How do you tackle the mechanics of Web design and how do you deal with your frustrations when you can't do what you envision.
I usually perfect a visual design in Photoshop and then code the HTML by
hand. I keep things dirt simple: no frames, javascript or style sheets,
just tables and transparent spacer gifs to put each element in its place.
I test on Netscape and IE, on Macs and PCs, with different screen sizes and
make sure each page will fit even on a 640x480 screen. Because of gamma
correction my images look darker on PCs than on Macs, so I lighten my
images and work hard to bring the size down so they'll download quickly.
Color resolution is my greatest frustration. The Windows color palette system is a mess and a huge percentage of Windows users still have their machines set to 8 bit color (or worse!). Images that look breathtaking on the Mac regularly turn into grainy smudges in garish circus colors on the PC. I often do a lot of extra work to reduce the number of colors; the resulting images look so-so on the Mac but at least they have a better chance of surviving on the PC. I'm not strict about using the web-safe palette because it's too limiting and it's actually not all that safe on PCs anyway.
Despite my efforts I sometimes can't do what I envision. So I just keep playing, moving things around, trying new effects, until I stumble on something that works. I sometimes drop my first attempts for weeks or months at a time, then pick them up and try again with fresh eyes. As a rule, I won't proceed with content until I have a satisfactory visual design. In Cartania, function follows form.
Why do you think people are interested in you and what you have to say?
One visitor told me that I "can write well of Big Things: abstracts,
intangible concepts like love, death, aging... without slipping into the
quagmire of cliche." I try to keep a sense of humor and also keep things
clear and simple. Many visitors come in looking for some useful
information and then, because the site is easy to navigate and "easy to
read", they start to wander and "get tangled up" in my pages.
So it's not that I myself am all that interesting. But because I look at the world with open eyes and report what I see in a simple, open way, I "strike a chord." Readers see themselves in my pages, which is always interesting. Another visitor told me that my site "was done with such heart and style!" That's what I try to do.
What compels you to design beautiful pages and to write from the heart (beyond just the usual question of "why do you write a Web site?")
I honestly don't know. But it feels good, so I keep doing it.
