Posts by Bryan Hoffman
SVG & PNG Image Test
While I have yet to get my hands on either an iPad or Macbook Pro with a retina display, it’s clear that high resolution screens will be the standard in coming years. As such it’s imperative for designers to understand how to optimize images for these displays. The main technique being used so far is…
Read MoreWhat Template File am I Viewing?
When developing a custom theme I often find myself needing to know exactly what template WordPress is currently using to display the page. I used to simply write some dummy text directly into the file (usually ‘cha cha cha’ for some reason). That is until I came across this plugin in the Plugin repository: What…
Read MoreStrong Passwords are easy with 1Password
You know you should be using strong passwords for every account, but how are you supposed to remember them? And even if you did remember a strong password, would it be secure if you used it for every account? It’s time to stop thinking that managing strong, secure passwords is something you’ll get around to.…
Read MoreThere’s no F11 key for awesome website
A colleague of mine and I used say, there’s no F11 key for awesome design. This means good design takes work, and while your keyboard has a key for volume up, brightness, etc. – there’s no key for awesome design. And there’s no F11 key for awesome website either. Building, managing, and maintaining your own…
Read MoreGoodbye Posterous – Hello Self Hosted
Posterous, the free hosted blogging platform was recently acquired by Twitter (see the Posterous announcement here), and while they say the service will continue without disruption, WordPress.com has seen a 250% spike in Posterous imports – suggesting that users aren’t thinking the service will be around for the long haul. My guess is that it…
Read MorePermanently Show Library Folder in OS X Lion
Update:The tip below still works, but there’s a quicker option that I now use: Open a Finder window, then open the Go menu. While it’s open hold down the option key and the Library folder will appear. This is a quick tip for viewing the hidden (by default) User Library folder in OS X Lion.…
Read MoreThe Frog
A paper route was my very first job as a kid, starting in 6th grade. The thing I got up so early in the morning for? A 1/10 scale RC car called The Frog, by Tamiya. A couple of friends and I saved up for months to buy these cars (Eric had The Hornet, and…
Read MoreStay Organized with a Note Taking App
I’ve never been much of a Post-It note type, but I have gone through many Moleskine notebooks to jot down notes and ideas. And while I still enjoy pencil and paper for quick brainstorming or design concepting, they aren’t great for staying organized. Paging through a notebook to find some bit of information is a…
Read MoreTangerine Tango – Flylow Color of the Year
As a designer, Pantone’s annual announcement of their Color of the Year is usually just an interesting tidbit of information that, once digested, gets half heartedly tucked away in my brain. I’ve never used it as a basis for a design, and I can’t say I’ve ever seen it influence design trends in general. Until…
Read MoreOff the Grid is Off the Air
It was a short run, but Off the Grid is now kaputz. It was meant to be a place to write about life and adventure – kept separate from the design and web related posts I normally write about here on the Spigot blog. But it’s simply too much to keep up with both, plus…
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