Do to my current contract, I am not at this time doing freelance websites for clients (although I could, if you are interested in what I can do for you please contact me using my contact link.). What should I learn now in case things change with the current employment situation?

It’s strategically smart to always be expanding one’s skill-set. Not only should it enhance your value to your present employer, you’re expanding your tools to increase your creativity. Further, your network should be growing with contacts of others that know of your abilities which should help your landing your feet on the ground if you are one of the unfortunate that are laid-off in difficult economic times.

ExpressionEngine®, Perch®

I am at a point with ExpressionEngine where I now feel comfortable. Although not super technically proficient I’ve done enough sites, interacted enough with their technical help that I have confidence to move forward with just about any project (this assumes my knowledge of XHTML & CSS). EE just plain ROCKS. Now though, comes CMS’s like Perch which raise the question - does the client just need a simple CMS or something more robust? Perch, initially at least, appears to be good for the non-blogging site. I have to qualify my opinion, I have not purchased a Perch license and am only going by what I’ve read on their site. Perch is recommended by some heavyweights in the CSS design field though.

WordPress®

Now WordPress® is a different animal… I need to know WP for those that want more of a blog rather than a site. There are seemingly enough themes out there (check out this rich resource at Nettuts Plus) that just about any need can be catered to.

So this appears to be an issue of not the virtue of one CMS or blogging platform over another but of something that I already have, yet only in rare quantity.

Time.

For the new web designer, background images may just mean a small tiled gif that repeats in the body tag. Little known with a newbie, at least with me when I broke into the web design world, is just how creative one can be with this handy CSS property; background-images: url(cool-pic.jpg);.

Whether designing for print or for web, the “problem” is precision. An ink is laid down precisely on paper, the surface is manufactured to either absorb a greater quantity or lesser dependent on non-coated or coated. In Web, one color declaration will be displayed the same for the amount of pixel square area specified. Now this is a good thing. We depend on this technology to accurately represent what we want, but the problem is that it doesn’t represent the comfortable, worn, uneven and discolored world that we live in. Designers aren’t responsible to replicate that (would be wrong in a Bauhaus theme for instance) but in some settings it is a real plus. What a relief, an ease on the eye to see worn edges, subtle changes in color, an uneventful entry box celebrated.

Another useful aspect of background images is that they don’t take up extra pixel space. In creating good vertical rhythm for instance, a border will bump your alignment off per how large the border is. Not so with a background image, just create a tiny gif and repeat the x distance.

Notice the background for this site. The pattern repeats in an uneventful gray yet one gets a sense of unevenness, possibly even fabric. In fact, your reading this article on this particular page, most every image making up this page is a background image.

The challenge is to keep the k size manageable so your page loads quickly, but that’s part of what makes a well designed site a great site too. So have fun and get creative.

I’ve come to appreciate the use of a grid in designing websites. This site was created with a grid following the golden proportion rule as well.

More to come.