I started learning HTML when I was about 12, so it’s been 10 years of practice. My not-so-secret little trick: View Source. I just looked at a lot of source code and tried to figure out how everything on a page functioned. The truth is, there is no real trick to any of it, it’s just a lot of work and practice before you’re able to code it fluently.

Edit: A good point was brought up in the replies to this post. I wouldn’t recommend using any programs like Dreamweaver. In my experience, they act as crutches that prevent you from fully learning the language. Instead trying using text editors apps like TextMate or Espresso.

Finally, as a side note: one of my favorite recent articles about learning to code comes from John Nunemaker. He willingly admits that he has no talent and I find that very refreshing. I’m not sure that anyone has talent. I think most skills are the result of a lot of hard work instead.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me this one about various layouts I’ve used on this blog. My theme is totally custom and not available for download. However, if you’d like to check out some themes I’ve designed try here or here. Or if you’d like me to design you a custom theme, feel free to get in touch.

15 is the maximum number of posts per page allowed by tumblr. Based on the nature of the theme, I didn’t want to make a confusing navigation with two next buttons, one per post and one for pagination. I also think it’s important to keep a portfolio to somewhere between 10 and 15 projects. I keep my own to 10. And now that the theme supports photosets, you can have multiple photos per post, so each post/project can be pretty comprehensive.

This kink is the result of using HTML in captions that the theme uses for the tooltip function that shows a little bit of information about each project when you hover over the dot navigation at the bottom. Since this has come up a few times I’ve decided to the update the theme and break it into two options: one photo only theme that supports tooltip and one for videos, photos, and photosets with no tooltips.

Unfortunately tumblr doesn’t offer any HTML-safe tags for videos or photosets, so if you want to get tooltips working on the old theme you can still download it, but you’ll have to manually make sure that you remove any HTML tags from your captions.

For more information about the theme, check out hasaportfolio.com.

By the way, I’ve just opened up this blog to questions, so if you have any question you’d like answered publicly, feel free to ask at blog.matt.cc/ask.

I got this email the other day. I thought I’d just publish the answer since I’ve gotten this a few times, and if it’s helpful to anyone, it can’t hurt. So here goes:

My name is Justin and I really admire your web work.
I would like to get into (X)HTML/CSS and some AJAX and start freelancing a little around my town. I’m wondering if there are any resources or books that you would recommend that teach web standards while also teaching great looking design practices. I’ve started reading a couple books that teach web standards but fail in the visual department…
Any advice would be great.
Thanks, Justin.

So here are some of my favorites:

• Designing with Web Standards by Jeffery Zeldman - Probably most web professional’s goto book on web standards.
• Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cederholm (not pictured, I know, I let a friend borrow it) - a great book about solving common problems in web design so that your web sites function under almost any condition.
• Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip Meggs - a very thorough history of Graphic Design. Great for learning about where design started, the great designers throughout time, major trends, and full of inspiration.
• Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide by Ellen Lupton - a great intro to type and later a great reference. Full of great typeface suggestions for use in your own design work.
• The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst - Most typographers or type designers will point to this as the definitive guide to typography. Keep it on your desk.
• Swiss Graphic Design by Richard Hollis - I just think the Swiss/Internatinal Typographic style is the most important to understand if you want to understand modern Graphic Design.
• Hand Job: A Catalog of Type by Michael Perry - All hand drawn design work, great for inspiration after looking at computer rendered work all day