Diary of a Network Geek

I am NOT a designer or web programmer.

Sure, I’ve dabbled with Perl enough to be a Level 11 Perl Monk on Perlmonks.org, but I’m not really a programmer.  And I’m sure not a designer, either, even though I can appreciate really good design work.  In fact, my ex-wife used to say that I was from the “big orange button” school of design, because I was more interested in the technology behind the button you pushed on a website than making…
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You may not realize it, but typography is actually very important to me.

Longtime readers of this blog may have noticed that it looks just a little different.  That’s because I’ve changed how I make the fancy titles on my posts.  Instead of using an older plugin which relied on TrueType fonts and good, old PHP programming to generate titles on the fly, I’ve moved to a much newer plugin that relies on FontBurner fonts, which are Flash-based.  There are a couple of reasons for this, actually, but the main one is that my webhost has had server utilization issues with my blog since I’ve been with them and after digging through log files, some signs point toward that older plugin being the issue.  But, what you all haven’t seen is the horror of trying to find an appropriate font that is readable and still conveys the sense of technical whimsy that I think represents this blog well.  It hasn’t been easy.

Now, I understand that not all my readers will share my quiet obsession with typography, but for those who do, I think you’ll enjoy the link I’m bringing you this week.  Have you ever tried to explain to people what the different parts of a font really are?  Or maybe wanted to know yourself?  Ever wonder why “kerning” is so important to that crazy web designer you hired to do your site?  Well, you may still wonder about that last one, but for almost all your other questions about what goes into a typeface and what it’s all called, go check out Typography Deconstructed.
They bill themselves as a single, central location to find as much high-quality information on type and typography as you could want.  And, I really think they have done it!  There are two main sections to this site; Anatomy of Type and Type Glossary.  They both show you what the different parts of a typeface are and what the different parts are called, just in two slightly different formats.

Also, for you typography fanatics, or teachers, there are posters for download or purchase that do a great, graphical, job of showing and explaining just what goes into type.

Whether you’re into typography or not, this site is worth a look, just to understand how type works and get some idea of how deeply it effects our daily life.  After all, without type and typography, you couldn’t have read this blog!

No, not a cad program by the flat-pack king.

Rather cad files of 21 of IKEA’s designs.  Yep, now you can suck those ubiquitous IKEA designs right into your high-end architect’s cad program and use them to design your house.  ‘Cause, you know, after paying for an architect in this economy, how much money are you going to have left over for fancy furniture?

No, seriously, I just thought it was fun that someone had made cad drawings of IKEA stuff in 3D so you can use it to lay out your house or apartment.  The files are actually in Google Sketchup format, for guys like me who are always trying to do more with less, especially less expensive software!

I love strange, quirky design elements.

I don’t know, maybe it’s because I used to schtupp a web designer or maybe it’s just that Marketing degree. Whatever it is, I just really enjoy funky design in the real world. But, I am still a hardcore geek at heart, so when something combines the two, I just love it. Naturally, when I saw the Photoshop Magnets and Magnetic Board, I instantly loved it.

Basically, these are just magnets that look like menus and dialog boxes from Photoshop. You can use them on the magnetic board, or buy them separately for your own magnetic surfaces, to hold up your pictures or art. Again, there’s just something cool, and yes, geeky, about having magnets that make your fridge look like Photoshop that just appeals to me.
They’re not cheap, but they do look fun.

So, you ever want to design a WordPress theme?

Well, I’ve been thinking about theme design for WordPress for a while now. I mean, I’ve done some small stuff, taking the basic themes and customizing them to make them my own, as it were, but I’ve never done anything from scratch. I’m working on it though. And, as I think about it, and work on it, I’ve been finding resources that might come in handy. Here are a few:

• From Web Designer Wall, WordPress Theme Hacks
• From CSS-Tricks, Designing for WordPress
• General color stuff from AdamPolselli.com, “Get The Look”
• More color scheme stuff from pic2color.com, uh, pic2color
• If you’re designing from scratch, like for a new website, you might want to checkout Building With WordPress
• That article talked about several tools that are for more than just WordPress, including YUI Grids CSS and Aptana, which is a free, OpenSource web development tool.
• Then, there’s the Theme Lessons on WordPress.org
• and the book, WordPress Theme Design

Feel free to add your own in the comments!

A scrapbook of bad design.

Okay, so you think your company’s homegrown application is crippled by bad design? Well, check out Bad Human Factors Designs! Here’s a collection of the worst design ever misconcieved. You can’t believe what developers think looks like a good idea.
And, if you are one of those developers, think twice before you inflict that cruel and unusual interface on your users!

Hey, just because it’s Friday, doesn’t mean you can’t learn something!