About ten years ago, when I was first learning web development, I started to realize that I was figuring out problems I had at work during the day, through my dreams at night. This was great then, but as I’ve gotten older (30 years young now), it has become noticeably more difficult for me to remember these “visions” I was having so that I could put them to use during my waking hours. What I’ve realized over the past few years is that if I give myself a nice little nap and force myself to wakeup from it, then I usually have the solution to my problem ready for me as I wake up. I’m sharing this to show others how I have used it to my advantage and also share a possible way, that you might not even realize you have, to help you figure out your own solutions or ideas. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re betting you never thought that so much calculation could be put into a profile picture on a social network, but what we’ve found is that if the image is right, it can dramatically increase the way you/your brand is perceived within the fraction of a second. After all, first impressions are everything in the real world, so why should online be any different.
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I stumbled onto this terrific website and found a study they did of the Top 10 Social Networking and Forums. The study is based on US Market Share of Visits using data collected by Hitwise.
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If you’re a client, you might have heard the term before but probably haven’t gotten a clear explanation on exactly what Web Standards are. If you’re a web designer, you’ve probably fumbled a few times trying to explain it to your clients without going into a long jargon ridden diatribe. We’re looking to create an east way to explain Web Standards that illustrates the importance, whilst emphasizing the return on investment that clients can gain.
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Our clients are busy folks and constantly on the go. Hey, we’re New Yorkers, we understand the importance of time! So one thing we’ve been doing a lot lately is guiding clients to a better process of keeping their websites updated with fresh content. For some folks they need to keep a blog actively updated, for others its about getting press releases shown on time for new event announcements or product launches, but everybody, its definitely a matter of making their time the most useful when they have it to give.
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I’ve been using Twitter rather regularly for the past year as @schutzsmith and we’ve recently setup an account for DSGN + DVLP as @dsgndvlp. Being a regular twit (is that really how you’d say it!?), I’ve grown to learn some essential habits, rules, and 3rd party apps that make for a smooth and never dull experience. Throw in a dash of online visibility with a hint of guerrilla style marketing and you can quickly see how Twitter has the potential for a brand to identify with its customers on their level, not above it. We hope it helps you understand a little bit more about what this Twitter thing is all about.
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Over the past week we’ve been setting up our own Facebook Page and getting acquainted with all of the nuances and applications available for it (we’ll be doing a larger post about this later this week). If you’re not familiar with Facebook Pages, it’s essentially a way for fans to connect with the brands, bands and people they identify with. The main thing we wanted to share right now is that Flash can be used in Facebook, and not just for videos but as actual interactive SWFs. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be running a brand new course this semester at the School of Visual Arts in New York City called Web Design for Art Directors.
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Earlier last week we launched the PDN Photo Annual 2008 website for PDN Magazine. Its a flash based photo gallery displaying all of the winning entries as well as information on the Contest and the Judges.
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Having been around the block several times, we know how some clients can get fixated on the wrong things when reviewing a design composition. This often frustrates the design team and makes the feedback process stressful for both parties. We want clients to know that they don’t need to worry about items that we can change fairly quickly (fonts, colors, etc.) and focus more on making sure our design meets the objectives they have set forth (tone, flow, etc…).
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