testing fb feed

I’ve learned a lot this past week (mostly during the all-nighter I had with my fellow admin on Saturday to be accurate) about creating templates for WordPress. It is not as daunting as I originally thought, but it definitely takes an eye for detail and lots. of. coffee.

Facebook is more frustrating, partly because they are brand aware enough to limit how much customization they allow. I can’t be upset about that though as I respect these boundaries and very much agree with their strategy (which in a nutshell I believe is to slowly take over the world and then find a way to suddenly charge everyone for it). After all, the fb phenomenon has lasted much longer than the myspace buzz. Why? Because myspace was the gateway drug and fb is the intervention-worthy ensuing addiction. I think deep down myspace incited those social networking endorphins but there was too much freedom, too much variety. That gets old because people in general do not have fine tuned design sensibilities so most of the pages were overloaded with nonsense. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but structure is the mother of true creativity.

Sooner than later I will be creating a new homepage for PJs as well as a fb fan page. Keep an eye out.

xo,
admin

So apparently the mobile world has no standards. None that make my life any easier in terms of designing e-mails at least. Found this page which shed some light on what different BBs are capable of rendering. Also found this test e-mail from that post which is most helpful.

If you are looking to test your site and see what its mobile-readiness is try dotMobi’s page check. They also provide emulators and free templates and hosting for mobile friendly sites. The BlackBerry site also has a simulator package for developers that I am downloading as I write. I can give you an update and let you know if it is worth it.

Also worth noting, google has a site where you can see your page adapted for mobile devices.

Some common problems I’ve come across so far and how to avoid them:

Problem: Images, tables, etc. don’t render correctly
My solution: Eliminate them in your “mobile version.” My test mobi site used xhtml, divs and a linked stylesheet. Do the same.

Problem: Links show up as plain text.
My solution: Make your links explicit. BBs are all about being down and dirty, not cute. So don’t “click here” write it out “www.google.com” instead.

Problem: Your multipart MIME e-mail is being ignored by mobile devices, who beyond all comprehension, create their own plain text version from your HTML.
My solution: Cry, have a beer, and then stop trying to make things that should work actually work. How long have you been in this industry anyway?? Let me save you some heartache: nothing works as it should, everything takes twice as long as you plan and nobody likes you unless they need something from you. Stop being a baby and make your HTML mobile friendly. Or provide a click here to see the mobile version link with a mobile friendly site. TA-DA.

If you have any other problems feel free to comment, I will answer what I can.

xo,

admin

InDesign master pages do not like tables. I tried creating a table that would house a publication’s name in one cell and the page number in the next cell but InDesign would NOT let me size the cell with the automatic text correctly. I finally gave up when it was corroborated by a good 10+ designers who agreed: InDesign hates tables on masters. In the process of trying to get it to work I learned a keyboard shortcut though - hitting ESC while in a cell will alternately highlight the text within it and the entire cell. BOOYAH.

I’m working on a project right now that has the most ridiculous list of criteria ever. It has to simultaneously be: A4 & Ltr size; formatted for screen, office printing and professional printing; have even margins with or without a bleed (which is actually physically impossible lol); and cook you breakfast. I’ve got everything down except the b@stard keeps burning my waffles.

A friend sent me this link that I thought you’d appreciate: http://colorschemedesigner.com/

screenshot of colorscheme designer

It is absolutely delicious, especially the monocolor schemes. I wish I had found this before I decorated my apartment!!

Another resource I think you will love is http://www.sxc.hu/ they have the best free stock photos I have ever seen on the web. Hope that helps!!

I’ve had some family come over for Valentine’s Day, and it was the best weekend I’ve had ever! If you ever have time, visit the Museum of Sex, it was actually quite interesting.

Other than that, nothing new except that things have been quite slow because of the economy. Job markets have been frozen, but I say don’t give up.

I’ve been very much into photography lately. Hopefully I’ll have a few links up from some photographer friends of mine. In the meantime, there’s a great site that features NY Panorama shots, and I have been learning how to work on them myself. It’s really awesome.

http://newyorkpanorama.com

Apparently, it’s a very grueling process to learn and it requires a lot of camera equipment. I love the panoramas I’ve taken of some sites in Japan. One day I’ll host the link up for those photos. In the meantime, enjoy this photographer’s work and pay attention to his process. I guess my main concern is how to merge the photos together, but there’s a program for that. Enjoy.

Why? Why do people insist that it’s ok to use Powerpoint as a template to create quilted bedsheets?

I.can’t.compute.

In the position that I am currently resigning from, I’ve had to work with the sales department in creating powerpoint templates for their presentations. I’ve never seen such a team work so hard to defeat the company logo. Never.

In any case, I have learned to love working with Powerpoint, because you can easily make a hot template, as long as it remains a presentation. I’m enjoying the new projects that I have taken up thus far, because it gives me a chance to work with web development.

In other news, I’ve finally completed my website via flash. Will someday, when I get my sanity back, work on the HTML version. Check out the linkage: http://www.agdesignsite.com

I haven’t been to the Whitney Biennial in a while…and I’m not alone. Last time I went I was so disappointed that most of what I saw was just recycled Chelsea leftovers so I just never went back. Now there is actually an alternative to be excited about! but wait, there's more…

Ok, so a fellow admin and myself added this other template to the blog that looked hot in preview but not in practice…and then to add insult to injury the friggin thing locked me out. SO I’M TAKING BACK CONTROL. Screw you template-that-shall-not-be-named. (Please forgive me other admin, i know you worked hard on finding where to put the icons but I just couldn’t take it anymore!!!) LOL

We are working hard on this end of things to get everything up and running smoothly and as soon as that is accomplished we will have more interesting things to say.

Promise!

Usually I go on tirades about how much I hate Illustrator, but not today! Today we love Illustrator because of its (relatively) new (relatively) seamless integration with Flash.

I’m working on creating some Flash templates and the only thing I dislike more than working in Illustrator is working in the Flash environment. I think it’s because I don’t like that features I heart in Photoshop and InDesign are glaringly absent in those two programs (I will personally thank the Adobe designer who adds Vanishing Point to Illustrator. Seriously. I might even take them out to dinner.) But all that aside, it is still infinitely easier to lay something out in Illustrator and then bring it into Flash for animation.

I’d create a tutorial but a really wonderful one already exists here:

http://mrroggers.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/exporting-illustrator-layouts-to-flash/