http://184.154.109.90/~pumpkin/index.php en jeremy_girard@yahoo.com Copyright 2013 2013-01-19T23:55:34+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/folding-squirrels http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/folding-squirrels#When:23:55:34Z Folding Squirrels And So It Begins I have just begun a new semester teaching at the University of Rhode Island. As I meet my new students and begin presenting an introduction to the wonderful world website design and front-end development, one of the truths I also hope to convey to these students is that the most critical element to their success as web designers is something I cannot give them in the classroom – experience. Building a Foundation The majority of the students that I teach are new to web design. They have never worked with HTML or built a website before, so my primary goal is to forge a solid foundation of skills and knowledge that they can build upon. This is what the classroom is good for – covering the information that will form their foundation. This includes lectures and an explanation of the syntax of both HTML and CSS. It also includes practical lab exercises where we will put that knowledge to use and build a basic introductory website in the early part of the class and a more robust site later on. There is, however, only so much I can present inside that classroom. To truly be successful, students must build upon this foundation outside of class - they have to practice what they are learning. My Turn to Learn I am not big on New Year's resolutions, but at the start of each year, I do decide on new skills or activities I wish to explore for my own continued self growth. In the past, these new skills have sometimes centered around website design and development and the work that I do. Other times they have not – such as last year when I decided to take up the violin. For this year, I have chosen to try my hand(s) at origami. My first step has been to learn the symbols and techniques of origami – a process that is not that different than my students learning the syntax and basics of HTML and CSS. Understanding the difference between a mountain or a valley fold or learning to fold one of the handful of bases that many origami designs are built upon is how I have started my exploration into the art of paper folding. While I would love to jump right into folding complex designs, just like my students would love to design and develop a professional-quality website after their first class, the reality in both cases is that you need to start small and with the basics. Rise of the Squirrels After a few weeks of learning the basics of origami, I decided to try my first design – a squirrel. The book that I am using to learn origami lists this design as a “fundamental model”, so I figured it would be a good start for me. The first time I tried to fold the design was rough. The instructions confused me and my hands simply didn’t want to move the way they seemingly needed to in order to make the necessary folds. After struggling through the design for about 45 minutes, I gave up on this attempt – but I did not quit. The next day I was at it again – another try at my origami squirrel. This time I found that some of the instructions I had struggled with last time came a little easier. My hands felt more comfortable with the paper and the folds and after about a half hour, I had a squirrel. Admittedly, my completed design was roughly done and didn’t look nearly as nice as the one in my book, but I could see the squirrel poking out through that series of folds. I had completed my first origami design. March of the Squirrels Encouraged by my success, I tried the design again the following day. This time, I completed the project much quicker and the final result was much crisper. This was only my third time folding this design, but I could feel such a difference already. Folds and techniques that were seemingly impossible at first began to felt natural and intuitive. I completed the design in about ten minutes and was thrilled to see that the final result was better than before. I grabbed another sheet of origami paper and immediately began folding. Once again the end result was better than my previous attempt. Excited by my progress, I quickly began again – my fifth attempt at the design and third in a row that day. A short while later, I proudly displayed my latest origami squirrel - one that I was delighted to admit looked very much like the photo in my instructions book. I placed him beside my first few attempts (expect for my very first try, that one end up in the trash) to create a nice timeline of my progress on this project. You can a photo see these final designs, and the progress I made with each successive attempt, at the top of this article’s design. Each try produced a better result – the product of dedication and practice. Learning by Doing Five attempts of this project took me from failure to a pretty damn good representation of a paper squirrel. Every time I tried the project again, I got a better result. This is the lesson I hope to share with my web design students, and others new to this industry – that to get better, you have to do the work. My first five website design projects have been lost to the years, but if I could look at them all today, I know I would see progress in each one similar to what I see in my origami squirrels. This is what I cannot give my students in the classroom, the experience that only comes by doing the work over and over again. Just as my hands began to feel comfortable and the techniques natural as I folded each subsequent squirrel, the process of web design will also begin to become clearer as you build out more projects. You start to develop a workflow that suits your individual process and develop tricks and ways of doing the work that you can only discover by actually getting your hands dirty with a project (or as “dirty” as pixels and HTML code will get your hands). Year in and year out, I see this in the students that I teach. Those that put only a little effort in get only a little in return, but those that work hard outside of the classroom and experiment with what they are learning produce better work and go onto greater success after the class is over. Whether you are folding origami squirrels or building websites, the process is the same. Start with the basics and form a solid foundation upon which you can build. Once you have that foundation – do the work. Do it over and over again, refusing to become discouraged when things don’t go as planned. Those bumps in the road will teach you as much as the subsequent successes you have. Just keep doing the work – before you know it, you will have a gallery of websites, or an army of paper squirrels, that you can be proud of. 2013-01-19T23:55:34+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/robots-under-the-tree http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/robots-under-the-tree#When:00:14:12Z Robots Under The Tree - A Lesson in Setting Expectations for Clients and Christmas Lists My son, Jacob, wants a robot for Christmas. He’s not looking for an action figure or a remote control toy - he wants an actual robot that he can command to do chores, bring him drinks, and generally serve as a robotic assistant. Jacob first began asking for a robot after seeing last year’s "The Muppets" movie, in which Kermit has a robotic butler named "80s Robot". This character is essentially based on the Omnibot 2000, a toy robot released by Tomy in the mid-1980s. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good because the thing he wants actually exists – kind of. The Omnibot 2000 is a toy, not a sentient robotic being, but it would still blow his mind if he found one under the Christmas tree. The bad news – a used Omnibot 2000 sells for hundreds of dollars and a brand new one would run into the thousands. That’s a bit more than I want to spend on a 30-year old toy that my kids are likely to break before the New Year arrives. Santa Sets The Bar High I have tried to explain to my son that they don't make this robot anymore, so I can’t buy him one at the store. His answer? “No problem, Dad! I’ll just ask Santa for one.” This is the problem with Santa Claus – he can make anything. Since he builds all the toys in his North Pole workshop, a simple hurdle such as an item being out of production for three decades is no problem at all for the jolly old elf. Reinforcing this belief is the fact that, for the past two years, Santa has brought my son toys that were “vintage.” Two years ago, he asked Santa for a Transformers’ Optimus Prime toy, not a new one – but one “like Daddy had when he was a kid.” Last year, he asked for another old school Transformer, the space shuttle/dinosaur named Sky Lynx. While both of these toys were, indeed, first released many years ago, they had both been re-released in the last few years, meaning you could find newly released versions of these vintage toys at a reasonable price. So, in a nutshell, Santa’s awesome gift-giving these past few years has cemented Jacob’s belief that he can ask him for anything. So what do I do now to avoid a disappointing Christmas morning? It looks like it’s time for an exercise in setting appropriate expectations. Setting Expectations Setting appropriate expectations is one of the main things I do in my role as Director of Web Development for Envision. You see, just like my son believes that Santa can make him any toy, so do many clients believe that we can make their website do anything they can imagine. The Web is an incredible place, and we certainly can do amazing things with websites. Yes, there are technical limitations of websites, but those are normally easy to discuss with a client. Technical limitations aside, however, there are really three barriers to consider when making promises on website projects: Budgets Timelines Your Capabilities Being Honest Setting unrealistic expectations for web projects is often the by-product of not being honest about one, or more, of the barriers listed above. You may not set out to be dishonest with a client – in fact, in many cases, the person you are being dishonest with is yourself. It is healthy to accept a job that provides a challenge. Taking this type of work is often how we learn and grow, but we must also know our limitations and when we are in over our head. Being honest means realizing when a job is a fit for you and when it is not. Similarly, agreeing to do work for a budget or according to a timeline that is unrealistic is another surefire way to strain client relationships. If, from your experience, you know a project cannot be done as quickly or as cheaply as a client is asking for, then do not agree to those conditions - because when you agree to unrealistic requests, you set unrealistic expectations. Taking On A Challenge We’ve all been there before – taking on a project that was a real stretch of our strengths or one that was subject to a very challenging budget or timeline. There are times when taking these projects is the right choice. Maybe it is for a good cause or for an existing client whom you want to help out. Maybe it is just a really cool project that you are excited to be a part of or because it will provide you with a valuable learning experience. Whatever the reason may be, there are instances where these jobs makes sense for us – but we need to be mindful of the reason we took the job and honest about the challenges before us. If we knowingly take a gig with an overly aggressive timeline, be up front about that with the client and explain how you will meet their deadlines – such as extra hours on nights and weekends, extra hands contributing to the project, etc. There are ways you can make it work, but Step 1 is discussing the challenge with the client so that they are aware of it. The same holds true for budgets or capabilities. If you are taking on a project knowing that there is a significant challenge to overcome, be honest about it with yourself and your client. If you have an honest discussion about the situation and they still wish to proceed with you, then you kick off the engagement on the same page with everything on the table before you. This Is Not A Free Pass Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t deliver on your promises. If you take the work and the challenges it brings, be prepared to meet those challenges. Being honest doesn’t give you an excuse to fail. What it does instead is define those challenges and how they will be met. This can include items that are the client’s responsibility and which you must hold them to if you expect to succeed. If the project is a success, being up front and honest about the challenges will ensure the client is aware of what you achieved for them. That kind of superhero-like achievement is a great way to build strong, long term client relationships. On the flip side, if things do not go according to plan, and realize that when you take projects like this, there will be some challenges that you fail to meet, at least you were honest about those challenges at the onset, instead of promising them nothing but clear skies and smooth sailing. I can’t guarantee that your clients won’t be angry if you fail to meet the challenges before you, but I can assure you that if you are honest with yourself and careful with the challenges you take and honest with your clients about the road ahead, you are working to set realistic expectations and build long term relationships. Breaking The Mold So – back to my Christmas dilemma. While I am a big proponent of being honest with yourself and with clients, I am a little more flexible when it comes to telling a harmless fib to my kids – especially one that helps maintain the magic of Santa Claus. The simple reality is that Santa is not bringing Jacob an Omnibot 2000 this year. The reason? They broke the mold. I explained to Jacob that Santa can, indeed, make just about anything in his toy shop. In the old days, most toys were made out of wood, so Santa and his elves simply chopped down some trees and whittled and carved away. Today’s toys, however, are often made of metal and plastic – which means they need molds to make the toys. Sadly, those molds break down over time and become unusable. This is what happened to the Omnibot 2000 mold – or so I told Jacob as a way of explaining why Santa would be unable to make him a robot assistant for Christmas this year. His reaction? He simply shrugged and accepted that this would be a robot-free Christmas. Coming full circle on this story, Jacob then changed his Christmas list from the robot he saw in the Muppets movie, to wanting an actual Muppet instead. Now that I can do! May your season be filled with robots and Muppets and holiday joy. Merry Christmas. 2012-12-01T00:14:12+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/waiting-for-the-great-pumpkin http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/waiting-for-the-great-pumpkin#When:12:42:18Z Waiting For The Great Pumpkin Our Tradition Every Halloween night, my family observes a beloved tradition. After the kids have finished their trick or treating, the costumes have been taken off and put away, their faces cleaned, teeth brushed, and pajamas put on, we sit down together and watch the classic Halloween special, "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." I love this special and have been watching it since I was a child myself, but thinking about the show recently, as I considered topics for my annual Halloween-themed article here on Pumpkin-King.com, I identified something in the story that I had never really considered much before - specifically in regards to Linus and his unwavering belief in the mythical Great Pumpkin. Despite the letdown he experiences each year and what the evidence before him shows, he refuses to accept the truth. I recognize this misguided faith, because I regularly see a similar belief in some of the people I speak with about their outdated and underperforming websites. Poor Linus I’ve always felt bad for Linus. I mean, let’s be honest, the rest of the Peanuts gang were pretty mean to him. He is clearly younger than his sister and the other kids and his childhood faith in his Halloween deity does nothing but draw their ridicule. Kids can be jerks sometimes. While I can appreciate Linus' dedication to his belief, the reality is that he pays a price for that faith - no trick or treating and bags of candy or fun at the Halloween party. Instead, he spends each Halloween sitting in a “sincere” pumpkin patch hoping that this year will be different. Similarly, companies who stubbornly cling to the belief that their website is working for them, despite evidence to the contrary, are paying a price for that faith as well. This price is much more than just the loss of some Halloween candy, however - it is often the loss of new business. Websites Don’t Last Forever Even the best website, built on the latest platform with the most current standards, will become outdated at some point. You may have a dedication to continuous improvement on your website, but changes such as new browsers, devices, or best practices often require changes in websites that go beyond simple updates or ongoing maintenance. Unfortunately, many companies, few of whom have that aforementioned “dedication to continuous improvement”, convince themselves that their websites are “just fine.” You can show them how their site performs poorly on many newer devices - such as smartphones or tablets, how it doesn’t rank effectively in search engines, or how the overall user experience is confusing, but just like Linus refuses to look at the facts and see the truth, so too do many companies who balk at the thought of investing in their website. The reality is that if you invest nothing in your website, it will give you nothing in return. Meanwhile, your competition is investing in their online presence and attracting the business that could be going to you. What You Put In Is What You Get Out Instead of saying “my website does nothing for my business - therefore I’m not going to invest in it”, you should be thinking “my website does nothing for my business - why is that and what can I do to change it?” A website is a tool for your business and, like any other tool, it is only worth what you invest in it and how you well maintain it. A free or low-cost do-it-yourself website provided as an add-on by some web hosting company is worth what you paid for it - little to nothing. Similarly, a website - any website - that is launched and then completely neglected will not give you the results you desire. You need to start with a quality website and adopt a realistic workflow for keeping its content updated and relevant. What you put into a website is what you will get out of it. Start by partnering with a professional web designer or agency that can help you answer that question - “why does my website do nothing for my business and what can I do to change it?” Get Out of the Pumpkin Patch Childhood faith in an unseen holiday deity is endearing. Pigheaded insistence that an outdated website will somehow miraculously begin working for your business, thereby requiring no additional attention or investment, is just plain silly. Don’t be silly - get your business, and your website, out of that pumpkin patch and join the party. It’s much nicer here - and we have candy. 2012-09-30T12:42:18+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/how-designing-websites-prepared-me-to-play-the-violin http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/how-designing-websites-prepared-me-to-play-the-violin#When:02:03:42Z How Designing Websites Prepared Me to Play the Violin If you’ve read any of the articles here on my site, you know that I like to tell stories. Through those stories, I find lessons in the day to day situations of my life and apply them to my work as a web designer. Over the years I’ve found web design lessons in Halloween candy and Christmas presents, waterparks, sushi, donuts, Star Wars, Batman, and more. While life has taught me a lot about web design, web design has also taught me a thing or two about life. Such was the case when I recently decided to try my hand at playing an instrument, only to discover how designing websites had prepared me to start playing the violin. Learn It Online First, a little backstory - my decision to begin playing the violin started, strangely enough, by replacing a leak in my shower (trust me, there is a connection). The handle had been leaking for some time, and rather than call a plumber, I decided to take a shot at fixing it myself after watching a video of how to do so on YouTube. It went pretty well and I soon followed up this successful repair with one on our kitchen sink and then on the taillight in my wife’s van. In each case, I learned how to make the fix by watching online videos. Emboldened by my video-powered, handyman successes, I wondered what else I could learn online. Throughout my entire web design career, the Web has served as my primary teacher– via blogs and articles, tutorials, or sites like Lynda.com. So with those experiences in mind, I decided to kick off a little online learning experiment. I have long wanted to play the violin, so after finding a website that offered some excellent video lessons, I decided to that I would attempt to learn the violin as the subject of my little experiment. Solve Pieces of the Problem One of the first web design lessons that I applied to my new musical endeavor was to solve pieces of the problem instead of the whole problem. From pushing pixels in the design process to debugging CSS and browser inconsistencies – approaching the problem one piece at a time, and focusing on the small details along the way, has always been a helpful approach for me. As I began my violin lessons and started trying to play songs, I found this “one piece at a time” approach incredibly helpful and relevant. I realized that, in almost every case, there were small pieces of each song that I could play rather well. Of course, there were other parts that I struggled with, but by focusing on the sections I was comfortable with and really working on those, I would have half the song mastered rather quickly. Once that was done, I could then move onto the problem areas of the song and tackle them once piece at a time, filling in the gaps until I was playing the entire song smoothly. Finding Harmony For a web design to really work, all its pieces need to be in perfect harmony. This means that the design’s typography, layout, tone, imagery, content and more all need to complement each other and work together to communicate the message, and meet the goals, of that design. If any one of those elements is off or out of place, the entire design is at risk. With the violin, there are also a number of elements that must be in sync to achieve harmony with the music you make. My left hand must hit the correct notes on the instrument’s neck, which is made that much more difficult by the absence of frets to mark the proper location each note should be played at. With my right hand, I have to concentrate on my grip on the bow and on keeping it straight as I move it across the strings. I must also be mindful of my arm’s position to ensure I hit the correct strings. Finally, I must make sure I keep proper time throughout the entire song. If I falter with any one of these, the song begins to fall apart. Sometimes the slip is minor and the piece can be salvaged, while other times the song is ruined – in which case I lower the violin, take a deep breath, and then try again to find harmony in the song before me. Taking Shortcuts Whenever something is difficult, inventive individuals will find shortcuts and workarounds to help them accomplish the task at hand more easily. Oftentimes, they will then share these shortcuts with others to help them also meet the challenge. In web design, these shortcuts often take the form of templates, themes, or frameworks that allow you to build upon a foundation that has already been laid. When you use these shortcuts, you lose some control in exchange for getting a site up and running quickly. I personally have always avoided templates or existing frameworks, preferring to have total control over my markup and CSS, but for some, especially those new to the web industry, these shortcuts can be very helpful and can often be used as training tools. As you would expect, shortcuts exist for violin too, and I have found myself using a few of them. One, called a bow-right, is a device that clips onto the front of the instrument to help you keep your bow straight. As I’ve mentioned previously, keeping the bow straight is one of the numerous things to be mindful of as you play the violin, so this shortcut helps me to eliminate one of those challenges to my playing – but there is a cost to doing so. Any shortcut can become a crutch if you rely on it too heavily. While the bow-right allows me to eliminate one variable from my playing so I can concentrate on others, if I use it for too long, I will become dependent on it. To avoid this, I force myself to play without the bow-right once or twice a week. Similarly, if you always start a web design with a template or a framework, you restrict yourself to the way those shortcuts do things. Use shortcuts as a stepping stone early on, but do your best to get away from them quickly and you will find your grasp of the skill will actually come much faster and be more complete. Take It Offline A big part of my violin playing experiment was to see if I could learn to play the instrument using online resources. I even bought my violin online (from the awesome Bluegrass Shack in Illinois). While the videos and other information I found online were very helpful, so was being able to actually talk to a real person about my experiences from time to time. As a web professional, one of the most enriching educational experiences I have found is attending conferences and meeting others in the industry. Being able talk to fellow web designers and developers and share stories, ideas, and experiences is a valuable exercise – one that you will not get with purely online conversations and interactions. The same holds true for online violin lessons. While the lessons themselves are teaching me the foundations of playing the instrument, I cannot interact with the instructor or share my experiences. Thankfully, I have found a great violin shop just down the street from my office – a shop owned and operated by a man who has been at this location for over half a century. You can learn a lot from online lessons and videos, but you can’t learn everything. Taking the time to get offline for a while to have real, personal conversations with people like Mr. Portukalian at the violin shop, or your web design peers at a conference or meet-ups, is about as rewarding an experience as you will find. Take a Break One of the best pieces of advice I ever received on how to debug website issues was to address the problem by stepping away from it for a while. The number of times I have struggled with an issue and walked away from it, only to solve the problem in minutes when I returned to it later, is a testament to the wisdom of this advice. At a certain point, whether you are talking about debugging websites or playing violin, trying to muscle through an issue becomes counterproductive. By stepping away and either taking a break or working on something else for a while, you can then approach the problem with fresh eyes, or in the case of violin – fresh fingers, later on. Making Great Music I have just started playing the violin and I am a long way away from being comfortable with the instrument, but with these lessons I have learned from my experience as a web designer, and plenty of practice, am confident that I well on my way to making great music. 2012-08-29T02:03:42+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/what-being-a-dad-has-taught-me-about-web-design http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/what-being-a-dad-has-taught-me-about-web-design#When:16:30:44Z What Being a Dad Has Taught Me About Web Design In the 8 years since my son was born, I have truly learned what “on-the-job training” means as I try to do the best job that I can in this completely unfamiliar role known as “dad.” Along the way, I've come to realize that being a dad is largely about using your experiences and knowledge to help guide your kids so that they make the right decisions in life and become positively contributing members of the community. In a number of ways, this is also how I view my relationship with clients – not as someone who dictates to them what they should do with their website, but in a role that allows me to use my experience to help guide them to become a positively contributing member of the Web community. For Father’s Day, I thought it would be fun to write a companion piece to the Mother’s Day article I wrote last year. Here are a few web design lessons I have learned from my experiences as “dad.” Questions and Answers Kids have questions. Lots and lots of questions. The world around them is new and strange, so their natural reaction is to ask about what they see as they try to make sense of it all. Clients are no different. For many of them, the Web is a new and strange place and they will have questions about it. Part of your role is to answer those questions for them in a way that is appropriate to their needs. When I answer my kids’ questions, I try to always be truthful with them, but that doesn’t mean I tell them the whole story. Some information is simply outside of their scope of understanding and explaining things to them in full detail will just confuse them further. The same can be said for clients' questions. When a client asks a question, they are looking to understand the issue in a way relevant to them. Focus on giving them the information they need to grasp the issue and how it applies to their site or their business, rather than the technical understanding you require to deliver the results they are looking for. Lead By Example The concept of “do what I say, not what I do” doesn’t work very well in parenting, nor does it make much sense in business. Lessons that I try to impart upon my kids fall upon deaf ears if they then see me breaking those rules myself. This also applies with the best practices that I preach to my clients, but then fail to follow on my own site. Admittedly, there are some things that are inappropriate for my kids, but acceptable for me as an adult – such as enjoying a glass of wine with dinner or staying up far past my bedtime to watch episodes of Sherlock on my DVR. Similarly, there are times when you may push for a solution for your client, like responsive web design, but have not yet had the time to deploy it on your own site (guilty as charged), but by striving to lead by example whenever possible, you will find your lessons much better received. Let’s Talk I like to talk to my kids - to really just sit down and have a conversation with them. I am always amused by what is on their mind and I find myself closer to them every time we have a chat. You can do this with clients too. I have previously written about the benefits of having genuine, non-business related conversations with your clients. This type of conversation allows you to connect with them as people and allows them to see you as more than just their “website designer” Talk to your clients and your kids, you’ll be amazed at the value those conversations bring to your ongoing relationship with each. Prepare to Make Mistakes Screwing up is a part of life and a part of parenthood. If you go into being a dad, or building a website, thinking that you will be perfect, then you will be sorely disappointed. Making mistakes is natural and it can be productive if you learn from those mistakes. When a mistake does happen, either as a parent or as a web designer, assess the situation and do what needs to be done to fix it – and learn from the experience so you are better next time. And when the mistakes do happen, never underestimate the power of genuinely saying “I’m sorry.” Stay Positive Your kids, and your clients, take their cues from you in so many ways, including how you handle bad situations. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, so how you deal with the storms that will inevitably come is important. As a parent, keeping a level head when a situation becomes stressful will show your kids that even though you may not be able to control what the world throws at you, you can control how you react to it. As a web professional, keeping that level head in challenging times shows that you are equipped to steer your clients through good times and bad times as a valuable partner to their business. I often say that the mark of a good partner, and also a good parent, is not how they react when things are going great, but how they handle the situation when times are tough. Stay positive and those who follow you will remain positive too. Enjoy The Rewards The web design profession operates as a very future focused industry. We are always looking to what is next in terms of the technologies and software we use. We are also often focused on our future work – the next project we have in the queue or the next client we are meeting with to discuss their needs. Too often we fail to sit back and enjoy the results of our work because we are already looking to the next one. As a parent, I find myself falling into the same trap at home. It’s sometimes hard to enjoy the moment when you are busy thinking about everything else on your “to do” list. The last lesson I will share in this article is to learn to enjoy the rewards of a job well done. When a site goes live, sit back and enjoy it before moving on. Do something to commemorate the launch. Throw a party if you can or schedule a lunch with the client to say “thank you” and celebrate that culmination of all that hard work - just find a way to recognize the achievement before you move onto something else. As a parent, learn to the savor the moment and the special times with your kids. Your “to do” list will never be empty, so misplace it for a spell and enjoy the present. For me, that means putting away the computer and turning off the cell phone this Father’s Day weekend to enjoy a little trip to Cape Cod. My family, a nice beach, and some clamcakes and chowder for dinner – those are my rewards this weekend for my hard work as a designer and a dad - and I assume you, I plan to enjoy them. Happy Father’s Day. 2012-06-09T16:30:44+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/reviewing-the-smashing-book-3 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/reviewing-the-smashing-book-3#When:20:27:12Z Reviewing The Smashing Book #3 Just over a week ago, I opened my email to see a nice surprise waiting for me – a digital download of The Smashing Book #3: Redesign the Web. I had previously agreed to review the book and I was excited to dig into it before its official release date. It felt a bit like peeking at your Christmas presents early, but without the whole “spoiling the surprise” part! Wanting to be one of the first to post a review of the new release, my initial plan was to skim through the chapters quickly to get a sense of the book that would allow me to write my review. I couldn’t do it. As I tried to skim the pages of the book, I instead became engrossed in each chapter. I found myself repeatedly saying, “I’ll read this chapter in full, but then skim the next few.” Once I got to the next chapter, however, the same thing would happen and I was once again unable to quickly breeze through the pages. So my review is being published a week later than I had first intended, but the trade-off is that I got to enjoy the book as a true reader rather than just a reviewer. It was worth it. Created by the Community One of my favorite aspects of the Smashing Book #3 is that, similar to the Smashing Magazine website, it has a real sense of community it in – starting with the 2630 members of the Smashing community that are nicely thanked by name on the book’s very first pages. The community feel extends throughout the rest of the book too. Each chapter was authored and reviewed by different members of the web design/development industry, bringing a variety of different voices to the work in a way that you don’t normally get in a book written by a single author. This approach of multiple authors and voices can be distracting if not done right. I have read other books with multiple authors and found that, from chapter to chapter, the tone of the presentation varies so much that it becomes jarring. That is not the case with The Smashing Book #3. The editors here have done a great job creating a consistent tone through the entire book while still allowing each author to put a little of their own style into their chapter. Still, the multi-author approach, while done very well here, has some drawbacks which I will discuss later in this review. The Design of the Book While I am reviewing a digital copy of the book, I can say that even this is very attractive to behold and I can only imagine that the physical book will be even more so. Each chapter starts with a large illustrated letter, designed by Kate McLelland, that incorporates visual elements that begin with that same letter. For instance, Chapter 5 – “Javascript Rediscovered” by Christian Heilman, begins with a large “G” that has illustrations of geese in it. If you put all the large letters together, they spell out “Redesign the Web”, the title and theme of this book. This is a nice touch that I actually didn’t realize at first, but when I did, I was delighted by the find. One of the illustrations by Kate McLelland Content is King While the design of the book is certainly nice, it is really the content we have come here for. Just like the success of a website is largely tied to the quality of its content, the value of this book is also dependent on its content and the authors and editors have delivered a quality book worthy of space on your bookshelf. Many of the chapters, such as those on HTML5 or CSS3, start with some basic information that has, quite honestly, been covered in depth in a number of other places. While you may be tempted to dismiss these chapters as information you already know, give them a chance, because they get through the basics quickly (and those in the industry that have not been fully exposed to that basic information yet will be thankful it is included). Once those basics are covered, these chapters do offer plenty of information I have not seen covered exhaustively elsewhere, such as working with WAI-ARIA roles, font sizing with rem, flexbox, and much more. Chapter 4 – “Restyle, Recode, Reimagine with CSS3” by Dave Storey and Lea Verou, is the longest chapter in the book and it covers quite a bit of information. The ambitiousness of this chapter means that no one piece is covered in depth, but each topic introduced is presented with enough information to give you what you need without overwhelming readers – because, if expanded upon in depth, this one chapter and the topics presented in it could fill a book on their own! A Balanced Review I have already said that I recommend this book, so obviously I think it is well done, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. In the spirit of a balanced review, I want to not only praise the content and design of the book, but also point out where I think it could’ve been improved. When I first heard that the “theme” of this new book was “Redesign the Web”, I was intrigued by the idea of various authors all contributing a chapter to a work that, as a whole, would cover the theme of a website redesign. The truth is that, in the final product, some of these chapters fit into this theme much better than others. A Great Start The first chapter in the book, “The Business Side of a Redesign” by Paul Boag, kicks things off in perfect fashion. It sets the stage for the rest of the book, while also presenting a compelling approach to considering whether a project is in need of a redesign or, perhaps, a realignment. The second chapter, “Selecting a Platform: Technical Considerations for Your Redesign” by Rachel Andrew is an excellent follow up to the first chapter, even referencing topics covered in that first chapter on a number of occasions. Those references really allow these two chapters to work well together, rather than feeling like two chunks of content written separately without any knowledge of each other. Unfortunately, other chapters in the book do not work this well together. Alone on an Island While I think the editors have done a great job making the overall tone of the book consistent, there is still a sense that each chapter was written without a sense of the other chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 work perfectly together, in part because the second chapter references the first and builds on what was covered previously. Other chapters do not do this, which means that you do not get as smooth a sense from one to the other like you do in these early chapters. Ultimately, all the chapters work great on their own, but I would’ve loved to see more of a tie between each chapter. The Order of Chapters My only other criticism of the book is the order that the chapters are presented in. While the first few chapters cover the very beginnings of a “redesign” process, after those two, the topics seem a bit out of order to me. The two final chapters in the book, “Workflow Redesigned: A Future Friendly Approach” by Stephan Hay and “Becoming Fabulously Flexible: Designing Atoms and Elements” by Andy Clarke, feel like they would work better if presented earlier, since the topics they cover really drill down to the overall workflow of a redesign process. I find myself wanting to slice the chapter order of the book up a bit to present the topics in a flow more consistent with the way that a redesign project would go, with information on planning and workflow first, followed by design considerations and user experience, and finally development topics. Admittedly, my desire to see the topics presented in this order is a reflection of my own process, and not everyone may agree with that presentation, but I really do think it would help the overall flow of the book to present the chapters in more of a discovery > design > development order. In Closing As I was reading through the pages of The Smashing Book #3, I took two sets of notes. The first set covered topics I wanted to highlight and comment on in my review. The second set of notes covered topics and ideas I wanted to present to the rest of my team to discuss changes in our own workflow or approach, fueled by the information in these pages. That's proof to me that not only is this a good book and an enjoyable read, but it is an important book that really can change the way we design, or redesign, for the web. The Smashing Book #3: Redesign the Web, as well as the companion #3 1/2 edition, are both now available for purchase or download. You can learn more or order now at SmashingBook.com. The Smashing Book #3 Bundle 2012-05-08T20:27:12+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/i-assure-you-were-open http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/i-assure-you-were-open#When:12:14:59Z I Assure You, We’re Open In the opening scenes of Kevin Smith’s debut movie, “Clerks”, a hand painted signed is hung outside of the Quick Stop convenience store to let customers know that, despite the fact that the shutters are down and the store looks closed, they are, indeed, open for business. Lately, I have felt like I need to hang a similar sign on this website to let visitors know that, despite the fact that this place may look like a ghost town, I assure you, I am still here. In The Beginning When I first launched this version of my website a few years ago, the piece that I was the most excited about was the blog section. At the time, “art directed articles” were all the rage and I eagerly jumped on that bandwagon, posting at least one new, uniquely designed article per month for well over a year. Eventually, the sexiness of art directed articles began to wear off, but I stuck with this approach to my blog. Why? Because following the latest trend was never my motivation. I began using this approach on my blog because I truly felt that it helped communicate and reinforce the ideas I hoped to convey with each article. Of course, it also added a fair amount of work to the process since each entry required me to play the role of both author and designer. Still, I felt the value of this approach far exceeded the extra effort required for it, so I continued adding new, uniquely designed articles regularly. And then I stopped. Signs of Life I frequently speak with clients about the need to keep a website up to date and relevant. One of the main ways they hope to keep their site current is through a blog. Even though their blogs may not use the art directed approach and involve the amount of time mine does, they still require a substantial commitment to keep them updated with fresh content. More often than not, those blogs, as well as other aspects of the new website, are given plenty of attention early on, but as the “new website smell” goes away, so does the push to add new content with any sort of regularity. After a while, signs of life begin to fade from the site and the most recent posts date back months, if not more. Kind of like my own website. It's a Trap! There is a certain amount of irony that, although I caution clients on the time needed to keep a website updated and try to help them make sure their pages do not become neglected, I have found myself in exactly that position here on Pumpkin-King.com. The truth is that even if you are aware of the commitment needed to keep a site current, it is hard work, especially if you are trying to sustain a site over a period of time. For companies that do not have someone whose main responsibility is keeping a site updated, it is often a daunting task, because as soon as something else becomes a priority, the needs of the website get pushed aside. Once you break the schedule of regular updates, it is easy to push the frequency of updates further and further apart, until you arrive at the point where I find myself now – without an update over the past few months. The irony in this situation is that, while the lack of updates on a website may make it seem like laziness is at play, it is often the exact opposite situation that is the cause. Often, websites get neglected because there is too much other work to do. How It Started I began slipping on my “once a month” schedule of posting some time ago. If I remember correctly, I was reworking my teaching materials for a new semester at the University of Rhode Island. As those preparations began to take more and more time, I let some time pass without adding a new article on the site. Shortly after this, I began a particularly intense few months of planning for a big Envision event, designing materials for the show and helping contribute to various aspects of the day, including a short speaking engagement at the actual event. With the time that I was spending on event preparation, more months passed without new articles being added. Finally, as my workload began to thin and I began to find some time to write again, I was given the opportunity to contribute to some others websites, such as Smashing Magazine. While I jumped at the chance to publish some articles on a great community like Smashing Magazine (and am happy I did so), one of the results was that, once again, Pumpkin-King.com was neglected. A Lesson In Inertia I remember learning about inertia, “the tendency of an object at rest to remain at rest or an element in motion to remain in motion”, in elementary school. The concept is aptly applied to the reality of keeping websites updated. If you keep to a schedule and publish according to that schedule, you will find it easier to continue down that path. The minute you break from that course, you risk “remaining at rest.” Once you stop, it is hard to start again. So once you have neglected your site for some time, as I have done with mine, how do you get started again? One suggestion I can offer, which is exactly what I am doing for myself, is to not just jump right back into publishing as soon as you have one new article. Instead, try to plan ahead a bit. Your site has already gone without an update for quite some time, so taking an extra few weeks to add an update is a minor issue at this point. Rather than coming up with one new idea and adding a single new article, brainstorm a number of new article ideas to cover the next few months. Once you have those ideas ready, get started on writing. I would suggest having a few of those ideas pretty well fleshed out and almost ready to go before you post your first new entry on the site. What you want to avoid is adding a single new article, but then slipping back into a state of neglect because you don’t have a follow up piece. By having a few articles ready to go and staggering them over a period of time, you allow your inertia to kick in again. Rolling In the end, it may have taken an article about how I have been neglecting this site, and how I have fallen into the same trap I caution my clients about, to get me started again, but at least I won't get to May with most recent blog post still being from the Christmas Holidays. While I don’t expect that I will return to my rigorous “once a month” schedule of posting articles to the website, I do expect that this piece, and the few others than I have waiting in the wings, will at least get me back onto a semi-regular update schedule. The ball is rolling again. I look forward to inertia taking over to keep it rolling because, I assure you, we are open and have been all this time. 2012-04-26T12:14:59+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/a-web-designers-christmas-list http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/a-web-designers-christmas-list#When:16:03:58Z A Web Designer's Christmas List My kids’ Christmas lists, charmingly written in their shaky yet careful handwriting, read as you would expect. My son’s list is made up of Transformers robots, Star Wars ships, and Spiderman action figures. My daughter asks for American Girl dolls, pretty necklaces, and a new stroller for her baby dolls. Looking at those lists, before we folded them up and mailed them out to Santa, I was suddenly inspired to make a “wish list” of my own. Finding the Right Projects I’ve written previously about the importance of finding client relationships that are a match for both you and for the client. One important aspect of choosing clients that I did not mention in that article is seeking projects that you have some kind of interest in that goes beyond simply doing a great job for a client and being paid fairly for that work. Is it too much to ask to find projects that are a good fit for our company and our client, but are ones that we are also personally passionate about? I don’t think that it is. Identify Your Wish List It’s true not every project we work on will fall into the “passionate” category, some projects will simply be jobs that will help us keep the lights on. Still, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to add some projects to our schedule that we have a passion for. You want to get work that you care deeply about? The first step to landing these projects is identifying them. It’s time to make your own wish list of the types of projects you want to work on. Here’s how my list looks: An Exciting Experience As a parent of two young children, I spend quite a bit of time looking into amusement parks when I plan family vacations. This means, of course, that I spend quite a bit of time on the websites for amusement parks thinking, “wow, this would be a fun site to redesign!” After going to the park and having a wonderful day, my enthusiasm for working on a website for an amusement park is even greater. There is so much wonderful imagery and history to work with for these projects, and the chance to design something where “fun” is a critical element is always a joy. While I would gladly consider any theme park project, my dream gig for this category would be Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. Not only does it fall into this amusement park category, but due to the Christmas theme of the park, it also falls into the next group of wish list projects… A Touch of the Holidays My favorite blog articles to design for this site are my annual Christmas themed writings (along with the Halloween articles). Yeah, I am a sucker for the spookiest and jolliest of holidays. I love the imagery and traditions of Christmas, from to the twinkling lights, to the presents, to the personage of Santa Claus. The overall sense of joy and good cheer that goes along with the holiday makes it one of my favorite themes to design with and I would love to use that look-and-feel in a full blown web project (as opposed to just a lone article). Some sample projects that could fall into this category would be the design of a Christmas themed retail site or a festive, holiday attraction. Something Magical Another topic I am a sucker for is magic. True, I am fond of the fantasy-style magic of Harry Potter and such, but in this instance I am talking more about stage magic. Perhaps the term “illusionists” may be more appropriate. The design of vintage magic posters, as well as the visual look of Victorian-era stage magicians, makes for a perfect palette upon which to design - and the theatrical sense of spectacle that goes along with this topic is something I would love to build on and explore visually. Projects I would love to work on in this category would include a site for a magic shop or a practicing magician (as long as it is not the “kid party” variety – I’m thinking more of the Las Vegas style, modern age Houdini feel). The Circus Comes to Town I’ve never been one to get overly excited to actually attend a circus, but the visuals associated with circus life are so rich that I have always wanted to design a circus-themed project. Something about the smells of caramel apples and popcorn, mixed with the sounds of laughter and a barker calling us to “step right up” that gets me excited for this category. The look-and-feel that would be appropriate for a circus project is similar, in some ways, to that which would be used for the “magic” category I covered previously. The same sense of presentation and spectacle would work for both and I could imagine designing a project for a traveling circus or, perhaps, a site for a large organization like the Cirque du Soleil, which would be my dream job for this category. Welcome to Rhode Island As a life-long Rhode Islander, I get geeked out for any project that has a strong Rhode Island tie to it. From the unique cuisine of the Ocean State (like Del's Lemonade), to some of the landmarks of Rhode Island (such as the Newport Mansions), to any of the many businesses or organizations that have become synonymous with the state (Hasbro toy company) these are all projects that I get jazzed for with fanboy-like enthusiasm. My absolute dream job above all dream jobs would be a website for the Rhode Island amusement park, Rocky Point. Sure, the park has been closed since 1995, the old rides sold off long ago and the buildings torn down, but there is a part of me that hopes that one day the park will re-open and all the memories of my childhood summers spent at the park will come flooding back though a design gig. Yeah, that really would be my dream, Rhode Island-themed website project. That Other Yearly List As the year winds down and a new one approaches, we turn from Christmas wish lists to a list of a different sort – the annual list of New Year’s resolutions. My resolution this year is a simple one – I will do at least one project this year that appears on my wish list. If you are reading this article, I challenge you to make a pair of lists yourself. Start with your own “web designer wish list” and define the projects or type of projects you really want to work on. Once you have that list, commit to finding a way to do at least one of them in 2012. As I said earlier in this article, the first step to working on projects that you are passionate about is defining those projects. The second step is going out and getting that work! Make your lists and get that work for yourself in 2012! - oh, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2011-12-01T16:03:58+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/in-disguise http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/in-disguise#When:02:13:09Z In Disguise I love Halloween. The chance to put on a mask and a costume and be someone else for a night has always greatly appealed to me. Even as a kid, while the candy and treats were certainly welcome and enjoyed, it was the costume that always was my favorite part of the holiday. Pretending to be someone, or something, else is not only for Halloween, however. I routinely get asked by clients if I can make them “look bigger” than they really are (or disguise them in some other way). While I understand why they are asking for this, I wonder if it is really in their best interest to put on that mask? The Argument Clients who want to “look bigger” often explain that they are requesting this because they want to focus on where they are going rather than where they currently are. They want their site to reflect their expected growth. They also want to appeal to larger clients who may be looking for “bigger” companies to partner with. By presenting themselves as a larger organization, perhaps they can get their foot in the door and convince someone to use their services without being dismissed as being “too small” right away. I hear the argument and understand the reasoning behind, I just don’t agree with it. The Truth Comes Out Let’s say that you get that meeting you were hoping to get. What’s next? At some point, the truth about your size, services, experience, etc. will come to light and if you really stretched the truth, will that company still even consider hiring you? Even if the company does decide to go ahead and engage yours, will they question their decision at the first sniff of trouble? The minute there is a bump in the road, will they automatically fall back to the belief that you were “too small” to begin with? That sounds like a lot of unnecessary pressure to work under, all because you put on that mask to get a job, or begin a client relationship, that probably wasn’t a fit to begin with. Being Real All companies, big or small, have their strengths and weaknesses. Presenting yourself for what you are, rather than what you hope to be, does not mean putting those weaknesses right on your homepage in a 50pt font. If your company has struggled with project management in the past, and you are working on those issues now, you don’t need to declare that as your “welcome to our website” opening message. That isn’t being real, that’s being honest to the point of stupidity. Being real is saying that you have a “small and focused group with access to additional resources as needed” instead of boasting that you possess a “global workforce of over 300 employees”, justifying this claim because you use a freelance agency that can call upon that many resources. If the company you are pitching really does need to work with an organization that has a true global workforce, they will be sorely disappointed when they realize what is really behind the mask you decided to put on. Help Your Clients Be Real Next time a client asks you to make them “look bigger” than they are, or suggests a similar type of mask be used, ask them why this is important to them. Listen to their reasoning and try to convince them to take a “real” approach. If the argument that they are thinking to the future and designing for their growth is made, explain that one of the advantages of the Web is its incredible flexibility. As your company grows and its needs change, your website’s messaging or design can also be changed, oftentimes very easily, to support those needs. There is no need to put a mask on today, simply because you think it may one day be your true face. Another aspect that should be considered is that, by representing yourself as something other than what you are to appeal to one kind of clientele, you may unwittingly alienate others potential clients that are looking for a company exactly like yours. Again returning to the “company size” example - if you present yourself as a huge company when you are really a small one, you may or may not attract the attention of clients looking to work with a huge company, but you will most certainly push away those hoping to find a small, nimble organization to hire. There are companies out there looking to work with you. Be mindful not to lose out on that business simply because you are trying to appeal to companies not looking to work with you. No Time for Tricks It may be called “tricks or treats”, but we all know that no one wants a “trick.” Whether we are talking about little ghouls knocking on our front door or business clients looking to engage our company and their services, everyone wants a “treat” and one way to help make sure that happens is to try working with your clients on being real and save the disguises for October 31st. 2011-09-30T02:13:09+00:00 http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/a-match-made-in-tattooine http://www.pumpkin-king.com/index.php/site/a-match-made-in-tattooine#When:13:43:59Z A Match Made in Tattooine I was recently looking at the articles I have written for this blog so far and the variety of topics I have covered and it amazed me that I had yet to write an article that involved Star Wars in some way. I'm a huge Star Wars geek and have been since I was a little kid, so the fact that I had not viewed the world of web design through the lens of George Lucas' galaxy far far away alarmed me. This was an injustice that needed to be remedied. Episode II I remember going to see Episode II: Attack of the Clones at midnight on opening night. A few friends and I purchased our tickets well in advance and arrived at the theatre a few hours before showtime to wait with the other excited Star Wars fans. Despite the travesty that was Episode I, the fans in line were pumped for this next installment in the trilogy “prequels”. The energy level was high. The force was strong with this group. There is one more small detail that I should mention to fully paint the picture of this evening. I went to the theatre that night fully dressed as a Tusken Raider. Oh, and my wife was with me too. She was dressed as a Jawa. The Perfect Match Despite the fact that you may never look at me the same way again now that you know this story and have seen these pictures (yes, the pictures on this page are actually my wife and I from that evening), there is an applicable lesson to be found in this Tattooineian tale. Finding a wonderful woman who would even admit that she knew me, never mind stay in a relationship with me, after learning that I intended to go to a movie dressed as a sandperson is impressive. Finding one that would put on a dusty robe, some bandoliers and a pair of glowing eyes and actually accompany me to the theatre is nothing short of amazing. And that is where the lesson lies. There is no substitute for finding the perfect match. Finding a Fit As web designers, whether we are working as part of an agency or in a freelance setting, we all have to work with clients, but we do not have to work with ALL clients. We can, and often must, say “no” to certain jobs. Some projects are just not a fit. Sometimes budgets are the deciding factor in whether a project is right or not. Other times it's due to technical reasons such as the platform the client wishes to use, the existing code they must incorporate, or certain features they need to have. There are plenty of reasons why a job may not be right, but one element we, as web professionals, often fail to consider when deciding whether or not to take a job is if we actually want to be in a relationship with that client in the first place. Forcing a Fit Make no mistake about it, when you take on a client, you are committing to a relationship together. Some of the worst projects I have worked on in my career were totally because the relationship was not right for me or for the client. There have been clients that I can easily recall (but which shall remain nameless) where I should never have taken the job and part of me knew that going into the project. In most of these cases, the job itself was high profile and would look good in a portfolio or the budget was substantial and, from a financial standpoint, the work was something I simply could not turn down. Regardless of the reason, prestige or profit, there have been times where I knew the client was not a fit for me or that I was not a fit for that client, but I decided to start the relationship anyway. And in almost every case, I ended up regretting it. Interviewing Clients When a client calls you in to discuss a project, they are assessing you and your company. They are looking at more than just the price on the estimate you give for the work. They are making sure they trust you and your team with that project. They are interviewing you. At the same time, you should be interviewing that potential client. You should be looking to see if the work they need done is something you can do for them and if they have the budget set aside to pay for that work, but you should also be assessing whether or not you and that client are a fit for each other. Sometimes you need to say “no” to a job and a client not because they can't afford to work with you, but because, on a personal level, you can't afford to work with them. Reality Check It would be great to proclaim that we will never begin a client relationship that we know is not a perfect fit, but that is not realistic. We live in the real world where bills need to be paid and where we must sometimes take projects we are not thrilled about. That is reality, but by ensuring that we are at least considering the relationship in our decision making process, we are doing what we can to minimize the bad relationships and aim for the great ones. Speaking of great relationships... Great Clients Thankfully, in addition to those aforementioned bad client relationships/projects, I can also remember many wonderful engagements as well. Many of those wonderful projects had modest budgets and less pizzazz than some of those big jobs and, on paper at least, didn't seem like the perfect fit. Yet, when i think back to my favorite projects, I come back to those jobs again and again. I remember those projects fondly not because they made me a ton of money or brought me recognition, but because the client relationship was a great one. Great clients make for great relationships and great relationships make for great projects, it is as simple as that. Shout Outs Thanks to all the great clients I have had the privileged to work with. Thank you for trusting me with your projects and for deciding to enter into a relationship with me. You rock. Thanks also to my wife. There is no else I'd want to dress up like a denizen of the deserts of Tattooine with. You rock too, in a super-geeky way that is the perfect match for me. Utinni! 2011-06-04T13:43:59+00:00