Shorties

Design / Shorties — 4 Comments
8
Mar 10

Better Helvetica Font Stack

Helvetica is easily my favorite font, but it has one downside: it looks like crap on Windows. The way Windows handles the rendering of Helvetica makes a great font almost unreadable at small sizes.

The problem is halfway solved by using the following CSS font stack:

font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;

The problem is a fairly large percentage of PC users (including those who have installed any Adobe Creative Suite product) will still see Helvetica rendered horribly. I’m all for serving up a design that uses advanced CSS3 and leaving IE in the dust, but the main font being unreadable on the world’s largest operating system is unacceptable.

My Solution

I experimented with JavaScript that targets Windows computers and applies a certain class to the body of the page so I can target certain CSS styles and font stacks to a PC. I ended up with a mess of duplicated CSS code, and I don’t like to repeat myself. The best solution I came up with was the simplest one.

Use this font stack:

font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif;

Here’s what font will be displayed on each operating system:

Chart describing what percentage of PC users will see Helvetica Neue instead of Arial (1.4%)

Font percentages thanks to Codestyle.org

Macs will display an improved version of Helvetica and the small percentage that doesn’t have that will see Arial, which looks almost the same when rendered on an Apple.

A small percentage of Windows users will see Helvetica Neue and the rest will see Arial, which is good enough in my book. I like Helvetica better, but Arial isn’t the end of the world.

By narrowing down the font stack to target a specific variant of Helvetica font mostly on Macs, I am able to use Helvetica in my designs without worrying about how the font renders (or doesn’t render) on a PC.

Shorties — 1 Comment
27
Jan 10

iPad vs. Kindle

While it’s fresh on everyone’s mind, I guess I’ll give in to the power of Apple buzz and write about the iPad. I’m excited for its potential as a biggie-sized iPhone, but as far as an ebook reader, I’m not that impressed.

Kid on christmas morning

I was anxious last night because I knew today could have been the day where Apple changed the ebook and publishing business forever. I looked forward to 1pm all day and the 6 hours before that couldn’t go by quick enough. I had hopes that the iPad would be some kind of e-ink, HD-color display hybrid that would make me immediately regret buying a Kindle. I’m relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Relieved that my Kindle isn’t obsolete 3 weeks after I bought it.

Disappointed that reading on an iPad will give me few benefits over reading on a laptop screen.

Kindle vs. iPad – Fight to the death only on Pay-Per-View

Elliot Jay Stocks said that ”the fact that it [the iPad] is going to kill the Kindle is now obvious.” I disagree with him. I bought the Kindle for its e-ink and open hard drive (I can put whatever I want on it). The iPad doesn’t challenge either of those so I think the Kindle will be fine. The iPad will be nothing but a bump in the road for Mr. Bezos.

The iPad will be more convenient to hold while I’m reading an ebook than my laptop because of the absence of the weird CPU/keyboard thing dangling off my laptop. The glowing backlit screen will be harsh on my eyes after 45 minutes of pure reading. I see myself reading on the iPad occasionally, but I bought the Kindle for a couple specific needs and the iPad doesn’t satisfy either of those.

I didn’t buy the Kindle to play games or check my email. That’s what my iPad will be for :-)

Design / Shorties — No Comments
12
Dec 09

Spaced Presentation

Inspired by an article by Jack Cheng, I decided to try something a little different during my semester at university. I typed up my notes for every class the evening after the class was over. That way, I would be exposed to the material once in the lecture, forget about it gradually throughout the day, and be reminded of it a couple hours later. This technique is called spaced presentation. By spreading out my learning, my brain retains more information for a longer period of time.

So how has it worked for me? It’s finals time and I’m not stressed out at all, which can seem impossible when you’re up against 5 or 6 tests that are collectively worth 30% of your entire grade. The pressure can be all-consuming, especially when Red Bull is pumping through your veins and you’re stuck at the library at 1am. What I’ve done by typing up my notes is invest in studying ahead of time rather than cramming the night before my test. It helps me perform better in the class and remember more useful info from the class.

Don’t believe me? Try to remember what you crammed for your first semester at college. I definitely don’t remember anything because my brain was on overload. I remembered it for the test and immediately pushed it out.

Work on your passion every day

Spaced presentation is also something I’m experimenting with for making myself a better designer. Every day, I’m reading two of the 100 design principles from a book called Universal Design Principles. It only takes about 15 minutes so I can easily fit it into my schedule.

I even set myself a reminder in my todo list program so I don't forget.

I even set myself a reminder in my todo list program, Things, so I never forget.

I’m at principle #50 right now and I’m going to stop after I’ve gone through the book two or three times. I don’t want to read these principles and forget it. These are something I want to subconsciously think about when designing so I’m working on making that happen a little bit every day so my brain doesn’t get overloaded.

What can you do?

What is one thing you’d like to know more about? It could be anything; design, writing, jewelry making, wood carving or your required bio stats class. Try working on it for 20 minutes every single day (or maybe 45 minutes three times a week). Read an article or do a few practice problems. You’re not only going over the material repetitively, but you’re doing it in such a way that your brain can handle all of the information without overflowing with knowledge.

Shorties — 1 Comment
24
Oct 09

What If Your Clients Acted Like This All the Time…

Guy: I mean, lunch at the taco stand was what?

Girl: About $12.

Guy: Yeah about $12.

Waiter: Sir, we’re not the taco stand.

Guy: I had beef – same thing.

Waiter: You had the Filet…

Guy: Yeah… cow.

Why do clients try to nickel and dime your design work, but they don’t haggle with people at the grocery store? The work we’re doing is much more valuable to them anyway.