17 March 08 2:03 am 2 comments

New Site Up: Finally!

Welcome to the new site all!

This has been a long time coming and as a designer I must say, the hardest design to do, is for yourself. Although I am sure I will get compliments on the new look and feel, I believe I will never be happy with what it all looks like. I am a perfectionist, what can I say?

The site has taken a similar look to the former jbiljr.com site that is now defunct. Johnny Nines is now the place to find my personal blog and designs on the web. i am following up the launch of this site with the launch of JohnnyBackgrounds, which will be coming by end of next week. JohnnyBackgrounds will be the new home of Wallpaper Wednesday and other tasty goodies I have whipped up.

There are a ton of bugs to iron out on JohnnyNines.com but the list is getting shorter. With all the work that has been coming in it gets increasingly difficult to maintain your own web presence. I am sure there are some questions as to the name of the site so here is an explanation:

First, the former jbiljr.com was just a hard domain to remember. It did not quite roll of the tongue, if you know what I mean. It was a Geoff DiMasi that expressed the concern that JBILJR was just not a good moniker and I was in total agreement. With that advice in hand I went in the search of a new name.

So why JohnnyNines?

Well the truth is the number nine plays a bit of a roll in my life. My football (soccer) number has been 9 since high-school except for the short stint that I played with Mantua United. Also I am a craps player, and the “Nina” or 9 is a bet I use dominantly in my system. The name JohnnyNines also is a good tag for that devious looking logo I have created for myself. He looks like he belongs in a casino lounge, sipping a Makers Mark Manhattan, too cool to worry about the small stuff in life. The character also represents the Cheshire Cat persona that I walk around with. It is rare to see me with out a smile or giggling out loud as I humor myself with my reality. With all this in consideration, JohnnyNines was born.

I hope you all enjoy the new site and some of the new work that I have put up here. There is still a lot to do so you should be seeing much more here in the weeks to come.

22 May 07 5:29 pm No comments yet

Design Includes CSS

Now that the web is evolving into a more application driven, social platform; interface and information design is more of a factor than it ever was before. As designers we have a responsibility to help our developer counterparts translate their web apps into concisely designed GUI’s that allow the user to interact with a site in the most efficient way possible.

To achieve this, web designers must be able to at least understand the ins and outs of CSS/XHTML and understand the basics of most web development languages like PHP and Ruby. The days of passing off a sliced up Photoshop file are far behind, we now need to consider typography, information structure and usability in web design. These items cannot be addressed with just a pretty Photoshop file; they must be addressed within the code, as we work side by side with a developer.

Understanding the language and methodology of our developer friends augments our ability to assist them in delivering a more usable, more beautiful web. My insistence in writing my own CSS, forces me to work closely with the developer, and get a good understanding of the site or application they are building. This becomes a winning relationship because now we are co-working, not handing off responsibility until it is the other one’s turn. It gives the developer a better premonition of the final product, allowing him to catch flaws and make adjustments to his app more efficiently than before. In return the designer gains a familiarity with the overall workings of a site, and how it performs the requests of the users, therefore allowing us to compensate for confusing design, and poor user experience. It just works better this way.

Those looking to make the leap between print and web design can find nothing but advantage in learning how to code CSS / XHTML. Resources are abundant and in most cases you can be designing CSS based sites in one night. Like everything, practice will help you improve your coding and eventually change the way you design web sites — for the better I promise you.

On the other hand, if you have been a so-called “web” designer that turns their nose up at web code, you may want to seriously reconsider. I am not saying that every designer should run out and learn every web language they can, but it cannot hurt. CSS/XHTML should be second nature for any web designer and if you don’t know it…well…you really cannot say you are a web designer. Calling yourself a web designer and not knowing how to code CSS is as bad as calling yourself a graphic designer and only using CorelDRAW!

This post is pretty much a rant, a call to arms if you will. I am hoping to promote a better coworking relationship between designers, and developers. There is no O’Reilly book for color theory, or typography or even for layout. We need to be that for our dev colleagues, we need to direct them visually as much as they direct us functionality. This leads us all to the same goal, designing the best experience for our audience.

[tags]independents hall, coworking, CSS, XHTML, web design[/tags]

11 May 07 9:55 pm No comments yet

VectorPark

vectorpark

So instead of going back out and making sweet love to a few pints of Guinness, I decided to take a little stroll in the Vector Park!

The site is a creative use of various Flash animations and algorithms that create an artistic world of interaction. There are three sections of the park each with its own interactive environments, and quips. The second section kept me occupied for at least 45 minutes!

Although it seems like some of the interactions are over, there is much more to them, so do not be so quick to move on if one of them seems boring.

This one is definitely in the bookmarks and may just become one of my regular walks in the Park!

30 April 07 3:04 pm No comments yet

Resources For Designers

In a recent thread on the Independents Hall list-srv, David Speers asked us all to list our favorite daily blogs. This spawned a fascinating set of child threads that lead me to sites I have never been to before. As I finished up my list I figured it would be good to augment the items and write a post of my most used and abused web resources for design.

The following is a list of those resources that I cannot do with out. Hope you find it useful.
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30 March 07 1:25 pm No comments yet

Philadelphia Coworking

The Independents Hall website was launched yesterday, and I cannot tell you how good it feels to contribute to an organization such as this. The IH meeting earlier this week left me very anxious for more. Alex has given me the coworking bug and I am studying all I can on the subject. It has also made me revisit the foundations of my design philosophy.

Alex’s little synopsis of what Independents Hall was all about, and how the idea of coworking could really benefit the Philadelphian freelancer, gets right in line with my Bauhaus driven design philosophy. Echoes of the Wiener Werkstätte and the Werkbund, founded by Hermann Muthesius and Peter Behrens; rang in my ear as the meeting progressed. I could not help but consider that both of those early design organizations probably started the same way.

Both were founded on the idea of creating a profitable environment for designers and craftsmen, while promoting the improvement of the services and goods they were offering. In 1903 it was mostly centered on manufactured goods, but for our modern times it is design and technology, which, for all intents and purposes, are modern manufactured goods.

The coworking movement is following this very same idea; get a bunch of talented free-agent designers, developers, artists, and business types together to build on the success of each other. All the while promoting free flowing, ideas in a creative, open minded environment; contributed to, and sustained by the very workers that provide it.

To me that was always the business model for my dream job!

Among the many benefits that come with coworking at Independents Hall, the one that sets its hook in me is the social creative environment that it generates. As a creative that has worked in bullpens with other designers, and now works alone, from a home studio; I feel the subtle drain of sustained creativity, due to lack of social interaction during my business day. I was not aware of how much I feed off the everyday company of coworkers, and creatives; it is kind of scary.

Independents Hall is sure to leave its mark, and I am ecstatic about the opportunities, and relationships that are sure to blossom.

[tags]independents hall, coworking, philadelphia[/tags]

25 March 07 6:43 pm No comments yet

My First Web Award!

The Best Design

About an hour ago I was informed that this site and Miskeen Originals were featured on The Best Design! This is my debut on a CSS design showcase and I hope it is not the last. It means so much to me to have not just one, but two of my sites featured.

Thanks TBD! I will not forget it!

I also discovered that I am showcased on Pro Web Art as well! It appears that my exposure is more widespread than I had originally thought!

This is really a good feeling, I mean I knew I was a decent designer, but to be highlighted on showcases just reinforces my confidence as a designer.

Thanks All!

23 March 07 10:28 pm 1 comment

Independents Hall

Tuesday of this week Alex Hillman and myself meet-up for a couple of beers at Eulogy. I had only known Alex through the PANMA list-srv, where we traded occasional banter. I knew he was a developer who had recently returned from SXSW, and really had his hand on the pulse of current, positive, web trends. Someone who’s experience and talent I could really get on board with and start coworking.

Independents Hall, is a philly based coworking community started by Alex earlier this year. The basic premise is to create a community of independents; sharing off of mutual success in a professional, yet cafe-like atmosphere. The idea; while I am sure was thought of by many independents, was placed into motion in San Fransisco by Brad Neuberg, back in 2005.

As a newly independent/freelance designer I was starting to feel the rough edges of working from home, alone, everyday. It is a fantastic time to be a freelancer especially in the current design and development arenas. However, there is such an atmosphere of ideas that gets generated when you work in an office with other creative types, and I was missing that in a big way. My mind just started to feel the pinch of not working with anybody. Getting involved with Independents Hall is about to change all of that.

Through Independents Hall I will be able to work on projects with other designers and developers, expanding my services through the services of others. Now as a member of a group of independents, we all benefit from assets we can provide each other; equipment, experience, services, technology, vendors, etc. All of us working together to gain success.

The first meet-up for Independents Hall is Monday, and I am attending with a good amount of excitement. I am forever grateful to Alex for introducing a concept such as this to me! There is a bright shiny future ahead for my business and lifestyle that will blossom from this initial meet-up.

15 March 07 2:49 pm 1 comment

PANMA Badges

Below are the PANMA badges that I created for all the members of the group. I did three for different uses. The smallest is the traditional 80×15 web badge, the other two are light and dark button styles.

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14 March 07 10:24 am No comments yet

New Website Launched

It has been many hours, tons of different designs and me getting over myself in order to proudly announce the re-launch of my website.

I had not been using the site as a daily part of my routine, this seemed pretty lame considering the amount I write and my abundant use of the internet. I have spent many hours on other designer’s sites and blog’s searching for the reasons why I was not doing the very same thing. The solution was simple, just put my head down and get it done.

Since the first of the year I have been working to get this off the ground. Finally I have the project at a point where I feel confident in the outcome. I have updated with the help of the new version of Wordpress, and will be further implementing different functionality in the upcoming weeks to improve the usage of my site as a communication and development tool for my work as a designer.

I hope you enjoy the redesign and would love to see some of you back here again!

30 January 07 7:07 pm 1 comment

Like A Damn Car, Man!

Since I have gone freelance back in June, I thought rarely that I would do very good. I mean, it was just something to do between jobs right? Until recently that is all I thought it was, just something to do so that I did not have to take the first “production” job that happened to come up on craigslist.

I took a risk back in June when I told my, soon to be former boss, that what he was paying this designer, equaled jack shit compared to the kind of employee I was. I left the company two weeks later, with nothing but a loose contract with a possible freelance client.

One client!

I look back and think, I must have been crazy.

In this, my 3rd attempt at freelance, I have noticeably learned from the previous two attempts. That one “possible” client ended up sustaining me until September. It was nothing glamorous, mind you; it was just enough. From June to September I searched for jobs; in Philly, abroad, on the West Coast, etc. You get the picture. All the while looking for potential work.

By the end of September things were rough. My one client halted work on their project, I was a month behind in rent and was about to call my parents to see if they could help me out. The next day I picked up two clients, it was as if life just wanted to “waterboard” me a bit to see if I could take it.

Since September things have been progressively gaining momentum. I now have 5 clients including 3 that have me on retainer. I am still living month to month but I can see the foundation of a prosperous freelance design career.

I likened this to an old car. You get in it and try to start it up, nothing happens. You make adjustments, and try again, now you are getting clicks and chokes. You make more adjustments and she starts to turn over. This is how my career is feeling right now. It is as if I am a car turning over, just waiting for the opportunity to rev my engine and peel down the road, on my hopeful way toward my own design studio.