Level Orange

I have to admit, one of the things I had in mind when I signed on at my job was getting in on some web design action. It wasn’t exactly obvious how I’d be able to do that, but because I had experience in web design for several years, it was something I was interested in. When I found out that there was a separate team working on web development, I was a little disappointed, but figured that was all for the best. Good, let them handle it, I said. At least, that was my initial reaction.

Like most companies who operate under a parent entity, the site was being managed under an umbrella structure, meaning that one team handled design, development and maintenance of ALL corporate sites. Unfortunately for us, there was a time when priorities had shifted and the magazine dropped in both relevance and status within that structure. In turn (at least this is what I was told) each division was given back control of their respective web presence, in order to free up man-hours for other projects. As a result, the magazine’s site quickly grew stagnant. Because it relied on a database-like back end, it became a chore just to update content and almost impossible to get quirks and bugs stamped out.

That’s when, after several months of nudging, I just couldn’t help it anymore. One day, I simply asked, “why don’t we just do this ourselves?” and surprisingly, I didn’t meet with much resistance. Instead, I got the go-ahead to work up some ideas.

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…to coin a phrase I heard at work. The design I had worked so hard to build up over the last few months suddenly looked boring. Like I was seeing it done on every other site. The design you would’ve seen just yesterday was my first true approach to all that is standards-based design. Semantic markup, minimal table use, CSS-based layout and clean XHTML 1.0. For the most part, I think I succeeded, but now I wanted to find out for sure. So I decided to do a little exercise.

I wanted to see just how much I could do with this CSS-based design. I’d never completely made a switch from one layout to another for a whole site and had it actually hold together. In the past, I’d gotten div happy and paid no mind to headings and/or syntax that would render appropriately in any situation. But in the final year of attack22.com, I made it a point to straighten out my CSS and weed out all of the garbage. The XHTML was never a big problem, but the CSS was ridiculously crowded with IDs and classes that could’ve been easily replaced with a simple h1 or em tag.

All I really wanted was a new layout. I’d had enough of the centered, 800px wide page look. To me, it began to feel like a vertical roll of paper centered in a horizontally shaped rectangle. Sort of like reverse “letterboxing”. That and I just felt like something a little looser. Something that looked like it belonged in a browser window.

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Today’s the day our son Robbie turns two! It’s hard to believe it’s been two years already, but as they say, time flies…

Today also marks the first time he’ll be getting a haircut. Call it some strange tradition, but my parents didn’t cut my hair until I was two, and I thought it’d be fun to do that with my son. It’s interesting to see just how many people assume that he’s a girl because of his long curls. Even with full-on boy clothes and his boy toys, we still get comments like “she’s so cute” and “what’s her name?” all the time. I don’t think he’s too pleased with that…

So tonight, we’re going to go get haircuts. All of us. It’ll be a family haircut night! Who says we don’t do things together? While Carol and I plan to get cuts, the main focus is going to be Robbie and whether or not he’ll sit for it. Where there’s scissors involved and a squirming child, there’s always a parent on high alert.

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I woke up this morning with my stomach in knots. Not because of something I’d eaten, but because of a dream I had. One of those dreams that just envelopes you with a sense of impending doom.

In this dream, I was out of work again. Not only me, but the entire office. We were shut down. In the same way that happened last time. Not necessarily the whole company, just our division. There were mentions of being integrated into other departments as an alternative, but that did little to comfort anyone. Just the idea that we’d all be suddenly left to our own devices was overwhelming to me.

At my last job, I joined the team and was there until the end. After seeing so many people come and go, it gets to you. I miss the people that I used to work with every day. Even though the occassional phone call or e-mail is a comfort, it’ll never be like it was. You have to pick up the pieces and move on. I think I’ve done a good job of that so far. I’m just not looking to do it again.

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After taking a second look, Carol and I decided to add a few more things. Scan, print, cut. Okay. There. Looks like we’re ready to move to the next phase…

Colors?

We settled on a primary color scheme that would consist mostly of pink, purple and yellow. There’ll be a little blue and green in there, but only in minor areas. What this all meant was that I had to break out my paint and equipment that’s been sitting idly in my closet for a few years. And when I say “a few years” I mean, this is my equipment that I used in school. That’s going a ways back…

Turns out I was a little short on some colors, so I hade to make a trip over to the local art/hobby store and pick up a few things. You’ll notice that yes, I’m working out of what is essentially a re-labeled tackle box. A top quality tackle box, that is.

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For many in the illustration industry, it’s probably no surprise than many artist these days are working in a completely digital environment. By that, I mean that all sketching, illustrating and finishing is done on a computer. I’ve been doing that for about the last six years or so, but only recently had a steady run at it. Having done some small illustrations for the magazine just about every month, I’ve been able to get a somewhat organized process going, and it’s worked okay for the most part. The only part that gives me trouble is the concept phase. I still have to work with a pencil and paper to get things going. Yesterday, while I was sketching out some ideas, I had a thought.

Yes, it’s true, you can get by just fine without ever coming into contact with a computer in today’s world.I’ve got a relative that has been illustrating, painting, designing for years, but now she’s out of work. I’d imagine the big hitch is that she doesn’t work with computers. I’ve done enough illustrating over the years to know that working with computers is hardly necessary, and can actually become a hindrance if you let it. But is it essential that artists use them?

These days, absolutely. Even if not a single stroke is laid down using a computer, there’s so much more to conducting everyday business that requires it. That’s where my relative is stuck out. During a discussion the other day, it took me a little while to realize that we’re working in two different worlds. She’s a bit older than me, so my initial reasoning behind the lack of computer skills was the age/generation factor. Then again, my dad uses a computer all the time. I’ve worked with all sorts of people of all ages, from their 20s to their 50s, who are very proficient, so that couldn’t be it.

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Don’t get me wrong, it’s very well done. I have to give Zach Braff his props for writing, directing and starring in a brilliant film debut. I found the characters so natural, so grounded in reality, even when their surroundings ventured into surreal (but not wholly unbelievable) territory. To me, that’s the mark of a great filmmaker–the ability to make characters that the audience can totally relate to and identify with, put them in situations where they are tested and never lose the audience or plot. On Scrubs, even though there’s more comedy involved, I’ve always found Braff’s approach very down to earth and likeable. Natalie Portman, charming as ever, has had years to hone her own talent, and despite her innate beauty and her involvment the Prequels, she’s maintained a level of credibility as an top-quality actress. It was refreshing to see them in a new element, playing far enough off-type that it wasn’t always clear where things were going.

Watching it on DVD, I also checked out the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews and I was equally impressed. One thing that I really liked about the film was it’s cinematography, and it was good to discover that Braff, an amateur photographer, was the driving force behind that. With this project, he certainly appeared to know what he wanted and how to bring his own sensibilities to the production. I think Braff is already on his way up, even aside from his recurring television role. I just hope he doesn’t squander it by staying there too long. Sooner or later, he’s going to have to make the Clooney transition.

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