Blogs

 I was unfortunately reminded recently that some clients treat us as vendors. 

“Welcome to Disciple, home of the Big Brand! May I take your order? We have the Collateral Combo on special this week - that includes letterhead, business cards and a tri-fold brochure - or perhaps you would just like one of our LogosToGo?”» Read more

Today is a pinnacle day in the history of YouTube, as April 23, 2010 marks the five-year anniversary of YouTube’s very first uploaded video!

The video isn’t a showstopper, but it is a perfect example of what YouTube is all about. The video, shown below, stars YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego zoo.

YouTube, much like the elephants shown in Jawed’s video, is a mammoth Internet platform. YouTube is the third most visited website on all of the Internet, only behind Google, YouTube’s parent company, and Facebook, the web’s premiere social networking platform.

In the beginning stages of YouTube’s infancy, the site harnessed 25 million views per day in 2006, jumped to 100 million views per day in 2007, and in 2009, the site reached 1 billion video views per day!» Read more

When someone mentions having a problem viewing a website, one of my first questions is always "which browser are you using?" Many times the reply is "Internet Explorer 6". Now, I know the wheels of progress turn slowly, but IE6... Really? It's no wonder why you're having problems with the internet. Now, you'll just have to bear with me when I pull a Frank Costanza and my face turns red and I leave the room yelling "serenity now!!" IE6 is the worst browser still in use today! I honestly don't understand why anyone would choose to continue to use a nine year old browser loaded with problems when free and better is a click away.» Read more

Hi. My name is Craig Thompson and I am a recovering awardaholic. » Read more

The design process has many important steps from beginning to end. To me, the part most critical to the success of the project as a whole is the very last one: file prep.

As a designer here at Disciple Design, one of my responsibilities is getting the finished file formatted and to the printer. Without careful and meticulous attention to detail on my part, this step can make the difference between a successful end-product and one that is not as great as I or the client intended.

There are a few simple rules that must be followed in order to make the finished piece successful. Whether it is a brochure, catalog, billboard, business papers, or any similar project – the requirements are the same each and every time. » Read more

You’ve heard it. You’ve probably even said it: “Can’t you just photoshop it?” Maybe that’s the benchmark for the success of a product–when your product name becomes a widely used and accepted verb.

February 18 marked the 20th anniversary of Adobe Photoshop. When Thomas and John Knoll developed their pixel-imaging program in the late eighties, I doubt they had any idea the global impact of their efforts and that they would still be on the cutting edge 20 years later. » Read more

Recently I found out about a fund-raising effort for Haiti earthquake victims specifically geared to designers called “The Haiti Poster Project”. Leif Steiner of Moxi Sozo organized a similar effort in 2005 for hurricane victims called “Hurricane Poster Project” that raised $50,000.00. This is how it works: designers have until March 15th to design and produce posters specific to the earthquake in Haiti or The Haiti Poster Project. Limited edition signed and numbered quantities of 25 -100 are to be produced by the designer and shipped to the project organizers and they will sell the unique offerings online with all of the proceeds going to Doctors without Borders. » Read more

I really can’t help it. I’m driving down the highway on vacation with my family to take a break from the design world for a while. Then I pass a truck with a really bad logo on it...(trucking and transportation companies seem to have really bad ones)...immediately, I am redesigning it in my head...thinking about what could be done conceptually to make the logo better. What if you took the letter “t” and put it at a forty-five degree angle and...? Before I’ve finished I see a billboard. Are they really using Mistral on an outdoor board? What if you changed the font, made the background darker and reversed out the type so it would be more legible? Or maybe just eliminate the subhead and...what’s that bumper sticker on the car in front of me that I can’t even read? Let’s get closer so I can figure it out. Now my wife asks me why I am 2 feet from the guy in front of me while we’re going over 70 miles an hour. Stop to get gas. How much did the firm that designed the BP logo get paid?» Read more

This phrase was said in jest by a former co-worker and it made our office “quote board” of funny sayings.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who believe deadlines are suggestions. Fortunately, we have a talented group of designers who work very hard to meet deadlines, which I appreciate.

As a traffic coordinator, it is my job to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. I have three tips to make sure deadlines are met and clients remain happy.

Tip 1: Make a list of every project that is due each day. This helps you stay organized, and marking completed jobs off your list shows your progress.

Tip 2: Set mini-deadlines for yourself. If you know you have a big project due in two weeks, set small self-imposed deadlines to make sure you can complete the entire project on time.» Read more

When starting a new Web site project, we're often asked to provide cost estimates for the work based on two approaches – to program the site as standard HTML code, and to create the site within a content management system (CMS). Standard HTML coding will always be cheaper than CMS to initially launch a Web site, because CMS requires a greater amount of upfront work.  Depending on the functionality needed in CMS, the cost difference between the two approaches can be significant – even thousands of dollars more. » Read more