Another great book I’ve started reading is “The Modern Web” by Peter Gasston. It differs somewhat from other web dev books as it acts as a kind of  reference to modern principles and techniques for multi-device web design. You won’t find any “build a website” tutorials in here but you will find great modern HTML5, CSS3 & Javascript “how-to’s” for responsive images, columns, grid layouts and media queries.
Some screens of possible mockups below. I tend to use Flash for quick & dirty designs as I’m quicker & more accustomed to working in Flash. Flash files are also A LOT smaller than Photoshop. I’ve kept borders around sections in the mockups as it helps me identify div containers.
Some design rationale here that I’ve had kicking around in my head for ages but haven’t actually put down on paper. A certain amount of these qualities need to be carried over from the original design – the logo and colour scheme, for example, has long been approved, used & needs to be kept “as is”. I do, however, want to bring it a bit more up-to -date.
Today I found another interesting site that echoes my feelings on directory structure. I like to keep things organised & this structure also apparently reduces load times. 🙂
Great example of responsive design here – resize your browser window to see some clever design arrangements.
Visit www.pexcil.com
We were discussing Ash Maurya’s “Lean Canvas” in class today. Very interesting stuff but I’m not sure that good products necessarily always come from the desire to “solve a problem”. Innovative products could come from inventive ideas, good execution, or clever design – there is also the argument that people may not acknowledge there was even a problem until you provide them with an elegant solution. So, for me, coming up with a “problem” and a “solution” to this problem, felt a little difficult, even though I know exactly what product I want to design.
So, time to introduce the website that I will be designing for the IDM18 Web Development module.
Approximately 18 months ago I designed an identity and website for London based shack & cabin builders, Shackadelic. Whilst the site worked well for Shackadelic, it wasn’t responsive. Over the last 18 months, however, I have come to realise just how important responsive design is. I also feel that the site needs a bit of a refresh and could be cleaner from a design perspective.
