I’m a developer … not so much “the” UI guru type. I can get by with my photoshop skills to some extent but often find myself underestimating my time here and thinking that I’m probably not as efficient as I could be in this respect.
Anyhow, I know I can’t be the only developer on earth being tasked also with the design as well so …
Looking for some how-tos, examples, steps, etc… I can take in designing websites from the ground up and then properly “cut up” to take full advantage of CSS and as many Javascript goodies (using a framework like JQuery, mootools, etc…) as possible. A few other questions:
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What if any pre-manufactured templates (starters) are folks using that might eliminate a lot of redundant coding?
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What if any initial CSS stylesheets are you using by default?
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Is photoshop still the choice of UI designers? If so, what settings should I start with in mocking up my site? And … what is the best way to cut things up so as to take full advantage of CSS and Javascript frameworks like JQuery?
Thanks – wg
As a one-man army myself, I can understand your frustration. Fortunately for me, I started more as a designer and then became a developer. I’ve not got over a decade of experience with design, and about 7 years experience with development. Here’s a few tips.
Get familiar with a good CSS Framework. Don’t focus too much on being graphically-excelled at the beginning. I would suggest the 960 Grid System. It will allow you to quickly layout an entire page with very little effort, and very simple markup. Experiment with a few different layouts. You can visit the framework website for information, or watch this short demonstration video to get familiarized. This framework comes with the Eric Meyer CSS Reset – use it!
The next step for me is to plug my layout into a MVC project. Once I have that done, I tie in jQuery via the google-api’s link, and begin coding my dynamic behaviors.