Blogging and all that Malarkey

Yours truly over at the Smashing Magazine: “Creating motion can be tricky. Too much and it’s distracting. Too little and a design feels flat. Ambient animations are the middle ground — subtle, slow-moving details that add atmosphere without stealing the show.”

To get ready for my first practical layout workshop for designers this week, I upgraded my compound grid generator with a new and improved version.

If you thought you’d missed my practical layout workshop for designers, well—thanks to COVID—you didn’t.

In this episode of Unfinished Business, Andy and Rich are joined by Set Studio founder and publisher of Piccalilli, Andy Bell.

The Reform UK conference is happening this weekend. While they aim to portray themselves as an alternative to mainstream parties, their intolerance, racism, and xenophobia are not far from the surface. So I designed “ Far Right. So Wrong ” shirts with profits going to support Hope not hate.

In this episode of Unfinished Business, Andy and Rich are joined by accessibility consultant, co-founder, and bundle of enthusiasm, Léonie Watson.

I’m sickened by the rise in support for Far Right politics, especially Reform UK, especially in Wales. So I designed a set of “Far Right. So Wrong” shirts with all profits going to support Hope not hate.

Yours truly over at CSS Tricks: “When you picture placing images in long-form content — like articles, case studies, or reports — the standard approach is inline rectangles, breaking up blocks of text. Functional? Sure. Inspiring? Hardly. So, how do you use images to add personality, rhythm, and even surprise someone along the way? Here’s how I do it.”

Andy, Jon, Marcus, and Paul are back for another silly episode. They talk about Paul’s new caravan, Andy’s semi-retirement, and Marcus giving up beer. But the episode is interrupted in a dramatic fashion when Jon is involved in a serious logo emergency. If you haven’t listened for a while, this one’s a belter!

Yours truly over at CSS Tricks: “How do you design block quotes and pull quotes to reflect a brand’s visual identity and help tell its story? Here’s how I do it by styling the HTML blockquote element using borders, decorative quote marks, custom shapes, and a few unexpected properties.”