Yahoo UI, Blueprint, Tripoli, YAML the list of CSS frameworks keeps growing and they’ll probably be more coming out of the woodworks, which makes me think about what happens to all these little psd to xhtml services out there. I think they’re will always still be a need for them, but I’m starting to think that the more frameworks come out, it will just be a matter of picking which one to use instead of building your templates from scratch. You’ll clearly still have a strong fundamental knowledge of how CSS works but it’s interesting to see how this process will be changing.
This is some work I did for Ourscene a musically oriented social network based in Miami. Ourscene’s focus is connecting bands with fans. I also designed their logo as well. I believe the user interface was modified from the original designs I did, I’m really looking forward to seeing this site launch.
I just now realized that as of a couple of months ago I have been using Gmail for 3 years and when I think of how it’s changed the way I think, organize and write emails it’s pretty impressive. When Gmail first came out there was alot of excitement around the amount of storage Google was offering, we all went from 10mb of storage in our hotmail accounts to over 2GB, but it’s now clear to us now that what makes Gmail so special is really how it changes the way you use email. I don’t want to write about all the features Gmail has and how to use them, I’m simply riffing on the fact that Google has really changed the game radically and we might tend to forget that sometimes.
Blueprint has me thinking about CSS frameworks and why there aren’t more out there floating around. I suppose there could be alot of reasons for this, positioning in CSS has a few options and everyone seems to have their opinions. Some people think all layouts should be fluid, some don’t, I believe it depends on the site you’re building and how you generally feel about the audience viewing your site. I’m going to be digging through Blueprint this week, I have the feeling that the code is going to be pretty tight so we’ll see, maybe this could spark a new trend.
Finding the design you’re happy with can sometimes be a struggle. You sit down at your desk, grab a pen and start sketching or you jump into Photoshop and start playing with colors and type a few hours later you’re getting something close to what you think you’re happy with, the following day you sit down at your desk, you look at what you’ve done and you can’t stand to look at it, so you start the process again, again and again, getting stuck in a vicious cycle.
Design flip flopping most often happens when you’re working on something personal, for some reason you don’t have a problem working on creative for clients, but when it comes to designing for yourself you just can’t seem to nail down a design that you’re happy with. This most likely occurs from a lack of constraints or direction. Here are some tips on finding direction with your design, which will hopefully help you stick to a design you’re going to be able to live with after the day is done.
Stick to your sketches.
This is a pretty basic rule in planning out a design, but I bet you’d be surprised how many designers don’t use sketches, myself included. I think we often tend to think that sketching is just an added step that isn’t needed and something that will add time to a project that is already on a tight deadline. If you can discipline yourself to stick to a sketch from the beginning you’re going to find guidance when you obey the columns.
Never design without a color palette.
Finding a color palette is part of creating constraints for yourself. Shooting from the hip when it comes to colors can be a dangerous thing that often leads to inconsistency with colors. Consistent color within a desing really provides a subtle sense of assurance that everything you’re going to read or see has a sense of purpose.
Pick 2 typefaces and stick to them.
Pick a typeface you want to use for your HTML text and a typeface that you can use for headers through sIFR or image replacement. If you’re working on an identity/logo one more typeface is allowed.
Grids, columns or whatever you want to call them.
Designing with grids is important because we simply don’t have the innate ability to place blocks of content in a consistent rhythm or fashion. There has been alot of talk and discusion regarding grids in web design lately and for good reason, grids were something that really talked about much and now people are starting to see the advantages of using grid systems within their designs.
I believe finding a design you’re happy with is really all about creating constraints for yourself, you’ll just be chasing your tail forever if you don’t.