Open Discussion
Tag: design
These items have all been tagged with the tag "design", You can see other tags in the Tag CloudSo you're thinking about setting up shop on the $580,000,000 medium we all know as MySpace. Why? To reach a younger audience? To broaden awareness? Because everyone else is doing it? Regardless, it stands to reason that you're missing the most important marketing opportunity of our generation if you don't.
In developing a MySpace page for our client -- the NRDC -- I came across a few stumbling blocks. Here are their solutions:
Hey User Interface Designers:
Some Format Rules To Keep in Mind
In order to utilize the Friends and
Comments functionality of a MySpace Profile you can not
use a complete div overlay layout. Since MySpace
profiles are a serious of tables embedded in tables embedded in tables embedded
in tables(you get the point). You need to identify the table that
contains the Friends section and insert a break that allows you style
everything below that point. That way you can have your custom content
above it, and the MySpace Friends and Comments features
below it.
Safari
and IE 7, Oh My
To avoid cross-browser compatibility
issues, start with a very clean div overlay layout (either taken from an
existing MySpace page whose design you like, or from one
of the online generators). Be sure that you have properly coded a clean
canvas that looks consistent across all browsers. You can be sure that if
it's not clean and consistent from the start, then it certainly won't be once
you enter all your flashy custom content. One un-customizable aspect of MySpace profiles is the left padding/indentation that both the
" Username's Friends Comments" and "Username's Friend
Space" text have. When these two sections are placed on top of one
another, you will see that the two text fields do not indent the same amount of
pixels.
To work around this issue you can cover the "Username's Friend Space"
text with your custom content overlay on the top. You can then insert that
exact text (or your own custom text replacement) at the footer of your top
content overlay, and the indentation will then be identical and the transition
from your custom content area to the MySpace
Friend/Comment area will be seamless.
Which Profile Boxes To Store Your
HTML/CSS
There is some flexibility provided to
developers in terms of where they place their code within the MySpace
profile, but not much. In terms of a best practice for maintaining
organization, it's best to limit your code to only 2 input fields within the
profile editor. The 'About Me' and the 'I'd Like To Meet' input fields
(note that these fields are different on MySpace Band
Profiles). In the 'About Me' you want to declare all the CSS you will be
using between <style type="text/css"> and </style> tags.
All your custom content is going to be placed in the 'I'd Like To Meet' input
field. It's best to place all your custom content within a div like
<div class="custom_content"> </div>. This way when
you are done with your custom content you can cap it off with the code you'll
need to break out your Friends section. That code is:
<div class="break">
<div class="friends">
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<style>
This code will allow you to bump your Friends/Comments section below all your
custom content with a margin-top declaration that is appropriate based on how
much height your custom content occupies.
I adore tag clouds. They’re attractive, informative — a perfect melding of form and function. More clicks equals a bigger tag. Bigger tag equals hope ... answers ... wonder. Such a simple feature, but the brilliant mind who came up with it just TRANSFORMED the mundane list into something genuinely organic and revealing. They’re like…. the Zen garden for the web master’s soul. You plant the tags, the user click click clicks away (or you add, add, add content) and the tags just grow. (Users equal sunshine in this scenario.)Tags for me tell me more about a site than a short description will. The intro to the site may be: "Buy our stuff, we're awesome." But their tag cloud might tell me that their product blows because everyone clicks on "Error." Sigh...it's kind of like wearing your heart on your sleeve, except with style... Anyway, back to the Zen metaphor...They shouldn’t be called “clouds,” they should be “gardens”—little happy gardens of meaning for a site. AH! it's too much. Stopping now! Start your own garden! Tags - a folksonomy component for joomla. (I've never tried it, but let me know how it goes... :D)
I used to avoid using pixel fonts altogether. I saw their function — pixel fonts load almost instantly and claim increased readability onscreen — but their jagged edges, caused by bitmaps, were fugly. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, they seemed too harsh to accompany anything other than techy postmodern design.
Recently, when asked to use a pixel font in a web gallery, I discovered some very stylish advancements. The super-pixel font maintains the same strict construction rules as the relular ’ol pixel font; each letter edge must align on the pixel to avoid blurring. The change? Refined 1/4 pixel edges add high definition clarity and sleekness that just didn't exist before in screen-based fonts. Now we can have our speed with style!
Fonts For Flash: I like my tequila 8 pt
“Fonts for Flash's super pixel fonts are made up of single pixels, but with an addition. Where they want to smooth the shape with a curve etc. they add an additional 1/4 pixel square (If you enlarged a super pixel font to 400% you'll see the 1/4 pixel as a whole pixel). The net result of that is that when rendered on a screen at the correct size the screen tries to colour the pixel accordingly, in the same way that normal fonts blur at a smaller size. FFF's super pixel fonts are just controlled blurring.” - Poab from Glasgow, Flashgroup forums
For another fresh look, peruse Orgdot, a media lab based in Oslo, Norway. “Orgdot is continuously running several self initiated research projects developing the summit and skills required for the effective realization of any project...” Including these fine specimens:
Create your own bitmap fonts with Font Lab's Bitfonter. Learn more about pixel fonts at WPDFD.
Neon is the 4th most abundant chemical element in the universe, although it only makes up about 0.0018% of the Earth's atmosphere. It is obtained through liquification and distillation of air.
The concept of barometric light was first investigated in 1675 when Jean Picard observed a light inside of a mercury barometer tube caused by static electricity after it was shaken. Using chemicals to create light was further investigated by German glassblower Heinrich Geissler in 1885. Geissler applied low voltages of electricity to glass tubes filled gas which eventually led to invention of vapor lamps. Finally, illumination of neon was discovered in 1902 by French chemist Georges Claude, who encapsulated the gas in glass and applied an electrical charge to create a lovely red glow.
From Diners, People and Places by Gerd Kittel
Jellyfish by Eric Ehlenberger
Since its discovery, neon has been used as a way to grab attention and make statements. It's use ranges from a utilitarian form of advertising (coffee shops, diners, bars) to fine art. Artists such as Peter Freeman, Lili Lakich, Pacifico Palumbo have shown their neon art in galleries worldwide.
Here in the City of Angels, we even have a museum dedicated to this gorgeous gas; Museum of Neon Art. Although MONA is closed for relocation, driving around the city (or anywhere for that matter) at night is a great way to take in a huge variety of neon eye candy!
Hollyridge Gem
Walking around Los Angeles it is hard to imagine what the city would look like without the influence of Modernism. Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler, Richard & Dion Neutra, Charles & Ray Eames (among many, many others) redefined the home by designing living spaces that were both natural and architectural. L.A. modernism was shaped by an influx in population post-world war 2. The style spread through the Hollywood Hills , Silverlake, Echo Park & Los Feliz, dotting the rolling landscape with straight planes of concrete, wood and glass. These functional living spaces rejected the old sense of home and replaced it with open-air bohemian living.
In the hills, artful detail is everywhere: teal blue homes flanked by red pointsettia trees, 3 story wonders on stilts jutting into the canyon, millions of plants, trees, flowers. The architectural landscape is inspiring. I think I'll stay a while...
P.S. Crave more info?
Check these links:
Useful + Agreeable
Wiki tells you about Mid-Century Modernism
Or these books:
Bohemian Modern
Bohemian Los Angeles
If in LA, you can even take a class:
The Mod Squad
