HOWEVER, I’m pretty happy with how the site turned out. Everything is more logically organized, and the product shots are front-and-center for customers. There are A TON of other little things I did on the site (and will comment about in further blog posts), but for this instance, I’d like to focus only on the grid.

Primary Grid

The primary grid is made up of 6 columns that are 140px wide with 10px of space in between. The screenshot below shows the grid overlaid on a “Product Category” page.

Smaller Grid

The smaller, secondary grid is made up of 12 columns that are 65px wide with 10px of space in between. The screenshot below shows the grid overlaid on the “Shopping Cart” page.

Grid Usage

Every single page on the new UrbanOutfitters.com follows the same grid structure… from the home page, to the shopping cart, to all the form fields on the site. Take a look around the site and I think you’ll start to pick up on it. And if you need a little help, check out my flickr set where I’ve dumped a bunch of screenshots with grid overlays.

10. Urban Outfitters

What started out as a really difficult (and hard-to-adjust-to) job, became a really fun and rewarding experience towards the end. Credit goes to all the great people I got to work with.

9. Camp Naked Terror

Rob was nice enough to invite me to my very first party in Philadelphia. Not only that, I think it was the first costume party (not counting those at Halloween) that I’d ever been to. The following year, I dressed up as George Jetson.

8. New Friends

One of the reasons I want to move is the chance to meet, and become friends with, a whole bunch of new people. Not because my current friends aren’t good enough. But because it’s been so fantastic with all of them that I can’t wait to experience it again.

7. Badminton at Liz’s Parents’ House

Playing badminton at Liz’s parents’ house (Memorial Day weekend?) was, perhaps, the first time I really felt like I was “home” in Philly. I was comfortable with my life, and just enjoying everything that was happening.

6. Tiffany and Kristen

Prior to moving to Philadephia, I hadn’t dated much the past couple of years. Shortly after moving, I had my first date in the city with Tiffany. Some time later, I met Kristen and we dated for a bit. Neither one worked out, but it was nice to feel attractive again.

5. Pixelworthy

Absolutely THE most fun and rewarding experience I’ve had at a job to date.

4. Summer Leary

My crazy, neurotic, weirdo new best friend. You and I will definitely be seeing each other again!

3. Tranny Hookers

Around 11pm (or later) on Friday & Saturday nights, you’ll find tranny hookers on either end of the block where I live. The spectacle of them on the corners will forever make me smile.

2. Losing 70lbs

Part of the reason I moved to Philly was to make a drastic change in my life. Getting rid of my car and walking to work (and around the city) helped me lose 70lbs in 2.5 years. I weighed 275 before I left Maryland. Now I weight 203.

1. City Living

I sincerely wish I had lived in a city sooner. It’s so fantastic being close to such amazing and wonderful things, spectacles, art, restaurants, shops, weirdos, etc, etc. I can’t imagine living in a suburb ever again.

Things to do Before I’m 30

1. Lose that last 20-ish lbs and get into shape
2. Be debt-free (or at least close to it)
3. Visit London (or Rome)
4. Take a Helicopter Ride
5. Speak at Another Conference/Event/Meeting
6. Visit my Grandfather’s Resting Place (@ Arlington National Cemetery)
7. Take a Class on Illustration/Design/Printing/etc

And that’s all I’ve got. Any suggestions on the remaining 5 or so to add to my list?

At first I thought maybe she was crazy …we do have a number of “the crazies” wandering around Philly. Some of them are harmless and just talk to themselves (or, specifically, to the voices they hear). Some of them, however, argue with (and yell at) random people who walk by. One rather large guy in particular is pretty frightening. Anyways, I was worried that this subway preaching woman might be of the latter variety, so I got up and moved to the back of the car.

Then I thought, what if she isn’t crazy? Did my moving to the back of the car offend her or put a dent in her self-esteem? Suddenly I felt a little guilty. Then, she turned and kept preaching …to a door …a closed door, with no one even remotely close by. At that point, I didn’t feel so bad. I smiled a little and just thought to myself… “I sure hope she gets off at the next stop”.

Thus far, the job has been a bit of an adjustment… getting used to a new team, new environment, new process, new responsibilities, etc. The team is great and I’m starting to get to know everyone, which has definitely made the transition easier. On the environment front, the office space is very loft-esque (wood, metal, glass, etc)… pretty swanky (I’ll see if I can take some photos and post them). The process at Urban is a little different than I’m used to. We aren’t beholden to client milestones and the like, but we do still have due dates and what not. And the responsibilities I have at the new job are less design-specific and more User Experience-specific. It’s a challenge at times, but that’s part of what drew me to the position – a chance to branch out and do something a little bit different.

What to expect in the coming months? Well, a complete rewrite of the HTML/CSS is a big priority on my list. Ultimately I want to get the UO website to a place where each and every redesign (happens per season) is accomplished merely by editing a CSS file. That means the entire site has to be extremely flexible and modular. It’s going to be tough, but I’m really looking forward to it.

• Friday, Nov 3rd: Mute Math
  At first I wasn’t sure I was going to go to this show, but I’m VERY glad I did. These guys are excellent live.
• Saturday, Nov 4th: All American Rejects
  I’ll be honest, I could care less about All American Rejects. However, the show was pretty decent and there were a couple good songs.
• Friday, Nov 10th: Imogen Heap
  My second favorite concert of all time. Amazing.
• Saturday, Nov 11th: Polymer
  Way to go Jon! You guys were fantastic. And congrats on the new CD.

For the immediate future, I’m going to try my hand at some good old fashioned freelance. I also plan on taking some time to redesign AnimatedBliss.com (plus add a blog to it), re-build BoxSetBliss.com (using Amazon’s API), and hopefully finish work on an “official” company site to tie all this stuff together.

It’s all pretty exciting and frightening at the same time. On the one hand, I don’t have a lot of money saved up and I probably won’t last long on the freelance projects I currently have. On the other hand, I’m really looking forward to spending some time on my own projects and seeing how far I can take them. Maybe this will all be for naught and I’ll land a full-time job in a matter of weeks. Or maybe I’ll be surviving on Ramen and Mac & Cheese for a while. Either way, it’s like a grand adventure. A scary, possibly bankrupting adventure!

“What happened” you ask? Well, a lot of things. The more exciting highlights include the first ever An Event Apart that Pixelworthy helped sponsor… and I can’t leave out SXSWi 2006! We also did some kickass design work for Decibel Magazine, Parc Rittenhouse, Please Touch Museum, and my own favorite, Angiebrown (yes, I designed that one ;).

So, what does the future hold? Well, as mentioned, I made the move downstairs to Electronic Ink and am still working on some great standards-based websites (one should be launching soon). And any amount of time spent with Tim Crowe is certainly an experience to remember. That being said, I’d like to toast all the great things Pixelworthy accomplished during its time… CHEERS!