Design is something that I’ve always found fascinating.

While some people (like the infamous Jakob Nielsen) tend to discount the importance of an aesthetically pleasing website, I feel that a good design is vital. The look and feel of a site will produce an emotional response. Obviously, this response will be associated with the product or service you are supplying. You have to make sure it is a good one.

Another reason I find design interesting is because it is not something that comes naturally to me. I’ve always had a somewhat analytical brain, nurtured through years of programming and geekyness. To compensate for this, I’ve read a lot on what makes a good design to try and understand how to make things look good.

One of the basic rules that many people just don’t get is the use of white or negative space.

Negative space is critical. Thankfully our favourite magazine, A List Apart, has an article that all web developers (and designers) should read. It illustrates the basics of white space and effectively demonstrates its importance.

Check it out.

Okay, I’m back online after a rather distressing week without the internet. You keep telling yourself that it’s okay and you could give it up at any time… And then the convulsions start.

Why would I put myself through this? For faster speeds of course. We have signed up with TPG for a nice ADSL2+ plan with VOIP.

Just a word if you are considering going with TPG: don’t. They are cheap but their service is poor and the contracts are nasty. I would have gone with Internode (no contract period), but the Toowong exchange is not enabled yet…

After getting back from the Christmas holidays our flatmate Peta showed us her Christmas present who will be sharing the flat with us.

It is a cute female rat by the name of “Splinter” (you will recognise the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference). Her cadge is in the middle of the living room so she really is an active member of the household.

Unfortunately she does tend to bite a little when backed into a corner, which is quite rare for rats. We put this down to a traumatic upbringing in the pet store living with the male rats. That brings up another concern, she may be pregnant. We have our fingers crossed that she isn’t, with a gestation period of about 3 weeks we should know pretty soon.

She is still quite young, a little bigger than an adult mouse; we expect her to grow to be at least 4 times her current size. We are hoping that as she matures she will become a little easier to handle and not so timid. I’m looking forward to having someone to keep me company while I type away at my desk, I’ll just have to make sure to remove any tasty electrical wires from easy rat access. I wonder if I could teach it PHP”¦.