Most of the sites we work on are already existing and we spice them up and make them more modern. However, every now and then we get to build a site from the ground up such as one of our newest projects, Pan Am.
It’s not everyday we get to work for a high-profile client such as Pan Am, but Keathley Ad, who did the design, came to us and wanted to test our Magento skills and we were up to the challenge.
I recently read a series of articles on smart phones and tablet devices in The Economist and saw some pretty interesting statistics. Smart phone use worldwide is projected to grow 20x in the next 8 years from 1 to 20 Billion, and right now 1 in 4 Americans have smart phones. Tablet devices are likewise expected to grow really fast as well. On a small side note, I initially thought, how can the iPad be really any different than an iPhone when they mostly run the same apps? But everyone I talk to seems to feel the larger experience is a reinvention they love, so I anticipate a lot of growth here as well.
What all this has meant to us at Code Greene is that finally more and more of our customers are asking us to design and build for these devices in addition to regular browsers. It has been our philosophy to not venture down dark and lonely roads, so we will often sit back a little to see where new technologies are headed before diving into a pool with potentially only one foot of water in it. Admittedly there have been times we’ve missed waves, but there are other times we’ve ended up saving ourselves a lot of wasted energy. We are at the point that cross device compatibility is now a well lit path we are going to travel on. continue reading “Cross Device Compatibility”
Mark, Art and The Web Texture
I thought this was a nice article and analysis of Textures by Nick Petite. Though to many people texture may seem like a subtle thing we feel it is an important part of a website for creating the right mood. The thing that Nick points out is how much more dynamic a website can seem once a more interesting texture is added. In web design, I personally really like the layered texture strategies because it helps to neutralize an otherwise potentially overbearing texture, Nick covers the gambit of options and provides some examples, check it out.
Brian, JavaScript Powers Linux In A Browser
I get asked all the time ‘Why Linux?’ and ‘How lightweight it is?’. My usual reply references how Ive seen a Linux web server run off a 2GB thumb drive, but this article trumps even that. With all the overhead the operating systems of today require, people usually assume a servers absolute minimum is even higher. Running Linux in a client-side script like this just blows my mind!
We all love CSS3 and the things we can do with it. It is saddening when a client opens up the site you just coded and doesn’t see all the CSS3 goodness because they are using some version of IE. Frequently, CSS3 PIE has saved me from the client saying: “Why don’t the buttons have the rounded corners like your design?”
CSS3 PIE makes some CSS3 features work in IE6 – 9. It supports border-radius, box-shadow, and linear-gradient. It works great and is super easy to set up. Unless you use it in WordPress. After some Google searching, a fair amount of testing, and a lot of grumbling I got it working in a WordPress site. It is really simple. I hope that this will save others from some headache.
1. Put the PIE.htc file in the WP Root directory and then reference it in your css as – behavior: url(“PIE.htc”);
2. All the elements that use CSS3 features will need either position: relative or position: block on them
The Sharpening the Blades series is back! Every week, we will provide articles that we have found useful to help us improve our skills.
Luke – “Find the Twin Sumo” or “No, Your Client is Not an Idiot”
This is an article I need to read often to remind myself to calm down when going back and forth with clients about design. The North Temple clan put a great analogy on the process of working with a client to create a great design. I think the strategy that they propose is something that many designers know and understand, however knowing what you should do when working with a client and putting that knowledge to practice can sometimes be difficult. Give their article a read and apply what they propose next time you are designing for a client.
Chad – Steve Jobs, Superman
With the passing of Steve Jobs lately it seems that the every article is about him. I have learned more about him and his style. He was truly an amazing man. I like this article for multiple reasons. With all the articles out there this one is powerful and short. It also highlights other people not just Steve. But at the end of the article you realize just how powerful of a man he was.
What have you been reading lately?
The Code Dojo is the veritable repository of random musings from the development team at Code Greene.
We write about web development trends, tips, best practices, and our projects — all in the spirit of "kaizen", the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.
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The Code Dojo is authored by Code Greene, a group of web developers in Salt Lake City, Utah. We specialize in developing high-quality custom websites and applications using PHP, XHTML, CSS, jQuery, and Ninjutsu.
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