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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… 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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Looking through my recent posts, I see that in my Resolutions post, I failed to include my resolution to get back to my artistic roots. Believe it or not, before this became a business, I was more than image creator… I used to sit in front of the computer for hours, creating images with no client in mind. I made images for the sake of making images.

I spend a good bit of time nowadays looking through design books and trendy art magazines doing research for this project or that, admiring the work of other designers, photographers, and artists, missing the joy to just put my work out there…

Like many designers, I became a slave to my work… Book keeping, collections, proposals… No longer excited about designing because it’s become more about clausterphobia inducing parameters than self-expression. I’m in the middle of great book (look for a review soon) called “How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul.” Despite the title, it’s not about being successful without having to make a deal with the devil, but more about how to maintain a level of personal satisfaction in doing corporate design.

One of the key elements I’ve picked up on throughout the book is a need to keep the most mundane of projects “personal” on some level.

I like that. So though my schedule may not allow me to freely walk the town like I used to, taking random snapshots of beautiful architecture or people, or design a new wallpaper for my computers every week, or paint like I used to love to do. I am going to try squeeze a bit more of me into the work I do. And yes, I am going to do my best to make more time for personal work and to just put it out there, because as an artist I believe this is how we grow to become better artists.

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Well, the new look is getting closer to completion… Version 8.0 of this site is well on it’s way! I’ve updated just the blog section for now. It’ll be the easiest. I’ve still got some CSS tweaking to do in order to get everything exactly how I want it, but so far I’m digging it.

I’m not huge on the new “Web 2.0″ look for the most part, but there are some things about it that I do like and will implement further as I have time.

All in all, my hopes are that the site will be much cleaner, easier to navigate and focus on content rather than mostly graphics. Loads should be faster and as always, hopefully more usable for everyone (especially my clients).

It’s late. I’m calling it a night.

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Well, another year has passed and it’s time to figure out what to do differently (or better) for this year.

Those of you who know me, know that I got married a couple months back, so inevitably, many of my resolutions are bound to involve family. But as far as studio concerns go, I do have a few changes in mind that I’ll be implementing very soon.

1. Blog Regularly - I’ve tried to make this site easy for me to maintain and keep up-to-date, however, I do put of contributing to my blog entirely too quickly. I’m not going to set myself up for failure by saying that I’ll contribute daily, or even two or three times a week - but certainly more regularly. No more five month gaps between posts. Future blogs will include more diversified topics, tips on working with a designer (preferrably me), as well as product reviews as I upgrade technologies in the studio.

2. Website Overhaul - Yes, I’ve talked about it a couple of times before already, but I’m tired of looking at this site in its current format and will be updating the look very soon. I had a new look for the site planned and nearly implemented, but quickly got bored of it as well… So I’ve been working on another cleaner, more streamlined look that’s growing on me and hope to have the upgrade completed within a week or so.

3. Develop a Plan - Sounds obvious… but I want to sit down and do some hardcore brainstorming about where I want the studio to be one year from now and then develop a plan to make it all happen.

4. Implement New Technologies - Another no brainer, but I’m constantly looking for new things to make me more streamlined. I enjoy the “work smarter, not harder” mentality. There’s a couple of investments out there that I’m considering that will add new services for my clients as well as offer improvements to internal workflows - hopefully making my life simpler!

5. Email Newsletters - This is something I set up last year, but never implemented. Personally I love newsletters and miss the days of working on the newspaper. As a part of my website upgrade, I’ll be adding an area where viewers can subscribe to an HTML newsletter that I’ll regularly (probably once a month for starters) publish. Planned topics for the newsletter will be design related, as well as a review here and there.

That about does it for now. I’m sure I’ll come across more ideas for improvements as the year develops, but I don’t want to overload myself coming out of the gate!

Happy New Year!

-c

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Well, it’s been forever since a post. Nearly six months. Things have been crazy busy lately, not just with studio work, but adjusting to married life as well as getting the family settled in the nest. Things are slowly starting to settle back down to a dull level of craziness…

There are a lot of behind the scenes things going on as always.

I’m currently working on version 8 of the site; look for a major overhaul in the next week or so.

I’m also contemplating a name change for the studio. I’ve always thought “3 a.m. Design Studio” was a fun name, but as I start to get more serious in my (freelance) work, I think it’s time to go with something a little more professional. (Not to mention that I’m getting a little older and it’s getting more and more difficult to stay up to see 3 a.m.) I’ve got several ideas, but feel free to make suggestions if you have any!

Along with the new look of the site, I’ve been learning a bit more about back-end development and hope to incorporate new code in with the new design for additional functionality and user interaction.

I’m also working with a colleague on setting up a regular podcast for the site. Currently we’re working out the logistics of the recording studio, as well as generating some quality ideas for the ‘casts. The first few will most likely be on why professional graphic design is important to you, as well as tips on working with freelance designers.

Guess that about does it for now. Hopefully it won’t be another six months before I find time to post again!

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In all my efforts to make managing this site easier, I’ve lagged on updating it.

Things have been super-busy at the studio during the last few weeks. I’m wrapping up on a couple of high-profile projects. Hopefully as that subsides I’ll have more time to make the final few upgrades to the site that I’ve been planning. That will certainly help polish off the site, then I can work on generating quality content once again.

In the mean time, I’ve got quite a few items up for sale on ebay. Anyone needing a few good Nikon Lenses, a Wide Format inkjet printer or a couple of nice wedding dresses (no, they’re not mine, my financeé has three - and swears that the last one she bought is “the one,” so we’re setting the other two free… for a fee), please check out my auctions!

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZchood050QQhtZ-1

-c

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Those are impressive words coming from the man who figured out gravity.

Though whether or not Sir Isaac Newton actually coined the phrase has been debated probably since he was known to have said it; it’s a deep thought indeed.

Without those to inspire us and make us aware of our potential, where would we really end up? Certainly there are individuals among us who are born leaders and risk takers and have never thought twice about following a dream, breaking free from the mainstream or marching to their own drum, no matter how loud or obnoxious the rhythym.

Then there’s the rest of us. The timid; the unsure; the “not quite there yet.”

How would we come to get where we are without having someone help show us the way? It could be done, sure. But certainly a lot of dead end trails would be cut while trying to find the right path.

I know without the guidance and inspiration of others, I would never have gotten to where I’m at today. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I’d be successfully running my own creative services studio - having to regularly turn down work because my workload is constantly at critical mass; publishing my own website; or served as managing editor of a newspaper; participated on three cycling teams - two of which I founded - one I served as team manager (even managed to place as high as 8th in the state for my class)… It’s been a wild ride and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. But I know that without the shoulders of others to perch on just momentarily - to let me see my potential through their line of sight… I would still be hacking at the underbrush, trying to find my way to the main road of success.

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Tonight I can scratch one more off the list of site improvements. It took me only about four hours of researching PHP and testing, but I’ve managed to add a browser-based file transfer system to the site. This enhancement will allow my clients to easily upload project files to me through their web browser rather than making them have to learn how to use an FTP client or burn, mail or hand-deliver CDs. As long as the client can locate the files on their computer, they can deliver them directly to my site.

The actual delivery of the files was a pretty easy problem to solve, adding security to the process proved to be a little time consuming. I ended up having to piece together three scripts in order to make the whole process work to my liking. But it works, and I’m liking.

Sorry again for no picture on this post. It’s late. The photo shoot this weekend went really great. We had a great turnout, the models all did exceptionally well. In all I took a little more than 1600 photos during the eight hour shoot. Next project is to get the photo galleries up for client proofing!

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And it appears I have some growing room left in the one marked “Web Developer.”

Though I’ve made a number of significant improvements to the site in the last few days, somewhere along the way I managed to foul-up the proofing section of the site to the point that neither my clients nor I was able to log in to view and approve proofs. After many hours of pulling out my hair, it turns out I had the name of a folder in my site directory capitalized when it shouldn’t have been. Talk about brainfarts.

Problem solved. Everything is back to normal.

Also newsworthy, I can mark a few more items off my list of planned improvements. As of tonight, even though I’ve yet to record a podcast, I’ve set up a means to broadcast through this site. I’ve also considered doing vodcasts (video podcasts), however, I feel that in order to fully submerge myself into that project as well as to be able to test the ‘casts properly I’d need to invest in a Video iPod.

Darn, new toys.

On the topic of Apple products, those who know me know I’m a hardcore Mac fanatic. My love for these machines runs much deeper than my “Mac Geek” T-Shirt or the black Apple logo onsie I bought for my son. It’s a passion that PC users will just never “get.” But I digress; Apple has released a series of new ”switch” style ads listing the benefits of Macs over PCs, oddly though none of the new commercials mention anything about how their new line of computers sporting the Intel Core Duo chips will run Windows in addition to Mac OS. A breakthrough in Mac technology, yet Apple is relatively quiet about the new feature, for now.

Anyhow, the commercials are absolutely hilarious and spot on, however I still feel that National Association of Photoshop Professionals president Scott Kelby set the bar on benefits of Macs over PCs in his book Macintosh: The Naked Truth. According to study Kebly cites in the book, not only do Mac users tend to be idolized with cult status among IT pros, Mac owners also tend to be better educated and have higher income than PC owners. I own seven Macs… Rich supergenious potential? Time will tell…

Back to legitimate Studio News…

In addition running ‘casts from the site, I’ve also laid the groundwork to incorporate a mailing list that visitors can use through the site to keep current with what’s happening at 3 a.m. Design Studio. I’m not sure if I’ll get all the details ironed out before the caffeine wears off this evening, we’ll see.
I think I’ve also found an suitable option for my online photo gallery. I’ve had my camera for a little less than a month now and have shot over 3,400 photos. Though I haven’t had much time to shoot lately, I’m hoping to increase that number significantly this weekend. I’d also like a way to share the good ones. Look for a link to that section soon.

Speaking of links, I’ve yet to post a links page, however, I would like to thank local artist Eric Wakefield for posting a link to this site from his, ericwakefield.com. I’ve been impressed with Eric’s work since day one. For those who may not know, Eric was recently voted Macon’s Most Talented Young Artist.

Props man.

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