Week 7 articles

The Typofile Magazine article "The Best Faces for the Screen" is very old, no?

Of course, the limitations of low-res screens won't be with us forever. First, on-the-fly anti-aliasing (gray-scaling the type so it looks smoother) will be available on many systems, notably Windows 95. Done correctly, anti-aliasing allows more typefaces to look good at smaller sizes. Next, companies such as Xerox are already showing experimental flat screens with 300 dots per inch--the same as a laser printer. When that happens, choosing type for the screen will be little different than choosing it for paper.

Hmm...generally, the concepts in this article are good, but it would be more helpful to read something that addresses browsers and operating systems beyond Windows 95...since, as he says in the article, "When that happens, choosing type for the screen will be little different than choosing it for paper." So is that true now?

I liked "Think Outside the Font Box" because it put into writing things I've always thought about with fonts: how some fonts are very "artsy" and should only be used at large sizes in graphics, rather than as body text. I've always loved perusing font sites like Font Garden and downloading lots of funky, weird fonts...but I've always realized there was a distinction between those fonts and ones like Verdana and Arial, which are most definitely for body text and look pretty boring in large graphics. My personal favorite body font is Georgia...I use it all the time (like in this blog!).

"A Dao of Web Design" was very interesting. I agree with the concept that the web needs to diverge from its print design origins and "chart its own course," while still keeping the knowledge of print design of course. Print and the web are two very different mediums and require their own set of guidelines to be usable and successful. The article also had good tips about using percentages in CSS to control font size, and reminded me about the red/green color blindness issue we read about a few weeks back in a Jakob Neilsen article.

I love, love, love Dive into Accesibility. I am at a conference for work right now and only have time to skim the different sections, but I will definitely revisit this site when I get back. How cool!

Texture and Typography

I wasn’t sure I’d ever used texture in web design, and I think it may be one of the missing pieces in my designs. Whenever I’ve created a design, I’ve always felt there was something missing to make the design compelling and interesting, different than other personal sites out there. That might be texture.

After reading just the first page of this chapter, I had an idea about how to incorporate texture into my final project design. As I said, I want to create a design that evokes the environmental aspect of my profession/interests. I thought I would do that by using colors like green and brown, but perhaps I can use other colors (like vermilion!) and then incorporate a texture (leaf veins, I was thinking) to evoke nature.

The rest of the chapter had helpful bits of information about rounding rectangle edges and how to place background images. The lines section was also good because it helped me understand that I do use texture in my current online portfolio layout, in the form of these swirly lines at the top of the design. I think I may use them in my new portfolio layout as well, because a) I like them, and b) they do add the texture a good design needs.

The typography chapter gave good definitions of terms used in typography. I've never studied typography, but have always been really interested in different fonts. This chapter was great in bridging my knowledge gap between what I've observed and the actual principles behind choosing and using fonts in design.

Colors

I really love colors. I think I said that in my blog entry about color theory a few weeks ago. Anyway, the chapter on color in the Beautiful Web Design PDF was another great explanation of color theory and ways to use color in web design.

I think the triadic and tetradic color schemes are really cool, and I may use those for my final project. On my current portfolio layout, I kind of picked the colors haphazardly based on what I thought looked good together and conveyed a professional feeling. I think they work, but I’d like to use the techniques I read about in this chapter on color to build my new portfolio layout on a strong color foundation.

For my final project, I’d like to use colors that are professional, but evoke the nature/outdoorsy/environmental aspect of my work. I love green and brown, but I’m not sure how to use those colors and not make the site too…as we say, “crunchy.” Also, I love the color vermilion, but am not sure if that’s very environmental or professional. I have to think about this a little more.

Also, I like how the author of this book keeps going back to the same case study at the end of each chapter to show how to use the tips from that chapter in a real-life design scenario. Very helpful!