Pixelhaven Web Design | A Cincinnati Web Design Company » Web Design

Now Available: The Better Blogger WordPress Theme

Josh Harbaugh — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:54:13 +0000

I have just released my first WordPress theme on the website ThemeForest. It’s very exciting and I hope it helps out a lot of people with the creation of their websites. The theme is called The Better Blogger, and it essentially a ready-made online magazine styled blogging theme. Very convenient if you plan on offering lots of articles. The theme has the ability to show you the most recent category’s posts on the homepage with very versatile archive pages for further browsing.

I’ve even added the ability to update your RSS and email subscription options using FeedBurner. You can check out more details at the ThemeForest website or by going to www.thebetterblogger.com

Understanding Progressive Enhancement (A List Apart)

Josh Harbaugh — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:30:17 +0000

Steven Champeon turned web development upside down, and created an instant best practice of standards-based design, when he introduced the notion of designing for content and experience instead of browsers. In part one of a series, ALA’s Gustafson refreshes us on the principles of progressive enhancement. Upcoming installments will translate the philosophy into sophisticated, future-focused design and code.

News: Test-Driven Progressive Enhancement

Josh Harbaugh — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:39:29 +0000

Starting with semantic HTML, and layering enhancements using JavaScript and CSS, is supposed to create good experiences for all. Alas, enhancements still find their way to aging browsers and under-featured mobile devices that don't parse them properly. What's a developer to do? Scott Jehl makes the case for capabilities testing.

Continue reading →

News: Web Standards 2008: Three Circles of Hell

Josh Harbaugh — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:35:19 +0000

Q. Why did the semantic web cross the road?
A. @#$% you.

Standards promised to keep the web from fragmenting. But as the web standards movement advances in several directions at once, and as communication between those seeking to advance the web grows fractious, are our standards losing their relevance, and their ability to foster an accessible, interoperable web for all?

Designers Who Skip Photoshop

Josh Harbaugh — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:00:54 +0000

A recent article by 37Signals about this very topic entitled, “Why we skip Photoshop”, got me thinking. Is it really a viable option as a designer to skip the Photoshop composition process?

When designing a UI we usually go right from a quick paper sketch to HTML/CSS. We skip the static Photoshop mockup.— 37Signals

Obviously, most designers — web or otherwise — would argue that the best tools in a designer’s arsenal are pen & paper. Trusty old school standards. It’s much quicker to jot down an idea down on paper really quick. You can spew out several “quick” thumbnail sketches in the time it might take to open Photoshop. If that’s the case, you should probably do some computer maintenance, but that’s another article altogether.

Although 37Signals puts forth several good points I believe it’s a matter of having a different perspective on the process. 37Signals doesn’t design their applications for clients. Their clients are their customers, but the company being designed for is themselves. This means that, although they’re selling their products to others, they are the main “Client” that the application is being designed around. Unfortunately, real web design clients need to “see” what things are going to look like when getting a site done for them. You can give them a working mechanical, but it’s really not wise to do this until you’ve got all the details worked out about what the site is going to look like. They’re hiring a designer afterall, and they really want to see the design before moving on to the next stage. That’s not to say that the design stage is the first stage. Far from it, but it’s definitely a stage that will be early in the overall process.

Another point of contention with this idea of “skipping Photoshop” lies in the fact that, for a company like 37Signals, they’ve already got an established visual style to work around. They don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time. They are, afterall, not serving clients. 37Signals relies heavily on usability, because they’re making usable web applications for people, but that doesn’t really mean that it has to be overly embellished. They can skip the Photoshop stage, because the style of the application is intentionally very simple.

Conclusion

So, the question still remains: Can you skip Photoshop in the creation of websites? Yes and No. If you’re creating your own applications in-house and have a defined style (that is generally quite simple) to work from already. However, if you’re a web designer working for a client, then you really need to consider Photoshop as an essential tool in the process, because your clients are going to want to see something before they sign off on letting you spend hours coding up a design. Should you put off the Photoshop stage for as long as you can? Yes. Get a clear understanding of the overall communication message and functionality of the desired website before even considering opening Photoshop for the first time. Rock may beat Paper, but Paper beats Photoshop everytime.