Web Design Archives - Brian Dean Web Development Services, Design & Art

The WordPress plugin I recently made: Color Labels for Posts and Pages

Brian Dean — Sun, 19 May 2024 20:13:43 +0000

This is the first version of it: Color Labels for Posts and Pages – in progress, in my Github repo.

A while ago I thought, it’d be really useful if I could navigate through WordPress pages, posts that are color-coded (coloring the whole page/post menu item HTML element) so I could find certain ones quicker. I started looking around for a plugin that could do this and I couldn’t find one. I searched again this spring, with various keywords, key phrases and I still couldn’t find one. So, I decided to go forward with creating this plugin and did my research on what’s required of a WordPress plugin.

11/18/2025 EDIT:
I’m working on some finishing touches before I submit it to the WordPress.org plugin directory. My goal is for them to accept it & I’m considering making a premium version with many other features I have in mind.

This plugin did require some unexpectedly difficult updates later on this year, so with all this, it’s probably best to check out this plugin both in GitHub & for use in WordPress later when this particular ‘EDIT’ message is no longer here.

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Earned SASS certification today from Codecademy

Brian Dean — Thu, 02 May 2024 18:22:44 +0000

Link to it here: SASS certification from Codecademy. I always wanted to have a fuller grasp of SASS, by now I feel much more confident with it. If I can justify giving myself the time to do so I’d like to experiment with it more including in an artistic manner. I haven’t had to know SASS for a job or gig before somehow, even for larger sites I’ve worked on, but I’ve figured I’ll eventually have to.

I acknowledge that experience and samples of work count more to some than a certificate, I don’t assume a certificate proves competence 100% with any given skill. I shot for this to stay familiar & comfortable with SASS. Since I’ve never had to use it & have had no reason to need to use it, therefore less practice. I have a lot going on lately but hopefully can find & make time to “show and tell” some kind of interesting SASS experimentation projects of my own, outside of what I’ve completed in any online course. Stay tuned!

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How I Got Into p5 Creative Coding: My Intro to p5.js

Brian Dean — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 16:57:07 +0000

If you know me, you probably know I’ve been experimenting with animation since the late ’90s. I even worked as a Flash designer and developer back in the day. But when Steve Jobs – and soon after, the whole web industry – publicly rejected Flash in the 2010s, I found myself lost in the shifting landscape of front-end web design.

The common advice at the time was that ex-Flash designers could just recreate the same content using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript libraries. But here’s the thing: most visual artists, myself included, aren’t naturally inclined towards heavy scripting. Flash allowed us to create visually rich, interactive experiences without needing deep programming knowledge. Simply switching to raw JavaScript wasn’t a realistic option.

Still, I wasn’t ready to give up on my passion for interactive animation.

Discovering Processing and p5.js

Nine years ago, while living in Portland, I was wandering through Powell’s City of Books – the largest bookstore in the U.S. – when I stumbled upon a fascinating book in the tech section. It was about something called Processing. The cover had a mesmerizing abstract, math-driven visual pattern that reminded me of an old Flash book I once owned.

Curious, I checked out the books nearby and found at least one dedicated to p5.js, which seemed eerily similar to Processing. A little research led me to realize that p5.js (or just p5) is essentially a JavaScript-based version of Processing. That was a game-changer.

I quickly saw the creative potential these languages held for someone like me. They felt like the perfect bridge between art and code, the kind of geeky-yet-artistic medium I had always gravitated towards. Looking back, I realized I never fully pushed the boundaries of what I could do with Flash. This felt like my second chance to truly explore interactive digital art.

Why I Chose p5.js Over Processing

I knew this would be more challenging than Flash, but I was ready for it. Between Processing and p5, I opted for p5.js because I already had some JavaScript experience – and I had zero interest in learning Java (which Processing is based on). At that time, I was also conscious of not spreading myself too thin with too many new skills.

So, I dove into p5.js, and it felt like coming home.

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