In the late 1980’s, Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web, ushering in the true internet age. He is credited with creating the core working parts of the Web, from web browsers and servers to HTML programming language to HTTP and URL protocols, all of which have lasted to Web 2.0.

I grew up during the height of Web 1.0, in the pre-Google era. In the mid-90’s, in a time before high-speed internet, Geocities, and AOL reigned supreme. It was a time of build-your-own websites and web portals, and Webcrawler was the search engine of choice. Websites were small and static, often a single page, and built using HTML with a table-based layout. Visual design was very plain, as design capabilities were limited due to the restrictive nature of HTML.

I vividly remember building my first website on Angelfire, dedicated to my favourite car at the time, complete with scrolling marquee, blinking text and animated gifs.

Growth of Web Standards

In 1994, Sir Tim Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which develops and maintains web standards, most notably HTML and CSS. The first official CSS specification (CSS Level 1) was released in 1996, which separated content (HTML) and presentation (CSS) for the first time. CSS1 allowed much finer control over font and text and introduced the box model, which provided the basis to move away from table-based layouts. Although early adoption of CSS1 was difficult, it is the only stylesheet specification supported by all browsers in use today

Two years later in 1998, CSS2 was published, adding a number of new capabilities, most notably element positioning and new text and font properties. Today, CSS2 has been adopted by all modern browsers, but there are still older browsers in use that do not support it, or have incomplete or flawed support. However, it is generally regarded in web design today that most CSS2 properties can be reliably used.

Web 2.0

The term Web 2.0 came into prominence in 1994, which introduced the interactive web. User-generated content came to prominence with the rise of blogs and social networking websites, particularly Facebook, flickr and YouTube. User experience became much richer and more dynamic with new client-side technologies, such as javascript, AJAX and Flash, as well as a much greater focus on navigation structure, user interaction and intuitive flow. Web 2.0 also introduced new methods of accessing content, including RSS feeds and mobile browsing.

Prominent Web 2.0 design characteristics include strong colour schemes, cute and bubbly icons, transparency and realistic surface effects (gradients, shadows, glass etc). Webdesigner Depot recently posted a great list of Web 2.0 design examples.

What’s Next?

Many prominent Web pundits have speculated on the next stage of evolution for the World Wide Web, although there is very little consensus on the subject.

The W3C is currently developing the specifications for HTML5 and CSS3, which modern browsers have started to adopt, although support is still limited. HTML5 will implement new DOM elements, embedded rich media and the ability to manipulate DOM elements on the fly, and CSS3 will introduce rounded corners, multiple background images, colour transparency and other “rich” properties. Although many of these additional elements and properties of HTML5 and CSS3 could be considered a response to the Web 2.0 style, they are opening the door for a much greater quality and brilliance of the user experience.

In my humble opinion, Web 3.0 will not be classified by a single set of design characteristics, but rather an underlying set of technologies and functionality. The user experience will be much more personalized, in essence it will know us. With a massive amount of interconnected data available, the Web will become smarter and more engaging, with intelligent search functionality that knows what you are looking for. User-generated content will continue to flourish, as will social networking.

The homogenization of web design that occurred at the peak of Web 2.0 will be replaced by a new diversity of creativity and design style, such that there will not be any particular “look” or style associated with Web 3.0. Designers will use more neutral space (“white space”) and artistic elegance, while continuing to use column- and grid-based layouts because they are intuitive and familiar.

N.Design Studio’s new site is a great example to illustrate my perception of Web 3.0 design. It is elegant and clean, bright and bold without being overwhelming to the senses, with a familiar column-based layout.

Moving Forward

I was recently told by a potential client that the designs featured in my portfolio are not “Web 2.0″ style. While work for my previous employer certainly fit the Web 2.0 mold, due to creative oversight of my work, my freelance projects for the past couple years have been independently unique and highly functional. My design style is adaptive based on the individual needs of each project. Perhaps that is part of the Web 3.0 frontier: no particular style, but rather uniquely individual, highly-functional websites.

1. Find a (new) job in web design, in which I am happy, fulfilled and well-paid, working for a high-energy, creative, collaborative team. My current company has been wonderful to work for, but the last few months have been a struggle and it is finally time to move on.
2. Get married; wedding is set for beginning of July!
3. Advance in scuba diving; I would like to get my dry suit certification and do the PADI Rescue Diver course, on my way to Divemaster certification.
4. Try kiteboarding.
5. Get back in to shape; I’ve been promising myself for years that I would start running again and workout on a regular basis. I have promised myself and Alan that I would be fit by our wedding in early July, I just have to set some measurable goals for this.
6. Snowboard at Whistler during the Olympics; those in the know say that the two-week period of the Olympics will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
7. Learn a new language, not necessarily at a conversational level, but enough to get by; probably Spanish.
8. Successfully run the Vancouver Pride Parade.

As the designer in my family, I was put in charge of the visuals for the celebration. Along with scanning photos and putting together a slideshow, creating a program and the music, I created a small website for family and friends to share stories, memories and photos of my Grandad. Take a look at www.raycrompton.ca

The world lost on a giant on Sunday; rest in peace Ray Crompton, my hero, my role model, my grandfather.

I am very humbled by this unexpected inclusion, in what I consider to be a very prestigious design blog. Many thanks to the author!

In just over a year since they launched, WooThemes has experienced unprecedented growth and exposure, quickly becoming one of the most popular Wordpress template developers out there. With that in mind, I thought I would present a brief analysis of their success.

With dozens of popular template developers – for Wordpress and other blog and CMS services – on the internet, how did WooThemes rise to the top, and how did they do it so quickly? I’m making a number of assumptions here: 1) WooThemes is, in fact, one of the most popular Wordpress template sites; 2) I am speaking only in reference to paid template developers, in contrast to those who offer their products for free; 3) I do not know any internal details, such as their business plan, growth models, etc.

Here is a (brief) breakdown of their success, as I see it:

1. High-quality Templates
   When comparing WooThemes to other template developers, I have found the quality of their work to be very much above-par. Not only are the designs quite stunning, the finished product, including developed code, plugins, etc, is comprehensive and well executed. As an example, we recently used a WooThemes template simply for the excellent code base, although the design was top-notch as well.
2. Unique Design Process
   As a creative-type, I was drawn to WooThemes by the quality of their design. The diversity of their design style may be limited, but that is only because their standards are so high. They acquire new designs by inviting designers, through their website, to submit ideas in the form of design mockups. I can only assume they reject many designs, and only choose the absolute best for inclusion on their site. By acquiring new designs from the web design community-at-large, and using an in-house development team, they have created a unique process that results in a unmatched quality-of-work.
3. Knowing Their Strengths
   By sticking to developing Wordpress templates (for the time being) the folks at WooThemes have recognized that their strength lies in what they currently do. Far too often have I seen companies and individuals try to do to much, too quickly, and fail as a result. While WooThemes will be expanding into other platforms in the future, including Joomla, Drupal and ExpressionEngine, they are perfecting their skills in Wordpress development before they expand, a smart decision that I believe will ensure their continued success.

Please visit WooThemes, I think you will be impressed by their work.

Some thoughts on starting this blog:

1. Certain blog “experts” recommend that new blogs be pre-populated with content before launch. In addition to writing a few new posts, I have decided to keep select existing content rather than starting from scratch.
2. I will only post meaningful content, rather than writing for the sake of writing, even if that means going a few days without new posts.
3. I tried a design that is very different from my usual style; it is simple, grid-based and clean. It is also (mostly) monochrome, with a touch of blue here and there. I hope you like it.
4. Topics (categories) will change and evolve, but I will generally be writing about web design, cool/nerdy stuff, LGBT issues and my life.

Enjoy!

Here are a few of the highlights:

1. The wonderful, amazing, courageous people I met and connected with, who have inspired me to take risks in my life and really start to pursue my dreams.
2. Sharing lessons I have learned with smaller Prides, especially those who are either just starting up or struggling to continue.
3. Receiving valuable information and inspiring ideas from larger (and smaller) Prides.
4. Making connections with people I would absolutely love to work with in the (very near) future.
5. The opportunity to cast a vote for such an important, meaningful event as WorldPride. Congratulations to Toronto; WorldPride 2014 is going to be incredible!
6. The soft white sand between my toes.
7. Dancing the nights away, after very long days at the conference!
8. Watching Deborah Cox perform 5 feet away from me, in a room of 100. Hers was the first album I ever owned; it was a gift from my sisters, but it was fabulous.

This was my first InterPride, and you can bet it won’t be my last. It was more inspiring, education and fabulous than I ever imagined it would be. Thank you to everyone who made it so special for me!

E magazine has written a handy reference for recycling stuff you would otherwise throw in the trash. Check it out, you might be surprised at some of the stuff you can recycle.

How to Recycle Practically Anything

Back to the topic on hand: two people – college students my age – have both capitalized on a single idea that has made them both a small fortune. The idea is simple: sell units of *something* on a website and publicly state your goal to make a million dollars. The original, MillionDollarHomePage, sold pixels for a dollar each on a 1000×1000 pixel space. Within four months, all million pixels had been sold, earning Alex Tew an impressive million dollars. A year later, MillionDollarWiki showed up, which is selling ten thousand wiki pages for $100 each.

Based on the same idea, and without precedent, why have these two ideas shared so much success? The answer is simple: for a relatively low cost to buyers/advertisers, they offer exposure to the thousands of daily visitors who are intrigued by the idea. In addition, owners of space on these sites share traffic generated by the entire community.

With so much focus on online promotion today, I believe there is still money to be made from this idea, the question is: how? How can I sell space on a website in a unique and attractive way?

YouTube Video