Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Page sizes

• 800x600 is really 750x420 viewable
• 1024x768 is really 974x600 viewable
• the vertical measurement is the “fold”

Layout styles

• fixed
• fluid
• fixed + fluid

Backgrounds

• color
• think about how the page is set in the browser
• Are there are any backgrounds that repeat,
•  either horozontally, vertically, or both.
• image alignment
• image repeat

Alignment

• aligned left, center

Fonts

• resource: typetester.maratz.com
• nothing less than 10pt - anywhere
• define fallback fonts
• Safe sans fonts:
  • Arial
  • Verdana
  • Helvetica
• safe serif fonts:
  • Time New Roman
  • Times
  • Georgia
• safe fixed width fonts:
  • Courier
• image-based vs text-based nav
  • we can typically set top level nav in images (to accomodate non Web-safe fonts)
  • if possible, use a safe font,
  • if not possible, make it worth the extra development effort

photoshop

• always label layers
• always group layers using folders
• do NOT flatten layers
• always work in RGB - CMYK DOES NOT WORK
• when exporting comps:
  • number comps in order using 3 zeros
  • e.g. "001comp.jpg"