1. The header: This is the most definitive area of your blog/website… paying significant attention to this area and creatively creating a header area that effectively introduces the essence of your blog more often than not leads to a generally beautiful blog/website.  Simplicity is recommended.
2. Uniform sized images: The blog pages are characterized with lists of articles with accompanying images. Having uniformly sized images goes a long way in enhancing the general look and feel of the interface.
3. Clutter: Use a well spaced layout. Less Clutter = More Appeal. Nobody likes having to filter through tones of info to figure out what your blog/website is about.
4. Background image: Using a background image can destroy or breathe life to your blog/website. If you opt to use a background image, make sure it complements the color scheme of your website. There should also be a solid color area where your blog/website content can be placed without the background interfering. If you are unsure how to effectively create this, stick to a solid background color.
5. Color Scheme: The last thing you want to do is make your blog look like a rainbow. A palette of 2 – 4 colors usually does the trick; with 4 being an extreme. Let the images/pictures related to the articles do the remaining coloring.
6. Typeface: Choose fonts that area easy on the eye. Blogs are all about the content and using fancy fonts for the articles is a No-No! It puts a lot of strain on the reader and generally puts your blog on the “No-Read” list right next to bin laden. The fancy text can be used for Headers though.
7. Hire a professional: This is the most important tip of all. Blog owners are usually people with a flair for writing and are not usually the best graphics designers in the world. Engage a professional and share your ideas with him/her as a guide so the blog would truly reflect your conception.

ROUND 1

First we hit em with the html interface with sum flash animated intro…. got the challenger staggering, but after a while he regained composure and started attempting some jabs before we could do a signature drop kick the ref signals the end of round 1…

ROUND 2

Challenger wasted no time in stating intent that he means business and the response from the champ was all the more emphatic!

It took one swift move.. something like Kenshin Himora’s Hiten Mitsurugi style… there was a flash of light and the battle ended shortly after it started… and the challenger has been left bruised and battered.. a few breaths away from its last as can been seen here: www.battleoftheyearnigeria.com

well i was wondering the same and i set out to look for a solution. I have a favourite quote “Google is your friend”… and YES Google didnt let me down on this quest. Found a little script that does the magic!

Here’s how it works:

Open the page, group or event invitation window and instead of clicking individual thumbnails of your friends… insert the following code in the address bar:…

“javascript:elms=document.getElementById('friends').getElementsByTagName('li');for(var fid in elms){if(typeof elms[fid] === 'object'){fs.click(elms[fid]);}}"

…(without the quotes of course)..and press enter!

wow!… it works all contacts selected

Now CLICK INVITE!

Meanwhile you can suggest the 2digits facebook page to your friends that way in just one easy click

http://www.facebook.com/2Digits

well,… heres what came of it…

…and the client loved it

we rolling with option 3. …. watchout for the website.

And ladies and gentlemen that’s exactly what they did

The rest is now  history as www.skillsfuture.com is now graced with a new design. [applause] lol

Skillsfuture.com before surgery:

….And after surgery:

What do you think?

You can visit www.skillsfuture.com

As with all things in life… the baby has grown! 4 years down the line and all the initial attributes are retained but a vital ingredient was missing….”Maturity”. We set out trying to fuse that into the logo without any drastic change that would render it unrecognizable. The product of hours of design, review, delete and redesign can be seen in the refined logo.

“Not a lot of difference” you might say on first  glance… but if you look closely you would see where the maturity element comes to play.

Hoping this refined identity takes us far beyond the skies.

http://www.alienskin.com/eyecandy/

The guys at alien skin have loads of design plugins that come in handy… but by far the most practical & useful (to me at least) is the PERSPECTIVE SHADOW! it just adds a lovely touch of depth and perspective especially when object is placed in front of a carefully measured gradient and some simulation of light.

Example: The shadow on the silhouette

The plugin comes loaded with lots of options to control the shadow anyway you want!

Dont be restricted to the default Drop Shadow that ships with your design app… GET THIS PLUGIN!

2. Page curl pro – Fireworks & Photoshop

http://www.avbros.com/pagecurlpro/index.html

The name says it all… It creates stunning realistic paper curl effects. Another useful tool in your design arsenal.

And the interface…

3. Mask pro – Photoshop Only

http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=4

Every designer at one time or another has had to remove and object from the background. There are tons of ways to achieve this, but by far the neatest and need i say easiest way to do this so far is with this wonderful plugin.  it excels on all expectations! even the most tricky assignments can be done with ease. e.g. hair on a lady or any thin area that u normally would find difficult to lasso or use the magic wand on without getting unwanted pixels.

Well there you have it! the 2digits top 3 most used design plugins

Alas i digress… the main reason for this post is to get an opinion compilation from YOU, YOU and yes YOU!

In your time on the internet, checking out sites developed for Nigerian companies or Nigerian initiatives, which websites have given you the “WOW” or “OMG! ” feeling. kindly take a second to share in a comment on this post.

Feel free to share this post everywhere… facebook, twitter… everywhere! the more the merrier!

BTW: MERRY XMAS!

Cheers…

An initiative of Francis Oghuma (Qubestreet), developed from scratch by the Cameroonian  code guru Mambe Nanje (AfroVision Group). These two have formed an alliance called Show Ya Sef Africa. Africa are you ready?

To their credit Naija Born got approximately 2000 users from April till December. And in terms of content on the site, they have approximately:

• 11713 microposts
• 3000 pictures uploaded
• 1000 blog posts
• 200 songs uploaded
• 300 art works shared

With the next steps they are about to take i see these figures multiplying exponentially! Especially with the introduction of an intuitive invitation module and fine tuning of some already existing features.

So… Are you Naija Born? head on now to www.naijaborn.com and Show Ya Sef!

My verdict: Great initiative. it can only get better! I remember the first release of facebook. There is nothing in this class in the Nigerian and i dare say African Market. Just a few tweaks (interface and features) and BOOM! Some one give Mark Zuckerberg binoculars and say LOOK OUT FOR Naija Born!

Along comes VEDA. With just a glance at the slick logo, properly laid out website, innovative designs of their products and you start thinking… we just may have a product to be proud of and one that can fill a big void in the near future.

They have certainly started off on the right note. I noticed they are taking advantage of the social networks facebook and twitter. VEDA would certainly appeal to the youth with the great looking designs. They also seem to have placed quite some priority on support. And the icing on a rather yummy looking cake is the partnership with First Bank to provide customers flexible payment options… hmm..

My verdict: They have a product that can TAKEOVER NIGERIA. Its entirely up to them to create innovative marketing ideas that won’t just target thousands, but millions! And the owners should prepare to take big grins to the bank! Definitely one to look out for.

check out their website: http://veda.com.ng/