DesignElemental Blog

What Really Happens: Inside a Web Server

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:39:34 EST

This is a quick comic I drew that explains what really happens inside a web server. I started out with the intent to draw an infographic to explain the process, but quickly realized that my 'infographic' was looking more like a comic. So I went with it.

The Anatomy of a Navigation Menu

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 09:34:46 EST

The navigation menu is one of the most important elements in website design. Clear, concise navigation allows users to quickly and easily find what they're looking for. And when this happens, you greatly increase your chances of a sale, new subscriber, or whatever the goal of the website is. On our latest project we put a lot of focus on designing and polishing the navigation menu; and in this post we'll break down all the elements and show you how to make your own awesome CSS navigation menus!

A New Design for a New Year

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:30:23 EST

It was a long time coming, but I've finally redesigned this site. From the graphics right down the the XHTML/CSS, everything is new. While most designers (myself included) get the urge to redesign their portfolio's all too often, this redesign was definitely needed. It's been over a year since there's been any major changes too the site, and a lot has happened in a year! In this post I'll take a look at some of the tools and techniques I used when redesigning the site, such as CSS sprites, font replacement with Cufon, great new javascripts, CSS3 techniques and more!

PunyPNG

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 09:47:28 EST

Halftone - A Free Wordpress Theme

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:23:18 EST

I've just released the free WordPress theme: Halftone. It's a clean, blue and grey theme with halftone patterns, designed for over-sized logos. Read on for preview and download links!

To Wordpress or not to Wordpress?

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:43:07 EST

Content management systems are becoming more popular as well as more important. If your site is not powered by one you're wasting time and resources. In this post I take a look at my transition from a custom content management system to the possibility of using one of the many excellent, free and open source content management systems available today.

SiteManagr - A CodeIgniter CMS

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:40:13 EST

SiteManagr is a simple, open source content management system built on the CodeIgniter PHP framework. I've just released version 0.31 (beta).

TeuxDeux

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:00:21 EST

Coming Soon: A CodeIgniter CMS

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:13:41 EST

COMING SOON: an easy-to-use, full featured content management system (CMS) built on the open source CodeIgniter PHP framework.

A Year In Review

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 15:02:37 EST

With the holidays almost here and the year winding down, what better time to look back and review accomplishments and set some goals for the upcoming year. In this post I'll take a look at some of the tools and technologies I've learned over the past year and why you should learn them too! I'll also set some goals as a developer/designer for the year to come.