04/2007 Article Archive

  • April 29, 2007 in Product Reviews

    Choosing a Video Publishing Platform

    I’ve found that getting video published on the web for clients of Liquid Design Media becomes more and more a part of my daily routine. It also seems like there is a new YouTube popping up every time I turn around. So I took some time this weekend and just did a quick evaluation of the pros and cons of the services out there. YouTube.com, of course is the most used of the services out there right now so it works great if your primary concern is to make your video available to as many searchers as possible. However, I think it lacks a little in the ability to integrate multiple videos into an existing web site. BrightCove.com is my favorite of the services that I looked at. It’s got good uploading and editing tools and it has a great system for publishing your video content back on your own web site. A good example of a BrightCove mashup site is bodyarchitect.com . I think BrightCove has taken it to a new level. ZippyVideos.com, Dropshots.com, Voeh.com, and Vimeo.com all have similar features with just slight variations. They are all worth checking out but none really stand out. Yahoo! and Google both have video services that I think fall into this category. Revver.com has a unique advertising model that allows creators and sharers to share in advertising revenue. They also have an API that will allow you to integrate the system with your own site but it’s a little bit cumbersome for a weekend project. VideoEgg.com seems like another YouTube Clone at first glance but they offer special development to add their system to your web site. I know dogster uses them and there are few others. I was a little disappointed when I found out they don’t support mpeg2 uploads, though. Last but not least, Blip.TV offers the ability to publish your video in multiple streams with one upload. So you can upload one high quality video and it then subscribers can get it in iTunes, on the site, embedded, etc.

    • 0 Comments
    • 1101 Views
  • April 25, 2007 in Business & Process

    Web Site A La Carte

    As I have worked with clients at Liquid Design Media over the last six months or so I have come to realize that, up to this point in time, web site content has been “consumed” in a very limited way. For the most part, web site strategies in the past have amounted to little more than “How can we get hits on this web site?” Now (and by “now” I mean within the last few months) I find myself asking more and more “How can we get more people to subscribe to this web site?” It’s no longer good enough to have a good web site. There are a ton of those. You have to make content available to each guest in a format that is comfortable for them. Email updates, RSS, desktop widgets, and podcasting is the name of the game. Need an example? mibmidland.com is a site I just finished that is a perfect example of this web site a la carte concept. The content has been wrenched from the design and who knows where it will end up. I think this is the final step in the rise of the on-demand generation.

    • 1 Comments
    • 831 Views
  • April 25, 2007 in Web Design Culture

    A List Apart Survey

    When A List Apart asks us to fill out a survey, we do it and we don�t ask questions. Seriously, though, I am excited to see what the results are. http://alistapart.com/articles/webdesignsurvey When A List Apart asks us to fill out a survey, we do it and we don�t ask questions. Seriously, though, I am excited to see what the results are. http://alistapart.com/articles/webdesignsurvey

    • 1 Comments
    • 853 Views
  • April 19, 2007 in Web Design Culture

    Web Site Designer - The Most Fulfilling Job Ever

    I had a moment yesterday where I started to contemplate my vocation and wonder whether or not I would have or could have been happier had I chosen a different path. I thought about other jobs that require talents and skills similar to mine and I came to this conclusion: My job at Liquid Design Media is the most fulfilling job ever. It�s that simple. There is no other job at any other moment in history that could afford me the flexibility, creative license, and happiness than where I am right now. In the future, we will probably come to expect these benefits from every job and in the past they were out of the question. But right now they are fresh and exciting. I find myself more and more at the center of company strategies as the world migrates to the web and every day presents a new and interesting challenge. What can I say?

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    • 899 Views
  • April 13, 2007 in Product Reviews

    SpringWidgets

    SpringWidgets If you use feedburner on a regular basis, then you know that they give you the option to automatically create a little RSS agregating widget using spingwidgets.com. What can I say? Very cool stuff.

    • 0 Comments
    • 869 Views
  • April 10, 2007 in Design Inspiration

    Illustration Inspiration

    Incorporating complex illustrations into traditional CSS design has become a growing trend in the web design world. N.Design Studio is doing a great job using this technique. Incorporating complex illustrations into traditional CSS design has become a growing trend in the web design world. N.Design Studio is doing a great job using this technique.

    • 1 Comments
    • 936 Views
  • April 7, 2007 in Design Inspiration

    Web Design Inspiration - a photoset on Flickr

    Web Design Inspiration - a photoset on Flickr A contstant stream of great design and inspiration.

    • 1 Comments
    • 848 Views
  • April 6, 2007 in Business & Process

    Bookmark Bliss: 10 Tools to help you select a Web 2.0 Color Palette by Fuzzy Future

    Bookmark Bliss: 10 Tools to help you select a Web 2.0 Color Palette by Fuzzy Future Okay, as soon as I post something about choosing color schemes, this link pops up on digg.

    • 7 Comments
    • 1189 Views
  • April 4, 2007 in Design Inspiration

    GenoPal - for eye-pleasing colors

    GenoPal - for eye-pleasing colors Having trouble getting that perfect color combination for a design? This little tool has helped me out tremendously. I�ve never been inspired by the color wheel and this is a fresh new approach to picking schemes.

    • 1 Comments
    • 1225 Views
  • April 1, 2007 in Business & Process

    Collaboration is the key

    Looking at some of the best web teams in the world I have come to the realization that collaboration is one of the most important aspects of any creative process. I have also come to realize that it is an area where I am desperately lacking. I am a horrible micro-manager. I just can’t seem to let go of control. For all my strengths in my vocation (And they are many, I assure you… ha ha!) I know that this is the one detail that will keep me from greatness. Two minds are better than one… most of the time.

    • 0 Comments
    • 863 Views
  • April 1, 2007 in Web Design Culture

    New Media is Like Ice Sculpting

    This is an interesting and somewhat depressing analogy of the creative work done in the new media arena. We work tirelessly to produce beautifully structured designs and layouts that will slowly melt away over the next few years until finally they are completely discarded and replaced. This is great for business because it produces a never ending steam of new and exciting work. But at the end of it all we will be a generation of artist with no attic of canvases waiting to be rediscovered. As technology progresses past compatibility our work will be forever lost.

    • 1 Comments
    • 874 Views
  • April 1, 2007 in Product Reviews

    Blurb.com

    Blurb.com I know that self-publishing is nothing new on the web but I saw these guys at SXSW interactive and I think they are taking it to the next level. Kind of makes me want to start writing.

    • 0 Comments
    • 866 Views