During recent projects, integrating fonts for the right look and feel has shown to be troublesome for Internet Explorer. After implementing a font file into a CSS file, Internet Explorer 9 would provide the following error and not show the embedded font:

CSS3114
@font-face failed OpenType embedding permission check. Permission must be Installable.

This error is listed on MSDN and states that:

 The font-face does not have permissions to install with the current webpage.

And to fix:

Obtain the correct permission or licenses for embedding the font.

The only help this really provided was narrowing my search results.  Luckily, I found a nifty program that can be run from the command prompt to correct this error in IE9.  Be aware however, as stated on the publishers download page:

Changing the embedding value does not give you license to distribute the fonts. You should only change this setting if you are the font creator, or something like that. Use at your own risk.

Download embed.exe

Program Useage:

1. Download the executable and move to the desktop with a copy of the font file.
   (Alternatively, you can drop this in your Windows/system32 directory)
2. Pull up a command prompt window.
3. Navigate to the desktop within the prompt
4. Execute by typing: embed.exe fontfilename.ttf
5. Viola, your font should be ready to use in IE9.

More on Font Embedding from MSDN »

As a software development project manager at Beacon, I’m also proud to say that I’m both an NPR and data geek, so I was elated to hear a story this week that united all of my passions:  Google Searches Are A Window Into Our Culture.  The tool “Google Correlate” is actually a fascinating window into how people are searching for not only one specific term, but an entire web of other related (or maybe not-so-related) terms.

The political example given in the story was somewhat predicable (Democrats– veggie-loving, fitness buffs; Republicans– meat-loving, weight-loss program participants), but my own searches turned up some interesting results on Google Correlate.  I am just starting work on a new website redesign for a well-known business school and was wondering what kind of associations I’d find if using terms related to that school (thinking I might be able to use this information with regard to site design and features).  Here’s the terms I tried:

• business school– while many of the U.S.’s top business schools are listed, I was surprised to see the appearance of “art schools” and “art colleges” as correlating terms.  Wonder if my client has considered cross-promotion with this demographic?  Could a more “artsy” site design have benefits in this area?
• management school– like the “art” association listed above, I was suprized to find “hospital association” as a correlation with “management school.”  Perhaps another marketing opportunity here?  Would a site feature that included possible hospital careers be helpful to these visitors?
• mba school– oddly, this was a much more common search term in Utah than any other state.  Not sure how we can leverage this, but I’m sure we’ll bat it around for a while!

Also, don’t miss the comic book on the Google Correlate site – fun!  The most important point that the comic book emphasizes and bears repeating here– “Remember:  Correlation is not causation.”  Google doesn’t attempt to explain the correlation between terms, just show it to us in a manner for us to interpret and leverage.  Happy correlating!

Flash is officially not being supported on mobile devices anymore. It’s a good thing for performance and battery life. It also opens up the door for more interesting ways of introducing techniques and effects to your audience.

So, that brings up the question on what people and clients ask. Should we update our site to be mobile friendly? In a short answer yes for the best reach of audience. The amount of people using mobile devices is growing and continues to do so at an astounding rate.

Here at Beacon, we have a team of professionals that can update your Flash site or Flash elements with cross browser and mobile device friendly code. Your site will feel more refined and can even be implemented to work with our great Cascade Server (CMS system). Staying ahead of the curve and keeping your site fresh will keep the visitors and customers coming back for more.

I had a hard time finding an answer for this today and thought I’d share the solution. Please see the original article I found that helped me link to original article. My code did turn out to be slightly different given the positioning of the Google +1 in the footer of the Beacon main site but it was based on the code in Danny’s article.


First I needed to find an icon like the one requested. Here are a few more options on where to find good icons:

• IconFinder – I was unable to use the version from here but they do have others
• wplift – I was able to find a good version here
• Designrfix – I found this after but it looked like a good selection

Now on to the code. I used Googles customize your +1 button to get the google parts of the code I needed.

I first placed this part of the code in the head of the document

<script type="text/javascript">
(function() {
var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true;
po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);
})();
</script>

Then I took Danny’s HTML code and changed it up a bit to include my unique URL and placed it where I wanted it on the HTML page

<div class="googleplus">
<div class="googlehider">
<div class="g-plusone" data-annotation="none" data-href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112352004720495408285/"></div>
</div>
<img src="images/googleplus.png" class="mygoogle" />
</div>

Lastly I took Danny’s CSS code and also changed it up a bit so that it worked in the footer of the main Beacon site.

.googleplus {position: relative; display:block; float:left; padding-right:5px; width: 35px; height: 35px;}
.googlehider {opacity:0; height:35px; width:35px; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; z-index:3; visibility: hidden;}
.mygoogle {position:absolute; top:0; left:0; z-index:2; top:1px;}

Here at beacon I am a Developer. I have always wanted to be some type of artist but as I grew up found that my technical and problem solving skills for code and programming well outweighed my artist skills. I do however still like to try and learn as much as I can and see if I can get better with practice. I was really struggling with doing things you would normally do in Photoshop in Illustrator. Not that I know what to add or where to add it but I was failing before I even reached that point because I didn’t know how to. Our new Designer Jennifer Calogero sent me a link to some tutorials that really helped me learn to accomplish these things. Seeing them and actually accomplishing them are two very different things and I think for me I actually have to do it step by step to get a feel for what I am doing. After the tutorials I definitely feel more confident in my ability to add some of these small but very important details in illustrator. I have attached my end product after playing around with a few of the items and I encourage anyone learning Illustrator to actually go do some of these tutorials as well.

The article is located at: http://vectips.com/tutorials/creating-seamless-textures/

You can download my ai file by clicking here. Please note I played around with settings after doing each tutorial so the results are not exact.

According to new research from HTTP Archive, which regularly scans the internet’s most popular destinations, the average size of a single web page is now 965 kilobytes (KB), up more than 30% from last year’s average of 702KB.

This rapid growth is fairly normal for the internet — the average web page was 14KB in 1995, 93KB by 2003, and 300KB in 2008 — but by burrowing a little deeper into HTTP Archive’s recent data, we can discern some interesting trends. Between 2010 and 2011, the average amount of Flash content downloaded stayed exactly the same — 90KB — but JavaScript experienced massive growth from 113KB to 172KB. The amount of HTML, CSS, and images on websites also showed a significant increase year over year.

There is absolutely no doubt that these trends are attributable to the death throes of Flash and the white knight, if-only-the-internet-was-a-damsel-in-distress emergence of HTML5 and its open web cohorts. It’s curious that the amount of Flash content hasn’t shrunk, though, which suggests that this year’s 33% increase in web page size is mostly down to a significant increase in website complexity and functionality, and not some kind of wholesale shift from Flash to HTML5.

The only real problem with the data is that HTTP Archive only began operating in October 2010 — and so there’s no way to find out the long time growth (or decline) of Flash. HTTP Archive, incidentally, constantly scans 16,000 websites — a list that was cobbled together from sources like Alexa and Fortune 500 — and records the total data downloaded, the number of individual HTTP requests required to fetch all of the content, the size of the JavaScript, Flash, and image content, and a bunch of other metrics. If you’re wondering about the odd spike towards the end, that’s where HTTP Archive increased its sample size from 16,000 to 50,000 — so presumably, the web’s top sites are smaller (or better written?) than the dregs.

So, what’s the actual significance of web pages that are almost 1MB in size? Not a whole lot, when you consider that caching will reduce that amount by 70 or 80% — and the more important statistic, at least as far as latency and rendering times are concerned, “total requests,” only increased from 74 to 85 over the last year (and again, caching will reduce that by 70% or more). One valid concern is mobile 3G and 4G surfers, where carrier data caps certainly haven’t increased by 33% over the last year — but even then, many popular sites have mobile versions that use significantly less than 1MB, and again, caching!

We would now expect the size of web pages to slow down a little, too. 2011 will have been the year in which many developers switched from Flash (or other technologies) to HTML5, and it’s unlikely that their first attempts will have been all that optimized. In 2012, JavaScript libraries will be refined, and cleaner ways of using CSS and HTML will be popularized. Even so, expect more mobile offerings that compress data, like Amazon Silk and Opera Mobile, to emerge as well.

“Nothing to Excess” -carved into the front of the temple at Delphi.

Without getting too geeky, the golden mean or golden ratio is simply a mathematical formula that dictates proportions that are found throughout the natural world and believed to be the foundation of what we find to be aesthetically pleasing. Many artists, sculptors and architects since before the Renaissance have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio. From the leaf of a fern spiral and its relationship to the other leaves on that same curved stem, to the arms of a spiral galaxy, these proportions can be found everywhere.

Thinking Out of the Box

In web design we are often limited by the use of boxes or box shaped areas that become containers for information, but that does not mean that the placement and proportions of these boxes can not utilize the mathematics that so greatly influence the harmony and balance of organic shapes. The functional structure of data is the king of everything in web design, but all of the header, sidebar, footer and main content areas can be laid out in a way the embraces the golden mean and detailed with graphics that have some semblance of the visually captivating, organic detailing of the natural world.

Symmetry Can be Boring

There is a time a place for symmetrical design. Sometimes it is the best way to wrangle in unruly content (an even number of columns in uniform widths, for example), but often times it is not the most visually interesting solution. A layout that is close to symmetrical (in that is doesn’t have a huge chunk of content on one side and then a slim cramped sidebar but instead maintains proportions closer to the golden ratio) will channel content in a way the provides a visual hierarchy. It is important that is not too out of balance yet is also not purely symmetrical.

Finding a Happy Medium

Creating captivating visuals doesn’t have to mean sacrificing functionality, and a data heavy site with a great deal of functionally does not necessarily have to be visually boring in order to be usable. With proper planning, a happy medium can be established that communicates information with a efficient hierarchy that allows the user to effectively engage with the content. You do not want overwhelmed users having to struggle to sort information on their own, but at the same time you do not want to bore them or not provide enough information. Nothing to excess; everything in moderation.

If you are looking for a design resource that helps you implement the golden mean into layouts check out the ever-famous 960 grid system – complete with Photoshop plugins.

We’re proud to announce the release of the Greensboro Housing Authority redesign!  As always, Beacon was right on-time with our deliverables, which is always our goal.  The client chose a soft launch date of December 1, 2011 because they wanted to show the new site to their Board of Directors at their annual meeting that day.

Their Web site was designed and constructed in-house several years ago, which meant that it was time for a completely new look.  The site also had content that was very out-of-date, so the client took it upon themselves to do a complete rewrite of the content, and restructure the site to be more intuitive.  Also, they wanted to get away from having to update the site by-hand using HTML, and wanted it in a content management system.  Finally, they wanted a new Web hosting partner.

Enter Beacon:

• We provided them with a brand-new graphical design;
• Developed it to display perfectly in multiple browsers;
• Implemented the new site into Cascade Server (content management system) to allow multiple users to update the content with an easy-to-use solution;
• Incorporated a new search feature;
• Imported approximately 60 pages of content, including 20 fact sheets about each of their properties;
• Transferred their Web site to a shared hosting package here at Beacon.

Several Beacon staff members made this project a success:

• Wendy:  Without much direction from the client, Wendy put together a design that they liked on the first try, which is phenomenal.
• Stephanie:  She was instrumental in getting the project off the ground, attending the initial meetings and providing meeting notes, the business requirements, and proposed site hierarchy.
• Zed:  He was thrown into the fire, as this was his first development project here.  He developed the front-end HTML/CSS/jQuery, and implemented the site into Cascade Server (which he picked up on very quickly), and entered most of the content.
• Tiffany:  Provided assistance and training to Zed.
• Justin:  Project Management and Cascade Server documentation & training.
• Beacon’s Technical Support Group (TSG):  And finally, no site hosting transfer is complete without the efforts of TSG, specifically Caleb and William, for setting up the hosting and troubleshooting some DNS issues over a weekend.

This is another high-quality design to add to our portfolio, and another non-profit site we can be proud of.   Thanks to everyone involved!

Before

After

Websites designs are always evolving and that’s a very good thing.It’s great for inspiration, engaging customers and can give a fresh new outlook on how the audience views your site.

The 3D effect is a great example in evolving designs. It helps give the illusion of depth to your site and when designed in a certain way can even be interactive and entertaining. There are some

It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve with the 3D effect. It could be for the site’s overall look or even enhance products visuals, that can give the customer a better feel for what they might purchase.

Some effects are drop shadows, 3D rotations, protruding banners, field of vision that has clear focus on an element in the foreground and another element blurred in the background, floating objects and color effects.

These are a few client sites from the Beacon team, that incorporate the 3D effect.

Protruding Banner
www.newbridgebank.com

Rotating Images
www.bassettfurniture.com/quality/explore-wood-furniture.asp

Field of Depth
www.framingham.edu/academics

With it’s constant stream of updated content and ever changing array of new tools that effect the way we interact with it, it’s entirely possible that nothing is more effected by visual trend than the Internet. That is why it becomes extremely important that your own website be influenced by and utilize these latest design trends but still maintain a timeless classic design that will stay fresh and relevant no matter which way the visual Internet trends sway.

Embrace Trends for the Details but Maintain Classics for the Foundation

For some time now the freshest designs have used subtle gradients and drop shadows to render 3D styling that help keep the site from looking too flat and static. Textures have also become increasingly important since they help break away from the typical cold sterile feel of flat computer graphics. Protruding title banners that break out of sidebar columns and non standard web fonts that are now possible are everywhere and making the Internet a more beautiful place, but all these things are good in moderation. Instead of running away with the latest design tools and splattering them across every portion of your site, using them in a subtle manner will actually make them more appreciated and will keep them from compromising foundational design that is vital to maintaining a look that stays fresh and usable over time.

Your Brand Must Stay at the Core

No matter what, your established visual identity and branding must influence every design aspect. If you have been representing your company with the same shade of green, sans-serif font and rounded mark for the past ten years, these visual elements can be carried over into your site layout. Green element can be added throughout the site to carry on the brand, creating a unified look and the same sans-serif font being used by your company can be utilized (especially with the @font-face capabilities of CSS3) in header and title tags throughout the site.

Functionality Above All Else

All of this doesn’t matter if usability is compromised. If the entire purpose of your site is to sell used books, having a search function that is buried at the bottom of your page will greatly compromise the user’s ability to successfully find the items they are searching for since it is the primary way content will be found on your site. A site like this could even put the search front and center with advanced search filters and gearing the design around this function while keeping product category menus close at hand. Your site should be as intuitive as possible, which basically means the user should be able to actually use the site without having to think too much about it.

Reflecting Back in Time to Understand Where We Are Headed

Possibly the best way to understand what designs will withstand that test of time and stay fresh and relevant for years to come is to look back at what has already withstood the test of time up until now. Neutral colors will always be dependable and clean fonts will always be readable, for example. The level of skill and care with which graphics are created really can make a difference, even seem to defy the limitations of technology if implemented in clever ways, just like a watch that is created with care by a skilled craftsman.