Holiday Slump is Upon Me … Let’s Cut Loose!!
So, like many of you, I’m having a real hard time working during this here month of December. In fact, I’m having a hard time doing anything productive! Seems like all I want to do is spend money and have fun and relax … and do nothing to afford this lavish lifestyle! Unfortunately, this laziness has also extended to this blog. Sorry about that. ;o)
So … since I am not my usual code-loving self and for the first time in a long time just haven’t felt like dissecting xhtml and css, I thought this might be a good opportunity to have some fun. Let me get a few things off of my chest, and then I’m going to ask for your help.
Let Me Lay Out a Few Facts for You
- I get about 350 hHits per day (not a lot for some, but it makes me pretty happy)
- I get about 100 views on a new article just after it’s published, and then a steady trickle for as long as it sits on the front page
- I get lots of emails from folks saying some really nice things to me
- However, I hardly get any comments! What’s up with that??
So Perhaps I Am a Comments Whore, But …
I am asking you to please comment.
- Comment so I know you’re out there.
- Comment so I know I’m not writing this all for myself
- Comment to give me the inspiration to keep going!
- Most of all, comment so that I don’t look like a total loser after literally begging for comments!
Starting a blog isn’t the easiest thing. It’s like writing into a void. It takes a lot of drive to get it going and give it some momentum. I have sustained that momentum thus far by sheer passion and honest-to-goodness excitement about the work I do. But now the the December Slump has set in I need your help.
“But Mani”, You Ask, “What Should I Comment On?”
I’m glad you asked. Here are some ideas:
- Just Say Hello: Let me know who you are and take a moment to introduce yourself
- Criticize Me: Do you think that this blog sucks, you hate my articles, or just don’t like the cut of my jib? Let me know about it. I love criticism … especially when it’s constructive. ;o)
- Praise Me: Everyone loves a kind word or two, and I am no exception. If you like what I’ve been doing here you could let me know. That would be pretty sweet.
- Critique the design of this site: I received an interesting email a couple of months back from an admirer of my work who just really disliked the layout of my own personal site. We had some pretty interesting back-and-forth and I’ve been thinking of sharing about that as a means of a jumping off point to discuss the design of this site, design trends, and design for the web in general. If I get some good comments here it might help me get the ball rolling on that and also I can quote them in that upcoming article.
- Let me know what you would like me to write about in the future: What is it that you really want to read about here? Do you have any requests. Don’t be shy … let me know!
That’s a Wrap
Ok. I’m done. You know what I want. C’mon … Early Christmas present?
Now get to commenting!
December 17th, 2005 at 12:45 pm
Hi Mani … nice to see that in addition to being a great designer and a wonderful teacher of your craft that you are also charming and able to poke fun at yourself, as well as take criticism! Kudos to you for all that. ;o)
I’m one of those that reads your articles and gets a lot out of them (especially the code walk-throughs) but has never posted - so we are definitely out there!
What I would like to see more of in the new year on this site is more of your real-life code examples and walk-throughs. Those are golden, and very rare to find on other sites.
You start writing up one of those a week and I bet you’ll have yourself a nice little niche in no time.
Thanks for all your work - it is appreciated.
December 20th, 2005 at 9:52 am
OK … I feel too guilty not commenting!
I love your work. I love your style. I love how you haven’t succumbed to the design trend d’jour. You have a unique flavor to you, and that’s very cool.
I totally agree with aaron and I’m looking forward to more real-life examples from you in the New Year.
Peace.
December 20th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
Hi Mani,
I found your site through the CSS Zen Garden web site. I am currently looking to gain an expert understanding of CSS. It seems a bit daunting but sites like yours are a big help.
Aside from reading thick books on the topic I enjoy the short but sweet snippets of practical insite to using CSS. I especially like the fixes you share for dealing with browsers that don’t behave. :0) One day there will be a standard that we know will work for all browsers….maybe…..please.
Anyhow, After reading your request to hear from those of us who read your site I thought I’d drop you a line. Today was my first view of your web site. I also like your design style a lot. Your time, effort and attention to detail shows in your work. It inspires me to become more proficient in CSS myself. Thanks. Keep it up and please keep posting ideas and information on the topic.
Aaron Kim … A San Diego Surfer
December 20th, 2005 at 5:52 pm
Hi Mani,
I am very impressed with what you have done and I really like your philosophy for design. It seems that AJAX is going hand in hand with your philosohpy but I don’t know if that’s something you are into and if you have ideas on the subject.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Hi Mani,
I was going to make a snarky comment about getting what you wish for - but: as comment spam. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with that!
But since you invite us to suggest a topic for the future, here’s one I rarely see discussed sensibly: namely, how do you go about finding a suitable host?
This does come up, but usually ends up as a series of recommendations for particular hosts that each poster has chosen. Naturally, we all have the best of all possible whatever, be it car, house, gadget, or web host.
What I’d like to see is a discussion of what it is one looks for when searching for a host. I don’t mean cheapest, or a fancy interface like cpanel (although that could affect one’s choice, I suppose.) I am looking for more substantive issues. How do you assess how responsive support is? Do you check if the servers have redundant connections to the Internet? Do you ask about server load, and how do you tell if it’s overloaded? (Most are.) Are these issues important? Why? (or why not?)
If you could start the ball rolling with a checklist that you use, I, for one, would follow the discussion with great interest.
Would anyone else find this useful?
December 21st, 2005 at 2:07 pm
Aaron K. - Code snippets from my current projects is definitely where I want to keep going in the new year! Hopefully I’ll have that little niche you’re talking about in no time!!
Kelly - I really appreciate your comment. I often struggle with thoughts like, “Should I redesign my site to be more ‘now’ - like with more shadows and curves and gradients and corderoy-type textures and glossy looking elements or grungly elements??” Sometimes it drives me crazy trying to decide if my style is cool because I march to my own drummer or just hopelessly uncool b/c it doesn’t feel current and hip. Ugh. Anyway, it’s always nice to hear that someone appreciates my particular design sensibilities. Thank you!
Aaron Kim - Any relation to Aaron K.? How random! ;o) Thanks for taking the time to send words of encouragement … they are appreciated!
Eduardo - Unobtrusive JavaScript is definitely on my to-do list for learning more of in 2006. In fact, I already have two great books on the subject gathering dust on a shelf right now!
David - Wow, David … that’s quite a specific request! I wish I had the foggiest idea of how to address it! But I’ll tell you what … if you want to write a guest article on it for my site I’d be happy to post it! Seriously.
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:13 pm
Cool blog, Mani. I dig it.
Just writing to let you know that it’d be nice if you kept going with it!
Rock on in the new year.
December 22nd, 2005 at 7:32 pm
Eduardo,
I am 3/4 through “DHTML Utopia: Modern Web Design Using JavaScript & DOM” by Stuart Langridge (Sitepoint). I think it’s brilliant, but you do need a background in Object-Oriented programming if you want to sail through it. :-\
Here’s a very unfinished example of using JS and CSS together to create styles difficult to achieve with CSS alone. Turn off JS, and it is still usable (I hope):
http://www.hucklesby.com/sandbox/
Mani,
I have an assignment to add server scripting and a database to a site. It has been totally frustrating so far, as the client’s host will divulge ZERO information about what can and cannot be done. If I get anywhere with this, I should have some material for an article.
Don’t hold your breath. Getting info from this host is like pulling teeth - without Novacaine.
December 23rd, 2005 at 1:29 pm
Hi Mani,
I just want to say that I love your work, the design you do is inspiring, innovative, fresh and original. In short~it’s very lovely.
I read that piece on the feedback you received about your personal site:
One of the things I personally focus on in design is trying to make certain that the navigation and layout are intuitive, self defined and easy to understand at a glance. I feel you do an excellent job of that on your site. The first time I went to your site (recently) I knew how to find my way around and what to expect (what I would find behind each link), and yet your design is still fresh. So many sites these days are clogged with unecessary links, banners and content with zero white space to break up the fray of data. Your site demonstrates that you can have clean design, a familiar environment allowing people to step in and feel at home- all without sacrificing personal aethetic, rich graphics, and a sense of warmth.
You are inspiring - all of your designs - but your Faded Flowers page does a little dance in my brain that makes me wonder how something so simple can be so beautiful. I showed it to absolutely everyone I know.
Keep up the great work, you’re making the web a better place.
Peace,
Kevin Douglas
December 26th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
Love this site. Clear and simple.
Arrived here because I am struggling with the 3 column liquid-centre layout, so I was looking for more tips on it.
I just do not end up with full-length side columns. In Netscape 7 or ie6.
Sigh.
December 27th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
Viv,
One solution here: http://www.positioniseverything.net/thr.col.stretch.html
Lots of other layout ideas at the css-discuss wiki:
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=CssLayouts
HTH.
January 2nd, 2006 at 4:21 am
Hey Mani,
Happy New Year - thought I’d leave you a comment too to let you know that many of us are mere lurkers but we check back frequently :-)
Although you say that you get 350 hits per day on your site, think about the number of pages per day that YOU designed that get seen…e.g. weddingpath.com puts out about 15,000 pages a day and many of those are from your designs! Hope that brings a smile to your face.
Sujay
January 3rd, 2006 at 9:22 am
David: I have the DHTML Utopia book as well and have been jazzed to read it for months but keep putting it on the back burner. I’m encouraged that you think it’s brilliant but discouraged about needing a background in Object-Oriented programming to sail through it. =(
Jack and Viv: Thanks much for your kind words! =)
Kevin: Wow … THANK YOU! I’m not sure I deserve your praise, but I’ll take it - it made my day!!
Sujay: Good to hear from you! It does indeed put a smile on my face and I much appreciate your stopping by.
January 13th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Just thought that I should say that you have a beautiful site. I’ve been wanting to redo my work site for a long time (its extremely ugly) but I’ve always thought that it would take too much time and too much effort to figure out how to make it look nice. Your site has given me not only a sense of what can be done, but also how to do it. Thanks!
January 27th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Hi Mani,
I’m a fresh CS graduate with lots of passion for computer programming, not in the sense that I do it often (aside from work), but in the sense that when I do it I absolutely love it.
Recently though, I’ve been fascinated with web design, and it wasn’t long before I landed on the CSS zen garden website, man oh man, my heart melted when I saw some of the designs on that thing, I wanna be able to do that!!
From there I ended up on a couple of designers websites including yours, and to be honest with you, it’s the only one I’ve been checking regularly since. I learn the most when someone lets me in on their thought process, their tools, their setup, and everything that surrounds their success.
So naturally when I see a post about the 10 most useful firefox plugins, and another about the design process of the ‘faded flowers’ website, I become an avid and loyal fan to your continuously useful and insightful blogs.
So thank you very much for sharing your though-process and your experience with all of us, wish you all the success in the world.
ps: Given my programming background, I am mostly hungry for the design aspect of things, so when you get the chance, please take us on a tour in your creative mind!!
January 29th, 2006 at 8:30 am
I would like to see some resource recommendations for Wingdings, Photoshop brushes, Fonts etc.
January 31st, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Heya Mani :-)
Came by your site through ‘alistapart’, in my attempts to break away from the “table” and dive into “div”.
Love your designs and I admire the way you’ve grown from an exhibition artist to what you are now - a New Media Design Diva! ;-)
I’m an interface and interaction designer, primarily from an electronics background, though I wouldn’t know a diode from a capacitor now :-/
Your blog and your site is darned delightful and helpful. I hope and wish that you keep this up for as long as you can. It is appreciated muchly.
PS. mail me, if you need any sort of help, like say research on some stuff or do a test run on a mac etc.
Cheers,
Jai
January 31st, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Sian,
Check this one out:
http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/bluevertigo.htm
Jai
February 1st, 2006 at 11:10 am
MJ: You are very kind … thank you so much, and I will try to delve a bit more into the creative process some time for you. ;o)
Jai: A New Media Design Diva, huh? I love that! Thank you so very much for that and also for the BlueVertigo link … that looks pretty cool and I will definitely check it out!
February 21st, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Mani,
Just wanted to let you know that while I’ve never posted a comment before, I am a subscriber and a very intrigued reader of yours. I think what seperates you from so many other blogs is that you are very open about how you get things done. I love that you share your Javascript creations, knowing that they might not be the best way to do the trick. This is real world honesty that we all appreciate.
You are a down to earth web professional we can all relate to. Keep up the great work.
April 13th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Hi Mani! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina!
I found your site looking for some design tips and tricks for a web application my team is building. As Java coders, everybody here is confident the app rocks (functionally and architecturally speaking), but I feel we need to push a little more in the design, usability and accesibility front. So far, I’ve found more inspiration and concrete ideas than I expected, so your site is now high in my favorites list.
Critics? How could I…ok, you begged: the italic bold font you choose for your site looks a little jagged (IE6/Win). Hard on the eyes for old chaps like me…!
Keep doing such a good job, see ya around