Sponge New Media

Farewell Radiant

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:41:06 GMT

I have decided that it is time to say farewell to the current CMS that I use for this website; Radiant CMS. It has served me well, and is a fantastic CMS, but my technical knowledge of Ruby on Rails is somewhat limited and I feel that I am unable to do the things that I would like to.

I contemplated using WordPress again, but to be honest, I do not use the blog enough to justify it, and again, I feel I would be restricted by my technical knowledge.

In light of this, I have decided to take the site back to it’s roots and use a combination of standard XHTML and PHP. I feel comfortable with PHP, although my knowledge of it is limited at the moment, I feel that I am able to learn it quicker than any other CMS or language.

So, in the next few weeks I hope to begin development on the new code and possibly ‘realign’ the website too.

Coke Redesigned

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:32:42 GMT

Coke have recently redesigned their range of packaging and created a simple, yet bold statement.

The Coke brand is so recognisable and the new design illustrates this. They have removed all the clutter such as the bubbles and extras swooshes, allowing the original Coke logo stand out.

WWF Billboard

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:11:31 GMT

Yesterday I came across a wonderful blog post on the NOTCOT website that featured the most creative billboard design I have seen in a long time by the World Wildlife Federation. Pure, creative genius.

Postal Address Removal

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:22:01 GMT

As from today, for security reasons, I have removed my postal address from the contact page of this website. If you would like to contact me via post, please either phone me or use the online contact form first and I will provide you with the relevant details.

I have recently been the victim of fraud and no longer wish to publish my personal address online. Fortunately, I was notified as soon as irregular transactions were being made and the card was blocked.

If you are a company and have a product or service that you would like to inform me about, then please contact me first and I’ll decide whether or not to issue you with my postal address.

Domain Name Shortage

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:31:59 GMT

In a recent article in Computer Active with one of Britain’s resellers of domain names, UK2-net they claim that the registration of new web addresses has dropped because of a shortage in names.

It is now becoming more common for people to buy an old domain name that is no longer in use than a new one because it is so hard to find a domain name that hasn’t previously been registered. If the previous registrant of a domain name does not re-register the name it goes on hold for 60 days. The original registrant can re-register their domain name, but after this timescale it goes back on general sale.

Although many of the more common domain names have already been bought, it has led to people becoming more creative when thinking of names. When choosing a domain name a dictionary and thesaurus are your most useful tools. By combining different words together it is much easier to find a unique domain name that hasn’t already been registered. It is also common practice to include some of the primary search keywords that you are targeting in to the domain name, but be weary of making it too long and difficult to remember.

The London 2012 Olympic Logo

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:57:11 GMT

With all the negative press that the new logo for the Olympics has received, I cannot help but feel people are being made to feel ashamed for liking it. When I first saw the new logo, I, like most other people, was shocked. However, before long I found myself beginning to warm to it and have now found myself falling in love with it.

And my reasons? I think it’s perfect. When you look past the initial reactions to it, past the comments of “my 5-year daughter could have drawn that”, or the references to sex acts or Nazi symbols, it is a work of art. I feel it does not need to feature some iconic image of London or the Olympics—we do not need it spelt out for us.

It’s bold, vibrant, youthful and above all, it’s different. When you compare it to past Olympic logos, they look dull and lifeless in comparison. The logo’s designers have created a powerful symbol with real character that will be instantly recognisable.

For ten reasons why you should love the new logo please read an article by the Cloudal Partners.

Environmentally Friendly Design

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 10:58:44 GMT

There is a new trend on the horizon in the web design industry. It’s not another useless acronym or another form of social networking. And no, it’s not even a design style like the shiny, reflective text and rounded corners of Web 2.0. The future is bright, the future is green.

Web designers and design studios are slowly becoming aware of the environment and the issue of climate change. There is now a definite trend of web designers and studios labelling themselves as “green”, whether or not this is just band-wagon hopping, or a genuine passion for the environment remains to be seen.

Compared with other industries, the design sector is far behind. Imagine the quantity of paper used each year, the number of ink cartridges used and thrown out and the amount of electricity used to keep our offices running. However, we can reduce the damage we have already caused by doing simple things such as cycling to work, using energy saving light bulbs and using recycled materials.

Thinking about the environment was never the first thing that came to mind when I design a web site, but after researching this article I have become more aware of how my work affects the environment. In the future, expect to see initial design concepts design sketched on the back of an email printed on recycled paper! Or maybe I’ll just buy you a cup of Fairtrade tea instead.

Green design can only be a good thing with more designers becoming environmentally aware. However, in the same way that many web design companies adapted their home pages to show that their services included web standards, I predict many sites will be adding green design to the list. For further reading please visit my del.icio.us links at http://del.icio.us/oconingham/environment.

New Blog

Sat, 12 May 2007 11:26:50 GMT

I’ve just had a little re-shuffle of the structure of my new web site. I’ve decided to remove the blog from the home page and allow it to breathe in its own section of the web site. The reason for this being that I’d like to use the home page to provide more of an introduction to the web site, the skills that I have and the web sites that I have created.

The blog will feature articles written by myself that will be based around web design. Although I would like to keep it on topic as much as possible, there might be the odd random post.

Ideally, I hope to write about new advancements in web design, design trends, sources of inspiration, etc. This will enable me to keep existing – and future – clients more informed about the whole web design process and the services that I am able to provide.