Note: To view the changes made to tumbledry, you may need to do a hard refresh. To summarize that link, it’s Ctrl+Shift+R in Firefox, Ctrl+F5 in Internet Explorer, and Command+Shift+R on Macs.
As I cryptically mentioned a couple of posts back, there was a realignment going on at tumbledry. Not a redesign, oh no. Those are rather a bit more costly. Anyhow, the seeds for this evolution in design were planted back in April. You see, I sometimes diddle in photoshop as a way of getting my creative side out (and as a homework break). So, I put together a horizontal grid with a vertical grid and started plunking tumbledry elements in. Thus, this is a realignment in both the vertical and the horizontal sense. Vertically, I have finally found my rhythm, with an 18px baseline. Notice how the horizontal pieces of text (it works best on the front page, I’ve been lazier elsewhere) line up nicely, even with the gaps between images, etc. (This trick is slightly broken on Internet Explorer. Curse you, Internet Explorer.) Oh, and you’ll find the line lengths are quite short. So, you only have to read about 10 words per line. This has been shown (by a few studies) to maximize comprehension. Here’s the idea: the human eye has an arc through which it moves (comfortably). This allows you, at a set distance, to comfortably scan a certain horizontal distance without moving your head. Having to move your head back and forth requires considerably more brain work, and slows down reading comprehension. Restricting the width of the line keeps your eye within its comfortable arc, minimizing head movement and maximizing comprehension. So I think/hope this evolution will serve us well.
The previous logo on tumbledry meant absolutely nothing (just like the ones before it). I still liked the way it looked but … as a recognizable widget, it really accomplished nothing. Additionally, I had been using the first take on my color scheme since about July of last year. As a side note: indeed, taking a design from the drawing board to live takes about 6 months. Well, it takes me sixth months because I have all these other hairbrained ideas on the journey. That said, I noticed some serious problems with the color scheme. The ratios of green to red to blue were completely wrong. Half the time things looked like a bad version of Christmas with some blue tossed in. So, a concerted (minor) graphic refresh was undertaken.
In the past eight years, this website has evolved from an extremely simple, unchanging outline of an adolescent kid to a dynamic web of text, links, sights, and (at times) sounds chronicling a young adult’s life. All of this extra content has necessitated extra layers of complexity. As sections have been added, I’ve tried to keep it simple, but it has certainly been a challenge — and I haven’t always succeeded. So, for anyone new to tumbledry or curious how it all works, let’s run down the basics.
In the interest of explaining why in the Sam Hill there haven’t been any images for almost two weeks, I’d like to apologize and ask for your patience just a little bit longer. They (the photographs) are on their way - there is simply a bit more to do on ye’ olde version 15.x of tumbledry. I’m digging up time for it in between homeworking sessions, hence the delay. The entire redesign, though, is 90% functional, with only a few key components remaining. I’ll walk you all through the new features when they are released - the most visible changes will be in the community aspect. As tumbledryer’s, you’ll feel more engaged with the site and with one another. Unless you don’t. In that case, I will have failed. But I will have had fun doing it!
Hang on, you loyal tumbledry readers - I know it’s been an absurdly long time since my last update … but rest assured that I have something in the pipeline that will make your wait worthwhile. Feel free to speculate what it is exactly that you are waiting for.
I think these perfume sample cards have some great examples of graphic (and material) design. Very succinct, yet impactful branding. Plus, they get the bonus of having the product sprayed on them - very good selling tool. These were used in the quest for Katy’s birthday gift.
CSS3 Multi Column - Holy crap. I will definitely definitely have to give this a try - multiple column layouts (they kind you see in a newspaper) are all too awesome and all to rare.
A List Apart REDESIGNS - One of the best resources for webdesign on the internet reveals one of the best redesigns on the internet. This one blows the doors off of pretty much anything else I’ve seen.
Holy good lord. Tarnation. Yikes. Gosh golly. Good night that took a long time. I remember saying July 4th this would be done, a deadline I shamefully blew through and which Nils could have yelled at me for. At last, I don’t believe it (you most certainly do not, either), but it is done. The great tumbledry redesign of 2005 is ACTUALLY DONE. I’ve been spending so much time on this that its hard to know where to start. I can say: look forward to one image per day in the imageLog, actual updates, and more.
I have said very little about this new design (it was whipped up in a frenzy of about one month), but I have received very positive and constructive opinions on it. It was a decently large pile of work and I have a few small things left to tweak (namely, making QuickMail scroll better) until I rest for an extended time from designing anything online. Nevertheless, to continue in the current feedback-from-readers vein, I wish to post this note from my girlfriend.
Asterisk - D. Keith Robinson’s site has one of my favorite color schemes. Beyond that, he opens up some excellent topics for discussion in addition to his wonderful musical recommendations. One of the best use of Google AdWords (a necessary evil for some of the bigger sites) I have seen.
Typographica - My favorite journal of typography, a field into which I occasionally delve. Typographica serves as an excellent portal to other typographic resources.
I thought it was just me, but Google has, indeed, redesigned. While the product is most definitely evolutionary and not revolutionary, I agree with this article that the purpose is to polish and shine the service a bit more prior to Google’s IPO.
Authentic Boredom - Great guy; great designer. Mr. Moll produces websites using experience gained as a business major. He takes the client’s needs and transforms them into online solutions. This experience and attention to the client is evident on his well-designed and well-written blog, “Authentic Boredom.”
