50 Links to Boggle Your Mind

For this week I hit the jackpot: a collection of over 50 articles meant to make you a better web designer. There’s a whole lot in there that we can use, though some of it is a bit old.

After browsing through the links, I picked two articles that I felt would be the most helpful to where we are right now in our studies. The first is entitled 6 Keys to Understanding Modern CSS-based Layouts. It’s a simple breakdown of the main things we should remember as we start using CSS more and more. We have yet to cover most of these point yet, but the first two (floated columns and box model) are particularly helpful references to what we’ve been picking up in class.

I highly suggest checking out the link “The Box Model” within the header dealing with that subject. It covers everything that was mentioned in class, and like the handouts it has a lot of diagrams that provide an excellent visual reference for all the things that we need to remember when figuring out the height and width for content.

The very bottom of the article deals with how compatible existing browsers are with the box model. This is of particular importance to me since I regularly encounter these issues at work and need to be aware of which browsers present problems. I have already had particular angst dealing with Internet Explorer 6 (c’mon people, I like using PNGs), so it is helpful to know how to work around some of these issues.

Going back to the main article, I also recommend the “Floatorial” article – it helped me to finish the homework for this week and gives some tips that will no doubt help as we get more used to floating.

For my second main reading I went with something less technical and chose an article entitled “12 Ways to Tap Into an Endless Well of Creativity”.

I find myself lacking creative inspiration these days due to my busy schedule, something that really irritates me. This reading gave me some new ideas to help combat this, the most important one being “Set Regular Habits”. I currently lack the consistent routine recommended here and can certainly vouch for it being an integral part of keeping a creative spark. I tend to put off simple creative exercises (like doodling, picture taking, or looking at design work) with the simple notion that “I’ll get to it when I have free time”. However, this appointment keeps getting pushed back, and even now I find my brand new Moleskin remains empty – a very depressing sight.

It’s very difficult to feel inspired when you’re consistently tired from school, work, and a terrible sleep regimen. I think the problem is that I’m approaching these creative exercises like one large task, much like any other school project or chore around the house. The trick is to make it a small, 15 minute daily routine like this article recommends, so that it is no longer an assignment but a habit. I’m definitely going to give it a try.