Making a website is easy

Making a website really takes no skill at all. Today you don't have to be creative, you don't have to know code, you just need to know how to work a computer and type. Thanks to applications like Dreamweaver and it's predecessor GoLive and the ever popular FrontPage (sorry I think I just threw up a little in my mouth) you can slap something together in a few days. But making a statement with your website, I mean really setting yourself apart from the crowd, takes time and a little bit of elbow grease. And this is where a lot of people/companies make mistakes.

Over the past few months I have struggled with a client who came to us looking to update their website, but have lacked the effort to decide on what they want their site to say about them. From simple content to deciding on a look and feel they have been painfully slow. I won't go in to any further details about the company itself, but will expand on two reasons I believe this process of making a website is more than a simple "wizzy-whig" editor.

The Content

If you don't have content, then you might as well not have a life on the web. Without something to engage your users then all the pretty graphics and typography you put on a site will do you little good. I know this, because I've been there. When I first started out in web design, nearly two years ago now, I thought using lots of pictures and little text would draw in people by the masses to my site. Boy was I in for a surprise when all I heard was the sound of crickets chirping the next morning I woke up.

Now I'm not saying you have to know everything about anything, but you should be able to talk about what you love, right? I mean if you're serious about writing a blog, or telling people why your business is great, then you should be able share that with others. Think of it like your meeting some friends for coffee and conversation. Or if that's too casual then think of it like a formal dinner party. That's not really the point I'm trying to make. What is important is that you are comfortable with communicating to people who you are and why what you have to say is interesting. That's really all it is.

There is a great article on A List Apart titled "Better Writing Through Design" by Bronwyn Jones where she lays out some great ideas for putting your own voice in to your website. I particularly like what she says at the end of the article:

Design a voice for your site and you do more than make words and images play nice. You engage your users in a discussion you both want to carry on.

(For every rule there is an exception, and in this case I would have to say that creative people aren't held to this rule as strictly. Where they lack in content they make up for in a strong portfolio.)

The Layout

When I refer to layout I am talking about the look and feel of a website. Most of this work is usually done by a professional, such as myself and many of you who read this. And from my experience there is no real shortcut here. From an initial idea/concept to the first sketch on paper to the various mockups created, this portion of creating a website is at best, lengthy. It is also the most emotional. People can become really attached to certain images or colors or fonts for that matter. It's easy when building a new site from the ground up, but when you are working on a redesign things can get messy.

For example, the clients site I am working on uses a primarily red palette on the current version of their website, from the logo to the background to the font colors. So when I presented them with four initial mockups, each utilizing the same red color, I was surprised to hear that they didn't like any of them. Actually I was flabbergasted. So what I'm working on now is creating a more muted color scheme which uses more grays and blues with and a hint of red in the logo and some header text. Sometimes a subtle hint of color can make a bigger impact than using color all over the place.

Speaking of redesigning a website there is an interesting article on A List Apart titled "Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign" by Cameron Moll. Even though the article is dated October 2005 I think it holds a timeless bit of information. Now whether or not I whole-heartedly agree with what Mr. Moll has to say is up for debate. While I can see his point on the whole emotional/aesthetic approach to a redesign, and a more business/market approach to a realign, I think the two can go hand-in-hand and don't necessarily have to be separated.

Final Thoughts

Obviously there is more to consider when creating a website, but I wanted to focus in on the two areas I think are really the backbone to any great project. Plus I've been so focused on these two areas here at work

in the eternal mind

I decided to take a detour from what I usually write about, and share something with you all that I don't do very often, which is my poetry. I used to write, a lot, about any and everything that was going on in my life. And through this writing I developed a love for free-flow writing which would sometimes turn in to poetry. Well these days I don't really have a lot of spare time to let my mind wander and write down what I'm thinking. But every once in a while I'll get inspired by a certain song I'm listening to or the weather or a specific memory.

What follows was inspired by listening to the album Bring Me Your Love by City and Colour.

At once will come a day when all our words are characters we no longer understand.

Yesterday is long forgotten in the eternal mind. Tomorrow is a hope that we can not quite secure.

Family members are pages in history that walk and talk and we can touch, but not so easy to judge.

I remember sitting on that old and dirty subway bench looking out over an ocean so big with a celebrated bridge to cross.

Even at our worst moments we are still better than when we were apart. Sometimes all it takes is a little reminiscing.

Thank you.

apple turnover

Let me begin by stating that I adore my iMac, macbook and iPod that I use on a daily basis.

Now with that out of the way, I feel that the apple decal sticker you get when you purchase an apple product has become a sort of status symbol. You've probably seen them popping up on more and more cars lately. (The worst case I've seen was used to cover the logo on a DELL laptop.) But why do I think this? Because the first time I put one on my car I felt a certain puff in my chest that said: "Hey! Everybody look at me. I'm so sophisticated and cool because I use a mac." That somehow because of this little apple sticker I knew something that the majority of people didn't. And I was better than them. I even felt sorry for people that didn't use a mac or worse, had never used a mac. I was holding macintosh up on this pedestal in my mind. (Sadly, I felt like this for a long time.)

But as of late, my opinion has changed about what that apple represents to me. I no longer feel bad/sorry for people who don't use a mac. Instead I recognize that for me, a mac is the best computer to use, but for others it may not be. (Even though I'll duel to the death that life on a mac is much more user-friendly than any pc available.) But take my Father for example, he called me late last year talking about getting a new computer. Of course my recommendation was to buy an apple, but he said he didn't need all the power that came along with it, as well as the price tag. Even though apple has come down in price, it's still hard to compete when you can buy a brand new laptop at Walmart for under $400. Sadly that's what he ended up getting, but for him it's all he needed (minus all the pre-loaded apps that comes fully loaded on his computer).

So what's the point here? I'm glad you asked. Last night I finally scraped off the apple sticker that adorned my back right window on my car, and this morning I replaced it with the same apple sticker, only I turned it upside down. And why did I do this? It's just my way of taking a stab at all those who use the apple logo as a status symbol. I guess you could say it's making fun of my arrogance. And more importantly, I hope it makes people think. Like I said, I love my apple products, but they don't define me.

man's best friend

Faithfulness, loyalty, companionship, unconditional love ... I think it's interesting that all of these traits are used to describe both God and dogs.

Over the past year we have raised our black lab Samson, the handsome one, from puppy to adult and added our second dog Ben, the crazy one, to the mix. I never thought I would learn so much about confidence, patience and anger all from a couple of dogs. But prior to this I had never really owned a dog of my own. I had grown up with pets, but I was never the one responsible for taking care of them. So when it came time to train, exercise and clean up after them it felt a bit overwhelming.

When I walk them I sometimes get so frustrated when they pull me, or rather constantly pull the whole time, that I have this sort of power struggle with them and yank them harder than I should. (You should know that when I walk them it's on a short leash with the purpose of keeping them next to or behind me.) I know yanking them is not best practice by any means, but I'm working on. So anyways, I find myself praying a lot on walks to help me be patient and focus on being my dogs pack leader.

So the other night as we were ending our walk the dogs started acting up again, and again I tried to put them in their place. Immediately afterwards I thought how God is so patient with us that it amazed me how He deals with us even when we are rebellious and strongly pull in our own direction. But then it hit me that God doesn't hold us on a leash. He's given us free will and the choice to accept His love or not. But the worst part was the realization that I do more of the leash holding in my relationship with God. I try and bring Him under control to my liking and obey my every command, just like my dogs. This was shocking to me, because I had never thought about my relationship with the one who created me like this before.

But even more amazing is how God is love and no matter how much we hurt Him His love is unconditional. Just like a dog, whose minds are quick to forget and live in the moment, God is able to forgive us through the blood of Jesus and love us "in the moment" of every day of our lives. And it's not just in walking my dog that I find myself wanting to take control over God. I am constantly having to die to myself in my marriage, at work and a lot of the time behind the wheel.

Update: The last few days on my walks with the dogs I've been focusing more on enjoying the walk and less on controlling them, and that's helped tremendously. I know that practice and patience and daily exercise are the key ingredients to keeping me and my dogs happy.

sharing with you

Last week I posted a few lessons I've learned along the way that I wanted to share with you. And in return I asked for you to respond with your own lessons in life, design or faith that you've learned to share with all of us. Now I know this isn't the "end-all-be-all" list of lessons to share with each other, but I'm reminded by what someone smarter than me once said; "you have to start somewhere."

My hopes are that you find something today that will inspire you and help you push past whatever problem you're facing. To encourage you to open up your life and let others help you out. And in the end to help others out the same way.

Aaron Irizarry

- @aaroni268

1. Slow Down - Life can get pretty hectic pretty quick, especially as a designer with deadlines and fast paced work environments. We have to slow down take a deep breath and regain our focus. Creativity or anything for that matter can really suffer if we don't take the time re-group. Ferris Bueller said it best "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
2. No matter how frustrating/end of the world/impossible it gets… stay cool.. It will probably be just fine. Many times I have looked back on frustrating situations, and bad days at work where I lost it.... or thought the apocalypse was happening, only to realize that everything cleared up, all the work got done, no zombies came and ravaged the office. In these times it is good to note that keeping a cool head can save a lot of frustration, or embarrassment as well as keep from putting strain on professional relationships.
3. Don't worry about what others do… get it done and do it right, don't allow others to help you fail. A lot of times when part of a project doesn't get done , or "the powers that be" are laying into the dev team it is easy to point the finger at others for things not getting done. This doesn't bode well in management's eyes. Take responsibility, Don't let others lead you to fail.

Darcy Murphy

- @mrDarcyMurphy

1. Be happy. Seek out happiness before anything else.
2. Be afraid, and face life anyways. You’ll enjoy it more.
3. Listen. Be quiet, don’t judge, simply absorb.
4. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
5. Spend all day thinking about things you need to share.

Kenroy George

- @kengeo

1. Never underestimate people.
2. Always speak up.
3. Do good and it will return to you.
4. Live your own life and not the one other would like you to.

Khayyam Wakil

- @iamkhayyam

1. Accountability. There's no one to blame and when it comes down to it, you're the only one that is responsible. Don't point fingers, if you have to, point it at yourself.
2. Wisdom is what happens when you don't get what you want.
3. Clients usually pick the worst designs, make sure that one is still pretty
4. Know what you're worth and charge accordingly.
5. Learn to say "no". A very empowering word with clients
6. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Find the best and let them do the rest.
7. Keep track of all your working hours as a freelancer. The hours you put in aren't all billable hours, so use your data to help estimate jobs, projects etc. Invaluable need for any designer really.
8. Lists:
   • get that crap out of your head
   • visually see what's required to be done
   • it's nice to check things off, feels good
   • make room for the creativity to flow
9. Speaking of flow... just roll with it. Everything unfolds exactly the way it's supposed to. Program crashed and you lost the file?! There was a reason. Look beyond what you can control and just accept it was randomly on purpose. You might not know why in the moment, but you will... eventually
10. Every problem is just a solution waiting to be found. Perspective makes all the difference.

Lauren Krause

- @creativecurio

1. Have to give a big speech or design the hugest project you’ve ever faced? Remember that people want you to succeed. Sometimes that realization is the confidence boost you need to get through it.
2. If you’re going through a seemingly impossible time, think back to another time that also seemed impossible. How does it look now? That’s how this situation will be, given some time.
3. Life, including design, is an art. Science is an art, too. In other words, no one has all the answers; we’re all just making the decisions that seem best to us with the information and experience we have at the moment.
4. Learn what your strengths are and grow them. The Strengths Finder test is a great resource for this if you’re a little lost.
5. Be aware of yourself—your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, abilities, passions, strengths.
6. But remember, most of the time, it’s not about you.
7. Understanding where someone is coming from (especially when they don’t make sense) is the first step in removing him/her as a threat. We are almost always afraid of what we don’t understand.
8. At the heart of anger is fear.
9. Life is so much more enjoyable when you’re driven by love rather than fear.
10. Being constantly busy—particularly with meaningless "stuff"—is often a cover-up for fear and a lack of direction and passion.

Mirko Humbert

- @mirkohumbert

1. Failure can be funny if you got a sense of humour, don't be afraid.
2. Being stressed on things you have no control on is just stupid, relax.
3. People don't give a shit about you, they're too busy with themselves. Try to find a common ground if you want to communicate with people or they won't pay attention to you.
4. Don't give up, you may not get what you want but at least you'll get something.
5. Your friends are not perfect, you aren't either. Be cool to them.
6. Don't watch tv, it sucks. Go out and meet people.
7. Your parents washed your ass for years, it's not a big deal to visit them and be nice to them sometimes.
8. Do stupid things, you'll have something to talk about later.
9. Everything will be fine, don't worry.

R.A. Porter

- @coyotesqrl

1. No matter how much they cost, if you wear polished shoes to an interview it reflects well on you.
2. When in doubt, the answer is always 7. Unless it's a multiple choice exam. Then it's 'D'.
3. Aloe goes on the *outside*.

Rhonda Michelle Steward

- @rhondamichelle

1. Angry people need more love than happy people
2. Being the first to set the tone goes a long way
3. When your dogs want to go outside go with them
4. Your kids choose you
5. Relocating spiders can change your entire relationship with them
6. Knowing where the main water valve in your home is helpful, no...make that essential
7. The real reason{s} for knowing someone may not be known for many, many years
8. Cell phones can still work after a dunk {or 2} if you dry them out on your car dashboard
9. Hot cocoa will always rock
10. So do grown up versions of mac & cheese
11. No matter what goes wrong at a wedding you’re still married at the end of the day
12. There will always be someone who thinks you’re a design wizard and someone who thinks you’re “on your way” - at the same time, of course
13. The mantra “profit over preference” can focus a design decision with a commercial client

Thanks again to everyone who participated.

share with me

I love helping to bring people together because I know we all learn from each other's mistakes as well as successes. So when I watched Jason Fried speek at the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) 4 Conference last week I was inspired by what he had to say.

In short he compared how chef's have no fear of showing people how to cook the food they love to cook to the way companies fear sharing their information. It was interesting and thought provoking because so many people in the business world want to keep their work a secret, filing patent's and lawsuits day after day. But what Jason says throws all the rules out the window, and it really hit home for me where I agree that we should loosen up and open up our ideas, our visions, our best-practices and share with everyone how to do what we do. Because when we do something well we shouldn't be afraid of sharing that with others in fear that they might do it better than us. That's nonsense.

Here is a short summary of the things I've learned so far and don't mind sharing with you:

1. Disappointments make you stronger in the end
2. Forgiveness always wins over a grudge
3. Brush your teeth before bed
4. Always pack an extra pair of socks
5. Listen to your spouse
6. Knowing God doesn't happen just one day a week
7. Keep a record of your important contacts on paper
8. Learn the shortcut keys in photoshop
9. Dwelling on the past hinders your future
10. Always, always, always return phone calls, emails, tweets, or other forms of contact

Now it's your turn. I would like to hear what you have to share from the lessons you've learned in life, design and faith. Then I will compile the results I get over the next few weeks and put them in one large post, similar to what I did on my "Branded Designers" post. Also, if you'd like to include a link back to yourself please include your website and/or your twitter name.

Share everything you know and don't be afraid.

Thanks everyone.

and the winner is

Last month I held a contest for my one-year blogiversary. It was my first contest to hold, ever, and I was a little nervous to see how it would go. But after receiving over thirty comments it was my greatest post to date. It was a blast getting to read everyone's comments. Some just came right out and explained why they wanted the note books, while others quoted whole poems (not sure what that was about). It even opened the door to make some new connections. Thanks again to everyone that stopped by and left your comments.

However, there could only be one winner and that's what I wanted to share with you today.

His name is Armen Thomassian. (That's him in the picture.) Originally british born, he now lives with his wife in Tasmania, Australia where he preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. He used to have a wonderful blog where he shared his views on his faith and life, but due to some unfortunate events decided to take it down. His site now exist as merely a portal to visit him elsewhere on the web and to contact him. But even in the face of adversity he leaves us all with a message of hope:

"Let nothing or no one steal your joy."

Congrats again to Armen for winning the Field Notes 3-Pack of notebooks and I hope they come in handy for him.