Blog
I love all things interactive:
The internet, games, music, movies and culture at large.
This is my place to geek out.
The Evolution of Online Community
Henry Ford famously declared: “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” But when it comes to improving on a great idea, your community of customers is an invaluable source of ideas.
Pro CSS Tips: Advanced Selectors
One of the most powerful but overlooked features of CSS is the ability to use CSS selectors to pinpoint content and style it. There’s probably untapped power you’re missing. Here are the advanced CSS selector techniques I use everyday.
The Art of Games: Odin Sphere
Every once in awhile a game comes along that blows my mind. Odin Sphere comfortably fits into this category. Released by Atlus, Odin Sphere is the most gorgeous 2D game that has been created. It blows the competition out of the water.
Microsoft Doesn’t Get Web Design
At the risk of sounding like a whiny designer, I’m going to blast Microsoft for a minute. They don’t get web interfaces or typical job roles for web teams. I’m sure their tools are great for building web services, but building an interface can be needlessly difficult.
GUI Magnets
Here is a nice tool you can use to plan forms and GUIs in a meeting. They’re magnetic form controls that you can stick on a whiteboard. What’s even better is that you can write on them with dry-erase markers. These should improve collaboration with developers and producers.
How to Tackle a Design
Do you need to come up with a website or application design, or redesign, and you’re not sure where to start? This is a process I typically run through for the design portion of my projects. These are some basic strategies that can be applied to many different scenarios.
The Art of Games: Panzer Dragoon Saga
Panzer Dragoon Saga was one of the first games to attempt a combination of fine art and gameplay. The visual style, sparse setting and amazing soundtrack made this rare game unforgettable.
Building Better Bookmarks
I find that regular bookmarks are a little cumbersome, live bookmarks are a bit stiff and visual bookmarks are cute but not all that useful. I think combining all three allows for a quick way to get to everything I need and matches my workflow.
Why I Make Websites
The web is full of bad website designs, confusing jargon and overcomplicated navigation. Most web design isn’t nearly as good as it could be. I want to breathe life into your site, cut through the jargon and help you reach customers.
Whose Top Sites?
I’m a big fan of Apple design and the simplicity of their products, but I’m not in the “Apple can do no wrong” camp. I always get a little creeped out when engineers in Cupertino try to tell me what’s most important to me, especially when it comes to websites.
The Art of Games: Jet Set Radio (Series)
A breakthrough for its time, Jet Set Radio was the first game to bring the cel-shading art style to the world of video games. Colorful character design and an imaginative soundtrack perfectly complemented this playable comic.
An Intelligible Logo Design Book
The text of many design books seems to either read as Confucious style life lessons or philosophical divinations. It can be difficult to find a design book that has business rational, but Logos: An Essentional Primer for Today’s Competitive Market has it in spades.
The Art of Games: Shadow of the Colossus
After recently viewing the movie adaptation of Watchmen my mind has drifted back to Shadow of the Colossus and how it also offers a reflection on the quirks and clichés of an entire storytelling medium.
Why I Chose Expression Engine As My Content Management System
After doing a little poking around online I stumbled into Expression Engine. I was quickly sold on the simplicity of their approach and the encapsulation of different tasks. It felt like it was really aimed at web professionals.
About
I make memorable websites and interfaces with character. I've been designing and building websites and apps for 10 years. I like keeping it simple.
Contact
Portland, OR
Phone: +1 (415) 615-2529
Fax: +1 (503) 961-7658
Email: david@davidraffauf.com
Contact: Send me a note
