Archive: Site

November 2, 2007

Unmasked

Alas, October eventually comes to an end each year and we must take off our costumes. Well I suppose we don’t have to, but it’s advisable. This site might be back to normal, but you can always relive the horrifying time on any post from October. And a month’s worth of black and white photos makes me realize I should… more »

October 1, 2007

The Shadow Over Brooklyn

October descends upon us once again. As I stepped outside this morning, I felt as though someone had flipped the season switch to Autumn; the air was chilly and sharp, leaves were congregating in the crease where the street meets the sidewalk, and the breeze carried with it the scent of cedar and apples. Perhaps I’m just aware of these… more »

September 12, 2007

Feed Cleaning

A quick note about this site’s XML feeds; with some inspiration and code from one of Dan Cederholm’s old posts, I ditched the idea of having two feeds (one Atom and one RSS 2.0, or in some cases, older RSS versions), and have opted to just go with RSS 2.0 for now. All the old feeds have been redirected to… more »

July 18, 2007

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

As a young lad I would often redecorate my room. Sometimes this meant rearranging all the furniture, or creating new furniture of my own. Other times it meant tearing down whatever artwork and rock posters were hanging on the wall and replacing them with some of my new drawings or paintings. Without fail, I would always end up changing things… more »

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February 2, 2007

Fighting Off Design Stagnation

I’ve only been out of school and working in the industry for a few years now, but I can already feel it. The feeling like my hands are getting tied. Like I am coming up with the same old ideas or dipping into my overused bag of tricks too often. I am left racking my brain for new directions… more »

November 1, 2006

Nevermore

October has once again come to a close. The days have become frightfully short—the sun barely even stops by anymore—the trees are busy shrugging off their Technicolor coats, and just as Mr. C says, memories of our departed loved ones come back abruptly, and sometimes, painfully. Alas, I welcome November and bid a fond farewell to another eerie October. Sadly,… more »

October 10, 2006

Class Critique

About a month ago I found a referrer to my site coming from the blog of an Interactive Media class at Michigan State University. I noticed that one of the class assignments is to critique a given website every week, and lo and behold, my site was slated for the chopping block during the first week of October (previous sites… more »

October 1, 2006

Maelstrom

October descends on us once again, and my site rises from its shallow grave to welcome the turning of the seasons. Why break such a fun tradition! Here we have the fourth annual October Edition of this site (you may need to disembowel your cache). I’ve traded in the past bloodbath for a bit of dust and absinthe. This year’s… more »

August 14, 2006

A Brief European Sojourn

Amidst all the hubbub going on at the airports these days, I’m traveling to Dublin, Ireland later this week on business. It’s a whirlwind visit; we arrive on Thursday, leave Saturday, enjoy a day long pause in Stockholm, Sweden then back home by Sunday night. This trip punctuates the crazy amount of work I’ve been doing lately. I’ve severely scaled… more »

June 21, 2006

The Dust Settles

Lo! It’s been quiet around here. As mentioned before, I’ve been updating a bit of stuff on the site. Well, I’ve recoded everything from the ground up. The basic rundown, for those interested: Ditched XHTML Transitional and moved to XHTML Strict. All of the main pages are done, but I’m still piecing my way through older entries I stopped using… more »

May 22, 2006

Pardon The Dust

I’ve been poking around under the hood all weekend making some updates to the site structure. It’s likely lots of stuff is broken or spurting blood, but don’t be alarmed, everything will be fixed shortly. There may even be an improvement or two. Sit tight, there’ll be more soon.….. more »

March 6, 2006

Excuses, Excuses

A couple of you may have noticed the lack of new Under The Loupe article last Thursday. There is a very valid reason for me missing my own publishing date—we’ve moved into our new house. But that’s not even the only reason I suppose. The real reason I didn’t get to publish a new article is because the hot water… more »

October 3, 2005

Bloody Hell

Welcome to October! Some of you may remember this October Edition from last year, well, that’s because it’s the same damn one (you may need to clear your cache). With all the stuff going on I couldn’t steal enough time to create a new site costume, so I figured it’s better to wear the same costume two years in a… more »

May 6, 2005

Ten Questions For Me

I’ve just received the Ten Question treatment from Mr. Russ Weakley over at the Web Standards Group. Find out all you ever wanted to know about me that a mere 10 questions could cover. Perhaps I even answer the most important question, “American Cheese or Cheez Whiz?” Who knows? You will just have to read it and find out. I… more »

April 11, 2005

Design In-Flight: April 2005

The latest issue of Design In-Flight comes out tomorrow (PDF excerpt). In addition to the high-caliber articles we’ve come to expect from DIF like “Acing the interview: Tips and techniques for success” by Khoi Vinh and “The more things stay the same, the more they change” by Molly E. Holzschlag; you will find another stunning cover by Kevin Cornell and… more »

January 24, 2005

2005 Bloggie Awards

Well then, it seems I am up for an award at the 2005 Bloggies. I can’t help but sigh after writing that because it sounds so silly. Bloggies. Despite gunning for “Best Asian Weblog”, I only managed to get into the finals for “Best-Designed Weblog”. I am pitted against some heavy contenders too, not least of which is a personal… more »

January 7, 2005

Design In-Flight

I have contributed an article entitled “Fighting Off Design Stagnation” to the latest issue of Design In-Flight magazine. The article deals with the problems designers and creative people go through as their career progresses like the pressures to remain current, competitive and imaginative. Luckily, I am friends with the talented Kevin Cornell and managed to convince him to create an… more »

December 8, 2004

Christmas in Rittenhouse Park

Tuesday night was beautiful. A little rain, a lot of fog, and the perfect backdrop to take pictures in the park. Every year in December, the trees in Rittenhouse Park, now stripped of their colorful leaves, get decked out with a colorful assortment of gigantic Christmas balls. Some are the size of a fist, some the size of a basketball.… more »

November 29, 2004

Upgrades and Downgrades

Daily Photography Given my newfound employment situation, I have had some time to rearrange a few things around here. First up, Weekly Photography is gone. Don’t cry, in its place you will now find Daily Photography! Every day you will hopefully be treated to a new photograph; just like before, there will be a photo thumb in the sidebar on… more »

November 2, 2004

Back to Life

Well, here we are again. I know I am a couple days late reverting back to the normal site skin… I had trouble letting go of October. But, fear not, October lives on in our (undead) hearts. I would not take it away from you (or me) entirely. All of the entries that took place in October will don the… more »

October 1, 2004

October Edition

*gasp!* What the hell happened around here? It seems as though my website has gone bad and claimed its first victim. This could only mean one thing, it’s October again. Here we are, a treat to all mankind, to celebrate the greatest month of the year, bearer of the greatest holiday of the year, Halloween; I give to you the… more »

September 21, 2004

Found Typography at File Magazine

The kind people at File Magazine, in their never-ending quest to collect unexpected photography, have decided to republish some selections from my recent set of photos, Found Typography. Since you all love photography, I can only assume that you love File Magazine. So, you will want to go there and enjoy the photos all over again. I promise they are… more »

September 14, 2004

Shutterbug

If one were to look in the Photography section of this site, one would find two new collections of pictorial goodness. The first is a general assortment of signage, forgotten letterforms and typographic bits found in and around Philadelphia, it is called Found Typography. The second collection is from Labor Day, the day when workers lay down their pickaxes and… more »

July 25, 2004

For the Devoted Reader

This weekend I did some site overhaulin’. No, not where I steal someone’s site, trick it out and replace every letter “s” with a “z”, but rather, I made some modifications here at jasonsantamaria.com; your most favorite site on the web. Most notably, and most invisible to you, I upgraded to MovableType 3.0. The upgrade was easy as hell and… more »

July 11, 2004

Not Dead

Though the lack of updates might suggest I have run off with the circus or perhaps some hot design groupie, but the truth is I have been busy as hell. Part of that is work and part of that includes my attempts to have a life away from the screen in front of me. Work has reached a fever pitch… more »

May 24, 2004

Grey Box Methodology

After I read Underline Text in Adobe Illustrator by Douglas Bowman last week, it got me thinking about my own process for designing a website. The main point of his article focuses on not being able to underline text simply in Illustrator (which is quite annoying) and his solution and workaround. Afterwards, there was some interesting discussion about what programs… more »

May 17, 2004

Spring Upkeep

I managed to get around to some long overdue site updates and maintenance this weekend, and now have some treats for your viewing pleasure. A new set of photos called Procession of Saints which were taken this weekend in Bella Vista (in South Philadelphia) during the Bella Vista Festa. The Procession of Saints is a parade of sorts where a… more »

April 6, 2004

Site of the Month at WSA!

It seems the fine folks at the Web Standards Awards have seen fit to bestow me with the March “Site of the Month” Award (also known as the “Golden Star”) for this very site. Last month I was awarded the Silver Star, and must say that I am entirely floored to be recognized among such great company. Perhaps an even… more »

March 4, 2004

A Year in the Can

By that title I am not referring to a year spent on the toilet, but another year down. That’s right, one year ago today I launched this website anew. It has been online in some incarnation for the better part of four years, though this past year it took a much different spin. A year with Movable Type, a year… more »

March 2, 2004

Web Standards Awards

Hooray for me! I have won a Silver Star award from the Web Standards Awards (A competition much more fierce and bloody than all of the Academy Awards ceremonies combined) for this beloved site of mine. I am very honored and proud, as are all of the little kindergartners I “employed” to produce the site… but that is only because… more »

March 1, 2004

A Few Photographs

This weekend I had the pleasure of moving friends (and newlyweds) Kim and Kevin into their new house. Jeez, a house. I am still debating whether or not I want to be cowboy or a surgeon when I grow up. I am leaning towards a surgeon because of all the cute nurses I am led to believe there are (thanks… more »

January 25, 2004

There and Back Again

Well, here it is at last, Version 3, the product of many late nights and plenty of coffee. Some minor improvements have been made to structure. Among other things, entries are now sorted into categories for all of the archival browsers out there. The Weekly Photography section is now a small, self-contained chunk of Flash complete with integrated archive, previous… more »

November 24, 2003

A Good Deal of Distractions

I realize that both of my site’s readers are perhaps a bit distraught (or maybe thankful) at the silence around here. I assure you, it’s for a good cause, a few causes actually, chief among them being the current redesign (which is coming along nicely, thanks for asking). It’s been a sleepless labor of love so far, but should be… more »

November 3, 2003

All Hallow’s Eve

Halloween, the culmination of my favorite month. This year it was spent in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, the country’s second oldest Victorian Garden Cemetery. Which basically means it’s design was thoroughly planned out with areas for walkways, trees, and manicured environments. The first person was laid to rest on (in) its grounds in 1836. Since then its 96 acres… more »

October 1, 2003

A Splash of October

Egads! Orange! Yeah, that’s right, orange. Though some of you have accused me in the past of often reverting to orange in my designs, this time I have an excuse…it’s October! In recognition of October being the best month of the year (and consequently occupying the best time of year), I have decided to throw together a quick color scheme… more »

September 5, 2003

On the Horizon

Well, this site has been up and running for just over six months now. In that time I have learned much from my first stab at its design, and managed to pinpoint some of its shortcomings. Not being one to sit around and stagnate, I have already begun redesigning my site. I have learned a great deal since the current… more »

September 2, 2003

Best Band Name Ever

Have you ever found yourself saying “Man, that would make a great band name”? Well, now you dreams of thinking of the best band ever name can come true. Tell the world about it (at least both of the people who come to this site)! Since we all seem to come up with fake band names so much, I figured… more »

May 18, 2003

Karaoke and Kung Fu

Friday night I got to partake in some karaoke action with some friends at a sports bar called Mad Anthony’s (which was conveniently located beneath a nearby hotel). Now, as much as I like to frequent sports bars and yell at the TV therein as I spill beer on those around me, I must give the place credit. As far… more »

March 10, 2003

Victory on the Scrabble Board

What can I say, I’m on a roll. Ok, maybe two victories in a row isn’t quite a roll, but considering I just recently started playing Scrabble, and I regularly play with two English grads, I can’t help but want to pat myself on the back. I usually lose at the damn game, which is one of the more frustrating… more »

March 4, 2003

A New Beginning

So, here we are again. Maybe some of you will remember my last web site (yes, both of you) which was online 2 years ago, and for those who know little or nothing about me, this will hopefully serve as a hasty introduction. Since then, a lot has happened. I acquired a fantastic job at Power Design (which the first… more »