The Internet, by it’s very nature, has always been an interactive medium. Years ago, forums, chatrooms, and guest books were the rage, but, as we’re all aware, the past few years have seen a swift change sweep in, with the interactivity rising through social media/bookmarking sites and blogs.

Change?

In essence, not that much has changed. We are now using different platforms, and there are more people, but that’s about it.

Like many, I’ve spent my fair share of time in all these various mediums of activity, and I currently have accounts, with Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious, Reddit, and Design Float (I don’t know how many invites I’ve had to Twitter, but, I’ve yet to join).

But, I want to discuss something else.

Where are your manners?

It appears to this lowly Internet user, that there are still a shocking number of people online, who do not know how to interact with any civility. I’m serious. Whether it’s in comments left on blogs, or on social media sites, it seems like many are deliberately making an effort to be as loathsome as possible.

Sometimes I’m left wondering, are they real people?

For example, a few days ago on Digg, I read the following comment;

“…human’s breed like rabbits..and usually it’s the lesser of the gene pool.”

Is it just me, or is that one of the most derogatory statements ever made?

I could go on giving various examples of hatred left on the likes of Digg, and many blogs. In fact, I’d love to interview some of the top bloggers, and ask them, “What’s the nastiest comment you’ve ever received from someone, who you sensed really meant what they said?”

It would be interesting to read some of the responses, would it?

I have a friend who’s quite experienced with Digg, and has written many articles which have hit the front page, and he calls Digg “a sewer.” Is he right? I’m inclined to think that many Internet users have the civility of wild beasts, and it just so happens that quite a few of them gather on Digg everyday.

It’s not that I’m against freedom of speech, or that I don’t like people expressing their opinions. But, can’t there be some restraint? Do we forget that behind every typed word, there’s a real person, with real feelings?

Below is a poll. I’d love to hear what people think of this. So, if you can promote this in anyway, by blogging, or just by asking some of your IM friends what they think, I’d love to hear a wide range of thoughts on this.

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It’s the weekend. Time to leave off ‘work’ and brush up on your skills!

Here are some of the best Photoshop tutorials I’ve come across lately. Not all of them produce a great end product, or something which you could actually use. However, replicating them will help you to develop your skills, and execute what you need to do, better.

1. 5 Pixel Popping Techniques

Not a new article by any means, but I only came across it recently. Outlines simple to execute tips, which can make all the difference in the final look.

2. Glitter Graphic Tutorial

Like I said, it’s rare that you’ll ever need to achieve the same look as the end product. But, this tutorial could be used for some other neat results.

3. Interstate Road Sign Tutorial

Excellent tutorial. The guy behind this site left a comment here on Alpha. I was glad. If you leave a comment on this blog, 99% of the time I will check out the url you leave, and I definitely didn’t regret browsing this site. Instant subscriber.

4. Web 2.0 Layout Photoshop Tutorial

Not exactly my preferred look for web design, and it could do with a few more steps to help add some depth. However, the tutorial may be useful for some of you.

5. Grass Text Effect in Photoshop

Collis has managed to come up with one of PSDTuts most awesome tutorials to date. This is, as the title suggests, stunning!

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Of course, your initial nigh perfect design, tends to spiral downwards from there, in accordance with client instructions.

Personally, I have a preference for quality minimalism, skilful colour palettes, or designs using natural textures. Among the latter, are those designs, which use wooden textures to invoke different emotions to the visitor.

It’s not easy to pull off the ‘wooden’ look. In fact, it can look tacky very quickly, particularly if a tiled image is in use. However, some designers have manged to create some high-impact websites, using wooden textures.

Here are some of the best I know of. Please feel free to point to one’s I’ve missed, by leaving a comment.

1. The Things We Make - Nice work. It possibly helped land him a job at Carsonified recently.

2. Armen Thomassian - Not sure who this rare boy is, but this is his Garden Fence

3. Writing Web Words - Clean, crisp, nice.

4. Lucy Blackmore - This is design gives the impression that someone creative is behind it. It’s therefore no surprise to discover that Lucy is an artist.

5. Nebon Media - Excellent use of perspective. Take a few minutes to look around this little studio tree house.

6. Wire and Twine - A more subtle use of wood, but clean and effective.

7. Red Blu - If all Flash sites were as creative as this, I might be encouraged to actually learn it!

8. Viget Advance - One of my favourite overall designs here.

9. Ed Did It - I’m not sure what Ed did, but I’d say he’s happy to say he created this design.

10. Lesly G - One of the best wooden backgrounds I found. Nice.

11. We Eatt - I told my wife about this site today. But, to be honest, I wasn’t pointing out the background!

12. Candes Projects - Nice work by Cristian, good use of transparency.

13. Ecstatic Media - Background works well with the pastel colours.

14. Designed by Anderson - I don’t normally like the lighter wooden backgrounds, but this is very clean, and well executed.

15. David Hellmann - This design has been up for a while now. Got to love it though.

16. Avenue Creative - No messing about with this portfolio.

17. Carsonified - How many times have you seen this design? It never grows old!

18. Nando Designer - Good work.

19. Henry Jones - Another one which has been around for a while, but I love it.

20. Happily Create - A little too orange for my liking, but I love the grain in this wood background.

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Not to be confused with Usability, Accessibility is all about giving equal access to everyone.

It has become a bit of a buzz-word over the last few years, in all areas of society. In the U.K. for example, there is now legislation in place, which demands certain design specifications for all new buildings, i.e.

• Doorways must have a clear opening width 800mm
• Corridors must have a clear width 1.2m
• Door handles must be 1m from the ground
• Light switches are to be placed at 1.3m from the ground
• Power sockets must be between a height of 350-500mm

All this for a minority of the population. Isn’t is all just a little over-the-top?

Far from it. In fact, many reasons have made it vital.

In a similar way, we must now remember that the Internet is no longer a place just for nerds and geeks. Grandpa now has a Gmail account, and is selling antique clocks on eBay. It’s critical therefore, that everyone is catered for.

However, if most were honest, accessibility is still something that lies in a dark corner of our minds. As long as it works for the majority, then we’re happy.

Let’s be realistic too; it’s almost impossible to predict, or figure out how a site will display in every possible browser, in every possible screen size and resolution, and how each mind expects something to work.

In fact, why is it that web designers get all the blame when a site isn’t accessible in all browsers? Shouldn’t those behind Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc, all be forced into strict standards so that they all display the same?

That said, we should still be making more of an effort, but why don’t we?

1. Few Are Leading The Way

A lot of what we do comes down to peer pressure, and in the area of web accessibility, there really isn’t all that much. If there was more pressure to conform, it stands to reason that more would make the effort, or spend more money in bringing their sites up-to-scratch.

2. There Are No Complaints

If you’re not aware of a problem, it’s going to make it pretty difficult to rectify. Like I said, it’s nigh impossible to predict how something will work or display in every possible scenario, so we rely heavily sometimes on feedback. If there are no complaints, nothing is changed.

3. Our Tests Are Not Thorough

Making sure a site displays correctly in certain browsers and resolutions, is not where accessibility begins and ends. Do we make sure that the language is easy to understand? Do the anchor texts to hyperlinks make sense? Do all images have appropriate ALT tags?

I am as guilty as anyone, but by right, shouldn’t these things should be checked?

4. It’s No Fun

If it looks fine, and works well for the majority, there’s no fun in spending more time and money to work on something that, for the most part, no one will notice.

For example, many online publishers don’t want to be restricted to using actual words. They would rather write like they talk on the street.

Having to worry about how it’ll be interpreted by the hardware and software the disabled are using, is not what many are considering as they write.

5. There’s No (Immediate) Benefit

Just because someone takes the time to make their site more accessible, doesn’t mean they’re going to reap heaps of benefits. True, search engines will probably find it easier to index a more accessible site, but that doesn’t guarantee the number one spot, or even the first page.

If it’s going to cost someone more money to make their site accessible, they will be more likely to place that money into buying links, and other forms of advertising.

Conclusion

There are numerous articles and websites addressing different aspects of accessibilty. However, there is a real lack of good material telling us how to make our sites more accessible.

It would be nice to see more mainstream, and popular websites leading the way, placing pressure on everyone else to conform. If that doesn’t happen, it’s going to be a long, slow process before the Internet becomes truly accessible to everyone.

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CSS is powerful when placed in the right hands. Isn’t it?

Nevertheless, it has a long way to go before web designers and developers have the freedom of expression that print designers have.

One of the greatest limitations surrounds typography.

Although progress is being made, we’re still nowhere near achieving the freedom the print designer has.

Having said that, there are certain typographic effects, which are available to web designers (without the use of scripts and hacks), that most aren’t making use of.

One of them is ‘Drop Caps‘.

The History

The trend of beginning a chapter or paragraph with a larger letter, dates back to around the 8th century (or so I’m told).

From that time, using ‘an initial’ advanced in popularity quite quickly, with scribes (those who would copy documents by hand before the era of the printing machine) often creating extremely elaborate designs within and around it.

One of the earliest known examples of using an initial, had a picture drawn within the letter (known as Historiated Initial).

Doing an image search for ‘historiated initial’ in Google, gives some wonderful examples of just how elaborate scribes became.

Initial usage today

Although the usage of initials hasn’t died out, they’re generally a lot less elaborate. You’ll find examples in most newspapers, and in many magazines and bibles.

Generally, where text is a major element, printers use a large initial/drop capital to draw attention to the commencement of an article or chapter.

Initial usage on the web

With the web being a resource for information, and most of that information coming in a textual form, doesn’t it make sense that there would be popular use of an initial?

But, it’s not the case.

In fact, as you the browse through the web, you will find only a very small percentage of websites use a larger first letter to garner attention, and for added typographic style.

There are a few though. Some of my favourites include:

ILT

Pearsonified

Jon Tan

I’m surprised more designers aren’t using drop caps in their designs; particularly in blogs.

Studies have shown that articles which begin with drop caps, are more likely to be read.

Don’t you want your articles to be read? I do. Therefore, I will be considering the idea of using a drop capitals in future designs.

CSS Drop Cap Tutorials

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Have you come across other examples or tutorials? Let me know, because I’m always interested in solid resources and examples.

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If you’re a reader of this blog, and you haven’t been in touch, please send me an email to say “Hi”. I love hearing from people.

We’ve now completed two months here, and glad to be able to say that we’ve more than doubled traffic and subscribers from the first month, which is good.

If you’re new, here are a few of April’s top articles:

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and of course, our free WordPress theme.Also, if you’re not already on the mailing list, you might be interested in the kind of articles I’m sending to those who are on it. Like;

• A Sneaky Authority/Traffic Driving Tip
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• 3 Strategic Ways to Utilize Google Alerts

…and more!

To sign up, just enter your info in the form in the sidebar.

Also, to say I have something brewing below the surface, that few people know about, is an understatement. If you’re a WordPress lover/user, you might just want to ‘watch this space’ over the coming months.

Of course, people on my mailing list will be the first to hear anything.

I’ve got a couple of showcase articles coming up. I know you love them!

See ya, and have a good weekend!

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So they say, and who am I to argue.

Most of us these days, are extremely consumer orientated, and gullible. We upgrade our computers more frequently than we have too. We buy clothes we don’t really need, and we buy the latest software versions when we have no need to.

We fall into the trap thinking these things will improve our quality of life, and our efficiency. The truth is, they rarely do.

Just ask Bob…

For you designers out there, which pride yourself in your CS3 (myself included), you’ve got to check out at least one of the videos below.

They’re created by uber successful illustrator and designer, Bob Staake (he has a client list, which looks like a Forbes Top 100), using nothing more than Photoshop version 3.

Yes, you read that correctly. That’s the version of Photoshop released in 1994!

It’s proof that tools do not limit creativity or ability, and it shows most of us just how useless we are with Photoshop. Many designers couldn’t create these simple, yet effective images, with the latest version of Photoshop.

Video #2

Video #3

Video #4

If you liked this post, please Digg or Stumble it. Thanks!

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One of the questions was,

“What are the skills and attributes to succeed in your career [design]?”

What a probing question!

To be honest, I didn’t answer it immediately. I was busy, and I didn’t want to give half an answer.

When I eventually did reply, below is what I wrote. And, if I do say so myself, herein lies 3 key prerequisites for designers who really want to succeed:

-Note: I have not edited these answers for the post, so they’re not beefed up like I would have done if it was initially intended for an article.

1. A desire to learn and grow

When one arrives at the realisation that ‘design’ is basically communication, they must then continue to learn the principles which will aid them to communicate effectively, whether they have a tertiary education or not.

Understand the rules of typeface usage, colour, contrast, symmetry, Golden Ratio, alignment, etc, etc, how to apply them, and how to break them when necessary.

2. The ability to communicate

An integral part of a designers life, is communication with clients. Understanding the needs of the client, and being able to create exactly what they need (not necessarily what they think they want), is a skill indeed.

Possessing the ability to deal with the ‘I’ll know it when I see it’ crew, takes great patience and experience.

3. Innovation

Sure, you might get by without it, but what sort of existence does a designer have without (at least) the desire to be innovative?

Without innovation, there are no new boundaries. Without innovation, there is no proof of development. Without innovation, there is no progress.

Society is changing all the time. Today’s designers must learn to communicate in tomorrow’s language, and yet, much of the work of a designer still needs to achieve the ‘timeless’ factor too.

Build upon it…

What would you have answered? Please let me know. I may have missed something vital, so I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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(I tried hard to resist beginning with that question, but I just couldn’t).

Some of you may be aware for the acronym (or is it an acrostic?) C.R.A.P. which outlines four solid principles for design:

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity

It’s nothing new. However, it’s a powerful base from which to judge and polish up a design, and I highly recommend you to take the principles on board if you do any sort of design work.

Below is a video I put together today, which discusses C.R.A.P. in further detail, and gives examples of it used well.

It has been quite some time since I created a video. While I was on Windows, I was using Sony Vegas, which I must admit, is totally awesome! It’s nowhere near as resource hungry as Adobe Premiere, and easily just as powerful.

When I got on a Mac, I imagined making videos more often. Far from it. Video editing has been the single most powerful reason why I’d think about going back to Windows. Yes, you read that correctly!

iMovie 08 is absolutely guff!!

So I bought Final Cut Pro. Boy oh boy…you’d need a freakin’ degree to figure out how to work that programme!

Anyway. That’s the rant over. Very unprofessional of me, but I think I just had to get that off my chest! I’ll not give up FCP yet. It’s too expensive to give up on. Any tips?

Here’s the video. I should have zoomed in on the websites I used as examples, but I’ll do it next time.

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So evolves another failing blog among the millions. But why will it be a failure? Basically, there’s more to success than luck. Leo Babauta, Brian Clarke, and Skellie didn’t just get lucky.

Follow these steps, and you’ll learn how to turn your trickling visitors into hundreds, and eventually thousands of raving fans.

1. Write list posts

This isn’t about what you like and don’t like, this is about what works. Lists work. In fact, it is now wired into the brain of almost every social bookmark user, to submit a list articles. I guarantee someone will submit this one!

Whether or not you like to write just a few words, or an essay, if you use your imagination, most can be turned into a list, and will therefore be more successful in garnering social bookmark attention, and links from other sites.

2. Write engaging titles

Sometimes I spend ages on a title for a post. I’m not the best at it, but I’m learning.

Why do you have to spend time on the title? Simple; most visitors don’t want to read your blog.

Seriously. They’re only going to read it if it will benefit them. This isn’t some leisurely hobby, this is about value!

The reader gives you their time, if you give them something in return. In order to lure them to give their time, you must use the title to engage them. You must use it as a ‘call to action’.

3. Write with authority

Most people aren’t leaders. If you look around, most of the people you know will not be ‘leader’ material.

However, leaders are attractive people. I say attractive in the sense that they reap attention from others.

As social creatures, we like leaders. We like authority, and because it stands out from the wishy washy crowd of the 21st century, it’s more likely to attract success.

Know your subject, let people know that you know it, and enforce your authority.

— Note: this is not an excuse for pig-headedness!

4. Get friends

Subconsciously, we class people differently according to our exposure to them. This is true in the ‘real’ world, and online. Let me explain.

As a blog owner, here is my social exposure scale in order of least to greatest:

• Visitors - they visit and read, but I know nothing about them.
• Commenters - I know their name, email, and website.
• Feed subscribers - I never check out who they are, but they’ll get my attention if I discover they’re a subscriber.
• Mailing list subscribers - I have been given permission to communicate directly to their inbox. It’s already a crowded place in there, so I feel priviledged.
• Email contact - We’ve had a two-way private discussion, and we’ve shared things no one else knows about.
• Instant Message Friends - We talk in real-time, on a regular basis.
• Skype buddies - We’ve spoken to each other by voice, maybe even via video. We’re real friends.
• Meet in person - Hey…we’re brothers!!

The more you travel up this scale, the more you’ll be able to ask of people, and able to use their power to help you succeed online.

Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to drive your way up this scale (with tact) as fast as possible. If you can get on my IM list for instance, and you ask me for a Digg or Stumble, you’re going to get it.

5. Leave engaging comments

Comments can be a powerful means of getting yourself some attention - if used well. There are two major ways to use comments effectively to attract attention from other bloggers.

i) Leave a comment which obligates them (the author) to like you - in other words, if you Stumbled or Dugg the post, tell them. If it transformed your life, tell them.

ii) Ask questions - Most comments are repetitive drivel that don’t need a reply. Stick out from the crowd by asking a related question. They must then focus attention on you. Do the same with those that leave comments on your blog. It encourages them to return.

Use both of these tactics together, to make a real impact.

If you follow these tips carefully and perform them frequently, your blog will quickly build momentum and attention, and you’ll drive traffic to you site which you only ever dreamed of.

What other ways are there to drive a blog to success? Let me know in the comments.

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