Michael Dick (M1k3)

Recap of my online interview by Luc, Spicy Web Designers.

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 0:00:00 EST

Luc, from Spicy Web Designers, runs a creative hub showcasing talented web designers from all across the world. He finds incredibly, talented web designers whom usually sit behind the scenes (doing great work), and interviews them. Last month he asked me to take time to answer a few questions....read more

Xbox 360 isn't the only thing I've been doing.

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 0:00:00 EST

You haven't seen a new post from me since right before the turn of the new year so you might be wondering if Xbox is really the only thing I've been doing. It's not. After nine (long) months of hard work my redesign is finally live. This moment could not come quick enough. ...read more

Introducing CSSiPhone, inspiration for the iPhone.

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 0:00:00 EST

Creative web design on the mobile phone is here, thanks to the iPhone innovating the market. It can be very tough searching the web for inspiration when you need some when designing for the iPhone. It's a new market, you're not sure what users are expecting when it comes to standards....read more

Creative web designers have a lot of patience, trust me.

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 0:00:00 EST

It's very rare when I can sit down and knock out a design in one sitting. The entire world thinks that we can sit down and pump out a design in a few hours...start to finish. That means IA, wireframing, planning, style discovery, and what not. I don't think I've been able to accomplish this...read more

Design it until you love it; don't half heart it.

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 0:00:00 EST

I browse css galleries before I start any design, even if I have a clear vision of the direction I want to go with. My favorite gallery to browse for inspiration is CSSMania because it showcases a ton of sites everyday, some good and bad, but it gives you a fairly good thumbnails...read more

Houdini was not a Magician.

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 0:00:00 EST

Houdini sucked at magic, every modern magician will agree on that; it’s amazing how the entire world remembers him as one though. Why was this? Why didn’t the better magicians at the time be remembered like Houdini? I was watching a History Channel on Houdini...read more

iDesign; design for the iPhone.

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 0:00:00 EST

Designing for the iPhone was a refreshing experience. If you don’t follow my twitter than you don’t know that I released an iPhone version of my site. I rolled it out in only 2 days worth of development time. When you don’t have to worry about cross browser compatibility...read more

The New Revolution: Simple Frameworks.

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 0:00:00 EST

Frameworks are always a topic to get hot and heavy about. Everyone has their own opinions; some say they suck while others use them as a religion. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.If you don't use a framework then you catch yourself coding things that you...read more

Yea, that's right, Another Gallery?

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 0:00:00 EST

I really don't have to say it. The industry for showcasing designs in galleries is heavily crowded — much like web hosting...if not worse. Amongst the crowed are key galleries that you may consider the best for showcasing websites. For example, I may consider...read more

Displaying files on your front-end when using PureEdit.

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 0:00:00 EST

A few people are having a little trouble over at the PureEdit community trying to wrap their heads around displaying files on a PE front-end. There are a couple of topics on this subject so instead of handling both of them separately I felt like I would just address both of them in a blog post here....read more

Selecting data for front-end integration with PE.

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 0:00:00 EST

Surprising or not, one of the most requested features for PureEdit is not actually a feature but a tutorial. More and more adopters are asking me how to integrate the PureEdit database to the front-end of their website because they have not yet reached the level of PHP to do so....read more

I've realigned yet again, m1k3.net version 5.4.

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 0:00:00 EST

Do you ever look at your web site and just think that it feels old? I don't keep track but I am sure I look at my website on a daily basis, whether it's to answer comments or to just look at how well it is designed. Regardless the reason, after awhile your site just begins to look old....read more

Welcome the PureEdit Community.

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 0:00:00 EST

It's the truth; PureEdit has been released for a total of five full days now and it has already reached a very large number of viewers. The amount of traffic has surpassed my personal blog by thousands. I have had to reset my bandwidth for PureEdit a total of 7 times. In fact, my server went down last night and I would like to say...read more

PureEdit, Making CMS Development Simple.

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 0:00:00 EST

PureEdit is the first CMS that dramatically simplifies the back-end development of your website while giving you full control of the front-end design and programming. By allowing such uncommon flexibility, PureEdit empowers you to design web sites from the ground up, without forcing you to follow the narrow template rules...read more

Design Trends that have Influenced my Work.

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 0:00:00 EST

The year 2007 is coming to an end and a new year is coming. Everyone is starting to reflect on the past and begin planning for the future like we always do at the end of each year. Lucky for us (web designers) we are in an industry that evolves from the reflection of the past. Just take what good ol' Picasso once said, "Good artists copy, great artist steal."...read more

5 Things That Make Up a Productive Process.

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 0:00:00 EST

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to speak along three other skilled web designers at RefreshOKC in which I discussed an ideal design process. That night I mentioned why you should use a process, benefits of using a process and the costs for not using one (you may download that presentation at the end of this article). Whether you have...read more

Perfection, Refreshed.

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 0:00:00 EST

More often then web designers would like to admit, we find ourselves falling victim to paying close attention to detail in hopes of achieving perfection. Perfection is a never ending illusion we all seek. At times we feel like we have reached our level of satisfaction, but soon find ourselves chasing something new trying to find what we are looking for....read more

Speaking at RefreshOKC on Tuesday.

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 0:00:00 EST

I have been involved in web design for about 6 years — 3 years as a strong seasoned designer/programmer -- just recently the past year I have taken on new concepts such as standards and accessibility. During this time I've visited a few conferences and meetings and heard some great topics, but I have never been the one on stage....read more

PureEdit's Sector Center (Revisited).

Mon, 21 May 2007 0:00:00 EST

Since the last time we visited the sector center in episode 1 there has been a lot of change happen to the sector center. Of course we have had a redesign of the sector center area but the most importantly the sectors have become a lot smarter by handling more data types such as dates, dropdowns, textareas, and most importantly the ability to handle relationships...read more

Making the switch to Vista.

Mon, 07 May 2007 0:00:00 EST

About 6 months ago I told myself I was no longer a PC guy after running off a Dell laptop for a short time. I decided I would make a deal with myself and say that my next big investment would go towards a pretty shiny Mac. At the same time I also had my mind set on a dual screen setup so three weeks later I received two big boxes in the mail making-the-switch-to-vista_2...read more

PureEdit's Account Center.

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 0:00:00 EST

Account management within a CMS should be simple, in fact, what shouldn't be simple in todays Interwebosphere!? Accounts management via the 'Accounts Center' in PureEdit is purely simple — only one click away with no refreshes. The new Accounts Center is built with Ajax capabilities so that means you get to experience...read more

Adding a sector to PureEdit.

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 0:00:00 EST

As PureEdit progresses closer and closer to being open for download, I will be posting occasional screencasts regarding newly added features. The first screencast, (unfortunately recorded two weeks ago) teaches you how easy it is to add a sector (AKA: page or section) through a very nice video I have prepared....read more

PureEdit's Promotional Site.

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 0:00:00 EST

Releasing PureEdit's promotional site has been a goal I have been working towards since last night (ha!). I setup a quick page that allows visitors to add their email to the mailing list and watch screencasts that will help users understand just how simple PureEdit is....read more

M1k3.net v4, I am guilty.

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 0:00:00 EST

About a month and a half ago I began pondering about a new redesign for M1k3...I wanted something more 'blogger' friendly so it would entice me to post more bulletins. I started out by ditching the dark colors and only keeping the light green. I soon realized that I wasn't very happy with the absence of my dark colors so I began a color scheme...read more

All I want for Christmas is CSS Mastery.

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 0:00:00 EST

Santa, I know I have already wrote you two letters this Christmas (my last one was asking for one of them cool iPod Nanos), so please forgive for my third and final (hopefully final) letter, but Andy Budd's contest has sparked me to once again write you....read more

My very own secret hollow book.

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 0:00:00 EST

A week ago I was digging at the world famous digg and I came across the most nerd-y-ness (new word, yay) building project, a secret hollow book, like the name suggests, a book with a secret hollow space hidden beneath the cover of the book, like the movies. Once I saw a how to build your own secret hollow book guide online I couldn't resist...read more

I am a new rebooter.

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 0:00:00 EST

I have always known of CSS Reboot, though I have never participated in it until now. I only began using web standards 3 months ago, so really I haven't been in the 'game' long enough to participate. I was viewing Neill Harmer's newly rebooted web site...read more