ABSTRACT HUMAN

Useful Web Tools

7dhuh2@@snla0-s — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:34:54 +0000

Check out some useful web tools to help propel you as a designer/developer. These tools, I hope, can help you to move forward on your projects when waiting for content or deciding on which fonts to use.

1. Fillerati

For designers tired of using Lorem Ipsum, Fillerati has killed this Latin script for good. Try Fillerati for designs when you are waiting for the real content.

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2. WHATFONT BOOKMARKLET

Looking for an easy way to bookmark typefaces on a particular site? Use this tool to quickly determine a site’s font usage.

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3. Web Placeholders

Looking for some image/content placeholders for your designs? Check out NetTuts list of placeholder services.

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4. Some useful JS/jQuery Libraries to propel your designs/builds

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Making Time

admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:45:52 +0000

In my opinion everyone needs some alternative outlets and goals in their life. We all need to balance our work life from our life. We basically need to take breaks every once in a while or even change directions once and a while. Sometimes I need a break from the day in and day out work that I call work. Don’t get me wrong I love technology, computers and the whole bit, but I also love the outdoors as well as other things besides developing web sites. We must make time for ourselves simply to relieve stress so that when we do come back to what we call work, we are fresh and motivated. It’s also smart to clear your head once in a while when you might be stuck on a certain problem. Here are some of my outlets that help me to relieve stress and free my mind.

Yes I know. I’m still on the computer, but this time I’m drawing, painting and having fun with Painter 11 and PhotoShop. I recently upgraded from some poorly made graphics tablets to the new Intuos4 tablet by Wacom. I must say that it makes a huge difference. I have also taken a liken to the illustration section of Illustration Toolbox. This showcases mostly digital painting, which I’m really trying to get into. This has been my inspiration lately.

I’ve become somewhat obsessive with this sport called disc golf over the past year and half. I can’t get enough. It’s probably the coolest thing, in my opinion, to do outside in Dallas. Some of the courses make you feel like you’re truly out of the city. This was me making a long putt at BB Owen on hole 17. My goal is to start playing some rec division tournaments this year.

I have also started a music project this past year with a good friend of mine. We call ourselves WAM (Water After Midnight). I play on the electronic set, my friend sings and plays electric guitar, and then we program the bass lines and any other instruments/effects we want into Ableton Live. We then play on top of Ableton Live, which has made our timing much better. The computer never gets off tempo. This is continuing to be a very rewarding effort and I’m enjoying every minute of it. That’s the electronic drum kit I have also. You can see it in more detail here at Roland.

Last, but not least, I’ve been working out at La Fitness for the past 8 months and I feel better than ever. I honestly would rather be playing disc golf and don’t necessarily like working out, but it’s so worth it because of how good I feel afterward. This is also an easy way to zone out and fight off any sort of stress you may have.

How do you blow off steam? What do you do to take breaks from your daily work? What makes you more creative and feeling good about life?

Order TOSOP!

admin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:54:29 +0000

After many hours, days, weeks, and even months, The Other Side of Paradise DVD is available for purchase. My brother Ryan Hartsell, along with film partners Justin Hilliard, and Arianne Martin have finally released this special full length indie film that they had been working so hard on. Please support local indie film here in Texas and purchase a copy today. Let me know what you think of the film!

ORDER NOW

Top 4 jQuery Sites!

admin — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:32:08 +0000

I’ve been focusing a lot of my attention on JavaScript and specifically jQuery lately and so I’m posting my current top 4 jQuery sites.

1. Codrops

This is an awesome blog by Tympanus and showcases some of the most advanced jQuery tutorials I’ve seen online. Most of their plugins are so smooth, they look like flash.

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1. jQuery for Designers

If you haven’t listened to any of Remy Sharp’s podcasts then you should or check out his site jQuery for Designers. This guy really knows his stuff.

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1. Learning jQuery

This is one of the fundamental jQuery sites and resources. The site is headed by Karl Swedberg. He and many others at the top of the jQuery community have posted tutorials on the site.

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1. Net Tuts

Although this site includes way more than just jQuery tutorials, whenever I see the word jQuery in their posts I’m right there.

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Mac Mail RSS Feeds

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:14:08 +0000

I’m a huge hoarder of internet resources. If you’ve ever checked out my delicious account you would know what I’m talking about. I love book resources as well, but online resources don’t take up any space and I can take them wherever I go. My fairly recent purchase of a Mac Pro laptop has pretty much saved my arse. It has been my primary computer since my place was destroyed by a busted pipe in January. I plan on upgrading my desktop once I get it all set back up to Snow Leopard and the latest Mac Mail. I love the new Mac Mail feature to add RSS feeds. I’m sure there are lots of other mail programs that have been doing this for a while, but I enjoy the ease of use Mac Mail offers. Now that it has RSS feeds I can keep up on all the latest trends in my field and keep track of all my other interests (science, news, technology, etc). Of course you can cater it to your taste and should of course take advantage of RSS Feeds. It streamlines the information from your favorite resources and makes life much easier. Personally, I would rather get a glimpse of my favorite sites, blogs, and other resources before going to the actual sites. Let me know how you hoard your resources, which resources you follow, and what inspires you to keep doing what you do.

Belated 2010 Resolutions

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:12:26 +0000

Well last year was another successful year and I have learned so much since then. Although I didn’t learn as much AS3 as I’d like to have this past year I did exercise, get outside more and spend/save my money a little wiser. You can see my resolutions from last year here – Belated-09-Resolutions. As times press forward and technology shifts, I get inspired by new things and develop new goals. My new goals for this year also include seeing more sunlight (aka Disc Golf), but in the professional world of geekiness that I love, I will be wrapping my head around more and more JavaScript / JQuery. I am deep into the 5th Edition of the Definitive Guide and have other books that I will be following shortly after I get through this one. I am attempting to step into more of the programmer’s world and unify my creativity with the technical. I have been quite lazy on my blog posts lately, which may have been due to that fact that I’ve been so busy, or maybe because my condo got flooded by a pipe upstairs (luckily my computers were ok) and have been dealing with insurance companies for the past month, or some other mysterious reason I don’t know of, but here I am posting again in the new year. To wrap up a post that needs to be no longer, I will share with you the books I intend to read through. I would appreciate any links to great JavaScript resources, books, or anything else on the subject matter. Thanks!

Support Independent Film

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:09:34 +0000

My brother Ryan Hartsell and his film partners Justin Hilliard and Arianne Martin have just come back from a month long road trip promoting their movie, The Other Side of Paradise. With valiant and enduring efforts they have managed to get into multiple film festivals, winning awards, and have also obtained a week long theatrical in New York. Also to mention they have recently been added onto Apple.com Trailers for the second time. View Here. I ask in support of independent film, family, friends, and of course this entertaining film, that you purchase tickets for the theatrical release in New York. Even if you can’t attend or are not in the New York area please support independent film as a donation. Purchase a ticket for a NYC show (show receipt) & you’ll get a copy of the soundtrack!!! So for those out-of-towners, you won’t be walking away empty handed. Plus, the soundtrack is amazing!

Just select a showtime on a date from 12/18-24th – Purchase Tickets Here

Other Links:
Official Movie Site
The Soundtrack by Stanton Site
3 Thumbs Up Documentary Site
Apple Trailers
New York Theater Quad Cinema

30 Vintage Horror Movie Posters

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:40:01 +0000

Since Halloween is around the corner and happens to be one of my favorite times of year (October), I decided to post some amazing and inspirational horror movie posters. As an artist, an avid horror movie watcher and designer, I really enjoyed creating this post. This post is not in review of the actual movies that the posters represent, but the design quality, illustration, and natural aesthetics they demonstrate. Happy Halloween and enjoy!

My Color Tools

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:43:13 +0000

Designing web sites has as much to do with color than pretty pictures, type treatment or anything else. Often, as designers, we will get most everything else correct in the eyes of our clients except the colors. I have spent more time with a client about one hex value than the entire design. Have you ever gone back and forth over a background color? It all seems crazy sometimes, but with colors and everything else we must be patient and collective when communicating with our clients. For a great post on constructive criticism and how to respond to it, visit How To Respond Effectively To Design Criticism on Smashing Magazine. This post is about colors though, so let’s continue.

Every designer uses color differently, obviously some better than some. I’ll admit, choosing colors is not my strongest suit, but because of modern day apps and tools, I have a more confident and effective outlet for choosing colors on my projects. These tools also help me to experiment and try new things. Apps in general have streamlined my whole creative thought process. Let’s get to the good stuff. Below are a list of the color apps I use to extend my creativity. If you’re not already using these for your color palettes, ideas, and/or brainstorming process, then I suggest you get on board.

Kuler

You can visit Kuler Online or if you have, I believe CS3 on up, you can use the Kuler Extension under Windows/Extensions/Kuler within the Adobe Software.

Color Scheme Designer

Unlike Kuler being a Flash App, Color Scheme Designer is an amazing jquery app online that allows you to visualize how type will look on top of certain colors as well as pick awesome color palettes. You can check it out.

Here are two must buy iPhone apps for designing with color on the go.

Palettes

The Palettes app allows you to not only create color palettes, but also maintain and organize your palettes. What’s really cool is that wherever you go, you can create a palette on the fly whether its from a web site, a photograph, or one you might subconsciously or consciously develop.

CliqCliq Colors

CliqCliq Colors is another great iPhone app for generating color palettes. It has a different method of scaling color values than Palettes. Between these two apps, I’m set and have plenty of options on getting ideas for my next projects whether professional or personal.

Thanks. I hope you enjoyed this post. I would love to hear about your color stories, apps, extensions, and methods to developing awesome color schemes.

Browser For The Better

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:32:21 +0000

Finally, even Microsoft gets it. Even Microsoft wants you to stop using IE6 (especially) and IE7. I have to tip my hat to them and encourage Microsoft’s exposure to get this word out. If you like helping people then pass this on for each time someone downloads IE8 from this site, Microsoft will send out 8 meals to people in need. If someone upgrades from IE6 to IE8, then the donation will be doubled. It looks like even Microsoft has kicked dead browsers such as IE6 to the curb and so should you if you haven’t already. Make your life and my life easier. This site uses background PNGS! I am curious though to see if they even bothered fixing this for IE6, which at first glance I think they’ve moved on. This site is unable to load in IE netrenderer. I am probably preaching to the choir and at this point many of my recent clients have moved on, but for those that continue to use it then I will pass this site on in an attempt to feed the hungry and kill off IE6 for good.

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