blue Filament Design

In business, it's always good to be busy, whether it's work you're getting paid for or working to improve your skills. Well, recently I've been busy finishing work I get paid for, which is nice when the checks come through. This past week, I was fortunate enough to have two web sites go live. That made me very busy, but the end results were worth it.

Why is this such a good thing? First off, I just enjoy getting my projects complete (well, most of the time, unless they turn into disasters). Second, I love having my ego stroked by clients who like my work and get excited that their web site is public. I love to hear the feedback they get from their customers. Even when that feedback is negative I at least learn something from it.

The third reason is because I learned something new on each of them. Each project I work on, I try to learn something new to stretch the project a little beyond my current abilities, making sure that what I learn fits with the project's goals and doesn't add excess cost to the client. With these two projects, I increased my use of wireframes at the beginning of the design phase. On the second project, I also made use of a grid to assist in page layout, and it worked wonderfully. Add in a new CSS technique or two that I was able to use, and from an educational standpoint, these projects were a great personal success.

I've talked a lot about these projects in general, but let me introduce them to you. The first to launch was DVTaskForce.com, a new site for the Chesterfield County Domestic Violence Task Force in Chesterfield County, Virginia. I was fortunate enough to be selected to design this site last fall. It is a completely volunteer run organization committed to assisting people involved in situations of domestic violence and those who work with the victims of domestic violence. They are a strong, passionate organization and I am proud to work with them.

The second project to launch was MilltechCNC.com, a brand new site for Milltech CNC, who sells small parts manufacturing equipment in China. After looking at several cluttered and disorganized competitors site, we knew we could make a site that would allow Milltech to showcase their equipment to the engineers who are their main clients. We are still working on the logo, so there will be a little change to come, but they were ready to launch the web site in time for a big trade show this week.

What now? Well, I'm hoping to launch a web site for a lawyer within the next two weeks, a redesign for a burger joint I worked with before, the launch of a new web site for another restaurant, another law firm web site (hopefully launching by mid-May), and possibly another project for Milltech CNC.