Quick surveys for your site
I hate programming. On every design project that I take, I usually partner with another programmer or offer pre-built applications for cheaper packages. I also search the web for free scripts and just customize it according to my needs. Take this site www.easy-poll.com for instance. It’s free and you don’t need database or learn any codes to run a poll/survey on your site or blog. You can put up a yes or no poll or a multiple-choice poll in a matter of minutes. The selection of colors and patterns are huge to help you find the best theme that will complement your site. Now, isn’t that just a great way to make your site more interactive?
New Look. Again.
Just finished customizing my wordpress skin. I really love this Homeschool skin by Gazelle Creative because it’s easy to change the headers, title tags, sidebars, etc.
Here’s a print screen.
You may be asking yourself why I need to post a screenshot when the changes are glaringly obvious. Well, you see, I still have two designs remaining. Who knows, I might change the look again tomorrow depending on my mood. I might also try changing the skin every refresh if I’m crazy enough to waste working hours.
Custom Tshirt Designs
I used to design t-shirts a couple of years ago and one of the problems I encountered was finding a good Tshirt printing company. There are just too many process involved like going back and forth to the shop to compare swatches and print outs. That was eons ago, though. Now, Tshirt printing is so much easier with the help of online sites like I-printForyou.com. This site in particular has an online design tool that lets you choose t-shirt styles, colors, sizes and upload your own artwork or choose from the available designs on their website. When you’re done with the t-shirt design, you can save it for future use, share with friends or get a quote for the Tshirt printing and order. Everything can be done online so it’s hassle free.
Designer’s Block
Need to submit two website mockups for a new project this week but I can’t seem to come up with something nice. I don’t know if I’m tired or just simply lazy to think of something. I usually start by researching photos to help me with the look and feel. The problem is it’s hard to find any good royalty free photo for Dodge Charger accessories. Most of the nice ones are expensive and I don’t think the client would be willing to pay for it. I’m in a bind here.
Photo Op
I’ve spent my entire afternoon browsing for royalty free photos for a client of mine. This is the part that I hate because I tend to waste hours looking for the perfect photo. A photo can make or break a website’s design so it’s very important for me. I wish I had an account at Gettyimages so I can download to my heart’s content. My photos.com membership is alright, but when I looked for steel buildings at Getty, the selections are just incredible. I can’t just download them though because of copyright laws. So I guess I’ll have to make do with what I have. Such a waste of time.
Tables to CSS
I’ve been studying CSS for four hours and thought I’d just rest my brain a bit. There’s so much stuff to learn that I’m finding it hard to keep up. CSS is such a better world though, design-wise. I’ve even managed to convince my friend Teresa to say goodbye to her nested tables and welcome the not-so-new div layering. Our latest “past time” is to check how many errors we can eliminate using the w3c compliant checker. We’re soo geeky (just in this area) but I get so high whenever my codes pass the validation.
What’s the purpose of this post? Well, every web designer needs to take this design journey and I’m just so glad I’m halfway there!
OSX
I need to design a web site and a logo for our new hosting web site.
This is the theme.
Sweet!
Check and Balance
It’s taking me forever to decide whether to try to get more design projects or not. The major factor is actually the most important one: how to receive payments. Paypal still doesn’t offer its services here in the country, and the fees collected for wire transfers are obscenely high.
I came across electronic check processing the other day, and am planning to do more research on it. I’m fairly sure that it won’t be available here for some time, but I’m really hoping it will be soon. I found a company that claims processing takes only 3 days and that fees are possibly less than those for wire transfer services. I don’t mind the wait so long as I don’t lose a lot in service fees.
But like I said, I need to find out lots more about it. I have time, though; I hear electronic check processing has been available state-side since 2002 (or earlier), so by my estimate it’ll be offered here in the good ole RP in around 2010.
Where’s a muse when you need one
Just received a request to design business cards for a big client of mine. These requests are fairly easy, all you need to do is come up with a layout that will fit the company’s logo then add the necessary details such as name, contact info, etc. Unfortunately, my creative juice has gone dry today. I’ve been staring at my Photoshop workspace for an hour and all I have is a white workspace with a logo that looks out of place and badly laid out text.
Blame it on my lack of sleep, the hot weather, the noisy desktop or Sandy’s peaceful sleeping form. The bed is calling my name and I can’t resist it any longer. Ahh, the joys of working from home. Perhaps a couple of minutes’ rest will do the trick.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride
I’ve been joining numerous design contests for the past two weeks. I haven’t won anything yet but I’m proud to say that I always end up being one of the top runners. The lowest prize for a design is $250 and the highest is $600. The competition is very tight but it doesn’t hurt to dream that I’ll bag one of the prizes soon. The list is endless for the stuff that I want to do with my ‘prize money’.
Another update: I’m getting better with my CSS coding. The site below is all CSS including the search box.
My boss loved it so much that he wanted me to convert all our 100 template files to table-less layout thanks to my big mouth. I’m still a bit unsure of what I can do layout-wise but I love challenges so we’ll see.
Make that connection
Business cards are one of the most important marketing tools. It’s the last thing that you give to a potential buyer or client after a successful meeting. But let’s say your client received a bunch of business cards, how can you stand out or make a lasting impression? Business cards are your company’s representative that’s why it should be well-designed. If you are not a designer or simply don’t have the time, Professional Business Cards can help you with your design and printing needs. You can choose from their customizable designs, have it printed on a high quality paper and get the package overnight for as low as $3.95 for 100 cards.
One less item from my to-do list
My new portfolio is up! I applied the current web 2.0 style just to prove to myself that I can do it. There are no requirements for web 2.0 but you could easily recognize them. Examples are 3d gradients, transparent or mac-looking buttons, big font size, reflective and shiny surfaces, and lots of white spaces. I know they all tend to look the same but what the heck! It’s so clean and easy to the eyes.
I’m so used to heavy graphics and heavy table-laden pages that I can do them in my sleep. (See my old portfolio here.) However, tables are a thing of the past and I know I should start keeping up with the younger and better web designers out there. (yiikes!) I’ve been struggling for months on creating a web site using CSS only. Now, I am so proud to say that my new site is free of tables and passed the W3C validator! In short, I am soooo updated, new, fresh and definitely IN. Finally!
I’m probably not making any sense here. You might not get the point but if you’re a web designer (and an oldie), the way you code and present your portfolio is very important if you’re trying to impress prospective clients. So to my old designer friends, say goodbye to your and welcome the .
Now if only I can keep it up for my future site projects.
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About Joy
I am Dzoi, a 28 year old Filipina who currently works as a web designer. I am a loving wife to my equally loving husband Sherwin and a mommy cow to my 2-year-old daughter, Sandy.
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