Uncharted Design

WordPress Pages in jQuery Accordion

October 12th, 2010

As usual I googled immensely to find someone doing it the way I thought it should be done, and didn’t find quite the right thing. I did find a good starting point from Wes Ray, jQuery Accordion for WordPress. There were a few features that weren’t working, and then some that I found necessary to add.

Integrating Galleria with WordPress

September 7th, 2010

This is a simple way to get this working, but in all my googling I didn’t come across a write-up. Here is how I got the beautiful jQuery Galleria to replace the default WordPress gallery. This is my ideal solution, and I am actively using it as a Photography CMS for a client’s portfolio.

Server-side PHP contact form with validation.

May 14th, 2010

The other day I needed a contact form. Simple task right?

After 4 hours of searching I adapted my own. As I see it, this is a proper contact form. Simple, server-side, great validation on the email, one page, and unobtrusive spam protection. The code is simple enough that you can modify it with a little php knowledge, and the css is only two lines.

My iPod Touch is my Laptop

January 7th, 2010

I was initially envious of my coworker’s iPhones. I had a Blackberry of the Pearl and Curve generation, and it was outclassed in every way. But then I heard about the iPod touch, and realized I could save about $600 per year (in data fees) by buying this $200 device and cutting off my data on the Blackberry. Now I’m not connected all the time mind you, which is sometimes frustrating, but I like to think it keeps me sharp.

THE 2010 CANTEEN AWARDS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

January 6th, 2010

Canteen Magazine is an online publication dedicated to finding artists who want to reveal their creativity, and then pair those insights with the best new work in fiction, poetry, art, and photography—all designed to look more like a fine art book than a dusty journal. They have just announced their 2010 awards contest for photography, in which you can win a web spot on amazing publisher Powerhouse Arena, as well as have your work displayed in Canteen‘s own magazine.

gold Create Your Own Simple Gold Texture

December 21st, 2009

The genius of Photoshop is that it helps you create something from (almost) nothing.  We’re going to look at how modern day alchemy works and create some sparkly gold that can be used for any number of purposes on printed projects. This will be a short and sweet tutorial that requires only a beginner’s knowledge of Photoshop.

rock the plugins WordPress Plugins we Often Use

December 10th, 2009

On every WordPress site we draft up, we’ll need to extend the basic functionality. It’s a great system, but it isn’t intended to provide a full website out of the box. We use these free plugins to kick it up a notch, hopefully you’ll find one of our magic bullets useful.

flickr for self promotion How to Promote Your Business on Flickr

December 7th, 2009

Promoting your online business to customers through social media is a great way to involve potential clients and associates in your work. While exploring these (usually) free avenues of creative marketing, don’t forget about flickr. While it’s not a waterfall of to-the-minute status updates, you can connect with others through groups, tags, and followings. Here is an excellent article with some useful tips on how to maximize the potential of your new free photogenic outlet.

Programs that make Working Remotely Easy

December 2nd, 2009

Drew and I live 2 1/2 hours apart as the plane flies, or 20 hours as the car drives. This means we need smooth communication, and the surrounding technology we’ve come to use is key to that.

craigslist for freelancers Spotting a Good Freelance job on Craigslist

December 1st, 2009

Craigslist has a wealth of big dreaming potential clients who all have the next big idea and want you to help them bring it to market. I will recount my experiences, as well as a few lessons I have learned.