Entries Tagged as 'Design'

Georgia on my Mind

January 1, 2008 // Drew Stauffer

Possibilities from design to design are unlimited. Take a look at the CSS Zen Garden for example; all of the designs published at the garden use the exact same HTML. The only difference is the way they are styled. With the advancements of CSS, a designer can do almost whatever they like on the Internet.

Designer Roadblocks

One limiting factor that web designers are plagued with is the variations of web fonts. Sadly, we are limited to a safe list of about nine web ready fonts that are pre-installed on everyone’s computer. Personally whenever I am looking to get a little crazy with my web fonts I go to typesetter where I can compare fonts side-by-side, instead of experimenting with CSS until I get the look that I’m going for.

I have always been a fan of minimalism and with this new ‘08 design I wanted to get back to that type of style. I didn’t want to beat my users over their heads with drop shadows and bevels. I wanted clean, elegant, and timeless. Any veteran designer can look at a range of designs on the web and say, “I remember when that was popular.”
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Back to Design

December 17, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

While many companies are getting ready to do the budget for next year, few of them are putting anything towards design. Marketing is important but what about putting a new face on your marketing?

Looking around at other sites and with all the new technologies that spring up every day, your website has to stay on somewhat of an edge if you expect to look like a legitimate business…especially in website design. An Internet year can seem quite a bit faster than a calendar year and if your visitors are coming to your site everyday, seeing the same design for 365 of them can get stale real quick.

Between Alibi and Wildfire, SEO and website development has taken up the majority of time this past year and I do miss the design. 2008 is coming and I think its time for a fresh change. Over the holiday break you will see a change around here I’d like to know what you think. I would also encourage other companies to do the same. Sometimes a face lift is the best way to spark up interest in your brand.

Let me know what you think, will design be a part of your new year’s budget?

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UPDATE: Show Me Wild and Crazy

June 18, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

After getting a client request for a wild and crazy design, I racked my brain thinking about what the client had and hadn’t potentially seen before. I probably started and stopped on this particular design five different times. Adding to the problem was the fact that this client was fairly familiar with my previous clients and design work. Every time I got close to finishing, I would step back and think that the project wasn’t far enough outside of my design norm. At the end of each version I was able to draw some connection to my previous works, so I would start over.

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HOW Alibi Gets Inspiration

June 14, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

I just got back from the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta and all I can say is WOW. This was my first time at HOW and I was extremely impressed with all the speakers and the amount of useful information that each session provided. I’ll write up a more detailed summary, but I’m going to post it on my design blog, so go check it out.

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Website Design Solutions for your Small Business

June 6, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

The website design for your small business can be the life or death of your company. Since design is subjective, anyone can instantly be turned off by the design of a website. Nothing says “small time” faster than an outdated and unloved website, but there are solutions for small businesses that don’t require large budgets to throw at the website design and development.

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The Power of a ReDesign

March 1, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

A few days ago I wrote a post over at Wildfire Productions, How A Simple Re-Design Can Increase Traffic and Sales. The article points out the benefits that can come with a simple redesign. From design, to development, and content to search engine optimization, everything about the site was redone with great success. Popoyo Rental is now listed on page 1 of Google, Yahoo, and MSN for many of its keywords.

Check out the article in full length for a thorough breakdown of what we did for each aspect of the site.

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Session Timed Out

January 9, 2007 // Drew Stauffer

2006 was a very busy year for me. Alibi Productions has been my home for design and development work ever since I was a student. I began my first blog on drewstauffer.com back in March of ‘06 and then shortly after, I put a blog on Alibi Productions. After those projects were up and running, I put a blog on my other company website that focuses on website development, Wildfire Productions. Wildfire has been extremely busy this past year and with many new clients, it has demanded most of my time.

I try to be as active as possible but Alibi got lost in the mix with all the other blogs and development. When I was redesigning Alibi, I noticed that I had been absent and hadn’t posted anything for 5 straight months. That’s no bueno. Now that Alibi is back and running in full stride, I am going to give it a great deal of attention.

Alibi is now focused solely on website promotions and marketing strategies, offering free tips and useful resources. If you are looking for development and design solutions, check in with Wildfire. From now on Alibi will be updated on a weekly basis so ya’ll come on back now, ya hear.

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