interactive base to work on

Been thinking about an interactive template for web design. The basic principal is to create a canvas containing thousands of tiled objects, could be pixels. All these objects are monitored. When the mouse passes over them their colour value increases.This would create a nice effect for the user.We can change areas of this so that the pixels behave differently in different areas. Perhaps their behavior is based on the proximity to something. Or perhaps different elements like the menu system have either different starting value or different calculations.

This way we can create a website, the graphics are all based on user interactions, and each time the page is visited the visitor will see something unique.

To do:

• Create objects which change when mouse goes over
• Tile a webpage with it
• Create areas within the webpage with different variables

Possible problems

I see that this initially might be processor intensive. This needs to be monitored and more effencient methods worked out.

Research

going to use jquery to animate the changes. 

Mouseover jquery here

HTML Colours here

Change colour values is easier with RGB or maybe HSV

drupal views link to another view

I have a view which shows a list of a content type. When the content is clicked I want to show another view of that content.

The reason is I want to make use of the css layout I've already made with a views slideshow, and I would like to duplicate it with another view of just one item.

I have found this question, which is answered linking to these places about arguments.

I worked it out in the end. Although I did have trouble to begin with because I got all the settings correct and it still didn't work. But on creating a new view with the same settings it worked. It might have been due to the url having several 'layers' to it.

Basically:

1. Sort out your page
2. add 'contextual filter'
1. I did a taxonimy term.
3. test out in preview panel.

which Content Management System to use?

What with all the new websites about these days, with constantly updating and interactive elements, it is too daunting to learn php or asp so why not use a content management system?

Well, I think I'll try some out and then I'll be more able to answer that question. I had a quick look around and found this informative blog, which gives a nice little list of free ones. Here are some of the most popular and nice looking, and almost most importantly, free:

• Joomla
• Drupal
• WordPress

I'll carry on here when I've had some playing about.


Well, I'm still having a good look at Joomla. Seems good but a little complicated when you first have a look at it. I'm finally getting there. Here's what the joomla site currently looks like.

I've just found this wiki which describes how to begin templating, which is ultimately how I will make the website. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but essentially all I'll have to get used to is using the special php references to put the content in. You then use CSS to style all the html you made in the template.

Whilst looking through the joomla wiki I found that it might be easier to start off editing the "beez" template, which they claim to be highly adaptable! Heres the wiki

Website creation for Nviro-Clean Solutions NCS

Tom asked me if I'd be interested and I jumped at the chance. His brother is just starting out and wants a nice clean coorporate website for the cleaning company. Mostly to advertise and make first contact with customers. Firstly a front page, then some more pages with info.

The company is very flexible set up into two main parts; Domestic and Commercial. It is setup to do business in the midlands, centred on Matlock. Tom has designed the logo which the website will work around.

I've jumped the gun and had some ideas. Based around the blog templates of having a blurred background, each page could have it's own background. So for the domestic some non-de-script clean home, and for commercial some offices. Perhaps for others we could have a commercial kitchen.

Perhaps to contrast the blur, we could some cleaning utilities in focus. Of-course this means some bespoke photography and the question of what products to show. Perhaps a silhouette of a vaccum cleaner and brush. Perhaps not the brush, a little old fashioned.

For the navigation nothing has really come to mind. Keep it simple and in line with the logo.

personal website design

A thought occurred to me about my own personal website design. I thought I could have everything I've made tiled in the background of the website. When you click on any of it, it would enlarge and play (if it was a video) with information about that piece. A lot like Johns website, but with the stuff in the background and with videos playing in the background.

I could even convert the videos to flash, but only small versions, and have them playing in a loop in the background, bringing the page to life. This could also be styled with CSS I think.