing a lot. Three hours and over two hundred shots later I was back in front of my new iMac sorting through the shots. I’d forgotten how long it takes to edit a shoot - ages! Still haven’t finished!
April 07, 2004
Today sees the launch of Emma and mine’s website for the upcoming wedding. You can RSVP online here and after the wedding there will be a gallery where registered guests can download images from the gallery, or order prints direct from Kodak.
As all my new site builds, it’s valid XHTML with CSS controlling all of the presentation. I had initially thought to build it using MovableType, but this seemed a bit daft for only a few pages. I will be implementing a MT backend for when the Gallery comes online though.
March 16, 2004
Well, the last night is drawing to a close. Some good panels today, the highlight of which was User Interface Design by 37signals. Some really good nuggets of contingency design - design for when things go bad! Some good advice.
SXSW has been good although my brain has reached saturation point after 4 days of intense panels and lectures. I’d definatley come again if I had the chance.
March 15, 2004
The conference has been good so far. The attendance is through the roof although it’s disappointing not to see more of a global representation, both on the panels and in the attendees.
The highlights so far have been:
Hi-Fi Design with CSS
CSS, the good, the bad and the ugly
The frontiers of User Experience
The lowlights:
Edutainment
Non-traditional navigation
I think my fave so far has been the “Frontiers of User Experience”. This was originally to be give by Jesse James Garrett, but he couldn’t make it, so Jeff Veen did it instead. A very, very good panel. Some interesting things cameout of it, most of which was that we’re going the right direction at work, we really are. Once he posts the presentation on the Adaptive PAth site, i’ll link it in here.
I’ve got a bunch of the panels to write up, once I’ve done it i’ll chuck them up here, there’s some great resources come out of these panels.
More to come…
March 15, 2004
I’ve now been in Texas for 3 days. I’m writing this post in my Hotel room, on the laptop I said I was going to buy (which is excellent by the way). Overall the experience has been been good so far. The flight was ok, the hotel is superb, the conference is really good and the food is fantastic.
The bad stuff is, tea. First off you have to ask for hot tea, then your have to say what type of tea you want, and then 50% of the time the tea that arrives is wrong. Then, you have to ask for milk, at which point cream arrives. You get the idea. America would be a better place if they got the tea right.
March 04, 2004
Well, off to texas next week for 7 days to the SXSW conference which should be good. I’ve been thinking of exploiting the weak dollar by buying a laptop over there (and possibly an ipod if I can wangle it.). True, can’t really afford it at the moment but the way i’m looking at it is it’s about long term saving and we were going to buy one towards the end of the year anyway.
The model i’m looking at, the Compaq X1230US costs $1,699.99 from Circuit City in the US (kind of like Dixons) which is £932.18 and the same computer, funnily enough in Dixons in this country costs £1529.99 . That’s a difference of £597. Which is pretty good really. That extra money will come in handy!
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I'm a graphic designer from near Cardiff in the UK. I've been a designer for over ten years now and primarily work on the web. I'm still partial to a bit of print every now and then though. I used to work for Agency.com in London as an Art Director before working as a Senior Designer for the BBC in sunny Cardiff. This was all before I took leave of my senses and formed my own design consultancy, Mark Boulton Design Ltd.
I've got a thing about grids and typography and occasionally ramble on about them to anyone who will listen.
If you're after simple, clean and effective web design; let me know.