Mullenweg’s “one last thing” was to show off was an upcoming theme called “chameleon” that will change the color scheme, and look and feel of your site based on what photos you post. Themes, which have become a veritable commodity with their own store have proven to be a huge success among Wordpress.org users. This marks the first time a company theme has taken such a high level of automatic customization–something that third-party theme-makers have been making money off with their own efforts.

[via Webware: WordPress founder talks traffic, new features to Web 2.0 crowd]

We realized something was happening (under our noses) that Zeldman brought up at FOWD 2007. He said it in the eloquence of a visionary, but it went something like this: if you forget what got you where you are, you’re doomed.

We forgot about “the people,” the world at large, our customers, friends, and colleagues. Our personal blog got stale and this site never actually launched a blog. We just kept ourselves bottled up designing in a corner.

No one likes stale things. What happened to the ever changing site with projects and thoughts on design? That’s what got us interested in web design in the first place. And along the way, we forgot about what made us really happy and successful. We’re going back to our roots.

We looked through the looking glass, and promptly redesigned.

It’s a “chameleon” photoblogging theme. Monotone takes the first (and only) image attached to a post, samples colors from it, and analyzes them to present a custom color scheme for each photo entry.

You can hear Matt talk about the theme, at the end of his talk on blip.tv.

It was really great working with Automattic on such an interesting project.

BTW, I just love how well Wordpress deals with unicode.

Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.

[Zeldman.]

To me, design IS communication. It helps communicate ideas. It’s a supplement to content.

I find, the biggest problem when building anything, is the human urge to try and find, “the formula.”

As Zeldman noted in his comments: “content,” does not mean “having all the copy.”

Expanding on that: there is no guidebook or algorithim for 99% of the things you do in life, or 99% of the sites you design, but as humans we have a tendency to think there is one.

The real answer: do what works for your particular instance (whether that be a house, or a Web site). Practice makes perfect, and research makes practice (more) perfect. Conventions for everything exist, but a universal handbook does not.

I’ve learned to accept that great creations come from discovery and innovation, not a handbook or strict workflow. It would be easier if that weren’t true, which, I imagine, is why I perpetually see so many people searching for “the magic bullet.”

Next time you find yourself looking for a shortcut, algorithm, or “method to the madness”, stop, let go, and embrace the chaos; however hard it is to do so. Find your own way for each of your endeavors and revel in it.

Many people have a great affinity towards their profession and even more towards their particular area of expertise within. I’m an “interaction designer,” you’ll hear, or “I’m a graphic designer.” It’s good to define yourself, but bad to box yourself in. The hard part, is doing the former without the latter.

Is it bad to be a “print designer” and not know HTML? Yes. My Mom even knows HTML. No really, she does! Being a “designer” means you are a creator. You know how to use a paintbrush, right? Then figure out what HTML is. Fightin’ words? Perhaps. But, shoot, HTML has been around since ‘89!

On the other hand, is it bad to be a “Web designer” and not know about CMYK? Yes. Web designers should know more about color spaces than any print designer, yet most are baffled at the thought.

But, what about development? Should Web designers know about code (PHP, Python, Ruby, Perl, etc.)? Yes! (You knew that was the answer.) Some may remark, “that’s what developers do.” Well, developers do know how to code, but they are also master designers. The MVC “design” is just one example of elegant design. “Code is poetry,” as Matt puts it.

Is it bad to be a “Web designer” and not know how to code? Yes. This is your world, you aren’t just producing HTML and CSS, it all eventually touches some procedural language.

Learn about everything that goes on with what you create. You should know what developers are doing, and they should know what you are doing - even just a little.

Learning about programming can open a whole new world of ideas and opportunities, especially for designers. Joshua Davis is just one of the coolest and most integrated designer/developer/artists out there. And, he does it all without a single thought to “what” he is. He makes things, period. He learns about whatever he needs to, to create integrity in his work.

We’ve gotten so much press about it, so I hate to point to it as an example. But, without programming, we wouldn’t have created Monotone. As a Web designer today, it’s not just a choice to learn to code, it’s a responsibility.

Your integrity reflects in everything you do. Without accountability, your integrity is null. Some people aren’t programmers, but if you can write HTML, I’m sure you can write a little old program.

Overlap your expertise. Code, write, draw, create.

Is “social media strategy,” just an analog phrase for, “setting up a facebook page and a myspace profile?” Because, in the end, that’s usually what ends up happening.

I think there is a great disconnect between what “social media” actually means and how people are using the term: as an umbrella word for “Web 2.0″ (another analog for “sites built before after 2005 that utilize javascript and other underutilized development techniques“) community products.

What media isn’t social? Print, even, is a social medium. You print to spread words and ideas in hopes of creating interaction. So, why all this hype about “social media.”

eight6 makes things. Most of the time, we make web things. And, when it’s smart, we use communities and other marketing methods to help customers get their message out.

Not ever do we tell our customers they need a “social media strategy.” Because, the entire point of the web, is to communicate. Being social is inherent with the medium. We want to instill smart communication, not mindless socializing. Don’t get me wrong, we like to have fun, but we think there might be a better use of time than “biting chimps” on Facebook. We’re guessing most of our clients’ customers feel the same way.

The web has always been social. Collectively people are finally starting to realize that. The ease of communicating with other people online has increased since the start of the web, absolutely… but underneath it all, the web hasn’t changed much.

Being social is inherent to being on the web. Do smart things that help you build your brand and focus on your business. Don’t let someone tell you that you need an x account or a y profile just to be viable on the web. In fact, your business might be better not jumping on the bandwagon. At the very least, tread (extremely)carefully into the realm of “Web 2.0.”

Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller (July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor, and visionary. He was the second president of Mensa. He lends his name to a family of complex Carbon structures called Buckminsterfullerene also known as Bucky Balls.

[via Wikipedia]

The wikipedia article goes on to explain Bucky in great detail.

One of my favorite tidbits, is this: Ephemeralization is a term coined by R. Buckminster Fuller. It refers to the ability of people to use technological advances to continuously do more with less.

It sums up the ultimate goal: do more, with less. (Design, Money, Words, etc.)

Monotone, a photo-blogging theme we created for Automattic is now packaged for download and available for use on .ORG self-hosted Wordpress installs.

The theme is released as-is under the GPL license. We hope you enjoy it. If you do like what you see, it’d be excellent if you perused our work and contacted us, even if you just want to say, “hi!”

If you are using Monotone, on Wordpress.com or with a self-hosted blog, please comment on this entry with a link to your blog. We love checking out great photography!