Designing for the Site Editor Flashback to September 2022. Full Site Editing (FSE), introduced in 2020, extended the visual design capabilities of the WordPress block editor allowing anyone, regardless of their coding knowledge, to build templates and template parts directly in the WordPress editor. Full Site Editing elicited many Feelings(™) from designers and developers using… Continue reading “Sendig,” Designing in Public
Author: EatPaintChic
A civic-minded redesign
In the Spring of 2022, the 40th Ward of Chicago announced a $100,000 Arts and Access Grant as part of Chicago’s micro-grant program aimed at enhancing local communities. 80% of funding would go towards Open Government grants, increasing access to government services, and 20% toward Cultural Programming to highlight the Ward’s burgeoning arts community that… Continue reading A civic-minded redesign
How I learned to love the web again
Reflections on my first “An Event Apart” conference. In every generation a Change-maker is born. She alone will stand against the forces of scope creep. She is the designer, developer, brand-builder, project manager, and client hand-holder. But actually, she’s not alone. The full-stack myth may persist but what truly makes the individual powerful is their… Continue reading How I learned to love the web again
The Panama Papers & WordPress Plugin Security
It’s a Big, Bad, World Wide Web. Is Your Website Secure? It can be very easy for people to justify short-term gain vs long-term effort: “Well, I’ll just leave my keys in the car door tonight. They’re so heavy and jangly. Carrying things is hard.” – Someone The absurdity of the above example is not… Continue reading The Panama Papers & WordPress Plugin Security
This is your Content on Search
There are many factors that can influence your search engine ranking from the age of your domain name, the accessibility and technical structure of your website code, the usefulness of your content, to the quality of internal and external links to your site. How your website performs in search is also related how closely your… Continue reading This is your Content on Search
Should I Trademark or Copyright my brand?
While copyright and trademark both protect your intellectual property, they have specific applications. According to the US Copyright Office FAQ, copyright “protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it… Continue reading Should I Trademark or Copyright my brand?
Your Website is a Garden
Your website is nothing without your content. That folder of Word .doc’s and .jpg images you’ve been collecting is the raw material that will be transformed (through design magic) into an intuitive website that provides useful, actionable content to a rapt audience. In theory. Communicating your vision (and adhering to your desired project timeline) rests largely… Continue reading Your Website is a Garden
Design is Communication
Good design is all about communication. The visual and the written content of your website work together – they complement, emphasize and reinforce your vision. When successful, good design becomes transparent. You don’t need a big red button to say “click here” if users can understand and navigate your content intuitively.
A few ranking myths debunked and how to improve your site results
Search engines are competing with each other to get better results and eliminate low-quality, link-farmed sites. In fact, Google has just revealed some algorithmic improvements that will benefit high-quality websites and downgrade or remove results from sites that are not providing unique or useful content to users.
3 Things to Ask Your Logo Designer
As a freelance designer working with small and start-up companies I often work with clients who have established their brand but need to develop a web presence and additional print materials. This is where the original art for an existing logo becomes important.