Hot News Introducting 2010 The Blogger Template Designer

We’ve added a fair bit to Blogger over the years, but one thing that’s been constant for some time has been our collection of templates. While a number of talented designers around the web have offered their own fresh and interesting designs that you can apply to your Blogger blog, our stock set has grown a bit stale, and you’ve noticed. You let us know — in the forums, on Twitter, sitting next to us on airplanes, even from across the counter at a Harvard Square stationary store, and we’ve been listening.

Today we’re taking a big first step in improving not just our template designs, but all the ways that you can customize the look and layout of your blog. We even made a video with jaunty music to show it off:

Here’s what we’re launching today to Blogger in Draft:

• 15 new, highly-customizable templates from our design team, split into four families: Simple, Picture Window, Awesome Inc, and Watermark
• One-, two-, and three-column layouts for each template, with complete control over the size and arrangement of the columns
• Hundreds of background images and patterns from iStockphoto, the leading microstock image marketplace

Try it Now
Go to http://draft.blogger.com/ to log in to Blogger in Draft. (If you’ve never been there before, Blogger in Draft is just like regular Blogger, except with new, in-development features like this one.) Click on your blog’s “Layout” link to go to the Layout tab. The link to the Template Designer is at the end of the row of sub-tabs.

You can use the live preview to see your new template without affecting your blog. When you find a new look that you’re happy with, just click the “Apply to Blog” button to publish it to the world. Note: You can backup your existing template ahead of time by going to Layout > Edit HTML. We recommend this if you have a customized blog design that you might want to go back to.

Classic template blogs: If you have a “Template” link or tab instead of “Layout,” you’ll first need to switch from Classic to Layouts before you can try out the Template Designer. Go to Classic > Customize Design and follow the instructions there. You’ll need to switch to one of our old templates first, but then you’ll be able to use the Template Designer to pick a new one.

Tips from the Blogger Team

• Get your links to match a background image quickly by using the Background panel’s “Main color theme” to adjust all of your blog’s colors at once. This works particularly well with Simple’s second design.

• With a three-column footer, you can fit in several gadgets to interest your readers after they’re done reading your post. For inspiration, read Derek Powazek’s post, “Embrace your bottom!”

• If you’re using our new Pages feature, put the Page List gadget in the wide section at the top of your blog. We’ve added unique tab designs to all of the new templates.
• Many of the patterns in the background image picker are semi-transparent, to let your blog’s background color show through. Look for the “transparency page curl” to see which patterns these are.
• The Attribution gadget (added to the footer by all new templates) is there to give credit not just to the designer and artist of the background image, but to you as well. Edit its settings by clicking “Edit” on Layout > Page Elements to add your own authorship or copyright information.

Get Involved

• Show off your new design on Twitter by tweeting your blog’s URL with the hashtag #newbloggertemplate. We’ll be looking for creative designs to feature in upcoming blog posts or as Blogs of Note.
• We’re taking feature requests. Let us know what else you’d like to see with our Google Moderator page. (And don’t worry: uploading your own background image is already filed and at the top of our list!)
• To report bugs or discuss the Template Designer in more detail, start a thread on our discussion forum. Include “Template Designer” in the subject so we’ll be sure to see it.
• Do you design templates for Blogger? Join our template designer group for documentation and discussion on working with the new templates, as well as details on how to get your designs into the Template Designer.

Over the coming weeks and months we’ll be adding new features, templates, and images guided by the feedback we hear from you.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The Template Designer is not supported on Internet Explorer 6, nor, for that matter, are the new templates. While we’ve made an effort to ensure that they’ll still be readable, the new designs are not going to look particularly attractive on IE6. We strongly encourage the very small number of bloggers and readers still using IE6 to upgrade to a more modern browser. For more information about browsers, visit Google’s What Browser? site.
  
• The rounded corners and drop shadows used in several of the templates may not be visible in older versions of some browsers. Opera users will need to wait for Opera 10.5, currently in public pre-alpha release. IE7 and 8 users will not see these effects within the Template Designer, but will see most of them on the live blog itself.
• From within the Template Designer you can only move gadgets around, you can’t add, delete, or change their settings. Those features are still on the Layout > Page Elements page.
• Some gadgets, such as Poll, Reactions, or third-party Google Gadgets will not reflect color changes in the live preview but will after the template is applied. Others, such as Followers and AdSense, will not change colors automatically at all. It may be easiest to remove and re-add these gadgets to refresh their palettes, though you could also tweak the colors by hand by editing their settings.
• Customizations to widget templates will be cleared when applying a new template to preserve the new layout. If you have made changes to your widget templates, save them first by going to Layout > Edit HTML and clicking “Download Full Template.” You’ll be able to copy them back in as needed after you apply your new template.

Posted by Pete Hopkins

How to Become a Video Game Designer

One of the most exciting jobs out in the market today is video game designing. Many have the impression that it would take too much time and skills to accomplish this. Well reality check people...it does not! If you are into video games and love spending your leisure time (even your work time!), playing games then you have already passed the qualifying stages to becoming a video game designer. May it be for console, arcade, or PC; video game designing reaches all these platforms. Now, let me explain to you some of the basic principles to get you an idea of how to make this dream job work for you.

Throughout the years, games have evolved from the simple Atari and first generation Nintendo graphics to the complex 3D and multi level games of the present. There are just no limits to game designing these days. This multibillion-dollar industry is ballooning and encompassing other industries at a pace no one ever thought was possible. A major factor to this can be attributed to the gamers who are in their 20's and 30's and have never stopped picking up on the latest games and game platforms. Walk into any gaming shop and you will find adults mingling with kids to check out latest releases and try them out...together! So combined with the teenage market, this raving monster called the Gaming Industry is eating chunks out of the adult and teenage market today.

Need for video game design teams have increased dramatically because of this growth in the industry and the demand for better and more creative games by consumers. Therefore, the outlook for anyone trying to enter this industry is not bad at all. If you have the love and drive to create games then there is more than a lot of opportunities to do that. Become a video game designer and you could take part and even play a major role in producing legendary games such as Sims, Unreal tournament and Halo to name a few. Get a chance to team up with the best companies and game studios by becoming a video game designer. If there ever was a time to take that leap of faith and trust your gut instincts then it is now! A genuine love for games is one of the most important qualities a game designer must possess. For natural love for gaming spawns creativity and a drive to excel in producing games people will endear themselves to. You could even ask yourself a question. Why would I do a job that I do not have the talents and passion for? Now, if your answer is I am doing this because it is what I love to do, then you are the right man for this job.

This natural passion, even though very important, is only one of the aspects that makes a good video game designer. Companies who hire designers are also looking for someone with good problem solving skills and who is inhumanly patient. There are so many bugs and potential problems when designing a game that it could drive someone mad. These problems range from collision detection to making things look convincing animation-wise. Many of these complex problems need to be resolved quickly and with ingenuity. You should always strive to improve and to innovate the game at any point of the production. This can be profoundly stressful and take up huge amounts of your time even to the point of exhaustion but the rewards are more than worth it. The experience brings a completely new meaning to the phrase sleeping on the job!

Being a perfectionist is also a quality sought after by many of these gaming companies and studios. Making sure everything is up to the highest quality standards and done as efficiently as possible in as little time as possible are talents which are definitely sought after in this fast paced industry. Now, if you have all or even just some of these qualities then this job is just waiting for you out there... so go out and grab it.

So now, you are ready to proceed and create games huh? However, wait, you just cannot walk right into one of these companies and apply for this job if you do not have the skills! Knowledge about such things as graphic designing, computer animation and game development is necessary here. You need very specific training on these and other elements in order to be a certified video game designer. Below is a listing of where you can get the best training in these areas of expertise. With no further ado, here are some of the premier video game design schools you will need to enroll in to become a top video game designer.

International Academy of Design and Technology: The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication (Game Design) is designed to provide training in principles and techniques used to create interactive 2D and 3D computer games. Students can learn design software; modeling and animation skills, networking principles, level and world editors, and game engines used to design and develop games, and will examine market research and business concepts related to game production and distribution processes. Project management, creative design, and communication skills are integrated throughout this dynamic curriculum to help prepare students for entry-level positions in the game design industry.

DeVry University: Offers something more towards the programming end of things with their hot Game and Simulation Programming program. This should really get your feet nice and wet. Take it Online, or check out the various campus locations.

ITT Technical Institute: The ITT Technical Institutes offer a bachelor degree in Digital Entertainment and Game Design. Courses in this program offer a strong foundation in digital game design through the study of subjects such as gaming technology, game design process, animation, level design, and general education coursework. In addition, with over 85 locations nation-wide, there is a good chance that you can find a school near you.

The Art Institutes: At The Art Institutes, you will receive hands-on training from industry professionals, and you will build your portfolio.

The Art Institute Online: The Art Institute Online courses have been designed with extensive input from game-industry professionals and focus on the artistic side of games - not on computer programming. You will concentrate on the specifics needed as a professional game artist: Scene and set design, Motion capture, Character development, Visual storytelling, Game design strategies, 3D animation, Low-polygon modeling, Game level design, Texture mapping... In other words, a lot of the fun stuff.

Westwood College of Technology-Online: Strong creativity, design, computer, and problem solving skills are the keys for success in this exciting and growing field. With these specialized skills in mind, Westwood College has designed a Bachelor degree program in Game Art and Design.

Digital Media Arts College: Learn from industry experts from leading companies such as SEGA, ImageWorks, Disney, and more. They are one of the United States' most technologically equipped digital artist colleges. They have the tools and techniques to empower your creative career.

Digipen Institute of Technology: Located in Seattle, take the first step towards becoming a video game designer by learning computer science, computer engineering and fine arts degree programs related to the digital entertainment technology.

Best Suited For portofolios And business sites

A magic number was reached today: 100.000 template downloads from the three primary download locations (OSWD, OpenWebDesign.org and my own template page) since andreas01 was released in the end of July 2005. Huge thanks to everyone who has supported me during my first six months on the open source design scene, it has been a lot of fun and incredibly inspiring! And also a big apology to everyone of you who are still waiting for a reply to e-mails you have sent me during the past weeks. I've left much of the work behind during the holidays, but I will catch up with the mail in a few days.

One of the things I have planned for a long time that will be launched at the same time as the new design (tomorrow, always this tomorrow…) will be theme variations. Pre-created customized versions of the themes, based on common requests from users and other designers. For example, a lot of people have asked me for Swedish versions of my themes, so translations are ready to be released. And others have asked for wider versions of the WP-Andreas00 and WP-Andreas01 themes for WordPress, and I will provide that as well.

Each theme will get its own page, where all these custom versions (and other modifications) will be listed with direct download links. Want a light version of Daleri Dark? Or a 3-column version of 1024px? If the demand is big, I will create it and add it to the list.

What kind of variations would you like to see to the themes in the future? Let me know, your opinion matters! This will apply to the website templates as well so feel free to write in comments for those as well. But please keep in mind that the templates will take much longer time for me to create all those variations since I will have more than 20 templates to work with when the new ones are released…

To see one really beautiful example of what a modified theme can look like, you can visit the newly launched website of the Ã�jtte Museum here in Jokkmokk. The site is based on a wider version of WP-Andreas00 with a number of small changes – and translated to Swedish. It is probably the prettiest site I have seen using that design, the enlarged header and the large amounts of beutiful photos add a lot of value to the design…

By the way, does anyone have a good name suggestion for the next series of templates?

IIDA Foundation Announced Award Recipients

IIDA Foundation Announced Award Recipients
The Trustees of the IIDA Foundation announced the most recent recipients of the NCIDQ Tuition Reimbursement Fund and the Sustainable Design Education Fund.

The NCIDQ Tuition Reimbursement Fund offers IIDA Associate Members an opportunity to apply for financial assistance upon passing all three parts of the NCIDQ exam.

Thanks to the generosity of IIDA Members in the 2009 Designing for the Future Campaign, additional funds were allocated to this fund which made it possible to award reimbursements to seven individuals.

The Sustainable Design Education Fund was created to award tuition reimbursement to IIDA Professional and Associate Members who take and pass the LEED Accreditation Exam.

Tips to Create a Website in Minutes

To create website in minutes, now does that sound tempting to you? If it does then we would like to demonstrate you how latest internet technologies can boost up your overall business performance. You will be able to make a website in minutes with high-quality and low price.

There are a bunch of proposals on the internet, but not all of them will bring you the best result that you are looking for. With Site2you it’s a whole different story, all you need to is: a premium-quality template, ready to use texts, your original photos or images, corporate elements, a domain name, hosting space and a couple of minutes of your time.

Let’s say that you don’t have any specific software or special programming skills, but you still want to make website. Then the best choice for you would be to use an online site-builder Site2you.

For the sake of simplicity we have broken down the whole procedure into 3 simple steps that will fully allow you to comprehend how you would get that marvelous webpage.

Step number 1

You choose a template that is basically the foundation for your web child that has all the structures and layouts included. Then you edit its default items so it would correspond to your personal requirements. After that you change the name of the template to your company’s name and upload your logo. You can also play around with the replacement of some images and parts of information on the site texts. We have everything structured for you by certain subjects so you just need to replace the texts with your original ones or get the pre-written ones and change the company name and a few other things to make them match your corporate identity.

Step number 2

You choose the domain name which will be your web address where your clients will go to for information and to check out your website. If you build a website
with a virtual site-builder you don’t need to spend hours of your precious time in search of a good hosting company, since we will kindly upload all your information to the website from day one. All you need to do is to register or point your pre-registered domain name to your site and leave all the rest to our Support Team.

Step number 3

Set up your contact form and adjust it with your new email address. After that you are to test it and make sure that everything looks as good as you expected. Basically this is the final stage and at this point you can show the website you your business partners and clients, we are confident that the will be impressed by the result. As you with us you spend less time and your website and you achieve bigger results.

Site2you is always glad to help you no matter how fastidious you are about your webpage or what results you are expecting we will help you build website
that you will admire for a long time. Our Support team will help you with the design, programming and webmastering. All of this is performed at one fixed price, since we have a one standard package for all our services.

So if you are a beginner or a professional, or maybe you are just in search of a good site-builder, just visit us online at Site2you.com and you will receive the service you deserve.

10 tips of effective bloggers news and guide to make yourself a better blogger

There are tens of thousands of blogs out there, many of which will never make it past the initial stages of early bloghood. Sometimes this is just due to bad luck, harsh competition, and poor planning, but equally as likely is that the decline of these blogs is due to their owners’ poor management or inability to effectively maintain the site and communicate with their followers. To help ensure that you keep your blog active and popular, here are a few tips to make yourself a better blogger.

1. Go in with a Game Plan

So many bloggers begin with ideas of grandeur, but soon find that they have no real structure or organization for pushing their ideas forward. If you want to be a better blogger, go into blog ownership with a game plan. Lay out what you want to accomplish with your blog, where you want it to go, and what you want it to become, and then do it.

2. Follow the Golden Rule of Blogging

The Golden Rule of blogging is to “treat the visitors to your blog as you would want to be treated.” It’s as simple as that. Being respectful to your visitors, replying to their posts in a timely fashion, and making their visit as easy and effective as possible are important aspects to winning loyal followers. Unless your site is devoted to being rude and disrespectful, or acting this way is a part of your site’s mantra, it is important to remember the old adage, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

3. Communicate Properly

A large part of enforcing the Golden Rule is by understanding how to effectively communicate on your blog. Sure, you’re busy and you may not always have time to respond to every comment or question immediately, but by making your best effort to respond constructively to as many visitors as possible, you can help keep your site visits high and your word of mouth popularity spreading.

4. Look Ahead

With the blogosphere constantly changing, it’s important to keep your eyes on the road. Just keeping pace with the competition probably won’t win you that lion’s share of visitors for which you might be hoping. Being constantly on the lookout for the latest and greatest when it comes to the subject matter of your blog can help keep you at the forefront of your blog topic.

5. Don’t Lose Sight of the Goal

It can be difficult when you get into the meat of your blogging activities not to get lost in the monotony of posts, replies, and updating of information. It is important to keep your larger goals in mind, and not become stranded in the swampy bog of your blog’s menial, everyday operations.

6. Provide Reliable Information

Try to make a habit of posting only the best information related to your blog topic. By staying current and posting reliable information, you will hopefully build a loyal group of followers and the quality of your blog will bring people back time and again.

7. Be Devoted to Your Topic

While you don’t necessarily have to love your blog topic, it can certainly help to have a strong interest in the subjects upon which you write. By being devoted to your topic, you can increase the likelihood that your subject matter remains consistent as well as get more enjoyment out of spending time working on your blog.

8. Present Information Effectively

Clear, concise writing, with a proper balance of information and graphics, and an easy to navigate structure can help keep your blog popular. There is hardly a bigger turn off for those visiting your blog than to be lost in a jumble of text and poorly placed links and graphics.

9. Develop a Routine

While not every blogger needs a set schedule when it comes to updating and maintaining his or her blog or blogs, at times, having a routine can help keep you on track. Having some structure to your blogging activities can be especially helpful if you are maintaining more than one blog.

10. Persevere

Being a successful blogger probably won’t always be an easy path to travel. It will take time and effort to create your blog and build a following. Making it a habit to understand this and persevere through the hard times might just be what it takes to raise your blog above the competition.

Your Effective Habits

What are some of the habits you adhere to in order to make your blogging effective and successful?

Who Top web designers and web templates?

Many visitors are requesting the current design of this site in regular template format, and of course I will make it available not that I abandon the design myself. I am considering to make a WordPress theme version of it as well, since it is also a common request. But the customized theme version that I run on the site right now is not good at all, so I would have to build a new theme from scratch if I would provide a WP-theme version as well…

Regarding progress for the new design and new content: The music will go down now, and pages will be removed and reorganized. Sorry for the big mess that my site will be for a while, it will hopefully be worth it in the end.

I haven't decided what to do yet but I will probably release the template first, and if someone makes a good WordPress theme version of it within the first couple of days I can support that version rather than doing a theme version myself. If anyone would want to build an officially supported theme quickly, feel free to contact me to get the template version before the official release! If noone would want to build the theme, I will do it myself in a few days.

But I need a name for the template! Suggestions are very welcome, post a comment or write me an e-mail. Ideas and general feedback about naming templates are of course also welcome, as there will be more releases. It would probably be a bit silly to continue with andreas11 and up. Or would that work? Let me know what you think…