http://peytoncrump.com en peytoncrump@gmail.com Copyright 2008 2008-03-18T01:02:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/new_viget_site_and_blog_strategy_paying_off/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/new_viget_site_and_blog_strategy_paying_off/#When:01:02:00Z The Viget team launched our new corporate site and blogging strategy nearly two weeks ago now, and the hard work seems to be paying off. The community is engaging us, stats are showing increased and sustained traffic, and the design is getting good reactions from other designers, colleagues, and clients. The gist is that we decided to harness our creativity a bit more, demonstrate stronger expertise, and expand our blog presence/focus by creating individual blogs for our strategy, marketing, design, and development labs. As always, it’s hard to find/make the time to work internally on projects (even when it’s as important as your corporate site), but it sure feels rewarding and pays off when you do. Here are a few screen shots: Creativity, Marketing, Trends 2008-03-18T01:02:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/teen_artist_shaina_crump/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/teen_artist_shaina_crump/#When:12:23:00Z So today’s a big day. My youngest sister, Shaina, turns 13. I have to say she’s amazing in so many ways. Kind-hearted and genuine are a couple that come to mind. Shaina also has a passion for art and even design to some extent. She has always loved drawing and I have seen flares for fashion, interior design, and photography along the way too. So, I simply wanted to wish her a great day and to share one of her many talents via a few of her sketches. She’s been down on her drawing skills the past year or so, but as you can see, she’s talented. Here are three sketches that I snagged from her sketch book over a year ago. Happy birthday Shaina! Creativity 2008-03-06T12:23:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/a_tip_for_cleaner_resizing_in_photoshop/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/a_tip_for_cleaner_resizing_in_photoshop/#When:23:20:00Z I’ve always overlooked it for some reason. When resizing images in Photoshop, notice the ‘Resample Image’ select menu at the bottom of the ‘Image Size’ window. There are several settings here to experiment with, but most recently, I’ve found the ‘Bicubic Sharper’ setting to be especially useful when creating icons or trying to get edges within favicons to look sharper. Tools and Tips 2008-03-04T23:20:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/a_term_for_inducing_illness_usability_style/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/a_term_for_inducing_illness_usability_style/#When:23:27:00Z We have a gut feeling for it as designers. It may even scare us away from making a needed change, because we know one simple rework can lead to the need for many others. IATROGENIC, while not officially a usability term, is an adjective which designates a problem as being fixer-induced. In other words, a solution to one problem has created a new and likely even larger problem somewhere else. Always be aware of this annoyance when designing user experiences, and protect against it by testing and evaluating even the smallest interface changes. Usability and UX 2008-03-03T23:27:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/celebrating_wooden/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/celebrating_wooden/#When:06:18:00Z Wouldn’t you know it? I’ve injected some wood grain goodness into my redesign. I’ll soon get enough of the wood grains, really. It was quick and fun (and is a work in progress), but in the meantime here’s a look at the man, the sites, the photos, and yes, the debut song (thanks Jayson) that I smiled about as I went wooden. Come on, fill your screen with pine like mine ... 1024x768, 1440x852, 1680x1050. Creativity, Tools and Tips, Trends 2008-02-05T06:18:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/20_web_design_books_for_2008/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/20_web_design_books_for_2008/#When:12:20:00Z I poured through some of the Amazon listings for 2008 pre-orders to see what web design books might be coming our way, and here’s a list of some to keep an eye out for. They range from beginner to advanced, theory to software, Nielsen to Budd. Designing the Moment: Web Interface Design Concepts in Action Subject To Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World: Adaptive Path on Design Eyetracking Web Usability Designing Social Web Applications Getting the Perfect Website Web Design and Information Architecture Bible Next Generation Wireless Applications: Creating Mobile Applications in a Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 World Professional CSS: Cascading Style Sheets for Web Design Creating Video for the Web: Podcasts, Ads, and More Web Accessibility: A Foundation for Research (Human-Computer Interaction Series) Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics Practical Prototype and Script.aculo.us The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP Mastering CSS with Dreamweaver CS3 Professional Web Design Techniques and Templates CSS & XHTML Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day Google Apps: The Missing Manual Adobe CS3 Web Workflows: Building Websites with Adobe Creative Suite 3 AJAX: A Beginner’s Guide Winning Results with Google AdWords, Second Edition Compiling, Accessibility, Creativity, CSS, IA, JS, Marketing, Process, Standards, Tools and Tips, Trends, Usability and UX 2008-01-22T12:20:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/making_the_cosmos_accessible/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/making_the_cosmos_accessible/#When:04:23:01Z Here’s a perfect example of how accessibility matters and should demand our attention when designing and presenting information.  “Images from NASA telescopes are jewels of the space program, marvelous to behold. But how do you behold them when you can’t see?” NASA funded the recently released Touch the Invisible Sky: Exploring the Cosmos in Braille, a book which uses Braille, large type print, and tactile diagrams of celestial images observed by space telescopes Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer to reveal the cosmos to the blind and seeing-impaired. I find this to be a inspirational and motivational story that reinforces our efforts in making information and experiences available (via the web in our case) to those with impairments. Correlating, Accessibility, Trends 2008-01-14T04:23:01-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/beauty_in_the_details/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/beauty_in_the_details/#When:02:11:01Z A lot is being said within the design community about Barack Obama’s site, which I agree is beautifully done. Many times there’s the instant wow that you get when you visit a well designed site. Then there’s the wow that you get when you explore things a bit more.  Someone has thought hard about the site, crafting it to be cleanly visual, intuitive, and informative. It’s a very small example, but check out the nice background image that loads behind the content. A sweet little collage that combines branding, mood, and creativity. Correlating, Branding, Creativity, Marketing 2008-01-11T02:11:01-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/guidelines_for_accessible_flash_ads/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/guidelines_for_accessible_flash_ads/#When:13:14:00Z The RNIB has shared some tips for making Flash ads accessible. These include providing text equivalents for animations and providing alternative non-Flash content, nothing new. On a wider scale though, it’s perhaps a visit or revisit to the resource links that are provided that serve as a good reminder: Adobe Accessibility Centre Best Practices for Accessible Flash Design Making Flash Accessible Multimedia Accessible Flash Creating Accessible Macromedia Flash Content Correlating, Accessibility, Flash, Standards 2008-01-08T13:14:00-05:00 http://peytoncrump.com/blog/creative_over_thinking/ http://peytoncrump.com/blog/creative_over_thinking/#When:02:54:01Z I posted some thoughts recently on the Viget blog about creativity versus constraint and having improper measures for successful web designs. The article offers some ideas for staying properly oriented and suggests useful ways to prevent over-thinking. Among the suggestions are: Balance your desire for creativity with a desire for constraint and simplicity. Make achieving the client’s goals a priority over achieving your own personal aesthetic. Remember your users and audience and prioritize your design to meet their needs. Read more from the Viget blog » Constructing, Branding, Creativity, Marketing, Trends 2008-01-04T02:54:01-05:00