Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Brads – The Social Media Guru

Every Saturday morning, I will be reproducing one of Brad Colbow’s wonderful comic strips from his series The Brads. Kind of reminds me of getting up on early and watching Saturday morning cartoons as a kid! Please enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to check Brad’s website for more great comics!

The Brads – The Social Media Guru

The Brads – The Social Media Guru

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Categories: Saturday Morning Cartoons

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Posted: 10:00 AM on February 6, 2010

The One Design Tool You Absolutely Need to Use

I believe that there is a perpetuated myth out there in the design community. That myth is that today, with the vast array of software options that are available to us, we can fill our OS X Docks or Start Menus with all kinds of “design” software. I’d like to suggest that this belief is fundamentally wrong, and allow this discussion to move us forward to the one design tool that you do absolutely need to be using.

 The One Design Tool You Absolutely Need to Use

The One Design Tool You Absolutely Need to Use

First, back to the software.

Look at all the programs you are using. Find me one “design” program. Photoshop? Nope. That’s an imaging program for manipulating pixels and basic vector shapes. Illustrator? I don’t think so. It’s a vector program. InDesign or Quark might be closer, but they are layout applications. What about Dreamweaver? Coda? TextMate? All coding/developing tools. Flash is an animation program.

The list could go on and on, but as far as I have been able to tell, there is not a single program or piece of software out there on the market that is an actual a design application. All of the aforementioned programs can help you with design, but they do not encompass design itself.

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Categories: Design

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Posted: 10:04 PM on February 4, 2010

5 Things to Consider Before Designing Your Next Website

There are probably dozens and dozens of ways for approaching the initial stages of creating a website. You could sketch out the entire concept on paper, use Photoshop to create a beautifully rendered visual representation of what the site will look like, or cut your teeth right away on some nice HTML and CSS coding. I’ve used all of these different techniques to varying degrees in the past, and they have all proven useful in their own ways.

So, is there one right way to go about this? Yes! The best way to mock up a website is to use the technique that will be the most effective for your particular project.

5 Things to Consider Before Designing Your Next Website

5 Things to Consider Before Designing Your Next Website

Not a very helpful answer is it?

Well let’s dig a little deeper, then. In this article, we are going to distinguish between creating mockups and building prototypes, and then look at five different areas that can help you determine which approach might be best for you.

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Categories: Articles, Websites

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Posted: 10:13 PM on February 2, 2010

Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Brads – Design Awards

Every Saturday morning, I will be reproducing one of Brad Colbow’s wonderful comic strips from his series The Brads. Kind of reminds me of getting up on early and watching Saturday morning cartoons as a kid! Please enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to check Brad’s website for more great comics!

The Brads – Design Awards

The Brads – Design Awards

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Categories: Saturday Morning Cartoons

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Posted: 10:00 AM on January 30, 2010

The Fictional and Completely Made-Up Origin of Freelancing

Today, the concept of freelancing is generally understood to encompass an individual, or sometimes a group of individuals, who work without any particular allegiance to any business or company. They ride the winds of fortune, allowing circumstance and (in many cases) money to determine the course of their immediate future.

It’s a unique kind of life and is not for everyone, but for those special few it offers a gateway to freedom and success – and often a episodic series of interactions with clients that are enough to make many tear their hair out.

The Fictional and Completely Made-Up Origin of Freelancing

The Fictional and Completely Made-Up Origin of Freelancing

But where did it all start?

I honestly have no idea! But that’s not going to stop me from writing about it. So, I present to you the fictional and completely made-up origin of freelancing, following some of the (mis)adventures of the brave and noble knight Sir William Post – the world’s first Free Lancer!

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Categories: Freelancing

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Posted: 10:23 AM on January 29, 2010