I make things pretty!

Social Birthday Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:45:00 +0000

Okay ... so I had the weirdest dream about my birthday this year (probably induced by freelancer stress, work overload, and a pure lack of sleep) but I thought I'd give it a try. Mathew keeps hounding me about what I want to do for my birthday this year and of course my answer is "finish at least 1 project on my plate." But my dream had me "rollin' in benjamins" and then giving it all away for having such fabulous friends.

So I'm sending this out into the web universe.

I've set up a $5.00 donate button on paypal and will be donating the funds that I receive from my social birthday experiment to charity.

It's $5.00 ... but I figure ... I've got almost 700 friends on facebook and if just 10% of those donate less than the price of a fast food value meal to my experiment ... then I'll be able to give $350.00 to charity for my birthday this year.

Gotta love random dreams that spark completely insane ideas.

Wanna help?!?

24 Hour Workout Today

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:43:00 +0000

600 calories ... 5.25 miles ... 158 average heart rate

YogaX later tonight ... YIPPEE!!!

Sunday - Aerobic Exercise

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:48:00 +0000

So a while back I decided to start p90x (which is bloody fantastic!)

I've decided to keep a record of addition/p90x workouts here starting today:

Sunday March 14 - 24 Hour fitness Downtown
60 Minutes - Elliptical machine
153 Average Heart Rate (Aerobic Zone)
590 Calories
5.2 Miles

20 Minutes Stretching (ugg).

Might do PlyoX later tonight but might do it in the morning and continue on with the rest of my p90x tomorrow.

YSLOW is crashing Firefox 3.6

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:43:00 +0000

So I recently updated my YSLOW and Firefox and kept having these ridiculous crashes.

Quick fix ... disable YSLOW until they release a patch. (Patch released today Jan 27) So hopefully all is good!

Michael

Favicons and Apple Iphone Icons

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:11:00 +0000

For almost every web site that I design/build I tend to finish it off with creating 2 little icons that help to brand the company and add that finishing touch. These are the favicon (the custom graphic that proceeds your web address in the address bar) and the apple-touch-icon (the custom graphic for when someone bookmarks your site on their iphone.)

Pretty easy to create. Here are the basic steps:

Open your favorite image editing program (photoshop for me)
Create a new document 64x64px (creating at this size will save you a step later when making the iphone icon)
Design your graphic - This needs to be a very simple icon as the final image size is only 16x16px or 64x64px (for the iphone icon)
Apple-touch-icon - File --> Save for Web --> set to .png and save file as apple-touch-icon.png
Image --> Resize --> 16x16px
File --> Save As --> favicon.ico (please note the ico extension)
You may need to download the .ico plug-in for photoshop.
If this isn't an option for you save the image as a .jpg and use an favicon generator like ... favicon.cc
You now have both graphic files

Now we need to get it online:

Upload the favicon into your /root directory of your website (make sure that it isn't buried in any subfolder but resides freely in same directory as your index file)
Put the following code on the pages that you would like the icon to reference.

<link href='http://yourdomain.com/favicon.ico' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/ico'/>
<link href='http://yourdomain.com/favicon.ico' rel='icon' type='image/ico'/>

Upload the new pages with the additional code to your web site.

Now your icon may not show up immediately ... if not try clearing your browser cache, closing your browser, and then reopening.

For some sites like blogger or wordpress the position of the code on your pages is relatively important and needs to be placed right before the opening tag.

Other Great Resouces:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/01/31/inspire-yourself-50-remarkable-favicons/
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tutorials/jennifer/favicon.html
http://www.favicon.cc/

I should be a spokesman for Adobe!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:02:00 +0000

So last week I was sitting in an interview with a design firm that is looking to outsource some projects to local freelancers. Of course the typical question of how familiar are you with Adobe Creative Suite question came up; having used Photoshop for over a decade now, and Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and most of the rest of the creative suite for almost as long I'm extremely familiar with these programs.

I went into detail about how I tend to use Illustrator for most of my logo designs because most logos should be drawn in vector format. I explained that I use Photoshop to add "flair" and "finish" qualities to images. InDesign is THE only page layout program to use anymore and DreamWeaver is my go to web layout program.

This company was using older versions of CS and asked me what I thought about them upgrading their software ... THIS IS A MUST ... I tell them. Quickly I pulled over one of the laptops on the table and open Photoshop and began giving them a demonstration about the "new" features in each of these programs and how they will not only save time (i.e. money) but how their designs will benefit from the upgrades as well. Although I'm still working off of CS3 mainly due to a slower 4th quarter I plan to upgrade my entire Adobe Creative Suite to CS4 asap!

Especially after seeing this sneak peak about CS5 on Nettuts+.

After that a photographer friend of mine sent me over a few images from a wedding that she had shot to get my opinion as to what to "DO" to the images to give them that "dreamy" wedding portrait feel. I popped the images into Adobe Lightroom and sent them back to her. She was like "OMG, how did you do that so quickly!" Luckily, she is on a mac as well and I gave her a 45 minute tutorial about all the great features of Adobe Lightroom. She said that she needed to get this program asap. Lightroom is the program that I do most of the post production work in for j. mathew buter photography and really it is a simple easy to use tool ... for even those that don't understand Photoshop.

The husband of the photographer that I was talking to was asking me how much commission I make from pedaling Adobe products and I was like ... "Ummm ... none ... but I should!"

What's in a name ...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:32:00 +0000

Okay ... open a new browser tab/window and go to your favorite search engine ... Type in your name and hit the search button. (don't forget to come back to the rest of this article silly :P )

Are you in the top 5 of searches listed? If not why?

Scenario:

You've recently been to a slue of holiday festivities and had the opportunity to network yourself to a large number of people outside your "inner circle". You've met the CEO of your dream job or found a client that you would love to do work for in the future, but all you can remember about them is their name. Like most of us, the first thing you do is get online and look them up.

Were you able to find the person you were looking for?

What information is there?
Did they have contact information that was easily accessible?

Now put yourself in their shoes ...

The CEO of your dream job remembers meeting you and discussing having a conversation about some work in the future but all he can remember about you is your name and that you are a Financial Analysts in the DFW area. He takes a stab at looking you up online.

What does he find?
Did he find you at all?
What information is there?
Did you have contact information that was easily accessible to him?

I suggest to all of my clients to purchase a domain name with their name in it. This does not have to be a full blown web site. It can easily be a one page site with some information about you and your contact information. If you already have an online presence with your company ... have the "yourname.com" site redirect straight to your business site, myspace, twitter, or facebook page.

Think of your web domain "yourname.com" as your online business card and use it like you would a business card. In each email that you send set up a digital signature with your name, email, and web site addresss, so people know how to get in touch with you or refer you to other clients/businesses.

Defining your web presence and controlling that information is an inexpensive yet effective marketing tool. I understand that many people have qualms about putting to much information on the web, especially considering identity theft. But one of the easiest and safest ways to assure your safety is to control the information that is put out on the web.

Don't know how to set all of this up?

Check out my online portfolio and send me an email and we'll get you up and running!

michael albee
freelance graphic designer
... a team of creatives in just one guy!

214.578.4017
http://michaelalbee.com

2010 Resolution Head Start

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:41:00 +0000

So I've realized that most people don't know that I do illustrations ... so to expand my portfolio I'll be adding at least 12 new images containing a calendar to my portfolio.

I've already completed the first one ... (ps. still need a name for my new girl so send me your suggestions!) michael@michaelalbee.com

My little ode to Chanel Apres Ski! ENJOY!!!

Random holiday gift guide

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:28:00 +0000

This is a purely random list of some things that I think will make great holiday gifts from unexpected places:

COOKIES!!!

Wackym’s Kitchen bakes delicious cookies and treats from original artisanal recipes using only fresh, natural ingredients. We pride ourselves on delivering products where you are able to taste the real butter, cane sugar, and other natural ingredients that we use. http://www.wackymskitchen.com/

CLOTHING!!!
Veritas creates and nourishes the kind of relationship and diversity of human contact that builds into the essence of the city. The Veritas brand is designed and created to bring community together through a combination of the Arts; one shirt, one painting, one sound, one film, and one word at a time. http://www.liveveritas.com/

PHOTOS!

Innovative, edgy & fresh, professional Dallas photographer, J. Mathew Butler has worked in all aspects of the entertainment industry and knows how to get you your best headshot. Mathew has made a name for himself as a cutting edge photographer shooting many professional musicians, actors, singers and authors. http://www.jmathewinc.com/

HOLIDAZZLE 2009 brings together the shining stars of the Dallas/Fort Worth Musical Theatre scene in a compilation of holiday songs, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. Each track features a different solo or group performance by some of the most highly acclaimed and admired performers to appear on our local stages. Proceeds from the CD will be going to local children’s charity Jonathan’s Place. http://dfwactorsgiveback.org/

BOOKS!

Fred is a lovable, young frog with a big heart and a bigger problem. Fortunately, Fred has wonderful, imaginative friends who each offer humorous, well-meaning suggestions to solve Fred's dilemma.

Apples For Fred will leave you with a smile as the friends band together with a charming mix of support and perseverance.

A 10% donation of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be made to the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America to support research for a cure.

ART WORKS!
If you have been waiting to buy some work, now is the time. I have marked all of these pieces down. Shipping is not included in the price. If you are interested in purchasing a piece please email me at tyclark@liveveritas.com for payment and shipping options. If you are in the DFW or Austin area I do not mind delivering and helping hang the work. All the artwork is marked down 40-60%.
http://samo4prez.com/Site/Fine_Art/Pages/Art_Sale.html

More Clothes!
The name Color It Purple probably doesn't do a very good job of telling what my store is all about, but it does tell a lot about what we love to celebrate in our children, and that's their uniqueness! When my oldest daughter was 3 and 4, she loved to paint and she spent a lot of time at her easel. She ALWAYS chose purple paint and she always painted a solid purple painting. The shades varied, but it was always solid purple! At first I worried why she didn't use other colors or draw trees or flowers, but I soon realized that she had her own way of doing things . . . she was unique in her own way . . . all of my children are. She reminded me that there is not always a "set" way of doing things and that it's okay to be different. In such a simple way, her solid purple paintings celebrated her uniqueness . . . and so I introduce coloritpurple.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:41:00 +0000

4:41am ... still awake ... and still workin' ... that's dedication!

What a different a day makes ...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:25:00 +0000

So lately I've been working on quite a few custom print jobs ... and all I can say is the print industry is completely nutz!

I've had the same job quoted by 5 different companies now. They were all provided with the Optimum Specs as well as a Proof File and example image of what I am going for (my poor client is still on hold for printing due to all this).

I've had bids come in from all 5 companies and the prices vary by almost $800 from high to low. Now for a larger company they might not even notice the difference if I was to just choose one of the companies. My clients on the other hand are mostly start up businesses and custom print jobs with limited funding.

So I've spent most of the day today trying to figure out WHY there is such a discrepancy.

Hopefully tomorrow, with a clear head, I'll be able to make the most informed and beneficial choice for my clients.

Quality is worth spending the extra money for ... but with each company having the same print specs there has to be something going on in the background.

When it rains it pours ...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:28:00 +0000

When it rains it pours ...

and I'm not JUST talking about the weather.

So Mathew and I have both been freelancing for just over 6 weeks now and the business has been slowly and steadily coming in. But wow ... this week has just been crazy. He and I both have had a surge of possible new clients and even a few Full-Time positions thrown at us. I'm not sure whether or not either of us is interested in going back to work full-time for someone else but it's nice to have the options.

Some of my more recent works have included:

packaging design for Kenny's Woodfire Grill - Kenny is doing a "giftable" steak and I'm doing the design work for the packaging. This is a really fun project that will be added to my online portfolio really soon.

Sydney-Kane.com - Sydney Kane and her parents David and Marlo have both been fantastic about throwing work at both Mathew and I.

Thompson Harper Agency - a PR, Event, and Lifestyle company has hired me to do a few print ads for them. If you're in need of PR ... definitely check them out ... Davika Thompson is a friend from my days at Neiman Marcus and she is GREAT!!! http://www.thompsonharper.com/

I've also done a few Myspace designs and some other smaller projects... so all I can say is keep it coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

has a busy day today ... and mathew is in Florida ...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:12:00 +0000

is thinkin' that he needs to clean his office to be more productive

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:09:00 +0000

is going to bed before 2am tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:58:00 +0000

because everyone needs a gucci icon pac ... http://ping.fm/yA4OL

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:06:00 +0000

WOW! I think I went all day yesterday without updating my status ... and now it's 6:06am and I'm headed to bed for a few hours. Need Sleep!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Is finally finishing up a few projects today !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:09:00 +0000

it's an icky Sunday ... but True Blood later tonight so that's a good thing. Now to finish up some of these projects!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:50:00 +0000

can't believe it's friday night already ... where did this week go!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Latest BitchBlog is up ... OMG ...it's SO Wrong. http://bitchblog.us

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:28:00 +0000

If you're bored tomorrow ... September 12 from 2 – 4PM at West Mesquite High School for the 2009 Recycling Fashion Show! The cost is FREE!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:30:00 +0000

is going to watch some mindless television (i'm sure there some teen angst to torture mathew with) and then back to the grindstone

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:22:00 +0000

is proud of http://bitchblog.us/ ... she's doing a great job for her first ever blog. Check her out and follow her!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:55:00 +0000

well today was definitely productive ... of course I'm no where close to going to bed.