JesseSutherland

Is Another CMS Worth It? June 26, 2008

Lately I’ve been pretty fascinated with Content Management Systems. For those not “in the know”, its basically a program that allows a website’s content to be editable through a web browser. As a web designer, they’re pretty addictive to play with and see which ones would be best for client projects, and for my own projects. The idea of them is great, you can design a website, handling all of the big picture stuff, and then let the client deal with all of the nitty gritty details that they want to change later on down the road.

But I don’t feel like I’ve found the perfect one so far. I’ve played with so many different ones on the website Open Source CMS, and I’ve installed a bunch to experiment around with on my own server. (To be exact I’ve tried Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, CMS Made Simple, Expression Engine, Frog, Website Baker, and MODx… phew!) I have some individual critiques of each one, and some critiques of all of them as a whole, but I’m not going to get into that right now. (Maybe in another post down the road)

I’ve had a few ideas of my own for how I would create a CMS, and I would love to think through and design a CMS the way clients and designers would want to use one, instead of the way a developer or coder thinks about one. What designer wants to teach their client HTML just so they can update their website? That never works. I feel like there is a large gap in all of the CMS offerings out there right now that could be filled.

But is it really worth the time? I mean first of all I don’t even know how to program more than a simple if/then statment, so I’d need to coerce a programmer to help me out. And really, even if they did the coding and I did the designing, would it be worth the investment of time to work on yet another CMS? Is there room in the market for just one more? Is it already oversaturated?

If anyone even knows what I’m talking about, and has any suggestions or words of advice, please let me know. If you’re a programmer with a lot of spare time on your hands, you should let me know that too.

Web 2.0 Design Trends May 22, 2008

I swore to myself that this would never happen, but after looking for inspiration on too many CSS Web Galleries the style has kinda gotten into my head, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

In many ways, I feel like the style trends of what many are calling Web 2.0 are getting boring and overused.  When I browse around these CSS galleries, I feel like many are simply copying each other and not actually putting any thought into their designs, only reusing “cool effects” that others have discovered, and already tired out. And yet I find some of these styles creeping into my own designs. Agh!

In an effort to figure out what I like and dislike about some of these new styles, I’m going to try and sort out the things that I feel are worthwhile from the things that I feel are merely trendy.

Merely Trendy:

• Glossyness and glows: It seems like every design element has to have a curved glossy line that came straight off of a 90’s iMac computer. And it has to glow as well. Where does this fascination with shiny objects come from?
• Gradients everywhere: Some designs are so filled with gradients that have absolutely no point. The gradients are so obvious and annoying that they have no point than to fill space.
• Reflections: Yes, Apple has used this effect well in the past and it was cool then. That does not, however, mean that every logo, photo, product, or whatever needs to look like its reflecting on some mysteriously shiny white or black background.
• Illustrated comic-style icons: I’m not sure how to describe this, but why does every new Internet startup have to have an illustrated logo, or describe their services with kiddie comic-style icons that don’t really fit them at all?

Actually Worthwhile:

• Adding Depth: I’m not totally against gradients and drop shadows, they can certainly serve to create a sense of depth in the design and layering that draws the viewer in, feeling like they could almost pick up some of the elements instead of only looking at a flat screen.
• Using textures: The internet has been flat color for far too long, I enjoy the use of creative textures and that help the design communicate, not distract from it.
• More Interactivity: New technologies like AJAX are great and help the viewer feel like the website is much more alive and interactive than before. I especially like interacting with elements that aren’t even clickable.
• Creative, but simple Navigation: I’m so tired of the normal left-side navigation. I’m loving new designs that show simple, yet creative navigation that’s obvious to use.
• Bigger Photos: I love seeing large photos that immediately draw you into the design.
• Breaking Boundries: We’re so used to boxy designs that keep their content self-contained. I enjoy designs that set up these boundries and then purposefully break them with photographic or design elements.

So yeah, I wouldn’t call that a complete list either way, just some thoughts on my part. I think my biggest thing is really just that I want to make sure that I’m staying original, and that I’m not just following the crowd like I see some designers doing. Each design is for a unique person, organization, or company, so how can so many end up looking the same way?

New Work Already! March 5, 2008

Yes, I know I just launched the site on Monday, but I might as well get some more work up there! I’ve got three new things for you, all in the print design category. None of these things is new yet, but I still have some older work that can be put up when I feel like it. Two of them are invites that I did for Morsekode shindigs, and one is some CD art that I created for a Morsekode Mix CD. Check ‘em out.

New Website, Finally March 1, 2008

This new website is a long time in coming, in fact, I designed the last one in less than a weeks timeframe for a class in my junior year of college. It was pretty rushed and it was never fully thought out. After I graduated and had a bit more time on my hands I started to want to design a new site.

That was almost 2 years ago now! I’ve worked on this project on and off during that time, but its always a challenge designing for yourself. I’m never completely happy with what I’ve come up with. In fact, I think that I went through 14 designs to arrive at this one. (My wife thinks I’m insane!) At some point, I just had to say, “this is the one, be happy with it.”

My goal with this site is to keep it more updated. I’ve made it pretty easy on myself to add new content to it, so I have no excuses now! I’m hoping to be able to add new designs I’ve created, new photos I’ve taken, and some varying thoughts from time to time.

I call the blog section “thoughts” because I hope that it will be more than the occasional “Hey, I just saw the coolest website” or “I had Macoroni and Cheese for dinner last night, boy is that good!” I hope to bring something new to the blogosphere, from design commentary, to advertising ideas, to thoughts on Christian spirituality. Join in the conversation with me and let me know your thoughts as well, I welcome the feedback.

This is definitely a work in progress, I may add sections, or change how things work, so don’t be too surprised. Feel free to let me know if you have any comments, thoughts, or questions.

I Haxored Wordpress February 12, 2008

One of the things I’m proud of in this new website is the technology behind it. It represents a couple of steps into new grounds that I haven’t made before. First off, the website is based on a simple XHTML skeleton, and then is styled using CSS. This method has been around for a while now, I’ve waited for a while for technology to catch up, and then I also got lazy and just didn’t want to learn it. It was a good challenge and I certainly see the flexibility and the wisdom in separating the design and the content.

Second of all, this website is completely based on the Wordpress blogging platform. Now, running a blog off of Wordpress is easy, and doesn’t take much. But after trying out a billion CMS’s out there I finally settled on simply using this system. It took a bit of haxoring, and a little PHP programming on the way (scary!) but it was actually relatively simple and I’d consider recommending it for clients and friends. Each item in the Portfolio is actually a post with some custom features, this makes adding new stuff really easy. (The idea being that I update this website more often!) Plus, those designs can be sorted any number of ways, by discipline, campaign, or any other way I want.

McIntyre Library “Off the Shelf” November 11, 2006

Heya, this will probably be my last school post, as I hope to change this site up completely soon, and I am now graduated from Eau Claire. As I mentioned in the last post, The McIntyre Library has begun using the logo that Seth, Dave, and myself designed. They have posted the newest edition of Off the Shelf and it has a featured article about us on the second page. It’s exciting to see that some of our work is going to good use. Enjoy.

The Professional World September 27, 2006

I haven’t updated this site for awhile, so it’s about time. I’ve graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. I’ve got my double major in Graphic Design and Advertising and it only took me five years.

I’ve started in the professional world of design and advertising at Morsekode a Twin Cities advertising agency. I love the people and the atmosphere there. I hope to be able to post some of my new work from there on here soon, but it may take me awhile.

In other news, the logo that Seth Koslowski, Dave Bromeland and myself designed for the McIntyre Library back in Eau Claire has been chosen as the official logo. I’m proud of the work we did, and it was a nice culmination of my school career for design. You can see their website which makes use of the logo, although we did not design the website itself.

More Updates: Few & Far Between March 30, 2006

Because the website has been updated since this post, these links are no longer working. 

It’s been awhile since I got anything new on this website, and I want to spend the time to redesign it, but unfortunately I don’t have that time to spare right now, so its going to have to stay as it is. But I did find some time tonight to update some of the work from the portfolio. I changed up the Logos, Photos, and Websites sections, but I will specifically point out what is new below.

In the logos section I added a logo I did for a class project last semester for the McIntyre Library. I also added a recent logo I did for the University’s radio station, WUEC 98.7 Blugold Performance of the Air. Those are the new ones, but you may not recognize others that are updated on there.

In the photos section I added one of my favorite pictures of mountains. A rowboat I took a picture of two summers ago, and a digitally manipulated picture from my Digital Photo class.

In the websites section I added another project from this summer’s internship, a Great Harvest website. I also added a recent Flash project that I completed for my Electronic Media course. You can see the poetry in motion.

I really, really need to figure out what to do with the graphics section, that will come soon, because I have more things to add there.

Updates, Finally October 19, 2005

Because the website has been updated since this post, these links are no longer working.I have finally gotten around to updating the website… I had to start small because it was a daunting task. There are still big plans in the works, but none that I have time for. So, now that the whole summer has gone by, and I am well into the school year I present to you some new work. Two campus directory covers and a new logo from last semester, an Arts West poster campaign from this semester, a new website from my internship this summer, and three new photos from my current digital photo class.

Be sure to check them out if you have time, I’ll try to keep you updated between my various school projects, and a few business projects. Thanks!