Web Development

Have you ever wanted to get involved in Web Development but didn't know where to start? Look no further! I'm going to outline exactly how you can get started right here right now! I am a strong believer that passion shouldn't be limited by physical things like money or inability to make a commitment. I have run my entire life off of that mantra.

What you do need to know upfront is that people don't just get in to web development. Web development just like any other hobby is more than just a hobby for a lot of people, me included. If you would like to actually get in to web development try to follow this guide. At the very absolute least it will point you in the right direction to actually have a stable foundation for what you want to achieve. But it takes dedication. Nobody wants a sub-par developer.

What paths can I take?

Before we get started lets define some stuff:

Front-End Developer: 

This is somebody who designs and sets up the overall website and how it looks and sometimes feels

Back-End Developer: 

The person that puts the Front-End Designers designs into action. This is the programmer behind the vision of the designer.

Full-Stack Developer:

Often called the "Unicorn" of web development the Full-Stack Developer is someone who has mastered everything beneath the Back-End and the Front-End of web development. Full-Stack Developers are extremely wanted in the industry. Why pay two people for something one person can do?

These are the three primary paths for web developers. Of course there are other ones that seem to neatly fit between web development and graphic design (UI/UX Designers for example), think of those as specialty paths, if you find yourself interested in any specific part of web design/development try to focus on it. The better you get at any one area increases your worth ten fold; you want to have a broad understanding along with laser sight precision.

Which should I choose?

Now this is a question I can't answer. This is the type of question that only you can answer. Which do you prefer? Designing or Developing. Are you logical or creative? Where do you think you perform best? These are all questions you should be asking yourself. If you still aren't sure then just continue the path you're on already. The answer will come to you the more you practice and the more you work at it.

I began my journey into web development at a very young age. 12 to be specific. My first step into web development was on a website called Gaiaonline, the website itself is just a forum site, while still alive and kicking it means next to nothing to me anymore, HOWEVER I still directly credit it for my ability as a developer. The amount of practice I got on that website was immeasurable. For the uninformed: It is a forum site that allowed you to make custom profile pages. Simple as that.

I started my journey making profiles for myself that I thought were cool. Whenever I was bored I started from scratch, created my own graphics, made my own color schemes, and started coding.

The website itself isn't important. In fact it doesn't matter at all. What matters is that I practiced.

I practiced and practiced and practiced and practiced. Of course 12 year old me thought I was the shit, 12 year old me thought that I was a complete hacker who knew how to unravel the world of secrets behind computers. In reality I was nowhere near the truth; but that mindset kept me going. THE BIGGEST reason why people quit is because they tell themselves "I wasn't good enough" well what if I told you NOBODY IS GOOD ENOUGH. Everywhere you go, every step of the way somebody can teach you something that you don't know. Especially when it comes to things like web development. A system so complex and ever expanding that nobody can know everything.

There will always be new technologies and there will always be more to learn.

So don't give up. Every professional was once a newbie. Every child prodigy you have ever seen just started at an extremely young age. The only thing that divides the hobbyists from the professionals from the newbies is practice. The reason why professionals are so good at what they do is because most of them are A) Doing it for a living or B) Have a passion for what they do to the point where it consumes their entire being.

So go out and start the process! The longer you wait the farther away you are from somebody that DID start today. Find your passion and rely on yourself for work experience. You don't need a job to practice at something. You just need a computer.

Hi guys! 

So I was recently approached about new logos for 2 different companies: Taco Bell and the newly renamed hockey team the Vegas Golden Knights. I was asked what my opinion on both of these logos were. Personally when I make a logo I have a mental checklist I go through.

Will it work in Black and White?
Does it maintain the existing brand?
How well would it work for a sign?
How about a letterhead? Is it too flashy?
Is it too flat?
Does it work at small and big sizes?
Can it be printed without issue?
Aimed at the right audience?
and most importantly does it solve the problem?

So lets take a look at these logos! 

Here is a quick comparison chart to address some of the points above; keep in mind none of these are the official logos just mental variations of the original to gauge how versatile the logo is.

‍

Okay so now that that is out of the way lets compare!

First Impressions:

Vegas Golden Knights

My first impression of the Hockey logo is that it is flat, boring, not too versatile, and while it does contain a nice bit of negative space usage is mostly pretty generic. With those complaints aside I also think that this logo is falling flat at its most basic level: conceptually. The "Knight" in the logo obviously was chosen specifically for the V but the problem is that the helmet in the logo is more akin to the Roman's, now I'm no historian so it could be from somewhere else but the point is it does not fit the traditional feel of a knight helmet.

Because of that I immediately can't take that logo seriously. But that could just be me. I feel that the choice in helmet in this logo is the biggest downfall of the logo. And that doesn't even get down to the details yet. The logo is flat; very flat. The logo doesn't represent "Golden" or "Knight" in any way.

Now lets take a look at the Taco Bell logo:

Taco Bell

The Taco Bell logo works in black and white, gray scale, has minimal colors so it is good for printing across many mediums, it works much better at small and large scales than the Vegas one, it pulls your eye, it is simple, utilizes negative space, and continues the existing brand very elegantly.

‍

Do they solve the problem?

This is the most important question to ask when it comes to any design project and the answer always depends on the question. So in terms of what they are both going for I would say that despite the fact that the Taco Bell logo is much better in most every way; they are both good logos. The Vegas logo is manly, sportslike, isn't too distracting, and is recognizable; despite it's not very interesting appearance, As for Taco Bell the biggest problem would be maintaining the brand I think. In those regards both logos solved their problems.

Good design is about solving problems, but a great logo is versatile, consistent, and clever. Neither are anything special in my opinion but they are both good. Logo design is just a piece of a brand so maybe the Knights can play some catch up with the rest of their branding.

Hey guys!

So I was going back and forth with a client the other day and they mentioned that they aren't even sure if they need to hire someone for their projects. So that conversation sort of inspired me to make this blog post. Right up front I just want to say that I am making this post from a 100% objective position. Yes I am a designer but I genuinely feel hiring a professional for any aspect of your business is a good idea; especially when it comes to the face of your company. So let me introduce a few scenarios for you:

Joe is a developer and he made a webapp that is very functional and feature heavy but design wise is not so good.

Sam is a business owner getting ready to launch her newest venture in the pursuit of success.

Karl is a startup founder with plenty of project under his belt. He wants to make his next project very public and release it on a nationwide scale.

All three of these people have something in common. They are STARTERS. They want to make something and distribute it to the masses. They have the ability and they know what they are doing on their end. What they don't know however is design. Joe just needs his app to work so he made the designs himself. Sam is more concerned with the business aspect of her company so she doesn't even bother with that stuff. Karl on the other hand knows the value of design and how much it can add to a brand. These are the main 3 types of people in need of design work (as I would categorize them): People who don't know they need it, people who don't care about it, and people who know the value of good design.

People Who Don't Know They Need It:

If you're one of these people don't worry! Design is often overlooked as it doesn't seem like it is immediately effecting the business itself. It is very much a passive investment but it always pays off in the long run. Having someone who knows the intricacies of design and the perceived intention behind a brand can completely flip your venture on its head and get you places you can only imagine. Have you been on Facebook recently? The most successful pages exist solely because of their branding and marketability.

Good design encourages your brand and appeals to your audience. That appeal and trust developed by "those drawings" has a very real effect on your target audience and followers.

People Who Don't Care About It

If you simply don't care about the design aspect of your company I implore you to reconsider that standpoint. If you'd like to discuss about this shoot me an email to contact@KyleDiggs.com and we can talk about it. Otherwise all I can say to people who are arrogant towards the importance of design is to go to your favorite websites and tell me what you like most about them. Now go to your least favorite websites and do the same.

I guarantee you the latter had very short talking points. You never even gave them a second look after you visited the page, you closed the tab and moved on. The best way to keep people on your site is to make the content accessible from the beginning and make it easy to digest. Good sites do just that and that aspect by itself is a major part of design. Design is an all encompassing thing and every aspect of it deserves an equal amount of resources. "Those drawings" you mock are only a portion of what a hired designer keeps in mind while working on everything else. So if you don't hire a professional designer you won't just be missing out on "those drawings" but you'll be missing out on every other important aspect of a well designed page. There is more to design than just the looks. Design is the human coming out of a page and talking directly to the user in ways not possible without it.

People Who Know The Value

For everyone else who knows the value of design I challenge you to encourage your friends. Get passionate about what you do and try to spread that passion to those around you. A well designed page is not just good looking but it functions well and in the end increases your conversion rates and allows you to really release the potential of your products/services by getting the full attention of your userbase before they even know they need it.

Well that's all I have for this blog post!

Here is a short aside for those of you who I have done work for in the past:
I recently finished building the testimonials page of my website so if I have done any work for you in the past please check it out and leave a review! I have done a ton of work for people in the past but never considered the importance of a testimonials page for my site until recently. Any and all reviews will come with a discount code for future orders!

Hey guys!

Haven't done a blog post in a while but I have been working very hard on the development of the handful of projects I am working on. Mainly I have been working on RedVelvet but I also just started up the Daily UI challenge to improve my design/development skills. I just finished up the second one and made a credit card input form. Using Javascript/Jquery to include highlighted segments of the card based on which element was clicked. It wasn't very difficult but I feel it is a simple and elegant solution to any language barriers that may exist for a website in need of credit card input. (which in itself probably isn't too much of a problem but here it is anyway!)

Check it out at http://www.KyleDiggs.com/daily-ui#2

This is actually the first time I have ever used the JQuery events focusin and focusout and thought I would share part of the process of how I did it.

Code-wise it is very simple.

$('individual segment').css("opacity", 0);

This line sets the individual highlights to opacity 0 in case someone doesn't have JS turned on. This way the user can still visually see which elements on their card are important since they won't be set to 0 by default. Passed this each individual element can be highlighted on the text box focus below using

$('text container").on("focusin", function () {
   //set opacity of individual pieces to 1 from 0
}).on("focusout", function () {
   //set opacity back to 0 to prep for the next click
});

The second half allows you to set them back to 0 on focus loss. A simple way to make sure only the relevant field is highlighted and all of the others are kept invisible. Try focusin and focusout and let me know what you come up with via Twitter! @KyleDiggsDesign

When you look at a drawing what is the first thing you attribute it to? What about Posters? Signs? Paintings? You either said one of two answers for each of those: Art or Design

This is an argument that gets brought up every once in a while in the design community and begs the quetion:

Is Design Art? 

(I like to think that this is subliminal messaging for the questions above)

Design by definition is the communication of something in a visual form (Whether it be an apple, an idea, or whatever else). It is communication without spoken word. Based on that fact alone Design and Art are very close to one another. There is a very subtly but very important difference though that only people who truly understand graphic design seem to recognize. Design extends passed art. Design is the science behind the art. Design is largely based off of feel but where there is no prior experience you need to understand and know how to implement the proper fundamentals for what you need. This is why good design costs good money. It can take years and years and years for people to get to the point in their design career where they can continuously produce well designed and visually appealing content.

So What Do I Think?

I very strongly believe that Design by itself is an art form. It is a sub category of art. The argument shouldn't exist because these two things should coalesce. Good design should incorporate some sort of artistry. Without that artistry you can communicate "fast" with the word "fast". It takes the other part of design, the human part. to develop "fast" into motion.

But Wait There's More!

The other end of this argument is that people take Graphic Design passed the point to where it is no longer considered Design and becomes Illustration. This is part of the balance. Simplicity is also a big factor in good design. A good designer can communicate a very complex idea with very little. Personally this is my favorite aspect of Design and why I actually side with the designers on the art vs design debate. If your design doesn't work in multiple formats (while staying fully consistent) than you should rethink some aspects of your design. The end goal or product of a designer should always incorporate the brand. Without a stable brand the rest of the designs fall flat. The consistency throughout the brand is one of the most important factors. Complexity makes it more difficult to maintain that brand and as a result designs that turn into illustrations tend to not succeed past the occasional "Wow that looks good!".

When it all comes down to it though you know when you see good design. You can enjoy looking at it just as much as you can appreciate the thought, care, and skill that allowed it to develop into what it is. But don't forget to ask yourself "What is this communicating" because it is easy to get lost in the pretty colors of modern Graphic Designers when the real beauty is a little further down.

Logo Design is more than just making a graphic and attaching your name to it. You can see this throughout the hundreds of logos you see during your day-to-day. Most good logos have multiple meanings, symbolism, or a clever use of negative space. But how do you get one of those great logos? It all starts with your designer. Good design costs good money but if you can clearly communicate with your designer what you are looking for you can get a much more significant bang for your buck. This post is specifically about that initial consultation process and what you can do to improve not only your logo but your designers workflow, turnaround time, and your overall satisfaction with the final result. After all designers are here to HELP YOU. 

1) Why Do You Want a New Logo?

This question is specifically about WHAT the problem is. If your designer doesn't know what is wrong with your current logo that is making you want a new one than how are they supposed to solve that unsaid problem for you? You need to make it apparent BEFORE the process starts.

2) Details

You need to be incredibly specific when it comes to details. Nobody wants to go back and forth doing revision after revision for a project that should have been done ages ago. That is wasting your time and your designers time. In a perfect world designer/client communications are instant and full of meaning. You can't expect a designer to get your favorite color, layout, or symbol based off of a 50 word email. You need to be specific and tell them what you are looking for.

Some examples of important details:
• Target Audience (Age, occupation, interests, etc)
• A Tag Line (Text under the logo)
• Preferred colors
• Unwanted colors
• Wording (ALL CAPS, oneword,  all lowercase, etc)
• Where the logo is going to be used (Web, print, business sign, app icon, etc)
• Budget

3) Under the Surface

This is everything that you want your logo to CONVEY. Any good designers asks about what you want your logo to accomplish. What do you want customers to feel when they see your logo, what you want your logo to convey to the people around it. Design has a lot of meaning. It can easily make or break a business so things like this should be taken very seriously. 

You wouldn't want a Halloween themed logo for your paper business would you?

4) Business Type

This is a very very important piece of information to include. As a designer I need to know what your business is, what your goals are as a business owner, and what previous branding already exists. Designers not only need to designer new content but they also deal with revising or updating existing content. We are not only constrained by what you want but we are also constrained by what you have. Our job as a designer is to make sure that your brand that you have already developed continues through the next iteration and flourishes in places where it didn't before.

5) Branding

I left this one for last because I feel it is the most important. Good designers develop a brand for you even when you don't know it. They need to make sure everything is consistent and feels the same. This is where spending money on your business becomes an investment. As noted in this article it only takes a second to get a first impression on a business. Design is the main communication for that very short amount of time. Without good design you lose you reputability in an instant without you even knowing it. This is where the investment comes back to you. If you hire a good designer you will see an increase in conversion rates and eventually you will get a massive ROI.

I personally always do branding. Even if it is just for a logo, I research and research info on your business to make sure that the logo I develop for you matches in every meaning of the word. Good design goes passed knowing how to use illustrator and pump out technically sound pieces. Good design involves business knowledge, communication, and over everything else experience. Some things just don't come naturally in the world of design. A good designer is not good because of what they can make. A good designer is good because of the years and years experience that have allowed them to develop to the designer that they are today. There are very subtle things that experienced designers think about and aim for. Newer designers don't have that experience and need to look a little harder. So don't stick to free design and don't look for cheap design either.

A good designer knows their worth and charges accordingly.
Make the investment in good design because it WILL benefit you in the short term.

Why am I doing this?

So I feel I need to better familiarize myself with typography; it's history, it's application, it's meaning, etc. So today I decided to start up one more project (I know I know THREE projects, Kyle? Really?) but sometimes you just need to make time for the fundamentals. I mainly do logo design work and I really like doing hand lettering instead of using fonts off the web; I feel it adds a more genuine "human" touch to everything. 

So what I plan on doing (tomorrow actually) is starting my new project "The Typography of Disney"

What do I plan on doing with it?

That's a fantastic question, disembodied voice!

I plan on going throughout the Disneyland Resort in California and taking pictures of all of the typefaces I can find (They rarely reuse them)  and after I think I've found a decent amount I'm going to categorize all of them into my own little "Typeface Genome Project". Since I don't have any formal college education in Graphic Design I figure I'll create my own case study since I won't ever really be in a situation to do it underneath a professor.

From there I will recreate ALL of the typefaces I find in illustrator, make them digital with the full alphabet (If I'm able), and release it on my website. This is going to be a VERY time consuming project so instead of releasing it for free like I normally do I will release a mini free version (maybe one or two different typefaces) and a pay-to-use version for $25.

While going throughout the park today I noticed 10+ different typefaces on Main St  ALONE so this is definitely going to be a lot of fun to work on! Stay tuned for updates! This will take some time so there will definitely be work in progress updates throughout the process!

Web Development

Have you ever wanted to get involved in Web Development but didn't know where to start? Look no further! I'm going to outline exactly how you can get started right here right now! I am a strong believer that passion shouldn't be limited by physical things like money or inability to make a commitment. I have run my entire life off of that mantra. 

What you do need to know upfront is that people don't just get in to web development. Web development just like any other hobby is more than just a hobby for a lot of people, me included. If you would like to actually get in to web development try to follow this guide. At the very absolute least it will point you in the right direction to actually have a stable foundation for what you want to achieve. But it takes dedication. Nobody wants a sub-par developer. 

What paths can I take?

Before we get started lets define some stuff:

Front-End Developer: 

This is somebody who designs and sets up the overall website and how it looks and sometimes feels

Back-End Developer: 

The person that puts the Front-End Designers designs into action. This is the programmer behind the vision of the designer.

Full-Stack Developer:

Often called the "Unicorn" of web development the Full-Stack Developer is someone who has mastered everything beneath the Back-End and the Front-End of web development. Full-Stack Developers are extremely wanted in the industry. Why pay two people for something one person can do?

These are the three primary paths for web developers. Of course there are other ones that seem to neatly fit between web development and graphic design (UI/UX Designers for example), think of those as specialty paths, if you find yourself interested in any specific part of web design/development try to focus on it. The better you get at any one area increases your worth ten fold; you want to have a broad understanding along with laser sight precision.

Which should I choose?

Now this is a question I can't answer. This is the type of question that only you can answer. Which do you prefer? Designing or Developing. Are you logical or creative? Where do you think you perform best? These are all questions you should be asking yourself. If you still aren't sure then just continue the path you're on already. The answer will come to you the more you practice and the more you work at it.

What if I'm not good enough?

I began my journey into web development at a very young age. 12 to be specific. My first step into web development was on a website called Gaiaonline, the website itself is just a forum site, while still alive and kicking it means next to nothing to me anymore, HOWEVER I still directly credit it for my ability as a developer. The amount of practice I got on that website was immeasurable. For the uninformed: It is a forum site that allowed you to make custom profile pages. Simple as that.

I started my journey making profiles for myself that I thought were cool. Whenever I was bored I started from scratch, created my own graphics, made my own color schemes, and started coding.

The website itself isn't important. In fact it doesn't matter at all. What matters is that I practiced.

I practiced and practiced and practiced and practiced. Of course 12 year old me thought I was the shit, 12 year old me thought that I was a complete hacker who knew how to unravel the world of secrets behind computers. In reality I was nowhere near the truth; but that mindset kept me going. THE BIGGEST reason why people quit is because they tell themselves "I wasn't good enough" well what if I told you NOBODY IS GOOD ENOUGH. Everywhere you go, every step of the way somebody can teach you something that you don't know. Especially when it comes to things like web development. A system so complex and ever expanding that nobody can know everything.

There will always be new technologies and there will always be more to learn.

So don't give up. Every professional was once a newbie. Every child prodigy you have ever seen just started at an extremely young age. The only thing that divides the hobbyists from the professionals from the newbies is practice. The reason why professionals are so good at what they do is because most of them are A) Doing it for a living or B) Have a passion for what they do to the point where it consumes their entire being.

So go out and start the process! The longer you wait the farther away you are from somebody that DID start today. Find your passion and rely on yourself for work experience. You don't need a job to practice at something. You just need a computer.

Hey guys! I just launched my new project, Bloks.css.

As of right now Flexbox is the only one available but there will be more to come! I plan on developing it into an interactive guide or walkthrough for whatever new web development trends/features or anything else I can think of. Consider it my personal hand-tailored tutorial pages. :)

I am creating these with simplicity and reusability in mind. I want to have a reference sheet for not only the web development community but also for me! So I plan on updating all of them as new information and techniques come out. Keep checking back! New features are already planned for flexbox and they will be added periodically!

While the project is still in its early stages it is fully functioning as of right now and you can check out what I have done so far!
http://www.KyleDiggs.com/bloks