Where Art, Design, and Technology Meet, with Brenda Long
I believe in sketching your ideas. Whether it is programming or art, sketches give you direction. They allow you to discover what is going to work or not, prior to spending a great deal of time with the actual materials. Another benefit, at least for me, is that the little drawings and notes end up Continue Reading…
I am working on an children’s interactive picture book, Mabell’s Zoo. The target audience is 2-5 years old. Luckily I have a test subject in the house and she is not afraid to tell me what she thinks. She has told me the color of particular animals is wrong and some animals looked sad or Continue Reading…
As an artist, I believe I must understand what it is I want to create. This can be very literal from colors and drawings and when creating multimedia, something more abstract. Painters have always studied the subject and contemporary artists still practice plein air – taking easel and supplies outdoors and painting the scene in Continue Reading…
We have a collection of power and hand tools. This includes numerous saws – each one has a specific purpose and works well in a particular situation. These tools have been around for a long time. It seems like whatever the wish, there is a tool that makes the task easier. I needed something to Continue Reading…
My client sent me an email with “the thumbnail images on my website are dull”. I took a look and yes, they were dull and yet this only affected the images the client had uploaded. I anticipated the issue was related to color profiles. The original images had a color profile attached, the thumbnails did Continue Reading…
While updating our kitchen I incorporated a built in microwave that really meets my needs. We had already purchased a stove top and vented microwave. When the time came to install, I looked at the space and placement of the microwave and decided “that is not the best solution”. I am 5’3″ and reaching above Continue Reading…
We live in an old house (150+ years) with many period characteristics: 10 inch molding, 6 panel doors, high ceilings. After installing the home’s first central heating and air we turned our attention to updating the kitchen. Some of our challenges included: a 5 inch sloping floor, a cellar door in the floor, and a Continue Reading…
I have a 3 year old and she has had an iPad for 1 year. Computers and phones are my working tools, so it was not an option to encourage her to use them. Also, I did not like the thought of this active and highly mobile little person sitting in a chair with a Continue Reading…
The design for a recent WordPress website required great emphasis on images and the respective thumb-nail. The project was for a portrait artist to showcase his works. Under normal circumstances WordPress crops a thumbnail from the center of an image. This works great in most situations. Portraits however, usually focus the face in the upper Continue Reading…
Please don’t “Click Here”. I believe good interactive design should provide clues and information to guide the user. A link with a strong call to action and the conventional link color change usually works well. Buttons should have a “touch me” appearance to entice users to interact. This can be accomplished by referring to the Continue Reading…