There are many ways that a Web designer or developer can build a site, from hand coding the entire thing to using tried-and-true software like Adobe Dreamweaver (affiliate link) or other WYSIWYG/heavily-assisted programs.  Over my career, I've used a little bit of everything, eventually settling into a hand-coded environment using skEdit.  But a recent blog, specifically a line in a blog post made me take another look at these options and shortcuts.

Are shortcuts cheating?

A line Laura Otero had written in a recent post highlighting one of the latest darlings of the CMS world, SquareSpace, stirred up some questions I've wrestled with over the past few years.  Is it "cheating" to use systems that take all or a good majority of the legwork out of Web development?  I'll be honest, some of these shortcuts and snippets are very nice and I've saved myself quite a bit of time with some of them, but I still rely heavily on what I've learned through my years of hand-coding.  That being said, if someone takes paths of ease to complete a project, are they less of a professional for doing so?  What would their peers think? 

I guess it's all in how you look at it, how much self-guilt and self-imposed peer pressure you put on yourself, that determines the answer.  I still feel the answer may very.  As long as the client is getting a great product and it meets/exceeds their goals, then who's to judge the path that was taken to get there?  As long as the ideas are original, and the execution is sound, who can argue with that?  What say you?

I’ve realized that my iPad has become my sketchbook on steroids.  It's been a while since I've cracked open the pages of my notebooks, largely because of some great apps that have let me skip the pen & paper route and go with a completely digital workflow.

There are many apps that can let you sketch out ideas and get thoughts down on...glass.  Here are my favorites.

iDraft - Free

I just picked up iDraft (iTunes link) a week ago and it's been my go-to sketching app ever since.  What I'm the most drawn to with this app is the ability to make individual "project" notebooks that I can then email the entire book or just a few pages to anyone I'd like.

The drawing tools and markings are very natural, in fact, the pen width decreases the quicker you move your finger over the canvas.  I've found this app to be a great alternative to my traditional sketchbook with some great benefits.  It should be mentioned that the ability to zoom is missing from iDraft, an omission that I've noticed on a few occasions.

Pros

• Grouping of project sketches with notebook sharing as a PDF
• Differing width based on speed for a somewhat realistic feel
• Simple and intuitive UI
• No photo importing

Cons

• No ability to zoom
• Limited color choices for brushes

Adobe Ideas - Free

One of the first apps I downloaded for my iPad was Adobe Ideas (iTunes link).  This is a great app if you use Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other app in Adobe's Creative Suite line.  Sketching out quick ideas is easy and the app tries to "correct" or straighten out your lines.  One big appeal of this app is the ability to export and mail the sketch as a PDF that retains the vector imagery for further development in Photoshop, Illustrator, or your vector app of choice.

As with any drawing app worth it's salt, you can choose pen colors and erase lines so that goes without saying.  One nice, added feature is the ability to zoom into the drawing or zoom out to reveal more drawing space. 

Pros

• Vector drawings that can be tweaked in other full-blown apps
• Photo importing
• Layers (minimal)

Cons

• The "auto-correcting" can get annoying if you're not used to it.
• While Ideas has the ability to do layers, there are only two. A few more would be nice.

Brushes - $7.99

Last, but not least on my list of sketchbook fighters is Brushes (iTunes link).  I bought this app for my iPhone and found it fun, but also a bit frustrating due to the small screen size.  With the iPad, I decided to give it another shot and have grown to enjoy the experience more and more. 

With a robust toolset of multiple brush types and sizes to great zoom and detail control, Brushes is more geared toward creating an artwork vs sketching out a layout but you never know what an might grow into.

Pros

• If you want to create a great work of art, this is your app. I guess that's a pro, right?
• Great variety of brushes and tools allow you to push the limits of this app and your imagination.
• Ability to import photos.
• Zoom in and out to make fine, detailed adjustments

Cons

• Bitmapped final image

The winner?

What kind of a shootout would this be if there wasn’t a winner declared?  Truth be told, I can’t pick just one app, they’re all great and excel in different areas.  Some shootout this turned out to be.  More like a love-fest.

I'm guessing that most of you have a wallpaper or desktop image on your computer.  They let us express ourselves and customize what would be an otherwise bland experience.  If you have a custom desktop image for your brand, there's no doubt that you'd like it to say more and do more than show off your logo.   Below are some examples of how you can use your desktop image as a tool as well as a decoration.

Make a date with a calendar.

If you're like me, your always looking for a calendar to see what the date is or working to estimate a timeframe for a project.  Adding a calendar to your desktop is a great way to help with that.

There are a few ways to add add dates to your desktop.  There are software add-ons that will dynamically update the calendar to he current month and can also highlight the current day.  These add-ons come in many flavors, so you're bound to find one that works for you.

• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux

If you're looking for a more customized look, you can add your own static calendar to your wallpaper.  The only drawback is you'll need to swap the imaged out every month, but you can craft the calendar to match any look you choose (like your branding perhaps?).  Check out some examples.

To-do list or project board.

Another great way to benefit from your desktop image is to create compartments that can hold folders, apps, or whatever you need to help you with a project.

Taking this to the next, crazy step would be to develop something like Panic did for their project board.  You could call it desktop image-ishe-sque, or you could just call it hardcore. 

Create a mini-portfolio or a featured work board.

You've just designed an amazing Website and branding solution for a client and can't wait to show it off and generate more business.  Why not create a scene, on your desktop, and make your recent projects the highlight?

By displaying your work on your desktop, you can quickly and easily give an example of what you can do to help an organization reach their goals. 

I've even gone as far as posting projects that are in-progress to my desktop for critique and examination.  One of the best ways to decide if a solution works is to see if you can live with it.

Add a QR code.

A new technology that is slowly crawling into mainstream view is the QR code.  Simply put, a QR code is a barcode that many mobile phones are able to read and decipher using a variety of apps.  When the code is scanned, it can redirect someone to a web page, twitter profile, a SMS message, email address, or other forms of digital content.

In a recent project for Escape Route, I incorporated a QR code into iPad and iphone wallpaper images.  Now when the client is at a convention or trade show, they can display their iPad and let a prospective customer capture the code for later use.  In this case, it will direct someone to the Escape Route site. Think of it as a business card on steroids.

I'll be the first to admit that QR code use in the United States is just in it's infancy and there's no telling how long it will take to catch on, but it's a great way to add some cutting edge tech into long-standing piece of static imagery.

Even though most modern smartphone browsers can display a full-featured website without many issues, I think the user experience could be improved. The way people interact with touch-screen devices is much different than the point and click method that we've know for years. This is differnt, more intimate, more tactile (even for a digital medium).

Mobile just means smaller, right? I'm a believer in the mobile platform and the future that it has for both creators and consumers of digital content. We're entering into a new era of user experience, and some changes are in order.

With mobile, you're dealing with a whole new way of thinking. Designing for traditional PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux, you name it) has always relied on the use of three things: a monitor, a keyboard, and a pointing device (mouse, trackball/pad, what-have-you). With the latest trend in mobile devices, these separate units have morphed into a more compact space. Devices running Android, the iPhone OS and other touch-screen reliant systems are changing the way people interact with their chosen content.

Designing a mobile site for point-and-click use won't work. Let me rephrase that, it will work but the experience isn't as great as it could be. The contact points are small and usually, there is too much content crammed into a compact space, so you're left to zoom in and out to find what you're looking for. This is what I wanted to avoid when building my mobile site.

What stays and what goes? With many of the distractions stripped away in a mobile site, you can put your content "under the microscope" and focus heavily on it. The question is, what do you keep and what do you leave off? You don't necessarily need to transfer every bit of content from your standard site over to your mobile site, but that's up to you. It also depends on the size of your site. With the mobile sites I've done in the past, I relied heavily on the usage stats from the traditional site. What content were people consuming using mobile devices? Once I had a clear understanding of what people wanted, I began building the mobile counterparts.

This mobile site is different. For starters, I don't have a lot of content categories, so everything that's on my standard site would fit on a mobile version. Secondly, I've designed my mobile site with certain goals in mind, namely the ability to show my work, contact info, and articles quickly and at any time I choose. That settled it, I threw everything I had into this site. Literally.

Another fresh start. Mobile Web sites are relatively new and with the wide array of devices that can view them, there are many new ways to conceptualize a site and how people can view it. I see room for experimentation in the navigation and presentation areas of a mobile layout. It takes me back to my time in college when anything was possible and the Internet had yet to be tamed. Fast forward a few years and there is even more ground to be broken in this area. This is my sandbox, and I'm bringing all of my toys. Without further introduction, I give you m.tiglu.com.

I've already started working on version two.