WebNotions

Northwest Academy for the Healing Arts Site Launch

2008-04-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Northwest Academy for the Healing Arts is a Seattle-based massage school that offers a full curriculum, as well as continuing education classes. VainNotion captures the spirit of whole body health and massage in our design for them.

nw-academy.com

Sparkbliss.com Site Launch

2008-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't have an online dating horror story? Introducing Sparkbliss.com -- a new online matchmaking service that hopes to spare you from future dismal dates. Sparkbliss works by enabling qualified introductions by trusted friends, family and colleagues. With this type of logic working for you, you might just find your soul mate yet.

Sparkbliss.com

WesternNeon.com Site Launch

2008-01-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

The art of light you say? Western Neon understands this best. VainNotion was given a beautiful collection of images and asked to build a portfolio website to display them.

WesternNeon.com

Domain Name Games - We the People Always Lose

2008-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Domain Name Practice Criticized
A news entity finally reported a practice that has been going on for years. If you are a website owner or webmaster, you know what I refer to, which I call the golden privacy rule: Whatever you type into a form field on the internet can be recorded. With this knowledge comes the understanding that your information may be monetized as well.

After weeks of testing, Network Solutions LLC began this week to grab names that people search for on its Web site but don't immediately register. The name is locked up for about four days, during which the person who made the search can buy it directly from the company for $35 a year -- a few times more than what many of its rivals charge. After that, the name returns to the pool and can be registered by anyone through any registration company.

Rule of thumb: Avoid searching for domain names at any entity until you are ready to purchase, and to specifically purchase within that searching session.

In this instance, Network Solutions claims their practice is a consumer-protection measure. They are correct in their claim, no matter how painful it may sound. Many-a-companies create spiders, bots and other applications that attempt to record what users type into domain name search text fields. These companies gage the popularity of the names, snap up suitable ones, and then put $5,000 price tags on them. Entities like Network Solutions that provide domain searches face difficulty stopping such 3rd party actions.

Still though, if every domain name search (hundreds of thousands per day?) at Network Solutions is recorded and reserved as unavailable for 4 days, the odds of legitimately purchasing a desired domain name has sunk to an alarming new low. With Network Solutions new consumer-protection plan, instead of seeing 90% of domain name search results with the message, "This Domain Name is Unavailable," we will see this message 99.9% now.

Big Companies are Making Big Website Changes: Part II

2007-11-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

Getty Images is not a mainstream consumer site, but it is a mainstream site for graphic and web designers. The recent redesign came as a shock to my system, "Where is everything? How do I do this now?" It must have shocked many others as well. From the home page you can Go to previous site. This is a good indicator that something went wrong.

Once inside of a product search, the new design makes more sense. The left column navigation is very useful. Part of the art of finding the right photo is figuring out how to wade through the maze of photos that you do not want. The new website offers a number of ways to accomplish this easily. In addition, instead of having to click through to another page when viewing the multi-product listing page, you can click a small icon near each photo to "View more images like this." Access to this feature on the multi-product listing page has cut my photo searching time by 50%.

Back in the boom days, it became clear that massive design overhauls on popular websites was risky business. Forcing a user to learn too many new features at once can have dire consequences -- he may leave the site and purchase elsewhere. "Slow rollouts" became a standard in the industry for this reason. Getty chose the riskier route, and as such, now maintains two massive sites: the new site and the legacy site.

Big Companies are Making Big Website Changes: Part I

2007-11-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

Big Companies are Making Big Website Changes: Part I

In some cases this is good and in other cases it is bad. The recent overhaul at Amazon.com is a long needed improvement. After struggling for some time with the problem of "how to show their range of products," they finally ditched the tabs and all that remains is a search field.

The top navigation row is essentially geared toward the user now instead of products. This is brilliant thinking. With easy to reach features such as: Your Browsing History, Recommended For You, Rate These Items, Improve Your Recommendations and Your Profile, a user's shopping experience is sure to be lifted.

Most importantly, the actual product pages have been cleaned up. With the introduction of more white space and fewer buyer option links, a user can Add to Shopping Cart much easier. Due to the previous cluttered design, I stopped shopping at Amazon. I did not want the confusion of "Buy at an auction or Buy Used." I recall staring at the right column once wondering where the Add to Shopping Cart button had gone. It was there all right, but overwhelmed by a sea of other yellows and links.

Side note: While viewing in Safari, I can see that aspects of the old site are still at play. The Shop All Departments drop down feature on the top bar is not functioning as it should as well.

DogsBite.org Site Launch

2007-10-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Working on a volunteer basis, Vainnotion created a web site for DogsBite.org -- a loosely knit group of citizens concerned about dangerous dogs in our communities.

DogsBite.org

Widgets and the Geek that Coined Them

2007-09-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

It seems at every blink, a new widget hits the web. But where did the word "widget" come from, and how has it taken on today's meaning? There are widget engines, GUI widgets, web widgets and mobile widgets. Newsweek, this last December, suggested that 2007 would be the Year of the Widget. Perhaps they were right, I just received three requests by clients to design widgets. If I could get pass the ugly sound of the word, I might.

It appears that Arlo Rose, creator of desktop widget platform Konfabulator, is the grandfather of the widget. In his early days at Apple, the term "widget" was thrown around to describe controls in windows and control strip modules on the desktop. Now, this geek speak is nearly a household word. This makes my head hurt!

I found an older reference to the word as well. It stems from the 1924 play Beggar on Horseback, by George Kaufman and Marc Connelly.

(Father-in-law): Yes, sir! Big business!
Yes. Big business. What business are we in?
Widgets. We're in the widget business.
The widget business?
Yes, sir! I suppose I'm the biggest manufacturer in the world of overhead and underground aerial widgets.

In the play, we never learn what widgets are. But is this also not the point of today's widgets? Most are rather pointless. Technology widgets are fighting an uphill battle. Can widget developers actually create ones that are useful? I recently ran across an interesting article: 50 Great Widgets for your Blog. There are some good widgets out there, though they tend not to work as nicely as promised.

Don't Do It! (Start a blog for your business)

2007-08-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

If you do, you might end up like me -- hardly ever writing it. Then your business takes a hit. If a potential client stops by and notes that you have neglected to post for several months, what does this say about the business owner (myself)?

One of the most important aspects of a business blog is upkeep. Create a realistic upkeep plan and stick to it, even when the Puget Sounds days get short and the sky gets grim. My plan has two components: a committed time for writing per week and issue tracking. The latter is tougher, "What design issues interest me the most and offer insight to a site visitor?"

The other important aspect of a business blog is to write compelling material not industry fluff. But avoid kidding yourself, as I have for the past six months, that it is better to write nothing than to write fluff. Hot topic rehashing can be useful, especially when one is out of ideas for richer themes.

Tracy Zumwalt Site Launch

2007-07-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Former owner of Anchor Tattoo in Ballard, Tracy Zumwalt now offers tattoos by appointment from his private studio. Collaborating with Tracy, VainNotion created a personal portfolio website that displays his rich work.

TracyZumwalt.com

Let's Talk About the Logo Design Process

2007-06-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

If you're not careful, the following example can occur. This is the "iconic" logo for 2012 London Olympics. I want my readers to understand that this logo is not the result of the design firm; this logo is the result of the Olympic Organizing Committee.

This is what the committee proudly said about the logo:

"This is the vision at the very heart of our brand," said London 2012 organising committee chief Sebastian Coe, the former 800m and 1,500m world record holder who won gold in the 1,500 metres at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

"It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold, and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world," he said at the London launch.

The logo choice has not faired well with critics and the public (for obvious reasons). It would be very interesting to see the rejected designs. My bet is that they are amazing, as many rejected designs tend to be.

Dear Future Me

2007-05-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

I still use this service and I still love it. From time-to-time, I send myself an email into the future. I do this to check on the progress I am making in an area. Right now, I am training for a half-marathon. I just got an email today that I sent to myself 3 months ago. It said: "You are running 10 miles at 8:15 pace..." Pretty close, this past Sunday I did 9 miles at this pace.

What's more fun though, is to send emails into the future for your friends. Try to find a way, beforehand, to get them to add "futureme.org" to their address book...

Switching Hands

2007-04-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

The other day, while in a figure drawing session, I realized that I was drawing with my left hand and erasing, smudging with my right. I am not left-handed. Yet what I was doing felt like the most natural act in the world. After realizing this, my left hand became awkward again. My brain got in the way; it told my left hand that what it was doing was impossible.

I think my life as an artist would have turned out much differently had I gone the route of developing my left hand. Maybe I should start now?

Barack Obama - A Sign of the Times

2007-04-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

I cannot resist! I am part of this amazing movement. The inspiration shows!

A Graphic Designer Envisions a Barack Obama '08 Advertisement

2007-03-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

YouTube and Google video provide an extraordinary public outlet for creative individuals and business owners. Watch now, then make your own!

Buy tee shirts like this video at the Shop Obama Store.

Mother, Daughter & Macintosh

2007-01-18T21:08:00.000-08:00

Being a Mac user since 1984, my brain is trapped in a peculiar pattern: There are Mac users and there is everyone else. It's like having size 5 feet in a nation filled with size 12 shoes. Not only do Mac users walk different (than everyone else), we take different routes too, ones that have pretty flowers to sniff.

As more and more PC users hop onto the Mac path, my peculiar pattern is shifting as well. Just in the last few days, I found myself saying, "Why don't you get a Mac?" Both instances involved working grandparents that had been using PCs for over a decade. One called me in tears. Her new PC crashed then locked her out with a security message. She stuffed the computer in the box and shipped it back to Dell.

She is my mother. And she is now on her way to purchasing her first Mac. Finally, Mom will get to call me up with a question and I'll be able to answer it. But there is more to it than this. She is also a photographer and wants to start editing her images digitally. There is no better platform for this than the Mac.

What's Your Value-Add? (hint: everyone knows but you)

2006-11-28T10:42:00.000-08:00

This is a trick question. Your value-add has little to do with how you think others value you. It has everything to do with how others actually do value you.

How do you determine your true value-add? Be fearless and ask people. I like to leave the word value out. So I say to colleagues and clients, "What can you always count on me for?" Their answer is my value-add.

Why is awareness of your value-add important?
My marketplace, branding and website design, is crammed full of competition. Because I understand my value-add, I have the opportunity to shine -- to stand apart from my competitors -- when meeting new clients. While my skill set is vital to gaining new work, my professional value-add is just as vital.

Toss the word strengths out the window. It is no longer interesting. If a new client says to you, "We're looking at several firms for this project. What's unique about yours?" You can answer powerfully by saying:

My clients can always count on me to:

Take an idea and make it fully realized
Craft originality and distinction
Prioritize thoughtfully and make the right trade-offs
Stay 12-18 months ahead of the trend curve
Deliver on time

Make what is hidden realized
Ways in which colleagues and clients count on you is also sometimes hidden from you. This is because these traits are core, instinctive and often overlooked by the beholder. What people count on you for are your most compelling traits. Don't let them go unseen by yourself.

How to Avoid Getting Screwed by New Clients (fishers and wolves)

2006-11-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Who has time? If you are an independent web designer today, not you. What about that new client who keeps calling and asking questions? You want the work, but you're taxed for time. You may be unsure about the new client's commitment level too. This is exactly where to start. Determine right away if the caller is a good client or one that falls into the category of fishers and wolves.

A fisher is typically well spoken and is experienced as being well meaning. So when they sling a hook, they usually catch you. Fishers want pieces of your expertise (that has taken you years to learn) for free, and he or she is in no position to commit to a project. Though, fishers always lead you to believe that they are.

Wolves, like in fairy tales, symbolize two behaviors: to devour and to self-serve. They are aggressive, use technology jargon (that they have little understanding of) and want to move forward at a lightening pace. In the end, if you're dealing with a wolf, you'll get eaten. They will steal your time, talent and financial livelihood. Wolves have elaborate stories about how they can't pay you right now, and in the same breath will add 5 new features outside the scope of work.

How do you spot a fisher or wolf?
You can spot a fisher or wolf by devising good business practices and sticking to them. Here is the method that I use, and remember, this is for new clients, not existing ones.

::1 Upon receiving the first email or phone call about a new project, I immediately send my pricelist. I offer hourly services, as well as fixed bid services.

::2 When I send out my pricelist, I tell the new client that I offer a free 30 minute phone consultation to better understand their website needs. I provide available times for this free consultation.

Most fishers and wolves stop right here. I never hear from them again. Good riddance! But alas, there is one more step needed to spot them.

::3 In my 30-minute phone consultation, I reserve the last 10 minutes to talk process and numbers. "Here is how I work," I say.

I start with a Discovery document. This includes defining each of your website needs and creating a Statement of Work. Writing these documents will take "x" hours of time. Payment of this phase is due before I begin.
Once the Statement of Work is finalized, 50% percent of the project cost is due. After payment is received, design and development for your project begins.

Good clients appreciate this type of directness and guidance. Fishers and wolves jump ship at this point, and for a single reason: They want to be the one to create the process (that then you must abide by). As a one-person web design shop, I can never afford this.

Ancient Archives

2006-10-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

Every now and again, it's good to pull a project from the past and review what it used to be like to design for the web. This particular project was designed in late 1996; it is 10 years old. Back then, GIF Animator was dope!
Live website from 1996: Glassblowers.com

Looking at the site now causes me to gasp. Site design was so easy back then. For fun, you can see where Glassblowers.com has taken the site in the past 10 years. (They still use my original illustrations. What a compliment!)
Current 2006 website: Glassblowers.com

Being in BED with Ann Coulter

2006-10-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

An expressive voice barks back at Ann. She imagines what it would be like to be in bed with Ann! But really, this is shameless self-promotion on my part.

Being in BED with Ann Coulter
Help my project rise in the ranks at this month's HuffingtonPost Contagious Festival by visiting my link.
(pass it on)

I Need a 'C-M-Y-What' Logo?

2006-09-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Once you have created your logo in RBG colors, you also need to create it in CMYK colors.

What is CMYK?
CMYK is the 4-color process printing standard: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Many printed items, including newspapers and magazines, use this 4-color process. For instance, if a magazine runs a story about your product, you'll need to supply a resolution independent logo file that is specified with CMYK colors (dot-based for printing), not RGB colors (light-based for computer monitors).

If you do not supply the magazine with a CMYK logo file, you have much less control over how the colors in your logo actually print. If needing this control is no big deal to you, consider that many RGB colors do not exist in the CMYK realm. This is especially true if your RBG logo contains "hot" and "electric" hues. Do I have your attention now?

How do I convert my RGB logo to a CMYK logo?
Converting your RGB logo to a CMYK logo may be simple and may be complicated. It depends upon the logo image and the combination of colors. Essentially, CMYK flattens the vitality of RGB images. It does so by messing with black, grays and color saturation. To see an example of this, open up a colorful photograph in Photoshop. Then take the following steps: Image > Mode > CMYK color.

This is a "simulated" CMYK color mode. Don't for a second believe that what you are seeing is the same thing that will print. The reason that CMYK mode exists in Photoshop is so that you can make adjustments to CMYK values, as well as Photoshop's many other features. The fact of the matter is, when you switch over to CMYK mode, you might as well be half-blind. Your computer monitor cannot reproduce the CMYK color space effectively. Graphic designers like myself use expensive swatch books to choose CMYK values. Talk about highway robbery, I've got a collection of swatch books that's around $800 bucks. These are a must have for graphic designers.

How to choose CMYK colors that match your logo's RGB colors
The Logo Orange website has an online swatch book. Do read the introduction paragraph, where they basically say: Use at your own risk. But hey, this is as good as it's going to get if you cannot invest in printed swatch books: View Color Code Matching Chart

Hopefully your logo is fairly simple, such as a combination of two or three colors. Jot down your logo's matching CMYK values that you find on this website. Next, I'll show you how to convert your RGB logo into a CMYK logo in two applications: Photoshop and Illustrator.

Photoshop
The first step, as I mentioned already is to change color modes (Photoshop's default color mode is RGB).

Image > Mode > CMYK color

Hopefully your logo is on layered files. If it is already plastered onto a white background, and you cannot select the type or image independent of selecting the background, you are SOL. All that you can do at this point is to resave your Photoshop file. Since you have converted into the CMYK color space, when you resave this file, it will be a genuine CMYK file.

If you can select your logo elements independent of the background, do so and apply the CMYK values that you jotted down from the Color Mode Matching Chart website. Be sure to name this new file in an informational manner such as, My_logo_CMYK.psd

Illustrator
The first step, just like in Photoshop is to change color modes (Illustrator's default color mode is RGB).

File > Document Color Mode > CMYK color

Now you can select your logo's elements and apply the CMYK values that you previously jotted down. What may confuse you, but should not, is that once you convert over to the CMYK color space, both Photoshop and Illustrator translate your RGB colors into CMYK colors. The question is, can you trust this conversion? I never do. This is why I had you jot down your logo's corresponding CMYK colors from the online swatch book. Apply these corresponding CMYK colors to your logo elements now. Then, 'Save As' this file with a name like: My_logo_CMYK.ai

Create Your Logo in a Resolution Independent App (This excludes Photoshop!)

2006-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

What's a resolution independent application? Think vectors: Vector-based applications such as, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand (whose days are numbered) and Corel Draw all create resolution independent graphics. If you want to turn your logo into a tiny "powered by" web button, or if you want to blow it up onto a billboard, your logo must be resolution independent. It needs the ability to be resized and to retain 100% quality. Here's what happens when you try to scale up a logo created in a non-resolution independent app (Photoshop):

Scaling up in Photoshop creates painful results -- scaling down can too. This is why when a logo reaches its final form, it must be vector-based, not pixel-based. By the same token, I find it easier to design logos in Photoshop than in Illustrator. This is especially true if I use gradations and shadows. Once I have exactly what I want in Photoshop, I rebuild the image in Illustrator. Here's an example of a logo that I rebuilt in Illustrator:

What if I don't need to resize my logo?
Do you want business cards? If you want nice quality business cards, your logo ought to be scalable. Why is this true? Because what you see on your monitor is not what you get on paper. The beautiful logo you designed in a pixel-based program like Photoshop does not necessarily transfer to print easily. Your monitor resolution is 72 dpi (dots per inch) and standard print resolution is 300 dpi. To print a nice quality logo on paper requires nearly four times the dots!*

The Sniker example above shows what happens when you change a 72 dpi image in Photoshop to a 300 dpi image (Do you want your business cards to look like that?).

The down and dirty secret of an EPS file
An EPS file is an ugly little word loaded with misunderstanding. It stands for Encapsulated PostScript. The confusion of the EPS format is that many people think that all EPS files are resolution independent. This is false. For instance, if a newspaper or news website contacts you and says, "Hey, we are writing a story about your product, can we have an EPS file of your logo?" What they are asking for in this instance is a resolution independent image created in a vector-based program. So just because Photoshop and other applications allow you to "Save" in the EPS format does not mean that the resulting file is scalable.

*This translates into creating your logo in Photoshop many times larger than what you need for your website. For instance, a nicely printable Photoshop logo (for a business card) ought to be 1000x500 pixels and look smashing at this resolution.

The Quiet Death of the Major Re-Launch

2006-08-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

The Quiet Death of the Major Re-Launch

This is an excellent article by UI expert Jared Spool. His opinion if you've got an outdated website that desperately needs to be rebuilt from scratch? Don't do a complete re-launch. In other words, don't shock your existing audience by creating a whole new user experience. Continuous design improvements over time is a better solution.

5 Reasons to Underbrand

2006-07-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

Got a start-up with a great product? Got a good name for your company, one that is easy to say, spell and remember? You're the perfect company to underbrand, here's why:

::1 Early stage companies are usually tight on cash. Don't waste 5-10k of it by hiring a design firm to create a visual brand. You don't need anything but a decent type logo at this stage ($500 bucks max).

::2 Because you are in an early stage, your product may shift focus! Don't get stuck with a high-priced visual brand that may become meaningless one year down the road.

::3 An expensive brand might draw eyeballs, but look around on the Net, it's the product that draws the masses. Consider Friendster from years back, Myspace more recently and a host of other exciting web products. Visual branding of these site was not a high priority. Clearly, this did not hurt them!

::4 Consumers are tired of being tricked by overbranded products that fail to deliver. Consumers TRUST underbranded products more today than ever. The pendulum has indeed shifted. Save yourself time and money by underbranding.

::5 The name of your product far outweighs the value of the visual brand. And no visual brand can help turn a bad name into a good one. Spend your time and money developing a catchy name, one that is easy to say, spell and remember.

In the many years that I have developed brands for online companies, it is only recently that I have begun to say. "You don't need my visual branding services at this time," or "Hire a naming firm to help you choose your name—this will help your brand the most."

Safety in New Symbol

2006-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Red Cross has recently adopted a third symbol to stand beside the internationally recognized cross and crescent. Known as the "Red Crystal," the new humanitarian emblem is a square rotated on its corner. The larger aspect of the new symbol seeks to finally admit Palestinian and Israeli relief organizations into its fold. It also provides an additional neutral symbol to many groups who fear bearing the original cross because of its association to the Western world.
Click to see photo and read more