The Power of CSS & Design

I love this one form "50 designers x 3 questions"; 
"Often when clients say they want something new and fresh and different, they don’t. The reality of “new and fresh and different” can be very frightening to the average business person."
I know exactly how this is.  There is a huge gap between designers/artists and common people.  Often times designers/artists forget about it and make very creative one for what clients call "something new".  An artist get very socked when the client likes normal things after all.  Compromising designer's creativity and belief to what customers like would be very frustrating.  


“Someone should have told me that I can’t switch off. I know it sounds trite, but being a designer is *who I am*, not *what I do*. Two completely different things.”
I think it is a great thing that one's job becomes who the person is.  Especially for artists/designers, I believe it should be the case.  It is not only because one cannot switch off, but also because one's artwork is a part of the person when it truly comes from the person's heart.  


Well, I got positive idea about being a web designer.

Positioning in HTML

Div positioning was the most confusing thing for me.  Thanks to the link and last week's class, I've been getting better understanding of div positioning.

Week Three: Combining Type Faces Effectively & Using Effective Web Design

It sounds like Vitaly Friedman is a logical person.  He likes a simple design that is easy to follow and easy to understand.  He also like foal points that tell you what the site is about.  He does not put any focus on the beauty of sites. But when I think about myself using websites, it is true that I am only looking for information I need.  I don't spend any time for confusing websites.  I don't also like crowded websites.  So, Friedman is right about the simple, clean website that tells you what you need.  I by myself do care about visual interest.  Understanding the basics of a good design, such as how to make focal points, chose colors, use negative spaces, create eye movement, etc., would differently help you make an easy to use website.  A good design creates a good eye movement for readers.  Knowing typography and being language wise would be also positive to give the reader what needs to be told.

Week Two: Finding Resources

Week Two: Finding Resources

Professor Faulk has already given us many good links.  I don't know too many other good ones, but here are some.


Background Labs: http://www.backgroundlabs.com/
free backgrounds & patterns


w3schools: http://www.w3schools.com/
It offers free tutorials in all web development technologies.


Vandelay Design25 Beautifully Colorful Websites: http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/colorful-websites/


Speckyboy: http://speckyboy.com/
A Design magazine website 


Collor Jack: http://www.colorjack.com/sphere/
Another color site.


Design Spange: http://www.designsponge.com/
A design blog run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney.


Print: http://www.printmag.com
A bimonthly magazine about visual culture and design.


Communication Arts: http://www.commarts.com/
Another magazine site.  They have many good designers.

Week One: One Page Websites

These are one page websites I liked.


Muziekpark: http://www.muziekpark.nl/#/

• Design choices, such as limited colors, the use fo negative space, and the right amount of playfulness, make the site easy to read and follow.
• It is very easy to fined pages and to move a page to the next because of the location of buttons and the simplicity of the site design.
• The transition to the next pages is also smooth. 
• It is very easy to read since the amount of information in a page is not too much.

Under the Sea: http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=/213/213.css&page=0

• It has an impact.  The images may take over the content itself, but I enjoy the design.  
• The color choice matchs with the images.  Even though there are many colors, the whole design has unity because the all colors are muted with the same brownish color.
• It has both scientific and artistic qualities, and I, personally, like the duality in the design.

Icicle Outback: http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=200/200.css

• The monochromatic color scheme, the transparentness, and subtle organic shapes make the image very poetic and beautiful.
• Unlike some sites that show off technical things taking over the content itself, this site has a beautiful design, yet the design doesn't overwhelm the content.   

Zen City Morning: http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=177/177.css

• It is a contemporary design yet has warmth from the colors.  The complementary colors are well used without being too strong to the eyes.  
• I like the clouds that stay in position while moving the content.
• The balance between the complicated shapes and the cleanness makes the design interesting.

Melissa Mime: http://melissahie.com/

• It has an interesting transition.  

F Clair Baxter: http://vanityclaire.com/

• The color combination is good, and the changes of colors from a page to a page are not distractive regardless of the clear changes. 
• Each design is simple, but the asymmetrical composition makes the page interesting.  The simpleness also makes the site clean and easy to read.

Lily Pond: http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=201/201.css

• Though it looks a little bit too crowded, the use of analogous color combination and the clear division of columns make the site still accessible.  
• It may be good for a poster design.

45RPM: http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=182/182.css

• It has a good color combination.  
• It has a cute design with the ribbon on the left, but it doesn't take over the content because it is clean and easy to follow.
• I guess, it has a good balance between an interesting design and readability.

Retro Theater:http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=202/202.css

• I like the idea of it even though I works for only specific kind of sites.