You can already tell something gorgeous is coming. Yes? Ohhhh, yes.
So, who is Bart-Jan Verhoef? Well, he’s a web designer totally in love with design. And from the look of his arresting website, he’s bathing in it I’d say.
So, what is Subdued.net? In his own words (without my added drool) …
It’s an online playground and scrapbook where Bart-Jan writes and publishes on the topic of design, web, and whatever else comes to mind. This site, being a personal outlet, is a place of experiment and exploration.
… recently featured in Web Designer magazine)
And he doesn’t just explore, he leads designers through his design process.
Design process - part 1: Introduction and environment. “Every so often a designer takes us into their kitchen to share their secret recipe. Step by step, they explain how they’ve designed a website, often including screenshots of the various stages. Apart from being educational, these types of articles trigger us to think about our own design process.”
Design process - part 2: Goals and audience. “Whether you’re designing a (commercial) website for a client or a personal site, like I am in this example, you will need to have some goals set beforehand, in order to know in which direction you’ll be going/what criteria your design should meet.”
Wait! There’s more coming …
3: Content, structure and wireframing
4: Design
5: Front- and back-end development
So be sure to add Subdued.net to your feeds for more!
What else can be found on Subdued.net? Well, the well worn look tutorial for starters (I plan on adding it to DWB after I stop adding the basics).
Make it worn: “In a series of three 3 articles I will guide you through the process of designing a worn looking website. I’ll cover the preparation of wireframes and resources, the process of adding texture and detail, and finally the blending of all elements in order to create a unified whole.”
Make it worn – part 1: preparation
Make it worn – part 2: Adding texture and detail
Part 3: On the way …
And what else warms me to this designer of the well worn look? Well, this does:
“PS: My English grammar might look even worse than usual, as my ‘ editor’ (aka my lovely girlfriend) is away for two months of historical research in the Caribbean (Yes, I am jealous too…). Feel free to correct my errors, I need it :).”
It’s always comforting to know when a blogger doesn’t mind getting a polite tip about a spelling snafu. Note: I sure wish someone would offer to correct my errors too (for sure).
And for the record, I’ll end with his unknown (to me) heroes found at Subdued.net: Damnengine, Eduardo Recife (check out those fonts), Information Architects Japan, Invisible Creature, Otterball, {Ths}, Wonderful Union.
So, was I right? Was I?
Technorati Tags: design, designer, process, tutorial, web design, well worn look, wireframes
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May 5th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Hey there, thanks a lot for the mention, and flattering words :).
May 5th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hey back. It was great to have you here. I can’t wait to try out your instructions on adding the worn look on DWB.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:27 am
You were indeed right, Cat. Bart’s an outstanding web designer, no doubt. Not only that, he’s incredibly understanding too, especially when certain people take too much ‘inspiration’ from him. We’ve been in touch with eachother in the past.
A very worthy addition to DWB.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Oh, that must have been tough for him! But people always copy the best and he’s certainly a fantastic designer.
I’ve noticed it’s always difficult with tutorials. Those following the lessons can almost believe what they’ve done is ‘theirs’.
So mine will have to be totally different from the start.
I’ve been dying to get some grunge / texture on DWB so it’s a must do. And with my new logo matching only in colour, I need to do something to pull the designs together.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I had a look at Bart’s site, and it definitely has that feeling of thought, integration, and execution. The site is very pleasant to look at, and it doesn’t give an uncomfortable feeling that less thought out designs do.
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May 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Absolutely. And when you check out his worn look tutorials, you can see how he thought through his design.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:41 am
I’ve admired Bart’s work for a while now; his blog design certainly is striking. I’m in love with anything worn, dirty, old, dingy. Such things always look as though they have a story to tell, you know? And this blog certainly does have a story to tell! And I love that he lets everyone in on how he goes about designing a site. It’s always very insightful to discover how other designers work.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I went through his tutorial yesterday. Now I need to run around gathering in samples of textures to see if I can make something of this design.
But the code, well, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull that off.
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May 7th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Thanks for all the kind words everyone! :)
Cat: I’ve coded the sample project I’ve been doing for the ‘ Make it worn’ tutorial. Not sure yet if that will be part of an article, but if you like you can take a look at those source files.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Oh, yes, please. I’d love to see how you’ve done them.
And good timing too.
This weekend I thought I’d run around and take texture photos to create my background and site design. My header is from the British Club, Bangkok (very old building) so might as well keep the a local theme.
And how you’ve coded them in will make difference to how I add the backgrounds (I’m guessing).
Thanks!