[thelist] Re: image slicing - not for the timid

Mon Apr 23 11:26:21 CDT 2001

> I'd disagree about the image being "beautiful" - maybe for print but since
> you'll have to code this I was wondering what is so "beautiful" about it??
> It was my first impression that the designer doesn't fully understand web
> development and has inadvertantly made it a PIA for you. 

This brings up an interesting point which I have been thinking about for a
while. I regularly hear people (on this list and elsewhere) mention how
they create the mock-up for a new design in Photoshop, then slice it up to
convert it into HTML.

Personally, I have never worked that way. I usually start with a template
text file (containing standard tags like <html>, <head>, <meta>, <title>
etc.) and then build the page around the elements I need. I generally have 
some paper sketches or ideas about the general page layout, but that's
about it.

The site then comes alive as I code, and there's usually lots of moving
things about and testing in different browsers involved, until I decide on
a layout that's aesthetically pleasing, logically laid out and cross
platform compatible.

By working in this way, I would say that the compromise between pixel
perfect design and real world compatibility problems is more apparent at
the design stage, so the final product will balance the two more
effectively. Creating the layout of your dreams in Photoshop, then
torturing the code to display it as best as you can just doesn't seem to
work for me. The variable size of form fields is a good example of why.

Am I the only one who works in this way? Can anyone suggest any advantages
of the Photoshop method over my approach that I might be missing?

Simon