Stuff & Nonsense product and website design

Blogging and all that malarkey

Toon Titles

Explore my growing collection of classic cartoon title cards, lovingly recreated using CSS, SVG, and SMIL animations. Enjoy the nostalgia and learn from the code on CodePen.

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.

CSS Specisithity

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.

The popular Contract Killer template

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.

Layout Love

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.

Transcending CSS Revisited

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.

One Footer in the Grave Episode 13: Votre saucisse est très plastique

The nerds of a feather are back for another episode. They talk about whether social media is now either dead or useless for promoting our work and whether old-fashioned email is replacing it. Paul explains his monthly newsletter strategy and how, for him, it’s replaced social media. Then, the boys discuss what they should do next, as they ’ ve (obviously) reached the pinnacle of their careers.

Everything old is new again

It’s been almost a year since I left Nozomi Networks, and between now and then, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the types of projects I would like to work on. I learned a lot from working alongside developers building products, but my passion has always been for using design to communicate ideas and messages, not simply problem-solving.

Introducing Design Chatter

Although there have been periods over the past few years where I’ve worked as part of a team, I’ve mainly worked by myself, at home. My wife has a keen eye for detail and often has off-the-wall ideas. My clients are also wonderful, and they seem to appreciate my process, which involves talking every day and sharing work as it develops. But there have often been times when I’ve felt working mostly alone was isolating.

Designing for the Cheeky Condiment Company

For years now, I’ve kept sauce sachets in my car’s glove box—I mean, who actually keeps gloves in that compartment?—just in case I needed it for a burger or bag of chips. That’s why I was really pleased when The Cheeky Condiment Company got in touch asking me to design a website for their condiment-carrying charm bracelets and necklaces.

Bonus design: Emma’s website easter egg

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll reveal the Easter Egg theme which I hid on Emma’s website.

A pseudo-3D effect for Emma’s home page banner

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned a few things while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain the pseudo-3D design I created for Emma’s home page banner.

SVG filters for Emma’s website

Emma Bodger is a film/television producer, and recently, I’ve spent time working on her visual identity and a new website. It’s been a lot of fun, and I also learned more about SVG while working on it. I’m digging into the details this week, and today I’ll explain the SVG filters I created to transform images on Emma’s website.

My new personal website

I don’t know whether it’s been a reaction to post-Musk Twitter from the people I read and talk with on Mastodon, but there seems to be a renewed interest in personal websites and hosting one’s own content.

Re-coding Apple Black Friday dates

Most parts of Apple’s website are fabulously flexible. But today, I was browsing for Black Friday deals and found a fixed-width design element which I was determined to make flexible.

Tory leadership campaign catchphrases ranked

The spectacle of yet another Tory leadership campaign—this time to replace Boris Johnson—is in full swing. So, I thought it would be fun to rank the hopefuls’ campaign catchphrases. The results may shock you.

Lost and found

We stopped at a motorway services to buy baguettes for lunch yesterday, on our way down through France. I left my wallet behind and I didn’t notice until we were an hour further down the road.

Designing Zombie Hunt part one: Colour

Two weeks ago, I took a week—away from work on Nozomi Networks—and spent some time working on a redesign for Zombie Hunt. The team are franchising their successful business and needed a new design to attract customers and potential franchisees.

Work I’d like to do in 2022

I’m starting my fourth full year working mainly with Nozomi Networks. I love the people there, the work we’re doing is fascinating, and I enjoy the ability to develop designs over a longer period of time. But, I will have some time available for other projects and I want to use that time to make a difference.

Five menu bar apps for your Mac

I received my Apple MacBook Pro 14" laptop (maxed out with M1 Max silicon, all the cores, and 32Gb RAM) just before Christmas. During the break, I asked on Twitter which apps people had bought most recently and—following those suggestions—here are five menu bar apps I installed on my new Mac.


Browse topics

Browse tags

Andy Clarke portrait

About Andy

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.


Subscribe to RSS feed

Britpack

Favourites

Would you like advice and inspiration on making better designs for the web?

Every two weeks you’ll get design inspiration and insights on how to improve your design. View some recent emails, sign up today, and get:

  • Email advice once or twice per month + 
  • Design tips + 
  • Inspiration + 
  • Free Layout Love templates worth £9.99 + 
  • Early access to books + 
  • Coaching offers

    I promise never to share your email and you can unsubscribe with just one click.

    Get a free set of Layout Love grid templates if you sign up today.

    I’m available to work on new design projects.