Online CV

Hi all, haven't written for a while - been busy learning some php! (it does funky stuff but is hard to learn).

I've also in the last couple of weeks been made redundant - so have been looking for a new job - but will post more about that later....

At the moment, I'm developing my online CV - it initially was an assignment for the Web Development Course that I'm doing but has kind of developed into a bit of a personal project which I'm intending to expand upon after the assignment is due in - should be live in a few weeks!

In my time off I've also picked up and started to do my art again - so I'll be posting some of that in a while too...

so not much blogging.....but lots going on behind the scenes.

More soon :)

Where to draw the line....

Image manipulation is now an everday occurence, we accept it, we expect it - but is it right?
Is it right to portray something that isn't there in reality?
Is it deception?
Isn't the truth enough?

Maybe it's not that it isn't enough, perhaps it says too much...

Society seems to prefer the idealised, the improved, the near perfect.

The model with perfect skin and proportioned body....the enhanced photo to make the news more dramatic than it really is....the edited photo eg the Abbey Road album cover where Paul Mcartney's cigarrette is airbrushed out for USA audiences - to meet someone's moral code....

Where to draw the line?
Should it be pleasing to the eye?
Decided by the creative licence of the designer?
Play into an idealised/fantasy image?
Meet the audiences moral code?
Keep the staus quo?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and to some - truth is beautiful :)

What makes a good design?

Good question. Very good question...

I think good design is:

• unambiguous
• attractive/funky - but not to the point of being distracting
• works smoothly
• is uncluttered and clean
• has high quality graphics/images that contribute to the message of the page
• is cohesive across pages of the site
• has clear and consistent navigation that behaves in an expected way
• information is easy to find
• has a good balance between consistent items and 'sticky' items - familiar page but something new to go back for
• has good links to other relevant sites and information

My top 10

ummm thinking about that one...

Validity and Stuff

Why is it that so many company websites don't have valid sites??? I was doing my Christmas shopping when I first noticed this was such a huge problem - large retail sites that have such basic errors as not having a doctype, having pages constructed from tables, mixing up structure with presentation.....why???

...when valid code standards are probably easier to produce and maintain.
...when valid code goes along way to making a website accessible to visually impaired and disabled users who may rely on a screen reader or be unable to use a mouse.
...alt and title tags explain what an image is when images are turned off - if there are no text alternatives then the site may as well have no images whatsoever!

One site i went on (a well know highstreet brand) had a whole site composed of unlabeled images that were advertising their christmas stock....wonder how much money and/or customers they lost this year???

Presumably, such large companies hire professional designers to design and develop their sites - sometimes, you'd never know it!

First Post

Today I started my blog. I used to blog quite alot but stopped a couple of years ago because I reverted to paper....but life moves on and stuff changes - so I'm back blogging again :).

Working in web development, I see quite a few blogs - design ones mainly - some I like, some I don't. I like the useless/useful pieces of info and the random but interesting facts.

I'm just having a wander/wonder on the web for now and will see where I end up.