Ancora Imparo

I started a new, challenging side project that forces me to improve my photo manipulation skills. Here’s a look at what I’m working on:

It’s all very secretive.

I make things, too

I have to say, sometimes I suffer from jealousy of other designers/artists sites because they just put out so much cool stuff. Usually my projects are a little more long term or aren’t allowed to be broadcast on the internets. Well get ready world, because I can show this one off:

The Texas Exes are celebrating 125 years of supporting the University of Texas and providing opportunities for scholars. This site was designed by Jamie Appel and I, and developed by Andy Thompson, Randy Ramirez and myself. What’s that? You see a similiarity in twitter birds? I couldn’t help myself. They’re incredibly cute and hey, this one is different because it has a longhorn…right?

Go check it out and click around!

Aligning Inspiration

When a friend is trying to get their name out quickly with a promotional site, I tend to recommend that they choose an image they love and begin to build a theme off of that. When my friend Stephanie, the soon to be famous Brooklyn based editor, requested a quick site that would serve as a launching point for her demo reels and video clips, I suggested she patrol istockphoto and see what she found. When she returned a few images, I quickly threw together a couple of suggestions that mainly relied on colors from the image and alignment. My other concern was that they could be coded quickly, so I kept it simple.

We passed ideas back and forth in this way and iteration was quick- the beauty of working on a two person team. This isn’t always a feasible method, but when working with a friend it was an enjoyable experience. Nothing beats playing around with a meaningful image and subtly making fun of your friend in the dummy text. It’s one of those priceless gems I hold dear when working for free.

hamster wheel

Well, the flash site is done. I have a feeling that the other two sites that I’ve worked on may never get done due to numerous revisions/additions from the clients. But I’ll sure let you know! The flash site was kind of a let down, because though the design was good (handed down to me from someone else), they obviously didn’t test it for a 1024×768 screen. Honestly, I’m not sure what screen they designed it for, because it’s just wide enough for a 1024, but too tall for it.  Who knows. As with most of my projects of late, I just make sure the site is built and that it works. But here’s the link!

On the horizon is an eLearning course and an art website for a woman who does some awesome collages. I’ve got the concept mapped out, and am currently looking for the right graphics to fit into my idea. She says there’s no rush and the tentative deadline is July, and it just might be that long before I get it set up due to the personal goal of moving to a new habitat and not living out of boxes for a month. Plus I have to set up that big hamster wheel. Helps me think.

As I’ve been a bit lazy about posting, I’ll put up some screenshots of the mockups once I get that going. Also, I bought the book Hot Text: Web Writing that Works. I know- sounds pretty cheesy, but it comes highly recommended, so I thought I’d check it out for writing more concise web content. But don’t you worry- it won’t cut into my ramblings on this blog… that would be a travesty.