MiaZoe.com

A Site For Sore Eyes

2009-07-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

The New Design Machine on the Block of the www. w/ You in Mind "

There are websites , and there are ' Websites ' - just as there are designers , and then there are what I would like to term : Innovators of Design . Well, that's exactly what this next & new team of ' web designers ' are , Innovators . Of course you have seen them all you might say , but truly , you havent - and I am here to attest to that . There are great web- designers out there of course - but somehow , they all seem to keep it down to a sort of " Replication Process " . Meaning : they somehow emulate & replicate works of other designers & seem to reproduce just shadows of someone elses works . This tends to get boring & mundane after a while , leaving the imagination to plummet into a void . Well, these next Designers seem to stand apart from the rest . They possess a gritty - grunge- Rock - edge to their work which makes it bear that ' originality & fresh new feel ' to everything they do .

Their work is in no way mundane or overshadowed by someone else's elements . If originality is the key phrase to be had here , then these guys have it in over abundance . Just as they state on their profile : They have a " Mission " ! what is their ' mission ' you ask ? Something which I have not seen any other Web Designers out there on the www. state , and that is : ( as they say ) : " To make you look good " ! I like that .When was the last time you had someone tell you they want to make you look good ? I don't know about you , but as far as I'm concerned , I haven't heard any one aside from my last hair-dresser tell me that . What I also like about these guys is the other part of their statement as to : " Why they do what they do " (?) . Their reasons , are not solely based on profit ( money to some of you capitalists out there ) - but instead : because they harbor a love and respect for creativity and art .

Yes , I do believe with conviction that these guys would do it for free if they didn't have rent to pay - but as all of you are aware : times are hard , so please do give to those who " make you look good " ! The design company goes by the original title of ECTOMACHINE , and they are based in Tulsa - and yes they are so new , I was busy peeling the plastic bubble wrap off their site . Now I have always known that Tulsa is Gods Country , but I never realized that the ' Demi Gods of Web Design ' reside there ! and as far as , being ' New ' does in no way imply these guys are ' new at their craft ' ok, so lets not get tangled up in the bubble wrap here . When I stumbled onto their site , I will not deny remaining there for a good hour or so , oggling over all of their well designed works . Oh yes , these guys are so finely skilled , they must have been surgeons in a past incarnation , and from what I am able to gather - they must surely be the envy of every other web designer out there at the moment & probably for a long time to come , as I am also sure that their imagination will not lack or falter as time progresses . I love the gritty - grunge - effect of their site , and if I ever wanted a website for my own personal reasons , these would be the guys I would hire to create something for my Rock N Roll tastes .

What I like about them is that they make you feel " in control " of your site ( or the site which you have in mind ) . They seem to be concerned with ' your needs ' and they don't seem to bear a ' god complex ' about their design abilities ( whereas : most designers , will forfeit your opinions / needs & create what they have in mind ) . No, I believe these guys do have the best intentions concerning their work ethic : YOU !Their talents are not limited strictly to mere web design , ( if one can deem Web Design a mere factor ) , as they are skilled at a plethora of other web design applications and their talents range in :

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Fireworks

Adobe ImageReady

WordPress

CODA

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Expressions

Google Analytics

& they offer their talents in such areas as :

Web Design

Identity / Branding

Music Packaging

Clothing & Merch Design

CSS & XHTML

Custom Myspace Profiles

Ajax

Jquery

Now I bet you didn't expect so much talent wrapped up in all that bubble wrap now did you ? But yes , here it is ! With their skill at XHTML , I wish they would design a template or 2 , maybe 3 ..for the Blogger Platform - it would sure be a refreshing break from all of the " clone- templates " available out there , and I would be pleased beyond words if they did so . Now do yourself a great big favor : get off this page , and go visit ECTOMACHINE's Blog site , so you can peel off the rest of the bubble plastic and get a feel for these WEB GURUS yourself , and I am certain that you will remain on their site for about a good hour or so looking over their explosive work , and getting to know a little bit more about the great and mighty New Design Machine on the www ! I promise you you wont be disappointed in the least ( if you have any sense of style that is ..ehem..) . Now if you're a musician , and you haven't hired these guys to create your website - then all I have to say is : RUN to their site , and beg them to design your website - and oh yeah ...give them a lot of money !!! Cause when they get through w/ your website , you can expect your tracks to reach the top of the charts & your career to get out of the slumping state its been in ! Now what are you still doing here ? Go on , go !!! ( and come back & tell me I was right on target ok ? )
Catch you in cyberspace & dont forget to smile , Mootools & JQuery do love you :)

Out of The Ordinary Web Design

2009-07-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

Imagination is indeed greater than Knowledge !

Technically , I am a Web Junkie and I make no apologies . I'm proud to be a Web Junkie ( it's much more preferable than being any other type of junkie :) . I love to cruise / surf the web ; scouting for impressive Web designs , and web related Art , designers , Illustrations , Fonts , and anything which is art related . I have about a million Websites bookmarked on all 3 of my browsers ( if anyone can imagine this ) and again : I make no apologies. I love my art ! But moreover : I admire great Designers and their limitless imagination . I believe that such individuals have been blessed by a Higher Power and possess something more than the rest of the world populace . Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Donatello , Botticelli , Caravaggio , Brunelleschi ...such brilliant ' Masters ' whose imagination surpassed that of any mere mortal . Their imagination cannot be reckoned with , as no other artists alive today can emulate and produce such works . Let us not forget and take into consideration that : they produced everything manually ( by hand ) , with no technology at their disposal .

There exist a multitude of CSS Galleries out there in the www. , which feature some of the best web designs & designers out there , I am quite aware of this . However , I recently stumbled upon an exceptionally designed website the other day ( well I have stumbled upon a few , but this one captivated me ) . The design of this Website is simply beyond impressive ( in my humble opinion ) . But what is more impressive is the man behind the website & it's design , for without the 'man ' the website would not exist . Therefore , I believe this is an exceptionally gifted & multi- talented young man .

The Romans were the Builders of Civilizations & Empires ( just as the Greeks were ) . There have never been any other civilizations who have been able to emulate & create what these 2 civilizations have created throughout the pages of history ( although most of the worlds architecture has been replicated using Roman & Greek architecture as a Canvas of Inspiration . However , no one will ever be able to touch , compare or even come close to Roman architecture ( not even the Greeks , I believe ). Besides , all of the great masters were Italian / Roman , and if you care to argue , let us take a look at the : Brancacchi Chapel in Florence , the Duomo of Florence , the Mona Lisa & the Last Supper , the Sistine Chapel , the magnificent statue of David , the Pieta , [ Bellini's ] Agony in the Garden of Eden , Death of the Virgin , [ Titian's ] Bacchus & Ariadne , and limitless others whom I cannot list or else this will end up being a 'novel ' and not a blog . My point within this is : Roman art & architecture cannot be superceded by anyone . This applies to modern day artists based in Italy as well . When I look at a piece of furniture , an item of clothing [ fashion design ] , or simply a work of art such as web design , I immediately know that it is Italian . Yes, the Romans /Italians are indeed a Breed Apart and I believe that there are many out there who cannot deny this fact and will agree with me .
Now, since we have settled this affair - let us move on to a New Modern Day Rennaissance Man & one of the new & up and coming Web Designers who I believe will achieve great recognition outside of Roma Italy , and you should keep a close eye on this very talented young man w/ a unique style .

His name is Diego Valobra , 27 yrs old and with a brilliant future ahead of him . He is exceptionally skilled at a plethora of Web Design Applications , such as : Dreamweaver , Illustrator , Pothoshop , Indesign , Fireworks , Flash. (CS3/CS4).
: (X)html 1.0 srtict , Css 2.1 , Actionscript 1.0/2.0 , XML , Javascript , PhP., and .....he is an exceptional skilled Artist in the likes of Michelangelo himself ! And if you would like to see what I am talking about , all you have to do is just go and have a look for yourself @ : Pirolab his website , which makes one feel as if they have just entered a high class upper-upper - upscale 'Park Avenue ' Corporate waiting area , or an Executive C.E.O's office who gets paid over a million & a half annually !. As per his abilities as an artist , you can go to his Art Website and marvel at his wonderfully magnificent bodies of work . Personally , I felt that I was in the Museum of Art - with no screaming children and mothers screaming " Timmy dont touch the Carravagio ! " , here is a young ' Master ' at work : PiroGrafia. A brilliant young man with a bright future ahead of him indeed. Now, the next time you need to have a website created , maybe you should consider commissioning this young man to create not a mere Website for your businness or personal Website - but moreover : a true Work of Art . Yes, Imagination is far greater than Knowledge indeed !

Enjoy his site , it will be an unforgettable journey which will remain with you long after you have left his site . Even if you do not commission him for your next project , be mindful and Bookmark his site for future reference . Thank you for reading , I will be reviewing more Websites & the Designers behind them . However , the young Talented Mr. Diego Valobra has already made an impact and has left an imprint in my book , and I am certain that he will in yours also once you have viewed his work . Smile , Mootools & jQuery love you :)

Design With Intention : Charlie X Media

2009-07-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

Presenting Yet Another " ECTOMACHINE " Production

Well it seems that since my last article on ( Great Websites/ Web Designers ) , the boys over at ECTOMACHINE are immersed on an " Upward Spiral " . Talk about a ' Creative Flow ' ! wheww - I am beginning to wonder if these boys sleep at all ? These guys are truly revolutionizing the cornerstone of the www. and if you haven't jumped on the Design Bandwagon they're driving at the moment - you are definitely living under a rock I hate to say . Their newest work is yet another ROCKIN website .....

Yessiree folks , a Design Machine with no " Intention " of stopping any time soon . This newest and latest of their design productions ( for I believe everything these boys will be doing and have done so far - should be termed a Production within itself ; any other title describing their work would simply be degrading in my humble opinion .) ; is just a masterpiece in Progress as far as their concept on ' Identity Branding " goes . Oh yeah , these boys are so skilled at their craft , I now believe with conviction that in their spare time they are ' Surgeons ' indeed ! As the great Rod Serling would say : ' Tonights feature , An ECTOMACHINE which will change the way you presently perceive your web experience and revolutionize your site " ...Let us take a glimpse at this , their newest Production ( take notes boys & girls - as most of you 'Web Designers' out there will have plenty to learn from these Boy-Wonders ) , yes, I believe that I will now be seeing an " Emulation Process " by other ' Designers ' [ which I had mentioned in the prior post ] , concerning ECTOMACHINE's style . Now if ' Replication ' and ' Emulation ' are considered to be the highest form of flattery bequeathed unto an Artist(s) - then these boys down @ ECTOMACHINE better prepare to be ' replicated , emulated & copied ' by many out there ( without any imagination or spark of creativity of their very own - which of course sux & tends to get on my last nerve , but how can one prevent such occurrences ? enabling a GUI hide source code ? hmm..something to be considered here - however : I believe that the fellas over at ECTOMACHINE will not be running out of ' Imagination & Creative Genius ' any time soon - so for all of you ' Copy- Cats ' ( w/ none of the afore mentioned verities - go ahead , copy away - in the end , we who are able to ascertain authenticity can detect a real Mona Lisa from a reproduction :) [ yes, and you know who you all are - so : hate me now ].

Without further ado , let us take a look at the newest Original Masterpiece on the Block of the www by our friends @ ECTOMACHINE [ hold on to your seats now , cause this one will blow you away - it certainly did me . I gasped when I first saw it - I guess this would be as close to what I would like to term ' perfection ' as one can hope to get ] :

Charlie-X-Media

As you can clearly asses , [ at least for those of you who have visited the ECTOMACHINE site , you can definitely see that Charlie-X-Media carries & has the ECTOMACHINE signature stamp on it [ unless of course you dont know the difference between the letter A & the number 27 ..] . Albeit , when you do head on over to Charlie-X-Media ( and please do yourselves the favor and go see it up close; a modal window does not do it justice ok ? this is just a preview for the sake of preview-ing ! ) ; the site is simply Dick Tracy combined with Sin City - oh and I do so wanna sin just looking at it ! Charlie -X - Media has of course given credit to where credit is due [ ECTOMACHINE ] , but I will clear one thing up at this point : Charlie-X- Media , has in fact created the site on his own and EcToMachine has put the final finishing elements / touches ( if you will ) along with their branding logo ( which will soon be all the rage along the www. , so keep on eye out for these boys and their signature designs , you will be seeing much more from them . As far as Charlie -Media-X goes , they are a company offering such services in : AV Production | Web & Mobile | Social Media , and from the looks of things : these boys surely seem to be EXPERTS at what they do as well . Thus : if you are in need of any of the above stated categories , then Charlie-X-Media is definitely your ' man ' for the job . Give them a view over , and a drop them a message or just say hello - You can always trust a guy in a grey flannel suit I believe :) Do visit Charlie -X-Media up close - you will agree that is is one helluva site ! happy web surfing & Smile , Mootools & JQuery do love you.

Great Web Developers : Soh Tanaka !

2009-07-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

So-h What ?

Amongst the multitude of Web Developers & Web Designers out there inhabiting infinite cyberspace , there are those few Web developers & Web designers who stand apart from the rest . Due to their limitless imagination & rockin code skills ! Here is the Top #1 Web developer & Designer ExtraOrdinaire !

If I had to name one extraordinary Web developer with a limitless amount of skill & expertise it would definitely have to be no other than Soh Tanaka . For those web junkies ( such as myself ) out there who are familiar with Soh's name & his work , you know what I am talking about & about whom . Soh Tanaka is not only Revolutionizing the Web as we know it - but moreover : He is Re-Inventing it ! Everytime I visit his site , I am always amazed at this man's skill & ingenuity at taking some of the most common applications and simply not only re-inventing them , but giving them a ' life of their own ' [ if you will ].

Example at hand : Drop down menu's , which have been around for a little while now - and despite Web developer's not liking them very much due to the fact that they are considered confusing & obtrusive , as well as not being preferred by 'older people' due to the fact that an elder persons navigational skills tend to slow down after a certain age and the such ..ehemm .. most developers tend to avoid them and incorporate them into their own sites . Well, you can bring on the Drop Down Menu & freely & without fear incorporate it back into your website /blog , whatever - because Soh Tanaka has just given new meaning not only to the apprehensibly used drop down menu but has made it that much easier to use as well as More ' Sexy ' ( yes , if drop down's can be considered Sexy in any way - Soh has given the drop down an entirely new " Sex - Appeal " ) .
You can check out his famous demo right here & decide for yourself if it's Sexy or not : Soh's Sexy Drop Down Menu Demo . Now as you can clearly assess , it is quite Sexy now isn't it ? Here is the demo -resource page for it , which Soh wrote the tutorial for Noupe.com , a parent / child Soh affiliate site .

Soh also has another affiliate site , which is primarily his " offspring site " aside from his parent site of www.sohtanaka.com and it goes by the name of Design Bombs and believe me : they do Drop Design Bombs all F**k'n Day ! ( which is their motto ) .

Soh's work does not begin nor end with Sexy Drop Down Menu's or Jquery , as he is a never ending spring of resources and ideas . I doubt the man sleeps at all , and if he does : he must surely dream in code . He never ceases to amaze me with his new & innovative apps & creations . Soh's name is on the rise and if you are saying ' So-H What ?! , you better think again - for the next time you are implementing something into your page / website such as a menu or tabs using Jquery , you just may be using a Soh Tanaka script without even being aware of it !

If you are in search of something new and innovative & cutting edge - then head on over to Soh Tanaka's site and learn from the Samurai of Web developers himself & the Guru of Code ! @Soh Tanaka where yu will find & learn much more than sexy menu's ! :) Hope you enjoy & find Soh's site useful & educational ( I know I do ! ) . keep smiling , Mootools & Jquery love you & so does Soh ! Catch ya in cyberspace ~

Javascript & Resources

2009-07-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Accordions , Rounded Corners & A Host of other Tips & Tricks For Your Site

Here are some great tutorial sites for you to create anything from rounded corners to animated boxes & links via Javascript !

These are some of my favorite sites for online free source tutorials which offer a myriad of tips and the latest tricks on implementing Javascript & just plain old CSS to create some of the spectacular effects which you may have seen on several sites . CSS Juice , is a great site for you to bookmark and keep dropping in on for updates on the latest tricks . They feature practically everything one would require to create some pretty neat effects . You can check them out here : --> CSS Juice
Another great site for Javascript resources is Rico where you will find some pretty neat apps , as the ' accordion ' is becoming all the rage at the moment with Web designers ; implementing it into just about everything - even 'accordion templates / layouts ' now serving as entire pages . Check it out , I believe you will enjoy it .

Another really great site for resources for just about everything and anything you can imagine is Script Plaza , now this place is as wide in range of information as the Yellow Pages , or a telephone book ! You will find EVERYTHING there , believe me . When you click on a link , the page will redirect you to a new window which resembles an advertisement - be patient - it will open to the site offering whatever it is you have clicked on or are looking for . * When you find something you are interested in r want , click on the "download " link [ you will not be downloading anything - but that is what will open up a new window & the site which is offering the specified application .

Now , aside from Soh Tanaka's informative & educational site for just about everything you may have heard of [ and maybe not - ] , there is also one more blog you should check into and that is : " Woork " , hosted and updated on a nearly daily basis by another yet great Developer who gives it t you straight from the edge . You will find his tutorials are easy to grasp and utilize and he makes it very simple to follow along & if you dontt understand something, he will respond to your inquiry . Anotonio Lupetti is right up there with Soh Tanaka as far as web developers go and a truly sweet guy .

I hope the above will help you in finding some answers to your questions so far . Stay tuned , more updates will be soon following . In the meantime , keep smiling , Mootools and Jquery love you !

Women of Web Design

2009-07-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Women of Web Design

Ok all of you big boys of Web Design & Development , hold on to your HD's - there's a ' New Kid in Town ...and the kid is a Girl ! . Not any ordinary girl that is either . This little young lady does not only possess beauty - but brains and killer skills at Web Development , coding & Designing !

If the attribute of Multi- Skilled & Multi- Talented can be attributed to one so young and ( did I mention beautiful yet ? ) of the Female gender - then I will go as far as to say that this young little lady packs a wallop of skills . She goes by the alias of "INSIC and as far as I can tell from her brief bio , she is based in Cebu City in the Philippines .

She is aptly skilled at :

* Ajax

* Code Igniter

* CSS

* XHTML

* PHP

* JQuery

PostGresql

* JSON

* Web Design

And God knows what else ( you will just have to get to her site and ask her ) . What I like about her is the statement she makes in the opener of her personal Blog : " Let's see what I can do for you and your business " . Now that statement speaks volumes about a Designer / Developer . It states that the primary focus is centered on you ( the client ) and your needs . This is what moves one ahead in the Design & Development business I believe . The fact that the Designer in charge is not egocentric and has the clients best intentions at heart . Yes , this young little lady's star is quickly rising and is already shinning as bright as her smile .

The irony is : I was looking over some WP galleries a few days ago in my quest for " Originality as far as template design goes - and I came across a WP template she had made ( only I wasn't aware that this was " Her " ! ) . The template is beautiful ( and I fell in love with it as soon as I spotted it amongst a multitude of others ) it stands out & apart from the rest . It is a " Gallery " Template ( one of the more difficult templates to design & code ) and this little lady has left nothing out of this template . It has a very professional look & looks as if it carries the cost of a Premium Theme ; ( I have seen other templates of lesser caliber which cost a fortune + an arm and your mommas leg ! ) which are not of equal quality as the one Ms. Insic has designed ! Now here's the best part for all of you WP users : she has made it FREELY available ! Yep - My only regret at this point is not knowing how to use PHP , so that I could use it myself ! :(

It would have been great if she could have coded it for the Blogger Platform as well - I know that thousands of Bloggers out there would be downloading it per second ! If you think I'm over exaggerating , have a look for yourself right here : Insic WP Template . This theme reminds me of a well designed Italian office ! ( with media ! ) Now what have you got to say about that ??? If you don't think this is a great Design , then I can't help you - sorry . However , maybe Insic Designs can :)

You may want to go over to her well oiled & smooth running website and have a look over at everything this young little beauty has to offer . I believe that you will walk away knowing something more than you don't already know , and more than a few freebies which she is presently giving away which you might find helpful . Do enjoy her site , but moreover : you may just want to hire her to do your next project , put up a website you've been considering ( ? ) ; I believe she will not leave you disappointed - with a face & a smile like that ? She'll surely put a smile on your face as well . Don't believe me ? well, just go have a look for yourself then , and let me know if I was wrong .

You can visit INSIC DeSIGN & Web Development Here InSiC DeSiGns

Catch you in cyberspace & dont forget to smile , Mootools & JQuery do love you :)