DesignFolio Plus Giveaway

DesignFolio Plus is a beautiful and highly customizable portfolio theme great for displaying logos, websites, print work and much more.

DesignFolio Details

Perfect for the design professional with little or advanced knowledge of HTML /CSS and WordPress, DesignFolio Plus comes with the following features:

• jQuery Slider for Portfolio Items
• Easy portfolio uploading (create a portfolio category and upload an image for each post and the theme does the rest)
• Museo Sans headings using Cufon text replacement
• Theme Options page with Flickr integration
• Colorpicker to change colors of “The Stripe” and other text and links
• Custom Breadcrumb Trails (utilizing the BreadcrumbXT plug-in)
• Twitter Integration (utilizing the Twitter Widget Pro plug-in)

Using DesignFolio Plus, it is easy to set up an online Portfolio using WordPress. This is one of the most straightforward and easy-to-use Portfolio-style themes out there, designed and developed by popular WordPress theme developer Chris Wallace, whose high-quality themes speak for themselves.

You can check out a live preview here or view the theme details on ThemeForest.net (currently available for $30).

Free Hosting

Now, a huge thanks to Firehost, the deal has gotten even sweeter. For 1 of the 5 lucky theme winners, they will receive 6 months of free secure hosting with no commitment to stay from Firehost. This is the perfect combination for anyone just starting out online or looking to do a serious upgrade.

How To Enter

We are offering up not just one, but five theme licenses. So you have a greater chance of winning. Simply leave a comment below explaining why you would like this theme and how it would make your wildest dreams come true.

The contest will run for one week and the winners will be chosen and then contacted via twitter (make sure and leave your twitter name) next Friday, July 31, 2009. Details about the hosting will be taken care of through Firehost. Good luck.

3 sexy journal designs

In light of my recent contest to win a set of FIELD NOTES notebooks, see here, I've been inspired to pick up my journal once again and keep daily notes. Everything from simple to-do lists about work that needs to get done, to doodling, all the way to my next great idea that will change the world forever. So when I got word this morning from friend and fellow twitterer, Aaron Irizarry, about the "Design and designers you love" writing contest going on over at Designer-Daily I thought I'd show you my list of the top three sexiest journals you need to own.

"The Legendary Notebook"

First off we have the classic Moleskin journal. This finely crafted beauty is one of the top selling journals worldwide. It's sleek, simple design is what first lured me in, as it has it's own gravitational force. But you can't judge this journal by it's cover alone, no you must own one to unveil the real beauty inside. The moleskin will always hold a special place on my bookshelf. And the best part about them is they are offered in a wide variety of styles, to suit anyone's wants or needs.

• Ruled
• Squared
• Plain
• Sketchbook
• Japanese Accordian Album

I have personally owned a few Moleskin journals over the years and they never let me down. Their durability and sleek design make it easy for me to carry them along with me wherever I go. The solid hardcover puts me at ease when it's squashed by tons of books or when my dogs try to get a hold of it. And the pages are of such fine quality that it makes me nervous to jot something down. I know that must sound weird, and maybe it's my OCD showing, but I'd rather preserve the beauty of it's blank pages than scribble something of no use. But that's what a journal is for, to get those thoughts, sometimes useless, out of our heads and on to the paper so we can get onto more productive thoughts. And the Moleskin let's you do this with ease and beauty.

"I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now."

As the official quote for Field Notes journals you can rest assured that they aren't skimping on their quality. These little guys remind me of what an archeologist or detective from the mid 20th century might have used. They sport a very simple design and a rugged three-staple saddle-stitch binding. Not to mention that they are all made here in the U.S.A.. When you order off their website they are prompt to get your order out as soon as possible. (I received mine in less than a week.) And when it arrives in the mail in it's beautiful cardboard envelope you can find the following goods awaiting you:

• Three 48-page memo books.
• Each 3-1/2″ wide by 5-1/2″ tall.
• Perfect 1-pica-graphed paper.
• Pencil, Bic Clic Pen & other goodies.

Update: Since writing this post a month ago I have grown to love and adore my simple little Field Notes. They travel with me wherever I go, riding in my back pocket, just waiting until I get a new idea that I need to write down. And when I'm at work they sit patiently in front of me, waiting for the right time when I'll take a break from my computer, and commit to using pen and paper for a few moments. They hold up extremely well and the graph paper makes it great to keep lists and other to-do items. So far I'm still on the first of three notebooks, but I'm already excited about ordering more.

"The French Orange (& Black) Notebooks with a Cult Following"

I must be honest, I've never actually owned a Rhodia journal, at least not yet. But just look at them. The iconic cover with it's boldface font and two fir trees screams "BUY ME!" to any self-respecting designer. Each notebook is filled with 80 sheets of 80 g acid-free white vellum paper. And the unique scored cover allows you to neatly fold your pages over the back. If you have ever used one of these before I'd love to hear your personal feedback on them.

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Well there you have it. That's my list and I'm sticking to it. But please, if you know of any other great journals out there that you like I'd love to hear about them. Surely this isn't the end-all-be-all list of sexy journals. Or is it?

one year blogiversary

In light of my upcoming one-year anniversary for my blog, October 13, I am offering up the chance to win the wonderful FIELD NOTES THREE-PACK for free to one lucky person. No shipping and handling, no call now and get two for the price of one gimmicks. Just a simple, straight-talkin' free gift to give back to this community that I've been a part of for the past year.

Why, you may ask, am I offering just three plain notebooks? That's a valid question. And to answer your question, upon verification from a google search about "one-year anniversaries" I found that the traditional gift has something to do with paper. Whether that be in the form of a notebook, a love letter, stationary, you get the idea. So I thought, perfect, since I'm a designer and most people who visit my site would be more apt to be a designer, or at least interested in design. This would be the perfect gift to keep your ideas close at hand in a stylish way.

The contest will run until next Friday, October 17. All you need to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment below with the best reason you can muster on why you'd like these notebooks. Note: spam and ad links do not count. Also, don’t forget to provide a valid email address in the input field, otherwise I won’t be able to notify you.

Thanks and good luck.