Blair Stover Designs

In the main context of web design, white space refers to the blank space between the different elements of the design. The area between the texts, images, links, paragraphs and footers, among others, are called “space arm.” White space is important in web design for many reasons, but in particular because it helps in defining sections of the website and its pages.

As you are designing a layout for a website, designers often forget the greatness of white space. They reduce the amount of information the user must filter to have the first contact with content. A website that uses these spaces will concisely look clean, organized and enjoyable to the viewer. Here are a few things you might want to know:

Positive space - The actual space between the placement of images and text can be highlighted using the negative space. This white space can also be used so you can create a type of sophisticated elegance for major brands.

Types of Blanks - There are two main types of blanks in web design. The blank space asset is space that is intentionally left out to improve the structure of a website. It is used to emphasize certain content. The blank liability is the space around the pages or blank areas that are automatically generated in the development of the layout.

One factor that provides a better reading and understanding of the website is to use spaces between lines of text. If the lines are too close together, reading becomes difficult. When lines are far apart between sentences or words, a sense of confusion concerning navigation is possible.

How do you use white space? Share with us here at Blair Stover Designs.

ActionScript (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Flash first came out, it was made possible thanks to its relatively revolutionary furor. The tool was to use a lot less complexity than its competitors. Its major advantage was to the point: Flash allowed the average computer user, without the need of a special talent, to create graphic web design and simple interactive elements. Since then, web designers have been debating the use of Flash throughout the years.

It did not take very long before Flash was used to generate complete websites. This trend was reinforced with dissemination of ActionScript. Flash saved people lot of development time while also simultaneously solved the animation problems that many webmasters had, stating that Flash was “light years” ahead of anyone else.

Interestingly, the place of Flash is not only on the Web – it is suitable for the production of complete websites. Flash will certainly always be in the web design uses for banners, greeting cards and games. However, Flash can be used in some other areas.

• First corporate communications – The first area is in corporate communications. Teams are composed mostly of Flash developers and there is a huge need for more Flash developers.
• Second mobile platforms – The second area is a very promising, but still somewhat turbulent area: mobile applications. Creating web content for the production of applications and the graphical, interactive elements for various mobile platforms is a powerful tool for designers and developers and would contribute to the booming mobile industry.

Flash designs are very useful on the web today and can be quite rewarding if you possess the talents. What do you think of Flash? Still useful or outdated? Share with us here at Blair Stover Designs.

Tutorial Photoshop – Lista dei migliori Tutorial di Fotoritocco, Fotomontaggio e Adobe Photoshop (Photo credit: Marco Crupi Visual Artist)

Photoshop is a flexible design pixel-based application. In general, it is used for things such as cropping and editing images with differing levels. Photoshop provides a good all-around solution to the various requirements of web designing, as we discuss below here on Blair Stover Designs.

The main advantage of Photoshop is that you can work accurately and precisely. With the latest imported tools of Photoshop concerning pixel grid technology and the significantly improved handling of vector shapes in Adobe CS6, there is nothing you can’t do to a photo.

Photoshop is known for its image manipulation programs. In large part, cropping and editing make up the brunt of what this application is used for.

Cropping helps to cut images down to size to fit in banners, headers, buttons, and avatars. Photoshop offers a variety of options for cropping, from tradition squares to shapes. While it cane take some time to get acquainted with Photoshop’s controls, the efforts are almost always worth it.

Editing photos is also a major application Photoshop is used for. This is something that people use the application for a lot and Photoshop’s numerous options make both classic, simple editing and complicated, fancy photo editing possible.

How effectively you work with an application ultimately depends on how familiar with it you are. Every application, whether it is with Photoshop, Fireworks, or GIMP, has its advantages and disadvantages over the others. Choose what is easiest for you and start practicing; you’ll only get better!

Related articles

• Photoshop Video Tutorial: How to Install and Use Photoshop Brushes
• The Best Photoshop Tutorials of 2012

HTML is not enough for successful websites any more. Web design is about creative ideas, principles, knowledge, facts, and the right tools, and applying them in a way to get the point across quickly and efficiently.

The foundations for a web design and layout are important to any business that is looking to make their presence known on the internet. They will need a collection of elements that consist of tricky layouts, a standardized layout, columns and art forms. Other things will include balance, rhythm, proportion, or even dominance.

Besides the thoughtful appearance that should be in a design of a website, there should be usability as well. Navigation and the build-up of the site to attract as many people as humanly possible should be another focus. Here, however, usability comes into play. Usability means accessibility, which is manifested in the avoidance of designing a page in which information can only be achieved with particular browsers or through multimedia content or creation of (texting) alternatives.

Flash and several other browser extensions can’t be avoided in some situations but you should ensure that your content is still fully accessible without them. In most cases, you can do this through artistic design; just make sure the usability of the website is not lost. An important aspect concerning web design happens to be the knowledge and correct markup of the site.

The development of web design has calmed down considerably in recent years. After the introduction of Flash (since 1997), there were essentially a few other W3C compliant technologies like XHTML, JavaScript CSS and Java that made themselves known.

These days, websites continue to incorporate more and more elements used to attract, engage, and inform. What are your must haves when creating a website? Share with us below in the comments here on Blair Stover Designs.

Related articles

• Put Your Best Font Face Forward
• A Checklist For Your Web Design

Web design and usability is becoming a big buzzword as the digital age continues to loom. Because websites are often the first impression a business has on a customer, having a site that is both easy to use and sporting a pleasing design is a forefront for many businesses, big and small.

When looking to design your web page, be sure to talk with the web designer thoroughly. Together you should be able to create something that fits your business’s vision and style, while communicating clearly. Blair Stover breaks down some helpful basics of web design to help you both understand and talk to the web designer you hire.

1. Less is more (make the site light and fast). If you are selling a product or service on the Internet, do not be fooled by an ‘artists’ network. Keep the focus on your message. Nobody wants to see a layout full of pictures and animations that never finish downloading.
2. Pattern. We all have a “comfort zone”. We like to feel safe and accommodated. Imagine coming home every day and the color of the walls is different each time. At first it can be okay, but after awhile, you start to get anxious and insecure. Choose something and stick with it.
3. Browsing. The key word is simplicity. The Internet is already a maze of information. There are several people who get mad when they have to search for awhile find something. Keep your browsing easy and search options handy.
4. Contact us. Put your email address on every page so your users know how to contact you.
5. Logos and images. Keep your images to a minimum. If you have to use a lot of images to get the message, one word: compression. Pictures are an important part of the site, but may make it too heavy if they are too large or there are too many.
6. Fonts. Use only one font throughout the site. If you want to use more than one source, use it only for highlights, quotes and titles.
7. Blanking. Let the words jump of the screen, putting enough space between them. Leave the text ‘breathe’. Use the left and right margins.
8. Blind alleys. Consider a site in a way that it does not require the browser buttons to navigate.
9. Dead links. Dead links are those who are on the menu, but have not yet been created to the corresponding pages or, even worse, lead to a “page under construction”.
10. Broken links. Always test all links on every page. Broken links, (those that lead to error pages or nonexistent) are bad news.

Related articles

• A Checklist For Your Web Design
• Usable Means Simple

When creating web design, one thing that is overlooked more than anything is the layout. A lot of people think about tables, frames and CSS when they are thinking about layouts. Overall design, however, is just as important when it comes to creating a layout that is pleasing and functional.

Blair Stover gives us a deeper look into how you can detail your layouts a little better than anyone else.

• Space and Whitespace – Some white space is necessary to give the viewer a rest from the busy aspects of your main site. You should keep your screen’s resolution in mind when designing spaces because most computers that are made today have moved beyond the 640×480 resolution. You will also want to use colors when defining spaces and be judicious in exactly how much you cram into one area.
•  Graphics and Images - Make sure you align your graphics and images. A newbie will make a series of mistakes in this arena and one of the most common ones lies within the area of just throwing images onto a layout without thinking it through first. Make sure you align attributes first so your images are a part of your layout. Balance any graphics and text that you may have on your page. It is very easy to throw images and animations on a page and this makes it hard to read. Remember that your images are a vital part of a page’s design.
• Text Width- Often called “scan length”, this refers to the amount of words displayed on a line. Make sure you do not go over 11 words on a single line and you should be okay.

What is most important to you when it comes to web layouts?

Many people and the companies they work for are taking the necessary steps to reach out to consumers any way they can. Marketing using online sources is the most advantageous way to do so in today’s technology-dominated world. However, most people do not realize that when they build web pages you can actually view it on your computer’s hard drive instead of doing so on a web server. Blair Stover has more info about previewing web pages below.

You should always test your product before letting it go live, right? Of course! The same goes for a web page. This is why you should not post it to a web server because you are, in all actuality, letting it go live. By saving it to your hard drive first, you are able to preview it and still use all the browser-related functions that you would otherwise.

Testing Files On A Hard Drive

1.     Start by building your web page. Next, you want to save the page to your PC’s hard drive.

2.     Now, open the web browser and then go to “File” menu. Now choose “Open”.

3.     Now search for the file you just saved and see how it looks.

Problems Testing

Things go wrong in every aspect of life, so expect it to go wrong when you build your web pages as well. When you go to test the pages on a hard drive, there are things that could go wrong that might not if you were to use a web server. This is why you need to ensure that everything is set up the right way before testing.

• Always use absolute paths when linking
• When using images, always have page-relative paths
• Double check the paths to JavaScript and CSS external files

Finding it a bit hard to convince your client to give up the old page and start anew with a fresh design? The truth is, homespun layouts don’t attract users. Modern web design and a sophisticated usability are critical to the success on the Internet and for those who are still hoping to keep old, out-dated designs, certain features and advantages of modern pages are not being utilized.

Certain key elements define a successful, functional website these days. These are the ones we’ve put as priority here at Blair Stover Designs:

1.     RESOLUTION/SIZE- Most websites have a static width and are to a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels optimized (alternative: 800 x 600).

2.     FONTS/TYPOGRAPHY- The most commonly used text fonts are Arial, Helvetica, Verdana or Geneva. Only these fonts can be used easily when installed on a visitor’s computer.

3.     COLORS- Using certain colors will actually heighten the function of your web designing process.

4.     NAVIGATION- Your horizontal menu should be ideal for a fixed number of menu items. Your vertical menu is usually on the left panel and is usually great for menus that are flexible.

5.     HOMEPAGE- Should be designed taking into account the “blindness” of most visitors to navigate. This is the most important area of the website, so it should be given extra care and attention to.

6.     PRODUCT PRESENTATION- Use separate navigation for product categories while also using color codes and teasers. Having product images, animation and videos, as well as downloads and newsletters, is smart. Include enough to keep a guest busy for a good few minutes.

A web designer is a great job to have these days because it is something you can do from the privacy of your own home and it is very rewarding. In fact, it is something that companies are constantly looking into. This job covers different realities and depending on the case it can be technical, editorial, or both.

Your main mission: to design, implement, manage and develop internet sites. Each of these tasks, depending on the size and importance of the business can be done alone or in a team. In the latter case, the web designer may be designated Project Manager.

Mission Activities: after defining the architecture, headings and implementation of the site, you ensure its functioning and its updates. You manage relationships with graphic designers, developers and hosting providers.

• Web Design

o   Definition of the architecture of the site and its tree

o   Participation in the development of the graphic

o   Design headings and definition of their content

o   Management of the domain name and SEO site

• Editorial Management

o   Collecting information from contributors and copywriting

o   Animation network of contributors

o   Renewal and updating of content

o   Managing relationships with users of the site

• Technical Skills

o   Knowledge of computer systems: operating systems and networks, programming languages (PHP, Javascript, Flash, HTML, XML)

o   Use of standards and Internet technology: software web publishing (Blogs, CMS, Dreamweaver), search engines, SEO tools, tools usage statistics and traffic management

• Editorial Skills

o   Design and writing for the web

o   Fluency in whatever languages are needed

How many of you are web designers our developers out there? Let us know here at Blair Stover Designs!