Most of the lessons you’ll learn in web design comes from work experience; learning is an iterative process and there is no better way to gain knowledge than to make mistakes (and then and learning from them).

In this article, we discuss 10 essential and general tips that every novice web designer should know.

1. Optimize Web Graphics for Better Page Load Times

Learn how to optimize your web graphics by selecting the proper format and making sure that it’s as small as it can possibly be. Even though people are advancing to broadband connections, there are still quite a few who use dial-up internet connections. Additionally, with the emergence of mobile device technologies that don’t necessarily have broadband-like speeds, having slow page load times due to image file sizes can turn users off.

Here a general rule of thumbs for picking the right file format: images that have solid colors are best saved as PNGs and GIFs, while images with continuous colors (such as photographs) are best saved as JPGs.

There are plenty of tools available at your disposal that will help you further optimize your images and lower their file sizes, check out this list of tools for optimizing your images.

By limiting the number of images you use to the bare minimum, being smart about using images, and reducing file sizes as best as you can, you will significantly cut down page response times of  a web page and improve your web page performance.

2. Keep it Clean and Simple

A good web design is not just one that looks visually appealing, but also one that is user-friendly. A clean and simple web design typically ends up being a high-usability web design that is not confusing to interact with.

By having too many site features and components on a page, you risk the chance of distracting website viewers from the purpose of the website. Make sure each page element has a purpose and ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the design really need this?
• What does this element do and how does it help the user?
• If I remove this element all of a sudden, will most people want it back?
• How does this element tie into the goal, message, and purpose of the site?

Additionally, though it may be super awesome to come up with a new concept or interface design pattern for your website, make sure that the design is still accessible and intuitive to your users. People are accustomed to common interaction patterns, site features, and web interfaces – and if your design is truly unique, make sure it’s not too obscure and puzzling. Be creative, but also keep it simple.

3. Navigation is the Most Important Thing You Will Design

The most essential site feature is the website’s navigation — without it, users are stuck whatever page they happen to land on. With that obvious fact out of the way, we’ll talk about some important points to consider when constructing a navigation scheme.

First, it’s very important to put enough time and a lot of planning on a site’s navigation structure. This is common sense, but it’s still surprising how many web designs take site navigation for granted.

Placement, style, technology (will it use JavaScript or just CSS?), usability, and web accessibility are just some of the things you need to consider when creating the navigation design.

Your navigation design should work without CSS because of text-based browsers. Poke fun of text browsers all you want, but they are still prevalent in many mobile devices. Perhaps more importantly, navigation that works with CSS disabled is accessible (99.99% of the time) via screen readers.

Navigation should be accessible and usable without the need for client-side technologies such as JavaScript or Flash, which users may not have enabled or installed for various reasons such as security or company policy.

It is imperative that you have a good navigation system in place that is located at a highly-visible location. A good navigation is detectable as soon as the web page loads without having to scroll down the web page. This is where keeping it clean and simple plays a major role: a complex and unconventional design can lead to user confusion.

Users must never wonder, even for a split second, ‘Where is the site navigation?’

For sites organized in a hierarchical, multi-level manner, make sure that it is easy to navigate from between parent and child web pages. In addition, it should be easy to reach top-level pages (such as the site’s front page) from any webpage.

The main goal of your site navigation is to allow users to get to their desired content with as few actions and with as little effort on their behalf as possible.

4. Use Fonts Wisely and Methodically

Though there are thousands of fonts out there, you can really only use a handful (at least until CSS3 is fully supported by major browsers). Make it a point to stick to web-safe fonts. If you don’t like web-safe fonts, consider a progressively-enhanced web design that leverages sIFR or Cufon.

Keep font usage consistent. Make sure that headings are visually-different from paragraph text. Use white space, tweak line-height, font-size, and letter-spacing properties to make content pleasant to read and effortlessly scannable.

Perhaps one of the things that web designers often get wrong is font-sizes. Because we want to fit as much text as we can in a web page, we sometimes set font sizes to uncomfortably small sizes. Try to keep font sizes at and above 12px if possible, especially for paragraph text. While many people face no difficulty reading small text sizes, think about older users and persons with low-vision and other types of vision impairment.

5. Understand Color Accessibility

After talking about fonts, we also need to point out the importance of using the right colors.

You  need to consider color contrast of background and foreground colors for readability and for users with low-vision. For instance, black text on white background has a high-contrast, while orange text on red background will make you strain your eyes.

Also, use colors that are accessible to users with particular forms of color-blindness (check out a tool called Vischeck that will help you test for certain types of color-blindness).

Some color combinations work well only when the color is used as a foreground color instead of a background color. Take for example, dark blue text on a pink background versus but pink text on blue background, same colors but different levels of readability and reading comfort. It is important not only to get a good color combination but also to apply it to the right elements on the page.

6. You Need to Know How to Write Code Yourself

With various WYSIWYG editors flooding the market, it has become as simple as 1-2-3 to design a site. However, most of these editors insert unnecessarily code junk, making your HTML structure poorly designed, harder to maintain and update, and causing your file sizes to bloat.

By writing the code yourself, you come out with clean, crisp, and terse code that’s a pleasure to read and maintain; code that you can be proud to call your own.

Knowing how to use a WYSIWYG or an IDE with a visual preview does not excuse you from learning HTML and CSS. You have to know what’s going on in order to create effective, semantic, and highly-optimized web designs.

7. Don’t Forget Search Engine Optimization

A good designer should always remember to keep the basics of SEO in mind when designing a site. For example, structuring web content so that important text are represented as headings (i.e. page title and logo). This is where learning how to code properly comes in handy. Knowing correct, semantic, and standards-based HTML/CSS – you will quickly realize that divs are better than tables for web layouts not only for accurate representation of site content, but also for search engine rankings; you will also know that CSS background text image replacement is a good idea.

8. Understand that People are Impatient

People on an average spend only a few seconds before deciding whether they want to read more or navigate away to another site. Therefore, you as a web designer have to device a way for encouraging users to choose the former option within those precious seconds.

Know that not many visitors will scroll down to view the entire contents of the page if what they see at the top does not interest them. Remember to keep your important elements on the top where they are easily visible, but also do not overcrowd the top half of the page which can intimidate users and turn them off from reading further down the page. Consider the top half of a web design a selling point: be a salesman, make people buy into the notion that they want to see what else is on your site.

9. Learn About (and Be Aware of) Browser Quirks

One of the things you must know as a web designer is that your work operates in a finicky and unpredictable environment: web browsers. It’s not enough that your designs work on a few web browsers, they need to work in as many browsing situations as you can possibly afford. Before production – test your prototypes using tools like Browsershots.

10. Make Designs that are Flexible and Maintainable

A good web designer makes sure that the site can easily be updated or modified in the future. Designing websites that are malleable and easy to maintain is a sign of a great web designer. Make your work as modular as possible by separating style from structure.

Know that our industry is dynamic and still young – things change in a very short amount of time. Keeping this thought in mind will promote the creation of flexible web designs.

(Via Six Revisions.)

The original TPS-L2 Walkman went on sale 30 years ago today, July 1st 1979, in Japan. It played stereo and had dual mini headphone jacks for sharing audio with a friend. There was a mic, but it was not used for recording, but to output your voice to your buddy’s headset so he could hear you over the music. The press received it in a lukewarm fashion, but the device took off thanks to celebrity product placement.

The 1981 WM-2 is the first attempt at making a Walkman so small, its only slightly bigger than the tape.

The first Sony Sport walkman was quite waterproof, with jack plug and gaskets around the buttons and tape hold. From 1984. They offered special edition models for locations like Hawaii and Okinana Beach.

The WM-F2 came out in 1982 and was the first Walkman to include both playback, recording and an FM tuner.

The WM-DD was the first personal model to move from a belt driven motor to a ‘disc drive’ reducing wow and flutter and greatly improving the quality of sound reproduction. It also had a metal case.

The WM-F107 was solar charged, but would not support playback as the power to run the tape was more demand than the now ancient back mounted panel could keep up with. It handled FM fine, however, off the stream of electrons. 1987.

The WM-10 expanded on the tiny WM-2’s small form factor, and is considered by the experts at Walkman Central to remain a fine example of reduction engineering. For example: the single AA battery was not actually powerful enough to turn the motors, so they used a step up converter to power the tape drive. 1983.

The 1983 Walkman Music Shuttle was a Walkman that docked into a car stereo. Wow that guy is super stoked to be listening to the same song he was just driving to!

1985: The WM-W800 is a Walkman with TWO tape decks. One for playback, one for recording, which made dubbing tapes ridiculously easy. More photos at Walkman Central.

The WM-3000 from 1990 is one of the earliest My First Sony products designed for kids. They took a basic walkman, and made sure the edges weren’t sharp, the batteries couldn’t be easily popped out of the back and swallowed and the volume limiter ensured baby eardrums didn’t pop under duress of mother goose tapes.

The WM-GX202 is one of the last tape playing Walkmen and guess what? They’re still being sold in Japan in 2009! The product’s focus is not on music, but on language learning tapes.

(Via Gizmodo.)

Windows only: Last year we shared TubeMaster Plus with you, an extremely handy program for downloading videos and music from streaming sites. TubeMaster++ has been released and comes with a slew of new features.

TubeMaster++ makes grabbing streaming videos and music incredibly simple. As long as TubeMaster++ is running, it will grab nearly every kind of media you watch over your internet connection thanks to its ability to scan the incoming data and not rely on the browser itself. Whether you’re watching a video in Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Opera, as soon as you start watching it, TubeMaster++ will begin capturing it.

You can save files, play them back right in TubeMaster++ and convert them. What formats can you convert into? A better question would be what formats can’t you convert into. You can convert audio formats into WAV, MP3, OGG, and AC3, among others. Video can be converted into dozens of formats and presets for mobile devices including the Creative Zen, iPod, Blackberry, PSP and PS3, various mobile phone sizes, and more universal formats like AVI and MPEG4.

TubeMaster++ does lose one feature from its predecessor, because of dependencies it has on installed software it is no longer portable. The trade off will be more than worth it for most people however as the new version is more stable, offers more features, has a built in video and music search engine, and has dropped upgrade requirement to download from adult video-sharing sites. TubeMaster++ is freeware, Windows only, and requires Java Runtime Environment and WinPcap (both of which are included in the installation if you don’t have them.)

TubeMaster++ [via FreewareGenius]

(Via Lifehacker.)

1. Finding out bottlenecks.
2. Disk (storage) bottlenecks.
3. CPU and memory bottlenecks.
4. Network bottlenecks.

Read More

Seven Sexton sent us a link to this awesome 1992 video of Queen’s Brian May talking about “The Fireplace,” his famous electric guitar that he and his dad built from scrap bits such as a mantle from a 100-year old fireplace (hence the name), a chunk of a table, a spring from a motorcycle, a piece from his mother’s knitting needle, etc. Amazingly, this is not some fragile relic he keeps in the closet, but a working guitar, one you’ve heard on many Queen songs. His family was poor and his dad built most of their home electronics, including their television and radio. Wonderful, inspiring little piece. I love the opening quote from him:

I’m still a kid. Basically, I LOVE the sound of the guitar. I love making it. I love standing there and making that noise.

(via MakeOnline)

Windows/Mac/Linux: Songbird is a powerful, clever music manager, but iPod/iPhone integration is its Achilles’ heel. The latest version aims to halfway heal that weakness by integrating tightly with iTunes playlists, while adding custom library management and Last.fm radio.

Full import and export functionality from Songbird to iTunes does, in a way, make it possible to manage your iPod touch or iPhone music (and other iPods you could already could sync) from Songbird—you just have to actually sync the device through iTunes and set it to grab those Songbird-managed playlists. Whether that’s an acceptable or convenient hack depends on how you regard iTunes, but it’s at least a nice gateway for those using more than one media player and Apple’s more locked-down devices.

More useful for the serious music collector is Songbird’s new folder and file management features, which definitely scores over iTunes’ one-size-will-fit-you-all option. It’s not quite boolean, but you can get specific on how your album folders and track titles are named. Last.fm radio works just like you’d think it does, and there are a good number of speed boosts and bug fixes included and explained at the Songbird blog linked below.

Songbird 1.2 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

Songbird 1.2 is here [Songbird Blog via ReadWriteStart]

(Via Lifehacker.)

Pandaman0529 shares his steps for a very interesting guitar mod -

So what exactly are scalloped frets? Scalloping a fretboard is when you remove wood from the fretboard so that when the guitar is played, the fingers only contact the string, not the wood underneath, eliminating massive amounts of friction. It is much easier to bend strings with a scalloped guitar, and many guitarists do claim that scalloped fretboards allow you to play faster, as minimal contact with the string is needed.

I’ve never playedone of these necks, but I’m guessing it would be rather bouncy – that kind of momentum could boost one to prog-solo speeds in no time. Pretty straightforward (if a bit tedious) process with sandpaper + metal files – see the instructable for more.

(Via MAKE Magazine.)

The new app ‘Incoming!’ makes it possible to use Skype over 3G and Edge networks by turning all of your outgoing calls into incoming calls with the help of a partner desktop app.

•Turn your outgoing calls into incoming calls using the Incoming! desktop application along with the iPhone application.
•Depending on your phone plan, you can eliminate long distance charges and daytime minute fees.
•Make your own visual favorites list for fast dialing.
•Easily access contacts from your phone’s address book.
•Conference calling supports up to nine callers.
•Supports international calling.
•This app also works with an iTouch by routing the incoming call to a nearby phone.

I have to admit, that sounds pretty awesome if it works properly. You can check it out for yourself in the App Store right now for $5. [TerryDemco and iTunes]

New iPhone Application Allows You to Use Skype Over 3G and Edge Networks

Users can harness the power of Skype without the WiFi VoIP restrictions by turning every call into and incoming call.

MIAMI, FL – June 16, 2009 – Terry Demco, developer of Apple iPhone/iTouch applications, today announces the release of his newest app, Incoming! for Skype. With Incoming!, every call becomes an incoming call with the assistance of a partner application that’s downloaded onto the users main computer. By using a helper app on a computer that’s connected to the internet, it allows Skype to work on the 3G or Edge network, thus eliminating VoIP restrictions. Incoming! is now available in all iTunes stores around the world for $4.99 US. More information can be found at www.terrydemco.com.

Just the facts:

* Turn your outgoing calls into incoming calls using the Incoming! desktop application along with the iPhone application.
* Depending on your phone plan, you can eliminate long distance charges and daytime minute fees.
* Make your own visual favorites list for fast dialing.
* Easily access contacts from your phone’s address book.
* Conference calling supports up to nine callers.
* Supports international calling.
* This app also works with an iTouch by routing the incoming call to a nearby phone

Requirements:

* Mac OS X 10.5 or Vista
* Skype version 2.8 (Mac) or Skype version 4.0 (PC) on your main computer
* Current SkypeOut account
* Main computer must have internet connection

(Via Gizmodo.)

Your living room television is the next new platform for developers.

And, while Apple is squandering its Apple TV lead by treating Internet television as a ‘hobby’, Boxee is opening the platform up to developers, offering an API and kicking off a developer challenge.

Boxee’s move is resulting in an explosion of content on the platform, including:

• I Can Has Cheezburger
• OpenCourseWare
• UK’s Open University
• The Weather Channel
• HotForWords
• FaceBook Photos
• The White House
• BBC Live

This is just scratching the surface, but it’s clear that Boxee has captured the new media mojo.

Boxee is becoming the iPhone of Internet television.

I’d still like to see what Apple could by opening up Apple TV – but an open and open source Boxee may end up being even better.

(Via Podcasting News.)

The hard truth is that the buck of development should stop with designers. For optimum efficiency, designers should not only be concerned with painting the bigger picture but also building it! In this article, I’d like to share with you some reasons why designers should learn how to code.

Designing Realistic and Doable Designs

With a clear image of how the final product will be actualized, a designer will come up with more feasible and practical concepts. Being an integral part of the development process, they carry the responsibility of ensuring their designs translate well into a web-based medium that takes into account: usability, web accessibility, and achievability. A user-friendly website is not only a picnic to navigate from one page to another in a clear and concise flow of logic, but also provides a user with all the information they need without being too overbearing or cluttered. The only real way to know if a web layout works or not is learning how to build it yourself.

 Easier Communication

Virtually all products designed but implemented by different parties never satisfy both sides’ expectations, especially when it comes to intangible products like websites, software, or games. It normally comes down to a compromise between what it should have been and what, in reality, it can be.  Whereas the general idea is captured, it is seldom replicated verbatim. The panacea: designers should preach water and drink it too!  This avoids confusion, misunderstanding, and misrepresentation.

Convenient Iterative Development Process

A design, in practice, should not be absolute. By this, I mean that it should be flexible and affable to change without distorting its intrinsic essence to meet the systems’ technical constraints. These repetitive and necessary alterations can only be realized by the original designer. A designer slash developer can iterate more quickly where necessary, rather than having a developer resubmit the design to the designer, who is rarely at hand, to implement the alterations. This situation can create friction – and it often does – between designers and developers.   

Better and More Harmonious Results

I often like drawing parallels between software, web, or game development to orchestral music where the designer is the composer and the developer is the ensemble’s maestro or conductor. Imagine if the latter had the composer’s score? Wouldn’t the symphonies be awesome, captivating, and unadulterated? Not only were they crafted by a master craftsman, but conducted by their creator!

Shorter Development Time

The designers doubling up as coders implies that the design and coding processes occur at least sequentially, if not concurrently. This results in a shorter development timeframe – and who doesn’t care about efficiency?

Designers become More Marketable

Modern day designers worth their salt need to up their portfolio, and up their game, if they want to remain relevant; it’s no longer enough to have one set of skills. Oftentimes, we’re required to wear various hats: designer, front-end developer, content writer, and project manager.

By learning to implement what you design rather than leaving it orphaned in the hands of developers – you increase your value. After all, citing design and coding skills in one‘s resume does not hurt. On the contrary, it makes one less redundant and indispensable, a life and death determinant in these financially tumultuous times of corporate restructuring (read: mass retrenchments) and downsizing (read: firing).

However, in so much as designers should also code their innovations, there are downsides to this scenario.

Quoting Lukas Mathis in one of the controversial article about the topic called ‘Designers are not Programmers’¹:

If the designer implements his own designs, he is beholden to two different goals: Clean code and great user experience. These two goals contradict each other. If you have to implement your own designs, you’re bound to compromise for the sake of code quality, which is bad for your interaction design.

‘

Designers who implement their own designs face two issues: They know when a neat new idea will create messy code, and they know about all the existing code that would be touched by a change to the user experience. The two goals are at odds, because the user experience is all about the little details, and those little details all end up being messy bits of code you would rather not have to write.

This aptly summarizes the hard stance taken by web development purists. They are of the old school of thought that advocates for clear-cut lines between design and development.  Apparently, designers create for humans, developers create for computers. Thus, UX designers should design the best possible user interface and leave the developers to make the best possible programming decisions. While this holds some merit as I’ve found myself trying unsuccessfully to abstract my mind from the code when I’m working on a user interface, it is ultimately more convenient to have the technical and usability constraints in perspective.

(Via Six Revisions.)