The trick to most design, is knowing when to stop. To rip-off a quote, Design is like morality - it consists of drawing the line somewhere.

I see it all the time when I’m out driving. It might be a pretty fancy car to begin with, and probably more than able to leave my family-approved mode of transportation in the proverbial dust with little effort, but the guy sitting next to me at the lights has probably gone a little too far. That little extra chrome, the further up the range rims and California beach approved tail fins may look cool, but they aren’t exactly going to improve performance too much. Not in proportion to what they all cost.

Sometimes I see it onstage or at a music store. A prettier piece of maple or shinier tuners may look cool on any guitar, but when the rubber hits the road (or pick hits the strings) what are you really gaining?

With design, I like to call it Design ROI, or Design Return On Investment. You could spend twice as much on a business card so that you have a little foil stamping on it, or spend the money trying out fourteen different typefaces, but what are you really gaining? Is that foil REALLY going to persuade business card holders to make that phone call? And is a typeface with 10% higher x-height really going to make you look 10% more professional?

Now, I don’t mind if someone wants to spend twice as long on a project if I’m getting paid for it, but I’m not about to rip off anybody or make them pay for their indecision. Sometimes, it comes down to trust.

Trust your designer to know what they are doing. When you get one or two choices, believe that these are the best choices available, and not the first two that popped into someone head. Make sure that the extra time and effort put into a design truly is an investment and the cost of which can be recovered by the added professionalism and functionality of the product.

I’m interested in efficient design, design that gets the job done and is accurate, exactly what the clients needs and wants, and is going to go out there and show off a business for what and who it truly is.

I just want your clients to notice when you’ve gone the extra mile. If it’s effective, they will. And they will be calling.

Sometimes all I have is a question …

I haven’t really been convinced whether Telus is faster than Shaw or vice versa, there is one thing of which I am convinced - FREE can be suspicious.

When it comes to service, I have to admit that I have been rather more pleased with Shaw. There’s no contract to sign (people do move, you know) and Shaw does have a better handling on their billing. That’s a long story. Maybe another day …

But one thing that irks me, is how Telus can (or should) give away stuff so freely. How much money are they really making if they can afford to give away large computer screens, desktop PCs and laptops? $44.95 for a laptop AND ADSL? Does that seem a little odd to anyone else? Why should I have to be bribed to use their service? And why should I be locked in for so many years just to get a low grade computer that I don’t need anyhow?

If you subtract the cost of the freebies from the price you pay over 36 months, your service is costing $23.59/month. While I don’t want to pay too much, I don’t expect a decent internet connection to be so cheap either!

I don’t know. Something doesn’t smell right, and it’s not one of the friendly critters from the Telus commercials.

While I practically live on my Mac (or Macs, I should say) I’m not allergic to Windows! In fact, I design all websites sitting alongside a PC that I use strictly for testing. So yes, your website will look perfectly ok on practically every computer in the world. Kinda.

Kinda, because you cannot allow for all the strange things that people do with their computers. Some people have certain abilities, like javascript or Flash, turned off. Some even have images turned off. So while I can make allowances for about 90% (a reserved number, it’s probably much higher) of all users, there are going to be one or two that slip between the cracks of compliant web code.

I should mention that the PC I use for testing is purposefully kept decrepit, ancient and slow. The chances are pretty good that a huge majority of people will have a computer a lot faster than this one. If you don’t, I’m sorry. Please search between your couch cushions to buy a new one. Seriously, there are computers on the market going for less than the cost of a meal for two that will outrun this PC.

Other than using my POS PC for testing, I also call on the advice, support and feedback of a select team of amateurs to check out sites I build. They make sure that even more people online will get the same or very similar experience.

Testing testing and more testing. Even when I use the best computer in the world!

When people ask what kind of computer I use, I unapologetically reply that yes, I use a Mac. So why the lenthy reply to a simple FAQ?

I know what they are asking. The person doesn’t usually care what kind of computer I use, any more than when I say that I sketch out ideas first, they care what kind of pencil I use.

What they are asking is the next question in the FAQ list. But to round out my answer, let me state my reasons for using a Macintosh.

First, the Macintosh, in my experience, is a much more stable work environment. Installing and uninstalling software, upgrading, backing up and other maintenance duties are a breeze. There are many smaller features that just make it more pleasant to use too. The lack of likely viruses make it a much more sensible work choice, since the chances of me getting a virus are practically nill. I say ‘practically nill’ only to hedge my bets, just incase some parental basement dwelling ignorant waste of space with a shortage of social skills and awareness decided to write a virus that would affect all of us. The chances are slim, but there you go. Running a Mac is just a much safer option. I’ve spent too many days trying to rid a Windows machine of a particularly sticky virus, and I’m not going to do it again.

Call me an Apple Fanboy, I don’t mind. But I love my Mac and there ain’t no changin’ that!

I tried working from a park bench, but it didn’t work out too well. I could never find a suitable plug to run my extension cord from, and my monitor won’t run on batteries.

Now I have an office.

My office, however, is in my home. Rather than renting a nice, glass and brushed aluminum space that will make any meeting feel as though you are in a stock photo shoot, I decided to save my money, charge less for my services, and make great design available to smaller businesses and larger businesses who just don’t like being ripped off.

That I thought was just common sense.

When it comes to meeting, I am more than happy to frequent a local coffee shop, or your own office. Just make sure you have good coffee!

Easily the most asked question, and the easiest to answer.

The Price List is available for download as a PDF.

Acronyms are fun. In case you were wondering why I would have a section for:

• Fathers And Quakers
• Fine Alcohol Quarterly
• File A Queue
• Find And Query
• Florida, Alberta, Quebec

… I don’t. I stole the initials, which obviously belong to all the above, and decided to use them for my own means. In this case, FAQ actually stands for Frequently Asked Question(s).

People tend to ask similar questions regarding design, the web and usage issues, so to cut down on the amount of times I repeat myself, I’m going to list as many as I can recall here. Just so I can cut down on the amount of times I repeat myself.

Firefox is looking to set a new world record for the greatest number of downloads in one 24 hr period.  You need Firefox 3 anyhow, so why not be a part of the worlds biggest download? Could be fun!

nudecade records is now officially live!

nudecade (pron. New Decade) records is an independent record label producing new and original, un-signed artists covering a variety of music genres. Coordinated from the head office in Vancouver, nudecade also has a presence in Calgary, Los Angeles and London.

nudecade is growing fast - watch this space!