Suggestions for Creating Pages for this Website

October 31, 1996

Any member of the MG Taylor network can contribute to this website in one of three ways:

• Create your own website: we'll link the MGTaylor website to relevant pages at your website.

• Submit articles to the editor Journal of Transition Management for consideration. The editor will handle converting the article to HTML.

• Submit completed pages to the editor for consideration. The layout and graphics must match the specifications listed below.

Suggestions for Creating Models,
Logos and Website Graphics

Software

1. Frame. I create the basic frame or skeleton of the model in Freehand in black and export it as a 200 line screen, 256 color Windows bmp file and then scale it back to 72 dpi in Photoshop. This reduces the jaggies (I'm sure there's a better way--E-mail the Webmaster if you know). If the model will be build in pieces on different layers, I export each piece or layer separately.
2. Painting. I import the bmp file into Photoshop, resize the image and canvas and set it to 72dpi. I add the background and feathered white base. Then I color the basic lines if necessary. Then I add embellishing colors, glyphs and labels, usually placing each piece on a different layer to facilitate editing and correction.
   
   
3. Export. If there are photographic images involved I usually export in jpg format. If there is just the drawing I export as a gif89a (transparent, interlaced). There's a gif89a plug-in available at the Adobe site on the web. Note however, that many times the jpg is a smaller file size than the gif89a.
   
   

Web safe colors

1. Combinations. Web colors are specified by hexadecimal code. RGB (red, green, blue) values range from 0 to 255. To convert all possible hexadecimal codes to RGB, restrict the red, green and blue values to the following six numbers: 0, 51, 102, 153, 204, 255. So black would be 0_0_0. White would be 255_255_255. Pure red is 255_0_0. Purple is 255_0_255. This produces a limited palette of 216 colors that supposedly can be read from most any machine and browser. Well... you know. I use many more colors than these, especially in blends, but for solid colors I rely on this palette.
   
   

Models

1. Label text. The font to use to label models is 16 point Gil Sans Condensed 51_51_51. All lower case.
2. Model title. EngraversGothic BT 16 point 51_51_51. All lower case. Model name on top line, copyright notice on bottom line. Copyright notice 14 point.
3. Icons
   Brush: 4 pixel 100% hardness 25% spacing, round 100%.
   Base Color 153_102_51
   Shade (when desired) 102_51_0
   Highlight (when desired) 204_153_51 or 255_204_51 for a hotter effect
   You can use any colors you wish for icons in order to get the proper contrast with the rest of the model.
4. Background. Start with a background layer in Photoshop filled with 205_153_102. Create a layer on top of the background and fill it with white. Select the selection rectangle and set feather to 8. Select all, cut, paste; select all, cut, paste, until you get the desired amount of bleed off. You should end up with a fuzzy brown border and a white interior.
5. Size. Models vary in width but don't exceed 500 pixels. They can be as tall as you like, but anything over 350 pixels will necessitate some scrolling to see the whole model.
6. Layers (as you feel necessary--I prefer more layers to give me more options in Photoshop
   Background layer
   Feathered white layer
   highlighting coloring
   Basic model shape (may be distributed on many layers)
   Icons and labels
   
   

Glyphs

1. Colors and style. You can use any colors you wish, but there is a standard of using a mid-range base color, a shadow composed of the base with some chroma removed and a highlight. These three allow the glyphs to take on a 3D carved look and to glow a little as well.
2. Color Schemes
   non websafe brown
   Base: 110_75_33
   Shade: 75_60_48
   Highlight: 254_254_153
   websafe brown
   Base: 153_51_0
   Shade: 102_51_51 (there's a little too much red in this for me)
   Highlight: 255_255_153
3. Size. All Glyphs are 60x60 pixels in size and unlabeled. They are set on a feathered brown background created like the one for the models only with a 4 pixel feather
4. Layers. I use four layers: I usually have a background, a white feather layer, an icon layer for the base cover and a highlight layer for both highlight and shade
5. Brush sizes. I usually use a 5 pixel hard brush for the base and a 3 or 4 pixel hard brush for the highlight and shade.
6. Quick Glyphs. Quick glyphs are line drawings done in Photoshop to show how the glyphs can be quickly drawn or represented in a shorthand fashion. They are 60x60 pixels in size with a white background and sketched in blue 0_102_255.
   
   

Web Pages

1. Dimensions. Tables, mastheads, footer button bars all have total widths of 500 pixels. Regular text, of course, expands to fit the size of the screen.
2. Background. The background of all pages is white. A background image may be found on the eight main section pages but is not found on other pages.
3. Headers. All pages other than the eight main section pages have an MG Taylor logo at the top of the page centered. A button bar appears directly below the logo, also centered. That's followed by the page glyph, if any. The title of the page follows in Heading 2 style, centered. The date the page was originally published follows in Normal style, bold, centered.
4. Tables. Keep the width at or under 500 pixels to match with the other pages. Most tables are centered.
5. Buttons. I have created several buttons of the "blended sausage" variety. If you would like the buttons in their native Freehand 7.0 or Photoshop formats, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you.
6.  
7. Footers. The standard three-button button bar is at the bottom of the page. It may be left justified or centered depending on what appears above it. Below the button bar is a link to our copyright page, centered, Normal style, italic.
8. Infolog. Below the button bar is a TT style infolog number in reduced font size, centered. The infolog is the year, month, day, hour, minute, second local time (converted to a 24 hour clock) of the creation of the page, followed by the characters "web" and two or three initials of the creator of the page. Don't use two character abbreviations for the year! We're almost into the next century!
   
   For example, a page created by Miles J. Smith on October 16, 1997 at 3:45:20PM would have an infolog number like this:
   
   19971016154520.web.mjs

copyright © 1997, MG Taylor Corporation. All rights reserved
copyrights, terms and conditions

19961031005225.web.bsc