stateofjoyce.com ~ "ART, EVENTS & CONSCIOUS REFLECTIONS"
WEB SITE DESIGN
I have been designing web sites since 1997 (archived list). For three years (aside from the freelance years) I was employed as a professional, on staff site designer, during which time I completed over 35 web sites. Companies included ACRO Aerospace, Pistol & Burnes Coffee, Movex, Kobelt Development Inc., Stream Organics, & Protonics Chemicals.
Do you still design sites?
No, currently my time is devoted to becoming a better artist, but I will stay on top of new developments and may consider select projects in the future.
Do you have any samples of your work?
This site is one!
What's your design philosophy?
It is my opinion that it is important for web designers/developers to stay on top of W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) standards and recommendations. The W3C has set standards to make sure that the web remains accessible and that sites stay viable as browsers and delivery methods change.
If you have a very specific audience for your web site you may choose to use technologies such as Macromedia Flash™. Even when using a technology such as Flash™ your users should still enjoy the process of visiting your web site even if, for whatever reason, they cannot view Flash™. To that end I enthusiastically recommend accepted standards and practices.
What this means in a nutshell is that I no longer produce sites where all the design elements are held in place with tables and I do not use static sized fonts. I use CSS to layout the design and I use font sizes and layouts that are fluid.
Go ahead change the font size in your browser or re-size the browser window. The integrity of the design remains.
What site design links do you recommend?
- W3C - "The World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) develops... specifications, guidelines, software,
and tools to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for
information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding."
Does your site meet the standard? - Hiveminds - Web forum with professional users and professional advice.
- W3 Schools - "Full
Web Building Tutorials - All Free
At W3Schools you will find all the Web-building tutorials you need, from basic HTML and XHTML to advanced XML, SQL, Database, Multimedia and WAP." - Web Standards Group - "The Web Standards Group is for web designers & developers who are interested in web standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT etc.) and best practices (accessible sites using valid and semantically correct code)."
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative - "Conformance ... will help make the Web more accessible to users with disabilities and will benefit all users."
- The Web Standards Project - The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards that ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
- Usability First - Guide; good for beginners.
- Ask Tog - "Because an application or service appears on the web, the principles do not change. If anything, applying these principles become even more important."
- Jakob Nielsen's Usability Web Site - Some think he's too restrictve in his design thinking, but itis definately worth it to note the things he points out as you consider your design.