SoLi Designs

The Website is Down

2008-09-03T12:20:11Z

Please Note: Not fit to listen when your are viewing with children in the room. Narrative contains expletives.

A Refreshing Flash Animation

2008-08-21T07:12:58Z

PLAY: This is by far one of the coolest flash animation I have seen in a long time. It was created by Dustball of Dust Films. The beat is quite catchy too...you can’t help but watch this movie at least two times in a row. .

Creating Newspaper with Photoshop

2008-08-11T03:04:58Z

I recently created a dynamic EE CMS website for a client, and I stumbled upon this easy to follow, detailed, How to Create a Newspaper tutorial on 13dots. It came in pretty handy as I thought it would be a great idea to implement this element within the site’s homepage graphics design. Below is a sample of what my finished version of the newsprint looks like.

I will provide an update at a later time on what the finished design looks like as I am still in search of three particular elements that will tie into the design.

Expression Engine and Windows Live Writer

2008-08-03T20:10:57Z

Did you know that you can write your weblogs straight from your desktop and have them published to your EE driven website? With the combination of Windows Live and Expression Engine’s built in Metaweblog API Module, you are able to connect to your site from your desktop and create media rich content and have it published to your weblog in real time without even accessing your site’s admin console.

Windows Live also come equpped with many available plugins that you could use to enhance your posts. Some of these include inserting Yahoo and/or MSN smileys, adding a ‘What You Are Listening’ to feature, capture screen image (see photo on left), and many many more.

I must say, I am very pleased with this fancy ‘shmancy’ software so far and I think I’ll be wearing it out from now on when it comes to creating and managing my Expression Engine blog.

Win an Apple MacBook Air

2008-07-26T13:32:00Z

Want to chance to win a free Apple MacBook - a compact, ultrathin 13.3″ laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive) released by Apple few months ago? Smashing Magazine is giving this gem to one lucky entrant.

The Catch
All you have to do is write a small guest article for Smashing Magazine. That’s it! After the August 5, 2008 deadline, the best guest article will be chosen by Smashing Magazine’s editorial team. Click here to learn more about this great opportunity.

Incorporating Flickr

2008-07-18T05:25:00Z

I have found a great way to incorporate Flickr into your website thanks to Veerle. She even went the extra mile for everyone by cleaning up the script and including CSS that helps you to format your images within your layout. If you would like to view her instructions and information on how to implement Flickr, visit Flickr Badge W3C Valid.

Akismet for Expression Engine

2008-07-16T20:15:00Z

We know all too well how much of a pain trackback and comment spams can be to clean on a daily basis. Expression Engine provides several options that helps you work around this problem, including allowing individuals to sign up for an account via a CAPTCHA enable form before being able to make any post. If you would like to forgo this option and give individuals the option to post without signing up for an account, with the added protection of preventing being spammed by said individual, Akismet for Expression Engine is the perfect script to use. Please note that Akismet for Expression Engine works with ExpressionEngine 1.5.1 Build - 20061016 and onwards!

To learn more about how Akismet for Expression Engine functions, script download, and installation information, visit Akismet for Expression Engine for more details.

Expression Engine Blogging Platform

2008-07-15T21:08:00Z

From time to time, I have come across many personal blogs among like minded individuals as myself. Even more, I’ve heard quite a few gripe about their blogging platform that they are currently using, whether it be Wordpress, Blogspot, etc. Thus, I felt compelled to let you blogging enthusiasts know about a really superb blogging script known as Expression Engine by EllisLab.

“Expression Engine (EE) is a flexible, feature-rich content management system that empowers thousands of individuals, organizations, and companies around the world to easily manage their website.” It is very flexible, easy to use, and adaptable to your own style of design. With Wordpress, you have to rip apart pages of codes and reassembling them to conform to your design, wasting a lot of valuable time and still somewhat constrained within a certain framework. However with EE, all you need to do is slice and dice your designs, add your site’s layout via admin, and drop EE’s tags in the appropriate sections of said layout and you are on your way to a fully functional blog and/or CMS. EE also provides a huge list of addons to enhance your site’s functionality.

If you would like to try out EE to see if it is right fo you, you may download a free lite version known as Expression Engine Core. The EECore License permits ONLY one installation on a website that engages in personal, non-commercial, or non-profit activities.

They also offer twenty-seven (27) downloadable site themes from which to choose if you would like a site that looks a bit different than that out of the box appearance. We also do custom blog themes and cms designs if you would like a look that is more personal and unique to you.

If you would like a personal theme designed, you may contact me at anytime.