So it’s August and the new design is nearly ready. A few of the sidebar items are going to start changing and the tag “refreshcleveland” is starting to crop up in my Google Alerts.

Please bear with us while we move the furniture around.

So my question to this month to the Cleveland web design community is a very basic one. “Why are some of you still using tables for layout?”

Not a hard one to start off but, if anyone does answer, I’m really interested in the feedback. Why this question? Well, as part of trying to get RefreshCleveland going, I did a search for “cleveland+web design” to see who’d pop up. When I looked at the first page results that came through these guys are still using tables for layouts on their own sites:

• http://www.clevelandwebdesign.com/
• http://www.designcleveland.com/
• http://www.ideastar.com/

It could be due to not having time to update your own site, maybe you are tied to a legacy CMS or that you are still not comfortable with using CSS. I’m just interested.

Leave a comment and let us all know.

Technorati tags: tables, layout, css, “cleveland web design”

Tags: tables, layout, css, “cleveland web design

Since getting back from vacation I’ve been in a “clean up and declutter” mode.  This has ranged from cleaning up my desk to re-evaluating the tools I use.   The former was easy, the latter is much, much harder.  Like many powerusers, I have more programs and widgets than I know what to do with, and more importantly, more than I remember to use.

I want to try to streamline things…find the best program for a given purpose and stick with it.  it’s things like DevonTHINK Pro vs. Yojimbo or Flock vs. Camino vs. Firefox…that sort of thing.  I’m tired of living in app-rich but organization-poor environment.

What tools to you use?  How do you keep it all organized?  What are the most important tricks and hacks you use to make your life easier?

Blogged with Flock

So what of support for websites on the Playstation Portable? Before it can be useful in the web 2.0 world, it needs to exist in the web 1.0 world. It seemed doomed from the beginning, but there is always hope, just like for this site. I’ve made my personal website PSP accessible, using some PHP code I found through Google, this page is an excellent resource: http://www.brothercake.com/site/resources/reference/psp/. Basically the PHP recognizes what type of User Agent you are using, which can be done through javascript too, and it will put in code specific to that. Too bad there can’t just be a css type declaration to handle it. The PSP can handle basic javascript and even Flash 6. On my personal site, Cyan[c] Design, I can update my dynamic content with my PSP.

Full Flash Websites vs. XHTML and CSS. Where is the greater strength? Should the focus be on the interactive and kinetic abilities of flash or the wide range of viewers that can be reached through XHTML and the multiple forms of CSS? Or is there another path worth taking, both, a flash front end backed up by a full XTML site underneath a noscript tag? thoughts? 

Refresh Cleveland is a group devoted to members of the Northeast Ohio community that are passionate about technology and the web. Some people have asked what they should write about on this site. Here’s a topic to start y’all off: what are you passionate about? What aspect of the web, and technology as a whole, interests you and drives you to learn more?

For me, it’s the idea of communication and the constant learning process that is an integral part of technology. I’m a designer–I sometimes jokingly say that I “make things look pretty,” but for me it’s about more than just creating designs that are pleasing to the eye. It’s about communicating visually and allowing the visual aspects of a design to help others understand an idea.

It’s also about mastering a craft, which is tricky and frustrating, but also rewarding. Every time I “get” a new concept, I feel a sense of triumph. Even so I know that I’m never finished learning, because the face of the web is constantly changing. It morphs into something new every month and every year.

Working with the web is a constant adventure. It involves discovery, mastery and the occasional conquest. It may not be mountain climbing, but it can be just as exhilarating when you finally figure out a concept that’s been itching at that little corner of your brain just beyond comprehension. That’s what drives me and makes me continue in this field.

What drives you?