http://www.erikaworks.com Naperville Web Designer Extraordinaire Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:25:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Today, I'd like to go over what's considered as standard operating procedure here at ErikaWorks when a client is interested in getting a new web site or redesign. The procedure isn't perfect yet [it's distinctly lacking in showgirls] but the difference between a good job and a hellish job is ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=22 When I moved in, one of the first things I did [after making sure there was toilet paper in the bathroom and turning on the air conditioning] was paint the bedroom a textured poppy red. It's a terrible, garish colour. All my furniture is black, deep browns and creams so ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=15 1] Don't be afraid to learn old ways of doing things. 2] Take learning one program/language at a time. 3] Don't specialize right away. 4] Don't quit your day job. 5] Other fields [typography, art theory, video] are more important than you'd think for your job. 6] Be able to motivate yourself. 7] Know when to ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=12 1] Take off pants. If at work, try to ignore pants. I firmly believe that everyone thinks better without them. 2] Get a legal pad and a pen. Sketch out designs without thinking about project goals or constraints. Ignore results, but save paper for later projects. 3] Write down the site’s mission ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=8 On one occasion, I was editing a website for a prenatal vitamin. It featured cheery vector moms [white, black, Asian and Hispanic with corresponding adorable babies] in sunny vector settings [cafe, nursery, local park] and did its bust-a-gut best to convince you that unless you took this precise pre-natal vitamin, ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=5 I want content to build the site, to perpetually shape it, define it. I want to build web sites that evolve, where additions and subtractions change how the site is used, as opposed to dangling uselessly off its face, attempting to garner attention to themselves by not fitting in. An ... http://www.erikaworks.com/?p=1