Page 19 of 33 (323 total articles)
  • March 17, 2008 in Business & Process

    Everyone's a Design Critic: How to Handle a Client Critique

    On Sunday at SXSWi, Jason Santa Maria and Rob Weychert double-teamed an issue that's been an ongoing struggle in my own experience. It's the issue of clients who inexplicably become design experts when it's time for you to present your design. The presentation was well thought out, well presented, and very helpful. I'll start with their practical advise for presenting a design for client critique. Then I'd like to present their list of the top five client requests as a comical ending to an otherwise serious topic. It will make you laugh, it will make your cry. It's truly moving.

  • March 14, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (3/14/08 Edition)

    SXSWi 2008 is over, and somehow I managed to read all my blogs and put together 5 for Friday during the fray. It was actually a great week for web design blogs and I was almost late for a few panels because I couldn't stop reading. I had an inspiring and rejuvenating time in Austin and I'm excited to present this week's list.

  • March 12, 2008 in Design Inspiration

    Rome, Sweet Rome: Ancient Lessons in Design

    When I arrived late to my first panel on Saturday morning at SXSWi 2008 I thought I had accidentally walked in on a reading for a book-on-tape. Jennifer Fraser (lead user experience director at Corel) was the singular presenter, reading off her notes word for word in a timid voice that had the whole audience leaning forward and tilting an ear. I have to admit that Jennifer's departure from the typical in-your-face SXSWi panelist style felt a little alien at first but as I listened, I began to warm up to it. By the end of the panel, I was captivated. Fraser had very effectively taken the system of architectural design principles developed by Vitruvius in ancient Rome and applied them to modern interactive design.

  • March 10, 2008 in Business & Process

    Respect! Say It Loud: I Design Websites and I'm Proud of It

    I honestly didn't expect to hear anything worth writing about on the first day of SXSWi 2008. Friday is usually a day for getting registered and settling in. There's the now annual "How to Rawk SXSW" panel, and usually a few lighthearted introductory discussions, but things typically don't gear up until the second day. This year, though, I was immediately swept off into web designer heaven as Jeffrey Zeldman and the Happy Cog team presented one of the first SXSWi panels entitled Respect! Say it loud: I design websites and I'm proud of it.

  • March 7, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (3/7/08 Edition)

    Today is the first day of SXSW Interactive and I'm posting this edition of 5 for Friday from Austin, TX--my hometown. I guess the anticipation of SXSWi makes web designers want to write prctical guides, because this week the blogosphere was overflowing with great tutorials. I'm sure you'll find my five picks for the week to be help resources you can bookmark and return to again and again.

  • March 5, 2008 in Product Reviews

    Getting Stuff Printed Online: 4 Resources I've Actually Used

    As much as we hate to admit it, web designers still have to get stuff printed from time to time. We can't do without our business cards and bumper stickers, our t-shirts and table tents. But when we're forced to go groveling to the printing industry, we can at least make sure we use an automated online printer. That's still stickin' it to the man a little bit, right? I've used a handful of these online printers over the past few years and I think my experiences could be a great benefit to a web designer looking for a place to print. So here they are--four online printing resources I've actually used.

  • March 3, 2008 in Web Design Worldview

    Function vs. Form: Rescuing Design from Insanity

    The debate over function and form has raged in the design community for over a century and a half. Artists and craftsmen in every design discipline have wrestled, and continue to wrestle, with the tension of function and form every day. In web design this tension is especially pronounced because the success of our work requires an almost mathematical balance of function and beauty. That's why it's imperative we have a solid grasp on the history and philosophy that has shaped our own approach to solving this dilemma. Why function? Why form? Once I've answered those questions, I'll present the Christian worldview of design and briefly map out a practical Christian approach to design.

  • February 29, 2008 in Friday Blog Clips

    5 for Friday | The Week's Best Blogs (2/29/08 Edition)

    I usually avoid having two articles from the same source on 5 for Friday, but this week Smashing Magazine forced me to break the rule. SM makes the list twice with a set of breathtaking typographic posters and a look at website navigation. Vandelay Website Design is on the list, of course, and Web Worker Daily is back with a great guide to switching over to Google Apps.

  • February 27, 2008 in Mirificam Press News

    Meet Me at SXSW Interactive 2008

    Next Friday marks the beginning of the 2008 SXSW interactive festival in my hometown of Austin, TX. I will be making the trek from West Texas to attend, and I would like to extend an invitation to any Bits O' NewMedia Readers who would like to hang out and talk web stuff. If you've never gone, I highly recommend it.

  • February 25, 2008 in Business & Process

    7 Reasons You Shouldn't Charge by the Hour

    A week ago, I posted an article entitled Pay Me Please: A Freelance Web Designer's Guide to Billing and Pricing. It included a brief explanation of why I avoid charging clients by the hour. I've since realized that this explanation was inadequate. After spending way too much time explaining and clarifying in the comments section, I decided to expand the topic into a separate post. So if you would like a deeper look into the melee of hourly billing, you've come to the right place. Here are seven reasons I avoid hourly billing like the plague.

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