(US; uncountable) viewable, eye-candy confections containing a lot of www technologies and sometimes cool pieces of design. Derived terms: web design, rich content applications, social networking, mashups, advertising goodies etc.
Sometime ago I wrote a post regarding an online code editor called 9ne.Well today I found another of its kind simply called CodePress . According to the description of the projects homepage "CodePress is web-based source code editor with syntax highlighting written in JavaScript that colors text in real time while it's being typed in the browser." There is also a demo for you to try some supported languages like Javascript, CSS, PHP, HTML etc. Despite the fact that CodePress is a really powerful enchantment for your web applications it has one major bug for now. It doesn't support c/p from other text editors making copied text to loose it indent... hope they fix that in the future. CodePress is another cool tool for web developers that don't to use more than their own application to alter code files etc. Here is a list of some of its features:
Real-time syntax highlighting » just write some code
Code snippets » on PHP example type "if" and press [tab]
Auto completion » simple type " or ( or ' or [ or { on any example below (except Plain Text)
Shortcuts » on PHP example press [ctrl][shift][space]. It's shortcut to
Multiple windows » you can add multiple CodePress windows to the same page
I'm sure that most of you already know N. Design Studio through it's various releases concerning Wordpress Themes, web application icons, wallpapers, illustrator tutorials etc. Well Nick La, the man behind N. Design Studio just released a new blog with killer design called Web Designer Wall. According to his sayings the N. Design Studio will remain as it is and will be used as a porfolio website while the new blog will cover issues like web design, tech articles etc. I trully enjoyed the really unique template for Wordpress. Check it out and don't forget to subscribe to his feeds!
Billy Harvey Music just got a new website! What I liked in this one is the navigation. While this "type" of navigation is pretty much common I loved the way they separated the different sections of the website with Polaroid-type photos. The guy that owns Billy Harvey Music steps out in every room and does a little talking now and then... great but a little annoying after a while so press the buttons on the left to change the audio.
Nope... your screen isn't broken! At first I thought that it would be good if included this post to the 2nd part of Experimental Japanese flash websites, but I thought that it deserved a post of its own! Eye Project is another achievement of the advanced use of < actionscript and of flash development. KDDI Corporation is a Japan-based firm that runs a lot of technological departments. This project is based on photography. There is a registration form (in Japanese...) an I presume that you can upload photos after you register... then there is an algorithm that creates a mosaic of this pictures in a very unique way... I haven't seen anything like that before. The Japanese guys seem to be a step in front of everyone! Anyway here are the thumbs!
There are times during web applications development with PHP that you need something more than the built-in functions print_r() and var_dump() in order to debug your scripts efficiently. You may want to know the name of the variable you are dumbing or you may want to see in which line of your file that variable was evoked, features that print_r() and var_dump() don't provide.
With Krumo things become very easy! You just install it and call its functions every time you want to dump a variable! The resulted information you get are more helpful and beautified (with customizable CSS) while the collapsible DHTML tree menu can be very handy! Check it out yourself!
Greek guy Miltos Manetas and Aaron Russ Clinger a couple of years ago created a "weird" project simple called Man in the Dark, which featured a silhouette of a human being simple floating around in your screen following your mouse direction. It looks like a jelly-man and you may populate as many as you wish simple by clicking your left mouse button. I don't know in what way the made use of actionscript, but they bizarre result is interesting... after 5 minutes of playing though (yeap I reached that point) it seems pointless :P Anyway here is the link so you can fool around too!
Here is the new flash version of Genn.org. Another site that uses a less common navigation method. There is much white space as you can see, something that might look bad in bigger screen resolutions... it might look empty. As for the "WORKS" section it really simple and straightforward but I'd like the "next" and "previous" button to be some pixels lower so that they didn't cover the navigation. I also took a look at the source code of his web page and there were no search engine optimization techniques applied. Enough with the tech-geeky-stuff! Enjoy!
Recently I run into the website of a Polish media office called Metropolis Media. Their website retro-flavored reminding me the same-titled black & white movie Metropolis (1927)! At start I was a little confused about the way navigation was built, but after a while managed to figure out how the thing worked. Click on some elements on the "metropolis" and a newspaper will pop up, showing the office's applications in color while the rest of the picture stays in gray scale. If you are to mixed up about where is everything place you may use the navigation bar on the right ;) Click on the thumbs as usual!
After a tiring day (don't ask me why :P ) I thought that searching for something interesting would make me feel less tired... but that didn't work! That of course didn't bother me at all in looking something nice and prototype. I remembered a year ago when I visited (by pure luck) the website of a Japanese guy (I can't remember his name :/ ) which demonstrated some really interesting ways of how could actionscript interact user's input (mouse and keyboard). I was so amazed because all these were created in 2003, as the date stated, which made them to look too advanced to my eyes for the time being... unfortunately I didn't bookmarked it and lost it, forgot it etc. So, today's keywords were "japan flash mouse action experimental". Pretty simple huh? I thought that making a 2-part post about the would be fine so here it is the first part!
Wildcard
Some animations produced by the movement of the mouse across the screen. You may choose up to five different versions to play with! Creator / Author: Wildcard
Uniqlo
The website of a Japanese cloth store. They made a special section about a specific collection of clothes in which you may preview which products (eg. a certain dress) can be combined with something else (eg. a pair of shoes) Creator / Author: Uniclo
WOW10
Nope this isn't about the world of warcraft pc game! This is the web site of a Japanese creative studio that provides web design among others. They also created a project called 10yearclock.jp, a really 'wierd' project in which you just enter your name and you submit it to the database, and then you may see the date and time 10 years the date you entered your name... pretty useless unless there is something I don't get right! Anyway here is a screenshot:
This might be the most interesting website for the first part of my post about experimental Japanese Flash / Actionscript websites. The guy behind this website is the one that in 2004 created the newsmap (click thumb) project back in 2004. Look at the recent work list and check all of his projects one by one. My personal favorites are the one's listed below:
That was the first part on interesting experimental flash websites. The second part will be posted tomorrow or the day after tomorrow... don't know yet. I know that some of these may be old and you may have already but I hadn't and I posted them here. Enjoy!
Here is a quick one for you... Check out the lab of experimental actionscript of Mathieu Badimon. Mathieu Badimon is a French web designer / flash developer that makes advanced use of actionscript and the result is really astonishing! See the 7 applications of that Mathieu has made by using vector shapes and advanced actionscript. The most impressive in my opionion is the vector clock.. vectors come and go like minutes...
Mathieu is also responsible for FIVe3D initiative is an open source code for the conception of interactive vector-based 3D animations. It's classes are written in Actionsctip 2.0 and based upon Actionscript 3.0 structure. The FIVe3D system initiates a classic Actionscript 2.0 movie clip organizing and providing extra 3D functionnalities.
Here are a couple of sites also created by Mathieu Badimon:
CSS Goodies! I found some time ago some really helpful and ready to use out-of-the-box CSS menus based on unordered lists! You may download them and alter/boost them as you like! Take a look below to get an idea ;)
Today I was digging my old bookmarks and "accidentally" I clicked this one. Besides ™ is the personal web site of Bram Timmer. If you are intrested in learning more about the guy read the abstract taken by his CV:
Bram Timmer is an award-winning designer, developer, and digital artist that specializes in innovative new media design. Bram applies his creativity and expertise across a variety of media, including: web design and development; e-learning and interactive media; print materials; information architecture; and illustration. Bram’s past and present clients include commercial and government institutions of all sizes, including Kraft, SC Johnson, Hershey, Hewlett Packard, MasterCard, CTV, TELUS, EnCana Corporation, Applebee’s, University of Calgary, FITC, Kahn Consulting, Inc. and many others.
In addition to founding and operating Dutch Blue Media and Two/Signed, Bram has provided inhouse design and development services for: White Iron, an award winning digital media agency in Calgary, AB; Webtek, where he worked as Director of Flash Development; and Blatant Media, where he provided animation, print, interactive and other services to support their e-learning platform.
Bram has a wide variety of interests and passions that inform his design work, including architecture, art history, digital culture, and visual arts in various mediums. In addition, Bram is an active contributor to Ventilate and Digital Abstracts, both well-respected online design portals. Bram participates in a number of design and art-focused events, groups, and exhibits, such as FITC, Terminus1525, CBC’s 120seconds, Calgary Flash Users Group, and others.
Here is a very unique Wordpress theme! It's so out of the ordinary that when I saw it it was to difficult to accept/believe that this was an actually custom wordpress theme... maybe because of the ordinary ones that are installed in every single wordpress blog. Unfortunately I didn't paid much attention to the staff written in it accept some things about it's owner: "This is the weblog of UC Berkeley professor, researcher, writer, and photographer Jesús RodrÃguez Velasco".
Bent Objects is a blog and as it's author says: "This is a collection of things that I make, and images that I take. Put me on your favorites already so I can feel loved. Also, be advised, a lot of my art is fine for children, and some of it is not. Does anyone know a good publisher who wants to put out a really weird book of wired objects?".Terry, author of Bent Objects, puts together some really interesting and funny wired objects. Take a look below to get a first taste of this "bizarre" type of art.
Terry is also putting together some pieces of wires objects that are appropriate for an adult audience. Check his other blog (Really Bent) here:
I think that I overdid it with the web design related posts... so here is an interesting link for web developers out there. 9ne! 9ne is an online code editor based on emacs! Among others it supports highlight syntax for CSS, HTML, Javascript and XML. You may implement it to your web application in order to add/edit files online without having to run any other applications! I was looking for something like that for over a year and now I'm happy I found it! Try it out and don't forget to check Rob Rohan!
Scion (a Toyota subdivision) last February presented the new xD model! Along with it came a "playground" site, entitled "Little Deviant", for "big kids". Despite the fact that it's a little dark and creepy for that kind of advertising, it proved to be a real fun! Check out the cinematics and be careful for the green blood!
Some days ago I was looking for websites with interesting navigation and then was when I discovered Uli Heckman's photography portfolio. At first I was a little confused by the way the navigation worked but after all this is what makes a navigation interesting!
Today while fooling around in the VCDC Discussion Board, I ran across Kostas Kiriakakis portfolio. Kostas is a Greek artist with a portfolio full of astonishing illustrations. I was surprised when I read that he is a self-taught! Concerning his website, I enjoyed the "weird" navigation and the animation at some parts. Check him out!
Here is another flash website for you! The guys at Veer got a pretty prototype idea for a font catalog. They created a "world of typography" and simply named it "Type City". Just use the arrows to navigate and view the font samples!
Nope... this isn't about the regular HTML tag. IMG SRC is the first department of the group IMG SRC / NON GRID / S2 FACTORY specialized in web application, web development, web design, etc. Based in Japan since 1997 they have delivered several projects of high quality. I liked their minimal design!
John Resig, the creator of jQuery has made a slideshow presentation about the advantages of using jQuery in combination with Ruby on Rails.
For everyone that hasn't heard of jQuery in the past let me remind you that it's about a lightweight "Comprehensive DOM, Event, Animation, and Ajax JavaScript Library" as described here. If you are inrested in taking a look at what you can achieve with jQuery check out the demos below:
There's nothing special about this website... only thing available is the remake of a classic video game and accompanied with a very good "grungy" artwork. Can't wait to see the full version of it!
Just today I visited group94.com after someone over the gTalk told me about it. At first site it looks really nice... I mean the preloader and all these but when I decided to move to the portfolio section I saw that the only thing available was the older version of it... not necessarily bad but you know... you expect to see the new version and *duh*! You may find some very good works over there!
A couple of days ago I randomly run into Mihai Parparita's blog. Mihai has been working for Google and is involved in the development of web applications like Google Reader and some Greasy Monkey stuff. First of all I really liked the template he uses and especially the way he uses the -moz-column attribute. In my wide screen I can see up to 3 columns.. whereas the IE suckers see just one (heh!). Also the logo and the dark background in combination with light green font color gives the whole blog a "geeky" look making it looking neat! Check out the articles... you may find some really usefull stuff in there!
I was looking for some information on Zend Framework and I fell on the article bellow (don't ask me how). I thought it was pretty funny and true and that you might liked it... enjoy:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year.
Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: Get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers.
Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house that he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often.
Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.
Here is the second link that Chris (a friend of mine that specializing with web design and seo)sent me. It's about the personal website of chef James Martin. Personally I like it because of the dark colors that have been used and the video implementations. It has been designed by Webshocker and Cloud Nine Design. Clicky clicky!
I guess all of you know what is going on with mashups and communities built on them. Recently I discovered Panepedia, a tourism information website/directory that represents on the map some places of interest along with panoramic photographs of great quality I would say! It is based on Google's google maps API with some custom markers and info windows.
Two days ago Chris (a friend of mine that specializing with web design and seo) sent me a couple of links to check out. The first one is Andy Foulds Design featuring a flash website with some interesting flash games and actionscript experimentations. Click on the thumbs to visit website ;)
I received those two today via email and after a search I did o Google I found out that they were released about a year ago... despite that I thought about posting them here to just for all those that missed it ;) It's a advertising campaign for Cancer Patients Aid Association by Everest Brand Solutions. Creeeeeepy I would say...
Today I discovered Simsons the Movie Website! Yeap... I know that it has been launched some time ago but I thought "what the heck...". So here it is! Some cool actionscript and smooth animations in combination with a couple of funny flash games and a "Create Your Simsons Avatar" thing. Enjoy!
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