Web Designers, graphic designers, and all designers are face with Design Challenges. Let's dive into the world of web design, graphic design, usability, information technology, and look at life and the work place. Come back often to see what I see. View my world and the Design Challenges that I'm face with
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Time to trim the fat
I was just reading a Reuters article which talked about obesity and the repercussions. Typically these articles speak of heart disease, diabetes, and other problems associated with being obese. The funny thing is that article looked at a different aspect of obesity, one I never thought of, it speaks of the problems doctors face when dealing with an obese patient, in particular injections. The article suggests longer needles for patients who have too much fat on their buttocks. This is amusing at best.
The bottom line is that instead of trying to accommodate the patients, doctors should encourage those who are overweight and obese to join in an exercise program and follow a lower fat diets. If doctors are not willing to guide patients on the right track then who will?
I have been reading a lot of posts and articles regarding productivity in and out of the workplace. This seriously concerns me, just how productive do we have to be for the employer or for ourselves?
Every where you turn you see wireless internet access being promoted. This only encourages people to check their emails, send emails, and upload work files to servers. Don't get me wrong, WiFi is great, the ability to communicate from anywhere in the world is excellent, I can only encourage Wimax, but at what point do we stop working and start enjoying life?
This goes back to the old age question, why do we work? The answer is simple to make money. This leads to using money to buy things, which lead to having to work some more to buy more stuff. It is a vicious circle of giving our time to get stuff. Do we need that much stuff? That's a question only you can answer.
The bottom line is that money isn't everything, money doesn't buy happiness, well so they say anyways. You can only work so much, don't spend all your life working, take time to find out what means the most to you whatever that may be.
Thanksgiving has arrive, a great joyous occasion, allowing us to give to others. This is a great holiday, it is one which hasn't been over-commercialize, well at least not to the extend of exchanging gift. It was great to see our little nepheus say they were thankful for more than just toys this time around. I was in the right spirit this year, I gave food to my family and friends. That's right I gave so much food to so many that we were all stuffed and ready to drop.
Do you realize that the average American eats well into 4500 calories during the one seating of the one joyous celebration. We need to stop and ponder, do we really need to eat this much, I for one, just couldn't. I'm not lightweight either, I can pound down the grub, but I don't think I top the 2500 mark today. As I have grown older I have started to eat less and become more health conscious.
It is now a little past 10pm and I'm sooo sleepy, I guess the effects of the gobble gobble are starting to sink in, or could it possibly be that I woke up bright and early to cook the great feast. Either way, the bottom line is, that I was please and thankful to be able to provide a turkey and more than just the trimming for my friends and family today, considering the alternative, I'm not doing so bad.
Microsoft release the new gaming platform today and they had to have Bill Gates go down and play with the attendees of the early bird release. For a chairman and CEO of such a big company to go interact with its clients can only mean one thing, Microsoft knows that their game console is not that good. Unlike their operating system and Internet browser which dominate the market, they are yet to see any revenue from the Xbox gaming console.
I guess all they can do to try and promote the new version of the console, named Xbox 360, is to send out the company's owner to promote the product. After all who wouldn't want to go interact with the most wealthy human on earth. Hell, I would buy one of these systems if it meant I would get to spend a few minutes with one of the brightest marketers in the World.
The bottom line is that Sony simply has been more successful at selling their products, but Microsoft must really mean business this time in trying to gain on that market. After all, they are loosing too many battles in other markets such as the search engine game in which Google now dominates. Could this be the beginning of the fall of the software giant?
Some people will tell you that things come easy to them. The reality is that nothing in this life is easy. If you want to succeed you must really try, try, and try some more. The reality is that practice makes perfect.
If you want to be a successful designer, you must practice designing. You must then improve from your previous designs by practicing some more. You see, I have been working on developing a cover for a magazine. My original design was great, I was very please with my work, but after a few minutes I started to see some flaws. I then went back and worked on it some more, but again I wasn't 100% pleased with my work. I gave it a third try and now I can be content with my work as so can be the people for whom I create this.
The bottom line is that your clients are not going to think very highly of you, if you don't think of it yourself. In order for you to achieve greatness you must try a bit harder until you are there. "half-assing" might seem like a great way out, but this will only get you half way there.
We all at some point have said that we hate spam, but if it wasn't for spam what else would distract you from your daily work. Spammers are among the most creative people I have encountered. They are constantly changing their strategy to get past those efficient spam blockers.
I was doing some research in regards to e-zines (newsletters in your Inbox), and found this blog telling a story that I found very amusing. I recomend it, is a quick read. This person talks about the hassle of opting out of spam.
Basically the governemtn has put out regulations in regards to email blasts that all US companies ought to follow, part of these is that you provide a way to opt-out. The funny thing is that opting in is very easy, you subscribe, you get an email letting you know you subscribe and you confirm. Well opting out, not so easy, and sometimes merely impossible.
The bottom line is that if you are tire of receiving emails from a particular person, company, etc. you always have the option of marking them as spam. They will no longer cluttered up your inbox, instead they will go directly to your "junk" email folder and that's it. So stop complaining about opting out; when it's that simple. The benefit is that if you change your mind, you can always bring them back to your safe sender list.
No, I'm not referring to peer to peer software here, nor Kazaa, Napster or the likes; I'm writing about sharing files with your fellow colleagues. A lot of you work in a team environment where more than one person works on the same files. Simply put, you're not the only one that works in a file so respect what others do.
For instance, if your team works off a server, then make sure you get the latest version of the file before you perform your updates. This will prevent you from overwriting someone else's work. At the same time, notify your fellow team mates that you are working on a file if you think that it might take more time than expected, this way they are aware and won't make any changes to a file if you are working within it.
If the changes you are making or have made affect something more than your work, be sure you notify everybody who is affected, this will ensure that everyone tests their files and will provide for a bug free design and development.
The bottom line is that in a team environment is very hard to maintain files, therefore if you do not have a content management system, then you must ensure that you and your team take the up most precautions as to prevent irreparable damages. If you work in a large scale Web site, then maybe is time you start shopping around for a CMS.
If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.
When I was younger I was into the WWF. Years later I found myself once again enjoying a wrestling match here and there. I was able to pick right where I left off, turns out that the WWE, as it is now known, doesn't change much. There may be a new personality here and there, but the plot remains the same, a bunch of muscle heads toosing themselves aroung a four post ring.
I was sadden to see yesterday that one of the "characters" I had become acquainted with in the past few years had passed away. Eddie Guerrero died at the young age of 38. I'm in this same age group and this really got me thinking, here you have a superstar young lad, who suddenly dies.
After an autopsy it was determined that he died of heart failure. I was shocked when I read this, but turns out that after a life of drugs and alcohol, combined with overexhaustion from too much exercise and too many workouts, his heart had grown quite large overworking his blood bessels sending him into a deep sleep from which he never awoke.
The bottom line is that you must never abuse your body. Eddie complained that he felt tired and exhausted all the time and yet didn't get himself check out. If you don't feel right, then chances are you're not. A small insurance deductible and a few minutes of your time is all it takes. Live strong, live long, no extreme is ever good for you.
To seek or to query - huh, what... what is the question? As Web designers, we spend most of our days, well, on the Web. This is a great thing, it allows us to do what we love doing as well as to enjoy our fellow designers work.
This is all fine and good, but why is it that when we come into trouble or develop some queries, we instead turn to our fellow colleagues for help. Think about this for a second, when was the last time you stop to think about your problem, then when on to research, before you turn to the person sitting next to you? I urge and encourage you to use every resource available to you before you ask your fellow co-worker, boss, or friend that question.
The bottom line is that the Web is a vast resource therefore you must use it as such. Next time you have a question simply do a google (or your search engine of choice) search. You will find thousands of answers, the trick is that you must provide a good query when entering that question onto the search engine. If you develop your researching skills, you will find that you will become an invaluable person at your organization.
Today I was reading a very interesting article from one of the Google guru's, in it he describes some of what and what isn't allow in the SEO game. This lad is quite insightful and explains what not to do when optimizing a Web site.
SEO has become a very lucrative business, expanding exponentially by the day. Many companies are seeking to be #1 for all keywords relevant to their industry. Let's face it, this is but merely an impossible tasks considering how many words there are among the English language. Yet so many out there will turn to these companies and offer their services with promises they cannot keep. Beware of what many will do, not just to try an obtain optimization of keywords, but to your sites in the process.
It's a very interesting read and I recommend it to all. Here is the link.
The bottom line is that you must be careful what you, or others do, for you in regards to optimizing your site. Many will charge you and arm and a leg and deliver something short of a finger. Read these interesting suggestions by Matt, but more importantly read some of the many hundreds of comments made on this blog entry.
You shrink it. If your Web site, or more important your homepage, is too pack with information, then it's time to consolidate. Take a look at the information you are presenting. Does it all need to be there? Consider all of your options, then and only then, can you come up with a solution.
In other to gain more space, I decided to consolidate. I came up with a very simple solution. It involved a little CSS and a little JavaScripting, but the end result was grand. I simply added a small menu, about 10 pixels in height and 20 pixels in width, it simple states, "Explore more." This little menu expands to four categories, each with about six to seven options. I have now gain some valuable space as it allows me to remove some unneeded graphics and will gain me more page views.
Further, this small yet largely expandable menu also allows me to keep my users interested given quick access to more categories therefore forcing them to gain more interest.
The bottom line is that sometimes less is more and you as a designer must know when that time comes. By providing more options to your user, you will not only gain page views and visitors, but you will keep them coming as they will want to know what else you can provide.
When I first moved to my current home, I was pretty upset that I would have to give up satellite TV. At first I really missed it, I had some great difficulties in dealing with Cablevision. The installer was a couple of hours late, did a poor installation job, and further I had to follow up with Cablevision about some erroneous charges for some work the installer had claim he had done.
After four phone calls they finally credited my account and I have had no problems ever since. Now I have nothing but great things to say about my Triple Play service. Today, I'm happy to announce another great feature I just uncovered, turns out that optimum voice no only does call forwarding, but it does to up to three phones at a time. They call this service "Find Me."
Find me Allows Optimum Voice to follow you wherever you go. Calls to your Optimum Voice line will ring up to three additional phone lines, like a cell phone or work number, simultaneously. The incoming call can be answered by any of the phones lines and the call will be connected to whichever phone answers first. If your cell phone number is one of your Find Me numbers, you may have trouble making calls from your cell phone to your Optimum Voice number after you activate Find Me. If you do, first dial (*67) before dialing your Optimum Voice number from your cell phone.
Imagine this, now you can locate me at work, home, or my cell just by dialing one phone. The drawback - telemarketers can find me too!
If you're like me, you like to buy presents for everyone. I rather enjoy giving than receiving, it's my way of saying thanks to those around me who help me get through in life. The problem with giving is that you need a substancial amount of cash to help achieve it.
Worry no more, there are a bunch of sites that dedicate themselves to helping you cash-in on your skills. For example, if you are a developer you can login onto GoogleAnswers or scriptlance and turn your programming skills onto profits. Simply these Web sites allow individuals or companies to post their needs and you can bid for the job. Some of these have rating systems for employers to rate you at the end of the job, allowing you to get a "recomendation" on your job well done. This is great because it allows you to bid higher and have a good chance of getting selected.
The bottom line is that there are plenty of opportunities to make money, you just have to be willing to seek them. On a small note, you will soon be able to telecomute with these folks thanks to a company known as FaceBridge Research you can read more here.
I just saw a McDonald commercial advertising a new feature from Mastercard, Paypass. After doing some quick research I come to find out that the Paypass is simply a small device that any vendor could obtain which allows MasterCard holders to simply tap the device and the card is charged. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea? It is bad enough that cashiers don't check for a signature, but now if I choose to enable this feature on my credit card, any one who takes possession of my card no longer has to show the card, now all they have to do is tap a device and I get charged.
What's next? I can see someone creating a hack so that this built in credit card feature can be scanned from a distance allowing them to obtain full access to my charge card.
The bottom line is that companies are trying to make it easy for us to shop. This is a great time-saving idea, however, I'm not sure that they have taken the time to protect our security. Maybe I just don't know all the details, but I challenge Master Card to post more information on their site to inform concern customers like myself.
In business you should always try and help others as best you can, especially when others refers to friends and family. Helping others get ahead will help you get ahead as well. Look at it this way, lets say that your friend X is looking for a job. Now lets suppose that you know of a company looking to hire for the same position that X has been searching.
Now when X obtains that position, thanks to your recommendation, you not only have help friend X but as well your contact at the company. In return, since both parties are content with you, they will try and help you. This could lead to potential gigs and exponential opportunities. Look at it this way, perhaps X needs something design within his company or knows someone who needs work done, who do you think he is going to think of. But let's not forget our contact at the company, he also has a vested interest in the company and perhaps knows of design work available. Our contact as well has a circle of friends.
The bottom line is that when you help others, you are helping yourself. Networking is a great way to get ahead. Not too mention that many studies have proven that having a good circle of friends will improve your life expectancy.
You simply expand to another. Look around your file logs, have your site become stagnant? Are you getting the same number of visitors or worst, have those number decrease. If I'm describing your current scenario then it's time you start looking for solutions before you disappear within the multitude of Web sites that come and go on a daily basis.
There are several solutions for you; first, you can try to redesign, change your look. But more importantly you may want to not only change your interface, but take at look at the back end. What kind of structure does your current site follows. You can always improve. Change your site architecture to reflect the way your traffic flows. If you make it easier for your user, you will find yourself with a lot more visitors. As well, you might consider adding more content to your site, the more pages the higher your Google page rank will be. This is a simple task, content is widely syndicated on the Web at virtually no cost to you. You simply find aggregated information and parse the RSS feeds accordingly.
If after visiting your log files you find that you have simply saturated your market, you may want to consider visiting related topics. If for instance you are in the business of Web design news, consider adding Web development news. You are still targeting the same audience, but now you are adding to the range of topics you are covering.
The bottom line is that if you want to be successful you must stay successful. Just because you are at the peak of your game, doesn't mean you will always stay there. You must always stay on top of your competition and always stay one step ahead. One step ahead will ensure that you will always be number one.
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