August 2011
2 posts
How far things have come...
I am currently transferring a sort of large account from another server to the new one, and it occurred to me that the size of what I was bringing over from one server to another, and then subsequently will install, tweak and get running is larger than Windows 7 installed. It’s starting to get reminiscent of installing operating systems on computers.
Why that seemed interesting to me was...
Business progress
Well, it’s been over a year since I posted anything. Pretty bad. The truth is, there has been some major stuff happen in my own life over the past year, as well as the business. To put it simply, business has been good. Too good, in fact. Yes, that can happen, especially when unexpected health issues put you back and things snowball.
The good news is I’m coming out of this now, and...
May 2010
1 post
How Google will ruin everything - The Globe and... →
December 2009
2 posts
24 ways: What makes a website successful? It might... →
This is an awesome article in plain language. It asks some basic questions that sometimes get forgotten. Really, these questions should be obvious, but sometimes people get caught up in the fine details of design or coding, forgetting what they wanted to achieve in the first place.
DIEGO MONETTI →
This guy is my new professional hero!
November 2009
7 posts
Top Bad Website Design Ideas →
This is a straightforward common sense article, nothing ground breaking or earth shattering, but good basics nonetheless. One excerpt that I liked:
“When something is visually appealing, the mind will get involved and interest will be created.”
How smart retailers are using social media to... →
Interesting post about embracing and engaging your audience. Good advice.
Mifi to replace cell phones?
I know Americans have had mifi for a while, but it’s a brand new concept around here. Aliant just rolled out their HSPA network, and now 3GS is available on Telus, Bell and Rogers. Previously in Canada, you could only get an iPhone on Rogers - and the plans they offered were on the pricey side, for sure. That, coupled with the fact that Rogers service has always been spotty in Atlantic...
15 Google Interview Questions That Will Make You... →
Big Changes
Some big changes have been made. I’ve now moved my blog over to Tumbr, redesigned the website, and finally got around to putting up a Facebook page. Oh, and everything has been Twitter-fied too. This blog theme is temporary, I’ll be working on putting it more in line with the website soon as well.
Hello!
Ever adventuring into other Internet platforms, this is my first shot at tumblr. I’m thinking the days of hosting your own Wordpress based blog are almost over, and I’m looking into more up to date options. Wordpress certainly had it’s day, but it seems to be evolving into a weird hybrid CMS & blog. Too many features and plugins to be considered a blog, but not enough...
September 2009
2 posts
Innovacorp I-3 Business Start-up Competition
I was contacted a little while ago to see if I’d be interested in becoming a sponsoring partner in the 2009 Innovacorp I-3 Start-up competition. Normally I shy away from these type of things, as it means pro bono work, and I sometimes have a hard time just keeping up with the paid work in front of me. However, I’m always mindful of networking and promotion opportunities, and...
Free Calendar Wallpaper - September 2009
Here is my monthly calendar wallpaper for you to adorn your computer screens with - enjoy, and feel free to pass it around. I resisted the temptation to use school books for September ;-) Pick whatever size works best for you: 1920 x 1200, 1440 x 900, 1280 x 800, 1280 x 1024, 1024 x 768
August 2009
3 posts
Is 3D the Future of Web Design?
This year has seen a renaissance of 3D in the movies, with films like Monsters vs. Aliens, Up!, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs to name a few. The technology has vastly improved over the old version that required the use of cardboard red and blue glasses, the new Real 3D is truly worth experiencing. Cineplex has put major investment into 3D technology in many theatres and it has paid off with...
SEO Snake Oil: I Want to Believe
During the course of browsing through Twitter posts, I ran across a link to a good real world example of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) collateral damage on Optimum 7. Arthur is not alone in receiving these calls, I get them too, and the topic comes up quite often as well when initially talking with clients about new website projects. There are proper steps to take when designing and putting...
Maybe Bing doesn't suck
About a month ago I wrote a blog post about why I hated Bing.com. In checking my Analytics stats today I discovered I got a bunch of traffic from the key phrase ‘I hate Bing’, so it led me to check it - turns out I’m #3 on Google for this (no surprise, I’m sure Google isn’t fond of Bing either). However, I also noticed I’m starting to get traffic from Bing for...
July 2009
7 posts
Free Calendar Wallpaper - August 2009
This month is a slightly different wallpaper, just to change things up a bit. The ‘polaroids’ are photos that I took at Heather’s beach a couple of weeks back (on one of the rare good beach days we’ve had in Nova Scotia this summer). I found this cool program that takes your pictures and makes them into ‘polaroids’, complete with random colour variations and...
5 Principles of Logo Design
I have been contemplating how to best get across what to look for in a logo for client information, and as luck would have it an excellent post was written on just this subject. Instead of reiterating the entire post, I recommend reading it yourself. In summary terms, a good effective logo should be 5 things: simple, memorable, timeless, versatile and appropriate. If you look at some of the most...
Companies increasing profits with social media
I ran across a post from Altimeter today that had some very interesting conclusions from a new study. The jist of it was that there is a direct correlation between profitability growth and the use of social media. I think many of us probably figured that was true anyway, but this study actually has conclusive proof of the fact. In fact, the numbers were surprising; the more companies engage their...
Is the End really near for IE6?
There was a discussion going on the FreelanceSwitch forum about the news that YouTube and Digg are dropping support for Internet Explorer 6. I made an observation there that I decided should become a blog post, and my reasons for supporting IE6. For a long time IE6 has been the bain of web designers due to it’s lack of standards compliance, meaning lots of extra consideration, work-arounds...
The Evolution of Technology and the Human Race
Why I hate Bing.com
I’m currently listed on page one (7th place, to be exact) on Google when you search ‘web design nova scotia’. The reason I’m listed there is due to relevancy, and because of some hard work I’ve worked my way up there. My website is fairly cleanly coded, has some relevant information including this blog, and I have some decent quality backlinks from both client sites...
Free Calendar Wallpaper - July 2009
This month’s wallpaper loosely follows the new theme for my website. I have made some additions, notably the email newsletter sign up form (to your right). I would like to encourage everyone to sign up there, as I will be posting notifications for the wallpaper and other stuff though that. This will be the last month I directly email notification of the wallpaper, so please take a minute to...
June 2009
2 posts
Design Becoming More Important
I just read an interesting article over at WebDesignerWall on some recent statistics on the impact design has on websites; specifically that the design of any website is carrying more weight than it used to. I won’t reitereate the whole article here, you can read it yourself, but here are some highlights. In a poll conducted by WebCopyPlus, 25% of respondents claimed ‘poor visual...
Cubicle Free for a Year
Happy anniversary to me! One year ago today, I walked into my place of employment and announced to my boss I was all done. I offered the standard 2 weeks notice,but we came to a mutual agreement that for all intensive purposes, there was no point dragging out the end so I passed in my security card and other paraphernalia and was escorted out 5 minutes later. I had known since about the day I...
May 2009
3 posts
Free Calendar Wallpaper - June 2009
This month’s wallpaper for the taking features a fresh, summery colour theme and a photo of a flower planted by my daughter. As of right now the flower no longer has petals, this wallpaper will therefore make it last a little longer. As usual, feel free to pass the wallpapers around. Formats available this month: 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024, 1280 x 800, 1440 x 900, 1920 x 1200
The Mike Holmes approach
[caption id=”attachment_123” align=”alignleft” width=”200” caption=”Mike Holmes - contractor superstar”][/caption] I was recently asked by a client to have a look at a website they were responsible for. The site is not owned by the client in this case, it was part of their service offered to their client. The website suffered from many problems and...
May Calendar Wallpaper
[caption id=”attachment_117” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”May Calendar Wallpaper”][/caption] I’m a little late with this month’s wallpaper, don’t know what happened there. Things just got away from me I guess. This month I’m back to an abstract, with a colour palette suitable for Spring - organic, growth were the...
April 2009
1 post
Spring Web Design Course
I’ve been asked to teach a web design course at NSCC (Amherst) that is scheduled to start on April 29th. This is the same course that was scheduled for the winter session; that one got cancelled, however we’re hoping for more success with this one. I’m going to be at an information session this Wednesday evening, April 22, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., for all the continuing...
March 2009
5 posts
April Calendar Wallpaper
[caption id=”attachment_109” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”Cabin in the woods”][/caption] Here is my free wallpaper for April. I received many good comments on last month’s, glad to see people enjoy them. Feel free to pass these around. This month I’m using a photo I took a couple of years ago in springtime when I was in the back...
Business Internet Image 101
[caption id=”attachment_97” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”Fabric Land - thanks webpagesthatsuck.com”][/caption] Amazingly in 2009 there are still websites around that look like the one pictured here, and even more incredible is that they are trying to do business on the internet. Look, I don’t like to pick on people normally, but the...
Overthinking Design
Just a hint: comittees are great for judging proposals and hiring the right person for the job. Just know where the comittees job ends and the designer’s begins…
Twitter explained by Rocketboom
This is probably one of the best video/explanations I’ve seen about Twitter, brought to you by the good folks at Rocketboom:
Free Calendar Wallpaper
I have found it’s handy to have desktop wallpaper with a calendar, and thought perhaps others would enjoy this as well. To that end I’m going to make available some free wallpaper for your desktop on a (hopefully) monthly basis. Feel free to download and use it, come back every month for a new version. There are 2 versions available, regular format and widescreen format depending on...
February 2009
3 posts
Doritos and Social Media
[caption id=”attachment_81” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”My Doritos Entry”][/caption] Doritos came up with a novel (well, sort of novel) promotion. Invent a new flavour, then run a contest to name it. Not only do you have to name it though, you must also enter an ad, and it has to be according to their restrictions (only use their music, 30...
Using Twitter Successfully
Although I posted previously (months ago) that my initial thoughts on Twitter was that it seemed stupid, I will confess now that I am a convert. It has become a different online conversation than what happens on Facebook or MSN, and is more about networking within my industry than anything. I ran across a good post (I actually saw it on someone else’s tweet) on using Twitter successfully and...
New Law Firm Website
[caption id=”attachment_75” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”Creighton, Shatford & Drysdale”][/caption] New website launched today for Creighton, Shatford & Drysdale (law firm located here in Amherst). The theme of the design reflects the heritage of the firm (I hope), while keeping their already entrenched logo and branding. I...
January 2009
7 posts
Web Design Course Date Change
Just a quick update to let everybody know I have been informed that the course at NSCC (Amherst) has now been set to start on March 4, not February 4.
Great article on Social Media 2009
Just ran across a great article about the future of social media, the problems and challenges facing corporations in the new media world, and allusions to the Next Big Thing. Much of this was apparent though multiple discussions at Podcamp as well. So here is my prediction for the future (possibly near future). Call it Web 3.0 if you want, the fact is there is just so much user contributed content...
Podcamp Halifax 2009
I just got back from Podcamp Halifax 2009, and must say I was impressed. There was a plethora of lively discussions about social media and it’s various applications and ramifications in business. Everything moved at a brisk pace, and before I knew it it was over. Contrary to so many other discussions that allow for open discussion, there was very little negativity, which I have almost come...
How not to design a logo
I ran across a great post on logo design - actually it’s more about what not to do. The advice in the article could just as easily apply to web design itself, and branding overall of a company. It’s surprising just how often the value of corporate identity, particularly logos & websites is minimized as not being that important. I would submit that the opposite is true, the branding...
New Website for Hookers!
[caption id=”attachment_48” align=”alignleft” width=”300” caption=”Deanne Fitzpatrick Rug Hooking Studio”][/caption] New website launched today, Deanne Fitzpatrick’s. This was a facelift of her old site, plus the addition of a blog . Deanne has put alot of effort into her website over the past few years and as a result, she enjoys a reasonable...
Web Design Course Date Change
I have been asked to teach a web design course at NSCC (Amherst Campus). It’s a continuing education course, 1 night a week for 12 weeks. Originally it was supposed to start on January 14, however the dates for all the con. ed. courses have been moved up, so now it starts on February 4. The original course description above includes Dreamweaver and Photoshop at the time of this writing,...
New Year, New Website
Happy New Year! I decided to flush the old website and start over. The old site was all Wordpress driven, including the pages - I opted to run a regular site instead, and use Wordpress as a blog only (the intended use). Plus, I was tired of the old design, and there were just too many words… So, I now have a nice fresh simple site. I’ll keep the word-i-ness for this blog, which is...
September 2008
1 post
Google Chrome
This is the first post I am writing using the new Google Chrome browser. Given Google’s unique position in the marketplace, I see this new development as more than yet another web browser, it’s more like another step in a big shift in the model of personal computing. Google has been busy building more and more web applications, so much so that it is now possible to have nothing but a...
August 2008
4 posts
Different Approaches to Web Design
On many designer community websites, I see discussions about design process. For web design it would appear that there are different approaches, and the one you take normally probably comes from your background. There are pros and cons to each, I think. Web Designers The common approach that I see discussed with designers is the Visual Design first, then fit the site to the visual. The designer...
Made it to the top 10!
Recently, Smashing Magazine posted a contest looking for guest authors to their online magazine. I figured why not, it was worth a shot. The entry proved to be a little more difficult that I first imagined, because the rules stated that you could either write a 1200 character post or a top 10 list. I elected to write the 1200 character post. Anyone that has done any writing will know how hard it...
7 Elements of Good Design
Smashing Magazine has a very good article today on the 7 Essential Guidelines for Functional Design. Although the article was aimed at website design, they also reference the fact that these principals apply to design of everything including screwdrivers. Here’s a summary: Consider the product’s goal - Remember specifically what the intended use of the product will eventually be....
Google for Small Business Websites
While it would be nice to be in the top 10 of any Google search for your industry, this is not usually a realistic goal for small business websites (quite often it’s not realistic for large businesses either). However, there are things you can do to maximize search engine results for your company. Most of the time when you hear the term ‘SEO’ (search engine optimization), it is...