Made By Firefly : Blog

It is that time of year where you see a bunch of 2011 re-caps or predictions for 2012. You know, where bloggers/writers lists out all the top trends/styles/concepts from the past year or look into their crystal ball to tell us what will be trendy for the coming year.

So I have put together a similar list. These are predictions, they are more like wishes; things I would like to see more of or things that would be helpful to us design-y types.

1. Web browsers. According to StatCounter nearly 40% of web users are using various versions of Internet Explorer. Chrome comes in second with 26% share, with Firefox at 25% and Safari & Opera accounting for 10% between them. For 2012 I urge everyone to UPDATE YOUR BROWSER to the current version. One of the most frustrating things for web designer is having to take into account all those users who, for what ever reason, feel they shouldn’t update their web browsers when updates are available. I have to make sure that my web designs and mark-up (the code stuff) comply and are usable for every version of web browsers. So, because someone out there is still using IE7, I have to make changes and concessions to my web design to accommodate this. But then these accommodations may not be compatible with IE8 or 9 or Firefox, so that means more accommodations. Updating your browser is FREE and will make the internet look and work better, I promise. Please try it.

On the same note however, if web browsers where built to one standard and where compatible with all the newest coding trends and styles, none of this would be a problem. Us web designers wouldn’t have to worry about the end-user controlling/effecting how my code is seen on the web because the smarties building the browsers could be doing this for us all when the browser is designed originally. (One can only hope…)

2. HTML5 & CSS3. Please. Again, this goes along with the browser wars – I would love to use more HTML5 and CSS3, however, if your using IE7, the things I design with these new coding standards will not work.

3. Web Fonts. I want more web fonts please. I love typography, and within the last year the amount of web-ready fonts from places like Font Squirrel and Google Web Fonts has increased significantly. The more there are, the more interesting the web will be. Keep em comin’!

4. Forums & Blogs. My web designing wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for web forums like Stack Overflow. Thank you to all of the smart people out there that help the less smart. Please don’t stop. Same goes for informative blogs such as Web Design Ledger. I can’t say my blog will ever be as informative as WDL, but it is something to strive for. Inspiration is hard to come by when there is so much out there to look at. WDL does a great job of filter all the stuff to look at and giving you a glimpse of the best. I would recommend reading their Design Trends for 2012 here. At least they are letting me know that my designing skills are on the “trendy” side!

5. Customer Service. With the explosion of online everything, it seems that it is getting harder and harder to a.) talk to a human within a company and b.) get help or get your questions answered effectively. I have worked in customer service and I know how hard it is. But that doesn’t mean everyone should give up on it. I applaud those companies who still pick up the telephone to help. And even those who respond to you with a prompt and helpful email. Thank you. But automated email responses or web forms that you fill in and the info ends up in the abyss are useless to everyone. And they give your company a bad name. Humans are better.

6. More photography. More good photography utilized in design. I have a passion for photos and try to use them in my design work when I can. You should too.

7. More illustrations. Whether hand-drawn or vector-based, I love when I see a logos or adverts that I would consider art.

8. Less black. I have an aversion to black. There are so many colours out there, pick one, don’t just fall back on black. Colour is fascinating, useful, and beautiful – as long as it is not black.

So the day has finally arrived – my website is up and running on the real interwebs! I don’t know about you, but I am pretty dang excited. This project may possibly have been the longest in history. I started 3 years ago with graphic design as just a hobby, something I did because I enjoyed it and want to learn more. And now, finally, when someone asks me what I do I say I am a graphic designer. And here is my website to prove it. =)

Please have a look and be kind – but not too kind…if something isn’t right, give me a shout. There are a few more changes/additions in store for the site that I am still working on. My addition of wedding stationery is gonna be cool, I promise! That is still a few months down the line, but it will get there eventually. And I will definitely be adding a comment section for each of the blog posts. And, until that time arrives, if you would like to comment Facebook & Twitter will facilitate you in that.

Thanks for reading. And thanks to those who have supported and helped me along on all this (you know who you are). ~R