The Austin TechCrunch MeetUp was a blast! Anytime you mix geeks and alcohol you know it’s going to be a party.
The Austin TechCrunch MeetUp was a blast! Anytime you mix geeks and alcohol you know it’s going to be a party.
With CS3 right around the corner I thought I would post some cheat sheets for the Photoshop CS versions. Hope they help!
I started learning HTML when I was a sophomore in high school creating basic personal sites. A few years later I was stationed in Lemoore, CA when I a friend of mine introduced me to Flash. I picked it up pretty quickly and I headed over the the book store to buy a few books. After a couple of months, I started integrating Flash into my HTML sites. I started going door to door to local business hoping to get my first client. Two weeks later I landed my first deal, a wedding/flower shop.
Everything I know has been self-thought, reading a lot of books and following tutorials. Trial and error has been the most helpful. I’ve been going to school on and off trying to earn my CS degree.
As a Web Architect I construct and implement the technical design for the organization’s presence on the Internet. This includes the selection of Web applications’ hardware and software platforms, developing site navigation, and designing an application framework. I am also responsible for ascertaining system volume, analyzing traffic patterns and optimization for search engines.
I start of the day by doing a ranking search for all of our projects. I am usually working on many projects at once, depending on priority. Most of the day is spent optimizing our projects by creating new content. Once a new project comes along, we begin with the build up process by designing and coding the site. My day can become very hectic since so many unexpected task come along. Anywhere from Flash banners, hosting issues, blogging, design work, java scripting, and site updates.
Design Skills (Adobe Suite), Creativity, Time Management, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, Gamer
It all depends on your workload. Sometimes you can work your regular 40 hours a week, but most of the time I will work more than the usual. My schedule is flexible enough where I can have a “normal” life, yet if we have a huge project that needs to be done by next week, I will literally live in front of the computer for days.
As a freelancer, traveling was part of the job. You could land a project from another city and have to meet with the client before you start working on the project. Since a lot of the work is done online, traveling time is slowly vanishing.
Here is a list of sites that I have worked on, either with the build up or SEO.
| Domain Name | Major Key Term | Google Search |
|---|---|---|
| www.williamsbailey.com | Houston Personal Injury | click here |
| www.drbagai.com | Chicago Cosmetic Dentists | click here |
| www.carykanelaw.com | Manhattan Employment Lawyer | click here |
| www.botaniesoap.com | Organic Soap | click here |
| www.habush.com | Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer | click here |
| www.dermagenix.net | Houston Med Spa | click here |
| www.terryandslane.com | Minneapolis Personal Injury | click here |
| www.mpoweropen.com | Open Source Fundraising CRM | click here |
| www.mesolawsuit.com | Mesothelioma Lawyer | click here |
| www.kohlerandhart.com | Milwaukee Criminal Attorney | click here |
| www.coldshowerdesign.com | Austin Website Design | click here |
| www.smithgarglaw.com | The Woodlands Family Lawyer | click here |
| www.skjold-barthel.com | Minneapolis Business Lawyer | click here |
| www.kleinattorneys.com | Boca Raton Family Lawyer | click here |
| www.burklaw.com | Commercial Lawyer | click here |
| www.slaterandkennon.com | Texas Business Lawyer | click here |
I enjoy what I do. Basically, the best thing is that you have to be understand and be able to adapt to web trends.
Time. Trying to balance your time to finish all your projects and still have a normal lifestyle.
Depending on the type of projects, there is a lot of interaction between our clients and their particular field. We mostly work with Attorneys so we deal with many individuals in the law field.
The Internet is constantly evolving and you need to know when new trends hit the web. Learning to adapt is crucial in this field.
I do not necessarily believe they avoid it, I personally have seen more and more women interested in the field. I would love to see more tech girls.
Yes I do. I have a few projects in the works, I focus all my time on TSEG but I am slowly developing other projects on my own.
Since being with TSEG I have not done any freelancing. I have enough on my plate to keep me busy for a long time so me taking any additional projects would make my make my schedule that much more hectic. I would have to give up sleeping. Now that I think about it, I wish I didn’t have to sleep.
DesignM.ag created a great list of some of the best web design portfolios on the web. If you are looking for some design inspiriation, this is an amazing list that will help you with your next project.
I love FlashDen. I reminds me of the old Flashkit days where I would spend countless hours finding resources and downloading source files. FlashDen has compiled a list of some of the best templates one their site. Here are a few of the ones I like. Link to fill list.
I am going to try and compile a good list of portfolios from some of my favorite design firms.
Pixel Criminal - These guys are just insane in the membrane! I love their work.
Brad Filip - I met Brad a few years ago. He is a great designer and can flash it up like no other.
Evan Eckard - Really good development.
Shiny Binary - Awesomeness! They have amazing original designs and their vector is killer.
Being a web designer for the past 8 years, I have created a few “rules” that I try to follow when creating a site. The web is constantly changing and as a designer you need to be able to adapt to the ever changing world wide web. I have compiled a small list of the things that I try to apply when I create a site.
Flash Abuse
I love Adobe’s Flash, ever since the old Macromedia days, I have been using Flash on my sites. But there has to be a limit on how much Flash you are going to use. Flash can be a good tool to add some great animations and spice up your site but if its abused, you will kill the sites usability.
Do not Hide Content
I hate pop up. And most people will tell you the same. Try to keep all your content available to the user.
Clutter
You want to keep your site structured and organized so that your visitors can find what they are looking for quickly. The less clicks it takes for them to find what they are looking for the more they will keep coming back to your site.
Stop Using Reflections
I used to love the Apple reflection design, same goes for the glass look. But it has over used and bringing to get old. I think its time for a new original look.
Use standard text
Simple is better. You do not need fancy fonts to display content.
Update Content
Users want to see updated content, you want to make it easy to update content quickly and efficiently. Content is King and if you want visitors to keep coming back you want to have good quality content.
Use Web trends
If you look around the web, you will see that many popular site have a similar look and feel to their sites. Try to add some design and interface elements from popular sites. This will give your interface and navigation a familiar feel to your visitors and make it that much easier for them to find what they are looking for.
I just finished modifying the new theme and I can say that I am fianlly satisfied with the the design. At least for now. In the coming months I will be posting on the progress of 2 new projects that I have in the works. Everything is still in its very early stage but things are coming together nicely.