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How should a Christian manage his or her Christianity in the workplace? This is a question most Christian designers have considered at one time or another during the course of their career. In our current age (especially in America), the attitude of
The EM is a measurement just like PX or PT. One EM is equal to the pixel measurement of the current font size. So, for example, 1em on a web page with a font size of 16px equals 16px. The direct relationship between font size and EM allows us to bui
Mod_rewrite is an Apache module that can be accessed from .htaccess files to perform all kinds of complicated URL manipulation. The main mod_rewrite function, RewriteRule, is powered by regular expressions. For the purposes of this tutorial, though,
Our view of truth is the Rosetta Stone for how we interpret life, relationships, ethics, vocation, and even design. It's the foundation of our worldview. Without a firm grasp on the popular views of truth we encounter, we will find ourselves in situ
Every web designer has a list of favorite tools—a set of indispensable programs and resources that we couldn't live a day without. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for us there is constantly a newer, better tool emerging for just about everything a we
A couple months ago a subscriber commented on one of my articles asking me for a resource list of Free HTML editors. I had made mention of Adobe Dreamweaver in the article and he politely reminded me that not everyone has the money to drop on Adobe'
In this article the modernist worldview is analyzed—what it is, where it came from, and its practical consequences in design. The purpose of this critique is to demystify the ideas we encounter every day in web design. When we know how to extract wo
Postmodernism is a dominant force in the world of design. Alongside modernism, it's the most influential worldview affecting design today. As such, it deserves serious consideration by designers of all disciplines. Since this blog is specific to web
Adding a print stylesheet to your website will make your pages look good on and off the web. This article is a guide to the ins and outs of building a stylesheet for print.
This article is the first in a six part series explaining and developing the concept of worldview as it informs the practice of web design. Most of us don't even consider worldview when we're making design decisions or analyzing a work. This article
Choosing web design as a vocation heightens the pressure to be connected. Is it even possible for a web worker to unplug? If so, is it appropriate for a web worker to unplug? After all, aren't you doing your clients or employer a disservice by not b
I don't think much introduction is necessary with this topic. We've all been beaten out of a project by a big ad agency at some point. It's a frustrating and demoralizing; especially when you know you could do a better job. As an independent web
There's nothing more discouraging than watching your beautifully designed website load on a screen with a resolution it wasn't built for. And it usually happens when you're unveiling your work to a client. Other than browser variations, screen reso
I honestly didn't expect to hear anything worth writing about on the first day of SXSWi 2008. Friday is usually a day for getting registered and settling in. There's the now annual "How to Rawk SXSW" panel, and usually a few lighthearted introductor
On Sunday at SXSWi, Jason Santa Maria and Rob Weychert double-teamed an issue that's been an ongoing struggle in my own experience. It's the issue of clients who inexplicably become design experts when it's time for you to present your design. The p
As much as we hate to admit it, web designers still have to get stuff printed from time to time. We can't do without our business cards and bumper stickers, our t-shirts and table tents. But when we're forced to go groveling to the printing industry
The debate over function and form has raged in the design community for over a century and a half. Artists and craftsmen in every design discipline have wrestled, and continue to wrestle, with the tension of function and form every day. In web desig
A week ago, I posted an article entitled Pay Me Please: A Freelance Web Designer's Guide to Billing and Pricing. It included a brief explanation of why I avoid charging clients by the hour. I've since realized that this explanation was inadequate.
Going it alone as a web designer will quickly lead to the discovery that your accounting skills are as important as your design skills. If you've ever done any freelancing you know exactly what I mean. When should I bill? How much should I charge? W
Surveys seem to be the big theme this week. Freelance Switch posted the results of their freelancer survey with some surprising results, and Rimm Kaufman gave a rundown of Google's new survey building tool. Also, 5 for Friday just wouldn't be right
Most of the time, the aim of a website design is to present information in a concise format, both simple and pleasing. But a perfect balance of simple and pleasing can sometimes be difficult to achieve. It's not always clear exactly where to start.
This article discusses the current mass exodus of our local information into the so-called data cloud. Many of us don't even realize it's happening. With all the enticing benefits of the tools in the cloud, the move seems inevitible. But who should
5 for Friday is a weekly link list offered by Bits O' NewMedia. Every week the best web design and new media related articles are rounded up here. This week topics range from practical client communication to what Digg would be like without the Digg
For a clean, impressive looking button set that doesn't take up a bunch of design time, glass buttons are the way to go. And slapping together cool glass buttons like the ones on apple.com is extremely simple in Photoshop. I've been using this proce
I admit I've committed just about every crime against web design on this list. That's probably why it flowed so smoothly from my mind. They are all easily avoidable sins that, if transgressed, will cost a web designer big. So if you want to avoid hu
