On this same subject it might be nice to have a wiki page full of rails aware UI designers. We have the full dev available http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/AvailableForHire on there but I would at many times like to hire a graphics guy for default templates and graphics bit here and there. Thanks, Jason On Apr 27, 2005, at 2:22 PM, John Wells wrote:> Guys, > > As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one > consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images > and > site layouts are very well done. > > I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many > years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my > abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written > style > sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited > way. > > So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was > used to > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get > started in > at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image > creation? > Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > > Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? > Any > books references, etc would be helpful. > > Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I > recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a > project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as > self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m > not > even aware of the techniques used. > > Thanks for your time. > > John > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
The rounded corners in the typo interface are images and were probably created in photoshop. < you must own this program if you want to do interfaces. CSS should be used for the entire layout. Take the rounded in type for example that is actually the background of a block level element. Books for CSS: Designing with web standards < Zeldman Eric Meyer on CSS < Eric Meyer More Eric Meyer on CSS < Eric Meyer again The Zen Of CSS Design < Shea / Holzschlag The last book in that list is mainly a book on design using CSS. If you want to understand the major design aspects of CSS thats the one to go with. If you need to learn css from the ground up I would recomend atleast one of the first three. http://alistapart.com Read the articles, follow the links, then read the articles on the sites linked. John Wells wrote:>Guys, > >As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one >consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images and >site layouts are very well done. > >I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many >years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my >abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written style >sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited way. > >So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded >background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was used to >create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get started in >at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image creation? >Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > >Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? Any >books references, etc would be helpful. > >Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I >recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a >project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as >self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m not >even aware of the techniques used. > >Thanks for your time. > >John > >_______________________________________________ >Rails mailing list >Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org >http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > >
On 4/27/05, Jason Schnitzer <jason-tz9Vh71Bh3BBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:> On this same subject it might be nice to have a wiki page full of rails > aware UI designers. We have the full dev available > http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/AvailableForHire on there but I > would at many times like to hire a graphics guy for default templates > and graphics bit here and there.I agree, but I''m not sure how many of them are on these lists. I use a couple of designers on a regular basis, but you''ll never see them on a programming list. I''ll toss my favorite out as a recommendation: http://www.silasdesign.com He doesn''t know much about Ruby or Rails (was quite surprised when I told him Ruby was installed on his mac), but he knows how to work with programmers, and how to design for dynamic environments.> Thanks, > Jason > > On Apr 27, 2005, at 2:22 PM, John Wells wrote: > > > Guys, > > > > As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one > > consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images > > and > > site layouts are very well done. > > > > I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many > > years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my > > abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written > > style > > sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited > > way. > > > > So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was > > used to > > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get > > started in > > at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image > > creation? > > Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > > > > Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? > > Any > > books references, etc would be helpful. > > > > Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I > > recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a > > project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as > > self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m > > not > > even aware of the techniques used. > > > > Thanks for your time. > > > > John > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Rails mailing list > > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-- Bill Guindon (aka aGorilla)
Guys, As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images and site layouts are very well done. I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written style sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited way. So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was used to create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get started in at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image creation? Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? Any books references, etc would be helpful. Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m not even aware of the techniques used. Thanks for your time. John
John Wells <lists@...> writes:> So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was used to > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get started in>From your question, I''m assuming that you don''t have a lot of visual designexperience. In which case, a site like http://www.templatemonster.com might come in very handy. You can purchase very nice designs for between $50 - $100. The templates include photoshop layered files (if you''re handy with PS) as well as html and/or flash files. This is a good option but if you don''t like the style of designs available at this site, you can always hire a designer. Hammed
On 4/27/05, John Wells <jb-y8WhZ5XeQqVfbyii3fMa5/Z4XP/Yx64J@public.gmane.org> wrote:> Wesley Walser said: > > The rounded corners in the typo interface are images and were probably > > created in photoshop. < you must own this program if you want to do > > interfaces. > > Thanks for the information Wesley...very helpful. Is Photoshop truly an > unquestionable requirement, or can you do equally well with the Gimp, > Inkscape, or other open tools?IANAD(esigner), but I''m pretty sure the gimp can handle the tasks that you''ve described. James> > John > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
On Wednesday 27 April 2005 22:30, Wesley Walser wrote:> CSS should be used for the entire layout. Take the rounded in type > for example that is actually the background of a block level element. > > Books for CSS: > Designing with web standards < Zeldman > Eric Meyer on CSS < Eric Meyer > More Eric Meyer on CSS < Eric Meyer again > The Zen Of CSS Design < Shea / HolzschlagI''ve had a look at most of them and I''m very disappointed. Not because these are bad books, but they just don''t help much with what I''m trying to do. They mostly deal with producing "pretty" sites and are oriented towards page layout. I''m currently struggling to come up with something that looks and feels more like an ordinary rich application. It''s no fun at all. If you like have a look at http://www.schuerig.de/michael/layout/liste.html http://www.schuerig.de/michael/layout/formular.html and don''t be distracted by the non-english language. I think it''s clearly visible what I''m trying to achieve, which makes the shortcomings even more noticeable. Working on this feels like swimming upstream all the time. I''ve become really peeved by what is not readily available in HTML and CSS. How about a nice table with fixed headers? Even better if these headers are repeated on each printed page. Michael -- Michael Schuerig The Fifth Rider of the Apocalypse mailto:michael-q5aiKMLteq4b1SvskN2V4Q@public.gmane.org is a programmer. http://www.schuerig.de/michael/
Wesley Walser said:> The rounded corners in the typo interface are images and were probably > created in photoshop. < you must own this program if you want to do > interfaces.Thanks for the information Wesley...very helpful. Is Photoshop truly an unquestionable requirement, or can you do equally well with the Gimp, Inkscape, or other open tools? John
> I''ve had a look at most of them and I''m very disappointed. Not because > these are bad books, but they just don''t help much with what I''m trying > to do. They mostly deal with producing "pretty" sites and are oriented > towards page layout. I''m currently struggling to come up with something > that looks and feels more like an ordinary rich application. It''s no > fun at all. If you like have a look at > > http://www.schuerig.de/michael/layout/liste.html > http://www.schuerig.de/michael/layout/formular.html > > and don''t be distracted by the non-english language. I think it''s > clearly visible what I''m trying to achieve, which makes the > shortcomings even more noticeable. Working on this feels like swimming > upstream all the time. I''ve become really peeved by what is not readily > available in HTML and CSS. How about a nice table with fixed headers? > Even better if these headers are repeated on each printed page.There''s the intention that thead, tbody and tfoot should do that, but no browser that I know of actually does it. The effect you''re looking for might be achivable by setting tbody with a fixed height and overflow: auto, but I''m not sure. If you want an app that looks like a desktop application, write one using a desktop framework. Otherwise you''re going to have to work with the limitations of HTML and CSS, though knowing JavaScript well might be an advantage. -- Phillip Hutchings http://www.sitharus.com/ sitharus-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w@public.gmane.org / sitharus-QrR4M9swfipWk0Htik3J/w@public.gmane.org
> On 4/27/05, Jason Schnitzer <jason-tz9Vh71Bh3BBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote: > > On this same subject it might be nice to have a wiki page full of rails > > aware UI designers. We have the full dev available > > http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/AvailableForHire on there but I > > would at many times like to hire a graphics guy for default templates > > and graphics bit here and there. > > I agree, but I''m not sure how many of them are on these lists. I use > a couple of designers on a regular basis, but you''ll never see them on > a programming list. > > I''ll toss my favorite out as a recommendation: > http://www.silasdesign.com > > He doesn''t know much about Ruby or Rails (was quite surprised when I > told him Ruby was installed on his mac), but he knows how to work with > programmers, and how to design for dynamic environments.Well, I''m one. And I bet there are quite a few others. Designing (and coding HTML/CSS) is certainly my strong suit, but I''m only a few days from releasing my first public Rails app. Given the prevalence of coders-who-design, why wouldn''t you expect there to also be plenty of designers-who-code? Also, there''s so much buzz around Rails these days, I imagine there are plenty of non-programmers of all stripes lurking around the list.... peace and rainy weather, Chris
* Michael Schuerig [2005-04-27 17:50]:> upstream all the time. I''ve become really peeved by what is not readily > available in HTML and CSS. How about a nice table with fixed headers?yeah you''re finding out that creating decent web interfaces is pretty damn hard. Most people have no respect for "html monkeys" but those who do it well are quite skilled. It''s a horribly frustrating job. You often spend more time working around bugs and glitches than actually "building" -- imagine if you spent equivalent time working around bugs in the ruby interpreter - and on top of that, all the people trying to reuse your code had different versions of the interpreter (with diff bugs) -- that''s an idea of the frustration involved. -- ______________________________ toddgrimason*todd-AT-slack.net
You want nice rounded corners? Don''t wanna mess with photoshop and images? http://www.getintothis.com/blog/2005/04/12/more-nifty-corners-nifty-corners-2/ You want to create nice looking user interfaces and websites? well, that one comes with experience. The reason that a lot of Rails websites look so polished and clean is because a lot designers are part of the Rails community. Since Rails makes the development process so easy, its not so daunting for designers to get into it. You don''t need Photoshop, gimp is just fine for simple web graphics (shapes, gradients, colors, patterns, etc.). I would recommend a vector tool like illustrator for creating logos, but you can get away with using just Gimp for that as well. CSS is a great thing and the more you know, the easier your life will get as you developer websites. Just like any other technology, it takes experience, trial and error and some good mentoring to learn anything. CSS isn''t nearly as hard to learn as a programming language, but there are some quircks to work out and watch out for when using CSS with the different browsers. http://www.positioniseverything.net/ You are definitely on the right track by asking around. The best way to learn is by example. Any time you visit a site and are impressed by it, simply view the source. Thats how I learned to make websites about, oh.. i dont know, 10 years ago. I''m still learning, but my skills have definitely improved. Its really difficult to be a good programmer and a good designer, but its not impossible. On 4/27/05, John Wells <lists-y8WhZ5XeQqVfbyii3fMa5/Z4XP/Yx64J@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > Guys, > > As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one > consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images and > site layouts are very well done. > > I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many > years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my > abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written style > sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited way. > > So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was used to > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get started in > at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image creation? > Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > > Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? Any > books references, etc would be helpful. > > Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I > recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a > project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as > self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m not > even aware of the techniques used. > > Thanks for your time. > > John > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-- - Ramin http://www.getintothis.com/blog _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
I dont think we need a whole new Wiki page .. just extend that one to include Designers. I''ve done just that. I went to that Wiki page and added a new Header called "Designers for Hire". Which reminds me, I didn''t even add myself to the list! D''oh! On 4/27/05, Jason Schnitzer <jason-tz9Vh71Bh3BBDgjK7y7TUQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > On this same subject it might be nice to have a wiki page full of rails > aware UI designers. We have the full dev available > http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/show/AvailableForHire on there but I > would at many times like to hire a graphics guy for default templates > and graphics bit here and there. > > Thanks, > Jason > > On Apr 27, 2005, at 2:22 PM, John Wells wrote: > > > Guys, > > > > As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one > > consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images > > and > > site layouts are very well done. > > > > I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many > > years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my > > abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written > > style > > sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited > > way. > > > > So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was > > used to > > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get > > started in > > at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image > > creation? > > Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > > > > Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? > > Any > > books references, etc would be helpful. > > > > Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I > > recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a > > project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as > > self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m > > not > > even aware of the techniques used. > > > > Thanks for your time. > > > > John > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Rails mailing list > > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-- - Ramin http://www.getintothis.com/blog _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
On Thursday 28 April 2005 00:01, Todd Grimason wrote:> * Michael Schuerig [2005-04-27 17:50]: > > upstream all the time. I''ve become really peeved by what is not > > readily available in HTML and CSS. How about a nice table with > > fixed headers? > > yeah you''re finding out that creating decent web interfaces is pretty > damn hard. Most people have no respect for "html monkeys" but those > who do it well are quite skilled. > > It''s a horribly frustrating job. You often spend more time working > around bugs and glitches than actually "building" -- imagine if you > spent equivalent time working around bugs in the ruby interpreter - > and on top of that, all the people trying to reuse your code had > different versions of the interpreter (with diff bugs) -- that''s an > idea of the frustration involved.Yeah, keep encouraging me... I might even learn to stop worrying and love it. Michael -- Michael Schuerig Not only does lightning not strike mailto:michael-q5aiKMLteq4b1SvskN2V4Q@public.gmane.org twice, it usually doesn''t strike once. http://www.schuerig.de/michael/ --Salman Rushdie, Fury
* Michael Schuerig [2005-04-27 19:20]:> Yeah, keep encouraging me... I might even learn to stop worrying and > love it.Heh, believe it or not the increased adoption of CSS and improved browsers has made it a lot better overall. Notorious exceptions aside - the gorilla being IE - also sometimes referred to as "the new Netscape 4" (too widespread to ignore but a major PITA). -- ______________________________ toddgrimason*todd-AT-slack.net
Get IE7 (the script, not MS''s version coming out soon) and save yourself lots of headaches. http://dean.edwards.name/IE7/overview/ Not perfect and needs javascript enabled, but hey.. its a good alternative to creating CSS hacks just for IE. On 4/27/05, Todd Grimason <todd-cwT7Wi5Y1r1eoWH0uzbU5w@public.gmane.org> wrote:> > * Michael Schuerig [2005-04-27 19:20]: > > > Yeah, keep encouraging me... I might even learn to stop worrying and > > love it. > > Heh, believe it or not the increased adoption of CSS and improved > browsers has made it a lot better overall. Notorious exceptions aside - > the gorilla being IE - also sometimes referred to as "the new Netscape > 4" (too widespread to ignore but a major PITA). > > > -- > > ______________________________ > toddgrimason*todd-AT-slack.net <http://todd-AT-slack.net> > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >-- - Ramin http://www.getintothis.com/blog _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
On 28/04/2005, at 7:39 AM, H M wrote:> From your question, I''m assuming that you don''t have a lot of visual > design > experience. In which case, a site like http://www.templatemonster.com > might come > in very handy. You can purchase very nice designs for between $50 - > $100. The > templates include photoshop layered files (if you''re handy with PS) as > well as > html and/or flash files. This is a good option but if you don''t like > the style > of designs available at this site, you can always hire a designer.If its a commercial project then don''t go to templatemonster -- hire a designer! Good design is paramount -- it''s your no.1 chance to stand out from the crowd! If you''re on a limited budget then at least get a logo/typeface and few screens of your app designed to give you a look''n''feel you can work with. - tim lucas
Sorry to say I don''t actually know what Gimp is. There are other applicable image editors out there. The only major ones I am familiar with are Photoshop and Fireworks. Some people like one over the other (I am obviously on the photoshop side of that). It''s not an unquestionable requirement, but being in UI design for a while I can''t see myself using anything. James Hughes wrote: On 4/27/05, John Wells wrote: Wesley Walser said: The rounded corners in the typo interface are images and were probably created in photoshop. < you must own this program if you want to do interfaces. Thanks for the information Wesley...very helpful. Is Photoshop truly an unquestionable requirement, or can you do equally well with the Gimp, Inkscape, or other open tools? you''ve described. James John _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails _______________________________________________ Rails mailing list Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails
On 27-apr-05, at 23:45, Michael Schuerig wrote:> > I''ve had a look at most of them and I''m very disappointed. Not because > these are bad books, but they just don''t help much with what I''m trying > to do. They mostly deal with producing "pretty" sites and are oriented > towards page layout. I''m currently struggling to come up with something > that looks and feels more like an ordinary rich application. It''s no > fun at all. I> Working on this feels like swimming > upstream all the time. I''ve become really peeved by what is not readily > available in HTML and CSS. How about a nice table with fixed headers? > Even better if these headers are repeated on each printed page. >I am sorry to dissapoint you but my feeling with the latest applications having good UI design (textpattern, almost all Rails apps, Tasks Pro) is that they are so nice because they dumped the idea of emulating a rich client, and taken the approach of simple, useable web-site design (sometimes AJAX-charged). Trying to emulate rich-clients in HTML brings in bloat, reduces browser support (as soon as you start dumping features - Safari usually gets dumped first nowadays, a cuple of years ago it was common to make IE-only apps), and these apps often feel completely unintuitive. One of the "quasi-rich-client" apps I know of is the Outlook web-mail (that basically tries to reproduce Outlook in all it''s, uhm, glory), and oh boy it does suck :-) Maybe you should try to go with the flow instead of swimming upstream? -- Julian "Julik" Tarkhanov
CSS is great. It makes it MUCH easier to make a decent looking site without being a designer. One shortcut I recommend is to get TopStyle from http://www.bradsoft.com/topstyle/tslite/fullver.asp TopStyle is a CSS editor that will save you ALOT of time. The linked version is free, but the professional version ($80) does cross-platform validation among other features. I haven''t used it in a while-- I''m just getting back into the web thing after a couple of years of doing other stuff-- but it is quite a helpful tool. (There appear to be a few similar Linux products: http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+css+editor) If you''re comfortable with it, The GIMP will do everything you need a photo editor for. You''ll still need an illustration program like illustrator. Inksacpe will probably work fine, but I haven''t used it, so I don''t know how feature rich it is (the price is right, though). On 4/27/05, John Wells <lists-y8WhZ5XeQqVfbyii3fMa5/Z4XP/Yx64J@public.gmane.org> wrote:> Guys, > > As I''ve followed the RoR buzz for the past few months, I''ve noted one > consistent trend amongst most of the RoR proponent''s sites: the images and > site layouts are very well done. > > I''m a newbie when it comes to the UI side of things, having spent many > years deep in the server-side trenches. I''d really like to shore up my > abilities on the UI side, but not sure where to start. I''ve written style > sheets in the past, but only when I had to and I''m sure in a limited way. > > So, take Typo for example. The default interface has nice, rounded > background images and just a generally crisp look to it. What was used to > create these images? Photoshop? Illustrator? How might I get started in > at least learning common techniques used for this sort of image creation? > Or...should I simply buck it up and hire a designer when I need them? > > Also, to what extent is CSS used? How should I start down this path? Any > books references, etc would be helpful. > > Excuse the off-topic post. I''m an entrepreneur on a budget, but I > recognize that good gfxs and layout are essential to the success of a > project, no matter how useful its functionality is. I like to be as > self-sufficient as possible, and so naturally it bothers me that I''m not > even aware of the techniques used. > > Thanks for your time. > > John > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >
- John Wells :> Wesley Walser said: > > The rounded corners in the typo interface are images and were probably > > created in photoshop. < you must own this program if you want to do > > interfaces. > > Thanks for the information Wesley...very helpful. Is Photoshop truly an > unquestionable requirement, or can you do equally well with the Gimp, > Inkscape, or other open tools?Of course you can. -- checking for life_signs in -lKenny... no Oh my god, make (1) killed Kenny ! You, bastards ! nicholas_wieland-at-yahoo-dot-it
Wesley Walser said:> Sorry to say I don''t actually know what Gimp is. There are other > applicable image editors out there. The only major ones I am familiar > with are Photoshop and Fireworks. Some people like one over the other > (I am obviously on the photoshop side of that). It''s not an > unquestionable requirement, but being in UI design for a while I can''t > see myself using anything.Wesley, Then I certainly encourage you to at least examine the Gimp (which stands for Gnu Image Manipulation Program): http://www.gimp.org. It aims to be a free Photoshop replacement, has been around for years, and is quite powerful. Course, I''m not a designer, so I don''t know where it''s lacking when compared with Photoshop, but when I''ve needed to design graphics in the past, I''ve turned to the Gimp. Inkscape is an up-n-coming open source scalable vector graphics editor. I''ve just started playing with it, but am very impressed with what it could do. Again, don''t know how it stacks up against Illustrator, but worth a look: http://www.inkscape.org. Please note, while I run both of these on Linux, they are freely available for Windows and Mac OSX as well. Thanks for the replies from everyone! Good information all around. John