₦airaland Forum

@ClintonNzedimma this is a photoshop design. No html or css.

@seun it was an attempt. the only flaw though is mobile compatibility. which can easily be worked on. think Facebook.
About load time, that design is absolutely light. might not be as light as the current one but it would definitely be fast too. No shadows, No animations. I really didn't do this for it to be adopted. Note that I designed this with respect to how me and my colleagues use Nairaland. Seun can definitely do more with my design with the real data he has. I just showed that Nairaland can definitely be better. Sometimes give design a chance to speak for itself. I know this attempt as definitely given some of inspiration. Thank you all.

can the moderators please make this post more visible to people.
can it get to the Frontpage?

donsheddy1:
I think both are useful. But i prefer the second one.

The Second one could be the PC view for the website while the resonsive mobile view bares the first look

Intelligent thought

Hi guys,

A lot people have been complaining about Nairaland's interface, But nobody attempted it. I said to myself, why not try it and see what comes out. Here is what I came up with.

Two different UI's for the Frontpage :

The first one is a list system similar to what we have now. Only less cluttered.

The second is a grid system. what are your thoughts?

Find a Niche
The design market can be a crowded one. Don’t
try to know everything. Develop a niche. If you
are a great web designer or WordPress theme
builder, go with it. Or maybe your speciality is
print or developing a branding strategy.
Market yourself in a way that works with your
skill-set, and take on projects that encourage
you to do what you are good at.
2. Learn a New Skill
While finding a niche is a great way to work on
things you know well, gaining confidence along
the way, learning a new skill can go a long way
as well.
Take a class at a community college or online.
Read a book. Pick up some new computer
software and hit Tuts+ for a few tutorials. Identify
something that interests you when you are
looking for something new to try. If you hate
video, an editing class won’t be all that
beneficial. But if you love cool lettering, maybe
learn calligraphy or how to create a custom
typeface.
By developing a new skill, you will get better in
all aspects of your work. You might even find that
it makes you work more efficiently and creatively.
3. Be Honest About What You Can Do
One of the biggest problems designers tend to
have is overcommitting. “Sure, I can do that.”
“Yes, I can have that in one week.” Sound
familiar?
Don’t commit to do more than you can handle. Be
realistic about how long something will take to
finish. Be upfront about time and cost
considerations with your boss or clients.
4. Network, Network, Network
It is important to give and receive feedback on a
regular basis. Getting that feedback from design
peers can be more honest about the design than
from clients.
Clients may not like something because it does
not match their ideas of what is desired, or
conflicts with standards for the brand. But that
does not mean a design is bad; it just means it
did not work in a certain situation.
That’s when looking for unbiased feedback can
be helpful. The design may have really been quite
nice, even if it did not work for a particular client.
Join a meetup group in your city, post
conversations on online forums or even chat with
other designers and share ideas on social media.
Just as receiving feedback is good for helping
you grow as a designer, so is giving it. Find a
younger or less experienced designer and work
with them as well. There’s nothing like explaining
and teaching concepts to make you feel like you
really “get it.”
5. Take a Fun Job Every Now and Then
It’s called work for a reason, but do occasionally
try to take a few fun jobs as well.
By handpicking an enjoyable project, you will feel
more in control, and in turn, confident. These
jobs may not always be the highest paying – or
even paying at all. Some of the most fun you can
have with a project can be the creation (or
revision) of a personal portfolio, blog, or
business card design for a friend.
Regardless, having a little fun can make you feel
great about design again when your confidence
might be shaken.
6. Design with Purpose
Have a reason for each design decision you make
and be able, and willing, to back it up.
Things should not just look great, they should be
based in a little science. Become versed in design
and type theory, so you can explain the logic of
why something is pleasing to the eye.
Support design choices with facts or research. Be
able to communicate those choices clearly.
Designing to make something pretty is not
particularly useful. But making specific choices
that contribute to a certain project can go a long
way.
By explaining those decisions to a client, you will
become more confident in your knowledge of
design theory, and able to support your choices.
You might even convince someone to take a
design risk they would not otherwise!
7. Create and Work Toward Goals
At the beginning of every project, set realistic
timeliness and goals. Every checked off item is an
uptick on the confidence meter.
Check off accomplishments and don’t be afraid to
celebrate successes. These small victories can
make you feel like you really are getting
somewhere on a project. This can be especially
important with large-scale design projects or
projects with lots of revisions and “moving
parts.”
In addition to project goals, set and work toward
long-term goals. Where do you want to be in five
years? What kinds of projects do you want to be
working on? Where do you want to work and
live? Take on jobs and projects that will help you
get closer to the things you find important.
8. Update Your Portfolio
Designers tend to judge themselves by the last
completed project. If it goes well, things are
good; if it goes poorly, it’s another story.
By keeping and up-to-date and complete
portfolio, you can regularly keep track of
successes and things you are proud of.
It’s a good idea to get on a portfolio update
schedule so that you can see your own
accomplishments on a regular basis. (It also
keeps portfolio updates from being super time-
consuming.) Once a quarter, make a point to add
your best new projects to your portfolio.
Also consider a public portfolio platform, such as
Behance, where users can comment and favorite
some of your work. Those little mentions can be
great pick-me-ups when you most need them.
9. Enter Contests
Most designers don’t complete a project thinking
about contests, but creative competition can be
another great way to help build your confidence.
Contests also help you plan, work toward
deadlines and better pay attention to and follow
very specific rules. This planned structure can be
a good exercise for creatives that sometimes
think a little outside the lines. Try to enter
contests that match your type of work and
experience level.
And a win always feels good. (Personally, I count
getting the entry done as a win as well; some of
them can be monsters when it comes to the
rules!)
10. Get Paid
Nothing boosts your confidence like getting paid
for your work. Whether you work at a firm, have a
strong client base, or design on a freelance basis,
getting paid is a sure sign of success. (Especially
when you are creating something that you are
proud of.)
The creative business can be a fickle one, and
failed projects sometimes come with cut rates
and refunds for work. Take a minute to applaud
yourself for every project that gets finished on
time and paid in full. To get there you had to do
things right. Use those successes as examples of
how to work moving forward.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things that can shake a
designer’s confidence – a new job, new client,
unsuccessful project, conflicts in taste or style
with a client – but what will make or break your
career is how you recover.
If you stumble with a project, get out there and
try again. Work in a way that helps you build
confidence moving forward. Understanding what
you are good at (and where you struggle) can
help any designer get better and gain confidence.
What other things have you tried to boost your
confidence level as a designer? Share your tips in
the comments.

looks cool.. Did you use media queries or flexbox?

ROSYL: One word with an exclamation mark..Fat!

ode ni e ooo.. lets see your photo na. how u say she is fat? jealousy oshi

seun pls jst check out the hp spectre ht touchsmart. Its an ultrabook

Sky-walker:
lol. I should go to twitter or facebook to tell him?I don't know who tsabion is. I looked at trafficng website and was not bothered to go further due to compulsory signup. Not everybody wants to receive third party e-mails. If nairaland made it compulsory for everyone to register before even reading any topic,do you think it will have gone this far ?I just clicked on Tsaboin website and from his homepage,i could see everything i need to know about how his web application works and to conclude if i want to receive updates

facebook and twitter are very successful.they make it compulsory too

Sky-walker:
Note to traffic.ng. Not everybody wants to sign up before seeing the benefits of your application. That pisses some people off. it be nice if you try not to force people to register before they use your web application. I cant even see anything apart from the screen trying to force me to sign up

sites like tsaboin.com which is similar to yours allows users to see traffic update before even registering which is a plus for tsaboin

tell dta to twitter or facebook. Ure just trying to promote tsabion or whatever

internetonline: on my first paid job, i collected N14,000 to build a website that will be done in just 2 days.
the client asked me the question: do you know how to design website? its good to be prepared.
hope this helps
check out my latest work yet to be complete: http://www.online-technews.com
a news website that brings latest technology news to your desktop daily

lool funny

*solid*:
Advert is the key work. All kinds of advert. Case closed.

plz explain more on dis

yawa-ti-de:
99.9% of my jobs have been via referrals. The one that wasn't was someone who found me via google. I have done the cold calling, hung fliers on office doors and written the proposals. They didn't work for me and so I have stuck with referrals, only writing proposals if I someone asks me to.

Note though that the above is specific to me. Results may vary with you. Good luck!

Thnks a lot..God bless

yawa-ti-de:
Someone referred his friend to me. At the time, I didn't do freelance and actually kicked against the idea because I didn't want to deal with people's pallava. After a few calls and pleads, I reluctantly accepted. 8 years later, I look back on that day and tell peoople, "Everything happens for a reason. Never complain. Accept what's happening to you as God's will. You may not understand or appreciate it at the time but eventually, you will."

Wow thnks..am thinking about writting proposals to schools to organisations..is dat a good idea?

yawa-ti-de:
First 5? How about your very first?

What I did was do my very first one on the cheap. When that person was impressed, he told his friends. Those friends told their friends and the rest is history. Of course, as I gained more experience and popularity, my prices increased accordingly. And of course, depending on who it is or the features, my prices may also fluctuate accordingly too.

Good luck!

Hw did u get dat first one u did cheap?

plz help o!

please, web designers in the house. How did u get your first 5 jobs as a web designer? Did you write proposals or how just did u get your clients? Thnks in advance

lagos is said to be the center of commerce so i'll go for lagos.

manie: Nobody can kill a good dream, the only person who can kill a good dream is the dreamer.

If asking questions and doing due diligence is what you call dream killing, then good luck to him in his search for investors.

The best advice in business is to start small and grow along the line, it won't be a bad idea for him to even take a loan that is as small as 100k and pay back before the due date, this is just to build his credit worthiness and in a couple of months he can start taking credit facilities that run into millions. But the guy should try to build some structures, systems, policies and strategies into his business organisation.

Pls what are the structures, policies, system and strategies ure talking about?.

Francheezy: watching video nd browsing
.
apps

How did u do dat?

switchie: pls i need somebody's help here,i rooted my tecno n3 then after 3months of usage i wanted to swap my sim so i switched it off but on trying to switch it back on it just kept loading so i saw a phone engineer and he told me the problem was flashing,i gave it to him but it didn't work because after i rooted the device earlier i deleted the launcher(actually i wasn't the one that rooted it myself) that came with it because i downloaded another 1 from play store,now the phone could not be flashed according to the engineer but i know the phone has flashed because it has stopped loading eternally but the problem i have is the launcher,the phone just keeping showing a dark blank screen and i can only see the notification bar or whatever it is called and i know it's the launcher i deleted that caused the problem.pls i really need your help asap.

Switch oof the fone and press the power button and the upper volume button at the same time. Release the power button after 4secs and keep holding the upper volume untill u see an interface.. Click format..and ure back

wolajumoke: Having done business for about 20 years
I dont give specific answers to this kind of question because what sells in location A may not sell in Location B. What I do instead is to ask series of questions that will lead the person to decisive answers.

E.g. Do have any previous working experience before gaining admission?
How much time can you devote to the biz and still run academic smootly?
What is your area of passion?
What are the major needs in your school?
Giving you 500 businesses you can choose from
And so on

While in sch i was into web design and it pays my bill.
But asking u to do same may work and may not work.
So your response to the above questions and other ones i will ask should give you an idea.

how did you go about the web design while in school? i mean how do u get jobs? thnks in ad

Do u knw hw much he is paid per show? Go and find out then repeat ur statement.

wissezy: Rofl. That kid ain't worth N10mil.

0lumide: Lagos just need to tax the rich more and more..

17kmin wage is the shame of Nigeria not that of Lagos state alone. All Nigerians are involved.

Already, buying land in Lagos attracts almost 50% tax through many stupid fees you pay to state.

Development is not easy at all but at the same time, as a Lagos indigene, Fashola is number 1 on the list of achievers.

Lagos debt profile just need to be paid off through projects tied to the loan. The rail project will definitely pay itself off no doubt.

Lagos is actually not favouring the elites though. The only road tolled in Lagos right now is the Lekki one and last time I checked, that hood got elites crawling all over it. How many poor man dey stay Lekki?

Water project is my main concern. The water supply in places like Ebuta Meta, Ikeja, Ikorodu and enitre badagry area is erratic. If Lagos borrow money to fund water projects, I think it's only right for the citizens to pay for water supply.

Lagos is only owing 120b naira or so.. Trust me, it's not a "huuuge" debt profile that a state like Lagos can't pay off through internally generated revenue alone.

Let's not use scare tactics to make people be afraid of borrowing money. The projects are never handed to any international rubbish. The projects that Lagos state used the loans for are funded by both public and private. That is why Lagos debt is not more than 124b naira. If Lagos were to go at those projects alone, Lagos debt will be in the 2tr naira by now.


I had to go and read up on Lagos debt profile and I'm surprised Lagos is not owing up to $1billion!! People, this is what I call management. All the projects Lagos borrowed money for? Less than a billion dollars? And FG is owing 51b naira to Lagos state? People, I think Lagos is on it's own in terms of economics.

Lagos is doing better than Nigeria in general. Let's be honest.

156billion naira. Is that what a state like Lagos should be scared of after almost 13years of Tinubu/Fashola? With so many projects ongoing through public/private enterprise? I think Abuja needs Lagos state's economic team. Let's be honest here.

And the op is sitting traffic laws and Lagos state sanitation? hahahaha.. I think PDP dogs are at it again.



In "America", speeding tickets can go upt to $2000 (312 thousand naira) The average speeding ticket is about $800 (120K) and guess what. Seriously.

You have to become unpopular in order to sanitize Lagos. The truth is, many people will have to move back further east of Lagos. Lagos can't not sustain the present population for long really.

Allocation is a cheat. Lagos needs more than it gets. Real Lagosians(People who call Lagos home and love Lagos not just for economic benefit) are suffering from being too enterprising. Because if not for the enterprising nature of Lagosians, fresh graduates from all over Nigeria won't be trooping in millions to Lagos yearly for better paying jobs. Lagos is tired and over crowded. We need to make it unattractive for a while. Many people will have to move back East of Lagos until Lagos expands into Ogun, etc.. But that will take a lot of transportation network to achieve.

I believe Lagos to Ibadan should have an ultra modern light rail. This way, people can live in Ibadan and work in Lagos.

ure on point mahn

Boss please could design a logo for me?

Name: HiiTel

description: its an IT group.

Color: orange.

Thnks in advance

ViewMIx_TV: Just launched this movies and TV shows website today for Nigeria but it's still in beta. You can watch and record shows from anywhere, anytime using our Virtual DRV technology. Go to www.viewmix.com.ng and enjoy some great programs. Come back and post your feedback about your experience and how we can improve it for everyone to enjoy please.

yoo i want to contact you directly. How do i do dat?

moreeni: The attention losing weight gets is unfair compared to the attention gaining it gets.People will tell you to relax and await it,never might it happen.I have been at it for more than a decade with countless regimen of wate-on mixed with milk and egg.No show! Beg them to really advise you cos I am following. Good luck.

ure right there... Plz o real advice not rest of mind..

How to gain weight fast? I heard of dexacotine buh it has too many side effects.. I also heard of wate-on. Who as used wate-on before? And good advice is welcomed. Thnks.

chiboy11: K BRO I WAZ TOLD TO VIST ANY PHAMCY N TALK TO DEM,I WIL B GIVEN A DRUG DAT WUD MAKE ME MORE FAT

its dexacotine then. It makes ladies look chubby..buh if man takes it together with frequent gyming. He shuld be just fyn

chiboy11: i do more of dat, infact i make sure i am neva hungry n i slepp too much but it seems nt workin, som1 told me of a drug i dnt kno if its nice taking one

whats the name of the drug?