Kerfuffle on the Planet of the Apes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is out and I decided to update one of my responsive easter egg headers—Kerfuffle on the Planet of the Apes—with more efficient, modern code.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is out and I decided to update one of my responsive easter egg headers—Kerfuffle on the Planet of the Apes—with more efficient, modern code.
Originally published in 2005 and updated in 2024, CSS Specisithity explains how to master specificity using Star Wars metaphors. It’s been credited with helping web designers and developers understand what’s often considered a complex subject.
Clarify what’s expected on both sides to help build great relationships between you and your clients. Contract Killer is plain and simple and there’s no legal jargon. It’s customisable to suit your business and has been used on countless web projects since 2008.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) templates can cost hundreds of Pounds, so I thought I’d turn my hand to writing a GDPR data protection and privacy policy in the spirit of Contract Killer. Be compliant without bamboozling customers.
I wanted a simple set of layout modules I could call on for design projects, so I developed my own. I call them Layout Love and rather than keep them to myself, I’m offering them to everyone to use which I hope will encourage people to make layouts which are more interesting.
I wrote my first book, Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web design, way back in 2006. It became a success and since then I’ve had countless people tell me it was influential in their careers. Transcending CSS Revisited is available to read online for free, with a new foreword by Rachel Andrew.
In this new video, I discuss the influential Swiss graphic designer Karl Gerstner’s work. I love Gerstner’s mastery of grid and how he used them to create consistent yet creative layouts.
For most of my career, I’ve encouraged designers and developers to learn from past masters of design and make inspiring web work. Now, I’m launching Stuff & Nonsense Premium Squarespace templates that help them do just that.
In this new video, I want to discuss Willy Fleckhaus’ work. His name isn’t often mentioned in the context of product and website design. I love Willy Fleckhaus’ mastery of layouts, his use of scale, and the ways he integrated images and text into compelling compositions.
Since, I suppose, the late nineties, every time a General Election comes around, the political parties roll out new websites. Having spent time studying Labour’s 2024 campaign website, I wondered what their previous election websites looked like. There’s barely anything left of Labour’s website from its victory in 1997 so I imagined what it might’ve looked like.
In this new video, I discuss editorial designer Otto Storch whose work I discovered while flicking through a new addition to my design library. I love how Storch playfully combines images and typography to create designs which are full of energy and movement.
In this new video, I look at Labour’s election manifesto and its campaign slogan that shouted “Change.” If Sir Keir Starmer or Angela Rayner had asked me to design their post-manifesto website, I’d have done things differently. So I explain what I’d do.
In this new video, I look at what was up with Labour’s 2024 election website design, the absence of typographic or visual hierarchy, inconsistent use of colour, lack of focus, and a clear identity. How would I fix this?
I’ve made videos before, including a few series for New Riders—back in the day—and an Art Direction for the Web companion series for Skillshare. For ages, I wanted to make more videos and publish them on YouTube. Now, I’ve made a start.
I don’t check my analytics terribly often, but I did this week, and there was something strange in there: referrals from a domain I didn’t recognise that was using my website’s favicon. Curious, I went to the URL and saw something familiar—my design.
Today, I’m launching Quick Takes and Fresh Perspective design reviews. Quick Takes are 30-minute video reviews for website owners, while Fresh Perspective is a one-hour private video consultation for designers and developers.
When I wrote recently about the design work I’d like to do in the year ahead, I neglected to mention one important area that I’d like to concentrate on. That’s mentoring designers and helping them improve their skills and develop their careers in design.
While debating the greatest guitar solos ever with Alex and Sue last week, I suggested that the absolute best is Prince’s one-off live performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Prince played alongside George Harrison’s son Dhani, ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, and more. This set me down a rabbit hole to find the best-ever version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
The General Election might be over, but Count Binface hasn’t abandoned us earthlings. Instead, he’s embarking on a comedy tour and this week invaded Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge.
Whether you’re a designer, developer, or another type of web professional, successful client projects all begin with a killer proposal. While web design project proposals have no set format, effective proposals all outline the brief, deliverables and scope, timelines, and costs.
Since I launched Contract Killer, I’ve lost track of the number of times people have asked me to make a proposal template for web designers and developers. I’m not sure why it took me so damn long, but today I’m launching “Killer Proposals.”
When I first shared my Contract Killer in 2008, I had no idea so many people would use it. It became the most visited page on my website. After being free for thirteen years, in 2021 Contract Killer became a paid-for template. Now, there’s an update, the biggest since 2008.
This time last year, I wrapped up my Director of Product Design contract at Nozomi Networks. That was a big change but also an opportunity to evaluate what I’d enjoyed about the role and what I missed from more varied design projects.
It’s UK General Election time and the chaps have gathered to discuss it, but without mentioning politics. What would their top policies be if they were running for office? What do they think of novelty candidates like Count Binface? Plus, why are political party websites so terrible? Andy tells his story about being in the audience for BBC Question Time and the strange tale of designing for an intergalactic space warrior.
The 2024 General Election is just days away, and opinion polls suggest Labour will win with a majority bigger than 1997. Even though I’m not as excited about Labour’s vision as I was then, I still keep my fingers tightly crossed. As I found a few weeks ago, there’s barely anything left of Labour’s labourwin97.org.uk campaign website from its victory in 1997 under Tony Blair. It wasn’t archived by the Wayback Machine, so I imagined what it might’ve looked like.
During the General Election campaign, I’ve been studying political party websites, looking at their user experience and visual designs, and imagining what I’d make if they asked me to work on their designs.
Another front cover from the Daily Star newspaper: “Our favourite sane politician just 4 POINTS behind Rishi Sunak who may lose his seat.”
There are less than two weeks before election day, and most of the headlines have come about from things the party leaders have said on the various TV debates. Out of nowhere, Prime Minister Rish! told young people he might take away their driving licences if they refused his national service. Keir Starmer was pushed on his supporting Jeremy Corbyn but not Arsenal, which is an even bigger character flaw. Ed Davey said, well, actually, I can’t remember anything Ed Davey said. But the person I’ve been most impressed with is Carla Denyer, the teeny-tiny confident co-leader of the Green Party.
From the front cover of the Daily Star newspaper: “Count Binface launches manifesto promising national service for ex-prime ministers.”
“All water company bosses to take a dip in British rivers to see how they like it.” “National service to be introduced for all former prime ministers.” “European countries to be invited to join the UK, creating a new ‘Union of Europe.’” Who would disagree with policies like these?
Hello. I’m Andy Clarke, an internationally recognised product and website designer and writer on art direction for products the web. I help product and website owners captivate customers by delivering distinctive digital designs.
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