Check out the evidence below!

Check out the Radio_Etc Logo and MySpace Page. Credit goes out to Ben Wilson for one of the photos from his Goa trip.

I have worked on a number of profiles over the last few years so I can say I have experienced a fair amount of problems along the way. In a nutshell though, profiles took longer to design than standard web pages but the end result was normally what the client wanted – a bespoke profile which fitted in seamlessly with their company or brand. The good thing about the original 1.0 profile format was that it allowed full control of the whole page with HTML and CSS. It could mean custom designed content could be layered over the top of the standard myspace page which meant the end product would mean most things were possible. It wasn’t the best method of creating a web page, but it worked quite well. Since these features were open to everyone, it gave the average user unrestricted access to ruin their profile to the point where it wasn’t accessible. This meant from an end user point of view, you didn’t need to trawl the site too much to find some awful design and inaccessible content.

MySpace has since changed. Along with a rebrand, they have made profile editing functionality easier. It’s technically more advanced too, since profiles can now be edited more directly and visually rather than having to rely on HTML / CSS. This is done using some nice new HTML5 markup which alone is a huge step forward from the previous table heavy platform which was widely regarded as a mess by most web designers. These advancements also bring some tight restrictions, supposedly to make the editing procedure easier, more accessible and less problematic. Adding custom CSS or HTML has been taken out or at least limited to using a self contained ‘HTML Box module’ rather than profile wide stylesheets. Blocks of custom content can be dropped into the layout, but much of the information on the page can only be formatted by using a small selection of styles. These are by no means exhaustive but should be a good starting point for most people. From my point of view I would much rather more control or ideally be able to overrule the current page styles by attaching my own stylesheet. Some areas of the page, such as the comments cannot currently be customised at all in terms of their appearance so for now these parts of the 2.0 profile will look generic when comparing them against other 2.0 profiles. Fonts also have to be picked from a small selection, but should satisfy most peoples needs. This means from a design and development point of view the new MySpace does not give the full access and control that it did before. Other modules can be added to the profile such as Video, Image Galleries and Shows & Events and more and arranged into the profile using drag and drop rather than CSS. The general visual design comes from a background image which can be no bigger than 1600×1600 pixels and a colour pallet of 5 colours. A marquee can be added which increases the amount of space between the Myspace header and the start of your profile. This is quite neat but has a maximum initial height of 250 pixels which is limiting (see image below).

It is now no longer possible to revert back to the old 1.0 profile format which is annoying for my clients who have paid me money to create bespoke designs in the past. It seems like MySpace now want everyone to be using the 2.0 format – I’m looking out to see if this changes and the option to revert comes back.

So in conclusion MySpace has been improved for the average user, but some of the neat tricks are no longer possible. These restrictions make it impossible to break a 2.0 profile, but I would rather have the option of breaking things if it opened up the possibility of making it look amazing! Let me know or add a comment if I have got any of this info incorrect and I will update this post.

The portfolio is the main focus of the website and where I spent the most time developing. Work can be viewed by Media or by Client, depending what you are interested in. Selecting Branding, Print, Websites, 3D and VFX or Illustration will quickly display an overview of all the content in that section with just a single click. Since what I create for a client often covers multiple media’s, browsing by client will list all the relevant media for that client, again as an overview of work produced. If more information is wanted for a piece of work, another click on the image will display higher resolution images and also a brief description. The plan is to give the user the flexability to choose how and what they view, and not to over face them with too much content at any one time. The site is also easy for me to manage with a CMS since I only ever have to enter the work once.

One of the new parts of the website is that it is mobile optimised. In particular the site has been designed and tested to run on the most popular current devices such as Apples iPhone (3G, 3GS & 4) iPod Touch, a whole host of Android powered phones, some Nokia and Blackberry smartphones and eventually Windows phone 7 and tablets such as the iPad. SinceI have only tested the site on certain devices it is likely that errors might occur if you device hasn’t been tested. If you notice an issue, please get in touch. I will keep an eye on this and make changes when necessary which should help me build better website and applications in future.

There are a few other ideas and experiments I wish to include on this website before I use them on client / commercial work, but I probably wont have time to do these until the new year because of limited time. Follow me on Twitter if you want to hear of these updates. Thanks for checking the site out, and watch this space for changes.

Add a comment or contact me if you have any feedback.

Cheers
Richard Welch

Some of the artwork for the latest release from Sustained Records;
‘The Memento Mori EP’.

Track listing
A. DJ Hidden – Earth Cry
B. DJ Hidden – Ten Direction Ambush
C. I:Gor – Plastic Axe
D. Igor – Were Not Most People

Catalogue Number: SSTD003
Format: 2×12″ vinyl double pack
Distribution by Load Media UK

Available in all decent record shops including…
Chemical Records (Buy Here)
Juno
Redeye Records
The Hardstore
…and many more

Audio clips available on www.myspace.com/sustainedrecords

DJ Hidden features on his first release on Sustained Records with two tracks which have been receiving lots interest from top names. ‘Earth Cry’ is a stodgy kick drum assault with eerie apocalyptic atmospherics and vocal samples. ‘Ten Direction Ambush’ is an all out assault on the bass line with kick drums that destroy clubs like a cluster bomb.
See www.DJHidden.com and www.myspace.com/djhidden

I:Gor returns with his second release on the label. ‘Plastic Axe’ is another chunky yet rolling track that shakes dance floors to the core whilst maintaining an element of I:Gor’s funk. ‘Were Not Most People’ starts with a charming sample about murder which sets the track up perfectly to deliver what can only be described as death by drum.
See www.myspace.com/igoradaptor

As with all releases on Sustained Records 10% of Profit goes to environmental causes.

Memento Mori – “Remember you shall die”

Sustained Digital has just released SSTDMP3 002. It features 2 tracks…
Triple Sickz – Penetrator
Envoys Evolution & Satan – Dirty Creature

Clips of the tracks are available on www.myspace.com/sustaineddigital

You can purchase these tracks and mp3s of previous Sustained releases from our exclusive MP3 store…

http://sustainedrecords.ithinkmusic.com

I finally got round to getting one of my designs printed onto a t-shirt. This is strictly a one off for now, just to test the quality of the print. I am looking into getting more printed along with some other designs to, watch this space! The actual print process used is direct to garment (DTG) printing which might not necessarily be used if I was to get a bulk order done. The effect is nice and sharp and the colours are nice and bright. Check the picture belows.