May 5, 2014 in Learn
5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Web Design Portfolio
If you’re a freelance designer or if you’re looking for your next design job, a portfolio of work is essential. Clients and employers want to see your capabilities and form a quick impression. If you don’t have a portfolio yet,…
April 29, 2014 in Learn
Noted Illustrator Ben O’Brien Talks About Finding Inspiration, Taking Chances
Ben O’Brien, an Internationally Acclaimed Illustrator, Left College and Taught Himself How to Succeed For Ben O’Brien, a prominent UK illustrator and designer, his career began when he summoned the courage to quit his comfy studio job and go it…
April 29, 2014 in Learn
Flexbox: The Next Generation of CSS Layout Has Arrived
(Stretch your CSS layout options with Flexbox. Flickr photo by Duncan Hull.) Flexbox is a totally new set of CSS properties that allows designers to create flexible layouts. This is great news for responsive design because it dramatically reduces the complexity of…
April 23, 2014 in Learn
An Introduction to Perceived Performance
(Illustration by Mat Helme, Treehouse) Perceived Performance Is a Measure of How Quick a User Thinks Your Site Is, and That’s Often More Important Than Its True Speed Performance is important. It can mean the difference between making a sale,…
April 23, 2014 in Learn
Can Computer Programming Boost Your Brain Power?
Brains Are Like Muscles, and Tackling Complex Skills Like Web Development May Help Strengthen Them Learning how to program for the first time was a challenge for Adam Waxman. He worked as a full-time investment banking analyst in Atlanta, but…
April 21, 2014 in Learn
How to Calculate Hourly Freelance Rates for Web Design, Development Work
(Figure out how to fill up the freelance pig. Photo by Mike Tungate / Flickr) If there’s one question I’m asked by web designers and developers more than any other, it’s how to figure out what to charge for a…
April 17, 2014 in Learn
Do You Really Need a Computer Science Degree?
(Options beyond a degree are important. Flickr photo by Faruk Ateş) Most electronic devices use software and most businesses are backed with software, whether on computers or in the cloud. All this requires software and web development. The good news for…
April 16, 2014 in Learn
Designer Meng To’s Writing Adventure Stemmed from Denied Visa
In 2013, Meng To was enjoying the startup life in Silicon Valley while lending his web design talents to Heyzap, a mobile game developer. Until his request for a new visa was denied. The Cambodian-born web designer and developer from…
April 15, 2014 in Learn
Moonlighting as a Designer or Developer: Money, Flexibility — and Some Caution
(The moon. Flickr photo by Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel) When Neil Tortorella started his web design business, he already had a full-time job. “I was working for a newspaper doing ad stuff for them and freelancing nights and weekends,” says Tortorella,…
April 14, 2014 in Learn
The Beginner’s Guide to Ratchet: a Mobile Web App Framework
Ratchet is a front-end framework for building mobile web apps in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Ratchet 2.0 was recently released, so it’s a good time to start learning how to build Ratchet apps. If you just want to see Ratchet in…
April 10, 2014 in Learn
How to Create Smoother Animations and Transitions in the Browser
In order to achieve smooth transitions and animations, a browser needs to avoid doing extra work on its main thread, the part that’s in charge of handling tasks like JavaScript, style calculations, layout, painting and compositing (more on these later)….
April 8, 2014 in Learn
How I Rapidly Prototype Websites
(Photo by Andrés Nieto Porras/Flickr) Treehouse students will often ask me which mockup tool I use to prototype websites, and my response is almost always the same: pencil and paper. I feel like when I give this answer, there’s a small…