position: absolute - Design resources and inspiration.

Just a quick notice that I’ve upgraded the underlying WordPress version of position: absolute from 1.5.2. to 2.1.2. That’s quite a version jump and frankly I’m surprised it worked with basically no problems except one really minor glitch. Still, I might have missed something, so please let me know if you notice any problems whatsoever, no matter how small. Thanks! Update 2007-04-03: Upped to WordPress 2.1.3 now.

Today, Adobe offically announced Creative Suite 3, to date their largest release ever. The suite will be available in 6 editions, catered to different needs: web, design, video, or the full package. The full Master Collection spans a total of 14 applications with additional helpers such as Bridge and Device Central. According to the press release, prices for the new packages will range between approx. $1599 and $2499. European buyers beware, it seems we’ll be paying much higher prices over here.

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Looking to spice up your RSS reader a bit? Akzente is a custom stylesheet for those of you using the Sage Firefox extension. I created Akzente with optimized readability in mind, with a touch of typographic goodness and simplistic aesthetics. Let me know if you like it!

For even better readability, get the fixed-width version (preview).

What’s Sage?
Sage is a nice little Firefox sidebar extension that offers you a customizable RSS reader right in your browser. You can use your own stylesheets and make your feeds look exactly as you like them, without having to use an external app for reading.

Read on for installation instructions (simple stuff).
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Need a job, but you’re not up for the hassle of looking through the papers? Well then, you could always set up a nice site and have people suggest the best jobs around. Throw in a free iPod nano and you’re set. Just like Belgium-based Tijs Vrolix did. Quite an innovative way of getting the attention of agencies.

The Design Observer has reprinted an article by Michael McDonough, called “The Top 10 Things They Never Taught Me in Design School“. Michael goes in to some uncomfortable truths surrounding design work, clears up myths and misconceptions and gives some rock solid, slam-hard advice.

He produces valuable insight for each of the following points:

1. Talent is one-third of the success equation.
2. 95 percent of any creative profession is shit work.
3. If everything is equally important, then nothing is very important.
4. Don’t over-think a problem.
5. Start with what you know; then remove the unknowns.
6. Don’t forget your goal.
7. When you throw your weight around, you usually fall off balance.
8. The road to hell is paved with good intentions;
   or, no good deed goes unpunished.
9. It all comes down to output.
10. The rest of the world counts.

Read it. Seriously.

…to help improve position: absolute! p:a has now been running for almost 2 years and I can say I am proud and honored to be in so many of your daily bookmarks and feed readers. I try to provide you with the best information on webdesign and inspiration that I can find, but as with many things, position: absolute is dependent on your feedback and support to achieve that goal! So I’m asking you, my valued reader: what would you like to see more of here? Less of this, more of that? If you’re looking for some pointers, the list of categories to your right might be of assistance. Help improve p:a for everyone by leaving your opinions in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Designing a small niche online shop can offer you, as a designer, a lot more creative freedom than an behemoth site such as Amazon ever could. You are creating a design for a fairly defined target group, in contrast to a neutral one-size-fits-all solution that needs to work for anyone of any age group. Let’s stick with Amazon as an example: Amazon could never switch to a far-out grungy look, as it would turn away a large portion of its potential customers and completely misrepresent 99% of the products it is selling, while a sneaker site would thrive exactly on that style. Design Meltdown has collected an array of visually appealing eCommerce websites (part 2 here) that take advantage of that artistic freedom and perhaps offer us a bit of inspiration for our next projects.

It appears that both Mac and PC TrueType versions of Erik Spiekermann’s FF Meta Book and FF Meta Bold are being freely delivered along with the official Second Life client. The fonts’ .ttf files can be copied and used without system restrictions.

This begs the question whether the font was intended for free distribution among currently 4,598,897 users* or if this was a major oversight. A single cut is currently priced at around 50€ (FontShop).
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The SXSW (“South By Southwest Festivals”) has announced this year’s Web Awards Finalists. Go have a look, some pretty impressive stuff there.

Personally, I’m not surprised ISO50 by Scott Hansen has received an award. Great site, great design, great (self-produced) music, one of my favorites. Congrats!
(Thanks, neckCNS)

Here’s a quick little something you may not have known about CSS borders.
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