Blogging and all that Malarkey

With Christmas and New Year just around the corner, this is my final post of 2024. It’s been an interesting—but certainly not the best—year.

In September, I launched my range of Premium Squarespace templates inspired by the work of past masters of design. Now, I’m giving them a huge update.

In my latest Design Chatter video, I talked about how the homelessness charity Crisis aims to be bold and impactful and asked if their website design lives up to those goals? Here’s a written version of that, plus the full versions of my redesigns.

Charities, NGOs, and non-profits are some of my favourite clients. I’ve been fortunate to work with Greenpeace and WWF, to name two. Balancing creative direction and user-experience design is one of my favourite things to work on. In this video, I talk about the charity Crisis and its website and how they might make the facts about homelessness more real through their design.

I’ve always thought of myself as coming from Irish roots. I never questioned it. My family are Doyles. Doyles were Irish. So, my roots were in Ireland. Except they’re not.

The RSPCA unveiled its first rebrand in 50 years this year, marking its 200th anniversary. In this video, I discuss their website, focusing on how it could benefit from its recent rebrand and tell better stories through its creative direction online.

In my latest Design Chatter video, I talked about how the RSPCA rebranded and asked if its website makes the best use of its new look. Here’s a written version of that, plus the full versions of my redesigns.

Back after their summer break, the four chaps decide whether each other’s improbable stories are a lie or the truth. Jon talks about his new car, Andy brings up his gout, and neither are at all cross about Paul and Marcus restarting the Boagworld podcast. This episode of One Footer in the Grave is appropriately sponsored by Allopurinol, the gout medication for when your big toe hurts like a b@stard.

Envato asked “What’s the state of web design in 2024? What comes next?” They sat down with four designers (and me) to learn what”s inspiring us, what drives us crazy, and how web designers can prepare for a future influenced by AI and rapidly evolving tools.

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.