OK, test posting with Flickr. What magic it is.

I’m starting to get into using 24-bit PNG files more and more, though I’m reluctant to use large-dimension images in this format as their file sizes tend to balloon. However, it’s hard to resist the charm of a logo that can be seamlessly matted over just about any kind of background.

One trick — which works best with mostly flat-coloured logos — that I’ve discovered is to posterise the logo with Photoshop before rendering out to a transparent PNG. Posterise discards colour information from the file — most people set the intensity level quite high, which results in a visible banding through the image. I’d take that down to about 7-9, which preserves the integrity of the image but makes the colour range more managable. I’ve seen file sizes halve without any serious image degradation.

Here’s a close-up crop of a before-and-after posterise treatment. Can you can spot a substantial difference?

I’m only about half way through this revelatory essay on web typography and the paragraph and I already know that it’s the most important thing I’ve read on the craft of web design in years. I think it may completely change the way I work.

Don’t miss the accompanying piece of stylistic treatments.

I may be running behind the pack on this one, but I’m starting to get the feeling that JQuery is about to become the javascript library of choice for the discerning web standards developer. See, for example, Dave Shea discussing his use of JQuery for the Bright Creative redesign.

Maybe this will finally spur me into getting my portfolio in working order!

So I just cleaned up after my first ever spam attack. It wasn’t too bad; just a few comments advertising some rancid gewgaws. One day the slimy reprobates behind the IP address 92.48.106.160 will drown in a foetid pool of their own inhuman waste, with the full knowledge that their every dream has become like ashes.