EtchUK

The Etch Pub Games is reaching a climactic head

After several weeks of Pool and Darts, the lead switching back and forth between the two teams, it has come down to the Darts final between Chris Laas and Stu Lanham. The winner will give his team the advantage going into the final round…the obligatory ‘Pub Quiz’…

Over the weeks it has once again became apparent that every member of the team has a competitive streak, wanting to do their best and win for their team. However, what also became pretty obvious is that Pool and Darts wasn’t for everyone…

South Coast Business Awards 2014

On Friday 11th July the Etch team where invited to the South Coast Business Awards at the Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton as a finalist in the Best Use of Technology category.

In its third year now and organised by the Daily Echo, the awards aim to reward the best in local business and recognise the achievements of companies and individuals across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Categories at the awards included Excellence Through Innovation, Small Business of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Commitment to Training and Education, Growth Business of the Year and Best Use of Technology…which Etch placed as finalists for our work with British Airways.

We would like to extend our congratulations to all the other winners and finalists, and watch out in 2015.

Illustrator vs Photoshop

Putting aside all my sharpened pitchforks for Adobe, the argument of flat vs vector based visuals is currently very relevant. Photoshop tends to be the tool of choice for a lot of creatives, but I am finding that Illustrator is much more complimentary to web than I previously thought.

When I was a junior designer I had the torture of making oddly sized Illustrator canvases into workable digital designs, whereas Photoshop artwork often came in nicely arranged grids and folders. Now I realise that Illustrator has remained relatively unchanged for a while, and that the capability to create web-friendly artwork has always existed. Even more so now that Illustrator is being preloaded with web-­friendly tools.

The most useful things for me include:

• Device size presets when creating a document/artboard
• Pasting in place across all artboards
• Symbols for common elements
• Super easy font editing and styles
• Saving views to “bookmark” areas of your design
• High ­fidelity graph creation using imports or raw data.

With Adobe dropping Fireworks, it seems to be introducing some web features into Illustrator as a way of making it a more all-­encompassing piece of software.

As I work extensively with both, here’s just a quick overview weighing up using one over the other.

Illustrator

Pros:

Vector based graphics

Creating responsive graphics is 100% easier, plus the added benefit of being able to export SVG graphics. I can also embed scaleable artwork (like logos) directly, and keep all my imagery looking super crisp across different digital resolutions and print formats when needed.

It’s quicker

Because file sizes are significantly smaller, it’s super quick to mock up, amend and back up files. Better mobility of assets means I can be more productive and it lends itself to iteration naturally.

Artboards

The ability to create, duplicate and uniquely size multiple artboards, plus paste common elements across all of them (i.e. headers), means better consistency and efficiency across all artwork. I can mock up responsive layouts in parallel, iterate quickly by duplicating, and have a whole journey designed in one view.

Compatibility

I can export any files I work with in Illustrator as SVGs and PDFs, with compatibility for most of my work going as far back as CS4. There is also wider software support for editing vector based graphics outside of Adobe then there is for PSDs.

Grouping and layering

In Illustrator you can group objects and edit that group by double­-clicking without compromising the assets around it. This is much easier than the linking functionality in Photoshop, and certainly more intuitive than folders.

Cons:

Learning curve for handover

This is probably the biggest blocker I have using Illustrator. Most of the team are used to slicing or editing in Photoshop, whilst having never opened an Illustrator file. A few workarounds include the option of being able to export to PSD from Illustrator (within a degree of accuracy), plus what looks like upcoming Illustrator support from Parfait.

Photoshop

Pros:

Less of a learning curve

Photoshop seems to have bred a lot of familiarity, and is therefore easier when you just need to hand over files without a great deal of pain.

More flexible for graphics creation

Using Illustrator to create textures or photo-­based graphics is pretty much impossible. If I need to create seamless patterns, compositions or manipulations, I still use Photoshop.

Cons:

Bloated file sizes

My PSDs tend to average out between 500MB up to 1GB. Sometimes this is just from embedding some branding assets, regardless of how simple the design. Files which include multiple page designs or style tiles can be even bigger, and worse still when I need to have many files open.

Messy layers

Photoshop is full of fussy layers, sometimes making it impossible to find visually linked objects unless they are organised neatly into folders. This compounded by the fact that all layers can have unique blending styles or filters which can be a pain to extract as an asset.

Inconsistent visuals

If a common element is updated in one artwork file, the only way to reflect those changes globally is to manually update every PSD in which it appears. Even updating via a single smart object has to be done file by file.

Bigger leap from graphics to code

Though this can vary, flat graphics are less conducive to web environments than vector based ones.

But which is better?

Personally, I never lock myself into one piece of software, and will play to strengths. Photoshop is much better for editing photos and creating more complex graphics. Illustrator is great for anything from wireframing up to artwork, and blends more seamlessly into practices like working in­-browser.

Depending on the nature of the asset, I’m likely to flit between the two. I wouldn’t necessarily want there to be an all encompassing solution though, as being able to separate those tasks can be quite productive for my workflow. In Illustrator I’m more focused on layout and composition. Whereas in Photoshop, I’m more likely to zoom in and work on tiny details.

I also reserve judgement until we see a good competitor bite at Adobe’s heels!

Etch announces a senior appointment to strengthen its customer engagement offering.

Etch has recently bolstered its core service-offering with the appointment of Christopher Laas, as Head of Customer Engagement. Working closely with Etch’s Managing Director, Tom Frame, Chris will be developing a division called “Engage”, with the main focus on helping clients attract, engage with, and retain new customers in the rapidly evolving, competitive digital landscape.

With 16 years’ experience in the digital industry, both in various agency roles and more recently running his own successful e-commerce business, Chris offers a wealth of experience to all Etch clients. Chris is a commercially-minded and results-driven business development specialist, who finds creative ways to accelerate business growth.

Speaking about the new division, Chris says: “Our preferred choice of approach is to start with the customer’s path to purchase, rather than focusing on specific digital marketing channels, such as search marketing, display or email, in isolation. We believe in working on the entire customer experience, ensuring that customers have a seamless experience at all points of engagement.”

Tom Frame, Managing Director of Etch, commented: “Chris brings a unique combination of skills and experience to our team. He offers 6 years of valuable experience from running his own successful e-commerce business, which means he truly understands the complex challenges our clients face in running their own businesses; he also offers all the skills and big-picture thinking an agency like Etch specialises in.”

 Chris always has time for a coffee and a chat, so if you are looking for help or advice to grow your business, he is looking forward to you getting in touch.

www.etchuk.com

Not exactly BBQ weather

Our plans have been put on hold this week for #BBQFriday with the guys over at Peer1. Maybe next week - not the end of the world as the Rareloop guys treated me for Lunch - happy days.

Peer1 did a great round-up BBQ blog of when we stormed their terrace. - We apparently behaved ourselves, so its turned into a Friday meetup with only on the condition the sun is out! - so keep an eye on #BBQFriday

We really are fortunate enough to have such an amazing office location and now that the sun is out lets burn some meat.

#50goodeggs - day 2 cheat sheet

Good morning, here are a collection of the clues so far: - still lots of eggs to be deployed over the next 4 days.

Here is a reminder of some of the great prizes up for grabs

Here are a collection of what has already been posted. 

Egg 11

Egg 21

Egg 4

Egg 28

Egg 15 - This egg has been lost in action now.

Egg 13 Defero UK

Egg 13 @deferouk clue no 2

Egg 21

Egg 9 - This egg may be missing now.

Anyone thinking of eating Italian this weekend? Keep your eyes peeled for egg number 20. It’s stripey! - City Centre Italian and you can see the Civic Centre from here.

There is a rhino next to me! I hope she does not eat all the plants around me!

Egg 8 Peer 1

Egg 16 Southampton City Council

Egg 2 Solent University

Find our egg in this bikes pannier bag #50goodeggs

Egg 6 Ride Ride

Etch’s egg - no 23 overlooks somewhere….

Egg 32 - This egg is now missing

Egg 25

Egg 19 - CDD Nation - This egg has been destroyed by vandals.

Egg 30

Egg 31

Egg 27 - This egg may be missing now

Egg no 5 @bandaitoysuk - Egg may be missing now.

Egg no 5 2nd clue  - @bandaitoysuk

Egg 10 Senor Eggburto has been stolen! He’s a wanted man! @plugnplaysouth

Egg no 22 - @padstudio

Egg 22 - Clue no 2. @padstudio

Egg no 4 @hacksoton. Extra points for making it light up :)

Lorenzo flew in from Mexico yesterday to look for his lost brother Eggburto. He’s in the same place as his brother and he loves Mexican food. Cantina Mexican are also looking for him. Egg no 10.

The following eggs have been stolen or vandalised. No 5, 9,13, 14, 23, 25, 27, 30,31,32. :((

Unofficial(almost official) Egg 51 added 20/4

Egg 51 Don’t eat, break or steal.

Egg 7 @moov2 - This egg is now gone.

Egg 29 @ABPsouthampton

#50goodeggs for #Southampton

It’s Easter and the eggs are hidden!  (sneaky cheat sheet )

We managed to get a great bunch of Southampton’s local businesses and artists to decorate some eggs, and carefully hide them around the city with some photographic clues on Twitter and Instagram.

Now it’s over to the public to try and find them and be in line to win some of the amazing prizes donated by some of the companies involved.

Follow the hashtag #50goodeggs for clues as to where the eggs are hidden. They will be placed all over Southampton city and hopefully the companies that have hidden them have left good clues ;-) (some T&C’s below).

How to enter?

• Find an egg by looking for clues on Twitter #50goodeggs.
• Get out in the city and go egg hunting!
  
• Take a picture and Tweet or Instagram it with #50goodeggs.

The prizes that have been kindly donated will all be randomly selected and awarded to the various entrants. Here is a selection of the various prizes that are on offer:

• An evening stay for 2 at the THE PIG - in the Wall, including breakfast. (Southampton)

Kindly donated by THE PIG Hotel.

A mid week (Sunday to Thursday) 1 night stay for 2 including breakfast. Needs to be used within 12 months of receipt and excludes the 2^nd to 9^th August and 12^th to 21^st September.

• A large stash of toys donated by Bandai UK @bandaitoysuk

This really is a large stash of cool toys!

• A £50 Amazon Gift Voucher

Donated by Etch @etchuk

• A £50 voucher for the Grand Cafe Southampton.

Donated by the guys over at Defero Communications @deferouk

• 1.5 Hour Jet-Ski session for up to 4 People

Donated by Southampton Solent University @solentofficial
Not suitable for children under 14, people with back injuries or pregnant women. The ride must be taken before the 31st July 2014. Only available weekdays and evenings. Advanced booking required.

• A free game of golf at Alresford Golf Course

Donated by - CDD @cddnation

The prize would allow 2 people to play 18 holes mid week after 14:00 in a four-ball round of golf.

A Google Chromecast

This is a great piece of kit donated but the #Hacksoton crew. @hacksoton

Happy hunting….

—————————————————————————————————————-

Plug and Play Southampton @plugnplaysouth

£50 voucher at The White Star in Southampton

—————————————————————————————————————-

Moov2 donates £30 West Quay voucher.@moov2

—————————————————————————————————————

T&C’s

Terms and Conditions for Prize Draws run via Twitter and Instagram #50goodeggs

• Entry to Etchuk’s prize draw run via Twitter (the “Prize Draw”) is open to UK residents aged 16 and over, except employees of Etch Uk Ltd (“Etch”) or any related companies, their families, agents or anyone professionally connected with the Prize Draw.
• No purchase is necessary to enter the Prize Draw.
• To enter the Prize Draw, you must Tweet or Instagram an image of yourself with a found egg (Selfie) using the hashtag (#50goodeggs) with an @reply message to the @etchuk Twitter or post to Instagram using the #50goodeggs hashtag by the relevant closing date and time. If you win, you will need to follow @etchuk so that you can send a direct message to @etchuk with your contact information. You may then subsequently unfollow @Etchuk if you wish.
• There is a limit of one entry per person per egg found (so go find more). Multiple entries or entries that are delivered late, incomplete, damaged or otherwise not in accordance with these terms and conditions will not be accepted. Entries made through agents, third parties, organised groups or any entry duplication method will not be accepted.
• The prize(s) will be set out in the relevant promotional Tweet.
• The winner(s) will be selected at random within 7 days of the closing date and notified by direct message if they already follow @Etchuk. If the winner(s) do not follow @Etchuk, Etch will send the winner(s) a Tweet advising that they have won and asking the winner(s) to follow @Etchuk.
• Unless otherwise stated, the winner(s) must claim their prize(s) within 14 days of notification. If they do not do so, then Etch reserves the right to offer the prize to an alternative winner selected in accordance with these terms and conditions.
• Any decision of Etch as to eligibility to take part in the Prize Draw or the result of the Prize Draw will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. Etch accepts no responsibility for entries that are incomplete, delayed, lost, damaged or illegible whether due to failure or non-availability of www.twitter.com or any other reason.
• There is no cash alternative to the prize(s).
• Images used are for visual purposes only. Alternative products or colours may be substituted for the items shown. Etch reserves the right (but is not obliged) to substitute an alternative to any of the prizes of equal or greater value should circumstances make this necessary.
• Etch reserves the right to delay, postpone or cancel the Prize Draw.
• Entry implies acceptance of these terms and conditions and Twitter’s terms of service.
• The winner(s) may be required to participate in non-paid publicity or advertising relating to the Prize Draw, which may include having their photograph taken for promotional and press purposes.
• A list of winners’ names will be available on request within 28 days after the winners’ have claimed the prize(s) by sending an email to marketing@etchuk.com
• By entering the Prize Draw, all entrants agree that their personal data will be used by Etch the sole purpose of administering this Prize Draw.
• The Prize Draw and these terms and conditions are subject to English law. Any disputes must be referred to the English Courts.

The Great Etch Bake-Off

Over the past few weeks I’ve had everyone in the office taking part in a Mary Berry style ‘bake-off’ challenge. Splitting the team into groups, each individual was then given their own designated bake day, which was always a Sunday, and a presentation day…the following Monday.

The competitive streak in certain team members was apparent very early in proceedings, what started as a little Monday morning fun soon became a monster. The ingenuity and enthusiasm of a #Hacksoton hack day soon found its way into the kitchen…and the rest as they say, is history.

The big question was, did we have a secret Paul Hollywood or a Mary Berry in the office?

Week 1

Week one started with a bang. This early on it became quite evident how the ‘friendly’ in-house contest was going to go. Tom and Emma played a trump card from the start, Emma with a great ‘Pigs N Mud’ creation and Tom with an Iron Man mask, accompanied with flash eyes. Richard went for a more traditional approach with a classic jam sponge, and for someone who doesn’t bake that often…if at all, definitely deserved an ‘A’ for effort.

All cakes were judged by everyone else who was taking part in the bake-off, scores placed out of ten for both taste and appearance. Then with some calculating here and there, depending on how many people were present judging, a final percentage score was then allocated to each baker.

…after the dust (icing sugar) had settled Tom and his Iron Man mask emerged victorious after a very close fought battle with Emma. Off the back of this victory Tom moved on to the final and definitely set the bar high for the other bakers to follow.

Week 2

After the ‘tour de force’ of week one, the number of bakers for week two was on the low side. With only two people entering this week, due to holidays and other external forces, it was either Karl’s or Shelly’s for the taking.

First up was Shelly and her inventive ‘Pan-Cake’, from the outside just a mild-mannered pile of pancakes with a delicious topping. The nice surprise coming when you cut into the cake to reveal a tasty sponge hidden within the pancake disguise.

Karl’s counter to this Shelley’s creation was a very tasty almond slice. He was going for full-on flavour with an array of toasted almonds, tasty sponge and oodles of crystallised sugar.

…yet another close week with Karl just edging the victory and moving on to join Tom in the final.

Week 3

Weeks one and two had kicked the ‘Etch Bake-Off’ into high gear, with bakers trying new things and definitely stepping out of their comfort zone to participate in some fun in the office. Week three would be no exception with Adam pushing the realms of cooking alchemy to new heights. His cavity creating masterpiece had the office buzzing from a sugar-high for the rest of the day. This was followed by Caroline’s take on the classic ice cream and flake via tasty vanilla cupcakes presented on a two-tier cake stand.

Gary’s offering was a unique swirled lemon biscuit, which along with Adam’s entry came up for some tough criticism this week…nothing like wannabe food critics ;-)

However, sugary goodness aside, it was Kamila who stole this round with a fantastic cinnamon apple pie with almonds and some very impressive pastry lattice work on the top. With competition judges becoming unmerciful in their critique this week, Kamila stilled pulled out a finishing score of 81.92%, the highest of the competition so far.

Week 4

This was the week I was dreading, my turn to put what baking knowledge I had…none, into some sort of creation to present to the rest of the team. Not only did I have next to no baking skill, I was in the same group as the mighty Phil Dye. The man who had already shown his hand by turning out a perfectly decorated Rapunzal themed birthday cake for his daughter several weeks prior to us thinking about this little in-house endeavor.

That morning I parked my my Ford C-Max in the car park two cars away from an Aston Martin DB9, walking past it into the office I gave a little internal sigh. That feeling of inadequacy came flooding back when I saw Phil’s bake for the day, a stunning Etch ‘A’ Sketch shaped cake with a carefully crafted Etch logo on the screen. My bake was a little fusion number I called Rocky Mars Cake, the classic mars cake combined with rocky-road, however it was no Aston Martin.

Simon came in with a great tasting lemon drizzle cake, full of sugary lemon goodness. Although it was Kazi’s savoury vegetable rolls that got the office talking. After three weeks of being bombarded with sugar-coma inducing cakes on a Monday morning, these savoury treats were a welcome change.

As the initial scores started to come in Kazi went into an early lead, but as final totals were added up Phil had sealed his place in the final with a score of 79.23%.

Week 5

Originally this would have been the week of the big final. However, as there were several people who for one reason or another couldn’t enter on their allocated day, we took the collective decision to offer a 5th week.. At the end of the day who’s going to not want another week of cakes?

So this week once again saw great flavour, great design and some hidden skills…

Lilian came in all guns blazing with her ‘Stake Cake’. No, thats not a cake made out of beef, rather a sponge and butter icing creation shaped and decorated like a juicy steak. This trend for impressive decorating was carried on with Michael’s bake, a impressive choclate sponge that demonstrated some top-notch piping skills…so good questions where being asked in hushed whispers. Only Michael knows the truth, and no amount of interrogation will get him to confess.

The sleeper in this round came from Maria, who presented a tasty lemon cake. In the kitchen next to the other two cakes, both showing some creative flair, Maria’s cake looked a little plain and initial thoughts were pointing towards the other creative gems on display.

However, this was another very close round with Michael scoring a massive 79.29%, but it was Maria’s sleeper cake with its lemony goodness that snatched victory away from Michael with a very respectable 80.36%, the second highest score throughout the contest so far.

In Closing…

As I write this its the Friday before the big final, Monday 7th April is the ‘bake-off’ judgement day. There has been secret discussions, game plans drawn up, strategy talks, obscure deliveries and rumors a plenty. Only time will tell…

…who will be the first Etch Bake-Off champion?

You can see more pictures of these great creations over on our Facebook page. Come on over and ‘LIKE’ the page, who knows what we will get up to next.

#hacksoton 3

For the 2^ND time tech lovers from the south coast descended on Southampton Central Hall, and it comes as no surprise that the results were epic.

A sell-out event, #HackSoton once again proved to be incredibly popular. A much larger crowd than previous events meant that the atmosphere in the hall was electric. Fuelled by free caffeine and bacon courtesy of Benefex, the tech talent in the room started plugging in and booting up, ready to showcase what they had brought with them. With no theme to the events, visitors are encouraged to bring whatever they’re currently working on – from building a website, designing the next-big-thing in the app world or even just a million dollar idea they want to bounce off of some likeminded people.

The community feel at #HackSoton is what makes it such a popular day. 23-year-old student Curtis said; “Although there are lots of different skill levels and projects in the room, everyone is really friendly and willing to help others.”

The Etch social wall, projected onto the big screen in the room, added an interactive aspect to this social side of the event, allowing people to use the hashtag #hacksoton and see everyone’s tweets on the day. The competition to win a Bloc beanbag by taking the best beanbag selfie proved very entertaining. Entries included everything from beanbag surfing to beanbag burgers - as you can see, we’re talking about some seriously talented individuals. Some of our favourites from the social wall include.

Danny Negus, from new indie game company Pixel Delusions, was a popular man at the event. A Southampton Solent University graduate, his work with 3D software and augmented reality was seriously cool. His Oculus Rift headset had gaming lovers lining up by his table, and his idea to make an asteroid game to go with the headset was definitely popular in the room.

A 3D printer, bought to the event by IOS Developer Andy Bennett, was another popular feature in the hall. Everyone wandering past stopped and became mesmerised by watching it work its magic. The free beer may have helped.

Once everyone had recovered from a burrito-induced food coma, the show and tell was a highlight of the day. Some of the incredible things on show included a maze controlled with an iPad with all aspects made during the 10-hour event, a DJ in a box and a device that reads and interprets data emitted from a wheelchair.

As a local agency, we are proud to host and run this event to showcase the vast array of skills available from people in the south.  #HackSoton unites creative talent from a range of industries, encouraging diversity and creating a social atmosphere where people can learn and develop their ideas. With such a variety of projects coming to life in just one day, the level of creativity never fails to impress. As the event came to an end, visitors asked to describe the day in just one word came up with awesome, buzzing, informative and inspiring – among other particularly positive adjectives. A total tech takeover fuelled by bacon, beer and burritos – what’s not to love?

Feeling The Love

The Etch blog hasn’t been feeling much love lately. In part, that’s because we are what is known in the industry as “hella busy”.

But we’ve taken five minutes today to compile our favourite love songs to share with you guys, as it’s a special day for card makers, florists and chocolatiers everywhere.

You can listen to our playlist on Spotify

Like it? Hate it? Tweet us and let us know.

As an added blog bonus, we’ve scoured the office for opinions on the best love songs of all time. Here’s what everyone said.

Adam Burt, Web Developer

Song: Hypnotize U by N.E.R.D

Given that he popped up suddenly in three of the biggest selling singles of 2013, you could be forgiven for thinking Pharrell Williams appeared out of thin air. But back in 2010, as part of hip hop group N.E.R.D he was already laying down smooth vocals over catchy beats. Forget getting lucky, and don’t worry about blurred lines - Put this song on instead if you want a real romantic groove.

Caroline Zornoza, Account Manager

Song: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler

Any song that triggers an unreasonable urge to power-grab gets my vote & this song is the ultimate power-grab track known to man #fact

Lilian Tula, Designer

Song: Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers

It’s equally romantic and cheesy, with an unshakeable association to the worst cry-acting ever by Patrick Swayze. Love in a nutshell, no?

Simon Johnson, Producer

Song: Crazy For You by Madonna

Memories of schools disco’s and my old record player with the 45 & 12” records!

Stu Lanham, App Developer

Song: Classic Girl by Jane’s Addiction

By one of my all time favourite bands, it always reminds me of a great point in time when I first met the women that would later become my wife.

Kazi Siddique, .Net Developer

Song: Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx

I like the melody and this song works like a tonic for a long distance relationship.

Tom Frame, Managing Director

Song: Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by The Clash

Without giving away my age, this was the theme tune to our wedding – although even at that early stage I was banned from playing it as the aisle song (or whatever it’s called when you walk down the aisle)

Shelly Frame, Chancellor of the Etch-chequer

Song: Happy Valentines Day by The Black Eyed Peas

Because it’s funky and hip hop. Love is about having oodles of fun and certainly involves a boogie on the dance floor.

Phil Dye & Michael Chart, Developers

Song: Baby by Justin Bieber

We can’t get enough of this teeny bopper’s chart topping tunez! Nothing puts us in the mood like a bit of the Bieber fever. #yolo

There And Back Again

So here I am. it’s gone past 2pm and I’m half way through my first hackday. I’ve been back with the Etch UK (Though back then, it was Design Haus) family for close to two months and in that short space of time I’ve realised just how much the industry has changed… And how much it has stayed the same.

Five years ago, when I took a break as a creative developer to concentrate on other projects, the industry in general was a different place. We where knocking on the door of a social explosion, but it was still considered by the majority as a fad… Something that would either go away or be replaced by the next ‘big thing’. Smart phones were just making themselves known and mainstream tablet use was still a thing for Star Trek movies. Second to that, new technologies were creeping in to the mainstream and buzz words flying around included ‘Ajax’, ‘JQuery’, ‘HTML 5' and 'CSS 3' to name a few.

Now, fast forward five years and in the realm of technology, things are still changing rapidly but many of those ideas (and more!) have come to fruition. There are many new and exciting ways for developing sites and online media. The social side of things has proven it’s here to stay and has become a part of everyday life. Whether you’re a ‘tech’ person or not, mobile computing on tablets and smart phones has changed the face of the internet for good. As developers, it’s often a case of constantly staying ahead of an ever changing curve and the past five years have been a textbook example.

As I write this I’m sat looking out into a room of 80+ people, male and female, all attending the second #hacksoton. These are the forward thinkers, the people who see things differently. Whether it’s blending creativity with technology or technology with creativity; these are the people who five years ago would have just been classed as a ‘geek’ and left to do as they please… Leaving everyone else to catch up with them, a few years down the line.

Five years later and as an observer today, I can honestly say I’m so happy to see there is now a place for like minded people to come together, socialise and collaborate on all sorts of exciting projects.

This is not an elite club of über intelligent people with an IQ prerequisite to attend. There are all sorts of skill levels and disciplines coming together as a celebration of progression and innovation. These are people who have given up their free time to pursue something they love.

I suppose I’d say in closing, that five years has brought about many changes. Technology charges on and developers are constantly adding to their skill set to keep on top of things. What hasn’t changed is that a select few exists, who see the world from slightly left of centre. They are still here, and will probably always be. The difference now, is a readily available platform for these people to come together and push the limits. Merging creativity, technology and innovation. The age of the hack event has arrived…

Long may they run.

The Writing On The Wall

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve performed a task, it was ostensibly successful, and then found yourself the go-to person for that particular activity?

For me at Etch, that’s writing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I outnumber my colleagues by quite a bit when it comes to number of blog posts.

In an effort to coax them out of their busy lives and into the world of writing, I pulled together a few tips and tricks which I find useful when composing new articles. Most of them are stolen from good writers on Twitter, or Reddit comments, a few are my own. Well, it worked.

Then Tom told me I had to share it. After all, you guys may be in need of this same advice! Clients and fellow agencies alike often find themselves in turmoil over putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard inside your blog writing platform of choice). Several weeks later (Sorry Tom), this is the list - Posted here for everyone to enjoy.

If you’re concerned about your writing ability, this list can help make your writing more enjoyable to the reader. You may be surprised by how good an article you can actually write, so give it a go!

1. Read your work out loud. This is super easy to do and it always helps. Always.
2. Get somebody else to read it out loud to you, they might read it completely differently.
3. It’s very important to never use the word ‘very’.
4. Be wary of wildly overusing adverbs (Beautifully, cleverly, etc… Get rid of all of them)
5. One of the best ways to make your writing immediately more interesting is to vary your sentence length. Gary Provost said it best:
   
   “This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
   
   
6. Use paragraphs.
7. Avoid using lists
8. Brevity
9. Write about what you know, but not about what everyone knows, because that would be boring
10. Any time you can get away without using the word “that,” leave that out.
11. Stay as far away from clichés as you can. That means common metaphors, common similes and most figures of speech. Invent your own.
12. Don’t start two sentences with the same word. Don’t start two paragraphs/list-items with the same word.
13. Don’t guess and use it anyway if you don’t know the meaning of a word. Look it up or you’ll just look promulgated.
14. Your writing should be like a skirt: Long enough to cover the important things, but short enough to keep things interesting.
15. You shouldn’t edit as you go. Come back and do that later.
16. You should come back to it later, because what sounds awesome right now might sound terrible tomorrow morning.
17. Don’t be afraid to ignore all the rules above, if you have to.
18. Get started. Don’t let fear of the writing lead to procrastination.

That last one is possibly the most important. Years of being told “This is not good enough” at an academic level has imbued most people with a sense of dread when it comes to writing, but blogging is simpler than essays ever were.

You don’t need references, you don’t need to worry about a score, and your tone of voice is what makes it enjoyable, not due diligence or the Queen’s English. In fact, as the internet proves on a daily basis, you don’t even have to be right to have a successful blog.

Am I wrong?

Maintainability of software/websites

To improve something we first need to measure how good or bad it is. We cannot improve something which we cannot measure. In software development there are many matrices to improve quality. Maintainability is a very important matrix for software or a website.

After a series of development iterations, websites / software becomes hard to maintain as it becomes more complex. It is really hard to make things simple.  To make the software or website more maintainable we need to measure maintainability and rewrite or rearrange code. A website which is hard to maintain means more cost. Having a maintainable website facilitates means you can ad new features, correct errors and remove deficiencies with ease.

How to measure the maintainability of your code?

There several matrices to indicate the maintainability of a software, including:

• Cyclomatic complexity
• Depth of inheritance
• Class Coupling

Visual studio has a tool for calculating a Maintainability Index using the matrices mentioned above.

(From the ‘Analyze’ menu, click ‘Calculate Code Matrices’)

What does the value mean?

Maintainability Index:  

The Maintainability index is a number between 0 to 100, which indicates ease of maintainability of the code. A higher value means better maintainability. Visual studio also uses color coding to indicate maintainability of the code, green means good, yellow means moderately maintainable and red means low maintainability.

We need to talk about Photoshop

Over the last decade designing for the web, there’s only one creative app that I’ve used consistently, on an almost daily basis.

Back in 2000 (using version 5.5) Photoshop was the tool for creating website layouts, and while other similar applications have come along over the years, it still enjoys massive levels of popularity within our industry.

I’m the first person to admit that it’s an amazing app. It’s power, the breadth of it’s features and the ongoing integration with the rest of the Creative suite make it an amazing tool (Typekit integration is particularly fantastic). But, that’s what it ultimately is, it’s a tool.

Photoshop is great as just one of many weapons within a designers arsenal, and the key to design success (or failure) is using it in a way that compliments your project as a whole.

Far from being evil itself, it’s the way that Photoshop is used that can cause such frustration. Staying in Photoshop too long, moving towards a design with lots of polish but no function is often the start of the slide into a painful build and a potentially confused conclusion.

There’s been a lot written about Photoshop’s inability to show a true picture of the final product, but it still offers designer a huge amount if used in a thoughtful way. Style tiles that quickly build up a design language for others to reference, clever use of smart objects and templating turn it into an app that enables great results rather than hindering them.

As designers, we’re fortunate to be seeing more apps like Easel and Edge reflow that start to bridge the gaps between design and front end, but these apps are no more useful than sketches, Illustrator wireframes or even elements created in Photoshop depending on the stage we’re at. In fact, any tool chosen incorrectly can be harmful to a project. It’s knowing when to use what that will help us create, validate and ultimately get a successful product live.

In summary, Photoshop itself is not inherently bad, but us designers need to remember that that it’s just one of many tools in our creative toolbox. It’s not time to retire Photoshop yet, it’s just time to let some of the new apps into the arena to at least see how they fare.

Umbraco 7 Test Drive

We’ve been using the Umbraco content management system for a few years now, and have come to love the power and flexibility it gives us to build things, whilst never ‘getting in the way’.

We’ve seen a fair bit of evolution along the way since the v4.1 era; the introduction of the Razor view engine (and the ensuing XSLT battle; personally, I was in the Razor Empire camp), the initial excitement and then ‘surprise’ of v5 (I’m deliberately not going to link out; if you’re reading this, then you probably know all about “the v5 thing”!), and the subsequent renewed energy leading to the introduction of MVC and the v6 API overhaul.

I first saw some early Belle (the project codename for what’s now v7) prototypes at the Umbraco UK Festival last year, and more developed, working examples at CodeGarden (the annual Umbraco developer conference). 

One of the community learnings from v5 was that trying out pre-release versions is essential to help find problems before they become a real problem. So, inspired by Niels’ uHangout interview earlier today, I decided it really is time I started to try out Umbraco v7, to “do my bit”.

So, I’m writing this in one window whilst taking v7 for a drive for the first time in another window… so what follows really is raw, unedited, first impressions.

First up, remember that the only really new thing about v7 is the backoffice UI; your site implementations don’t change, the underlying backend API is the same, etc, etc. Just think of it as a new skin for the (somewhat stale) backoffice.

So, immediately, that means that installation is identical to before; in my case, install from nuget into an empty Visual Studio project. Run up the site, and you’re greeted by the exact same install wizard as always. That’s a reassuring and comforting signal (although there’s possibly an argument to freshen up the visual to bring it in-line with the new backoffice?).

Once installed, logging in initially looks like a bit of a shock; but within seconds you realise that this is still the same Umbraco you know and love; the familiar sections of Content, Media, Settings, Developer, etc, still all exist, now as vertically-stacked icons.

Written in AngularJS, the new UI is lightning-fast; switching between ‘tabs’ and navigating around trees is instant. It’s interesting to see how legacy sections (everything outside Content and Media at the moment?) are the same old ASPX pages, wrapped in an iframe and styled to look near-seamless in the new, cleaner, leaner UI. I understand that older property editors, not yet migrated to AngularJS) will be similarly wrapped.

Visually, there’s a definite trend of stripping away the crud, leaving just the stuff that needs to be there to get the job done. For example, the only obvious action now on a content node is adding a new page; no more right-click and facing an array of confusing options (how many times have I had to explain that to sort, you need to do so on the parent node?!).

It’s early days, and I’ll need to try building a small site to really get to grips with what’s new ^[1]. But the early signs are good, and a reassuring sign that Umbraco is destined to remain our platform of choice.

[1] Actually, that’s a mistake - there isn’t really anything new to learn, only to learn where stuff has moved to.