Email: Password:

Checking Project Status? Click Here for Project Management Access.
Forgotten Your Password? Request a Password Reset.

Open My Account Login
Web Design
Web Design

Web Design (7)

Tuesday, 17 August 2010 16:36

Contrast, not Color

Designing a website is a lot like drawing a picture - you begin by blocking in the large areas, and slowly begin refining from there. But if that very basic composition - the structure, the lights and darks, the contrast - isn't there from the beginning, it won't be there in the end. You can't polish mud. But working digitally affords a designer a lot of flexibility, particularly in the areas of color - broad or specific, they are easily changeable up to the end of the design process.

Case in point: contrast. I recently read an article about designing in grayscale, not in color. I know that I sometimes find myself tweaking the same shade a half dozen times, never fully satisfied. It can waste a lot of time, and at that point in the design process, obsessing over color is a waste of time. Whereas if I were to design it in grayscale only, I can focus more on the contrast between various page elements and the flow of the page itself. And then, like in a drawing, once that basic work is done, I can go in and begin refining and adding color, feeling secure in that I'm working forward from a strong beginning.

http://colorschemedesigner.com. This is my favorite tool for generating and working with color schemes. A great choice if you're beginning from a specific color and need a scheme built around it!

Kuler.Adobe.com. Look through thousands of other users' custom color schemes, easily searched by rating, theme, primary colors, and more.

Thursday, 11 February 2010 17:39

Give Me Site Beyond Site

This blog is merely here as a bragging right. We here at Chepri have designed and developed a whole slew of websites, from politically driven social network sites to online sausage peddlers and everything in between. We pride ourselves on great customer relationships and top-notch work. We can do ANYTHING. We have great designers, great developers and all in all, a great team. Do I sound pompous? Nope, that is confidence. Good. Your search is over....give us a call today! 1-800-338-8102
Thursday, 21 January 2010 17:27

Contemporary 80's Music and Web Design

My co-worker and I share an office here at Chepri and we listen to music most of the day. Here is the question. Is it easing the passing hours of development or making us slowly slip into dementia? Or perhaps it is the type of music we listen to that determines how we act come 3:00. Well one thing is for sure....for some reason we are on a contemporary 80's music kick. you know.....the songs your mom listened to while doing the dishes and you couldn't stand. I really have no explanation as to why we are currently on this cheese binge. We'll sit there and sing along to the best of our ability and we even have some pretty boss moves to go along with our enthusiasm. In fact, right now we are listening to "missing you".....my god, and I am the one who requested it! Needless to say, it boosts our spirits and the work does get done. Next month we'll try out country and after that who knows......I'm sure we'll cross the line some day.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:48

Code Help Links

When coding and working on multiple projects at the same time I find it impossible to remember every little code trick escpecially when I use so many different languages on a day-to-day basis. Being so, I tend to collect a lot of links when it comes to everything from how a built-in PHP function works, to if my JavaScript syntax is worded properly for IE.

I've provided links below from my "Resources" favorites folder:

JavaScript

Sliders for user interaction: http://www.noupe.com/javascript/30-javascriptajax-techniques-for-sliders-scrollers-and-scrollbars.html

This is a good place to start if you're in need for a js slider. Provides a good basis on which you can customize to your needs.



PHP/MySQL

Creating Pagination:http://php.about.com/od/phpwithmysql/ss/php_pagination.htm

Creating pagination using PHP and MySQL



CSS

Browser Hacks:http://www.nealgrosskopf.com/tech/thread.php?pid=20

A solid resource for targeting specific browsers. I reference this page at least 2-3 times a month.

Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:38

First Impressions in Web Design

Initial visual appeal of a website can make or break it's presence on the web. It's been scientifically proven that  a user forms a web site's value before actual cognitive thought takes place. What does that mean? It means that the viewer of a site actually involuntarily makes a decision based on a 'gut feeling.' No matter what a site's content is (whether stimulating or non stimulating to the viewer), the look of a web site can turn on (or off) a viewer before they even know it.

An interesting study, published in Behavior and Technology  delves deeper into this phenomenon:

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/blink/
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:15

Browser Compatibility

Web development involves no small number of steps from inception to completion. One aspect a developer may overlook during this process is periodically checking their work in different browsers. What might look fine in one browser often does not translate to other browsers. Not only do some browsers interpret CSS differently, meaning your design can look drastically different from browser to browser, they may also interpret scripts and code differently, effectively breaking the site's functionality. Here is a good rule of thumb. Once you complete a milestone, whether a design or functionality feature, check it in another browser.......then scratch your head and get back to trying to complete that milestone.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009 13:22

Google Killed The Radio Star

The state of web design  has been squeezed from all directions.  Google snuffed the days of highly interactive websites (remember the "flash intro"?) and rich internet applications haveseemingly been pushed over for more content driven websites that assist in Search Engine Optimization.  Gone are sites that had that "edgy" flavor focusing on design over hits.  I liked the flash intro.  Maybe someday sites will drive traffic by sheer design and not by over-saturated content.