InformationJunkyard

After a nice long weekend of soaking my head in the sun of Palm Springs, I’m back to the grind on Monday and thinking about a few things I’ve been reading up on in the past week.

WebAssist’s Roadmap Series: Having played w/ their products before, WebAssist helps web programers prototype more quickly w/ an impressive array of tools and information. Besides this, they provide some nice information about the what and why’s of web design. Their roadmap series is boiled down, 4-6 page basics of web design. Why is this handy to for experienced designer? Besides some nice refreshers of the basics, the one that really got me thinking was their explanation of SEO, boiled down to 2 pages. I stutter to think how many lengthy emails to clients explaining the basics of search-ability this would have saved me.

The result is it really got me thinking how I could improve my professional practice by creating a series of short documentation myself; Covering theses buzzword topics that clients always ask about. It would help clarify the process and educate the client BEFORE their web-site was designed and built.

Web Designer Wall: Always searching for great sites, especially ones that inspire the web design process. So many times, these sites are garbage “showcase” sites, where you get a bunch of screenshots without qualifying the WHY these sites are listed. This site provides great reading, looking at trends in web design, showcasing great sites as examples of those trends, and backing it all up w/ a great amount of the HOW with their tutorials. In particular, I’m, digging on their JQuery tutorials and thinking of ways to incorporate more Javascript animation into the sites I create. Kudos to these guys for elevating the web-design blog one more notch.

Design Observer: Collect a bunch of rock-star designers from a variety of disciplines and have them write, coherent, passionate articles? What could be better. Great inspiration, and a good read for that 4pm coffee break.

Core 77′s Design Directory: This is my Monday morning treat, their email newsletter id geared towards industrial design, but runs the gamut from furniture design to new sanitation ideas to save children in Africa. It’s the sort of stuff that gives me the brain jitters and informs the soul.

big thoughts, Design, randomness cool websites, Design, professional practice

Just got new business cards back from the printer, and their freak’n SWEET. I’m a bit pumped because they’re the first “real” cards I’ve ever done for myself and my business. Was able to abused the bottom of a half empty press sheet and ended up with at least 3k worth of cards in 4 various designs. Now I just have to find someone to give them too….

BTW, the “Digital Band-Aid” idea came from the fact half the work I seem to do these days is picking up the pieces of others and solving problems at the last minute. Perhaps a “your interactive plunger” might be another metaphor. Still, not a bad way to make a buck or three.

Design, living

Was about to turn in last night, and stumbled across one of the funniest movies you can ever watch at 1AM. Pointless, yes. A stupid rip on Napolean Dynamite, probably. Stupid logic from the gods? Most certainly! Crack a beer and enjoy the wisdom:

All great men have mustaches!
- Rod Kimble, Hot Rod

big thoughts, living, randomness Beer, Hot Rod, Stupid Logic