Saving your work periodically is just smart working practice. There are times when things out of your control will go wrong and your computer will go down. Nothing is more frustrating than working on a project, whether is a Word document or the next greatest thing to come out of Industrial Light an Magic, and your computer crashes… Or you leave your desk and someone else closes out of your project without saving for you. Losing fifteen minutes or four hours worth of work can really make you want to either pull your hair out, or just drop the project all together.

There’s no worse feeling that knowing you’ve got to start a project over from scratch. Thankfully, there is a quick way to save yourself at least some headache when these events occur.

Most applications now have a built-in autosave feature. While this is a great feature to have, it won’t do you any good if the project hasn’t been previously saved. To take maximum advantage of autosave, you must save your project first. A rule of thumb we practice at the studio is to save our projects first before we do any edits or begin the design process.

Open your application, set whatever parameters you need to set for this project such as document size, color space etc. and then save your project where ever you would normally save your work. Doing this will activate the autosave feature in your application (providing that there is an autosave feature built-in). Most programs will autosave every five minutes or so, so if your computer does happen to crash or something else disastrous occurs you’ll only be out about five minutes work instead of the whole project.

Working smarter, not harder… And keeping all your hair

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2007 has drawn to a close and the time has come to look back on the previous months.

During the past fifty-two weeks, we have launched new services to enrich our client’s creative services experiences with us. Over the last year we’ve introduced product and social event photography and significantly pumped up our branding services Not soon after that we really cranked up the quality of our web development skills. Just last month, we added radio advertising to our list of services with still more to come. Our company has also expanded over the last 365, adding new staff and moving our operations to our swank new office downtown.

All of this we could not have done without you.

Today, as a new year rolls by, we would like to grab this occasion to thank each and every one of our clients and friends. For your help, for your support,
for being yourself, we thank you. May your 2008 be filled with life, love, lustre and laughter.

Before we retreat to our scratchpads and grab our notebooks to brainstorm about ideas we’d like to see for the upcoming months, we’d like to ask you what changes and improvements you’d like to see that would benefit you most. We’ve posted a short survey that I encourage all of your to fill out and send back to us. To participate in the survey, please visit

www.3amdesignstudio.com/2008survey.html

We look forward to receiving your feedback.

Here’s to a happy, well-designed new year!

The 3 a.m. Team

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Hello Mr. Looter,

 This is a letter to you, the person who has to resort to thievery to finance your lifestyle. A daily routine which I’m almost certain involves booze and probably some illegal substances. I’m sure you’ll probably never read this, but it’ll certainly make me feel better writing it.   

I live in the heart of historic downtown. With that I know there are some things that are to be expected, but until now, I’ve managed to elude. Thank you though, for making me realize that you cannot be trusted. For what it’s worth, I now keep my car doors locked at all times.

I hope the $1.70 you absconded from my car’s console served you well. Normally I keep that money in my car so I can buy myself a drink or two while at work, but obviously you needed it more than me.  It’s not so much that I miss the $1.70 you stole from me, honestly Mr. Lowlife, I’m more upset about the mess you made in my car.

Granted I’m not the neatest person in the world. I do tend to live out of my car. I’m constantly on the go with my work. I keep important things in there, such as client files, my portfolio, a car seat for my son as well as other important documents. It would have been considerate of you to close my ash tray (as I do not smoke and don’t use it), and replace the documents you took out of my glove box (they’re original to the car, nearly 30 years old and irreplaceable), and returned the items to their original locations that you removed from the back seat when you ransacked my car. 

If you’d asked nicely, I’m sure I would have given you the $1.70 without hesitation, but no, you chose to take it.

The joke’s on you though Mr. Scum, because in all your hastiness to loot my car for the small fortune you amassed, you missed the checks to my business account… 

Of course, now that I think about it… you probably wouldn’t have known what to do with those.

Sincerely,

Chris Hood

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Mango Gatorade… It’s Mango, It’s Gatorade.It’s a little bit of heaven in a bottle. I’ve been a fan of hydration drinks for a while, I guess it’s a bit of a trickle down from my cycling days. Gatorade has usually been a little too thick and sweet for my tastes. I usually opt for Powerade, but tonight when I was doing my late night shopping (very common when I’m up working late on a project or just brainstorming on self-promotional things), Kroger was all out of Powerade.

Apparently they had a sale today, 58¢ for a 32 oz. bottle. Hate it I missed that, but Gatorade was still $1.00 for a 32 oz. bottle so I picked up a few. 

Not wanting to date myself here, but I can easily remember the days when Gatorade came in only two flavors. Orange and Lemon-Lime… They’ve added quite an arsenal of different choices since then. 

Anyhow, so as I’m browsing the wide range of Gator-tastes I spot the new Mango Xtremo®. I’ve been  a big fan of Mango way before the fruit ever caught on the mainstream, and the good folks at Gatorade did this one right. It’s not too thick like some of their flavors can be. It has more of a watery consistency, and the Mango flavor neither has too strong a taste, nor leaves an aftertaste like some mango products can. 

Great stuff! Good job Gatorade! 

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… since I last posted to the blog.  

Things have been wicked busy at the Studio, to the point that I haven’t had much time at all to do any self-promotion or just post for fun. It’s been about two whole months since I last sat down to do any writing.

Way too long.

I have quite a list of drafts I need to finish and post and a lot of ideas for future posts as well. But before we get to all those, I just wanted to list out a few things in the works just to keep those that keep up with what’s going on up-to-date (but mostly so I’ll have the list for future reference for myself).

I’ve got plans in the works to update the website once again. No, I’m not one to leave well enough alone.

The current site has been up for almost a year if I remember correctly. Since creating the current iteration, I’ve learned Flash and a bit of ActionScript, and started using Dreamweaver for my site management.  I’m really excited my new web skills and want to incorporate a way to showcase those skills in my site. So look for an updated site within the next month or so (depending on workload).

In my never-ending quest to hone my design skills, I’ve also picked up a slew of new tricks to improve the looks of my designs. I’ve always had an interest in the design techniques used by the design gurus across the pond in England. The designers there seem to be a step or two ahead of us. I’ve spent a while analyzing their techniques and plan on implementing what I’ve learned in my new site design.In addition to the new look for the site, I’m also planning on including a few new items, including icon sets available for purchase and free desktop wallpapers available for download.  

 Photography work has picked up for me as well. Most of what I photograph is product photography used for print or web projects that I’m working on, however, I’ve started photographing for a couple of local magazines and newspapers as well. In fact, I’ll have a cover shot in the next issue of The 11th Hour, coming out Thursday, Aug. 16th.I’m out for now. Plenty of work to get back to!

Questions on how we can work together to help your business? Just contact me!

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In the early days of the Internet, only big businesses and the rich could afford an attractive and functional website. Today hosting prices have come down dramatically allowing most anyone to have their own domain. An online presence can be an effective marketing and sales tool for any business. I was at a design conference a while back, hosted by Andy Anderson - one of the top 40 designers in the U.S. and he stated that it’s just not smart planning for any small or home-based business to not have a website.After careful consideration I see his point.An effectively designed website can be a huge asset to any business. Here’s just a few facts to consider:• Establish Credibility - Just as a listing in the Yellow Pages shows you are serious about your business, having your own company domain reinforces your legitimacy as a serious business. (According to IntelliQuest 68% of US web users shop online.) (ie. “yourname@yourbusiness.com”), while this may not seem like a huge benefit, personally I have a hard time taking a business seriously when they’re using a Yahoo! or Hotmail account for their business email.• Low cost for ’round the clock advertising - Your business may shut down at 5:00 p.m., but the Internet doesn’t. Having a web presence allows your business to be seen 24 hours a day• You can use your website to obtain feedback from customers.  It is easy to see what your customers respond to on the website, whether it’s by tracking the number of hits your site responds or by a poll catered to track more specific data.• Global Reach - There’s no cheaper way to get your business seen around the globe than by having a website. period.• Promote New Products or Services for Free - Once your site is up and running you’ve got a whole new medium to advertise any new products and servicesWe’re just touching the tip of the iceberg here on how your business can benefit from a well prepared website. Give me a call if you have more questions on how to get a site started for your business or have further questions about how a site can help your business grow.-c

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Back at the beginning of the year, I posted a pointer on my blog as to why successful businesses should have a regular newsletter. We’re approching the half way point of the year and I thought I’d re-touch on that issue. 

Any well thought out newsletter will only reflect a positive image to its readers, eventually turning them into your loyal customers. The desired result of any advertising piece is to bring customers to you, newsletters are no different. Think of them as entire publication focused on why you’re business stands tall above the rest.

For those of you who may be thinking that the costs associated with a newsletter may be unbearable, print costs are declining and technologies like direct mail get your message to your exact targeted audience, costing you less in waste in the form of overruns. You can even save more money in postage if you follow the Post Office’s rules for automation rates.

Still think it’s too much for your advertising budget? 

You can always test the waters with an emailable newsletter. With eNewsletters (such as this one), costs can be cheap to nearly free. In most cases, the only costs associated are your time (for generating quality content and putting together a tightly targeted email database) and a designer who knows how to build a quality newsletter template and implement your eNewsletter for you!

As for the benefits of having a newsletter for your business, refer to my posting on why your business or organization should have a newsletter!

3amdesignstudio.com/blog/?p=41

-c

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Not enough can be said about the importance of archiving… For any one in any industry that involves the use of computers and sensitive data.

Personally, I look after hundreds of business logos, advertising pieces, databases, websites and photo assetts… not even including my own personal work. If I didn’t have an effecient way to archive my assets that allowed me quick and easy retrieval, I’d probably spend more time looking for art than actually working on the project. Or even worse, if a computer were to go down in my office, I’d be in a little more than a serious bind if I didn’t keep good backups.

There are several great ways to make sure you never permanently lose anything you’re working on, however it’s frighteningly suprising how few people actually implement some sort of archiving system. I can remember talking to a screen printer who called me regarding artwork I’d done for him about a year prior. One of his clients wanted an exact reprint of that job and he was having trouble finding the artwork. When I asked him how he kept track of past jobs, there was silence at the other end of the line. After probing a little further, I realized that my printer friend had no means of documenting what art went with each job, or any type of digital storage system.

Archiving is easy, and it’s like insurance. Sure it’s a pain to while you’re doing, it’s not much fun, but when (not if, when) something goes wrong, you’ll be covered and back in the driver’s seat in no time.

These systems can by complex, involving specialized software and dedicated computers and expensive media, or as simple burning your important info on a CD or DVD.

For my small home office, I employ a more simple set up involving an organized folder structure on my main computer, and external hard drive and a collection of CDs and DVDs. I keep a single folder for all my Studio’s Work in Process (WIP), one for all my financial data and one more for estimates. At the end of each month, I move all completed jobs from my WIP folder to another folder on my external hard drive, aptly named “Archives.” In this folder is a series of folders named by the date they were added. So at the end of this month, I’ll create a new folder in “Archives” named “January 2007,” and add the completed projects to it.

To add a level of redundancy to system, I then burn a copy of the new archive folder to CDs or DVDs, whichever is more appropriate, and label it according to its contents. That CD then gets cataloged in an neat little utility called DiskTracker, after which it lives on my desk until I need to retrieve any artwork from it.

DiskTracker is a simple cataloging system that keeps track of all files on a CD or DVD and allows quick searching for accurate and easy lookups. Simply open the volume you want to search (in my case, I organize my volumes by year - 2004, 2005, etc…) and do a search for whatever piece of art or information that I’m looking for. Once it locates the art, it tells me exactly which CD it’s on.

Simple, easy… essential for business. And all this setup cost me was the $30 for the software are $75 for an external hard drive! There are plenty of upgrade options from a system like this that include varying levels of automation, as well as multiple hard drive RAID configurations with mutliple levels of redunancy. If you have questions on implementing an archiving system for your business or organization, drop me a line. Can you really afford not to have some sort of archiving system in your business or organization?

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Done correctly, a professional newsletter can offer a better ROI than most any other form of advertisement. Not only are newsletters an excellent way to stay in touch with your target audience, by adding a regular newsletter to your marketing répertoire, you can:

• Establish brand loyalty
• Enhance your business’ image and credibility
• Easily distinguish your business from your competitors
• Improve your image to the community
• Help build lasting relationships with your customers
• Establish your reputation in the industry as an expert
• Have the ability to cross sell goods or services or even promote products and services before they come to market
• Expand your existing customer base by targeting new potential customers with your mailing list
• Help retain customers

As great as all these benefits may sounds, there is a bit of work involved to putting together a good newsletter. In order to establish a functionally effective newsletter, there are a few things to consider:

• Frequency - Establish a set time period between issues. An effective newsletter doesn’t have to come out weekly, start quarterly if you feel you need to test the waters, then move up to monthly if the market allows.
• Use Effective Headlines - Headlines should summarize the article and be complete sentences.
• Tease - Whether your newsletter is through e-mail or printed hardcopy, use the front page to tease articles either to your website or to the interior pages of your newsletter. This practice helps ensure that more articles will be read.
• Proofread - Notice I didn’t say “spellcheck.” Re-read your newsletter starting from the last sentence and work your way backwards to the beginning. You’re more likely to catch errors that way, even ones that may slip by spellcheck (such as using the wrong syntax - whose instead of who’s, etc.).

It’s a fact, educated consumers are more likely to spend more, and more frequently. Done correctly, a newsletter is a sure fire way to get paid, which is why we’re in business in the first place right?

“Correctly,” is the key here.

Ready to establish a newsletter for your business? Give me a call.

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I do a good bit of product photography as well as social event here and there, but most of what I shoot is just for me.

I’ve been fairly serious about photography for a few years now. I’ve always had a camera, but broke down and purchased my first film SLR about 8 years ago. Since then I’ve aquired a Holga medium format camera to mess around with, as well as a couple of old Kodak Brownies. I also got my wife a Canon SD550 that I try to steal whenever I can.

The move to digital was a no brainer. No longer to I have to wait for processing. I can shoot, process, proof and print in a matter of a few minutes.

When I go on a shoot, I get a lot of questions as to what all I carry. Honestly, it does tend to look like I’m carrying the kitchen sink on my back when I pack up and go, but then, I don’t want to miss anything while I’m out either! So whether I’m on a job or just out for fun, here’s what I grab for the trip…

Lowepro Computrekker Backpack - Love it, wouldn’t dream of carrying any equipment without it. I don’t always take my laptop along with me, but it’s nice to have the option if I need it. I love the adjustability of the pack, not to mention it’s extremely comfortable!

Nikon D70s- What good would it be to go shooting without a camera eh?

Sometimes if I’m shooting for fun I’ll take along my Holga and a couple of rolls of Illford 120 Color film. Despite thousands of dollars of digital equipment, sometimes nothing beats the beauty the soft focus of a plastic lens in a $12 camera.

As far as lenses go, I’m never without my Nikon primes. I always carry my 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and my 120mm f/2.8. Along with these I also carry diffusion, 81A warming, cirular polarizing and UV protection filters. I’m in the market for a couple of good wide angles as well… but until then, I make due with what I’ve got. As Ansel Adams once said “the best wide angle lens is taking two steps back and finding the ‘ah-ha.’”

Another lens I’ve come to love is my Lensbaby 2.0. At first I wasn’t all that impressed with it, but as I’ve learned how to use it better (or should I say, now that I know what I’m doing and can get predictable results…) I abolutely love the possibilities it gives me. I don’t think I’ve done a single portrait shoot without pulling this lens out at least twice!

In addition to the basics, I always keep a cleaning kit with me that includes lens solution and wipes, various types of Q-tips, and the ultimate must-haves: a Giotto Rocket Air - nothing gets rid of particle dust better than this thing!; and a Nikon Lens Pen.

I also bring my iPod along with me, both for tunes and storage if I need to dump some pictures on it to free up my cards.

I usually carry at least 8 gigs of 2gig compact flash cards. Many manufacturers are offering up to 16 gig cards, but honestly, I feel safer carrying multiple smaller size cards. I don’t ever want to get in a bind where a card goes bad and it has 3-4 jobs on it. 2 gig is really the maximum size card I want to deal with.

Depending on what type of shooting I’m planning on doing that day, I may or may not take a tripod, monopod, various cable releases, lights and umbrellas, reflectors etc.

But that’s about it for what’s in my bag, what’s in yours?

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