We would like to invite you to CakeFest, February 6-8 2008 in Orlando, FL. CakeFest is the first gathering dedicated to CakePHP. The festivities will include three days of talks and collaboration related to PHP and CakePHP, especially the latest developments in the 1.2 version.

Count me in—hopefully I can make it to this gathering. Especially if I can talk Sam into going, too.

Via CakeFest: 2008-02-06, Orlando FL | The Bakery, Everything CakePHP : Articles.

UPDATE: The official CakeFest site launched and has more details.

Formerly known as the “Tucson Web Standards Group”, the Tucson Geek Meet is having a get-together the week after Thanksgiving at Old Chicago on North Campbell Avenue in Tucson. Save the date: Thursday, November 29, 2007 from 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM (add to iCal).

See details and get directions at the Upcoming event page.

Come out for food, drink, and good conversation with your fellow computer nerds and web geeks.

UPDATE: Thanks to Jeff, Jim, Geoff, Sam, and Face for coming out—we had a great conversation. It was a gorgeous night out on the patio with the rain!

Some things we talked about at the November Geek Meet:

• Keepass Password Safe
• Amazon’s S3 Storage
• TechSoup—a non-profit resource for non-profits
• External hard drives
• Dobro, the Backup Robot
• MarsEdit
• Nice, clean Wordpress themes (by pearsonified.com)

If I missed anything, throw a link in the comments.

As with his books, Edward Tufte suggests that your designs should be self-revealing. That is, they should practice what they preach. For example, his books on visual design are well-designed.

Not only that, but his presentation on presenting information, “Presenting Data and Information,” was very well presented. I was very impressed at the end of the day when his last point was “Finish Early,” and he said it three minutes before we were supposed to be done. What a great way to teach…

I highly recommend this conference by Edward Tufte, no matter what arena you work in. Check the E.T. web site for details on when/where to attend.

I attended the seminar on May 24th, 2007 in Crystal City, VA. I found the best way to take away his message was to encode small ideas as sentences.

Notes

Display of data should be driven by its content, not by what you are “good” at.

Use all the levels that it takes to explain the meaning of the content (not just one level).

Details matter: annotate relationships between items (it helps your credibility with the audience).

Model of a good diagram is a good map; maps generally don’t have non-essential information.

Don’t put boxes around things—instead, use that room to display information.

Provide “reasons to believe” such as a credibility statement. An example is a disclaimer such as, “This is the best we know until better evidence comes along.” Always leave the door open and be open to improvements.

Rich supergraphics supersede just generic bullet lists (E.T. doesn’t like the bullet “reveal” technique commonly used in PowerPoint presentations).

Aim for rich content and very simple design. This will maximize content reasoning time and minimize design “figuring out” time (decoding, fooling around, and figuring out time for people viewing your work).

Tables will outperform graphics for small datasets (less than 300 numbers). Example of sports pages and financial data (mutual fund page): these should be our models (you won’t find zebra strips or fancy icons there).

“Don’t get it original, get it right”: use excellent but conventional templates.

Research is more important and appropriate than creative work. Know your content!

Design standard: at least do no harm to the content.

Follow the metaphor of teaching and educating people through the content and design; use elite newspapers as examples: NY Times Thursday science articles for example.

The principles of analytical design are based on the principles of analytical thinking (and also therefore tied to nature’s laws)

The goal of information design is to aid thinking

• Example: if you want to compare things, show comparisons directly in your design.
• Example of Mihard’s “Napoleon’s March to Moscow” graphic: Mihard didn’t make the graphic because he was good at it (drawing, engineering). He was trying to make a strong antiwar statement. The word “Napoleon” doesn’t appear on the map anywhere; it’s about the soldiers. He cared about the content so much that the result is the best it could be. The design is obsessed by content.

Show important information side-by-side (avoid the flip, flip of back and forth movement to compare things visually). For example, the medical bill chart with annotated sidenotes is a good template for reports (explains the data with side-by-side notes).

Good quote: “If you look after truth and goodness, beauty looks after herself.”

Sparklines: based on the idea that graphics are no longer important; they are the same as letters and numbers.

“Nature” magazine: best statistical graphics available (also see “Science”).

Content matters most of all.

It’s over… my time in Austin, that is. I had a great time listening to live music, seeing friends and colleagues, and enjoying the city’s great eateries. Big cheers to the free buses (aka “Dillos”) that served our RV campground conveniently, though I must say the walk home was very pleasant along the Town Lake bike/hike path.

Three hip-hip-hurrays to the SXSW Interactive conference, also. It was great to meet everyone including: Dominique Lussier (Ottawa, Canada), John Mosteller, Christiano Prado, Grant Hutchins (newly of SpiceWorks in Austin, TX), Rob Grady, Dan Ritzenhaler and Ryan Johnson (Forty) and the good folks from SOMA FM (I told them that I love Big Al, their AI DJ and got a sticker!). James Archer and Nathan Smith—sorry we didn’t get to talk and catch up. I hear from lots of folks that attended this year that it was almost impossible to catch everyone for more than a “hello”, so hopefully we can connect again soon.

The conference has grown (a lot) since my first time in 2005. It’s good for the industry, and shows an enthusiasm that is contagious enough to bring the creative industry (aka Interactive) to the mainstream. The downside was some logistical issues at the conference center and a harder time meeting and talking to everyone. I’m thinking of skipping next year and going to a WDN or AEA conference instead.

Here are my thoughts, gripes, and notes:

Helvetica: Love it or Hate it

I had the pleasure of attending the world premier of the film Helvetica. It was inspiring, educational, funny, and elegant. Most impressive for a film about a typeface! Go see it if you get a chance. See the full screening schedule. (Also note Kottke’s review.)

Future Panelists?

Notes to all future panelist/speakers:

1. Please post slides to a URI for later reference (and for those that didn’t make it to the panel)
2. Please use a simple, not clever, title for your talk, and stick with the topic after giving the details to the SXSW folks. There were several sessions this year that seemed to promise A,B,C and delivered X,Y,Z; in one case it worked out well and in another case it was disappointing.

Sessions

Following are my notes and links from the sessions I attended. Like several other attendees, I tended to enjoy the one or two person sessions that were focused and well-prepared (as opposed to a fairly general panel that covered some ground but didn’t leave us with a lot of “take-aways” or solid learning.)

My favorites: After the Brief: A Field Guide to Design Inspiration (slides, podcast) and Web Typography Sucks. I liked both because they were superbly delivered, had great content, included valuable lessons, and covered areas that I need to work on.

Wishlist: Two sessions that I wish I had gone to are Writing, Better and Javascript: The Big Divide—both had great feedback and started good discussions. Can’t wait for the rest of the podcasts…

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m in Austin for the third year in a row to attend South by Southwest Interactive, and hoping to get into the swing of things as panels start tomorrow at 10AM.

Erin and I are staying here for a few weeks, which is a nice change from the usual drive in Friday night and leave Tuesday afternoon to get home to work and family. Our “Sol Seeker” is camped a mile from downtown at the charming “Pecan Grove RV Park” along the Barton Springs restaurant row (we are next to Chuy’s, Shady Grove, Romeo’s, Uncle Billy’s, etc). We’re a stone’s throw from Palmer Auditorium and Zilker Park. (Oh, and if you are curious what/who Sol Seeker is, she is our home on wheels that we write about at “Travel Adventures with Lance and Erin”).

So this year should be great—the conference has grown by leaps and bounds. The keynote addresses are now housed in the Hilton Ballroom since they apparently outgrew the size available at the Convention center across the street. It’s encouraging to see and feel the excitement surrounding the web design and interactive media industries (and film and music, too, for that matter).

Speaking of music, a side benefit to being here for a bit longer is that we can catch some shows. Last night we saw “The Mother Truckers” at the Continental Club (awesome venue and great band!) and had a great meal at Guero’s Taco Bar afterwards, a local favorite. Tonight was a Lucinda Williams concert, but we had to skip it. Tomorrow we might stop by and see Jimmie Dale Gilmore at the Cactus Club… maybe.

Stay tuned for thoughts and ideas from this year’s conference; I’ll post my notes sometime next week. Aaron and Brian, I’ll miss seeing you guys here. Sam and Michael R., you should come next time!

People often ask me how I learned web design. My first response is that I am still learning! The question comes from people who are curious about getting started in the field. In this blog I hope to share some techniques for learning web design especially aimed at beginners.

If you are interested in learning to design, build, and maintain web pages, read on. If you are already a web designer or developer, go build something, and use CSS to it’s maximum potential. (Jeremy Keith nails it again).

Web design is exciting, it changes day by day. It is a diverse field, and many have dabbled in it at some point in their online lives. As with web technology in general, there is room for a solid career in web design with potential for growth. Good web designers are very much in demand right now as the web expands and requires skilled people to build and maintain sites.

As with any career path, there are many ways to enter web design as a career. Most of my colleagues learned on their own, but I do know several web designers who took college courses and received degrees in computer-related fields. For the most part, though, web designers switched from other fields to dive into web design full-time. Web designers typically come from other backgrounds: graphic design, communications, journalism, art, business, and many more. Today, however, children and teenagers are exposed to web design early and are able to choose web design as a first career.

Whatever your current skill level or interest, there is a place for you on the web. The first thing to do is: try it! That is how I began: I signed up for a free Yahoo account (it was Geocities.com back then) and started my own web page. I enjoyed it, and eventually it expanded from a hobby to a full-time job.

I learned web design (and am still learning) through several methods: college classes, books, online tutorials, viewing source code, and experimenting. If you can do a little of everything, you will benefit from the variety of learning and teaching methods. Often designing a few web pages or sites on your own can be frustrating when you are a beginner, so team up with a friend, fellow student, colleague or family member. If they are an experienced web designer, so much the better. Looking over friends’ shoulders is another way I learned valuable web design skills.

College Classes

Take as many classes as you can. If your college offers a “webmaster” or web design degree, take it. Even if you think it’s too basic or hard, it will do you well.

Through my local community college I took basic computer programming, digital arts (Photoshop and Illustrator), and several web design-specific courses. I took one or two courses a semester, and was able to learn design and programming skills even as I was experimenting at home.

Books

There are lots of books out there. Here are some of my recommendations:

• Designing with Web Standards, by Jeffrey Zeldman (Amazon | Author’s site)
• Eric Meyer on CSS, by Eric Meyer (Amazon | Author’s site)
• Designing Web Graphics, 4th Edition, by Lynda Weinman (Amazon | Author’s web site)
• Web Standards Solutions, by Dan Cederholm (Amazon | Author’s site)

Online Tutorials

As with web design books there are many good online resources. They are mostly free, so take advantage of the wealth of knowledge out there. Here are some of my favorite web design blogs, tutorials, and references:

• A List Apart
• Digital Web
• ParticleTree
• HTML Dog CSS and HTML Reference
• SimpleBits.com

“View Source” and Experiment

One thing about web design is that most of your work is free for anyone to use: the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is visible to anyone with a computer and a web browser. This can be bad, as plagiarism, piracy, and stealing code is a common practice. But it can also be good for web designers because you can learn from other designers’ methods.

On any web site, hit “View Source” in your browser to see the HTML (in IE it’s under “View” toolbar, “Source”. In Firefox, go to “View”, “Page Source”). For CSS, use Firefox’s Web Developer Extension or copy and paste the URL for the CSS file from the source code. Feel free to look at and experiment with code, just make sure not to take it and use it as your own.

Learn Solid HTML and CSS Skills

Finally, a big part of being successful in web design is mastering HTML and CSS. Hypertext Markup Language is the de facto markup language for formatting web documents and Cascading Style Sheets is the language that gives the HTML markup it’s beautiful colors, typography, layout, spacing, and the rest of the visual elements. If you are a beginner, start with CSS and HTML basics and build up your skills from there. A solid foundation here will give you full control over your web pages and a deep understanding of how they work.

Note: A good resource: HTML and CSS: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Moving from Design to Web Design

If you are already working in the graphic or print design field, making the step to web design isn’t very difficult. Your skills will come in handy, and you can apply many of the same principles used in traditional design to web design.

For you, I recommend additional reading:

• Jeffrey Zeldman’s Taking Your Talent to the Web is a great book for transitioning designers (Amazon | Author site)
• Designing for the Web article on Digital-Web.com

Go Forth and Code

Whatever your skill level or desire, web design starts with solid HTML and CSS, training, reading, and experimenting. Don’t ever hesitate to ask for more information.