I’ve written this post to express my views after reading this article by Mark Boulton about signage, particularly in airports.

Don’t screw with conventions

I do have issues about signage as do most of us. Many public buildings could do a much better job when it comes to sign design. Hospitals are often guilty of bad signage. I had an appointment at a large hospital recently and it took me 15 minutes to find the department I had to be at, in most part thanks to to the poor signage. I also have a large amount of disdain for the planners of an airport in which I had a particularly stressful experience *cough Gatwick… as it was someones bright idea to make the signage for the departure gates to have less prominence than that of the duty free gift shops around it. Needless to say I spent precious pre-flight moments meandering about the out of town shopping centre that is the terminal lounge at Gatwick. Read the rest of this entry »

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I spent a bit of time looking into recreating writing on a blackboard in Photoshop. I looked through some font libraries and brush collections which I could use to create the effect I was after. Then I realized I could create the effect myself myself using invert. This is a tutorial about how to create a fantastic chalk on blackboard texture for use on a logo or font. This is what I came out with using the technique.

Read the rest of this entry »

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When I code HTML and CSS, I make a habit of not using spaces unless I have to. That’s why I ran into problems with background images in IE7 and older versions. If your like me, this will be a huge pitfall and you’ll be tearing your hair out unless you know about it.

Simply, if you want to declare a repeating image, for example, repeat-x or no-repeat, you need to make sure there is a space before it.

This WILL NOT work in IE
div#examplediv{
background:url(bgimage.png)no-repeat;
}

This WILL work in IE
div#examplediv{
background:url(bgimage.png) no-repeat;
}

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I love these guys work, pure creativity. I love their book and magazine prints especially.

aRILLO

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This is the portfolio site of Scottish graphic designer Greig Anderson. It runs on Indexhibit which is a very popular CMS among graphic designers and photographers. I’ve seen a lot of these Indexhibit portfolios but this one is definately one of the better ones.

The typography used for the headings, the colour pallette and the dotted background really work in creating cohesion between the site itself and his print and packaging work being showcased. I really like Helvetica when used well, and he pulls it off brilliantly.

His print and packaging work is what it’s all about though. His CV poster is stunning and I love those cassette badges too.

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No, the exclamation mark is not due to a mild form of hysteria or anything, I am actually happy and relieved to have finished my portfolio site as I have to say, the hardest and fussiest web design client I’ve ever worked for is myself. I’ve spent long hours coming up with different design styles and concepts, many very complex and graphically intensive. It’s slightly ironic that I’ve settled for a very simple and restrained design, but I think this approach places the focus on the content more than the site itself, which is a definate plus for a portfolio site.

Now I’ve got the means to do so, I’m going to start writing some articles about web design. I’ve learnt a thing or two about the practice of web design over the last year or so, and much of it is thanks to designers like Chris Coyier, Adii, Darren Hoyt, and Elliot Jay Stocks.

So it’s only fair that I share some of my knowledge, hopefully to help out people who are in the position I was about a year ago. I’ll be writing about the pitfalls of CSS, Internet Explorer (you could write a thesis on that), Wordpress, and a bunch of other things that might take your interest.

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