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Where should I look for inspiration? - December 4th, 2008
There are thousands of top web developers out there who can code any design into a template. This is good.
Ok, so what’s the point?
The other side. They can’t develop, but not design. Many, many developers have this problem. When asked to design a new website, they, just can’t get it right.
That’s why I’ve written today’s post. Here are some tips for inspiration.
- Move away from the computer screen and look around you
By reflecting on items around even a little, you will start to gather more and more ideas without knowing it. - Look at nature!
From trees, to rivers, to mountains, landscape, forests, planets, rock, boats, et. - Look at newspapers and magazines
There is much to be seen here. - Look out in the night
This will give you inspiration with dark colours
These are just a few points which will give you immense inspiration. Trust me, I’ve been there. I do a lot of designing and when designing from a blank canvas, things can get difficult.
Not only this, but by looking for original inspiration, you will come up with original designs! What more needs to be said? Go an inspire yourself!
Ahmed Bhula
SEO Web Developer
CSS Master Files - November 18th, 2008
Whenever you start playing seriously with CSS you will notice that there are a lot of differences in the way pages render in different browsers. One of the more useful tips that was given to me when I was starting out is to use a master CSS file that resets default properties so all browsers have the same starting point. You can then use another CSS file to make it look pretty. These master CSS files can be found online all over the Internet.
But the problem with this approach is that these ‘master’ CSS files are often huge behemoths that systematically go through every possible element and make them all exactly the same.. It works but can be seen as using a sledge hammer to hang a picture. Perhaps a more appropriate approach is to use a cut down version that only goes through the elements used on the page. Every time you add a new type of HTML element, you add in the relevant CSS into your master CSS file that resets the padding, margin, colours, font weight etc of that element.
So, in general, master CSS files are a great idea, but can mean there is a lot of redundant and unused code. Just make sure you go through the file after you’re done to remove any unneeded CSS elements.