Top 10 Web Design Mistakes 2006 by Colleen Happ

This is our top 10 list of things you shouldn't do on your website:

1. Do not underline words unless they are a link. It is a design standard to underline links. If you underline other words on your web page that are not links, viewers will click them. When they don't go anywhere, it will lead to confusion. Make it obvious what is a link and what isn't.

2. Use a font without serifs. Serifs are the little lines at the end of letters that make them easier to read in print. On a computer screen, however, sans serif fonts like Arial and Verdana are actually easier to read and lead to greater comprehension of your message. For example, this is serif and this is sans serif.

3. Optimize your graphics for the web. If the file size of your pictures is too large, they will take too long to load and most users won't stick around to see them. Pictures can be optimized with only slight changes in overall quality.

4. Put the navigation for your web pages on the top or left hand side. This is where most users automatically look to find them. Don't stick it on the right just to be different. This is not where people's eyes go to look for navigation. Be consistent with your navigation placement; it should be in the same spot on every page.

5. Don't use more than three or four colors on your web page. Any more, and the user will be overwhelmed and not know where to look first. If your message is competing for attention with color, your site will not be as effective as it could be.

6. If you are selling on-line, put the prices of your products or services where people can easily find them. Don't make them look too long, or else they will give up, leave your site, and spend their money elsewhere.

7. Avoid horizontal scrolling on your web pages. Ensure your site fits on a screen resolution of 800 by 600 so that viewers don't have to scroll left to right. Vertical scrolling is okay, but horizontal scrolling is annoying and unnecessary.

8. Do not collect email addresses without a privacy policy. In Canada, there is a privacy law that states that every site should have a privacy policy, even if they don't collect any information. Read more at the government of Canada web site.

9. Avoid unnecessary animated images. The flashing and movement on the screen will distract the eye from the main message. Don't get me wrong, flash and animation is cool, but only when they support the main message.

10. Remember to give each of your pages a unique title. Search engines use titles to help rank your pages. Bookmarks use page titles, too.

When designing your site remember what visitors to your site want * Text they can read* Text that answers their questions* Simple navigation* Fresh, up-to-date content
Happy Designing!

About the Author
Colleen Happ designs effective and affordable websites. View her portfolio at www.happconsulting.com. Colleen offers free one hour consultations to show how an effective website can benefit your business. She can be reached at 403-807-8225.

A 3D Environment from Tele3DWorld. by Ken Rigby

The intention of Team MellaniuM to integrate an immersive 3D environment into the Virtual Real World experience was in large part to provide the social intuitive tools for managing the total 3D experience. Frames or terms of reference will be necessary for navigating among the conversational sub-groups. The use of distance, perspective, and orientation in a social context are only meaningful in a 3D spatial environment. In addition to providing familiar paradigms for managing social interaction however, the shared virtual space also allows the user other quasi-organic channels of communication. Using basic navigation skills, the user can implement common gestures such as non-verbal communication (e.g. nodding, looking up/down, cocking the head, turning away in disgust, and other pre-programmed actions, etc.) Dancing, laughing, and other exuberant motion can be used in conjunction with voice and other actions to enrich emotional expression. Landmarks and rooms containing artifacts (TARDIS, Egyptian art, pyramid, art galleries, bedroom, conference room or even the facility to teleport to a different Virtual Real World) can also be used to rendezvous with other individuals or groups for planned tours and events. The 3D virtual real world environments also provide a symbolic and thematic background for communication. While text chat rooms are generally categorized by naming conventions, the experience of using each 3D virtual real world space is identical and the theme is maintained only by the combined consent of the group to speak on a certain topic. Adding the dimension of in-world thematic elements (e.g. Egyptian art world, art galleries, tables and chairs and other executive artifacts in a business conference space, a molecular model for a scientific discussion, 3D fish and skull models, TARDIS, etc.) While the content of the speech is still determined by the individual participants, the virtual real world has a persistent thematic suggestion. In addition to theme, mood, and setting can be suggested in a 3D environment space, through the use of architectural design, images, and sculptural elements as well as background textures, music, sounds, and lighting. Environmental audio (EAX- surround sound) in the form of randomly or sequncially cycling layers of sounds or music are added to the 3D environment space to provide a greater depth of experience. Walking and running on different surfaces produce different sounds. Most physical entropies can be simulated; e.g., gravity, velocity, mass, friction, lightening, etc. Facilities for interaction between the avatars and the space are not limited. However, objects can be authored to produce spatialized audio in response to proximity/collision to an avatar and simulate the sound or sight in the specific environment. Thus, for example an object representing an information provider (radio, drawing, text sheet, etc.,) could give audio and visual information to an avatar as well as machinery, birds, wind, etc. to simulate the background actual real world. Access to the local computer and internet within the world as well as the facility to teleport to other Virtual Real Worlds also exists. Objects can act as links to other 3D spaces or as triggers to launch a web page, document, tool, or visual display.

Avatar implementation.

In an attempt to further enhance the organic feel of the 3D environment virtual real world experience, the decision was made to implement avatars as smoothly morphing 3D models that animate in response to the user's demands. Usually, as in the case of anthropomorphic avatars, this animation takes the form of synchronizing the movement of the limbs with pre-programmed commands and movements. This creates the profound illusion of an avatar in the process of producing speech while looking in a certain direction. This animation helps the user to determine which avatar in the field of view is speaking and adds to the overall illusion of being in the direct presence of living, conscious creatures. This same morphing technique is used to implement pointing, breathing, changes in emotional state and other lifelike sequences to further enhance the subtle impression of life in the avatars. Because avatars showcase the body language so prominently, this organic effect is highly resonant with users, due to the extreme psychological and neuropsychological importance of the body language and speech to the human psyche. Users have reported a desire to maintain contact and to feel the effects of personal space during a session, indicating a high level of immersion in the social environment.

The 3D environment experience.

Users are immersed in a shared 3D virtual real world, with first-person perspective or a just behind view. Each user is able to navigate his or her avatar with six degrees of freedom (up, down, left, right, forward, and back) and each sees the other participants as fully modeled 3D characters or avatars. As a user moves or speaks, his or her body language emanates from the corresponding avatar to each of the other avatars. The avatar's body language and structure synchronize with and the sound of the voice is distance-attenuated and spatialized in EAX surround sound stereo, according to its position in the 3D virtual real world relative to the local user.
The voice communication server driven with full EAX surround sound and fully multi-point, i.e., the user is receiving audio while speaking and multiple streams of voice audio are delivered to each avatar. The overall effect of the voice delivery in conjunction with the visual and audio environment is that of a virtual "cocktail party". Users spontaneously form and re-form conversational subgroups, using natural social conventions as well as pre-programmed activities. Initial contacts are made using real-world methods, such as saying "Hello, there!" towards another avatar and waiting for the other participant to turn and orient (in response to the spatialized audio cue) before proceeding.
These experiences are now available from Mellanium Design and Tele3DWorld. You can experience the above defined Virtual Real World now and specify one of your own. The 3D environment Virtual Real Worlds will be available 24/7 on a accessable server for holding meetings or just general conversation. Join us now and be one of the first to experience this new technology.
Note: the philosophy of commincating information using 3D to 3D requires the user to accept this concept; the 2D paradigm has to resisted and new methods devised to create 3D environments that enable this philosophy to be realized. This is a new concept for all to experience; allow the humans to take charge of the farm. The pigs are just making a mess of it.

See www.mellanium.com for more information.
For a demonstration contact skype id joe133952
Copyright(c) ken rigby for Mellanium Design and Tele3DWorld
http://mellanium.com

The trend of CGI in Animation by Richard

Over the past 20 years, so many things have changed, with the advent of high tech gadgetry such as cell phones, mp3 players, PDA's, DVD's and so on. Nowadays we even wonder whether a time when all those gizmos were not around really existed. Remember how you had to be home to actually get a phone call or drive all the way to the store if you wanted to get a book or check the price of some item, and I won't even tell you about calling someone halfway across the earth, which was to be done on special occasions only considering the cost. Well, all those things and more have completely changed.

For those of you who want to take a break from the big digital convergence, you might wanna go see a movie in your favorite theatre, an animation why not, with its painstakingly handmade drawings filing past the big screen and creating the illusion of motion, the kind that has been enjoyed for over 80 years ... And that's when you find out with a bit of surprise that those animated features which you enjoyed so much as a kid are simply not there anymore. Instead, you will have to choose among a plethora of animations of a new type, and when you do and start watching the feature of your choice, you notice how smooth the image is, how incredibly life-like the characters are and you start feeling as though a real camera has taken those shots. And the depth, you can feel it's there and then you start wondering how ...

How on earth could they draw with such accuracy and create such crystal-clear images, and soon it hits you and you begin to understand that even the art of making animations has finally been caught in the big canvas of new technologies. And later when you ask a savvy friend how they do it and he explains that they use computers and 3D softwares to reach that level of accuracy, you realize that nothing will ever be the way it was before. But it's ok because you end up seduced by the beauty of those images of a new kind, and you got plenty to choose from, about 15 full length releases in 2006 alone and many to come in the next years. There you are, hooked up on computer rendered landscapes and characters that you now fully enjoy.

You might even wonder if you could still spend 90 minutes watching the Lion King or Alice in wonderland and its desperately out-of-fashion two dimensional sceneries, but you dismiss that thought and think about your kids. For them CG Animation is just the regular thing and old cartoons never really did the trick. Already a generational gap is growing because no matter how much you enjoy those flicks and think you know everything there is to know about them, you end up realizing how ahead of you your kids are. You might understand and appreciate the CGI trend but they know how it is done and even what programs are used to create the stuff and where to find them on the net. But that thought is also dismissed and becomes irrelevant because all you want to do is sit down and relax in front of your widescreen LCD high definition tv, the latest blu-ray release of your favorite CG Animation already in the player, the future became the present and the past is lost far behind. You have a good time with your family and presently that's all that matters.

About the Author
Richard is a long date CGI geek. He shares his deep knowledge of Computer Generated Imagery on http://www.cganima.com/

Video Games Overview by Steve Dimeck

The gaming industry has been exploding in the recent years as games are not only enjoyed by the young generation. The adults are in on it too. Thanks to the computers, being one of the main contributors to this gaming phenomenon, the gaming industry has been very busy with the race of who is going to come up with the more appealing game to take over the market.

The popularity of computer and video games, as a whole, has been increasing steadily. The average age of the video game player is now 29, belying the myth that video games are largely a diversion for teenagers.
Outstandingly, computer games are becoming more and more popular and widely accepted by all generations. In the recent years especially, the so called "console gaming" has swept the world.
The end of 2005, and 2006 saw the next generation of console gaming in the form of continuing advances in processor technology, graphics technology, design innovation, and even platform specific gaming community infrastructure.

Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are all participating in this "technology race". The second generation Microsoft offering, the Xbox 360, is powered by a multi-core CPU. The PlayStation 3 is powered by cell processor technology. And the Nintendo Revolution allows the gamer to interact with the game via a wireless motion sensing controller.
Nowadays, some of the most popular are computer games, or sometimes called pc games, online games, consoles games, handheld games, and even believe it or not, mobile phone games.

Computer games are often more powerful than console games because of early market releases of their external architecture and graphics cards. They are played on the personal computer with standard computer interface devices such as the keyboard and mouse, or additional peripherals, such as joysticks.

Online gaming originally began with PC games, but has over time expanded to include most modern consoles. It is now a key feature of modern games, with the inclusion of Internet connectivity in consoles such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and also in mobile phones.

Console games are specialized computers specifically designed to play games of a certain format. The player usually interacts with the game through a controller, and video and sound are typically delivered to the player via a television, although most modern consoles support additional outputs, such as surround sound setups.

Handheld games are played on handheld game consoles, such as the Nintendo Gameboy, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP. Because they are designed to be played on the go, they are usually small enough to fit into an average pocket (the virtual boy is an exception to this). Due to their small size, handheld consoles have reduced processing power compared to larger consoles, meaning that games are shorter and until the release of the DS, were limited to 2D only.

Careers in Entertainment Production by Tony Jacowski

A career decision requires a lot of research and contemplation. You need to assess yourself and your interests in order to make the right decision, as there are many career options available today. However, if you are creative and you have a desire for a strong career option then you may give the entertainment industry a try. People have always amused themselves through various forms of entertainment and this industry has been growing exponentially. In the United States, this industry has been more about 'industry' and less about 'entertainment', as any project is a combined effort of a large number of people.

The entertainment industry holds opportunities for everyone. There are many career choices available in this industry, which offer an excellent chance to satisfy your creative urge and put your talent to optimum use. There are options for people who want to work behind the scene as well as those who want to be in the limelight. You can take part in creating good entertainment in any way you want, as there is place for all. The only factor you need to have is a creative bent of mind and a strong inclination towards art and entertainment.

Television And Movies: If you always dreamed of becoming popular and being in the limelight, then you can try for a career in this industry. If you have a penchant for acting, you can act in movies or television, or you can also work behind the scenes. You can become a part of the make up and costume department if you are interested in dress designing and make up. You can also work on building movie sets or writing scripts for movies and television.
Music: This industry can help you in making a promising career in this field. All you need is talent along with a passion for music. You can either work for distribution or production. On the production side, you can work as a music director, playback singer, songwriter and composer, musician or technician. Production is for those who want to be involved directly in making good music. You can also work for music stores and radio stations in the distribution of music.

Designing And Animation: A creative hand and interest in designing can open up a career option for you in the entertainment industry. So if you are interested in creating characters through animation, computer graphics and web designing then a good opportunity is waiting for you in this industry. A good knowledge of digital graphic packages like Flash and Photoshop may land you in an animation studio where you can make the most of your creativity.
Dance: Dance and music are inseparable part of entertainment. This field has a lot of appeal and importance in this industry. You can be a choreographer or a back up dancer for any music group. If you have an interest in making costumes and equipment related to dance, then you can also make a career out here.

Print Media And Books: The opportunities that are available in print media are diverse. You can aspire to be a publisher, writer, reviewer or editor. The process that is involved in this media ranges from writing to publishing to printing and reviewing. Each process needs people who are not only talented but people who are creative and can deliver their best.

So if you thought that the entertainment industry had a place just for people who are vying for the limelight then it is advisable that you give it a second thought. This industry not only provides you career options directly related to entertainment business, but also presents many indirect opportunities as well. You just need to have talent and dedication.

How to Choose a Website Hosting Company by Danae Cowart

Let's say you're shopping around for a lot to build your dream house on. Your real estate agent takes you to what she calls "a prime piece of property." Five acres of beautiful wooded land with a small pond, just off a main highway. It's a half-hour drive to the nearest town--far enough to have peace and quiet, but not too far to be inconvenient for weekly grocery shopping. And then the agent floors you with the asking price--"It's only $12,000."

Twelve thousand? you think. For this beautiful piece of land? What a deal! You're about to say "I'll take it" when she adds one more thing...

"However, there aren't any utilities here. You'll have to arrange for all of that yourself."

Not such a great deal now, is it?

This is the kind of trouble you may run into if you choose your website hosting company based on price. It may seem like a good deal, but if the company doesn't provide everything your website needs, you're choosing the wrong company. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a new hosting company or evaluating your current one.

How much disk space do you need?One of the criteria that usually separates one hosting plan from another is the amount of space you get on the server for your website files. This is similar to space on your computer's hard drive, and is calculated the same way--in gigabytes, megabytes, and kilobytes. You can calculate the amount of space you need by adding up the size of all the website files. Don't forget to include all the graphics and images.

How much bandwidth do you need?Bandwidth is calculated by the size of each file a visitor to you website sees multiplied by how many times a visitor sees it. For example, if your home page file is 11K (kilobytes) and it has two 7K images on it, that will add up to 25K of material transferred every time someone looks at your home page. So if you have 700 visitors in a month who look at your home page, that will be 17,500K transferred, or about 17M (megabytes). This will be calculated for every page a visitor looks at, as well as any video, audio, or other files they download onto their computer.

Most hosting companies set a limit on the bandwidth you can use per month, but make sure that is the case when comparing plans. Remember, one gigabyte equals 1024 megabytes, and one megabyte equals 1024 kilobytes.

What email options do you get?Some things to look for are the number of email addresses you can have, mailbox storage size, POP3/SMTP service (you can send and receive email from your account), if you can have email aliases or forwarding (an address that sends all messages to another address's mailbox), online email access, and spam filtering. Consider your company's current and future needs when evaluating this.

Can you make changes to your website yourself?Depending on the level of website expertise in your company, you may want to handle updating your website in-house, or you may want someone else to do it. There are many website hosting companies that offer website maintenance as part of their package, and you may find this an attractive option. But be aware of two things--one, how quickly will the company make your changes? And two, will they allow you or a third party (that you hire) to make changes, or do all changes have to go through them? The term to look for is "FTP access," which means that you have access to the username and password which will allow you or someone that you authorize to add new pages or change files on your website without going through a middleman.

What special scripts or functions will your website use?Depending on the purpose and functions of your website, and who designs it, you may need your hosting company to support any of the following: databases (such as Microsoft Access, SQL, or MySQL), Flash/Shockwave, multimedia, e-commerce, and various scripting languages (such as ASP, PHP, and ColdFusion, all of which come in various versions, cgi, and perl).

If you are considering moving your current website to a new hosting company, talk to the website designer/developer to see which of these, if any, apply to your website. And if you are planning to have a website created, choose your designer/developer first and then have him or her assist you in determining which scripts or functions the website will be using.

Can you easily track and analyze your visitor traffic?Some hosting companies include a traffic statistics program will all of their hosting plans. Some offer it as an add-on service. And some don't bother with it at all. If you want to have any clue about whether your website is making a positive difference for your company, you'll need to have access to good traffic statistics. Personally, I favor the program Urchin, which is offered by several hosting companies. It is easy to use and allows you to look at a variety of data in various time ranges. You can also export data to Microsoft Excel or Word or a text file.

What customer support options are available?Most hosting companies will offer free support by email, but you may also want to be able to talk to them by phone. See if they charge for that. Some also offer "live chat" over the Internet at certain times, which may or may not be helpful, depending on how many customers are trying to use it at once.
What do other people say about them?Check out third party reviews at sites like www.web-hosting-reviews.org or www.findmyhosting.com. Focus on the customer's experience with using the hosting service, if there is good customer support, and what their experience is with "downtime"--times when the hosting company's server is not working, and no one is able to visit your website. This should be close to non-existent.

Things to avoidFree website hosting is usually not a good deal. They are likely to display ads on your website that you have no control over, to have little to no customer support, and they may close up shop without warning. Quality website hosting is available now for a very low price from many companies, so being miserly in this area will only hurt you.

You will also want to carefully read a hosting company's terms of service before signing up with them. Some have restrictions on what material you can put on your site or what kind of email you can send (such as ads that might be regarded as spam). If there are restrictions, make sure you can live with them, or find a different hosting company.

Does price mean anything?I started this article with the idea that you shouldn't choose a company based on price. But should the price have any affect on your decision? Sure it can. If two hosting plans are equal in all ways except the cost, go with the cheaper one. But your main criteria should be the rest of the items discussed in this article.
Don't freak out!One last point--if you choose the wrong hosting provider, it's usually not hard to switch to a new one! So don't get bogged down with trying to find the perfect hosting company. There are many good ones out there. The important thing is to get your website on the Internet!

Irish Graphic Design Industry by Dave Davis

Graphic design is the use of color, light, balance, contrast, emphasis, proportion, proximity, repetition, texture and a plethora of other elements to create a work of digital art that is pleasing to the eye. Graphic design is about seamlessly molding image and text to convey a theme, message, or often advertise a product or service. Graphic design dates back to prehistoric times. With hieroglyphs and cave-dwelling designs that became some of the first written language. Although communication, not aestheticism, was the primary concern, one can still argue for the overall visual design of the prehistoric artists.

With the 1584 Gutenberg Printing Press, graphic design took on a whole new meaning. Now, text, coupled with visual appeal, could reach a wider audience than ever before. Although the use was - at first - primarily for Biblical and other important writings, the trend would soon spread to visual-appeal. Graphic design, as we know it, didn't reach its boom until the computer era. With companies finding it increasingly necessary to have a corporate identity solution, visually-pleasing logo, and an online presence, graphic designers are definitely getting all the work they can handle.

Today, graphic design and website design are two separate, but closely related, entities. Most all websites offer some visual appeal - that is, they include graphical elements. When one understands this, they can really begin to grasp the widespread effect that graphic design can have. Creating something with aesthetic appeal is a laborious task, when one considers all the elements of graphic design, along with the viewing audience. Attempting to convey an emotion or theme is especially difficult. Special consideration to the following principles is necessary - mood, style, message, and hierarchy. Moreover, one must consider the audience. Although anyone can view a website, logo, or corporate identity package, only a few are really in the 'target audience.' With graphic design's worldwide appeal, designers have developed geographic markets in which to showcase their talents.

With Ireland's technology boom, a widespread graphic design industry has developed. A Google.com search for "Irish Graphic Design" yields almost 2 million results, a true testament to this unparalleled growth. One of the front-runners in this burgeoning population of graphic design studios is Red Fly Studios. While Red Fly is a full-service firm offering web application development and design, their attention to graphic design detail is unmatched. Take a look through Red Fly's portfolio, compare to other Irish design firms, and you'll see that the company has a lot to offer.