I've been reading so many interesting things this past week that it was quite difficult to choose just ten...
Continue readingI've been reading so many interesting things this past week that it was quite difficult to choose just ten...
Continue readingIn my last post, I talked about the power of a typeface and the impact it can have on your audience. Today, I will discuss the role and proper usage of fonts in web design. Let's start with the basics. Fonts can be divided into two categories: serif and sans serif. To put it simply, serif fonts have little tails at each character's points, while sans serif fonts do not have these extra marks ("sans" is the French word for "without"). Here, you can see a serif font (Georgia) next to a sans serif font (Verdana): Believe it or not, there has been much research and debate on the two type categories, but the general consensus seems to indicate: When viewing the document on-screen, sans serif fonts are easier...
Continue readingThis week's NYTimes had an interesting OpEd titled To the Letter Born, discussing the impact that branding, especially the typeface Gotham, may have on Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency. For this piece, Stephen Heller interviews a branding expert named Brian Collins who explains: ...
Continue readingMany years back I discovered a wonderful online store called ThinkGeek.com. I have ordered many items since then but my mind always lingered on the very first item that caught my attention: the There's No Place Like 127.0.0.1 Doormat. (If you're not a geek like me and don't understand what the mat says, go read http://www.tech-faq.com/127.0.0.1.shtml). I always vowed that when I get my own place I would prominently display this mat at my front door. (And is it just a coincidence that my birthday numbers are 127? I think not.) Now, after having closed the condo and all the repairs done, I've slowly started to move in. I'm not quite living there yet, but my mind immediately thought back to this doormat. I ordered it a few...
Continue readingIf you haven't already done so, please read Google Reader, Part 1. Google Reader is fairly simple to use. Here's a screenshot of my G-Reader homepage: An explanation to the numbered features: All items. This tells you how many unread feeds you have. Starred items. With G-Reader, you can "Star" certain feeds that may be of particular interest for you so that you can easily locate them in the future. Trends. This takes you to your Trends Page, which I will discuss later. Your shared items. G-Reader allows you to "share" items which will then generate a feed of its own (each user gets a unique RSS URL). You can then share this customized RSS feed of your favorite items with your friends. Friends' shared items. Just as you can share your...
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