25th
August 2010
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Collage is the art of assembling many different forms together to create a whole new one. Inspiring artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Robert Rauschenberg, and Richard Hamilton have been pioneering and influencing the collage movement, creating beautiful, interesting collages or photomontages as popular pieces of art that have pushed the boundaries of art in a way that was not the norm. So why not use it in web design?
Well, I find that collages can be very eye catching and beautiful if they are put together well. They are somewhat different from plain, static websites as they break away from the confines of a typical web design and rules of the web.With collages you can create a variety of effects and just by using collage in your design you can add significant depth and texture to the website that it creates an illusion of the visitor actually being able to explore the site from within!
Popular elements to style images or navigation menus within web collage design are usually curled edges of paper, distressed paper, vintage looking paper, scotch tape and clippers. A good technique for collage is to play around with the composition of objects of paper and photocopy them and then scan it in.
A common trend to collage sites are also hand written styles or like Poison Pen Letter.(Shown below)
Collages seem to be an open ended outlet of creativity, you can create just about anything by combining painting, illustration, graphics,textiles, photography etc. Collage allows for you to play around with the composition of your website, animate it and seems not to have many restrictions . There are also many styles to collage design ranging from retro graphics to modern design or a combination of the both (Nu-Retro)
Here is one website I really liked which uses collage effectively:
Another good tip is that collages can enhance your brand’s image . Consequently, just by using collage you can create an organic and DIY style that communicates effectively your company’s ethical values, making them seem eco-friendly and less corporate, like this example below (Tyrells crisps)
Although on the other hand I have seen some bad websites that have used collage but this is due to the fact that the collages can sometimes be too busy and somewhat distract the viewer from the actual information of the page. You need to find the right balance .
For many years to come collage looks to be an important creative outlet because it allows designers to explore and experiment by creating truly new, exciting and often out of the norm designs.
This post was written by Yoko Romita @ BaseKit
Photo by marek.haiduk
6th
August 2010
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There’s a balance to be struck when writing for web, and it’s the difference between sounding like you’re writing a letter to the Queen of England or, on the other end of the scale, sounding as though you’re baby-talking a tiny Chihuahua. The arrival of the web brought with it a dilemma for those looking to fill it with content.
How a web-writer approaches their audience depends very much on how much they know their readers – but there are a number of rules that can be more generally applied to ensure that you don’t sound like you’re out of touch with the people at the other end of the cable.
As with everything in life, the key to getting good in the game of digital article-writing is practice. But even those of us who write multiple articles a day can slip up from time-to-time. Take a look at the rules below and help yourself to minimise the risk of sounding far sillier than you actually are.
Don’t approach every post like a journalist
You have an audience and you have an instrument – your computer – by which you can feed them information. With that kind of responsibility, it can be tempting to slip into a bad habit – a syndrome I refer to as The Bad Journalist Habit. Sometimes, when we start typing, the copy that pops from our fingers can somehow arrive as starchy, uptight and stilted, reading like the over-ordered, thunderously delivered words of a terrible news anchor. It happens to all of us, and there’s no explaining why it happens. It simply happens.
When it does kick in, the only way around it is to wipe the slate clean. Go and make a hot beverage, reconvene with yourself and remember that you’re writing for web. Your audience won’t be expecting total authority. In fact, they really don’t want to be patronised in any way shape or form, so when this kind of earnest and clunky text starts to appear before your very eyes, it’s time to take a step back from the word processor and envisage your audience demographic and how to write in a way that they’ll find appealing. But also don’t sound like you’re unhinged.
So often, however, things can start to swing in the opposite direction. In looking to reverse the formal Bad Journalist style you might sometimes slip into, you might find yourself writing as though you envisage your readers are all teenagers who expect swearing, pop culture references and an over-reliance on web slang. Both bad habits start when you forget that a web readership is made up of a ton of different character types – of all ages, creeds and classes. If you write specifically for one, you risk alienating another, so keep your strokes broad and ensure that nobody will feel left out.
Naming sources
A constant source of neuroses for the writer can be the worry of whether or not your second hand information has been justly referenced back to the originator. This isn’t a dissertation and you don’t really want to be sticking footnotes and addendums in your piece when you eventually reach the end, so it’s important to make the most of your hyperlinks. Like a gift from the gods, they’re there to be used to the maximum, making your life easier and making your readers web experience a far more engaging one. So long as you hyperlink back to your sources, nobody’s going to mind if you didn’t come up with the info yourself. Your readers and even the people who originally created the work you reference will be glad of the link, and you’ll have added value simply by dint of revealing your sources.
Do I use web-slang?
This is trickier than it might seem. Though slang is frowned upon in traditional journalism and column-writing, on the web the rules have changed somewhat. Because we’re all using what is essentially a new technology, we’re constantly having to adopt newly created words as a matter of course. New software and applications are being found every day, and if we want to survive in the online environment we are forced to adapt. Also, as new cultures arise from the dust and out of nowhere, they can go global off the back of a viral buzz and forge new terms and phrases to enter common use before you’ve had chance to catch up.
If you asked ‘I can haz…?’ instead if ‘May I have…?’ online ten years ago, you might have drawn concerned emails from your readership, but now any web-savvy onlooker will instantly know what you’re talking about.
The wisest thing to do is to proceed with caution. Be arch when applying well-known web terminology, but don’t stuff every sentence with FTW and ROFL. It might start to look a little desperate.
Proofread, then proofread again. Even if you’re getting subbed
When writing for any medium, this is the golden rule. Even if your piece is going to fall into the hands of a trusted Editor, you can never read your article too many times. Even on the fourth or fifth read-through, you’ll find worthwhile tweaks and adjustments that can be made – so give your copy the benefit of at least two re-readings. Double that and you’re heading in the right direction. Simply sending off copy the second you hammer down that last full stop is the first step down the mountainside of disaster.
Constantly bone up on online copy
Even if you’ve got a massive readership, your stats are rising and there’s no end to the inspiration you’re finding for your articles, there’s still every reason to keep reading around your topic online. If you constantly expose yourself to similar and better writers in your field, you can only hope to improve your already sparkling prose.
So, stick a couple of dozen blogs on your chosen specialism into your Google reader and make sure that you set aside regular time-patches to catch up with other writers. You’ll not only see where (and if) you’re going wrong, but you’ll also grab ideas from the tricks and wordplay of others. After all, there’s no better way to learn the trade than to study the masters, your competitors, and the comments of your readers – so make sure it becomes a habit and you’ll end up among the best in the business.
This post was written by Liam Tucker of the excellent Watch With Mothers. Which is another great way to waste your day. – Want to write for the BaseKit Blog? – Drop us an email.
Picture from waihey on Flikr creative commons
28th
July 2010
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I quite often get asked by friends if I had to take a course to be a web designer and how I got into the industry. My background is quite similar to that of many web designers in that I never had any kind of formal education in design or indeed an art or technology related degree.
When I finished college I had no idea what I wanted to do career wise but knew that I wanted to go to University – so I took the best course that my A-Level grades would allow. I ended up studying Law at the University of Liverpool, although I never really enjoyed it, this is where I first discovered my love of the web and design. A friend of mine was studying Animation and showed me a few pieces of his work in Flash. Now being the geek that I am, I knew I just had to have a go for myself. After scouring the web for Flash tutorials, I discovered Photoshop tutorials. Flash quickly got put to one side and I became pretty much addicted to experimenting in everything from Photo manipulation techniques to creating web layouts. This then turned into reading up on User Interaction, Usability & Accessibility and learning to hand code HTML and CSS – when I should have been reading up on Criminal Evidence and admissibility. I finished my degree, but I knew that a career in Law wasn’t for me and that I wanted to be a web designer. I managed (after various jobs) to land a role in a small IT Team as a designer. After that everything thing else just seemed to fall into place.
I’m entirely self-taught when it comes to web design (like many others) and it just goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to have a formal education in design to get into the industry. With enough hard work and determination you can make it as a designer, even with no formal training.
Make sure you Enjoy It
As much as I love design, there are times when it can really get you down, whether it’s an overly picky client or you’re feeling particularly uninspired. My point is, make sure that your love of design is strong enough to see you get through these times. Like any career, if you don’t love what you do then you will never be the best that you can be.
Learn Photoshop
Photoshop is the tool you will use the most during your web design career, so it makes sense to fully understand it. Photoshop is so versatile that it can be picked up relatively quickly but takes a really long time to fully master. The best way to learn Photoshop is to follow as many tutorials as possible, but don’t just limit yourself to web layout tutorials – I’ve learned techniques from Photo Touch up tutorials that I’ve been able to use when designing web layouts.
The most important part of following tutorials is to understand the steps and the techniques used, for example if the tutorial is telling you to apply a certain layer style try to understand what that particular function does and why it was used. Pay attention to the steps involved, don’t just mindlessly follow the tutorial otherwise you’re not really learning anything.
Once you’re starting to get the hang of Photoshop, maybe instead of just following tutorials you can experiment and put your own twist on them. One of the best ways to get your head around Photoshop is to experiment with all the different tools to understand what they do and how they can be used together. You can find some great tutorials on www.psd.tutsplus.com/category/tutorials/ and www.good-tutorials.com
Get on Twitter
If you haven’t got a twitter account get one and get involved with the design community. I’d start off by following some of the more experienced designers and maybe even design studios. One of the great things about the design community is that everyone is willing to help each other out, if you’re having trouble or need help with something, send out a Tweet and you can guarantee that someone will get back to you with some advice.
The other great thing about following other designers on Twitter is that they regularly tweet links to articles on the latest technologies, design trends, best practices and tutorials.
Try following some of the designers on lists like these: http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/social-media/designers-on-twitter/
Swot up by Reading Web Design Articles & Books
Being a web designer is so much more than learning how to use Photoshop and making things look “nice”. There’s so much to consider when designing a website: Usability; Accessibility; Colour Theory; Grid Systems; Wireframing; User Experience and User Interaction to name but a few. Smashing Magazine is a great resource for all things web design and development. Another useful resource is Sitepoint which contains some really good articles on design principles and hand coding should you decide to learn to code.
Learn or at least be aware of HTML and CSS
With tools such as the Basekit Web Site Builder you don’t necessarily need to learn how to hand code HTML & CSS in order to create stunning websites, but another string in the bow and all that. A good understanding of HTML & CSS will not only give you a better insight into how websites are built, it will also help you in your designs as you will begin to realise what is and isn’t possible with HTML & CSS when coming up with design concepts.
Although the Basekit Web Site Builder is great for building new websites, if you want to work with clients who already have an existing website you would need to know HTML & CSS. By knowing how to hand code HTML and CSS you will open yourself up to a wider range of projects in the long run.
Stick with it
When you are first starting out, it is difficult – very difficult. There is so much to take in and learn that it is easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when you take a look at the portfolios of some of the more experienced designers. I wrote a post for BaseKit a few months ago, which is definitely worth a read if you are new to the web design industry – The Newbie Designer Confidence Killer.
Design and Build a Portfolio Site
Once you’ve learned the basics by following tutorials and reading articles, it’s time to put your new found skills to new use by building a portfolio site. Even though you may not have any commercial projects that you can showcase, you can always work on some personal projects that you can show off to potential clients. The Basekit Web Site Builder would be the perfect tool to build your first portfolio site!
This post was written by Lee Harding of Lee Harding Web Design – creating modern beautiful and usable websites. Want to write for the BaseKit Blog – get in touch!
Picture from Flickr user Helen Olney
27th
July 2010
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New BaseKit features! Elite BaseKit Developer Andy Whitehead takes us through our next upgrade…
This isn’t live yet – but is coming very soon!
Hi, I’m Andy Whitehead, one of the development team here at BaseKit, and I’m really excited to introduce you all to the upcoming functionality that will soon be rolling out in the BaseKit editor, CSS3 styling – including rotations, box and text shadows, skew and axis origin controls, background gradients and CSS scaling. As well as that, we’ve been listening to the many requests for various extra design controls, so we’ve also added the much sought after border / stroke control too.
Personally, I’ve been really excited about putting these controls together, as I’m really looking forward to seeing what people can come up with. I’m sure there will be horrible results, but at the same time, I know there will be a lot of really awesome ones too. I’m a real fan of using box shadows combined with slight rotations to give some really excellent looking designs, especially when used on images, and now, it’s ridiculously easy to do; and of course, they’re all fully cross browser compatible as you’d expect.
As far as I’m aware, no other web builder out there has these CSS3 design functions as of yet, and it’s great to be there at the forefront of cutting edge web development. I hope you enjoy using the tools as much as I enjoyed building them, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Like I said, they’ll be coming in the near future, but to whet your appetite, here’s a video of them in action
Enjoy!
