Archive for May, 2008

Web 2.0 has been around for some time now and the buzz is finally starting to die down, at least amongst web professionals. One thing that doesn’t seem to be going away though is the perpetual beta. Every day I run across a new site that is in beta (and has been for a very long time), while not a huge problem and probably overlooked by many it is annoying. Some people may question why it even matters, but the reason why is because it’s nothing more than a diversion tactic.

Company logos used for example only, this is not an attack on the companies / services pictured

Today we find ourselves at post number six in my Sources of Inspiration Series. I have rounded up another batch of great portfolios that are both inspirational and stylish. Be sure to check out the other inspirational portfolios via the related articles section below.

Note: This is not a series about the websites themselves. That said, enjoy the amazing work located within the portfolios below.

Recently I read the article The Future of the Creative Industry by Samantha Warren. This article has raised a point that I have been aware of for a while now. I know a number of recent grads or soon-to-be grads that are lacking an online portfolio. These individuals are both extremely talented and qualified for a position, however I am worried that they may go overlooked amongst their competition because of their lack of a portfolio. Most of these fledgling designers have been convinced that PDF samples are adequate, and that is exactly what they are. However the current trends in our industry demand more than just the status quo.

It seems like every day I read about a new web app however none that have caught my attention like CushyCMS. In fact I was desperately seeking a way to easily supply a simple CMS for a client that needed to edit just a couple of small space on their brochure site. The hard part about this particular client is that they have had the same hosting plan for over 5 years and for some reason have no database. This made finding a simple solution somewhat hard, that was until I stumbled upon CushyCMS today.

This is something that is really starting to bug me. It seems like every web shop under the sun has been touting their ability to provide standards complaint valid HTML and CSS. But I ask you so what and who cares? I fully believe in the benefits of standards complaint and valid HTML / CSS but why do so many people use it as a selling point?

Some of you that frequent Positive Space may have noticed that some new advertisers have signed up over the past couple of days. I just wanted to give them a quick welcome and introduce their services. Each of these advertisers was hand selected by me based on the quality of their offerings.

PSD2HTML

PSD2HTML.com provides fast, high quality conversion of graphic Web design into Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and its extensions. They accept source files in all common formats, including PSD, PNG, AI, and even HTML (existing markup).

FLASHLOADED

Flashloaded.com offers innovative and affordable Flash components to enhance your Adobe Flash projects. Their Flash extensions are easy to use, add exciting new features to your web sites and save you time.

COPPER PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Copper revolutionizes project management, offering intuitive client, project, and task views, custom project reports, gantt, file management, timesheets and other features that become indispensable for everyone in your organization. View a demo at copperproject.com

DESIGN FLOAT

DesignFloat.com is a social media site dedicated to the design industry. Design Float aims to collect and organize design-related content from across the web while letting the community float the best articles to the top pages of their categories and sink the most irrelevant one’s to the bottom.

Advertising space still available

Advertising space on Positive Space is currently still available but going fast. There is one remaining display ad which can be obtained through buysellads.com and seven icon ads which can be purchased by visiting my advertising page.

Remember that these advertisers are helping to keep Positive Space going while allowing me to get away from those ugly and annoying Adsense ads. If you may be in need of similar services please give them your consideration.

I and I am sure that many other designers believe that there are a number of misconceptions surrounding exactly what being a creative entails. How many time have you heard “well you’re the creative, use your creativity.” It is funny how when a problem is really tough and no one seems to know how to solve it they call in the creatives. But what actually is creativity?

Earlier today I was tipped off by a Positive Space reader to an article that sitepoint recently published. If you have been following Positive Space for a while, then you undoubtedly know that I have a problem with both spec work and 99designs (previously sitepoint contests). However most recently the minds behind sitepoint have stooped to a new low. I say this because the article “Design Contests Made Me A Better Designer” that was recently published is nothing more than a piece of propaganda literature.

Before I get too far I just want to clarify that I am not saying that you should not strive to achieve the highest level of quality within your portfolio. Rather, this article is about the opportunity costs associated with perfection. I have been talking with some recent graduates who are convinced that their portfolios must be utterly perfect in order to begin looking for jobs.

Since I first started this series, the goal has been to showcase websites that did not feature the design conventions that have stereotypically accompanied web 2.0 sites. Since the beginning there have been some comments stating that web 2.0 is about the interactivity between users. I have always been aware of this however the goal was not to feature sites that necessarily were 2.0 but ones that did not “catch the trend.” That being said, I also have been challenged by some of the readers to find web 2.0 sites that do feature some amazing design.