Author: Nick Pan

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4 Levels of CSS knowledge

I believe that there are milestones in a web designer’s pursuit of CSS mastering. Usually at early stages, some think that they are CSS gurus already, only to find out that there are alot more still to learn. I think there are 4 levels and each level in itself will take weeks / months to master.

1. Basic Appreciation

If you’ve never used CSS before, then having a basic understanding and appreciation of why people use CSS would be a real eye opener. Its almost like re-learning how to build websites all over again in a totally different way, so this means you will also need to change the way you plan and design.

CSS Introduction at w3schools.com is one good place to start. Also if you wanna read about why learn CSS at all, you might want to read the book that changed the web design industry, the very famous Designing With Web Standards by Jeffery Zeldman.

2. Styling Items

To style an item using CSS is the easiest part. Adding color, padding, etc. all these are the most basic.

A good tool would be css-ref.com.

3. Styling a Page

Now things start getting tricky when you use CSS to control layout. The main thing would be to stop using tables for layout as tables are meant to display data or information.

The one confusing item you would hit would definitely be the floats and clears.

The one website that helped me understand this best is Russ Weakley’s Floatutorial.

4. Styling a Site

If you already know how to style items and layouts, then styling a full site might still be challenging.

The normal problem faced is that ID and CLASS declarations are not well planned, hence causing alot of unnecessary declarations.

Also common items (eg. content container, content highlights, etc) should use the same the HTML structure, but when these items appear in different sections, pages or even templates, they should still have the flexibility to look different.

I found Mollio to be a very good reference to how a site can plan its XHTML structure and CSS declarations.

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Jennifer Chung – Common, Simple, Beautiful

Don’t you agree
When they all say
“Home is where the heart is.”
But do you see
With every step that you take,
You get further away
From where the heart is.

It’s so easy to be blinded
& caught up in the clouds where everything’s in a haze
Causing you to forget about the days,
Of the common, simple, beautiful ways.

I remember all the times that I had spent with my friends.
Taking BART to San Francisco just for 350 cents.
Talking, laughing, joking – didn’t quite k now what was to come.
Years of memories, irreplaceable fun.

I remember telling mom that I’d make her proud one day.
She would smile and knew exactly all the right things to say.
Man, I miss her & can’t wait till I get back to the bay.
Back to the common, simple, beautiful ways.

Isn’t it nice,
To simply know,
There’s somewhere you can go back to.
So it’s a big sacrifice
Everytime that you decide
You can’t even if you want to.

It’s so easy to be blinded
& caught up in the clouds where everything’s in a haze
Causing you to forget about the days,
Of the common, simple, beautiful ways.

I remember all the times that I had spent with my friends.
Taking BART to San Francisco just for 350 cents.
Talking, laughing, joking – didn’t quite know what was to come.
Years of memories, irreplaceable fun.

I remember telling mom that I’d make her proud one day.
She would smile and knew exactly all the right things to say.
Man, I miss her & can’t wait till I get back to the bay.
Back to the common, simple, beautiful ways.

So even though,
I am happy now,
I’ll never forget where I’m from & how I came to be.

What was common, ended up to be
A very unique treasure I have now decided to keep.

I remember all the times that I had spent with my friends.
Taking BART to San Francisco just for 350 cents.
Talking, laughing, joking – didn’t quite k now what was to come.
Years of memories, irreplaceable fun.

I remember telling mom that I’d make her proud one day.
She would smile and knew exactly all the right things to say.
Man, I miss her & can’t wait till I get back to the bay.
Back to the common, simple, beautiful ways

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Are we ourselves

We all take things for granted.

We all want more.

We all want better.

Did we stop and think for a moment… the people that we should be caring about, the people that we care about, the people that care.

At what point does others come before self.

At what point does a day become life.

At what point do we say we are sorry, hug and do not need words to commnicate.

Did we stop and think for a moment… whats holding us back…

Do we expect from others.

Do we feel others are expecting something.

Do we feel tired because there are expectaions.

Are we ourselves.

Are we comfortable being ourselves.

Are we ourselves.

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Hong Kong 2008

This is the first time Clié and Cleo are taking a plane and they are very excited obviously. We had to wake up at 3:30am as our flight is around sunrise. Although its so early, the girls were clearly very awake and eager to get to Hong Kong Disneyland.

The first time both Clié and Cleo taking a flight. They were so so excited.
Their first flight.
Arriving at Hong Kong Disneyland. The kids can't get any happier.
Arriving at Hong Kong Disneyland. The kids could not get any more happier.
The tickets looked amazing. Micky Cleo, Minnie Clié, Goofy Dad, Donald Mommy.
The tickets looked amazing. Micky Cleo, Minnie Clié, Goofy Dad, Donald Mommy.
There was a huge Christmas tree that welcomed visitors.
There was a huge Christmas tree that welcomed visitors.
Thepans at Hong Kong Disneyland! This has got to be the cutest family photo yet.
Thepans at Hong Kong Disneyland! This has got to be the cutest family photo yet.
Snow White really looks like Snow White. It feels like the animation came alive.
Snow White really looks like Snow White. It feels like the animation came alive.
To infinity and beyond!! Cleo do like toy story, but generally the whole princess thing is more important to them now, so not too excited about Buzz.
To infinity and beyond!! Cleo do like toy story, but generally the whole princess thing is more important to them now, so not too excited about Buzz.
They look really cartoony.
They look really cartoony.
We waited 45mins to take this photo. But hey, this IS Disneyland... so we waited patiently.
We waited 45mins to take this photo. But hey, this IS Disneyland… so we waited patiently.
The 3D show was fantastic. Cleo jolted in her seat many times as things flew her way. Got to be the best show.
The 3D show was fantastic. Cleo jolted in her seat many times as things flew her way. Got to be the best show.
At night, the castle was nicely lighted up. So so celebrative.
At night, the castle was nicely lighted up. So romantic.
The princess ball performance came with some nice fireworks.
The princess ball performance came with some nice fireworks.
Everynight, there will be a fireworks display, so we waited for it and our wait paid off. Its really nice.
Everynight, there will be a fireworks display, so we waited for it and our wait paid off. Its really nice, but Cleo did not like it due to the loud sounds.
Breafast was Disney themed and the kids had great fun. They did not eat alot though, but Pearl and I totally enjoyed breakfast.
Breafast was Disney themed and the kids had great fun. They did not eat alot though, but Pearl and I totally enjoyed breakfast.
We took the train out to a nearby outlet mall and our feets were all tired from all the walking.
We took the train out to a nearby outlet mall and our feets were all tired from all the walking.
Cleo was excited as we started our half day Hong Kong tour. It was generally nice, but the places that they brought us to buy stuff were really not fun.
Cleo was excited as we started our half day Hong Kong tour. It was generally nice, but the places that they brought us to buy stuff were really not fun.
One of the nicest place to live in Hong Kong would be Repulse Bay. Apparently alot of famous people live there.
One of the nicest place to live in Hong Kong would be Repulse Bay. Apparently alot of famous people live there.
The girls loved the beautiful environment.
The girls loved the beautiful environment.
The girls all wanted daddy to carry them, but Clié walked all the way. We went to Times Square, but did not go in, but instead walked around the smaller shops nearby.
The girls all wanted daddy to carry them, but Clié walked all the way. We went to Times Square, but did not go in, but instead walked around the smaller shops nearby.
Can clearly see they are having loads of fun. This is when we started the morning, by mid afternoon, they were all tired.
Can clearly see they are having loads of fun. This is when we started the morning, by mid afternoon, they were all tired.
Clié is tired. You can see from her face. But she knows she have got to walk on and she did. So so proud of her.
Clié is tired. You can see from her face. But she knows she have got to walk on and she did. So so proud of her.
The Mr and Mrs characters were so colourful and Cleo stopped to look at them. She is so so cute here.
The Mr and Mrs characters were so colourful and Cleo stopped to look at them. She is so so cute here.
We did go to the Ladies market at Mong Kok and did not buy much. But it was an experience for the kids anyway.
We did go to the Ladies market at Mong Kok and did not buy much. But it was an experience for the kids anyway.
They walk until tired already, so stopped to share some M&Ms. They look so sisterly here.
They walk until tired already, so stopped to share some M&Ms. They look so sisterly here.
With out Leo, Pearl and I would not have met and we would not have our kids. So when in Hong Kong, we had to meet up with our good friends Leo and Fiona. Fiona is now expecting a girl, we are looking forward for them to become parents.
With out Leo, Pearl and I would not have met and we would not have our kids. So when in Hong Kong, we had to meet up with our good friends Leo and Fiona. Fiona is now expecting a girl, we are looking forward for them to become parents.

For more photos, pls check out my Facebook photos below.

Day 1 and 2

Day 3, 4 and 5

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The Designer, Graphic Designer & the Web Designer

I work with designers all the time and i do find that within the design field, there is a huge difference in skill when it comes to designing. They all seem to possess the same skill set. Photoshop, aestethics appreciation, coming up worth something from nothing, etc. but working with so many different types of designers, I find that there are 3 types in the web design playing field.

  • The Designer – this person executes and takes instructions, can take the long hours and can make a piece of 2D surface look good.
  • The Graphic Designer – this person creates something from nothing and has the ability to fill up any empty space or make something absolutely boring look interesting.
  • The Web Designer – this person does not just design in 2D and considers issues such as interactivity, usability, consistency, scalability, etc.

Being in the web design field, I sometimes get frustrated when web designers behave like a Designer or a Graphic Designer. When a design is done and approve, then somewhere in the development cycle, certain design elements can’t work. Its not just a matter of experience, but also if the person is truly a Web Designer or not.

So if you are a designer, what are you?