Jul 31, 2010
I have recently discovered a pretty awesome site called GoodReads.com. It allows you to rate, comment on and basically track books you have read, are currently reading and would like to read at some point. Just like any good social networking site it also allows you to have friends and keep updated on their latest book status, ie ratings, comments, current reads and the like. There is also an option to recommend books to friends which is nice.
It has been a bit addicting when I sit down to explore. I haven’t had a chance to go through everything the site has to offer but I like it so far. It is nice to have a place to go to see a wide variety of reviews on a book you might want to read. There are multiple book lists that you can browse through and contribute to and many groups you can join to converse with people who have similar reading interests. I will have to look into some of those groups a bit more later.
Another feature I quite like is the author pages. You can become a fan of your favorite authors and if they are GoodReads members you can see their updates as well, and even when they post blogs on their own sites.
They have a nice organization system for your books called, originally enough, bookshelves. There are three you start out with automatically, Read, To Read, and Currently Reading, but you can create as many as you like and start your own organization system. Right now I haven’t created any of my own, though I probably will at some point. I’ve seen people with shelves based on genre or topic, others with shelves categorizing books to read such as to buy or not yet released, and even people with fun shelves like books with the prettiest covers. It’s a fun way to track your books and show your interests and people viewing your profile can browse your shelves as well.
It’s nice to have place on the web where the whole idea is book appreciation and sharing. And it’s done in a way that is fun and fits right in with the current social networking craze.
Jul 25, 2010
Rough week, here’s something to smile about.
Ash all tired out
I read an article a couple weeks ago on Smashing Magazine about interior design principles as they relate to web design. I will be the first to admit that I’m not much of a graphic designer; I’ve never taken classes and my talents and interest lie somewhere more in the realm of front end coding. However I would love to learn more, so I’m always interested in a new take on designing for the web (I have trouble following the more technical articles).
This approach to looking at web design principles specifically and seeing how they relate to a design field that is based in the 3 dimensional world, not to mention a much older field than web design is interesting. I love the idea of taking inspiration, not just for the artwork but for the actual composition, from the real world. Some of my favorite site designs incorporate realistic elements like wood, cloth and paper into their basic design elements, so why not take it one step further and make the not so obvious layout a bit more “realistic” as well. Considering other design formats is a great way to come up with ideas when you’re stuck or in need of something new.
This article also brings up the idea that no matter what kind of design you do many of the principles are the same. So your best move to get started is just to learn basics, and it really doesn’t matter if what you are learning is actually specific to your field. I think that not limiting your consideration to a single field as you start to learn is probably more beneficial in the long run. It will help you think outside the box and get more creative with your web designs as you progress because you have already considered design from other perspectives. I feel that getting caught up in the minutiae of your specific design field is ultimately limiting to your ability as a designer.
I was told once that when I design I shouldn’t be concerned with the technical aspects of how the design will be coded and turned into a page, because I will limit myself. You should let go and be creative. There is almost always a way to translate what you have created into a coded and functional website.
Jul 15, 2010
After years of putting off blogging or anything of the sort I have finally decided to give in. Here is my attempt at chronicling my thoughts on web design, life in general, and rabbits (you can’t forget the bunnies, they make you smile).
At the very least I owe it to myself to write something here in tribute to the sweat and tears and hours I put into my first attempt at designing and coding a WordPress theme. So here’s to you theme, may you live long and not require too many fixes.
