You can take deez nuts and…! Okay yeah, Im not even going to try, I promise! Deez Nuts is a brand spanking new wholesale / retail apparel company based in Miami, Fl. Long-time friends David Siegel (of Raging Geisha) and Dave Fernandez, another local musician, have taken their clever one-liners to the next level by developing a clothing line of novelty t-shirts.

I designed a “Coming Soon” splash page for potential retailers and customers to get in contact with inquires. There is also a sign-up form for their newsletter and launch announcement. I chose the self-hosted PHPList newsletter software to make it easy to keep track of sign-ups. Its capable of managing several different lists so that Deez Nuts may send out announcements targeted to customers, vendors and sales reps without risk of duplicates. As it is self-hosted and not through a 3rd party, they have complete control over all the email addresses, and there is no risk for spam or any other unwanted emails to the addresses entered in the database.

As the designs are still currently in development, the logo I was provided with is still only in black & white format. I colourized and added texture to the logo to really make it pop. Along with a strategically placed flesh-toned gradient and some “lip gloss” the new logo design is complete.

Please make sure to check it out and sign-up for the launch announcement and other exciting updates! DeezNutsApparel.com

Provided Deez Nuts Logo

DeezNutsApparel.com

Patrick Lopez of Xpresso, who is a good friend of mine, contacted me about redesigning the website for his corporate/special events/wedding band based in Miami – South Florida. He already had a website, as well as a redesign concept in mind which he gave to me to work with. Patrick was seeking a sleek professional looking site to showcase his corporate band, and give potential clients an idea of what they can expect from the Xpresso experience.

I coded the initial design layout he gave me into a website, and from there customized the design further. I changed out the javascript slideshow on his main page to a flash based gallery slideshow. The navigation is a css “sliding doors” design which changes on mouse-over and highlights the current page.

Previously, Patrick was using Blogger for updates, but for SEO purposes, I installed WordPress and moved all his content over to his new blog customized to coordinate with the site design. The calendar consists of his existing Google Calendar integrated into the site, so its super easy for Patrick to update the calendar at any time, same as he did before. Also included is a flash multi mp3 player with song samples for prospective clients.

Patrick is great to work with…gave me all the information I needed and was clear and upfront with what he liked or didnt like during the design process, and so in the end, he loved how his site came out. YaY!

Please make sure to check out the Before, Concept and After photos. Now, if you’re ever in need of a special events band, be sure to check out Xpresso…South Floridas #1 Interactive Party Band! XpressoMusic.com

Original Xpresso Website

Concept Image for Redesign

Current Xpresso Website

Now, I wish I could say that I have an incredibly exciting new design update for Raging Geisha, but alas! Actually, MySpace changed up their codes yet again and it completely messed up the placement of their music player, so my lovely customized layout had to go.

Now, I can learn how to do a customized layout with the new coding rules…its entirely possible..Im just saving delving into that for a rainy day. In the meantime, Ill work on making a DJ Flashy Flash (yeah, Im that corny) header for them.

Like I said, I wish I had an incredibly exciting new design layout update, and I didnt dissapoint…I truly dont have one. What is exciting though is what Raging Geisha themselves have been up to. Theyve started opening for the Michael Jackson tribute band called “Who’s Bad”, and in the last month they have played at the House of Blues in New Orleans, Dallas and Houston.

As if that wasn’t enough, their first single “The Way That He Wants Me” reached top 10 in nationwide airplay on the FMQB charts, and their current single “Shoot” is tearing it up on rhythmic radio in Florida.

Anytime you want to check out Raging Geisha for yourself and see if they will be playing near you, make sure you add them on MySpace, head to their website for the full show schedule and sign up for their newsletter to be kept up to date on exciting updates at they come along.

Myspace.com/RagingGeisha -  RagingGeisha.com

Update 7 Jan 11: Brabo Inc outsourced for a new design layout, so what is on their site now is not at all indicative of the type of design or layout I would do. Strictly as webmaster, I currently continue to maintain their website content.

Brabo Inc has developed a new product line to their Magic series called Magic Capri Pants.  Like their other apparel items, the capri pants are compressed into an incredibly small package that expand to full size when placed into water.

As these capris are geared towards ladies, Brabo wanted a site design that was cute, fun and feminine that would still link seamlessly with their other product lines.  Interestingly, just a few months prior, I made this design for a client who felt it was too cute and feminine for her needs…  After a few colour and layout changes,  I tested the idea out on Brabo and they loved it!

I developed my first full flash site for the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle.  They wanted something fun and visually exciting, with a tropical theme while still conveying the International message that we are all One People.

They were really great with giving me some great ideas and giving me the details to their vision of how they wanted the site to look. They wanted a lot of movement, so there are moving waves, fishies swimming in the ocean, international flags waving on a make shift clothesline, a sparkling sun, and colourful parrots that “scare” off if you hover your mouse over them, or simply fly around whenever they feel like it.  There is also a music player showcasing their latest music, and on the contact page, you can choose which band member you’d like your personal message to go out to.

At this point, the site is still something of a work in progress, as there is a very cool detail about the site involving cartoon animation that Im still working on figuring out how to complete.

I have to say, this was a particularly exciting site for me to work on because I had to learn nearly every aspect of it as I went along .  I love a challenge, and this project gave me plenty of that…a few bruises from hitting my nead on my desk at times too but hey, just cause I have a desk job doesnt mean there arent any hazards!

Please take a look, and make sure you check out the gallery and videos of their latest tour through Australia.  InnerCircle-Reggae.com

These past few months have been incredibly…. Alright, no words for it. None at all! So much has happened, both professionally and personally…taking the good with the bad, it all leads up to the here and now.

I’ve done a few more projects, and have a few on my plate still in the works, trying and not doing so great at not burning myself out, but I am doing much better at taking on more than I can handle and keeping myself organized.

So then, lets do some updates shall we?! I completed my first full flash website for the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, and I also created a sub-catalogue site for a new line of products, the Magic Capri Pants for Brabo Inc, a manufacturing company of novelty and apparel items based in Miami, FL. Ive modified the MySpace page for Raging Geisha, who have some exciting updates of their own.

Stay tuned for all the details in my upcoming updates…!

When I start a new site design, I first grab paper, a pencil (or my purple Pilot pen…not ideal but its *always* on my desk) and sketch out ideas which I add to throughout the design process. By the time Im done, I have a stack of papers full of ideas with detailed notes and a coffee cup ring or two…or three. Or four.

Im working on a new website for a client, and today the design concept took on new life. Considering the complexity of the project I know I need to make a rough draft to present my ideas. So then Im about to venture into a world I thought Id never see…revealing my chicken scratch… er, I mean concept sketches for approval.

I seriously need help with that… So that my rough draft isnt met with shock and gasps of horror I went on the hunt for some articles about website concept sketching. Interestingly theres very, very little information out there about this…thankfully, what little information I found was incredibly helpful!

ComputerArts offers a fantastic tutorial explaining how to head to Photoshop with the sketches to clean up pencil lines, create layers to separate the different elements as well as simple colouring and shading to help bring the focus of the concept to life. It includes a PDF tutorial, as well as a zip file of the project files.

PSDTuts – The Role of Sketching in the Design Process is an incredibly helpful blog post I found in which it says:

As a tool or skill, sketching has its role in the design process. That role will vary depending on the end-product being created, the size and scope of the project, the individual designer’s style, experience, and workflow, and the client’s expectations. Find out more about how sketching is used in the design process within multiple design disciplines.

The best part is to me is where they say you dont need to have amazing..or even good drawing skills to work out a composite sketch before bringing it into Photoshop. *WHEW!*

As part of the design process with a client, its a great way to present your ideas to be sure of the direction your client wants to go. Even if its just for yourself…its a lot easier and faster to make a bunch of chicken scratch on paper to draw ideas out of your brain rather than staring at the blank white space on Photoshop while mumbling “what to do, what to dooooo…?!!!” (or is that just me?)

The new Living Room Diaries website design is now up and live! *YaY!!!* I used the sites logo of the red couch with the bass in front of it as the jumping off point for the design of the site. Pulling from this, I made the site colours red, black, gray and white. I also designed a underlying background image so that the content isnt on a stark white background, and also to add a bit of that “sexy comfy couch” feel to the site.

The CSS sliding menu adds a bit of flair to the site, with a glossy web 2.0 feel, and it also doubles as a page header since the page you are on is the highlighted menu item. On the main page, there is room for sponsor information, as well as reciprocal linking. On the Show Archive page, I used a sleek and shiny video player to showcase all of the previous shows, which also show a thumbnail of the show guest and some basic information about the episode.

I installed a WordPress blog into the site and redesigned it for flawless integration into the rest of the site. I also installed and modified a Simple Machines Forum to blend in with the site design, and encourage viewer participation so that they may talk about the episodes and show guests. SEO is very important to Kirk, so I made sure to take advantage of meta-tagging. Also, WordPress is an excellent SEO building tool that he will now be able to take advantage of to raise his site rankings.

Here are the before and after photos of LivingRoomDiaries.com…Enjoy!

Before

After - The New Living Room Diaries

I have a few new projects on the horizon that Im eager to dig myself into. One that Im excited about and working on at this moment is the re-design of Living Room Diaries. Its an internet TV show which showcases local musicians in a pretty funny and inspiring way.

The host Kirk Green is a trip! He has some pretty talented friends who seem to drop in un-expectantly, and for some amazing reason, theres a camera there to catch all the musical hoopla that follows. How does he do that?! Im working on the site redesign, adding in a forum for visitor participation to talk about the shows…and eventually Ill be redesigning the blog, myspace profile and youtube channel.

Im still keeping up with maintaining the website of the local rock/hip-hop band Raging Geisha. They seriously need to slow it down a bit…Im trying to keep up with updating their show schedule, the launch of ringtone sales, brand new music videos, and to top it off, their song “Way That He Loves Me” just hit the radio so the traffic is becoming unbelievable. Yeah, Im going to have to put in a petition for them to stop being so high energy and tone down on all the amazing stuff theyve been up to, cause its totally cutting into my downtime