Brain Cramp Designing

Flock is great for blogging.

2006-04-11T11:40:00.000-04:00

It seems to be true. If you use certain blogging tools at least, such as blogger and text mate I believe. This post infarct was done through Flock's blogging tool, which is much more appealing than the default blogger setup.

I had tried Flock out a couple months ago but it didn't stick back then and I moved to Camino (which I still love) until now. I don't know if I will continue with Flock for the long haul, seeing as it's still in beta, but as a blogging tool its pretty slick. It doesn't seem to have a font option though...

If you want to check it out its flock.com

Score! (despite poor spelling)

2006-04-10T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well despite the fact that I wasn't paying close attention to how MacZOT spelled mystery (myztery) I seem to have won their little contest for best icon. Though there seems to be only one other contender, I shall choose to believe that all others were scared off by my immense talents and sheer brute force.

Here is an updated logo with proper spelling.

And there you have it. With a "Z".

Mac ZOT challenge.

2006-04-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

So here it is the MacZOT challenge:

So to quote a familiar ninja, "gauntlet thrown, gauntlet picked up, and now I am getting ready to bludgeon you over the head with that gauntlet."

So let me start by telling you all what MacZOT is, and is not.
First MacZOT is not an army of flesh eating zombies whom want to overthrow the governments of the world in search of tasty brains. What MacZOT is, is a fresh new way for people like me and you to buy some great Mac apps for a discount. No, not major apps like Photoshop or Flash, but the small ones that you wish you had and sometimes work better and faster for a task than the large apps do.

It is also a great place for developers to debut their respective applications for some great publicity and in front of an audience that IS looking to buy an application. Google ads are ugly, annoying and poorly targeted. Google can scan a page and post relevant ads but it can't sense if I WANT to purchase an app right now (or ever). Conversely, their is basically only one reason you go to MacZOT. You want to buy an application! Brilliant! No need to try to convince me that buying a program is a good idea, that's why I am there!

On to the idea behind the MysteryZOT.
Now I can assume this approach isn't for everyone, but I found it a brilliant marketing approach. It's the old grab bag theory applied to small applications. If you like the stuff ZOT usually sells at a discount, you have a chance to get a bunch of that various "good stuff" bundled together at a sweet price. I saw the previous MysteryZOTs and knew I couldn't pass up the chance of getting a great deal and supporting the small Mac developers. Some people want to know what they are purchasing before they slap down the greenbacks, but this approach is more in tune with a good friend recommending a entree at a restaurant. You know basically what is in it (applications, small applications, and whether or not there are games and widgets) but you go on MacZOT's recommendation because you trust his opinion. Do I know if I will like my bundle? No. But I have seen what MacZOT usually offers and most seems appealing. The surprise is possibly the best part of this approach. No one wants to miss out on a deal and everyone loves a mystery, combining the two was all the allure I needed.

Can't wait till I see what I get!

They need a logo for Mystery ZOT so here is my entry.

I will do a walk through of how I got to the finished product later.
Enjoy!
Oh by the way... MacZOT is for mac users.

Design can be fun, if you keep it simple.

2006-03-17T15:08:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, simplicity seems to be all over the place these days, and I for one welcome its appearance. I myself have been a minimalist for years, while working in an industry where checking every check box in the Photoshop layer effect pallette is seen as a cool thing to do. Gradients, spectrums, lens flares, drop shadows and the like are alive and well in the realm of small business graphic design. I see examples of this almost everyday and it isn't going away without some help.

So this blog is to help those graphic designers, that service small businesses, understand and embrace the beauty of simplicity. I will post here about CSS tips, links to other articles on similar veins, and show you what I am working on and the steps I took to get there.

I hope someone finds this helpful.