I’m having an amazing time with my family down here in Florida this week, but I wanted to stop by the blog to make a quick announcement.

The Fusion Ad Network is an exclusive ad network targeted at creative professionals. I greatly admire both Chris and Michael who lead the company, the blogs and websites that make up the network, and also the products and services they choose to advertise. The ads are tasteful, unobtrusive, and best of all, relevant.

I am please to announce that I have been invited to join the network of blogs and sites that make up the Fusion network. To be honest, I feel very much out of my league, but am honoured that the team felt my site matched the quality of their network.

I also want to take the time to thank you for reading my blog. I know I have gone through a lot of transitions with it over the past year, and not everything I’ve said I would do has come to pass. I apologize for not always sticking to my word when it comes to what I plan to write on my blog. Thank you for your patience, your loyalty, and above all your friendship in this crazy journey of blogging. Here’s to many more exciting years to come!

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It’s Christmas. Well, we’re 30 minutes into Christmas, that is. It’s currently 12:30am EST, and rather than sleeping soundly awaiting the arrival of a certain jolly gift-giver, I am awake. Working, even.

I’m working on a personal project that I will discuss on in the new year, however I can say it will be the catalyst for a new way of living for me. As you can imagine, that puts a whole boatload of pressure on me to ensure this project is successful. Everything must be perfect; every word laboured over and every pixel perfectly aligned.

So, where do I begin?

Meagan Fisher recently made a strong argument for beginning a site mockup in the browser, utilizing HTML and CSS to develop the site structure, look and feel. Others feel differently, arguing that the design should start in Photoshop (or Fireworks). Others, still, make the case that the best place to start is with sketches on paper.

I appreciate each of these views, and have tried starting different projects with each of these methods. I will continue to use each method at different stages of future projects. However, starting with this new project and with all projects to come, my starting point will be a pen, my Moleskine, and a concept somewhat new to me: Content Strategy.

The Chicken or the Omelette?

I taught myself web design through reading blog articles and following tutorials. I learned how to code in HTML and CSS, how to work with rounded corners in Photoshop, how to use multiple textures to create depth and a more realistic aesthetic. I have been learning about typography and how to properly use a grid system.

The problem with learning all of these things on my own is that I’ve been doing so out of context. It’s as if I am a waiter, bringing an omelette out to the table and declaring “look at this wonderful meal I’ve prepared for you!” Sure, I could probably explain to you what the different items on the plate are, but I couldn’t explain how the chef manages to squeeze in so many fillings, while at the same time cooking the omelette to a perfect golden brown. I couldn’t tell you what the reasoning behind the garnishes are, or how whatever is being served helps to maximize the taste of the meal.

A chef understands that eggs of a certain size, age, and origin are going to produce different flavours. She knows what fillings merge together to create delicious concoctions that make a patron’s mouth water. She knows what ambience, mood, lighting, music, etc. provide the perfect eating experience for her clients.

Starting a web design with Photoshop, a browser, or sketches is like grabbing some eggs and preparing an omelette to an empty restaurant. There is no context, no subtext, no, well, anything. All you have is decoration, void of purpose or strategy.

I’m speaking in fairly concrete terms here, I know. Most people don’t design with absolutely no purpose or thought as to what the content will be. If design is communication, then it stands to reason I should know what I’m trying to say before I wrap it all up in a pretty (and effective) package.

Too many times I have started to design with either a vague idea of what needed to be communicated, or (frighteningly) no clear idea at all. That stops now. No pixel will be moved, no bit of code typed, and no design decisions made until there is a solid content strategy behind it all. The same will go for future client projects; until I know what the client wants to say and who they want to communicate that message to, there is no point in deciding a typeface, a background colour, or anything else that isn’t related to the content.

It’s 2:40am. I just realized that no one in my family thought to leave out cookies and carrots for Santa and his entourage. I better go correct that, and hope it’s done before the lump of coal reaches my stocking.

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This Christmas season, I am taking my first holiday in two years. I’ve had a couple of days off here and there, however this will be the first time I travel in over two years. The family and I will be heading down to Florida, where hopefully we’ll get to do some touristy things and I will get to meet up with some of my Gainsvillian friends.

I am debating right now, however, what I want to take with me on my trip. Do I take my Macbook Pro? Do I just bring my iPhone? I’m hoping to purchase a Nikon D90 in the next month — do I buy it now to use on the trip or wait until I return?

Inspired by Patrick Rhone’s post back in March, my plan is to pack as minimally as possible. I’ll be gone for two weeks, as opposed to Patrick’s 3 days, however I think a lot of what he talked about is relevant. I’m hoping a single, small suitcase will cover everything, and perhaps a small side bag for a few books and my Moleskine.

I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting here or on Twitter over the trip, but I am not expecting to disconnect completely. I still have a few things to share before I leave, as well, so don’t think this is goodbye!

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I’ve had a couple people ask how I track my stats with Mint if I’m using Tumblr. It’s actually quite simple. Mint works based on domains, not servers. So long as your Mint installation is under the same domain name as your Tumblr (including subdomains), then you’re golden.

You need:

1. Mint installed on a subdomain (ie. mint.domain.com)
2. Tumblr setup with a custom domain (ie. domain.com, blog.domain.com)

Once you have your Tumblr blog setup with its custom domain, and your Mint installation setup on a subdomain, you just need to put the following code in your custom HTML in your Tumblr theme:

<script src="http://mint.domain.com/?js" type="text/javascript"></script>

I use this same bit of code on both my Tumblr blog and on my portfolio hosted on Cargo Collective. That way I can keep track of my whole website, even if different parts are hosted on multiple servers.

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I was doing so, so well. I could easily go weeks without turning it on, without having allowing the glow reflect off my pale skin. I could walk past the machine, see it sitting there blank, hiding the thousands of stories and images it held within it at that very moment. Somedays, I could even sit in the same room, quietly enjoying a book or working away on my laptop, without even acknowledging its existence.

But now. Oh, now it has somehow slipped past my defenses, at first triggering curiosity and now wrapping me up in its web of mystery, suspense, horror, and humour.

When I was a child, I was addicted to its presence. I would come home from school and rush to find out what my favourite group of high-flying, ninja practicing, Angel Grove-inhabiting rangers would be up against that afternoon. Later in life, I would visit my favourite yellow-skinned town or join either a 4 or 6 person group in New York and see what antics they were getting themselves into. Thousands of pixels told stories that I would wrap my emotions around, allowing them to draw me from my suburban life and into worlds of excitement.

Then, I broke the chains. I went to college where my companion couldn’t get to me. Months past, and I no longer missed it.

Now, it’s back. It has enticed me with new worlds, full of blood spatter analysts, sex in california, and the political views of comedians across the continent. I’m torn whether this is ok or not. Is it pride that held me from this small pleasure before? Or was it wisdom?

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There is the perception, particularly in American culture, that criticism and negativity go hand-in-hand. We understand well the idea of being in favor or something, or against something, but we don’t particularly understand how criticism fits into this dichotomy. Alex Payne — Criticism, Cheerleading, and Negativity

There is about a 1 in a billion chance that Alex Payne knows my name, let alone reads my blog. However, in his most recent post he seems to take me to task on my last post regarding criticism.

After taking into consideration Alex’s remarks, I have realized I was a bit too quick to judge the motives of those who write criticizing others. What I wrote was a reaction to a tweet from Titus Ferguson, social media consultant at local rtraction. His post stated his intention to write about the horrible job that local companies were doing with social media, an issue Titus is passionate about.

I should have been more clear about what I was hoping to communicate. Joshua Blankenship said recently:

Somewhere along the way on the web, a lot of designers and developers have abandoned common courtesy for condescending quips that drip with pride and ignorance.

It’s this arrogance I was commenting on. I was careful not to mention Titus’ name, because I know Titus personally and know that he is certainly not smug nor arrogant. His remark simply brought to mind recent posts I’ve read, as well as the whole client hate-fest happening over at Clients From Hell.

All of this is to say that I agree with Alex that criticism does not necessarily equal negativity. However, as Alex writes, criticism must come from a passion for the target of the criticism, rather than simply a passion for pointing out flaws in others.

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What is up with this trend of people writing blog posts tearing down other people’s designs, social media strategies, etc? Since when was public humiliation a good way to

• build relationships?
• garner business?
• prove you are a professional?

I know I’ve not been perfect with this. I’m very opinionated, and on many occasions have spoken way out of turn to share them. Perhaps I’m doing the same thing here, but I’m just getting tired of all the negativity.

I really wish sites like Typesites would come back, as they had a way of pointing out the absolute best in the sites they reviewed before they offered helpful tips to push the designs to further excellence.

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I haven’t fished in about 8 years, but back when I was a child my father, my brother, and I would go fishing every summer. By the time I was 6 or 7 I was pretty good at catching sunfish. Tie a worm, cast the line, reel in a fish.

Tie a worm, cast the line, reel in a fish.

It worked like clockwork.

Now, imagine I want to take that same strategy today and try and catch a shark. Go ahead, envision me out on a little tin boat miles out from land, with my tackle box, fishing rod, a container of worms and a little net to catch a giant shark.

Tie a worm, cast the line, capsize the boat, get eaten by a shark.

Obviously this is an exaggerated case, but we do this type of thing all the time in the design world. We take one solution that has worked in the past, and without any thought or logic, apply it to a completely different situation we are currently facing.

Think about this: how many times have you added a design element, not because it served the design best, but because it was something you were comfortable with?

When I first started redesigning my site, I did not try to determine what my goals were going to be. I did not develop a strategy. I barely put much though into it other than “how can I make my site look prettier?”

To give you an idea of where I was and where my first few steps took me, take a look at the screenshots below:

This screenshot does not show the whole site, but there wasn’t much more to the design than this when I started. I had whittled my design down to a very basic set of elements, trying to keep things as minimal as possible. However, the site lacked unity, and did not carry a brand at all.

Which brings me to redesign attempt No. 1:

As you can see, things stayed pretty close in terms of colour and overall feel. I tried to make things nice and compact. You are welcome to ignore the question “Could the text be DIN as well?” I just really liked the look of the copy set in DIN.

This design has so many cliches I couldn’t begin to address them all. Needless to say, this was a poor attempt.

The next design I am much more pleased with aesthetically:

As you can see, aesthetically there is a lot to like about this design. The colour scheme is nice, the typography is pretty solid, and everything seems to really work. However, again it was just a fresh coat of paint. After this, I wasn’t sure where to go with it. There was no real reasoning behind it besides “this looks good.”

Later today, I’m going to post a few more of the designs I came up with, and then I will get into why I none of these designs were going to work.

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I was recently pointed to a hilarious new site, Clients From Hell. Last week was a particularly rough week personally, with some clients at work making some incredibly difficult demands. Finding this site gave me a great sense of relief, knowing that I wasn’t alone in what I was dealing with.

As I’ve been reading some of the recent posts (this site is easily the most updated blog I subscribe to), I’ve started to worry a little about what I was reading.

First, while many of the tales are quite humorous, some contain quite a bit of cynicism aimed towards the client. While this often results in a funny post, I wonder how that type of attitude begins to manifest itself in client/service provider relationships. Just as someone can “hear” you smile when you are on the phone with them, I truly believe that the attitude we have towards our clients is evident in any communication we have with them.

Second, a recurring theme appears to be simple ignorance on the part of the client. Many stories poke fun at a client’s reaction to seeing “Lorem ipsum” text being used as filler. Others point out a client’s misunderstanding of the value of the services being requested. Some simply reveal that many clients are likely not as technically savvy as those in the design industry.

In my opinion, this sheds a revealing light on the poor job those in the design, photography, and copywriting industry have done to communicate what we do to those outside of our industry. We have created such a thick bubble with our online communities that anyone outside of that bubble has a difficult time understanding what it is we do. A large number of the issues those of us in the creative field face could be quickly solved with a little education, and a more liberal amount of patience offered to those who require our services.

I support the idea of a community having a forum to vent their frustrations and share in their trials. I also believe that laughing at a situation with friends can in many cases take the sting out of a trying circumstance. I just hope that reading these stories will remind and encourage me and others to continue to foster a positive attitude towards those we serve, rather than increase the chasm between client and creative professional.

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Phil Coffman posted a fantastic post explaining how he takes some of his fantastic iPhone photographs.

I have tried Best Camera by Chase Jarvis, but found the app to be clunky and confusing. On numerous occasions the app has shut down with just a few filters in place. After reading Phil’s post, I quickly jumped at purchasing TiltShift Generator and downloading Mill Colour from the app store.

I thought I’d give a bit of a preview of what these apps can do, based on a simple photograph taken at the office.

Original Shot:

TiltShift Generator:

Mill Colour:

Of all the photo manipulation apps I’ve tried on the iPhone, TiltShift Generator impresses me the most. It’s fast, it’s simple, and yet it has a ton of power hidden in its feature set. It doesn’t present every feature in a hodge-podge of icons and menus, but instead lets you explore a very simple navigation set to find its hidden potential. As Shawn Blanc wrote this week about iPhone apps:

It is in this regard that software developers are not unlike writers. But instead of a plot they have a feature set, and instead of prose, a UI. The developer can lay out the whole of their feature set before the user with menus, sub-menus, and more. Or they can hide pieces of it hoping that each feature will be discovered, but knowing that perhaps they won’t.

With Phil’s recommendations, I’m excited to discover just what this little iPhone can do.

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