David Bushell is a website designer and front-end developer. He blogs regularly at dbushell.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @dbushell.
Welcome to the archived xheight — a collaborative blog that ran throughout 2011. This blog with see no further updates, but it will remain online and accessible in its preserved form. If this is your first visit I’m sure you’ll find something interesting to read. xheight started with no particular agenda other than to provide [...]
Hello Two Thousand and Twelve! xheight is back and this year I’ll make sure it will be better than ever! Funny how often we make resolutions. It’s either that, or quip about how arbitrary a “date” really is. A condescending laugh at those who endeavour, or an unwitting admittance of no ambition, I wonder? For me at least, [...]
I have ideas. They appear at random and I try to write them down before I forget. I like to think the difference between an idea and a thought is that an idea is often followed by a refreshing sense of relief. It always seems like the most exhilarating ideas are the hardest to pen down. [...]
A lot of people get nostalgic when faced with the often intrusive evolution of technology. Partly it’s down to our willingness and ability to change; our adaptiveness. New things can be overwhelming, too complex to justify upgrading from the current norm. I often find myself saying “What does this solve? I don’t have a problem [...]
It’s a quiet Sunday morning and I’ve found myself thinking. Dangerous in itself I know, but the question that’s cranking my brain into motion this lovely sunny morning is on a whole new level: “Should web designers know how to code?” Boy, has that one caused debate in the web design community. It rises its [...]
Welcome to the new xheight. If you’re a first time visitor or just not very observant, the “old” site was much the same as this except it sported the excellent Information Architects iA³ WordPress theme (what a design to match!) Spurred on by exceptional community feedback since launch — and as a thank you to all authors and commenters — [...]
The most significant technological advancement of our lifetime (and perhaps of all time) is the Internet. It connects the world and transcends political boundaries. Some praise its freedom, others call for regulation — whatever your views it’s impossible to ignore. In our small corner we discuss design. Why are we doing this? We’re not exactly saving [...]
We have many platforms online to share our design work. Is sharing really self promotion though? You can get your work out there in a controlled space like a personal website, or in more social arenas like LoveDsgn or Dribbble, but how many viewers remember who you are? They see and love your design—maybe even like [...]
Take a virtual stroll through the online design galleries–the ‘inspirational’ curated showcases and the user-generated ‘portfolio’ sites–and you’ll see as vast amount of creative output. It will wow you, tire you, inspire you and frustrate you, but, what else will it do? When I see trends emerge I ask myself: what triggered the sudden influx [...]
Have you every said or thought “I’m too busy”? Or perhaps, “I don’t have the time”? Have you had a great idea only to get put off for fear you’ll never complete it, or it’ll be too difficult? I say: find the time. Think about a time that you said “no” to a request based [...]