A little bit of html 5 experimentation

One of the things on my todo list at the moment (alongside placement and assignment work at least) is to make the "work" section of my website look much nicer and neater.
Follow this link for an experiment I am working on to make the images section a lot less clunky looking (as that flickr plugin is useful but looks terrible!).
It is a really simple piece of javascript - it creates the normal function to display images etc on the canvas, but the function is set up to be passed a variable.  Each different button passes a different number, which is added to a variable containing the path and basic filename with the extension.  This means that each time a list item is clicked the canvas redraws with the relevant image.
I eventually intend for this bit of script to also:
-As preloading images would present an issue for load time, a loading animation and script
-Hold a caption
-Be clickable and use document-write to open a large version of each image

I am also going to use a very similar format (using video tags instead of canvas) to clean up the video section of my portfolio also.

Time for bed now...too tired.

Meetings and Craziness!

Had another meeting today, confirmed lots of fun things with Helen, like our rough schedule and the time we have remaining, along with the other ideas etc about the videos.
Unfortunately the time we wanted to book the studio is not available, so I've got us pencilled in for different times which are unfortunately later in the evening - if it turns out not to be ok it's only pencilled in!! :P
Ahh there's so much more involved with this project than just a bit of video...if only it was that simple!
Mustn't grumble though!!

I have now fixed the google chrome issue with my website - it turned out to be something really simple in my CSS that was causing a conflict in chrome...which is now done!  But that does mean that now it is visible I really need to find a nice clean jScript slideshow for the videos/movies (as the flickr one looks horrible and my video page is just a page full of videos with the dreaded scrolling!!).

Fun times!!

Work work work!

Spent the first half of today working on my research essay for the Historical and Critical Appreciation (I think that's what HACA stands for!).  I spent a few hours knee deep in the web reading about homogeny of design (think: IKEA) and finding designers who actively oppose globalization (think: Banksy).
Then I had a meeting with Helen Foley about the placement project, lots of discussion there about locations - I had a quick look in the glass and jewellery workshops with her, both locations seem quite positive and usable!
Then I cracked on working at making a prototype of what the video layout could look like - needs a lot of work and we will all be putting forwards our ideas in a meeting tomorrow - here it is:

It's supposed to be in a different aspect ratio (it's a 1080p hd image) so ignore its squishy appearance!!
Now I'm going to go pull my hair out on the wonderful bus journey back to Midsomer Norton!

Blender work and Placement insanity!!

I discovered today that the placement I am doing (although it is at the college) needs to be treated the same way as a full placement - ie I should be working full stop on that and not on other college work.  I wondered why the workload seemed quite insane, needing to spend 8 hours a day for 10 days on it makes complete sense, and I'm starting to wonder if I should be keeping a work diary!
So far we have:
Recorded the Principal talking about the fda courses in general
Created some sketches to show the overall look (will be making some prototypes tomorrow)
Walked around the main college building looking for suitable locations for filming
Had several meetings between ourselves and Helen Foley (who is in charge of us on this placement)

I have also been learning to use blender (which is a 3D modelling and animation program) and today I created this little nugget of random while learning to animate:

Anyway, that is all for now as it is Valentines Day and I want to spend some time with my other half!

Research time!

I've been working on research for my self directed project and turned up this really useful list for anyone else who needs to use html5 in web or app development - also a bit of CSS and jQuery in there too! :)
http://designshack.co.uk/articles/css/holiday-wish-list-15-web-design-books-youll-want-for-christmas

I also turned up the recently unveiled html5 logo!

I'm not totally convinced by the style or appearance of the logo!  Visually, I like the logo - it is simple, easy to remember and is bright and catches the eye.  My issue is that as a logo for such a forward looking specification, the bulky, sharp appearance seems quite "retro" reminding me of the logos and designs I used to see on old cardboard boxes holding engineering and scientific tools from the 60's and 70's.

Anyway back to spending masses on html5 books... ¬.¬

Snow, illness and tonsils!

Argh!  A combination of snow on the roads, snow in my lungs (or something like that) and dodgy tonsils have conspired to stop me going into college for quite a while now O_o
At least it's the christmas holiday now, gives me some time (hopefully, as long as I don't get ill AGAIN) to finish off some work - I almost have a workable site, just have to complete the showcase with past work and then I'm done...TO THE WEBATORIUM!!

Online portfolio and Yesterday's Visitor (Andrew Fuller)

Argh I spent all evening developing an idea for my website...which went nowhere!  A whole evening wasted!!
On the bright side at least I now have a working site (I spent the last part of the evening tweaking the other idea I was working on and I think it is now usable - I am going to sort out the other pages and go from there.  There is the beauty of style sheets in one!  I'm not totally sure if the site is ready colour scheme wise - but because I'm using one style sheet for the entire site I can go back and change just that to re-theme the whole site!!
If I can find a bug-free and simple way of including it I'm also going to put in a style switcher - giving the ability to switch the orange theme for a) a green one and b) a black and white "high-contrast" type layout.

Well anyway enough annoyance and grr-ing, here's my notes from yesterday:

Andrew Fuller - Design Bull (designbull.co.uk)

Andrew started out as a bit of a "jack of all trades".  He took on graphic design jobs, illustrator-type jobs, web design and anything that came his way.  He decided (as apparently many people do after a while) that it would be more sensible to specialise in one area, which he chose as logo-design and branding.
He gets a lot of business from single-person or startup businesses and for these he does a lot of branding, websites and business stationary.
He uses a questionnaire to help him extract what the client wants - this makes the job a lot easier for him as he doesn't have to keep talking to the client constantly to ask what they want.
Out of the whole business, he said that he finds the accounting side the most difficult!
When designing websites, he told us that it often works out much easier to use CMS-type software (Content Management Systems) as this means there is less back-end work to be done, and this allows him to focus on the front-end of the website.  The only CMS I have used in the past is Dragonfly - based on PHPNuke, but I think for most clients this would be too feature-heavy and "clunky".
Andrew often uses "Light CMS" to build websites for clients, it is very easy to use and includes many pre-made templates.  The only drawback of this approach is that if you create more than three pages it charges you monthly.
A lot of people worry about losing business by giving the client the ability to update their own pages etc - but apparently this is an empty worry as 90% of clients will get stuck or require updates - which will end in them calling you back!  It seems more professional to give the client the room to do things themselves and be honest with them (train them how to use the software etc) - as opposed to the approach many people take, telling the clients the bare basics to guarantee themselves return business.  If clients notice this, it may put them off of returning to you anyway - which is pretty self defeating!
Andrew currently charges a £60 hourly rate, after starting years ago at around £10 an hour.  He said that there is no "nationally accepted" pay rate for web design, and that you basically set your own fee.  It is largely down to confidence and experience! (ie. confidence/experience = higher rate)  Although it does not hurt to research local graphic/web designers online to find out how much they charge!!

There is software available - Andrew uses one called "Billings" - that can be set up to create invoices based on your hourly rate/other fees.  He told us that with new clients it is sensible to charge a percentage up front - most commonly 50% - as this covers you if anything goes wrong.  This could be something as simple as the customer skipping your payment, or the client going into liquidation and being unable to pay.
It is also sensible to give an estimate to the client - laying out how many hours you think each part will take, your hourly rate and any other charges.  If deadlines are exceeded, it is best to be honest with the customer and attempt to explain why - if it is because of changes they have requested, then the estimate can be referred to and then modified to compensate for this.
Andrew reminded us that although it can be important to work for free at the start (to find clients and get your name out there) it is not sensible to do this as much as you become more experienced - unless it is for an impressive client!
We were also told that there are many networking/breakfast networking groups in bath that we could join.  This is apparently a very good way of getting ourselves known and gathering valuable insights and contacts.
Some of the groups in the Bath area are:

• Creative Bath -  This is a new group, it is apparently not so good for finding work, but is good for meeting other professionals.
• 4networking - This is a national networking group, but they do hold events in bath!
• Small Business Focus - Another new group, unlike many of them this group charges only for events as opposed to a monthly/yearly fee.

I asked Andrew for advice on liability when creating websites.  The example I used was if I was to create a website for a client, which later there was a fault with and they lost personal data/money.  Would I be liable and how would I cover myself against this.
He informed me that you can get insurance (called Professional Indemnity Cover) which will cover you against this sort of thing.  There are also a set of Terms and Conditions on his website which he told me I could use (obviously changing relevant names etc) to help cover myself.
Design Bull has recently become a Ltd company - this means that if anything like this does happen, the company will be penalised, not Andrew directly.  This seems like a sensible thing to do in the future!

Edit:  A few other free CMS websites I have found:
http://www.cmsmadesimple.org/ - Appears to be totally free
http://www.cushycms.com/ - Free, but charges for professional use