a monochromatic oeuvre

I’ve spent several hours this weekend working on a favicon for my website and blog. I’ve finally settled on one I think I can live with – the simple little blue button with the letter M engraved in it.  I’m still not entirely happy with it, though, so it may change again in the near future.

I considered several different candidates, some of which I’ve shown below, for a favicon before settling on this one.

So what is the point of the favicon, and why am I spending hours working on this tiny 16×16 pixel image?  The favicon has become an important part of a website’s identity, representing it in the address bar, on browser tabs, and on bookmarks.  As all modern web browsers now have favicon support, this seemingly unimportant little image has become more and more important as a way to make a website stand out in tabs or in bookmarks.  A well made favicon makes a website look more professional and complete.  It adds a little personality to the site, making it more visible around other websites.

It’s not enough to have just any favicon, though.  The favicon is part of a site’s identity, creating a visual representation of it for its visitors.  Most web hosts or blogging engines come with a default favicon nowadays.  A blog or website that simply uses this default favicon is actually weakening its brand, as a visitor, when remembering the favicon will think of the host from which it originated instead.

At first glance, all these blogs look the same, as they all use the default blogger favicon.

A good favicon should fit the website to which it belongs.  It should match the logo or, if there is no logo, match the color scheme.  This is, for example, part of why I did not choose to use the rainbow colored ball should above as the favicon for this blog.  With the simple blue and white color scheme, a bright, colorful favicon would have looked out of place.  The simple blue button I finally chose was much more appropriate.

Favicons should not be taken lightly.  They are an essential piece to a website’s professionalism, and should be chosen with care.

Who are you?

I’m Marquis Wang.  I go to school at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, where I am planning on majoring in Computer Science.  I grew up in Champaign, IL, attending the University of Illinois Laboratory High School, which I graduated from in 2007.

I like to keep busy with various programming projects, which range from designing and maintaining my personal web sites to writing small programs or games.  I will keep some of the more complete ones in my sandbox.

Otherwise, my interests vary from moment to moment.  I enjoy playing chess, going hiking, reading books, and going on adventures.

As a student, my employment status changes from year to year, but in the past 3 years, I have been a sysadmin for the University of Illinois’s Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group, a student webmaster for Harvey Mudd College, and I am currently working as a programmer for the Cognitive Computation Group, once again at the University of Illinois.

Why do you blog?

I’m starting this blog as a record of the things that I’m interested in – things that I am working on or thinking about.  I can research things that I find interesting, then document my findings on this blog, so that I can refer back to it as necessary.  At the same time, other people can benefit from the same information, and hopefully give some feedback so I’m not working in a black hole.  Some people say that isolation is the best environment for creativity, but I find that it is far too easy to find yourself in a rut unless you have some outside input.

What exactly is a monochromatic oeuvre?

Monochromatic: (adj) Containing or using only one color; monotonous or lacking in variety
Oeuvre: (noun) The works of a painter, composer, or author regarded collectively; a work of art, music, or literature

Therefore, a monochromatic oeuvre is a collection of art of all one color or type.  Hopefully, the contents of this blog will be at least slightly polychromatic.  The title is a tribute to one of the best comic strips of the last two decades, Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes.  I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to find the exact strip in question.

How can I contact you?

marquis@marquiswang.com