Mandar Apte

UI/UX Designer from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Articles

  • Learning Web Design & Graphic Design on Personal Computer

    I know the day the I got my first windows based computer.

    In few days or so I started learning to design through computer using CorelDraw & Photoshop… as it was more popular in those days & as it is today. But mind you it was not long ago as it was year 2002-03.

    I read somewhere on web If you want to learn web design compare two technology giants’ websites i.e. Microsoft.Com & Apple.Com

    & Yes it was brilliant suggestion made…

    So I got to know one phenomenon called WYSIWYG, acronym for What You See Is What You Get. I started using Microsoft Frontpage to edit & design websites. I used to use Tables to design content with. But I got to know that there is something CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) & DIV tags. But it was not until year 2007 I started to learn CSS & Year 2010 I started to learn about DIV tags.

    Today I have website powered with WordPress (CMS – Content Management System) Designed through CSS & DIV tags.

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  • Learning Adobe Photoshop Through Podcasts & Websites

    I found this resources vary helpful to learn & know Adobe Photoshop through Podcasts & Websites so sharing same links with you all…

    Podcasts:
    I would suggest subscribing same podcasts through iTunes Store & downloading the latest & old shows…

    1. Understanding Adobe Photoshop
    2. Photoshop with Matt
    3. Photoshop in 5 with RC Concepcion
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  • Blogger’s Life on Net & in General

    Hi All, I am listing down few points that will help you to find out blogger around you…

    1. A person who writes on his website & doesn’t know is there somebody will read it or not is blogger’s real life situation…
    2. He who integrate Google Analytics in to his blog & visit analytics site every other day is blogger…
    3. He who activate ‘Akismet’ on his wordpress blog… & day after he who swears by it is blogger…
    4. He who say ‘Thank You!’ to google at night before going to bed for traffic to his website is blogger…
    5. He who thinks someday he will go out & have normal social life as his same age friends have is blogger…
    6. He who thinks having Macintosh as his main machine even for website development is blogger…
    7. He who thinks Macintosh’s boot up chime is sign of presence of life is blogger…
    8. He who has social life only on net through Facebook, Twitter is blogger…
    9. He who thinks there is life on different IP address is blogger…
    10. He who knows IP address of his closed friend is blogger…
    11. He who doesn’t know full form of word IP Address is blogger…
    12. He who remembers IP address of his domain name by heart is blogger…
    13. He who use share host for his website & thinks someday he will transfer & use dedicated server for his website is blogger…
    14. He who use iTunes to play music at background while he is working & doesn’t remember what last song was playing & to find out the same he opens iTunes window is blogger…
    15. He who face design obstacle while creating design on computer & after finding solution for the same thinks it would good subject for next tutorial article for his blog is blogger…
    16. He who uses all possible Apple.Inc products & finally thinks why Apple is not designing T Shirts for him so that it will be in sync with his computer peripherals is blogger…
    17. He who thinks having his own domain name is real world style statement is blogger…
    18. He who wake up early & then next second open desktop Twitter Client for updates & latest news even before brushing his teeth is blogger…
    19. He who uses his computer built in camera to comb his hair so that he will save time & work more instead of turning towards mirror is blogger…
    20. He who follows minimum 10 design blogs & subscribe to their RSS feeds & Newsletters is sign of blogger…
    21. He who only interacts with people through facebook comments is blogger…
    22. He who owns desktop pc to tweet from home, laptop to tweet from hotel & internet enabled phone to tweet from bus is blogger…
    23. He who thinks of breaking next big paradigm shift to write new blog itself is blogger…
    24. He who attends minimum two technology company’s seminar of new product launch is blogger…
    25. He who uses bicycle instead of scooter for traveling is hint of blogger within…
    26. He who thinks he would prefer another Apple Computer over brand new bike is also a blogger…

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

    Happy Valentine’s Day to all Art & Design Lovers…

    It’s great to be from Art Community…!!!

    This day reminds me my journey with Art & How I fall in love with it doing drawings… when I was a child… & still in love with it, concepts have changed media are different…

    But still in love…!!!

    I hope, I will keep doing my work & keep enjoying the process of creating artworks – designing for people.

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  • Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

    I really had a brilliant experience watching this film.

    It’s real breathe of fresh air in this crowded city of movies.

    “Three people, one city faces same happy moments & trauma at same time & at end all unites as city sleeps…!!!”

    You as film viewer you experience the same feelings as film tries to convey.

    It feels It’s great to be from Mumbai itself & view your city from another angle & through lens of Kiran Rao, The director of Film Dhobi Ghat.

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  • Akismet Works!

    After having my website online as it was designed in iWeb with static website structure &  4 to 5 pages… I was more than happy…!!!

    But after I deployed WordPress as my website’s main CMS (Content Management System), I had my Art Blog, my Art Portfolio & other defined pages belonging to my business & liking… My WordPress powered website gave me the boost in google analytics of 100 to 200% in visits & pageviews… But wordpress triggered another feature of website interaction i.e. blog comments.

    I was receiving around 100 to 150 comments monthly, sadly all were SPAM & It was frustrating…

    But then I realized that I have Akismet installed on my website with valid API key but in deactivation mode for that time being…

    So I found answer & realize that how spam free comments can be…!!! so I activated the plugin that just detects spam & delete it at first instance… no further looking needed on those issues anymore…!!!

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  • Twitter for Mac: Sluggish, Buggiest twitter ever

    For all this long time I was using Tweetie for Mac as it was Freeware i.e. It has free license to use…

    But after switching to Twitter for Mac, I am really having bad experience of Twitter for Mac from day one with 1 dot release…

    New Twitter for Mac Application is really buggy, boring & really sluggish…

    Reasons for that are as follows

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  • “How to Learn Animation?” – While Browsing a web & while doing Social Networking

    Are you familiar with this Questions?

    “How to learn Animation?”, “How to do animation correctly?”, “What tools should I use to do animation?”, “Should I learn 2D Animation or 3D Animation? What is the best?”, “What is 3D Animation?”

    If yes, then this article is for you! – As saying goes “If there is a will, there is a way”, It is true here…

    Yes, You can Learn About & how to do Animation while you are online, browsing a web & while doing social networking…

    Her are some of the links I found useful for learning Animation through the world wide web.

    Wikipedia Animation Links

    1. Movie Making Manual
    2. Film Making
    3. Animation Techniques
    4. Animation

    Podcasts

    1. The Animation Podcasts: Website Link, iTunes Podcast Link, RSS Feed Link
    2. Spline Casts: Website Link, iTunes Podcast Link
    3. Toon In: Website Link, iTunes Podcast Link
    4. The Animation Conversation: Website Link, iTunes Podcast Link
    5. Conversation on Animation: iTunes Podcast Link
    6. Vancouver Film School Animation & VFX: Website Link, iTunes Podcast Link
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  • Few Important Tips to Designers & Flash Animators

    (I assume that you are well versed with design terms & design applications)

     Three Important Tips to Adobe Flash Animator while preparing 2D animations for E-Learning Courseware OR for Web

    1st Tip

    Use Movie Clips to place object on stage, use movie clips to place text, vector objects or image on stage when you want to animate it

    2nd Tip

    (Importance of Tip #01)

    Don’t create Tween in Library If you are using Flash older version than Adobe Flash CS5 because that create problems while using Action Script

    3rd Tip

    (Importance of Tip #01 & Tip #02)

    When you place & animate movie clips on stage, contains of those movie clips can be replaced without affecting animation e.g. If your movie clips has animation on stage & it contains vector graphic with color red, the same red color can be changed to blue or you can replace even whole vector graphic to anything without affecting animation as this animation not creating any tween in library.

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  • What if Sachin Tendulkar was working as a designer in IT Company

    As I remember somebody told me, “We want designers like to be all-rounder like Sachin Tendulkar & working in their company…!!!”.

    This was the exact thoughts of the officer working for IT company who use think whole company is running because of their efforts…

    Then I started visualizing a day in life of Sachin Tendulkar working as a Designer in IT company.

    “The all-rounder Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar Starts running from bowlling end running like Waqar Younis to ball toward wickets where Sachin Tendulkar he himself is batting, he hits the same ball for Six, the same Sachin Tendulkar run towards fielding position to catch the same ball like Johnty Rhodes & same Sachin Tendulkar celebrates the success of catching himself…!!!”.

    End of this all, “Is Sachin Tendulkar really ready to work for IT company like this?”

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