
👋 Oi, mga repapips, Brian Dys here! I love music, photography, and creative stuff like UX design and art. This is a place where I collect my thoughts and works. Apart all these, I’m Jaycelle’s better half and Bryce’s dad. 🥰
Our team in Chikka has officially joined Voyager Innovations!
Voyager Innovations, Inc. is part of First Pacific and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) focused on delivering disruptive innovations for the rapidly changing world.
In today’s world, the products we sell, how we do things, the way we are structured, the networks, systems and platforms that support us are all changing and evolving. Voyager Innovations, Inc. is the strategic response to the changing needs of the communities. We are an organization that is positioned for the future new business streams & evolving business models.
Make example of how simple a semantic markup can be made into a component.
Use Search for example.
While HTML adjusted for the use of fragmentation in content structure (e.g., Form label scattered across the place and only connected by ID’s and for attributes), as well as ARIA adopted to Web Components to provide meaning and semantics to its structure and free-wheeling use of elements.
We must not forget that even webapps can be deduced into a simple document, so as long as they provide human-readable information.
The ultimate test still is stripping off the presentation layer, diving deep into the interaction layer and presenting only the information to the user.
This is the simplest we can approach designing website and applications.
Thus, we must make an element.
I received a confirmation that HopScotch got approved in WordPress Themes Directory.
There are several blog entries in Design DriveThru about the practical application of HTML and CSS, simple ideas as well. In order to put these entries in a clearer light, there needs to be specific categories where they fall under. This will put things in context so that the reader would know to which extent the entry applies to him or her.
For example, as we talk about Notes on SASS File Structure, how does one try to absorb this concept? You might ask if this entry is important for you as a web or front-end designer. The answer can be made easier by categorizing the topics.
The first categories deal with a particular web concept as being either of the two:
Theory deals with general principles.
Theory is a contemplative and rational type of abstract or generalizing thinking, or the results of such thinking. Depending on the context, the results might for example include generalized explanations of how nature works.
Source: Wikipedia
An example of a theory is CSS Principles.
Technique on the other hand, deals with practical application.
A technique is a procedure to complete a task.
Source: Wikipedia
An example of Technique is Recreating Spotify’s Album Cover.
There could also be an entry with both Theory and Technique as its categories, for example: Using <body> to Define UI States and Types. This entry talks about principles and demonstrates how to apply it.
The second part of categories is about the web being generally split into two – it is either:
The latter is from The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett.
Web Documents deals mainly with information like Wikipedia or a WordPress blog. This is the primitive beginnings of HTML wherein information are linked to other information via anchor elements.
Web Applications deals mainly with services that foster activities and enable the users to accomplish specific tasks. Good examples range from Google Sheets to InVision.
This category set could be mutual like Flickr, for example – it is a webapp yet it deals with images and videos with rich information.
I would be using these categories to contextualize entries mostly discussing HTML because each web object, whether a simple web document or a webapp deals with HTML.
Hopefully this categorization technique will be useful in mapping the context of Front-End Design entries.
It’s coming together – the ultimate plan of Smart to wipe out the culture of Chikka. Well, it’s not deliberate I guess but that’s the effect of the new business direction that we’re headed. You should well know that recently, PLDT bought 10% of Rocket Internet. If you don’t know Rocket Internet, it’s the parent company of Voyager — just look at the similarity of their names and logos! Exploring the depths off this planet thru a rocket and stuff.
Just kidding. Rocket Internet is the biggest copycat there is on the face of the interwebs. But the good thing about it is that it brings internet products and services to developing markets like our country. If you ever got rescued by Easy Taxi during your morning commute towards a big boss meeting, you have Rocket Internet to thank for that. If you applauded Zalora or Lazada by their prompt delivery of that cat double bed you ordered, applaud Rocket Internet. We in this developing country need not wait for Amazon to cater to us – Rocket Internet’s business model is built this way. They will bring Amazon to our doorstep but in a different packaging under a different name. You may call it fakery, unoriginal, imitation — or class A if you may but what more can you ask for? They are serving us iPhone 6 just weeks after it was released in public. Otherwise, telcos will offer it a day before Apple releases yet a new version.
This is the reality that we’re in now, the business model of Rocket Internet is being adopted by Smart – putting Voyager in the place of Rocket Internet. Voyager will incubate ideas – a new one or an existing one and it will be spun into the hands of an “independent” company. In case you’ve noticed the quotation marks, you might have sensed my sarcasm. The independence of a company isn’t simply rooted to it’s differently-incorporated name. It’s not even in the effectiveness of it looking like it has sprung from bright ideas and hard work without any backing from big shots. It’s effectiveness lies behind its culture – it’s years and years of built-in traditions, values, and principles.
When a parent company suddenly barges in with all these new business directions, they would be like two giant feet trampling over ants mound. People and everything they built will be disturbed — some will run around like headless chickens. It will spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Sometimes C-H-A-N-G-E spells the same. But let me be clear — change is good especially for a very stagnant and antiquated product development company like Chikka. Development is best for everyone especially in the view of sustainability and progress. But the balance between upholding a company’s culture and introducing development to it is very delicate — tip one side over and you get a very people-centric company and tip the other side over, then walls come crashing down on them. In this situation Smart did it poorly. Two giant feet.
This is all about business but the people are a company’s greatest asset. Or are they?
I took a portrait using my DSLR. It produced an image with a 3:2 aspect ratio.
I went to a photo lab to have it printed.
Do I want it cropped? Hell, no.
I spent hours enhancing and editing it. Besides, I already cropped it to perfection in Photoshop.
No cropping? Then here are the only popular photo paper sizes that I could choose from:
The other sizes like 3.5×5 (3R), 5×7 (5R), 8×10 (8R) will crop my masterpiece.
So I had it printed on an 8×12 photo paper.
I went to the picture frames section of my favorite department store.
Only to find out that they are only selling these frame sizes (cue Psycho shower theme):
Now, do I end up snipping the printed photo to fit into an 8R frame?
No. I ended up buying a certificate frame with enough margin to fit my photo.
This age is digital age; this year is 2014 and it’s ending. Everyone has a digital camera in his or her pocket.
Most likely, the digital picture that one camera produces has either these aspect ratios:
Even a full frame film camera is in 3:2.
So why in the world are photo labs and picture frames still speaking in the language of 5Rs and 8Rs?
Photo papers and picture frames must cater to the popular aspect ratios.
Support 1:1 Instagram size if you must!