LaTeX

There was of course no way I was going through the hell of managing a 30-or-so page Word document. I decided to learn LaTeX (and BibTeX) which has powerful layout capabilities, and easy ways to keep track of all the references I use (within the document, and to other sources).

As it turns out, if you know HTML, LaTeX is really, really easy.

If you are a front-end developer that has to write documents every now and then, I’d definitively recommend you to start using it. It took me less then a day to get comfortable with it, and that included trying out a bunch of different editors.

Source Control

Because I use LaTeX, which is just plain text, it was a logical idea to just throw everything into a git repository.

Following that, I decided to place it on Github as well. This means I can work on it from any place that I want, that it’s securely backed-up, and that it’s really easy for others to read and suggest changes. Alper went as far as submitting a patch, Very Cool.

You can find my entire graduation project here: Kilian/Graduation on GitHub. I plan to make use of the issue tracker as well, and as you can see Issue #1 is: Graduate ;)

While my entire graduation project will be done in Dutch, I will release an English article listing quick-wins and tips for increasing participation on social networks through usability at the end of the project as well.

So, wish me luck and we’ll see what comes out of it at the end of those 16 weeks! :)

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Graduation (almost)

Seven things

1. I share my birthday with St. Kilian. While it isn’t strange to share your birthday with the saint of the same name, St. Kilian isn’t a known saint here in the Netherlands. My parents and I only found out he even existed when I was 9 years old and I found out about him in the Internet. Since then, it’s been harder to believe in coincidence.
2. Related, I was 9 when I first Googled myself.
3. My first website (made in Frontpage!), back in ’99, was rather successful: It appeared in a kids computer magazine, on a couple of large Dutch kids websites, and I made 25 guilders from it. Mostly by signing my mother up for PABO (erotic post-order!) catalogues. They made me a whopping 2 guilders for every time someone ordered the catalogue through my referral links.
4. Before I did websites, I used to do a lot of 3d design, of which this is the only thing still online. Back in 2005, I swear, that was near photo realistic! Sitting in front of your screen for the entire day, doing nothing and watching an image being rendered pixel for pixel brings out the Zen in you.
5. I own a Tulip PC compact 2, from 1985. The thing is 3 years older than I am, and I learned DOS on it. I can still kick your ass in Grand Prix Circuit.
6. My first programming experience is when I was 10-ish, and wanted to learn C++ to make games. My dad got me a discounted, but still expensive Borland C++ builder pack with two thick reference books included. I borrowed a C++ learning book, made some simple programs and… got stuck in chapter 3. Up until now, I still can’t for the life of me figure out why you would want to shift bits around. (nor why the concept appeared in the 3rd chapter!)
7. I own an electrical guitar, an amp and an effects panel. I tried to teach it myself, and I can play a couple of songs and solo’s and tunes, But I should start lessons to really be able to do something with it. As always, time is an issue. On that account, I also need to start with driving lessons, which I’ve been putting off for over 2 years now.

Well, that was fun! How about sharing a fun or weird fact about yourself in the comments?

Tagging along

It shouldn’t be too hard to tag seven other people here. First off, my blogging Barcelona crew, since they all need to blog more ;)

• Felicitas Betzl – all the SEO stuff can use a break.
• Lucas Onofre – all the marketing stuff can use a break.
• Marc Gracia – To finally kickstart his blog!

Followed by…

• Arjan Eising – because he needs to blog more.
• Justin Halsall – because he needs to blog more.
• Paul Chaplin – because he needs to blog more (there’s a pattern emerging here!)
• Bas Bakker – because he wants to blog more ;)

Rules

And here’s the rules of the game:

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some wierd.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Seven things

You see, there’s nothing wrong with getting agitated by public transport, traffic jams, slow walking people in the street or whatnot, but keep looking that way for a couple of years and it starts to show. I was honestly a bit afraid of that. Some day almost two years ago, I decided to just start smiling in place of my “neutral” face (which was actually pretty angry looking).

It felt pretty uncomfortable and stupid and I felt like other people were constantly looking at me.

A couple of weeks later

But I stuck with it. Then after a couple of weeks, everything changed. My smirk/smile face had become my neutral face. Here’s what that did to me:

• Other (unknown) people started smiling back to me
• Others were more receptive
• I actually felt happier as well
• I got more confident around other people

So, actually, There is research that backs this up.

But I didn’t know that at the time.

Pleasant surprise

All I cared about was not looking like one of those agitated commuters. (Even if I was one!) I was really pleasantly surprised by all the effects. I expected people in conversations to perhaps start smiling as well, but I never imagined other people randomly smiling back at me. A random stranger smiling at you feel great.

People around you being nicer is great, but the two other effects (my greater confidence and happiness) made quite an impact. The best thing is, once you start feeling more confident and more happy, it just keeps increasing: you are happy, you smile more, you get happier.

Some days, I feel euphoric for no reason.

So my takeaway. Smiling is easy and makes you happier. Next time you visit a client, don’t just smile to them, but also smile to every single person you meet on the way, smile to the street, to the sky and most importantly, to yourself.

Have a great week :)

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Smile!

By showing passion, you create your own chances.

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Creating your own chances

I don’t know a word of Spanish yet though, so it should be fun! (That’s not entirely true, but I probably shouldn’t go around saying Te amo, bella! to everyone…)

Design, design, design

During this period, my evenings will finaly not be filled with extensive client work, and I plan on finally, for the first time since the start of this blog in december 2006, create my own design. I figured that, If I’m being employed as a User Experience Designer, my own weblog should at least somewhat convey that ;)

I’ll be living in a city defined by Miro, Dali and Gaudi, so I’ll just have to keep my eyes open to get inspiration.

Meetup!

I don’t know any people in Barcelona yet (outside of Properazzi) and if you live there, I would love to get to know you. Send me a message though my Contact form or add me on twitter and we can go for a coffee or something :)

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

In Barcelona!

Please note that I’m basing this on myself, I don’t have office space and I still live with my parents, yet I’m professionally active with web development.

Because of my years of being a photoshop kid I’ve built a rather large network of people that all see me as a photoshop kid. These people know me as a shy, nerdy kid that does reasonably good things on the cheap.
Oh how they are wrong, but how are we going to convince them?

The scenario

Lets start with this scenario: The friend of an uncle of yours sends you an email stating that your uncle told him you do websites, that he needs one for a company he’s starting and he proposes to meet sometime after school or in the weekend to talk about what he wants and how much it should cost.

So in this situation, he is expecting a photoshop kid but getting a professional. However he might still be a nice client and we shouldn’t write him off solemnly on what he’s expecting from you. So it’s time to tweak how he perceives you. The ways to do so:

1. Just flat out tell them

Once you get a referral from your old photoshop kid network (and if you’re anything like me, you get a lot) add something along the lines of this to your reply mail:

Thank you for your interest in my services! You might have heard from **** that I do pretty good websites for fun and that I don’t cost much. This was indeed true a couple of years ago. However, In those years I’ve trained for the (company/freelancing) I (have/do) now. Please take a look at my website/portfolio and know that my skill set has vastly improved compared to what **** heard/say/received. I am very interested in working with you and I am certain my services will match your needs.

There you go: I was a photoshop kid, I’m a professional now, I’m certain of my abilities and I’ll let you decide.

2. Propose to meet during business hours.

This simply sends a clear message that you’re doing this professionally and not as something for after school and in the weekends. Note that it doesn’t matter if you actually work during those times, it’s all about how they perceive you ;)

3. Be clear about prices

…and charge way higher than you did. I didn’t like discussing prices with potential clients when I was a photoshop kid. 50 euro sure was a lot of money, and I only had to make a website! Many clients thought the same way. 50 euro, or a couple of hours work for 5 euro an hour may seem a lot when you’re 15 but trust me, it’s not. Upscale your prices and tell them proudly.

4. Have a professional website

…that includes some marketing talk, a portfolio and contact details. Refer to this when clients want to know more about your abilities and previous work. Make sure your portfolio is filled with work from your ‘professional period’, no high-school leftovers! Also, the contact details are very important here. No Hotmail or Gmail addresses! If you have a domain, make sure your e-mail is from that domain as well. You can add your phone number and address if you want to, but it’s not needed.

5. Don’t use IM to communicate with clients

And don’t list it on your website either. kilian_the_master88@hotmail.com* isn’t really sending good vibes and will just make you look childish in front of your clients. Communicate through e-mail or telephone instead.

I occasionally break this rule, but only for web-savvy clients that know my work or for Skype, which is insanely useful for conference calls.

* Not real. ;)

6. Talk marketing, not technology

Technology might be the reason you do what you do, but it’s not why your client wants that website so badly. He wants it to sell more. Adjust your talk to that, instead of enthusiastically talking about the newest CSS techniques and flash magic. So instead of selling them code that’s accessible to blind users surfing with Mosaic, tell them their site will get a massive amount of Google love thanks to you. The technology is the same, the percieved benefit for your client is completely different.

When you follow the above points, you project an image of professionalism that completely obliterates your previous photoshop kid image. If the client doesn’t follow through because he did not want to pay that much in the first place, too bad but let them go. There are clients willing to pay your price and you should get in touch with them instead.

And you?

These are the lessons I learned when ‘transforming’ from a photoshop kid to a professional, and I hope this is of use for some of you. Are there any tips you can give to help people shed their photoshop kid image?

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

6 steps to overcome being seen as the kid with a copy of photoshop

During the conference there is place for attendee’s to give a small presentation, lead a small discussion or share idea’s. I’ve taken this opportunity to present a small bit about the Dutch guild of front-end developers, on Thursday at 12:00 – 12:30. I plan to make it short and concise to allow plenty of room for a small discussion.

I have to admit that it’s a bit unnerving, seeing how I’ve never held such a large presentation (except at college, but that doesn’t count), let alone in English. I’m certain I’ll be able to do it (an A for presentation and an A for english combined should work, right?). Anyway, back to work (being away from work for almost a working week noticeably increases your weekend-workload)

update
Well, a small number of interested people showed up, it’s hard to compete with awesome speakers ;) . Sheets in delicious pdf form.

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Come see me (talk) at FOWA!

During my e-mail checking I gently sip my coffee every once in a while, and during the first 15 minutes of work I do so as well. Then it happens.

I get into flow

Before I know it, My tummy starts rumbling and it’s time for lunch. I grab my, presumably empty, cup to rush to the kitchen to make lunch and more coffee and then I realise I let about of a quarter of my coffee go cold. Damn it! What a waste. And this happens to me a couple of times a week.

Sure, being able to slip in flow so easily probably is a good thing, but it annoys me to bits that I constantly forget my coffee.

How do you deal with the forget-everything effect of getting into flow? Do you think I should get a USB mug warmer? Let me know in the comments :)

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

The coffee conspiracy

Apart from having an unnatural amount of beautiful women, Barcelona is the city of an architect I greatly admire: Gaudí. The architect is responsible for some of the most surreal buildings I have ever seen. Most notable are the Sagrada Família, Parc Guell and Casa Milà. All are major tourist attractions, and even in May they were packed with people.

Architecture

Walking around and inside the Sagrada Família has left me with an unseen surge of inspiration waiting to come out. It is truly amazing how much ahead of his time Gaudí was, and still is(!). He was able to blend all sorts of elements of nature with a (still) very futuristic look. It’s worth noting that his masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, is so complex that they are still working full time on it, and plan to have it ready by 2026 (The construction of Gaudí design started in 1883). When you visit it, you are literally walking in-between the construction workers (and a couple hundred of other tourists…)

Art

But all those people still do not change the building itself, the way the light falls through the windows in exactly the right places, the way the inner pillars seem to branch out like trees, how the entrance seems to be rooted into the ground by it’s support pillars, as if they are there to keep it down, instead of up. It is already a glorious masterpiece, even though still only a minor part is built. I have made a lot of photographs, but the best one still doesn’t give you a good idea of how awe-inspiring the church is.

Design

The modernistic, “biomorphic” style would work very well with websites, but I haven’t encountered any yet. I have already began to toy with idea’s of incorporating elements of the way Gaudí designed into websites. I think my design for this blog will incorporate a lot of Gaudí. Right, so i know you must think “he’s had a blog without a personal design for how long now?” But I promise you, I will have my own design before the summer starts. This post will be a testament to that :)

If you have a website yourself, what was your major inspiration for the design?

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

Inspiration

There are a million “How/why you should date a geek” lists, now it’s time to turn that around. Here we go:

1. No matter what is it you do, your girlfriend will tell people you’re ‘really really good with computers’. This is a universal truth. There is no way your girlfriend will be able to fully comprehend what you do. Remember that time when you tried to tell her what it is you do? That’s how much she understood of it. (Granted, you are really really good with computers, but that’s beside the point.)

If you haven’t had “The Talk” yet, the best thing is to just show her some code or a design and say “I made that”. She’ll be impressed…and tell people you’re really, really good with computers.

2. Code poet. There is a reason people call you “code poet”, right? So why not put it to work for your (future) girlfriend? Granted, human language is far inferior to any programming language, but you’ll still be able to do quite some cool stuff with it (No! Not giving examples). Some tips: Avoid loops, define as little as possible and compact your code poem to the bare minimum.

3. Learn to talk. This is, without doubt, the hardest thing to do. I’m not sure if I have mastered this myself. As you might possibly have noticed, girls like to talk. We geeks just don’t do that, we just exchange information. There is one nice little trick: Asking. Girls like talking (well, most do) so she’ll be happy to answer any question you ask. She might even ask things back!

3b. Learn to talk about yourself. This is odd, but compile a small talk about who you are, what you do and why you do it. See it as a sort of elevator pitch for yourself. At first, girls will probably find you a bit strange (or, positively, “interesting”) and will have no clue as to the who, what and why of your existence. Give them this and you’ve opened a door.

4. Leave them alone. I know, I know, you’re connected to everyone, all the time. And you’re probably proud of that (I know I am). But “girls need space” every now and then . Apparently. I really can’t say anything more about it. Don’t understand it to be honest. But, we’ll just have to deal with it. There is plenty you can do with this new found “spare time”. (My to-do list certainly has a few suggestions.)

5. Sunlight is a necessity. When dating, or during a relationship, it’s nice to go out walking. Find some woods to walk through, go down to the beach, or just stroll around the city. You’ll enjoy it, and your girl will appreciate you getting away from the computer to spend time with her. There is of course the downside of pollen and sun and such, but sunglasses and anti-allergy pills will solve those problems.

6. Learn to be mean. It’s not in our nature to be mean. We want to help everyone. But it’s exactly what you need when you don’t want to be pushed around. If you’re mean every once in a while, girls will stop seeing you as a usable object (see #7) and more as a potential partner that can equal them. This is the reason people tell you to learn to say no. Tip: playfully call them names every now and then.

7. Don’t become a commodity. You’ll be able to fix her computer while taking off your shoes when you visit her. But don’t. It might sound counter productive, but girls want a guy that they have to hold on to. If you help her with every little thing, you’ll just become a handy tool. Start learning to say “Not now”. The rule of thumb: if she can use it to IM you, it’s not broken.

8. Disconnect. If your girl wants to spend “quality time” with you, make certain the computer or at the very least the internet connection stays off. It might be hard to do in the beginning, but the reward of being alone with your girl might well be worth it. Plus, if she has any idea how wired you are, she’ll be thankful that you’re making such a big sacrifice for her!

9. Connect. Your google-fu will be able to find anything and everything about her in the time it takes you to write a “hello world” script. Use it to your advantage, but never let her know. Nothing is more creepy than a stalkerish guy. Knowing about her is like learning the syntax before starting to write code (you know you should, you just never do, and it always ends up bad).

And last, but quite possibly the most important thing to remember:

10. Whatever they say, you are the better boyfriend. When you ask a girl to sum up all the qualities she seeks in a man, be prepared to check off at least 80% of the list. Romantic? Check. Caring? Check. Honest? Check. Handy? Check. Thoughtful? Check. Smart? Check. Need I go on? Keep this in mind when you go onto the battlefield into the dating scene. In the end, you’re the best choice.

Thanks to Paul for the idea and support. The two of us will collaborate on The geeks guide to Love, Woman and Everything, which is filled with all you need to know about Love, Woman and, well, Everything and has the words “DON’T PANIC” inscribed in large, friendly letters on the back. Expected summer of 2008.

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This article is written by Kilian Valkhof, Front-end developer & User experience designer. Please visit KilianValkhof.com for more articles!

The geek’s guide to love