Layout Design help

[arabian]

I would like to learn how to make my own lj layout designs. I know HTML and I can do graphics, plus I've been told by professionals that I have a pretty good idea for web design, but I don't know the basics, and my brain gets bogged down with the technical directions. I've been using different word plays in google search to find an easy,

Comments

[javabreeze]

[arabian]

I think I like Bloggish and Smooth Sailing, but I haven't seen Expressive before. Thanks for the heads-up and the link.

[neth_dugan]

Well, I know some good places that help for flexible squares cause that's the template I prefer but I'm not sure about the others.

Best thing, or what I did and am doing? Nab a layout by someone else and fiddle around with values and colours just to see what they do. Do this with a few of them and you start to build up an idea of what the various lines mean and do and also various ways of laying the coding out.

If you search through google and LJ there will be some guides as to how to do this, how to do that. There's a CSS guide for Flexible Squares that explains what the different components are called that is very useful and there may be something similar for other template? Worth asking the LJ com set up for whichever template you decide to use. They're also a useful source of info from past questions, and a good resource if you're really stuck.

There's also this firefox plugin that lets you do all kinds of cool things like look at the CSS coding for a page, look up what the div tags for a specific component is and a bunch of

[arabian]

I think this is a good route for me to go, I learned HTML by mostly copying/pasting and then picking up what it meant, moving around with it. So thanks. And that plug-in looks like it might be useful as well. Thanks.

OT: Since you're a mod, you'd be able to answer this question. As you know I'm looking for more Billie fans on my flist, so I was wondering if I could set up a Billie Friending Meme on billie_love?