creative – Page 4 – Rosstamicah Design

Parallax Effect in Web Design

Post author:Rosston Meyer
Post published:December 4, 2010
Post category:Blog Writing

A little seen effect in modern web design is the parallax effect or parallax scrolling. Parallax involves layered images that move at different speeds from background to foreground, creating depth and if designed cleverly enough, the illusion of 3D space. The effect can be achieved with plain old CSS and HTML, as well as with jquery powered javascript application jparallax.

One of the most well known individual examples of CSS within the web design community of CSS-based parallax is on Clearleft’s landing page for their Silver Back App. The vines at the top of the page are set as parallax layers.

The images look great as a set of layered static images but there is no mouse interactivity, and the effect can only been seen “in action” while the browser window is being re-sized. Designer Paul Annett says using parallax in such a subtle way where not everybody sees it is “like a hidden Easter egg for those who do.” You can view a full explanation of the css that Paul used for the effect on his article here.

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Online Portfolios for Creatives

Post author:Rosston Meyer
Post published:November 14, 2010
Post category:Blog Writing

Every creative professional needs an online portfolio. This used to mean having your own website, which for some people was a lot of work. Today, there’s no excuse. There are many online portfolios available for free that give illustrators, web designers, photographers, developers, and animators an easy solution to getting their work online. This article introduces several great creative online portfolio solutions.

Behance

Behance is one of the top online portfolio options for creatives. It offers support for images, audio, video, flash as well as embedded content from Vimeo, Youtube, Flickr and more. Social sharing is supported with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Behance portfolios are organized by project, which requires a description of the project itself and related content. Available template options are a blank canvas, image grid and a featured frame layout specifically for video and motion projects. (more…)

The State of the Creative Union

Post author:Rosston Meyer
Post published:October 26, 2010
Post category:Blog Writing

Note: This article was a collaborative effort between Jessica Kupferman of Pretty and Outgoing and myself. Thanks, Jessica!

We are all very fortunate to be living in a time that allows us all to witness huge breakthroughs in technology and ways we access the web. From the iPad, to the social media boom, to greater mobile and video functionality, our world is a world of web accessibility.

We wanted to survey some professionals in our field – web and graphic and motion designers, to find out their thoughts on how these changes in both technology and the economy have affected the work we do, our outlook, and what’s to come. With changes coming at us all so rapidly, we thought it would be prudent to take a “state of the union” of sorts: if for no other reason than to check current trends and thoughts of our colleagues.

1. What trends and advancements in technology do you see as the most exciting and how will those affect your work?

Almost every designer that took the survey had mobile as part of their answer to this question. As mobile access becomes more popular, general consensus is that the web designer’s job will indeed become different and much more exciting.

“I’d say for web development it would be the rise of mobile as a real player. As phones & other mobile devices advance, clean, usable sites across platforms will be more in demand.” – Mike Conaty

“Mobile… I think we’re going to continue to see development in a broad variety of mobile devices. Once more organizations realize that content is being accessed and consumed in so many different ways, I believe there will be a push to deliver content based more on context than it is now.” – Michael Guill

Many designers also mentioned new and different types of web accessibility, such as the iPad, replacing desktops and even laptops. With breakthroughs in the ways consumers view the internet, not only will the technology change, but the sites and their accessibility will have to change as well.

“Computer as [an] appliance [is] finally here (and getting pretty cheap) – lots more people access services without all the hassles of a personal computer (use smart-phones, set-top-boxes, tablets etc. etc.)” – Martin Luff (more…)