Hybrid Genius » Web Design

Word of Mouth

Dave Pellegrin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:40:28 +0000

For a lot of designers “word of mouth” is the best way to get business. For me, it’s no exception – word of mouth IS probably 99% of my business. In a way it’s good because it shows my clients are happy with the projects I’ve done. Though I still haven’t been able to quit my day job An old client of mine, Toney Tapia (Jam Packed Productions), passed on to his neighbor that I do web development. It sounds like an interesting project so hopefully I can write about it soon. Without this type of “advertisement” I think a lot of small design companies, like myself, would be in trouble. Cheers, Toney!

Progress Report: MG Barnes

Dave Pellegrin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:38:37 +0000

There are more than a few challenges when designing for the web. Some of the more persistent ones are: object placement, object sizes, user’s screen resolution and which browser a user is using. There is a limited amount of width and height you can use depending the viewers screen resolution. Most people these days use 1024×768^[1] or a wide screen version of that. Technically, the designer only gets a “safe” width of 990 pixels since web browsers have a scroll bar and outer frame that take up some of that 1024 pixels wide . Not to mention each web browser is different in this respect and among others. With wide screen displays the height comes more into play because it’s narrower. Enter MG Barnes. I ran into a slight snag on this site. With the middle content area height being so narrow and wide, getting an image to look well cropped was near impossible. A good way around this was to use flash to pan a larger image but still stay the correct aspect. I normally try to stay away from doing too much flash these days because a) it’s costly and time consuming (which is why it’s costly) and b) javascript can normally handle much of what I needed flash to do. The end result is what matters though and I’m satisfied with it.

1. Browser Display Statistics — http://www.w3schools.com

New Project: J.Elberson Photography

Dave Pellegrin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:33:12 +0000

Objective: Redesign existing web site and add an updated look but focus on ease of use and function for users.
Project Status: 90% complete

Working with Jack has been great. He knows what he wants and how to make his photos stand out and they should because they’re beautiful – he’s an amazing photographer. The main focus for developing this web site was functionality for him and viewers. Like most of my current projects, I built Jack’s site on wordpress. This opens a whole new world of control on adding pictures, blog posts, links, ideas, etc.

New Project: General Laser

Dave Pellegrin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:41:33 +0000

I’m working on a new Australian project for a company called General Laser. General Laser was established in February 2002 and services the Western districts of Melbourne, Australia. As you’ve probably gathered from the name, General Laser is a Laser machining company. Instead of using mills to cut the materials they use lasers. It’s very interesting stuff which helps with the creative process. The main focus of the design is clean and simple lines. The project is about 90% complete.

MG Barnes 99% complete

Dave Pellegrin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:45:06 +0000

Objective: Redesign a professional looking website using MG Barnes logo and colors as a starting point. Self maintained and wordpress driven.
Status: 99% complete