Monthly Archives: May 2007

What Color is Your Website?

6
Posted by Phil on May 7, 2007 – 8:54 pm
Filed under Free Software, Web and Tech Helps

 

If you are new to blogging or website design, color usage on a website can seem a little cryptic at first. This post delves into the very essence of how color works on the web. There are many, many sites with color selectors that discuss the finer points of color and web usage. The point of this post is to give newbies to web colors a strip-down jist of color to jump-start their blog tweaks.

Color basics are …basic, i.e. boiled down to three primary colors: Red, Green and Blue. This color mode is commonly referred to as RGB. RGB colors are the three colors used for electronic formats which coincide with visual color.

Additive Color

RGB colors are additive because the more of each value you add the brighter the color. Red, Green and Blue have a value each from 0 to 255.

Colors R G B
Black 0 0 0
Red 255 0 0
Green 0 255 0
Blue 0 0 255
White 255 255 255

A mix of values create different colors and hues.

Colors R G B
Hot Pink 255 0 204
Lime Green 0 204 51
Light Blue 102 255 204

Web colors use Hexadecimal Values

Hexadecimal is just a different numbering system from our common decimal system. Hexadecimal colors follow the range from 0 to 255. Hexadecimal values are from sixteen places: 0 through 9 and A through F. Red, Green and Blue have two hexadecimal digits for each color value.

For Example:

Colors R G B
Black 00 00 00
Red FF 00 00
Green 00 FF 00
Blue 00 00 FF
White FF FF FF

Colors R G B
Hot Pink FF 00 CC
Lime Green 00 CC 33
Light Blue 66 FF CC

Web colors add a # sign in front of the digits to indicate a color value i.e.  #FFFFFF is the web color for white and #000000 is the web color for black.

Color Spectrum

This Color bar fundamentally is made up of the following colors in succession:

#FF0000    #FFFF00    #00FF00    #00FFFF    #0000FF    #FF00FF

The colors in between these values are gradations or variants.

Websafe Colors?

If you do much research on color usage on the web, "websafe" colors will show-up on some sites. As long as monitors vary as greatly as they do, there really is no such a bird as a websafe color. Primarily, web safe colors are considered primary colors with matching hex values, i.e. #FF00CC as apposed to #F206C3. Using these standard colors is a good idea, but one should not be limited to those color selections in design.

How to Choose Colors

  1. Find a color scheme from a website and capture the color values.
    I don’t advocate cart blanche copying someone else’s design, but you may find a color selection that someone has developed that fits with the direction of your site. One simple way to use those color values is to right-click on the page and view source.
  2. Use an online program. There are a number of good ones. Some of those are:
  3. Download a free program.
  4. Use a program installed on your machine. Look through your programs already installed on your machine. Professional programs like Photoshop and Illustrator have extensive color palletes for selection, but you will also find programs like Microsoft Word that have color selectors as well.

RU Twitterpatted?

2
Posted by Phil on May 3, 2007 – 8:55 am
Filed under Just for Fun, Web and Tech Helps

I just started Twittering yesterday. Notice the twitter update on my blog. It’s too early to tell what I think, but it is kind of a hoot. Twittering is talking lightly of trivial matters. Yes, that may be, but aren’t many of our thoughts quite trivial? If in the end life is made of trivial thoughts, when do they become significant as it is the sum of our existance?

I have setup an Imified connection to my twitter account so I can post from MSN Messenger. Very cool as posting is virtually instant without breaking my workflow. Check out my post on Imified.com to learn more about this groovey tool. One caveaut to mention, I noticied that imified has been intermittent lately. They are working on it and I’m confident that they’ll get it smoothed-out.

If you twitter, let’s connect. I’m fascinated to build blogging/twitter relationships that use multiple avenues for communication. Would I call this post a "Thought Twitter"?

Make Visited Links Disappear

2
Posted by Phil on May 2, 2007 – 12:38 pm
Filed under CSS Made Easy, Web and Tech Helps

I just thought of a really nifty method to make visited links disappear. This may be handy for a check list to drop-off links as they are clicked. It may also be used to keep content fresh for folks if you combined it w/ a javascript.

Two Simple Step Process:

  1. Add the following style to your CSS:

    .DisappearingVisited a:visited{
            display: none;
    }     

  2. Apply style to list of links on page:

    <span class="DisappearingVisited">
    <a href="http://www.google.com">Google.com</a>
    <a href="http://www.firefox.com">FireFox.com</a>
    </span>

That’s all there is to it. Have fun with it and let me know if you find a good use for it.

Added Example – Try it!

www.fastcompany.com
www.mashable.com
www.thoughtsparks.net/portfolio
www.smashingmagazine.com

Sowing Good Ideas

3
Posted by Phil on May 2, 2007 – 7:04 am
Filed under Critical Thinking, Productivity, communication strategy
 
My mind is an idea generator. Just about every day I wake-up with a new one. Some of them are not more than passing thoughts, some are glimpses of a growing concept and some are a collective of several ideas. Being the verbal processor that I am, I readily share my ideas with others. Fortuanetly for me, I’m married to a wonderful wife that listens to me and has the wisdom to know the difference between passing thoughts and serious intentions. She’s an amazing gift to me. In the work place I bring in new ideas to supervisors and peers. I have learned to expect an immediate negative reaction. It’s no fault of theirs, just a typical response. Most people don’t like change and are uncomfortable with new ideas. So, I make it an old idea by bringing it up in different ways.
 
Idea generation is like planting a garden. In the picture above I planted and cultivated the rose bush and the salvia in the background. The beautiful primrose however were planted by the birds. While the primrose are wild they are not completely unplanned. The thin vertical rod is a bird feeder which brings birds, who drop seeds, which produces flowers. How wonderful to reap the benefit of good sowing.
 
There is a process in my mind I follow for advancing a good idea. While it can vary, here are the basic elements:
  1. An idea is born. I wake-up with an idea or come across something that triggers a thought.
  2. The idea brews and sometimes even lays dormant.
  3. Sub ideas or connection points are made that strengthen the idea. This is important as these become the selling points or counter points to skepticism.
  4. I challenge the idea and poke holes in it myself. This strengthens it by shoring-up the weaknesses.
  5. I float the idea past one or more people.
  6. I get positive and negative feedback.
  7. I mull over the idea and find more connection points.
  8. I repeat step 4, 5, 6 and 7 multiple times until the positives far outweigh the negative. The more significant the idea, the more lengthy the process.
  9. I develop a concrete plan for implementation and re-assert the idea. The idea is no longer a new one per say and is more readily received.
  10. I present the idea now as a plan with action points. In the work place setting, use of PowerPoint or a formal document may be beneficial. At this point, I’m more assertive and confident in the idea. I go for it and am ready for negative feedback. If I’ve done my homework I should have an answer for most detractors.

 So go for it, sow good ideas. There’s an age old law, the law of sowing and reaping. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." Galatians 6:7. This one verse, this one concept can change a persons life. Much like a garden, what you sow reaps a result. If you sow good ideas, you will reap a good return. Like the clothing guy says, "I guarantee it."

Young Thought Sparker on the Rise

0
Posted by Phil on May 1, 2007 – 7:39 am
Filed under Creativity
I want to give a heads-up to the blogosphere community about a talented young lady. She did a top-flight job on the Concordia Athletics site while I was webmaster for the school. She resides in the Dallas area. If you are looking for a freelance artist or to hire, check her site out at: http://www.iamdanigurl33.com/Main2/. Dani’s in her last year at the University of Texas in Dallas finishing a degree in Art and Technology. She was a delight to have on the team. I love up-and-coming talent.