A Look at Art & Design

The Difference With Web Design for Art

Since opening my business door 7 years ago, I knew I wanted to design for artists and galleries. There is a difference between designing for a commercial concern such as a bank or an e-commerce site and a designing websites for artists and galleries.

I knew it would be a challenge. I knew there were going to be special considerations that would have to be taken into account during the course of my work. Artists who spend hours (maybe even days) choosing just the right hue and saturation, or create sculpture for just the right light, need their work to be displayed on a RGB screen as accurately as possible. The quality of the image onscreen must be high quality and clean. Navigation must be intuitive. The design can be edgy, or sometimes not. Portfolios are a professional tool. But the website is primarily all about the art and the website designer needs to understand both the artist and the art world.

Galleries have the same concerns and wish to display their artists in the best light, of course, but galleries are also a business. Here there are additional concerns. There is a great deal of maintenance involved in a site for a gallery. Frequent updates are necessary. Communication, community and marketing are key.

Designers Who Blog

Sometimes when people discover that I am a designer who also loves to write it makes me a little embarrassed. It's that whole idea of "Jack of all trades, master of none" that would make me deny that I write with any type of authority. Writing is just something I do for fun, and occasionally the skill has stood me well in creating content for web sites or writing ad copy.

But now in looking at all the blogs written by and for designers, the connection seems so clear to me. Of course, Eureka! Graphic design and writing are two sides of the same coin. Graphic design and writing are both forms of communication and it's not unusual at all that designers would also be quite good with pen...or keyboard, as the case may be.

Several months ago I read an article in Step Inside Design that addressed this same idea. The article talked about how blogs offer "designers a fresh outlet" and went on to say that in creative hands it would only be a matter of time until increased flexibility would be introduced to the blog in the form of movable type, plug-ins to correct curly quotes and Flash media. Well...we're not far away from that now are we?

Over the next several weeks I'll be adding some selected design blogs and sites to the right hand column here.  Enjoy!

Blogging around

I've been working in front of my computers for hours and hours and days.  Two of my clients want to add the power of blog to their repertoire, so my mission for the past four days has been to update my own blog, and find the best possible service to offer my clients.  I'm happy to have found Typepad. While the free services do a fair job, TypePad far exceeds them in terms of customization, features and interface.

This is my second blog but, I think I'll make this my home. Maybe at some point I'll import those files but that's not today's problem.

Thank god for coffee.

Ernie Schenck Likes Things Slow, And I Couldn't Agree More

Sunday's have become my day for catching up. It's a relaxed kind of day where I get to do whatever I want. Shut the cell phone down. Don't get the email. I might work...or maybe not...but it's all up to me.

One thing I love most of all is catching up on reading. And because I've been going so fast with little time to spare, a pile of design and art magazines have piled up next to my bed. So today was the day I actually got to read the December issue of Communication Arts and Ernie Schenck's article Slow Food, Slow Sex, and Now, Slow Thinking. (Yes...it would appear that my reading has been very slow indeed)

I couldn't agree more with Ernie about the process and taking the time to create insightful and well thought out work or design. Read his article here or check his blog.

No!Spec

I will admit that when I first started out in this industry, I submitted work on spec to a couple of potential clients whom I hoped would become actual clients. It got me nowhere. I submitted some rocking ideas and then never heard from those contacts again. That was 7 years ago and I promised myself I'd never submit work on spec again and I haven't.

I'm thrilled to learn about No!Spec and wish they would do something similar for copyright issues. Like other freelance designers I've talked to, I have been approached by people promising me all good and financially feasible things if "only you'd give up your copyright". Nah-uh!!

I'm happy to support No!Spec. Working on spec not only cheats the designer but it does it huge disservice to the industry as a whole. Join the No!Spec campaign by clicking on the logo below.

Wow...I'm so Happy. TaDa

First: My plans never work!
Second: I'm a big fan of making plans.
Third: I have a "ToDo" list that would kill most mortals.

Imagine my delight (I literally giggled) when I discovered The Big Noob Blog and their post for the TaDa List. This is a web based, sharable ToDo list. You can make lists of all the stuff you have to do, lists of favorite websites, movies you want to see...you can make the lists private or personal. You can even subscribe your lists in RSS.

And here is the BIG BEAUTY part...you can make lists for other people!! Wowser...sometimes it's all about delegating!!

TaDa is compatible with IE6.x, Safari and Foxfire. The guys at The Big Noob have even created a Widget for TaDa! My goodness, life just doesn't get any better...

Uniting Nations...yup.

Did you know that...The name LEGO comes from the Danish words "Leg Godt", which means "Play well". In Latin it means "I put together".

The United Nations: Fighting Everyday Racism - The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is marked every year on 21 March with activities led by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, New York and at the field-presences. This year’s theme is Fighting Everyday Racism.

How ironic that the United Nations should post this image for advertising The International Day for the Eliminaton of Racial Discrimination.

The UN says this ad was not intented as a diliberate dig at the Danish (home of LEGO) and the Muhammad caricatures. LEGO doesn't see it that way. The UN has since taken the image off it's website, without comment.

LEGO - About Us: Corporate Responsiblity

Office of United Nations High Commission for Human Rights - Fighting Everyday Racism