So, earlier this year I was looking for CSS contests and the like, and I finally found one last June. It’s called CSS Off.
Convert a .psd into HTML making use of web standards, in 24 hours or less.
excerpt from CSS Off
So I entered their first contest and thought I did extremely well. Here was my entry. I didn’t win, but I thought that their feedback was very helpful and valid. All in all it was a great experience.
So I wanted to enter the next one, but I wasn’t until this month. I woke up yesterday and realized that the contest had started. So I began. I didn’t feel at all like I came near to completion, and I think that my entry was late (so it won’t count…argh!).
This is what is what they gave us to work with, and what it was supposed to be based on. We had some liberty to be creative with it.
But here are some things I’ve learned from this experience, and thought I would share.
- Allow more time for looking over everything before you submit your files. I didn’t give myself room to breath. So in the end I forgot…
That I needed to zip the files, to code correct ratings(actual stars, not a fake image), and verify my XHTML and CSS. Luckily my XHTML was fine, but I made a stupid mistake with my CSS. I used ‘font’ instead of ‘font-family’…ugh, a stupid mistake. - Don’t stress so much over the details
I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to .psd comps and css. I want everything to look exactly the same. But I am starting to realize that I am killing myself every time I try and do that. Hopefully I can learn to find some balance. - Lastly, know your limits.
One of the challenges of this contest was that the footer design was left out of the comp. (argh!) So to say the least I was frustrated. I don’t always have a design touch, especially for someone else’s design. So to take it and make a footer for it was very difficult for me. I worked way to long on different variations, and wasted valuable time, that could have been spent verifying code, etc. So, in retrospect I will try and do my best, but I must know my limits and where to stop trying different ways over and over and over. (I think I shot myself in the foot trying to many ways)
So, here is the site I submitted. If you think it rocks, tell me! If you think it sucks, tell me! I wore myself out doing it, and probably won’t do the next unless I have more time in the day. Thanks CSS Off for the opportunity, and I hope my entry is at least looked at…
