Using Font Squirrel with the Istarel Workshop Framework

There are many font services out there, but with the advent of embedded fonts on the web, I have slowly moved away from services like TypeKit and instead turned to FontSquirrel. The font selection is excellent, and my primary graphic design and branding partner Rhyme and Reason use it as well. Frequently, they provide me with Photoshop files to use as a design guide for web applications that I am building.

Implementing jQuery UI in a Web Application

A lot of people thought I was crazy for wanting to develop my own PHP framework, and 1400 hours of discovery and development later, they may have a point. At the end of the day, though, I have an extremely powerful and flexible framework for making database-driven web applications. Where even I drew the line, however, was with javascript. I made the decision to use jQuery because its design philosophy seems similar to my own.

Javascript Field Placeholders

One standard feature on most blogs (and lots of other places, of course) is a search widget. I wanted to make sure that its functionality was obvious without having to resort to a label sitting on top of it (or next to it). So, I experimented with a little Javascript to create some placeholder text to make clear what purpose the field served. Once the user clicks in the field, I also want the placeholder text to go away (and then return when the user leaves the field if it is empty).