Completed a web mockup
All posts in User Interface Design
Photoshop CS5 – User Interface ideas
I am experimenting with UI elements. Here I used two shape layers, gradient overlays and beveling to create a silver knob effect.
In addition, I worked on another idea for icon design. This was an icon that was meant to represent an RSS feeder. I created the paddle portion of it:
The idea of the knob came from this video: http://vimeo.com/3992865, the paddle from http://www.netmagazine.com/tutorials/create-web-icon
User Interface Design and web friendliness
I started really looking at my website and trying to get an idea of good useability. It turns out that I need to up the ante in regards to the contrast on my links and improve their visibility. I found this site that makes a easy checklist of things to look for in regards to being user centered:
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/top-30-web-design-mistakes.html
I will be going through that list to improve my site. Do you see some things on there that could improve yours?
HTML5
Let’s face it, HTML5 – although still very young and has a long ways to go before it will be to take the place of Flash – is growing in features every day and will someday take over as the language to script web information. The greatest thing about HTML5, JavaScript and WebGl (Web Based Graphics Library) is that applications built can function right in the web browser without having to have any other software, or plugins, etc. As defined by Mark Pilgrim on his great HTML5 site called http://diveintohtml5.org/ HTML5 is a collection of features that builds on where we are with HTML4. If you know HTML4 already, you know a lot of HTML5. HTML5, along with JavaScript and CSS3, are the future of the web.
I recently was stumbling along (and if you don’t have the great StumbleUpon Toolbar installed, it’s a must install! Visit here for more information: http://www.stumbleupon.com/home/) and came upon a site called Eleqtriq. Dirk Weber, an interface designer, built the site. He offers some great web development tools, in particular one called CSSWARP, which is a tool that automatically generates text into irregular paths and scripts it out for addition to your website with HTML5 code. Visit Dirk’s site at http://www.eleqtriq.com/ and you can find his CSS Warptext tool at http://csswarp.eleqtriq.com/.