Now that Casey Dixon’s enterprise is up and running, and quite busy, it’s time to start thinking about a redesign. This time, we’ll be able to lavish a little more attention on the visual aspects of this site, which was thrown together – in spite of Casey’s very fine, well-considered writing – in the lesser part of a weekend.
Come to think of it, this site could use a little attention, too.
I’ve been so busy at my new job that I completely forgot to mention it here. So, yeah, in August I joined Develisys (http://www.develisys.com) to bolster creative development while maintaining a focus on standards-based, accessible web experiences and related marketing communications.
Read more about my current situation.
Read the press release.
This website for Porter Education Consulting is the last of my independent web design jobs prior to starting at Develisys. Paula Porter has deep experience in education on both the admissions and the consultant sides of the equation. One of her key strengths is her ability to ‘find the right fit’ for college-bound students by matching interests, abilities, desires and the needs of the family with an appropriate institution. She is also a joy to work with and a consumate professional.
Here’s a quick and dirty, but hopefully very effective XHTML site for Casey Dixon (http://www.dixonlifecoaching.com). She recently started a business providing tutoring and life coaching for children, adolescents and adults who struggle with learning and attention problems. I knocked this site out in just a few days, under the duress of a critical marketing deadline (Casey is my wife!). Our primary goal was to get her content out there, but soon we’ll turn to adding some more significant styling.
Some wood type in the composing stick. I perpetually grapple, doodle, diddle, shuffle and fret over the words that might describe what I do. “Image & Type” is one recent candidate. It sets a nice tone, I think, but it still needs to be qualified by a title like
Ian Schaefer, Designer & Letterpress Printer.
Yet does any of this fairly cover my efforts in web design? Brand identity?
The site I recently designed for photographer Coleman Sellers is up and running. I think the site looks great; but what I am most pleased about is the fact that the page markup is valid XHTML 1.0 (Transitional) according to the W3 Validator. This marks an important step in my effort to learn and implement better, cleaner, more accesible, standards-based web development practices.
Now seems an appropriate time to mention a few people/sites who have shaped this transformation, not just in my thinking, but of all of web design practice.
Jeffrey Zeldman, also at A List Apart
More to come.
Trichrome is a simple interactive diversion that I made back in 1996, when using HTML frames was still really cool (I thought). While neither a game nor a tool, Trichrome could be useful to a few, entertaining to others, and numbingly dull to the rest. This is an excercise in basic HTML. It requires only a frames-capable browser and a delight in color. There are at least 17,550 possible variations. Instructions should not be necessary.
Special Note, 02/10/05—Color frames are adjustable! Click and drag the frame border between colors in order to change the amount (relative surface area) of color. Thanks to Douglas Campbell for indicating to me that this is a cool feature that is not at all obvious.
Start Trichrome
N.B. – a lot has changed since this post was originally published. This site has been redesigned and now uses TextPattern for content management.
Things are beginning to shape up. The index template + style sheet actually create more-or-less what I am expecting. I am again drawn to the idea of all black type with few embellishments or extraneous color. How many web pages today look like that? It does provide a clean canvas onto which photos and other graphics can really shine.
And I call myself a “designer”?
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