StripeGenerator

StripeGenerator.com does just what it sounds like it might do: it generates stripes. To be less vague, it generates small PNG files that can be used as tiled backgrounds on a website (or whatever application you may find). It can be a quick and easy interface for getting a quick, decent looking background for your website, without knowing a damned thing about Photoshop or GIMP. I actually discovered it while looking for a how-to on creating that sort of background for BikesOfIndy.com. I am no designer, so any help in that area is appreciated.

Screenshot of StripesGenerator.com Interface

The interface, initially, can be a bit intimidating. At first glance, one might think it not super-intuitive. However, I have found it to be pretty easy, once you figure a few things out. You should be able to learn a lot just by playing with it. Really, you can get a useful background image by merely choosing a stripe color and then downloading the image!

What did you do?

For BikesOfIndy.com, I chose two colors to use for the stripes (two shades of grey). I made the stripes fairly small (3 pixels, if I recall correctly). BOOM! I was done. That simple. Click download. Then upload it to your server/site, play with some CSS, and you’re done. Five minutes.

(Note: You may have noticed the gradient at the top of BOI. I did grab that image and add a gradient to it in GIMP, then make that image the background of a div element at the head of the site. Still, it was easy. Easier than me getting too down-and-dirty with some design software.)

I recommend playing with it, and bookmarking it at your favorite social bookmarking site. I have already found it pretty damned handy, and I can see it being of use in the future as well.

What do you think?