How to be inspired

Whether someone decides to take a class or start doing their own research, an initial moment of inspiration is necessary to kick start the process. This post was inspired by an email I woke up to from my sister, essentially saying, "I want to become a web designer." As her brother, nothing could make me happier.

do I really like this?

I would like to know what inspired her moment. From the outside looking in, I can only guess. Part of it was definitely my influence. In thinking about it closer, her and I are a lot alike in our strengths - if I could be happy and enjoy success in this field, then naturally, she could too. Web design is equal parts aesthetics, organization, and desire. Always learning, always creating. These are strengths and values we share as siblings.

What follows is a rundown of how one can get started in the field. Would love to hear people's own stories in response.

Step #1 - Owning Your Domain

This may seem like a weird first step to some, but nothing is more thrilling than publishing your first html files to your own site. I think I had three iterations of my first domain, geodigi.com, before I ever did any kind of client work. It's a person's first digital sandbox to do whatever they want.

nothing could make me happier.

After receiving the email from my sister, I went and purchased her name domain. Upon presenting this news to her, she thanked me - not knowing what it really meant. In time however, she will come to realize, this is the spot where everything started.

Step #2 - Getting Educated

The field of web design is changing so rapidly, one must stay on it continuously to ever develop a strong knack for providing solutions to people (clients/bosses/friends). It's all a daunting amount of information at first, but once one gets on top of the pile, it's just a matter of maintenance.

Coursework

While I praised those who come into the field self-taught, it's not the only avenue to becoming a web designer - you can take courses. There are pros & cons to doing coursework.

To illustrate my point, my sister decided to enroll in a collegiate level course on the beginnings of HTML & CSS - which in theory, should give her a well-rounded view of the building blocks of the web. Before we sat down and had a screen-sharing session, she was painfully wading through the first few homework assignments. Doubt began creeping into her mind; do I really like this?

We are a passionate bunch

When I finally sat down and looked at what she was doing (she is working on building website for her soon-to-be wedding, college coursework applied to a real life need, smart) she seemed]]> Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:13:46 -0800 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/1079787 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/958070 "It's been awhile" is how I seem to launch into every blog post of late. My strategy has been the somewhat defensive, "duck* & cover." If I were to drink the blogging koolaid, I would know that blogging is essential to my business. If only...

So how does the, "duck & cover," strategy fit into my bigger broader strategy of doing great work on the web? It doesn't - it just means that I'm scared. I've started countless entries only to have them peter out into random generalizations. None of them have been post worthy, not one. If I'm going to write something, it better be good, or else what's the point? ]]> Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:48:20 -0800 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/958070 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/772238 When I stumbled into my early teens, or maybe even before that, I had a strong draw towards music and more specifically bands. Being born in Seattle made me gravitate towards the scene there, even if I lived in Alaska. And what band is synonymous with Seattle? Nirvana of course.

Before the internet we had TV or magazines to get information about bands. Back then, MTV played music, on television. Hard to imagine such a radical concept now. Anyways, this brings me to the topic of the post - Rolling Stone Magazine. One of the first Rolling Stones I ever picked up was the one showed below. Walking by it in the store, I had to have it. As with most kids, this involved begging and pleading with Mom. Eventually I convinced her of all the reasons it was necessary for me to obtain this magazine and she caved.

This was my first interaction with the magazine which I soon had a yearly subscription to. ]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:32:42 -0700 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/772238 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/732474 I'm always reading these "how to blog" lists, well not so much of late, but I was reading them. ]]> Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:12:04 -0700 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/732474 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/702027 The always on mentality - it's a choice. The quality of your work - another choice. ]]> Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:59:01 -0700 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/702027 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/601589 Hello BarCampers, my name is George Huff, but on twitter, my name is georgehuff - nice to meet you. ]]> Mon, 05 May 2008 16:12:32 -0700 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/601589 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/587574 I've talked about education before, but yesterday I was blown away (again) by someone who decided to forgo school (for the most part) and forge on with a self-taught design career. ]]> Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:44:36 -0700 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/587574 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/515584 Something is uniquely jarring about hitting one-thousand twitters. You really want to say something prolific in those 140 characters, but prolific things limited to 140 characters are saved for dead writers or dead politicians. What a dilemma. What a service!

I first signed up for Twitter at SXSWi '07, as did many others, and I must say it only holds more promise as more and more people adopt it. Upon coming back from SXSWi '07 I did a few things - the first was becoming a bit of a Twitter evangelist, I told everyone about it (hi mom!). I also signed up my good friend Brian - who is soon to be the best man in my wedding.

Poor Brian, you see, I didn't tell him I signed him up - he just started receiving SMS updates every time I twittered. Brian isn't a geek either, he appreciates technology when it accentuates other parts of his life - and it doesn't seem to be an end in itself for him. So instead of embracing Twitter, Brian told me, "What the fuck is Twitter Geo? And how do I unsubscribe?" I never told him - he went and figured it out. I guess the 3am twitters about Internet Explorer 6 became too much.

Once he had unsubscribed he would start texting me random moments like, "just saw a slip and fall in the grocery store," or, "these white people and their bagels." But never the, "is feeling..." that my twitters tend to lead off with, Brian doesn't let his guard down. Anyhow, every time he did this I would just respond, "Twitter." And eventually I think it set in just what Twitter would bring to accentuate his life - a monologue of his inner "B."

So if you get the chance follow JustB, or JeongSeouk, or JeffReynolds, or J_P_S, or newtypeofjuice, or ldub, or simulacra09, or just follow my whole list - it's all entertaining and I feel connected to these people even if I don't see them every day - or every year.

It has been a year, almost to the day, since I first signed up for Twitter. Here I am posting this blog entry (which auto-twitters every time I write a new entry) as my 1000th twitter. With each new friend that signs on it becomes more interesting and valuable. From the ad-hoc organization to the random ramblings of my good friends abroad - I hope I feel the same at two-thousand twitters.

I didn't really say anything prolific, but I hopefully amused - so hard to do in these 140 character limitation days.

Twitter is a one-to-many short push messaging service to your most loyal, "followers."

Jeff and I got back to our room and I use the words "passed out" here, although it was somewhere between passing out and going to bed - do you know the difference? Anyhow, the alarm came quickly and we got up, showered, and headed down to the complimentary continental breakfast. We're staying at the Hampton - shitty wi-fi, fantastic continental, take your pick. One more good thing about the Hampton is it attracts a lot of the industry "rockstars." Shit, Jeff and I were there, and we're pretty important. I jest, but the highly talented Shaun Inman was there and I did get to pick up the size medium American Apparel Mint T-shirts he brought. Thank you Shaun - it was an awkward moment, but it was never dull - my name is George.

After all this we made our way to the conference, what follows are my notes from the different panels/presentations, enjoy.

Design is in the Details

Naz Hamid started with many quotes, "Less is more", and "God is in the details/Design is in the Details" Showed examples of design in details in many fields, cooking, industrial design, etc... Overall I think his presentation was really entry level. I wanted to be blown away and I was just kind of left with a, "well yea..." taste in my mouth. Oh well, not a bad presentation by any means, but definitely light on theory.

The one real world practice I took away was his use of different comps for different components of the site - this is something I will definitely try.

Checklist and Guide

• Experiment - Playing around with things in a few PSD files. Use the source files of the client. Play with color. Logo in one comp, background in another, navigation in another - don't commit. Then start mashing up.
• Choices - Making choices on client needs, your styles, typefaces, and colors. Pick the things that are simple, most logical choices.
• Stay Consistent - Make sure homepages and subpages reflect eachother. Avoid minutae with clients.
• Completeness - Finish the comp and get it done done.
• Step In, Step Out, Step Back: Balance - Walk away for awhile - take notes when you get back about what is striking you - first impressions.
• Be your own critic - Address the things you may feel the people signing off will have issues with - compromise just a bit, it will go a long way.
• Complexity is Simplicity
• Obsession is Healthy - Dedication to the design, we put in long hours.

Thoughts, Breakthroughs, & Revelations - Let a design sit in your head and think about it. Not Billable Time.

Weird Turn Pro: Crowdsourcing for Creatives

Derek Powazek comes across as very genuine. His presentation was pretty fun and he provided some great examples of the good and bad sides of crowdsourcing. Now following him on twitter - he seems like a seasoned pro of "growing communities."

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompsen

Three lies people who don't get crowdsourcing tell:

• Lie 1: Everyone on the net is an idiot - well they're are some idiots, but some really smart people doing some really good stuff.
• Lie 2: Good stuff is too hard to find - traditionally has been human editors. It's gone from traditional, to non-traditional, to moderators. Or it's computers, text search, and Google. Now the interesting method is the hybrid model, Digg, flickr. Discussing leaderboards and how it encourages users to game the system. Show a random swath of "good results" to avoid the bad results of the game caused by leaderboards.Wisdom of Crowd - Selfish interests that increase the overall good. Says that if we all guessed numbers of beans in a jar, 99% of us would be wrong, but averaged out, we would be 99% right. Simple answers are the correct place for using the wisdom of crowds. Also needs to have diversity of viewpoints. Design for selfishness.Learning from Assignment Zero - Started by Jeff How - "Here everyone, write stories." Nothing worked because nobody wrote anything. But increase the selfish motivation.

"Using crowdsourcings as a cost-saving measure doesn't work. Communities must be cultivated, respected, and managed if they are to create economic value." - Jeff Howe, who coined the term, "Crowdsourcing."

• Lie 3: You can't make any money. Threadless example - be the trusted middle man. How do they do it?
  • Contests - Ego, Winning, and Money
  • Fun thing on buyer end - The golden tag on a tshirt, Alumni Club.

Cautionary Tales:

• Yahoo Games Wii Sites: They pulled in flickr feeds tagged, "wii." Flickr users rebelled and put in tons of "yahoo sucks" type images.
• GM Tahoe Apprentice Campaign: "Hey who wants to help us make a commercial for our SUV." To make the commercial, all you could do was use their video and pictures and change the text. Chaos insued. "The Earth is now your Bitch", "MURDER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY." They put the participants in a very narrow box. GM was greedy with their content - you couldn't export it anywhere else, it could only work on the site. But it actually worked - drove more traffic to gm.com than google and yahoo combined.

Community is Grown, Not Built

1. Give people tools they want
2. Trust them to do good
3. Reward Good Contributions
4. Punish bad contributions
5. Expect the unexpected - Flickr Geotagging the word "Fuck" over iceland.

Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Great Design Hurts

And this is where the crappy web connection killed my notes. I guess it isn't so smart to post notes inside of Wordpress while having an unstable connection. Either way - this panel was great.

First was Michael Lopp from Apple, he's a product manager and seems to be a damn good one at that. He started off with some keynote issues, which was ironic, being from Apple. He proceeded to talk about Apple building everything like a present. From OSX being inside of their computers being inside of great packaging being sold at a great store being debuted by a great leader - yea, I could listen to someone from Apple talk about this stuff all day. He had some great anecdotes, which I wrote down - but alas they are deleted.

Are you comfortable being an asshole for the integrity of your design?

Then came John Gruber of the Daring Fireball fame. I read his blog pretty frequently and he's always on point with thoughts on Apple. He continued to talk about the "blood, sweat, and fear" that goes into great design. In the end he stated that it's ok to be an asshole as a designer - it means your more dedicated to your vision. Thank you John we all need that.

All in all this was a great presentation and I got to sit on the floor the whole time, which means it was a packed house.

A General Theory of Creative Relativity

You know how when you're watching Die Hard and you just know that everything is going to be ok because badass John McClaine is on the job? You know, the bad guys are toast, he took a beating but won, and the girl who was in his life but couldn't handle his badassnes when he wasn't saving the world, comes back into his life? That's like Jim Coudal - except he's saving the world from shitty creative work.

"He's a man's designer."

I would work for Jim Coudal, as Jeff said, "He's a man's designer."

He framed his general theory as a spark between the known and the unknown, the variable or the constant - it was slow to start but then once he got going, he was on fire. I must say that his booking the band exercise was perfect for his concept.

At the end of his talk people had a Q/A round - this is where I decided how much of a badass Jim Coudal was. Again, I lost my notes, so I am going from memory. Small teams are better and meetings are bad news. That's pretty much all I remember - sad.

Conclusion

First day wrapped up and it was unbelievable, each panel progressively better than the last. I must say with this year's SXSW and the whole working for myself thing - I definitely feel a lot more happier in where I am at, it's been a great year. I have also learned I need to take more pics at panels, doh!

Speed is a trait of the entrepreneur, we make things happen quickly, we all think "I can do this or that." It's what makes us quit our jobs, it's what makes us just start things for no reason other than our own thoughts, it's also, as time goes by, a huge weakness. It's super tough to rely on anyone else, but it is also absolutely necessary. Often times we think up a strategy and execute without consulting those who have proven valuable. Often times a knee-jerk reaction comes across as a painful execution and an even more painful blunder.

With the WTM website - I could have just designed and built the whole thing. But I know someone who can do it better - and without his help, WTM wouldn't be where it's at. It's been a very slow rewarding process building out wtmworldwide.com piece by piece. We have more that we would like to do - but we are not rushing it. Well, maybe I am pushing it, but have realized a slow marinade is just what the site needs.

Why the entry then? We have carefully launched the We The Blog. WTB, I guess, is an aggregate of all We The Media member blogs. I'm already feeling the pressure because Nick Onken blogs way more than me - I need to keep up! It is just one more channel for us to spread our message of love for the creative souls out there.

Check it out.

Anyhow - I'm staying at the Hampton Inn with my good friend Jeff Reynolds - we will be kicking ass in one way or another (but mostly just representing the up and coming group, We The Media). I'm also looking to get invited to some really pretentious, exclusive parties - like I would be ok being the only one that is allowed to enter the room. That would rock. If you're staying in the Hampton Inn or close - let's greet up - it's time to meet some geeks baby! Oh yea, be sure to get our grey (purple) buttons - they are pretty much fresh to death.

If you aren't going to SXSW and are disgruntled, sulk the entire week at your current job so that your employer really knows how badly you want to go for next year - or - come to this site and I will be posting daily updates and pictures of all the crazy happenings.

Hope the world is treating you well.

networking gives me tears

Moving from college where one has a pseudo-something to offer to a professional setting where one gains their real value - I have experienced some profound insight. No, nothing new or original - but my tendency to learn by doing and emulating has given me the real reward of what networking truly is - connecting others.

First off - let me say something about the idea of what I call, "power-networking." While in the short run - power networking is great, you meet all kinds of people, their baggage, and they are as interested in leeching off of you as you are of them. Be it the 3-minute elevator speech or the small talk. I hate small talk. I've been to a few "power-networking" events - they left me feeling small and angry. Just like I have never been good at pursuing women at a bar, I am not good at pursuing potential clients in short 3-minute bursts. It takes time to get to know me - and I am proud of that. It's called being genuine.

I hate small talk

Here's what I have found - generally speaking, just about every creative I have ever met has been genuine - even to a fault. And no fault of their own - it's the fault of those who exploit them, the many who are good at brokering the 3-minute deals. I walk in both worlds - I have a business education and I am a descent designer. Seeing creative talent being exploited pissed me off the first time I saw it - it pisses me off now.

There are those of us creatives who are lucky - we meet one or two people who see value in what we do and want to help us out. Many are not so lucky. It's easy to be cynical and say, "well, I'm not good at networking, so I will never be free from those exploiters." This was my own stumbling block until I was introduced to a way of networking which had never occurred to me before; connecting people.

Exploiting Creative Talent is Wrong

To re-iterate - my understanding of what networking was came from a few trips to "power-networking" groups - to which I immediately reacted a resounding, "Nope, not for me." And then through all of my hours spent developing my creative skills, I was connected into a world which I had never seen or imagined. A world that rewarded me for doing good work creatively and also boosted my network - all without sacrificing the one thing which feels right - being myself.

Through being myself and connecting, I have gotten the majority of my client work. What is this sub-sect of networking I am calling "connecting?" It's the idea of putting people together that you have come to know through real relationships. That's it.

To power-networkers who do nothing but networking, this is an obvious point. Know as many people as you can so that you can connect them in ways that you see fit. But here's the one caveat - how well does one really know another when they have only spoken in 3-minute bursts. How does one know if two people would really benefit each other? The truth is, there is no way to tell - you're just playing a numbers game and your network, while big and strong - may be a house of cards. The real relationships come from being genuine and good to others. One must give selflessly for the relationships gained through networking.

Duh George!

Networking through connecting and being genuine has an insularly benefit as well - I know, because of the people I network with. They connect me with genuine, good people. Whereas with power-networking you get all types, the pleasant and not so pleasant. I like to think, in building my network slowly with solid genuine people, I've been able to shield myself from what bugs me most; bad people. Bad people make shitty clients - and if I get a vibe from a client of disrespect or an air of authority, I won't take the work.

As a creative, one has to expect the road to be bumpy. Networking and relationship building fall a distant second to the craft you love. However, the two aren't mutually exclusive. If your idea of networking is similar to what mine was, think about the people you know and how they may help each other. It's a pro-active thought process - once you begin, it becomes difficult to stop. By helping people get what they need, giving selflessly, I guarantee you will be better off for it. The reward rarely comes directly, but the feeling of giving is a reward in itself.

Remember, be yourself, stay genuine, and give - the success will come.

Anyhow, when I actually got Spaces - it ended up being anti-climatic. It didn't really work how I thought it would (in my many pre-Leopard, about Leopard dreams) and it seemed like it was a bit buggy. I have seen many people turning spaces off, frustrated with it's apparent shortcomings - but I am not one to let initial excitement die so easily - so I rolled with the punches for awhile. Fast forward three months and I am now moving from space to space like a Puppeteer on a powder day (sci-fi/drug connection makes reading all the better).

Organize Your Actions

For those who are using a computer for more than just checking email and surfing the web - Spaces can help boost productivity. My first inclination wasn't right at all - I put random stuff in random spaces and was like, "cool, now what." Since then - I have organized all of my actions on a computer into four main categories for four spaces (they may be different for everyone):

Browsing Information - Since I switched to NetNewsWire and Safari (versus good ol' buggy Firefox) I have been able to cut out my mid-design random RSS feed checks. I used to build sites in Firefox and click "Live Bookmark" every few minutes. Now when I want to browse I have to actively switch to another space.

Communicating and Scheduling - Lumping Twitter (Snitter), iChat, Mail, iCal, and Things together allows me to communicate with people to schedule timelines and meetings.

Multimedia Management - I really like to use Handbrake for backups, yea. Oh and iTunes. Oh and covers from Amazon.com. And Netflix is nice too. Everything related to my hording of films, shows, and music goes here.

Web Design - When I am working on web design - it's very important to be able to hyper focus or get in the zzzzone (yea, I can't believe I am that clich]]> Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:37:09 -0800 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/422177 http://virb.com/georgehuff/posts/text/389137 Most publications start making predictions around this time of year, but I hate being wrong. It's not so much that I don't have ideas of where things are going - it's more the fact making future predictions is a bit trite. Rarely are there any groundbreaking revelations and the novelty wears off quite quickly, usually by the third bullet point. In light of keeping it lite, there are three innovations which I feel are noteworthy for 2007 - the iPhone, the Wii, and Twitter.

Granted the Wii came out in November of 2006 and Twitter in March of 2006 - they really didn't "blow up" until 2007. The Wii continues to have shortages and Twitter ballooned after SXSW 2007, where I first signed on. I had a conversation with Snook once and he talked about (and continues to blog about) staying away from hopping on any bandwagon as well as staying fair and balanced. This post will not be that way - I will gush and adore praise for my three favorite things of 2007.
(more...)

The "e" means we are empowered. As consumers, as professionals, as social networkers, as voters, and as evangelists. Believe me, you want us on your side. What we lack in numbers we make up for in determination and knowledge. Leveraging the internet to make real changes is second nature - and it will happen. We can't be bought or sold by a television network - we really aren't into TV, it's too - linear, too "photoshopped," or too fake. Our real news media has become satirical and our satirical news media has become real, and we recognize that.

We are fearless, bold, and fresh. Yes, we are a top heavy country consisting of many baby boomers who failed to topple the old guard - but that won't stop us, you see, for we have the internet. Whereas America has been the melting pot for different cultures and race, the internet is the melting pot for ideas - and the best always come bubbling to the top.

I have been fearful of my generation being complacent to all of this - do we really care about our country and the world surrounding us?

Last night I was at a dinner full of the influencers - people who are striving for social change not only with their words, but their actions. They make a strong case that we do care - that we are empowered, and that we do live up to the hype. I think it's only a matter of time before we wake up and turn the old guard on its head.

Our ideas are strong and our hearts are pure - we get the new world and we have embraced it. We have big corporations lobbying Washington D.C. to get their way - followed by the same corporations limiting which candidates the American public see (and in what light) on their broadcasting networks. This is an example of the competition, deceit, and old guard mentality which is taking our country down a path of destruction. If you're getting your news from a TV, consider it skewed - not one major news network has a clean reputation. They all do it.

I watched Oprah introduce Barack Obama in Iowa and she said it best:

"I'm not here to tell you what to think, I'm here to tell you to think"

What we need is transparency and open doors. I'm a fan of Barack mainly in part because he is a fan of the transparency ideal. Transparency is something we all need to get behind.

For now, I have placed an Obama '08 badge on my site for a candidate that stands for so much, but most importantly acts presidential. Grab the code, do the same.
<a href="http://www.barackobama.com/index.php"><img src="http://www.eleven3.com/wp-content/themes/eleven3/images/cause_obama.jpg" alt="Vote Obama '083 style="margin-right: 10px;"></a>

Think Bro-conomy, Think Big

So how does one crack the bro-conomy nut? When I was at an agency I noticed the guys who were making the deals getting all sorts of cool shit. Occasionally it would trickle down and I would get something like the aforementioned hoody or a circle-hoe. But for the most part it stopped right before the schwag hit the creatives. I think the most important part is exposure to clients. Before the end of this long winded, much adu about nothing post, I'll talk about web design, a few tips to help one thrive in the bro-conomy, and a few of my own personal bro-conomy stories.

Web Design and the Bro-conomy

I can't think of a better profession to be in that web design for gaining access to the bro-conomy. Think about it - every single business in the world needs a website. It's the new yellow pages minus the monopoly of the yellow pages (don't worry, I will keep bagging on this waste of paper company later). There are usually two types of deals which arise, the pure-tradeout deal and the perks plus deal.

Pure Tradeout

Obviously this is the type of deal where no money exchanges hands - it is "I will do X for you, you do Y for me." The cool thing about these types of projects is they are usually amongst friends and they're usually low stress. Cause really, is he/she really your "bro" if they're stressing you out?

The Perks Plus Deal

These a bit more straight-laced than the pure tradeout deal, a hybrid of the paying client and the bro. These deals usually come into play when a client doesn't have a lot of money, but you appreciate what they're trying to do and more importantly they're just cool about it. A total cost of doing the work is estimated and then the price is knocked down for free schwag or other forms of services rendered (The IRS is going to come pounding on my door down for this.). These are usually low stress as well and help line the pockets with a little cash.

F the Man!! (-;

Sometimes a client will just throw free schwag on top to sweeten the deal - and those types of things go a long way in getting that extra effort out of a creative *hint hint*. Again, it's a beautiful time to be a web designer, embrace your inner bro-ness.

How to Thrive

Like anything in life, this is all you. Well, occasionally a client will make the offer - but for the most part you have to hunt down your own "bro" deals and let people know you are open to them.

Hunting Down a Bro Deal

This is really a simple process that comes down to wants and needs. Do you want a discount on all of your outdoor gear? Then go to your local shop and offer to help out with their website.

A skill fit for a Mongoose

If the people working there can't make the call - put yourself in front of the owner. For so many people, getting something they want in this way is begging - for the web designer, it's offering up a highly sought after skill.

Sniffing Out the Bro Deal

This is sort of a Carpe Diem skillset - if a client hasn't gone there, but can't come up with necessary funds to start the project, this is where one would interject that trade out is an option. But don't do it if the client doesn't have something you want. A lifetime's supply of gravel is hardly useful if you live in a cramped one-bedroom apartment. However, in thinking beyond yourself, you may be able to help out others (that need gravel).

Story Time with George Huff

Watch Company X

Watch Company X is a small high-end watch company based here in PDX - our deal consists of money and watches. I knew with them being a startup, they probably couldn't afford to pay what I normally charge. Me, fancying shiny objects, was more than open to broker a deal involving trade. In our initial meetings I let them know I was open to cutting some of the costs down with trade - we reached an agreement and all is good.

Hecklewood + HomeSkillet = Love

Hecklewood Clothing is a peddler of the dopest streetwear. HomeSkillet Records (my labor of love) is a record label from the cold lands of the north who also put on a music festival every year called HomeSkillet Fest. The story goes like this, I sought after acquaintance Sam Huff (Hecklewood Founder) to design a tshirt for HomeSkillet Fest 2007. HomeSkillet Records, being as low budget as they are, could only offer up my web design services. Pure trade-out ensued and with the shirts being finished, I am indebted to Sam Huff to help him redesign and build Hecklewood Clothing's website. So far the projects have been laid back and now Hecklewood Clothing store is one of my favorite places to just "pop-in," and say hello. And I am quite convinced that I'm Sam's favorite guest, and if not Sam's, definitely Motley and Iggy's - his two pitbulls.

Quality Trees Unlimited

Quality Trees Unlimited was probably one of my first non-bro tradeout deals. In the end the project didn't work out - I helped the guy out the best I could, but he just didn't deliver on any of the stuff I needed to complete the project. In hindsight, I feel bad - but I am getting over it.

The grey area of a sour deal

Danielle, my fiancee, decided we needed some trees in the backyard removed. Now before anyone screams bloody murder, these were ratty trees that were hazardous to our home. Anyhow, the guy she called shows up and first thing I do is notice the side of his truck doesn't have a website, then I notice the business card doesn't have a website, so I proposition him to get rid of my trees if I build him a website.

We reached an agreement and he handled his side of the deal. I ended up designing and building his website, but he couldn't ever decide on a new domain name. He had previously tried to set a website up through the Yellow Pages "we'll build your site and the screw you over" service, and they had the old domain he wanted. In the end he was unresponsive and just didn't know how to get his stuff done. I tried to help, but couldn't do anything because Yellow Pages would only talk to him. The last thing I could do was zip up the files and send them to him. I don't think the site was ever launched. Not exactly an ideal bro deal.

Conclusion

I ended with the last story cause I wanted to illustrate not all bro-deals end up in an ideal place, especially if a person isn't really your, "bro." The best bro-deals are the ones where people actually know each other and strive to live up to their reputations. If the guy from Quality Trees Unlimited or myself decided to screw over one another - there would be no repercussions other than guilt.

The bro-conomy relies on people doing business with their friends and acquaintences, not some random Joe from company X. So really, the Quality Trees project was just a trade-out, not a bro-deal.

So as webdesigners (or whatever you may be), embrace the bro-conomy and thrive, and please share some stories, I always find them interesting. And remember, while the bro-conomy is something special, it's not everything - ultimately money talks.

Cheers.

"You have good, cheap, or fast, you get to pick two."

I have been on my own freelancing (or running my own business) for nearly six months, a few things have occurred to me. Cheap is a relative term - relative to the client paying the money as well as relevant to what you're making across the board for all projects. Good, when doing business for yourself, isn't so much an option as it is a requirement. And lastly, fast is the speed at which we do business period - people want everything yesterday. So do clients really ever pick two out of three? Or do they just automatically assume to run the table. After all, the customer is always right.

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I'm freaking out man!

Building a Wordpress theme can be broken down into three steps; design, front-end development, and lastly the Wordpress implementation itself. I'm not quite sure how others do it, but the following guide is a detailed look into the process I have developed for building Wordpress themes.
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"We hate it"

If one could predict what projects are going to go awry and why - perhaps the "Designer's Crisis" could be avoided. It seems there are a few situations I have found in my limited experience which have a higher risk than others. It's tough to design for designers, work under tight deadlines, and to follow someone else's brand guidelines while resisting the "Designer's Touch".

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But how is this possible? Well the other day I was skimming the web and found a how to by some resourceful guy who said, "Forget the whole rubbing alcohol solution, take that bama apart." He posted a step by step guide to fix the mighty mouse by taking it apart.

Yes, it is a bit nerve racking to pry apart any kind of Apple goodness, but I was just so fed up at the short-termed-ness of the rubbing alcohol solution. My Mighty Mouse now feels like it did in the old days when I first got it. Now if only I wouldn't have broken the middle click in frustration.