AbsoluteB.com

I always try to stay on top of things, regardless of what it is. Whether it be related to design, development, Internet, technology, economy, gadgets or automotive, I just wanna know it all! It’s in this way that I first read the rumor that Apple was probably about to launch a new mouse, and this while I had just bought a wireless Mighty Mouse. Not wanting to be stuck with old tech, I rushed back to the Media Markt electronics store and returned it within the 2 week period in which this was allowed and got a full refund. Two months later, sure enough, Apple launched the Magic Mouse and though I have yet to pick one up, I’m glad I’m not stuck with the soooo 2009 Mighty Mouse.

Among the many news/social sites and blogs that I visit daily, even hourly, CNN.com is definitely one of them, and recently the International news network launched a new site, which I have to admit took some getting used to, but having spent some time on the new site, I found the user experience to be much leaner and cleaner than the previous design. Like all new sites and designs I come across, I looked at it analytically, wondering if there was anything I would have done differently or if there was anything I could maybe learn from their new, (I’m assuming) well thought through design. Then I came across an interesting article on Web Designer Depot . It described the new layout, design and usability of the site and brought up some interesting points. Some of which I agree with, others I don’t so much. None the less, I thought it was worth sharing! …read the rest of this entry »

I consider myself to be a versatile and flexible designer. Given the opportunity, I love designing from scratch and being allowed to create what I believe to be the most suitable, functional and most beautiful solution possible. On the other hand, I equally enjoy the challenge of taking strict project specifications and requirements and translating them into a product that a client and look at, experience and touch. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to work on both ends of the spectrum. While I had plenty of freedom designing for clients within NASCAR and Volvo Cars, I have had to follow strict guidelines while designing for clients including the Dutch Ministry of Justice and various Dutch municipal organizations. So when I’m asked about my style of design, I tend to find it difficult to convince people that I don’t really have a main style. Yesterday during my long drive back to Groningen from Den Haag, I gave this element of my skill base a lot of thought. …read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been pondering what the true value is of having a website’s code validated. I validate all of my projects and since releasing AbsoluteB, I naturally had the site’s XHTML and CSS code checked as well. Having fixed the few errors that there were, I then asked myself was Is it worth it? Was it necessary? And who cares? First of all, one thing I should point out about me is that I absolutely cannot stand showing off my site to someone, a moment when pride should flow over me as I hit the return key after typing the URL, expecting to see the design and layout I have worked on so hard, only to find that something isn’t right. Usually the person viewing my site with me doesn’t even notice, the detail is just that small because it really comes down to me being obsessively pixel perfect, but it’s there, and the fact that I know about it can eat me up inside. It is for this reason that I feel that validating code has it’s benefits. Having solid code gives that 99% chance that it will look the way you intended it on most browsers and platforms… most of the time, but these daysm that just isn’t the case. …read the rest of this entry »

As is generally the case with most web projects, announcing completion just means that you’re done with that particular phase of the project and that you can proceed on to the next; post project maintenance, bug fixing, etc. AbsoluteB was no different, though I have to say it could have been worse and I really shouldn’t even complain. The launch of AbsoluteB went really very smoothly with some minor cross browser/platform CSS issues which I partially blame on the fact that this was the very first project I completed on my just over two month old Macbook Pro. And of course I’ve done cross browser testing on past projects, but for a second I forgot about the usual suspect for compatibility issues; MS Internet Explorer (yikes). …read the rest of this entry »

AbsoluteB, in laymen’s terms, is all about me. It’s design was aimed purely at getting the answers out there to the question “who is Barry?”. But “who is Barry” can go two ways. On the one hand, I want to convey myself professionally; my work, my projects, my experimentation in design and development methods and techniques. AbsoluteB is that something that will be the initial proof of my abilities before I even get started; my foot through the door so to speak.

And then of course, there’s the other side of me; the person who’s a complete Volvo and automotive enthusiast (read nutcase), the person who’s addicted to Salsa (the dance not the chip dip), the person who has a strong passion for graphic design, the person who has only John Mayer songs in the top 20 of his iTunes most played playlist. Because lets be honest, these personal topics have as much influence on my work and my professional side as anything else. These are the things that inspire me and move me, at and away from work. This is the person, and these are the topics I want to share and get out there as well when asked “who is Barry”. …read the rest of this entry »

Welcome! It’s been a long time coming and it’s taken a lot of time and effort and many, many sleepless nights, but it’s finally completed, and not just that, its actually up and running! The new AbsoluteB.com is here and it’s live! Yaaay!

AbsoluteB isn’t a face lift of the previous version. This is a complete overhaul from the ground up! I started on blank sheet of paper and I’ve been back to the drawing board on several occasions just to get things right (technically this is AbsoluteB version 7.2 if I’m honest). Naturally the biggest obstacles for me involved deciding what direction to take this personal endeavor. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been attempting to to create a richer, faster and even move exciting designs than the last, and though I still try this in everything that I do, I must say that this version actually required me to take a few steps back from what I was used to. Rather, simple, clean and less BOOM where the initial ground rules of this project. …read the rest of this entry »