russt

Tag: Design

  • My Latest Project

    I’ve finally come to a conclusion. Some of you know that I have, for a time, wanted to make another blog. One that’s not personal. One that could be of assistance to someone, more than just informing them of how my life is going. In light of that, I will soon be launching another blog. And I’m dang excited about it.

    Web Application Development

    I’m going to write this new blog about my efforts to create a custom web application. I know most of you that read this won’t be super-interested in that, but I realized that it could provide an interesting amount of insight to others who may be interested in similar things.

    For the past year or so, I’ve been slowly working on developing a new web-based application for swim teams. You see, I’m a coach for a swim team, and the software that’s out there right now for team and meet management really isn’t so good.

    Because I know that there are many people out there interested in developing their own web applications (once again, probably not most of you…) I realized that documenting my experiences may be helpful to others who pursue the same path. At least, I’m hoping they will be.

    And so, pending the termination of finals, I will be starting work on the new site.

  • The New Internet Explorer

    ie-8

    I don’t know how many of you know about this, but Microsoft recently released a brand new version of Internet Explorer. It’s Internet Explorer 8.

    Now, being a nerd, this is of great interest to me. Especially with the fact that I’m a web-designing nerd. And I’ll tell ya why: Internet Explorer 8 (and its predecessor, Internet Explorer 7) embraces long sought-after web standards. (more…)

  • The Hana Table

    Not more than a few moments ago, I realized that it’s been just over two weeks since my last post. And for that I apologize. Well, I guess it doesn’t really hurt anyone but me.

    Anyway, as I realized that, I happened across a stunning table design. And here it is, folks.

    hana_150409_01hana_150409_02hana_150409_03Sadly, I can already hear what my mom’s words would be as a result… “It would be impossible to dust!” Well, shoot dang. It’s awfully pretty, even if it would be kinda bothersome to dust it. Plus, it can go completely flat.

  • Creativity vs. Productivity

    Regrettably, I don’t remember exactly where it was that I read something about this, but wherever it was, it certainly illustrated an important part of many people’s lives.

    Many of us, myself included, need to exercise a certain amount of creativity in the workplace. Whether it be in creating a graphic, drawing something, coming up with a new marketing scheme, or whatever, it is an important part of what we do. Creativity is an essential part of nearly all business pursuits.

    But, on the other hand, we must also have points in time where we focus entirely on what we’re doing – when distractions make us lose valuable time.

    And these two aspects of work involve completely different approaches. With creativity, we don’t want to disregard or throw out any idea. Distractions, random suggestions, or seemingly ridiculous ideas can prove invaluable. A little flash of inspiration often makes all the difference. Additionally, simply surfing the web looking at random photos or works of art can be one of the most productive parts of the process.

    But when we’re doing in-depth study, creating charts, etc, we don’t want to be random. It is important to focus on the task at hand – without distraction.

    This really came as a surprise to me, truthfully. It makes complete sense when thought through, but before I simply hadn’t realized it – or its potential impact on my life. But it’s helped me much. Now I’ll be able to be much more productive in my specific pursuits – adjusting my environment and mindset to the task at hand, therefore optimizing my use of time and brainpower (however limited that may be).

  • The Importance of Themes

    bloggingLately, I haven’t been posting much here. And believe me, there is a pretty decent reason for that. You see, lately I’ve realized that in order for a blog to have a following (and therefore make an difference, be it for better or worse), it must be focused on one subject or another. In my experience (which is far from perfect), people follow blogs, websites, etc. because they are interested in the content thereof.

    When a blog randomly jumps from one subject to another, it becomes drastically less likely that a person will be interested in all content posted there. This means interesting things for bloggers, namely that they have to focus on one subject or another. If they ignore this, it’s very likely that the only people interested in that blogger’s site will be his or her immediate family and close friends. But this poses another problem: if a blogger focuses solely on other content, he risks alienating his family and friends that don’t share his precise interests.

    I also stronly believe that is the precise reason why out of so many blogs, so few have a decent level of readership.

    In order to be effective, a site must have interesting, thought-provoking articles. While many life experiences can provide that, they must be presented in a certain manner.

    With the coming redesign of my site, I’m going to do my best to address some of those issues. I sincerely hope that it will work out well. If it doesn’t, my blog will simply remain a part of those with a low readership.