icehouse beer tastes like stella artois

take that internet…first official post about icehouse beer tasting like stella artois..now…if someone uses the google or does a lycos…they will find this post about how icehouse beer tastes like stella artois!

1000px

are we ready to start a new design width standard yet? Seriously…1000px was so 5 years ago…lets step it up…at what point can we actually begin making the jump to 1200px wide?

I would think that as web designers it is our duty to stat on top of what the technology has for us, however i do understand that client needs will always out weigh what we want to do but at some point the jump has got to be made…just a thought

Google Browser Size

Google Browser Size is a visualization of browser window sizes for people who visit Google. For example, the “90%” contour means that 90% of people visiting Google have their browser window open to at least this size or larger.

This is useful for ensuring that important parts of a page’s user interface are visible by a wide audience. On the example page that you see when you first visit this site, there is a “donate now” button which falls within the 80% contour, meaning that 20% of users cannot see this button when they first visit the page. 20% is a significant number; knowing this fact would encourage the designer to move the button much higher in the page so it can be seen without scrolling.
you can enter your own website adress into the browser based tool to see how your website is stacking up against google statistics – http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/

enjoy!

Launched a New Project This Week!

Launched December 8, 4:14am 6lbs – 5oz

Lincoln Donald Lanford – He is Beautiful!

Some Good Social Media “Suggested” Guidelines

Just ran across a great article about some great social media guidelines which some of the bigger companies use when considering how they are going to open up and share information with their user base. While some of these may seem a little generic (i.e. Zappos – Be real and use your best judgment.) there are actually quite a few good ones in here. So weather you are an employee of a large company or or just trying to promote your own small business, it can never hurt to have some pointers about social media.

- INTEL

Always pause and think before posting. That said, reply to comments in a timely manner, when a response is appropriate. But if it gives you pause, pause. If you’re about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, don’t shrug it off and hit ‘send.’ Take a minute to review these guidelines and try to figure out what’s bothering you, then fix it. If you’re still unsure, you might want to discuss it with your manager or legal representative. Ultimately, what you publish is yours – as is the responsibility. So be sure

- Kodak

Post frequently. It’s a lot of work but don’t post to your blog then leave it for two weeks. Readers won’t have a reason to follow you on Twitter or check your blog if they can’t expect new content regularly.

read all of the guidelines here

Augmented Reality Done Right

I was wondering if this technology would ever have a hope in hell of doing more than just being a fancy pants way of showcasing your logo or other brand in some wacky way…but the online shopping site of tobi.com has a virtual dressing room where you can actually try on different outfits using their augmented reality tool and also allows you to share with your friends on facebook…pretty cool!

Font Bureau Font Specimens Catalog – Free!!!

Tired of using the same old fonts for all of your projects? Reinvigorate your creativity with a free download of the entire Font Bureau Font Specimen Catalog…YAY!!!

Download The Specimens Here!

 

Search Engine Optimization White Paper

The whole idea of search engine optimization can be pretty daunting at times and there are many rules for SEO and some of them can be quite confusing if you are not an actual programmer. While you may never actually “do” any website optimization it is a good idea to get an understanding of what can be done on your website to help improve page and organic search rankings.  Here is a link for the search engine optimization starter guide for you to review. Download the SEO Starter Kit Here

here are some excerpts for online and offline promotions and some common pitfalls to avoid.

Good practices for promoting your website

• Blog about new content or services – A blog post on your own site letting your visitor base know that you added something new is a great way to get the word out about new content or services. Other webmasters who follow your site or RSS feed could pick the story up as well.

• Don’t forget about offline promotion – Putting effort into the offline promotion of your company or site can also be rewarding. For example, if you have a business site, make sure its URL is listed on your business cards, letterhead, posters, etc. You could also send out recurring newsletters to clients through the mail letting them know about new content on the company’s website.

• Know about social media sites – Sites built around user interaction and sharing have made it easier to match interested groups of people up with relevant content.

Avoid:
• attempting to promote each new, small piece of content you create; go for big, interesting items

• involving your site in schemes where your content is artificially promoted to the top of these services

• Add your business to Google’s Local Business Center – If you run a local business, adding its information to Google’s Local Business Center will help you reach customers on Google Maps and web search. The Webmaster Help Center has more tips on promoting your local business.

• Reach out to those in your site’s related community – Chances are, there are a number of sites that cover topic areas similar to yours. Opening up communication with these sites is usually beneficial. Hot topics in your niche or community could spark additional ideas for content or building a good community resource.

Avoid:
• spamming link requests out to all sites related to your topic area
• purchasing links from another site with the aim of getting PageRank instead of traffic

Fighting Creative Burnout

Lately i have been fighting burnout and it is not pretty. Mostly working 16 hour days and doing everything i can to stay positive and enjoy the 16 hour days. Anyways I have been trying to figure out some sort of break and think i have found one.

The other night i saw a series on PBS about hiking the Appalachian Trail and the Thru-Hikers who walk the entire trail. Pretty inspiring, since the thing is around 2400 miles long. The trip begins in Georgia around the early spring and ends around the end of fall.

Needless to say to say I was enthralled.

I have thought about doing this before but it seems like a bit much to do but as I watched this the hike was broken down into simple incremental goals which make it easier to do. The trip begins in Georgia and the first leg is only 30 miles long. So I am figuring that sounds like a pretty fun trip seeing as how I am in Georgia…so with that said…I am going to plan an early trip through the backwoods for a little re-charging…however…I will wait til spring 

Is 1024×768 a goner?

i wonder if 1024×768 is going dead…i know the new mini books only get 1024×768 but i am finding that particular browser size is coming up less and less as a set screen resolution.

Lately we have been designing our sites around the 1280×800 resolution which seems to be the standard notebook resolution (unless you upgrade). This has allowed us to really expand our designs BUT we are still setting our minimum width requirement at 1000px.

is anyone else seeing this trend?