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A Great New Group of Inspirational Niche Gallery Websites

by Ryan on June 11, 2009 at 10:44 PM

As a designer, I am constantly seeking inspiration. For me, inspiration can come from many places. It can come from nature while I am outside taking my dog for a walk. It can come from the music I am listening to or a video I am watching. Inspiration can even come to me while I’m reading a book. When it comes to website design projects, I often turn to website design gallery sites for inspiration. There are many amazing designers and artists out there creating beautiful sites. Recently, a new group of website design galleries was launched by Steven Snell of Vandelay Design and DesignM.ag.

After checking Steven’s website galleries out, I wanted to share them with you. One of the great things about the galleries Steven has created is that each focuses on a specific niche. When looking for inspiration for a specific project, I am usually looking for a site that serves a similar purpose to the website I will be creating. Many gallery sites are more general in nature. So, I find myself spending a lot of time looking around. While I enjoy viewing these sites, it’s not always the most productive use of my time. Having specific niche galleries is a great way to focus your inspirational search on a specific type of website.

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Participation: Is It the Key to Interactive Marketing and Social Media Strategy

by Ryan on June 1, 2009 at 9:28 PM

Over the past several months, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. Well, it’s maybe not so much a phenomenon as it is an occurrence I’ve been noticing. With the extremely rapid growth of social media over the last few years, I’ve noticed many people claiming to be “experts” in this field. I also see many managers claiming to or acting as if they “get” interactive marketing and social media. When in reality, I don’t believe they do “get it” at all.

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Bloggers: Learn to Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

by Ryan on May 29, 2009 at 9:36 PM

Blogging has grown to become a hobby for many web enthusiasts throughout the world. For many, blogging has actually become a way to earn a full-time income. While the vast majority of bloggers do not set out to earn money through blogging, it has become increasingly realistic for dedicated bloggers to make some decent money through their blogging efforts. Choose a topic that you are passionate about and share your thoughts, ideas, and knowledge with the world! You are bound to find a tribe of people with similar passions who are interested in what you have to say. While I am by no means a professional blogger, I am very interested in the idea of being able to earn money while pursuing one’s passion.

I started blogging several years ago. At the time I was pursuing several freelance website design projects and was interested in learning all I could about online marketing. I decided to return to school as it’s been a goal of mine to earn a master’s degree. While I wanted to keep up with my side projects, I just couldn’t as I was really focused on my school work. So, my blogging efforts took a hiatus.

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Top-of-the-Line Texture and Background Image Resource Websites

by Ryan on May 28, 2009 at 8:02 PM

I am currently working on a new website design project. For this new project, I decided I wanted to play around with using a real-world texture or photograph as a prominent part of the background. This is a trend that’s gained quite a bit of momentum over the last year. So, I thought I’d play around with the idea for at least one of the concepts I design for this project.

I have an idea of the types of images I’d like to use. So, where do I start? Do I grab my camera and start taking my own photographs in hopes that I’ll capture a nice image I can use? Do I search the internet to see what textures are available? While I do love photography, I don’t have the best camera or tons of spare time. So, I decided to look around online to see what texture and background image resources I could find.

During my online digging, I came across several great texture websites. So, I decided to write a post to share a few of these great sites with you. Even if you don’t use them, maybe they’ll provide a little design inspiration. So, without further ado, here is my list of top-of-the-line website design texture and background image websites.

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Working Through a Logo Design Project: The Process

by Ryan on May 18, 2009 at 9:59 PM

Now that school is completed for the summer, I am able to focus on some personal projects that I’ve had to put off. School has been consuming most of my non-working hours (I’m currently working on a master’s degree). While I love school and am learning tons, not only about business, marketing, and advertising, but also about myself, I hate the fact that it eats up so much of my time. There are several projects that I’ve had to hold off on starting while in school. So, I decided not to take any courses over the summer so that I can focus on those projects. Plus, I just needed a break!

The first project that I am taking on is a blog project. While I am not ready to release any details, mainly because I am just in the early stages of developing my plan, I wanted to write a post about the process I am following as I design the logo and identity for this project. I have a few options, but am having a difficult time selecting one design to push forward. I thought I needed to take a break and focus on what goes into creating and selecting a logo.

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