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Aeon Lorus

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Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 4:13 pm

I'm more of a programmer, who likes things to be streamlined and simple. But, for my website, Electro-Pulse.NET, I think a simple Content Management system is boring. So, I was thinking of the path of a hand made site, the interaction part is something I can do, but the design.. Not really. My question is, is it really hard to do it?

Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 3:55 pm

Aeon Lorus

I'm more of a programmer, who likes things to be streamlined and simple. But, for my website, Electro-Pulse.NET, I think a simple Content Management system is boring. So, I was thinking of the path of a hand made site, the interaction part is something I can do, but the design.. Not really. My question is, is it really hard to do it?

It depends. Since your site is about something you are passionate about, the chances are good(or at least better) that whatever you come up with will be attractive to your target audience. But you'll still want to study color theory and website design. There are several tutorials about designing a website out there. Also, look at successful/attractive programming websites to see what works, and also some really fugly programming websites to see what doesn't. wink

If I had complete free reigns in terms of designing your site, I'd make it look like a bash/DOS console with the classic black and neon green theme. That's just me though. domokun

Kitsuta

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Bolweevil

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Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:37 pm

What did you have in mind? and why is design suddenly sounding like something you have never done. If you can take the same principles you use when organizing code to be streamlined and efficient, and apply them to the look and layout of the page, it would probably work best for you.

Give it a shot, and if you get stuck you can always come back here and ask more questions. Design is easy if you can invision it in your head. Even a good concept is a good start if nothing else.

Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:18 am

Kitsuta

Also, look at successful/attractive programming websites to see what works, and also some really fugly programming websites to see what doesn't. wink

That's something that I've always found very useful. Borrow ideas from different sources, and mix it with your own ideas to come up with something you can call original wink CSS Zen Garden is always a great place for inspiration, because there are so many different skins, some effective and some... less so.

A few other things I usually find useful... think about what kind of message you want you site to be giving and your target audience before doing anything, and always keep them in mind. Design your site on paper or in Photoshop before coding, it makes things a lot easier to change around, and a good habit to get into if you have to present designs to clients. Make sure your site fits in 800x600px without horizontal scrolling, unless your design is one of the rare few that work horizontally.

Like anything, practice is the best way to get better... you start learning what rules are meant to be broken, and which are meant to be respected ^_^

Chisa
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mourning dove

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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 12:35 pm

you can always fluxate the emphasis of the design to fit your skills.

for example, if your best at graphics, you can create a graphics heavy website to make it look incredibly spiffy, even without lots of special coding.

If youre better at coding, you can add javascript and css for cool effects. These make your website funner to browse around, but remember not to go too overboard

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:26 pm

People giving good advice here smile .

One of my favorite advices: Go explore other websites and grab ideas (obviously not immitate). That's actually how I improved for all the art I do. Its hard to create something when you haven't done your research... you have less of an idea of what you're going for or doing.

DeviantArt is an excellent place to look for examples. If you're using Firefox (or a good non-Internet Explorer browser), then here are some awesome web designs you may consider looking at:

http://www.macthemes.net
http://www.widgetmachine.com
http://www.artofadambetts.com
http://www.macrabbit.com

Here's my web design, if you're interested:

http://www.pixelsage.com

Anyways, do your research is the bottom line.

Pixel Sage

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