Lisa Forgan's Blog

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2010-03-06T21:31:00.001-07:00

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Educating Oneself To Grow

2010-01-17T15:11:00.004-07:00

It has been a while since I have written in my blog. Lots of changes have happened since the last post. I am moving forward in the web development end. I even took an opportunity to work for Wall Street on Demand. They are helping me grow more in the back-end web as well as deepening my front-end code in the development side. I am learning lots of advance javascript, jQuery, asp, asp.net, etc. I feel that it is important to share some of my education to fellow web developers, clients, and even those who are just following my posts.

But for now...
Please keep checking back to see what new skills are coming along the way.

8 Elements That Shouldn't Be Forgotten When Designing A Website

2009-10-09T20:16:00.004-06:00

There are 8 elements that many designers and developers forget to style or place into a website. Sometimes these elements go unnoticed for a period of time. The 8 elements that I will list and describe are in no particular order. It is important to understand from this list how to improve one's website and what is missing.

1. Favicon - Favicons are great at branding and identifying who you are. They not only take your branding a step further in solidifying it, but they are viewable through bookmarks and the search engines.

2. Using gradients, textures, and shadows - Greatly enhances your website by giving a depth and keep things from looking flat and boring. This helps keeps your website pleasing to the eye, appeal to your readers and entice new ones to check out your site.

3. Icons - Icons are often not styled into the site. You'll notice that many designers will just slap an icon onto the site and it may not feel as it is part of it. It is import by finding or making the right icon (or set of icons) to fluidly fit into your design.

4. Whitespace - You do not need to fill every inch of your screen with something. It is important to know how to balance space and not fill up. The key words to remember are "Less is More".

5. Alignment - People respond favorably to symmetry because it is easy to follow and read, and ensures that your elements are all in line. There are so many ways to be visually stimulating to those who will be interacting with your site. It is never wrong to be a little creative but remember that too much can be distracting and hard on the eyes.

6. Typography - Typography can make your site pretty and enhance the mood. It also gives headlines a way to stand out and grab reader’s attention to draw them in... makes it eye catching.

7. Emphasis - There are so many ways to make emphasis on text or objects. Such methods are bold, italics, colors, etc. Make sure that you take this into consideration and use it wisely to bring out the important information for users so it can stand out for them.

8. Styling Lists & Blockquotes - Bulleted Lists and Blockquotes are mostly forgotten and they are greatly used. By taking a few moments to style these elements it will ehance the look of the website and gives a sophisticated appeal.

I feel these 8 elements are a great starting point on enhancing a website. If you feel that your website is missing some appeal or styling, please contact me today.

Client's Websites

2009-09-01T14:07:00.009-06:00

I have been busy working on many projects. One of which, I'm proud to say, is now live on the internet.

Truitt Law Offices is a new website that I designed and developed. The client requested to have a site that had depth and unique appeal. They also stated that they wanted no photos of which felt to business oriented or contained business suites. This site has an expandable form and sitemap. Check back soon to see my website gallery updated.

Also, I'm am currently making more updates to Network Affiliates Legal website. They are adding expanding mini forms that can email directly to each staff member. The background is going to get a little face lift to add more contrast and appeal to the site. Keep checking back to see these changes.

Another website that I took over is The Atla Wage and Hour. It is a Drupal site that allows its members to search and find lawyers. This site is not yet live as it is the process of getting the client approval. I had to build out and style the website based on the composition that was designed by another designer. Check back soon as this site will soon be displayed and available for viewing.

Contact Lisa Forgan at silverfoxinteractive.com today to see how I can help enhance your site.

Updated Website

2009-07-19T21:00:00.008-06:00

SilverFox Interactive has just been updated. I have added a new page addition to SilverFox Interactive called Featured Updated Websites. On this page you will be able to view my updates and read a description of how and why I applied the updates to the clients' websites.

Also, I've added two new featured websites to my web gallery page.
You can view my very first Drupal (CMS) Website and learn about the specialties this site contains.

But, that isn't the only site that was added. Check out the new sites and rediscover what the knowledge of web is all about.

Have fun! If you have any questions about my web services, please contact me and I'll help you to the best I can.

Drupal Camp Colorado

2009-06-27T21:08:00.007-06:00

I'm so excited to be able to attend the Drupal Camp Colorado. It is a very important event pertaining to knowledge and skills dealing with Drupal.

What is Drupal Colorado?

First let me give you a very brief description of Drupal.

Drupal is a free program that lets users, such as individuals or a community to publish, organize and manage a wide variety of content on a website.

Drupal Camp Colorado is the region's largest gathering of people interested in Drupal that occurs yearly. The attending dates are June 27 and 28th. It is located at the Denver PPA Event Center and is an all day event for both days.

What does this mean for SilverFox Interactive?

Well, with training myself and getting hands-on-experience with my first Drupal Site Client (check back soon as I'll have a link and a new piece in my gallery once the site is finished), I'm able to communicate with highly experienced professional Drupal programmers and Designers. I am learning more efficient techniques and ways to implement better methods to improve my work-flow.

Naming a few of the seminars that are being taught:

Design Theming
Node Theming
Functional Design
Content Construction Kit and Views
WYSIWYG
Ubercart
Modules
Taxonomy
and more

If you are wanting more information about Drupal and if it may be suited for you, contact me today. We can discuss if you need a Drupal website, need a design for a Drupal site, theming a Drupal site, or wondering if you should approach Drupal or not. I will be able to help you.

Learning Drupal

2009-06-06T23:55:00.005-06:00

I am currently learning Drupal. So far I've been spending several hours a night teaching myself CMS (Drupal and theming). I have inherited a website in which I am now the Designer/Developer doing all the upkeep and maintenance. The site is purely Drupal and it is all customized. So far, I was able to find several problems in the theme template that the client is using and made some changes to enhance it.

This work and self teaching is very time consuming. In the long run, I will soon be able to do Drupal.

If you have any questions about Drupal or what it is, feel free to contact me.

SilverFox Interactive Redesign

2009-06-05T22:26:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited. I just finished my redesign of SilverFox Interactive. I added several new features to my site. I got an animated jQuery banner and also a small flash piece. I added a web services page...in here you'll find my specialties and what I do. Feel free to look around at the new and improved redesign. Please contact me if you have questions.

Getting A Facelift

2009-05-24T19:25:00.001-06:00

I guess it is time to start thinking how I can improve SilverFox Interactive. I feel that since I am growing more with knowledge, so should SilverFox. I need to show how I, Lisa Forgan, has become more than just a web designer... but a professional webmaster.

So, keep checking back and the new design may be up.

How Typography Can Improve Your Website

2009-05-07T14:58:00.009-06:00

A webmaster once told me "What separates a good website from the GREAT websites is the Typography."

Typography can change the mood of your website. It can also change the readability of the text and contents.

So What Is Typography?

Fonts - try to limit down to 3 main fonts.
Calls to Action - Fonts used here are to catch the eye of the viewer and make them take an action
Colors - important for readability and standing out from the content
Text Decoration - this occurs through bolding, italicizing texts, and also underlining
Animation - flash can also enhance your typographic detail by animation
Formatting - Left align, center align, or right align
Eye Tracking - this means how to separate your content with specific heading tags, bullet points, and also width of the column

No matter how you apply typography to your website, the key goal is consistency and to make it an easy read.

Click here for an example of how typography can be applied.

If you feel that your website's typography can be improved, please contact Lisa Forgan today.

Welcome

2009-05-04T09:36:00.005-06:00

Welcome to SilverFox Interactive. Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Lisa Forgan. I am a web designer and developer. Feel free to explore my website. Please let me know if you need a new website, a website redesign, or even updates. I will help you with my professional skills. If you have any questions contact me and I'll try to assist you to the best of my abilities.

I would like to use this blog to share a little more about what I do and who I am. It is not always just about websites but also building a relationship.

In this blog you may also find the new trends of today's websites and marketing techniques, educational topics, as well as understanding of what a web designer does and why.