Hey all, Seeing the success of the OT: OS X MySQL tool thread, I thought I''d ask about the tools you guys use for your graphics editing/creating. Like many others, I too made the switch to Apple, and its been an absolute joy so far. I''m an independent contractor/consultant who''s comfort zone is in making admin websites to manage data. With this role comes making little logos, drop shadows, title bars, image editing, and just basic web stuff. Some of the work has been relieved by CSS, but once in awhile I have to whip up something somewhat professional looking. I also suck at matching colors for 2, 3, or 4 tone websites. Any help? Thanks alot, Jin Lee
Hey Jin-
Here is a very cool resource for picking 2 or 3 or 4 color
schemes for your sites. http://www.wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/
index-en.html
And here is an excellent CSS editor http://www.macrabbit.com/cssedit/
Cheers!
-Ezra Zygmuntowicz
Yakima Herald-Republic
WebMaster
509-577-7732
ezra-gdxLOakOTQ9oetBuM9ipNAC/G2K4zDHf@public.gmane.org
On Jun 22, 2005, at 2:22 PM, Jin Lee wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Seeing the success of the OT: OS X MySQL tool thread, I thought
I''d
> ask about the tools you guys use for your graphics editing/creating.
> Like many others, I too made the switch to Apple, and its been an
> absolute joy so far.
>
> I''m an independent contractor/consultant who''s comfort
zone is in
> making admin websites to manage data. With this role comes making
> little logos, drop shadows, title bars, image editing, and just basic
> web stuff. Some of the work has been relieved by CSS, but once in
> awhile I have to whip up something somewhat professional looking. I
> also suck at matching colors for 2, 3, or 4 tone websites.
>
> Any help?
>
> Thanks alot,
>
> Jin Lee
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>
> I''m an independent contractor/consultant who''s comfort zone > is in making admin websites to manage data. With this role > comes making little logos, drop shadows, title bars, image > editing, and just basic web stuff. Some of the work has been > relieved by CSS, but once in awhile I have to whip up > something somewhat professional looking. I also suck at > matching colors for 2, 3, or 4 tone websites.The tools in my "web graphic design kit bag" are the same as what I would use if I was forced to do design work on a Windows machine: * Photoshop * Illustrator * Pantone Solid to RGB swatch book These are probably the standard tools for the creation of digital graphic arts and it sounds like you already use these tools. But, in terms of matching colors, selecting the perfect typeface, or how to apply a grid layout... these are largely concepts, packed with centuries upon centuries of ideas and craftsmanship. Hope I''m not getting overly-romantic or ehm... too high on my pony about this but, just like I''ll never be a very good Rails developer until I grasp OOP concepts, a software-based tool won''t help anyone be designer if they don''t first understand graphic design concepts. In other words, there''s a real difference between selecting three colors that are aesthically pleasing with each other to understanding what these colors do in terms of presenting information. In short, if you want to be just as comfortable programming backend business logic as with whipping up a color palette for a site, do what you did to learn how to program. Read books; take a class; pick people brain''s; learn by example; experiment and have fun. HTH, ..dean
I agree. Nothing can substitute a basic graphic design foundation for making clear, usable interfaces. Make sure to read up on typography (check the last few messages in the "Good Books" thread for some suggestions). On Jun 22, 2005, at 7:21 PM, Dean Matsueda wrote:> >> I''m an independent contractor/consultant who''s comfort zone >> is in making admin websites to manage data. With this role >> comes making little logos, drop shadows, title bars, image >> editing, and just basic web stuff. Some of the work has been >> relieved by CSS, but once in awhile I have to whip up >> something somewhat professional looking. I also suck at >> matching colors for 2, 3, or 4 tone websites. > > The tools in my "web graphic design kit bag" are the same as what I > would use if I was forced to do design work on a Windows machine: > > * Photoshop > * Illustrator > * Pantone Solid to RGB swatch book > > These are probably the standard tools for the creation of digital > graphic arts and it sounds like you already use these tools. > > But, in terms of matching colors, selecting the perfect typeface, or > how > to apply a grid layout... these are largely concepts, packed with > centuries upon centuries of ideas and craftsmanship. Hope I''m not > getting overly-romantic or ehm... too high on my pony about this but, > just like I''ll never be a very good Rails developer until I grasp OOP > concepts, a software-based tool won''t help anyone be designer if they > don''t first understand graphic design concepts. > > In other words, there''s a real difference between selecting three > colors > that are aesthically pleasing with each other to understanding what > these colors do in terms of presenting information. > > In short, if you want to be just as comfortable programming backend > business logic as with whipping up a color palette for a site, do what > you did to learn how to program. Read books; take a class; pick people > brain''s; learn by example; experiment and have fun. > > HTH, > ..dean > > > > _______________________________________________ > Rails mailing list > Rails-1W37MKcQCpIf0INCOvqR/iCwEArCW2h5@public.gmane.org > http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails >