What's in a color? a simple pattern? a whole site layout?
Joomla (an open source CMS solution) presents Yootheme, a site stocked with layouts to be used in conjunction with their development platform. I haven't had the pleasure of working much with Joomla, but I frequently refer to their site as inspiration for new designs.
You can select endless combinations of templates using the drop-down at the top of the page, combined with multiple options (second drop-down to the right).
One of the most impressive aspects of this site is that you are vewing the exact same site (content), no matter which template you chose.
How might these different templates affect how you feel about the site? How do they alter where your eye moves across the page, or the heirarchy of the information?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Introducing: Healing InSight
I'm proud to announce the launch of Healing InSight Online, the private practice of Senia Tuominen, an acupuncturist and herbalist located in St Paul, MN.I had the pleasure of developing the first-ever web presence for Healing InSight, a marketing tool to be used in conjunction with the practice's other initiatives, as well as a stand-alone informational brochure for the company.
> Healing InSight
Monday, February 2, 2009
Domain Name Availability
How do I check if a Domain Name is available?
I get this question quite often. First, try typing it into your address bar of your internet browser, and see what comes up. If its a web site: somebody already owns it :)
Any service you utilize to purchase a domain name can also be used to check if a name is available. A few examples: GoDaddy, WhoIs, Network Solutions, Check Domain. Through these sites, you can also see who has the address, when it expires, and other valuable information.
Caution!
If you run a query too many times on an un-owned domain name from one of the above services, it is possible that that company "reserve" the name - as they all charge different rates for domain names ($5-$20/year) you could get stuck paying for your domain name on the higher end of the spectrum. I'd recommend making sure you run the query from the service you actually plan to buy the name from to avoid these inflated charges. (I learned it the hard way!)
I get this question quite often. First, try typing it into your address bar of your internet browser, and see what comes up. If its a web site: somebody already owns it :)
Any service you utilize to purchase a domain name can also be used to check if a name is available. A few examples: GoDaddy, WhoIs, Network Solutions, Check Domain. Through these sites, you can also see who has the address, when it expires, and other valuable information.
Caution!
If you run a query too many times on an un-owned domain name from one of the above services, it is possible that that company "reserve" the name - as they all charge different rates for domain names ($5-$20/year) you could get stuck paying for your domain name on the higher end of the spectrum. I'd recommend making sure you run the query from the service you actually plan to buy the name from to avoid these inflated charges. (I learned it the hard way!)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Media Meltdown
Multimedia design is a tricky field: for many of us, we find ourselves riding the fencepost between being connoisseurs of design, and masters of technology. By contrast, developers primarily consume themselves with the technology side, whereas graphic designers concentrate on the visual end of things. Lucky for us, we find ourselves attempting to find the perfect marriage of both. The world of technology is moving at light-speed, changing the standards by which we develop our designs.
I wanted to share one of my secret resources... Design Meltdown.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Fun With Flash!
Palin For President
Even Sarah Palin's biggest supporters have to admit, this site will get you rolling with laughter. I saw the site early on this week- by yesterday it was posted all over my friend's social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. The Palin As President site audience grew exponentially nearly overnight.
What are the implications of a site like this? Initially I searched the site for links to their sponsor- assuming some corporation sponsored its development as a way to link-back to their site and grow their business. I scoured the site for such a link to no avail. Specifically, for Palin as President, I'm tempted to believe its strictly an entertainment value/political statement.
Other Examples
One of my favorite corporate-sponsored gimick sites is Elf Yourself, by Office Max. I believe 2008 will mark its third year running- but even by last year, its hard to find a person who hasn't elfed themself, their family, or perhaps a co-worker.
Each year they're adding a new feature- last year was the ability to record your own voice. I can't wait to see whats new for this year!
The Search Engine Race
A site such as Elf Yourself not only helps gain notoriety for its sponsor, Office Max, but it provides something as equally useful in the race for search engine recognization: a link-back to Office Max and therefore site traffic. Supposing your company created such a digital footprint, perhaps you could increase your site traffic, thereby increasing your recognization among search engines?
The Digital Information Age.
Are you sick of hearing me talk about it yet? It's true. We ARE in a day-and-age innundated with digital information, often our marketing ideas are overlooked.
Perhaps something completely off-the wall wacky- and even a little questionably inappropriate is exactly what you need?
Even Sarah Palin's biggest supporters have to admit, this site will get you rolling with laughter. I saw the site early on this week- by yesterday it was posted all over my friend's social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. The Palin As President site audience grew exponentially nearly overnight.
What are the implications of a site like this? Initially I searched the site for links to their sponsor- assuming some corporation sponsored its development as a way to link-back to their site and grow their business. I scoured the site for such a link to no avail. Specifically, for Palin as President, I'm tempted to believe its strictly an entertainment value/political statement.
Other ExamplesOne of my favorite corporate-sponsored gimick sites is Elf Yourself, by Office Max. I believe 2008 will mark its third year running- but even by last year, its hard to find a person who hasn't elfed themself, their family, or perhaps a co-worker.
Each year they're adding a new feature- last year was the ability to record your own voice. I can't wait to see whats new for this year!
The Search Engine Race
A site such as Elf Yourself not only helps gain notoriety for its sponsor, Office Max, but it provides something as equally useful in the race for search engine recognization: a link-back to Office Max and therefore site traffic. Supposing your company created such a digital footprint, perhaps you could increase your site traffic, thereby increasing your recognization among search engines?
The Digital Information Age.
Are you sick of hearing me talk about it yet? It's true. We ARE in a day-and-age innundated with digital information, often our marketing ideas are overlooked.
Perhaps something completely off-the wall wacky- and even a little questionably inappropriate is exactly what you need?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Captivate Your Audience
Whether you're producing an e-newsletter, blog post, or simply a paragraph of content for your website, here are some tips I like to follow.
Content
I believe that direct response writing (terms such as act now, no-risk, click here now, call today) albeit cliche, encourage a call to action. Paired with language speaking directly to your audience, it reads as a one on one conversation.
Avoid big words, your objective should be to express ideas to your audience, not impress them with your vocabulary and extensive wisdom.
Subject Lines and Headlines
Don't neglect the power of headlines. With the amount of digital information coming at readers every day, many people skim. Its a good idea to try to capture the gist of your material via subject lines and headlines, so a reader can opt to delve into specific information that is useful to them. This is another area where a call to action can be helpful. Here are a couple of my chosen techniques:
Content
I believe that direct response writing (terms such as act now, no-risk, click here now, call today) albeit cliche, encourage a call to action. Paired with language speaking directly to your audience, it reads as a one on one conversation.
Avoid big words, your objective should be to express ideas to your audience, not impress them with your vocabulary and extensive wisdom.
Subject Lines and Headlines
Don't neglect the power of headlines. With the amount of digital information coming at readers every day, many people skim. Its a good idea to try to capture the gist of your material via subject lines and headlines, so a reader can opt to delve into specific information that is useful to them. This is another area where a call to action can be helpful. Here are a couple of my chosen techniques:
- Cliffhangers or Teasers bring the reader into your content looking for a solution.
"My website didn't gain much traffic until I hired Piirtaa." - Associating Interest gives you positive validation by associating yourself with a known entity.
"Google's AdWords Promote Piirtaa"
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The McCain Brand
Since candidates and running mates for both parties have now been officially accepted and recognized, I thought it was time to further my research online.
I read several articles around caucus time regarding the "Obama" brand (here's just one sample-- Google the "Obama Brand" for more). It seems there was quite a bit of hype over his fine-tuned branding, down to the Obama signs supporters are supplied with to wave at events (You'll notice home-made signage is sparce if not completely void). I recall also viewing McCain's website at caucus time, and perceiving it as was heavy, militiaristic, and someting I didn't relate to aesthetically.
I visited McCain's site again this week-- interesting how it's more mirroring Obama's branding.
What do aesthetics have to do with politics? In the competitive world of the web you have mere seconds to pull in and retain your audience before they move onto the next site- which one pulls you in and why?
Obama, 09/2008
I read several articles around caucus time regarding the "Obama" brand (here's just one sample-- Google the "Obama Brand" for more). It seems there was quite a bit of hype over his fine-tuned branding, down to the Obama signs supporters are supplied with to wave at events (You'll notice home-made signage is sparce if not completely void). I recall also viewing McCain's website at caucus time, and perceiving it as was heavy, militiaristic, and someting I didn't relate to aesthetically.
I visited McCain's site again this week-- interesting how it's more mirroring Obama's branding.
What do aesthetics have to do with politics? In the competitive world of the web you have mere seconds to pull in and retain your audience before they move onto the next site- which one pulls you in and why?
 McCain, 02/2008 |  McCain, 09/2008 |
Obama, 09/2008
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