Back to the roots
Ivan | Tue, 2005-09-13 14:23One of our readers complained to me in a private email that cb is becoming a Mac geek hangout and he misses the old days when we discussed more graphic design.
Well, I can't help it, I love my Mac. :) But, I also love graphic design and I think he has a point. So, I'm thinking to post more graphic design, creativity and general visual communication related posts besides the Mac geek posts. And hopefully some of my partner bloggers will join me in this effort.
But, here is what he wrote:
I discovered creative bits about a year ago and made a point of checking in daily. There was some great stuff: Photoshop tips, design techniques, links to great design articles. There's so much crap on the web but creative bits always had that wisened type of knowledge that comes with age. It was obvious they saw the bigger picture. Lets create great work. I was in love. You don't find that special thing often and when you do you have to grab it and hold it tight.
And than he told me cb isn't the same recently:
I love my Mac but I'm more interested in good design as I thought creativebits was.. So why has creativebits become more about Mac than being creative. I hate the Mac/PC debate, I hate the Imageready/Fireworks debate, I hate the Ipod/some other storage thingy debate. Will you ever go back to being about good design?
I'm happy to steer the boat to a different direction a bit if you say so. So, I'd like to know what you think. Are we too much Mac? Can we do with more graphic design or is it fine as it is?
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I'll try to make a point of more design things (lol, not that ive done many blogs)
I'll also try doing more webby things, with the CSS revolution upon us I guess it wouldnt hurt If i find something (or save it till css school arrives).
i agree the site is very mac heavy, I love it being mac heavy but I suppose its not really about creativity (we need a sister site for mac ivan ;) ;) ) . Good point made, and hope to take it on board.
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Online Portfolio - in progress
jammindesigns.com
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Goo
Since almost all the Mac-related posts still relate to design, I don't see any problem.
Keep on keepin' on you guys.
To understand where we are, one must understand where we came from and how we got here.
CB did indeed start out as a "Design" blog. Shortly after, Ivan invited me on board to post tips & tricks for design software, while he primarily focused more on "design" rather than "tools." The result was a pretty good mix. Even when we strayed away and covered OSX specific items, it almost always had a "design" or "tools" slant to it.
As time passed, I decided to pursue my own creative outlet, which is Creative Guy. I focus almost exclusively on software-related items as they pertain to the design industry. Ivan focused almost exclusively on design theories, and related items. It was actually a pretty smart idea because we both had total control over what we were truly interested in and how it was portrayed to our readers.
Shortly after the split, Ivan released CB2 which was a pretty drastic change for CB, as it was no longer a site provided FOR the readers, rather it was made a site provided primarily BY the readers. In other words, IT'S YOUR SITE.
While this makes for a great "community," it also alienates some readers who came here specifically for tips, tricks and design commentary (as the person who emailed Ivan stated). While some may think CB has strayed from its original intent, you can think of it more as CB grew and evolved.
CB is what you/we make it. Right now, it appears that people want "Mac" related topics. This could change at any moment, or it could not. I don't think Ivan wants to force it any direction, and I suspect that most readers don't want him to. One or two emails shouldn't drive the direction of this (or any) site, obviously nobody can please everyone all the time.
If my opinion counts for anything, I say leave it as it is.
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Visit The Graphic Mac for graphics and Mac OS tips, reviews, tutorials and discussion.
This is like saying, we had enough cowbell, and "I need more cowbell".
But while I agree on the various debates, I enjoy reading about all sorts of topics, not matter how 'off-topic' they may become.
As a suggestion, it might be a nice feature to discuss a site/product/etc re-design and get input from, well, us - something along the line that layers magazine (fromer macdesign) has done. I'd like to see how we'd individually like to implement a design strategy to achieve a goal.
Now this shouldn't include "brick-layer" jobs that the designer had very little creative input on, but projects that the deigner helped to steer to achieve a specific goal (unify PR materials, reinvent or improve logo, etc.) What do you think?
Yay, CB is back up!
Well I tend to agree with the person who emailed Ivan. Although this site has really got me to a point where I now want a Mac for myself, I think there needs to be more design content. There's too much Mac, and less design talk, so it seems.
If I may suggest, how about if you guys create a group or network of websites? You know how like there's the 9rules network, how about one where you have a mac related website, a design and conceptual ideas and chit-chat website, and a website full of tips and tricks and design software? Would make a cool little "creative" network I would've thought so. And since CB3 (I think) is in the pipeline, I think now would be a good time to maybe sort something which can please all.
By the way, everyone should take note of Jim's website (Creative Guy) as on there is a load of tips and tricks on design software. Worth a bookmark if not bookmarked already.
Peace out.
i don't mind the mac stuff as the 'peeps' here seem to say the pc shortcuts when ever necessary. but there just seems to be too much talk with widgets of late. this may have seemed a cause for 'mac-hype.' but i trust in all our good judgements this won't become a regular occurance.
sorry, my mind is imbued with lethargic logic
peace
As the more techy writer for CB, I would like to ask if people are interested in my next two articles:
1. MP3 encoding techniques and discussion (Will include subjects like DRM, VBR, Lame, iTunes, iPod etc).
2. PHP scripting and how to use PEAR to write simpler, better scripts. This would be aimed at deisgners who need a simple PHP script to deal with forms etc.
Could we have a poll ?
Will
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http://www.macscan.net/
Well as you know I am very interested in getting my teeth into PEAR as it seems to take a lot of the the labour intensive stuff out of PHP. Freeing me up to be more creative.
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http://mijlee.com
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Will, I don't know what PEAR means, but simple PHP sounds really something many of us will be interested in. Just make it very short. I can't take in too much at once. Think of us as you were to explain it to your mother. No offense.
I would say that even beginners should look into PEAR as it automates a lot of the functionality of PHP. For example Will helped me out with a registration system and the forms that he produced were automatically outputted using really simple PEAR code.
Something like this:
$form->addElement('radio','activation','Activation','Y','Y');
makes a radio button ready to patch in to a MySQL DB with some other code later on. Really want to learn more.
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http://mijlee.com
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I found CB about a year ago as well, googling something for Photoshop. I found the site and it had the exact solution I was looking for. I immediately began looking through all of the tips and tricks and CB became a daily website for me.
I still enjoy CB as much as I did then, but it has been dircted more towards Macs then Design. But as JimD said, we're the ones driving the site. We're the ones discussing software/apple/ipods.
I don't think there is any problem with CB right now, I wouldn't complain if more design tips/thoughts would begin to appear but all of this mac discussion is nowehre near enough to deter me to another site.
"If it aint broke, don't fix it!"
I think cb is good as it is right now, it just needs a bit more articles about design theory and advanced tecniques(mostly photoshop..) and some posts about webdesign(we all end needing some webdesign.). even I don't have a mac, i don't mind reading mac-related articles since I'm a huge fan of apple-world.
I don't mind reading some Mac stuff, but the reason I visit the site is for design stuff. Design articles/posts/discussions appeal to a wider audience. I'd rather the cb community be more inclusive than exclusive especially since the tool doesn't matter when it comes to creativity.
just my tuppence
Well, I just recently registered here, but I check the site daily.
Yes people, us non-Mac users burn with envy, most of recent tips are Mac-related.
More graphic design content would be good.
Same here, I check the site daily and prowl most of the forum topics and critiques even before I check my email. =) I feel that design should be incorporated more into the blog, I also visit CB primarily for design stuff. I particularly liked the articles on brainstorming and creativity. Those were the ones which got me hooked in the first place.
Hmm I'm not sure if I'm good enough but I may try to contribute. =) Still, CB is great stuff! Keep going Ivan!
I've felt the same way for a long time, but I wasn't gonna say anything. I'm glad someone did. I think one of the most important concepts in design is focus, something very much lacking in this site. I still visit semi-daily, mostly to check out the often wonderful Critique and Weblink sections, but I often find myself shaking my head, surprised at the randomness of the topics on the front page.
Tighten it up and I'll be happy again. :D