Posted on December 29, 2011

Chicago web designer: Creative balance

The old saying goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” If all I did was work, work, work I know for certain my digital creativity would dry up. I keep my passion for web and graphic design alive by balancing work and play. You will NOT find my chained to my computer screen day and night. Oh, I also have no interest in having a data plan on my phone so I can check my email etc. where ever I am. When I step away from my computer I like to step away from the electronic world.

It seems however I am unable to step away from the creative world. Here are a few of the fun non computer creative things I have done in the last year.

Invested in an SLR digital camera, while my photos are far from professional I did qualified for a profile on istockphotos.com
Built some sand sculptures in the gorgeous white sands of Florida.
Learnt how to tie the fantastic monkey fist knot
Enjoyed the creative eye candy of down town Chicago. From the wonderful impressionist painting in the Art Institute of Chicago to the amazing reflections from “The Bean“
Transformed a dungeon basement room to a teenage penthouse complete with painted skyline mural
Made an igloo in the garden after the spectacular snow storm in February
Got creative with food with some doggy cookies …for humans.
Got inspired to buy some watercolor paints after discovering a painting I’d started at age 17 and never finished. Brushing up on some seriously lost skills!
Planted a vegetable garden …that our resident garden critters enjoyed very much.

I am looking forward to many more creative adventures in 2012… digital or not.

©: 2011 Chicago web designer

Posted on December 20, 2011

Free Facebook cover graphics: Facebook Timeline

Facebook will make it’s new timeline approach to profile pages default on December 22nd. The look and feel of the profile page will change and additional functionality to visit past posts via a timeline, will be introduced. If you don’t want to wait you can easily get the new timeline visiting here , a clicking the “get timeline now” button.

The new profile page features a large cover photo which you will need to set. You can use one of your existing photos or upload something new.

The dimension of the cover photo is 850px by 315 px, if the image you select is smaller that that it will end up being stretched and not sharp.

I created a montage of contemporary graphics for my cover photo, they are the same as the ones I used to create the “Color Punch” igoogle theme.

To get you started I am offering three contemporary graphics you can use on your own Facebook profile. Download by clicking on the image and saving to your computer. They are sized correctly and ready to go.

Color Splat

Color Punch

Rays

Posted on December 14, 2011

The Chicago web designer on istockphoto.com

As a web designer I know an image can sometimes say a thousand words and stock photography companies like istockphoto play an invaluable tool in my web designers’ tool box.

I recently got approved as an istockphoto photographer and while photography is something I only dabble in, I like to challenge myself to take photos worthy to post online!

You can view my collection so far at www.istockphoto.com which feature photos taken in the North shore area of Chicago this past fall. I am the first to admit I am no Ansel Adams but I find the creative process fun.

Posted on October 13, 2011

Looking for a Chicago web design company?

A quick Google search for “Chicago web design company” producing a whopping 68,700,000 results. This is a big town and there are lots of players. Not every design firm will be right for every project and finding a company you are comfortable working with and a good fit for your project, can be a challenge.

Here is a brief snapshot of what we offer

Design Services
- Web site design
- Web redesign, we can rework what you already have to bring it up to date
- Blog design
- WordPress templates
- Identity design, including logo, letterhead and business cards
- Complete corporate branding
- Graphic design for projects such as brochures, posters, trade show banners, advertisements etc
- Presentations, powerpoint
- Email templates
- Banner ads
Web Services
- Domain registration
- Web hosting
- Website coding – need a design turned into a working website?
- eCommerce
Marketing Services
- Search Engine Optimization ( SEO) and keyword analysis
- Pay per click programs e.g Google Adsense
- Social networking e.g Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
- Video internet marketing

We have been in business since 2000 and have many very happy clients under our belt, see what some of them have to say here

We are located in Lincolnshire, in the North Shore area of Chicago.

Posted on June 6, 2011

Wall art for a web and graphic design office

I am lucky to have a fabulous office with large windows, wonderful light and enough space “to swing a cat” or two. I keep the decor simple and modern and came across this fabulous wall art today that I think must adorn my walls soon.

I think any graphic or web designer would appreciate this excellent piece by Peppersprouts

Posted on June 3, 2011November 6, 2015

Eye of the Chicago web designer: Nature as inspiration for design

I often turn to nature when looking for inspiration for design elements, everything from color, texture, contrast, focus and shape.

Here are a few examples I have shared over the years.

As a designer I am am not alone in using nature as inspiration and yesterday, via another designer, I came across this wonderful video, nature by numbers. It is definitely worth a watch.

Posted on May 3, 2011November 6, 2015

Eye of the Chicago web designer: Creativity on my Desk

As a web and graphic designer it is my job to be creative, to come up with new a novel ways of presenting things, to create designs that are visually alluring and engaging.

Well the creative aspect of my job tumbles into my everyday life and there is nothing like this little pop of color on my desk to make me pick up one of these lovely home made pens and start sketching out logo ideas or architectural wire frame details.

Posted on April 25, 2011

Does your web designer do this?

Creating a great web site is only the start of an online presence for many business.

Does your web designer take care of:-

Domain name registration
Hosting
Email setup
Web Analytics – see how many hits your site is getting, where they are coming from, how long your visitors are staying etc.
Social Media Avenues – what is best for your business
Social Media Profiles, setting up Twitter, Facebook YouTube, Flikr …
Social Media Training
Search Engine Optimization
Getting your site listed and ranked in the search engines
Getting your site listed on local directories e.g Yelp
Email campaigns

If not then you are using the wrong web design company.

We take care of all the nuts and bolts to make your web presence work for you.

Posted on April 6, 2011

Have you been let down by your web designer?

Isn’t it funny how things come in threes.

In the last day and a half I have had three separate conversations with business owners who have been let down by their web design company. From failing to deliver promised work, shoddy non functioning web elements, to hosting a site with a company who seems to have no concept of up-time guarantee.

It appears these web design companies do not value their clients, a strategy I find hard to comprehend.

Its not the first and certainly not the last time, I’ve heard stories like these. Over the years I have collected quite a few, for example

My web designer takes too long updating my site with the new content I send.
My emails and phone calls are never returned
Something is broken on my site and I need it fixed now
Google has black-listed my site and I am getting a “malicious” warning
I have paid a web designer to develop a web site and they have disappeared off the face of the earth
My web site is always down and I have just discovered my web designer is hosting it on a server in his basement
My web site looks different when viewed on a MAC or a PC, help!
I am getting bombarded by spam from my web site
…

There are a lot of “cow boy companies” out there

If you are looking for a web design company who is with you every step of the way, who measures your success as their success then give us a call: 847 607 8679.

We will not let you down.

Posted on April 4, 2011

The Chicago web designer is refreshed.

There is nothing like a good vacation to refresh the soul and a fabulous week in the UK has done the trick for me. I’d written a couple of blog posts before I left and scheduled their publish while I was away, busy NOT checking my email… not even once. That is a liberating experience I want to repeat …and soon!

I am back on US soil now busy already and following up on a nice bundle of leads generated by some good old fashioned organic Google ranking for my Chicago web design company.

Here is a little photo montage of my trip.

Your Creative Partner

A Chicago web and graphic design company

Category: Chicago Web Designer