Tags: accesibility, css, javascript, plugins, wordpress.
Categores: Internet Finds, Site Updates.
Sorry for the lack of blogging and commenting. When I start designing a new theme, I will code and re-code until I’m happy with it. Looks like someone has a tendency for obsessive-compulsive disorder. 
Just kidding… I’m just a being a perfectionist.
Anyway, I’m proud to bring you the final release of Yukata Summer, which works across all browsers (except IE6.. for now) and all resolutions starting from 800×600. There are a few features I added that are worth mentioning since they may help Wordpress theme designers.
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Wordpress Dynamic Menu Highlighting
This highlights the page you are currently surfing on your navigation bar. For this site, the highlights extend to the sub-pages. For example, you are currently surfing this post, which is filed under archives, in turn ‘Archives’ in the navigation is highlighted. Check out the Wordpress Codex on Dynamic Menu Highlighting for the base code and Conditional Tags to customize this code to suit your needs - like I have done. -
Updated Wordpress Thread Comment
As some of you may already know, Nanyate?! uses WP Thread Comment to allow responses for comments. I think it’s a nifty tool that, although possibly takes away from the design, allows for conversation amongst the commenters and the author. Having a community of bloggers is the best part about blogging for me. So I will pay a great price to have everyone interact with everyone.
Anyway, this updated version now uses AJAX and has added a feature to email a commenter when the author replies so…Would you personally like to be notified when I reply to your comment? Thanks a lot! Your responses will really help me!
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Resolution Dependent Javascript
This is by far the coolest addition I’ve made to Nanyate’s layout!! By adding this javascript, my stylesheet will change according the resolution you are using. Actually if you even change the size of your window, you will see the changes between an 800px window and 800+px window. The 800px’ers have the background scrolling with a serving of dieted version of the content column. Everyone else has the background fixed.I adopted this Javascript as a compromise for the scroll-happy people who were complaining that having a scroll background hurt their eyes and the 800×600 resolutioners, who because of the height of their screen can’t see much of the background if it’s fixed. I normally don’t like catering for people’s surfing habits or the 800×600 resolution - especially since the Web 2.0 world has RSS feeds if you feel my design doesn’t suit your tastes. But I’ve made this compromise in the name of the illustrator’s pride. That flower took me many hours and 100+ layers to complete. I wasn’t going to throw it away for those with small resolutions and scroll-happy kids who I don’t expect to understand the pain of designing a translucent layout for all browsers and all resolutions.
Anyway, this javascript might be useful for those of you whose layouts are designed with 800×600 resolutions only or 1024×748 and above only. I have to admit, I tweaked the javascript little to suit my needs. So, just let me know if you need help with the tweaking.
And finally, I’d like to end this post with a big thank you goes to:
- JJ Magazine for the yukata inspiration
- My housemate for lending the magazine to me
- 72Quadrat.de for the layout inspiration
- Seishido.biz for the cherry blossom brush. It was $1 well spent.
- My subscribers, visitors and commenters whose presence and comments continue to inspire me to work harder on this site.
Tags: css, ie, japan, theme, updates, wordpress.
Categores: Blogging Advice, Culture, Opinion, Site Updates.
Nanyate?! has a new theme! This layout is titled “Yukata 浴衣 Summer”. For those who are unfamiliar with Japanese culture, yukata is the summer version of a kimono 着物. The flower in the background is inspired from a yukata featured in last year’s issue of JJ Magazine. Yes, I drew it. And yes, it took forever. I haven’t actually illustrated anything complicated for a while, so I was quite antsy when I drew the flower.
The layout is currently in beta mode. The background is incomplete. I wanted to add a couple more embellishments but I haven’t received my brushes from Seishido as of yet. And of course, there are bugs to kill and the layout doesn’t work on IE 6 at all. Most bugs will be fixed by tomorrow. IE6 compatibility will have to wait. Busting out my old Sony Vaio to re-code half the site is just…argh.
I’ve been at this for 2 days. 1 day for drawing the background. 1 day for designing + coding. I haven’t slept for 20 hours. So, pardon this rough post and rough layout.
I’m exhausted. Off to bed.
UPDATE!:I received my brushes! Here’s the new background! Most bugs for the Mac Firefox, Safari and Opera are squashed. I’d expect that their Windows would react the same way. Now all that’s left is that nasty IE6, which I don’t have access to - not even from my old Sony VAIO! IE NetEenderer isn’t powerful enough for me to refresh every 5 seconds, so coding for IE will have to wait until I go to my school’s library.
Sorry, IE6 users. On the other hand… you really shouldn’t be using IE6. Microsoft is already developing IE8 and even had a beta release! I can’t imagine what kinda security flaws you IE6 users have to deal with. The browser’s free for goodness’ sakes; all it takes to upgrade is some free time. Think about it this way: just 10 minutes less of porn, infinite increase in security. Time for a upgrade, people.