There’s buzz around the web about a new technology that’s sprung up in the recent years called Augmented Reality.
Here we will briefly explain what this is, what it does, how it can be applied, and a short list of companies
that are currently working this new and creative field.

Augmented reality (according to Wikipedia) is “a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world
environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery.” It’s basically a really cool way
to show a real life 3D animation on your screen triggered by a marker that you hold in your hands show it thru
your computer’s webcam. The movement allows you to see the projected 3D image in any angle you wish,
depending which way you move it.

This new technology is being used in many types of mediums, and it’s fast becoming an essential staple of
future advertising for many companies. Web design companies have started to offer these services as an additional tool for clients to promote and interact with clients and users.

 
Here is a video showing how augmented reality works with markers on clothing.



Enhance the online retail shopping experience. Virtually “try on” clothing and add them to your shopping cart without using a mouse.



Here’s a video of augmented reality used for the auto company MINI. You can see a 360 view of the car using the marker and webcam.



Lego is also using this awesome technology on their boxes. Check it out:

A cheap and effective alternative to advertising your brand/services/website is to create and send out
an email campaign with one of today’s easy-to-use providers. Email marketing is an efficient and powerful
tool that won’t hurt you wallet (printing post cards) and won’t hurt the environment
(printing postcards and/or flyers).

Turnaround times are a fraction compared to printing advertising
and it’s so much easier to make a constant practice in your company’s advertising routine and web design strategy.

So what does email marketing do exactly? Well, to start off it helps you build and hold on to customer
relationships. You can send email newsletters to specific target groups, so you can be sure that the people
you want to be reached are getting the correct and precise information. Since you are including your customers
directly into your lists, it’s easier for them to receive their newsletter inside their inbox rather than
their spam folder.

It also helps build a referral list. Current customers who like and work with your services
can easily forward an email newsletter to a friend or acquaintance at the click of a button.
Email marketing websites will also allow you to keep track of your advertising campaigns with stats for each
one you send out. You will be able to see who opened them, who forwarded them, as well as seeing which links
were clicked. These basic stats will help your business grow because you will be seeing exactly where the action
is taking place. Your newsletters can even be scheduled to be sent at specific times too.
Here are is list of some good companies that offer similar services. Happy email marketing!

www.constantcontact.com

www.verticalresponse.com

www.benchmarkemail.com

www.streamsend.com

www.mailchimp.com

We all know that every artist has his own style, his own way of working and also a special something that makes him different than all the other artists out there, even though they are doing the same job or tasks.

That special something is the little tag, or brand that defines the style of the artist as something unique, that no one else can copy and that right when you look at a design or creation, something tells you; “this is definitely this guy’s or this company’s work”!

Nevertheless, artists, such as web designers have the same unexpected creativity limitations like any other person. .

It is perfectly possible that anyone in the web design industry wakes up one day, saying: I’m not inspired today! What should I do? I have a deadline! Nothing comes up! I need help!



Well, if you’re feeling that kind of frustration, here’s a list of websites that can work as guidance for you or your web designer. This is where a web design company or web designers can find a huge amount of help, like ideas, tips, inspiration, hints, signs, colors, details that can turn a lack of inspiration into a load of great things to compose, create and design.

Web design can get tricky, especially if you want to make a picky customer happy, or even worse, if you want to make yourself happy as a web designer.

Click through the following websites, you’ll see some of them have galleries with different styles of website design categories, menu design styles. You’ll find website examples of color combinations, layouts depending on the website topic or industry, backgrounds, borders designs, breadcrumbs, buttons designs, contact pages designs and a lot more ideas that will be very useful.

www.cssbeauty.com

www.cssdrive.com

www.thefwa.com

www.unmatchedstyle.com

www.webdesignerdepot.com

www.designshack.co.uk

www.cssremix.com

www.bestwebgallery.com

www.cssmania.com

www.patterntap.com

www.csselite.com

www.onepixelarmy.com






Don’t forget to visit our Turbonacho Web Design Portfolio, another place to get some web design inspiration.

Today I have decided to interview one of our in house designers to understand a bit more about the process that is undertaken by a designer when a new web design project is assigned to him. I want to understand the how their mind works and what they think and know is important to make a successful website for our clients.

Q. What are some of the places where you find inspiration to design a website?

A. I look for inspiration in places around my environment, on my way to work, in the street, looking at people and their expressions, colors, textures, movements, and more. I try to find details that I can later apply to my designs. I write things down to not forget them and apply them to the web design project. I also look at design resources as magazines, websites and blogs in order to see what is in fashion and how I can apply it to my style. Some of the Magazines are Designer, Surf, and SEO.

Q. I know that every morning you come to the office and the first thing you do is start looking at different websites, what are those?

A. I look at website that I can capture website design trends, techniques, and colors in fashion. Some of the websites I look at are THE FWA.com, FWAPHOTO.com, DESIGN CHARTS.com, LOOKSLIKEGOODDESIGN.com, FLYLYF.com, NOTCOT.org.

Q. What is the site that you have designed while working with Turbonacho that you like the most?

A. The website that I am most fond if is the ontheflybottle.com. I had the opportunity to get creative and less corporate, I also tested fun colors and a clean layout.



Q. What is the project that you are most proud of and why?

A. The website Project that I am most proud of is a Real estate website called Rockbottomproperty.com because it started as a complicated project, too much information to work with on the home page and the client’s ideas were difficult to make sense, but I have been able to translate them and deliver a website with a minimalist design, clean and coherent for the user and what the client wanted. I was also able to work in conjunction with the IT Team to develop a website that is SEO friendly even though it has a lot of programming in the back end.



Q. What is your perfect environment to be more inspired when designing Websites?

A. Our office is spacious but it is still an office it would be great to be able to work out side more often, but our line of work has some restrictions, since we need power to have the computers running, fast internet among other items that it is easier to be in the office. We are constantly trying to make the environment more inspiring.

Q. What is the initial process when designing a new site?

A. Well my process when designing a new Website entails a couple of steps.

1. The first step is very important when designing a website for someone else it is very important to know as much as possible about the company I would be designing for, the clients points of view and possible tastes, and the company’s competition. This will help me have a better idea of what type of site is being expected; if corporate, abstract, journalist looking among other ones.
2. I start observing my surroundings, online content, possible layouts that would work for the website, and look at sites to find elements and items that I would not want to use.
3. I start drawing sketches and doodles of what the websites wire frame would look like.
4. I take elemental pieces of what the clients wants to incorporate in the site and make it part of my initial sketches.
5. Then based on what I like from the sketches I work in Photoshop to do the initial layout design and try to test several color options based on previous research.
6. And last I incorporate proper imagery to the home page of the website layout.
On a side note when designing a site I always have to consider constructing and designing the site based on Search Engine Standards, functionality and Speed (as main items to keep in mind).

Q. What are the most important elements of a home page?

A. The most important elements that I consider that need to play a role in the home page of a website are:

1. Logo
2. Descriptive Image: getting the users attention and communicating a message about what the company does or what service it provides.
3. Some type of contact information either an email, phone number, or live chat.
4. USP: Unique Selling Point
5. Menu
6. And last a call to action item that will guide the user on what the company wants them to do next.

Q. What is the most difficult of being a webdesigner?

A. Translate the clients ideas to my design and create an awesome design. The other thing is keep the pace of how fast the industry moves, with different rules, styles, concepts etc.

Q. How long have you been working for Turbonacho?

A. I have been part of the Turbonacho team for 2.5 years.

Q. Since you started your career what do you feel has been what you have learned the most about?

A. There are several subjects that you do not learn as much in school and start seeing that the industry standards demand it a lot and that is. 1. HTML and CSS rules and standards
2. Page layouts when and why to use which one
3. How to use call to action items and when
4. Search Engine Optimization plays a big role in the construction of the site and for the client’s success therefore I have to always keep in mind the sites url structure, coding standards and more.

Q. What does your Turbonacho team members know that you would like to learn more about?

A. ActionScript: To use it in flash animations and sequences. And Free hand drawing to explore new methods of creativity that could help me develop greater website designs.

I hope you have enjoyed my interview and grabbed some insight on what is important for a webdesigner.

Thinking of getting your very first website designed and built?

Before you take any step further think about how you want your website design to be made. Do you want your website made from an existing template design or do you want your website to be fully customized and be made from scratch?

Tough decision, right? Don’t let your web design company or anyone else decide for you. The more information you get before getting started with your project, the more tools you will have to make a decision such as this one. Believe me; it will save you time and money. The first thing you need to do is think about your brand, your business and what you want your new website to do for it. What are you getting a website design for? This may be a question that will help you move in the right direction.

So what is the difference between a template based website design and a customized website design and what do these differences have to do with the purpose of your website?

See for yourself.

Good things about templates

• The investment in design is minimum. You just have to buy the template you like, usually at an affordable cost.
• Templates can be downloaded so the time it takes to set it up is rather short.
• You can choose and see from the beginning how your website will look.
• Templates can be downloaded so the time it takes to set it up is rather short.
• The development time is short if you are happy with what the template offers you.
• There are thousands of options to choose from.
• You can pay for the license and also for the exclusive license and use of the template, so nobody else uses a specific template after you buy it.

• You may not be able to find a web template that meets your exact needs.
• You may have customizing restrictions if there is something you want to change on the template. If there are changes you definitely want to make and the template doesn’t let you, you will probably need to redo your site and that can be expensive.
• There might be incompatibility with some browsers, depending on the date the template was built.
• The maintenance and updating of your website may not be as easy as you expect, due to the restrictions the templates may have.
• Some templates may not be SEO friendly.
• Exclusivity look and feel of your website can never be guaranteed. Even if you pay the for the exclusive license of use, there may be other websites that are using that same template you just bought, especially if it's a very attractive and cool template.
• After you purchase the template, if you don’t have coding skills, you still need to know or hire someone who does

• The look and feel of your website will be made according to your needs and to what your brand wants to express.
• You will get uniqueness, creativity and nobody else will have your same website design.
• You will get what you want, the way you want it and you don’t have to stick to predetermined ideas that may not satisfy you completely.
• If the contract with your website design company states it this way, your designer will make the necessary changes until you are happy with the design. Make sure you ask what the terms and conditions are.
• The design can be edited or adapted in the future if you wish to make any changes. No restrictions that you would have with a template.
• Your website will be SEO friendly
• You will be able to use the latest technologies.

• Building a customized website will probably take longer than building one with a template.
• Price may be higher due to the details and time it takes to fit your needs.
• You won’t be certain of how your website will look until you get the first draft and samples from your web design company. It’s always good to provide example with your ideas.

In my time as a project manager for web design projects I have had the opportunity to manage projects for large international companies and manage a web design projects for small businesses learning how the process in each will always differ. There are several tips that apply to both cases but what I am concentrating my advise today is in the small business designs in order for those to have a greater chance to succeed.

The first steps that need to be taken by anyone that is starting a new web design project are:

1. When starting a new project clients need to understand the importance of being organized having some clear ideas of what they want to get out of having a website. For example some may be interested in selling online, or just providing information about their company and showing off their brand, or having the goal of building a large database of prospects. Whatever the goal is it needs to be transmitted clearly to the webdesign company.

2. Don’t expect for your new webdesign company to be responsible of any text or marketing content in the site unless it was stated otherwise when negotiating with the company. There are great copywriters out there that will specialize and concentrate on providing the best content for your site and communicating your message to the user the best way possible. This will facilitate the process for web designers. See below an example of a company that provides these services.



3. Have content ready at least a rough draft, don’t wait until the end once the design is ready to give the content to the web design team, the design will be affected and you will realize that the site should have been designed some other way to fit the content you have provided.

4. Try to be timely responsive to any comments or questions that the web design company may have in order to make the process flow continuously.

These are some ideas to make it easier when working with your web design team and these bullets tend to flow easier when working with a larger company since it might not be the first time they are involved in a process of this sort. This is why I want to dedicate small business owners a couple of regular ideas that should be considered.

1. Hoping that your site makes your company look larger than what you really are is OK but understand that the web designer will have to work with the information you provide, so go the extra mile, and take nice pictures of your product or create a slogan that can complement the design, write copy that can complement the design showing off your product or service.

2. Have your business model clear, some small business depend on the site for profits and a common mistake is to believe that the business plan or model can be defined while the site is being built but the truth is that the more clear you are from the beginning the smoother the design process will be.

3. Understand that there are projects with different budgets and wanting your site to look as great as the site of a multinational company that has probably dedicated resources to the site 24/7 can cause a strain on the web design company, because the company wants to please you but there are certain designs, 3d graphics and programming features that are not always included in an initial design.

My idea with these bullet points was to give you an eye opener of a couple of items that should be considered whenever you are entailing a web design project. Remember these are just some tips and when developing a site try to be involved in the process.

The great thing about websites is the fact that anybody worldwide can access it via a computer, a smart phone, or pretty much any other device that
permits an internet connection. It is evident that there is currently a saturation of mass marketed information out there, so setting apart your
brand/identity from the rest can become a tricky task.

You probably have an ideal target that you need to reach out to, which is a crucial step in understanding how and where your information is going.
It’s imperative to understand that not every person in that specific group has the same devices and abilities to get to your information.
This is where Fool Proof Web Design should come in. A no-brainer yet clever method of arranging your information, drafting out your steps,
and maintaining the flow of your website and the people visiting it.

We’ve all heard the saying “Less is More”. It makes complete sense, considering the exaggerated amount of media messages we have to eat up every day.
Our web design ideals are quite simple and not over the top, but are really the stepping stones to creating long lasting, useful and meaningful websites.
 
1.    Keep your domain name simple: We’ve blogged about it, you’ve probably read this over and over in other places as well. It makes your site’s SEO much more efficient and accurate. It also helps people’s memories retain your URL name quicker and it’s easier to type out on your browser bar as well as in an email.
2.    Navigation: Both your menu bar and navigation scheme should be simple, keeping the amount of clicks to a minimum. Also, don’t go too crazy with the hovers and roll-overs. That’s so 2005.
3.    Text and fonts: Might seem like an obvious one, but do try to use easy to read fonts (such as Arial, Verdana or Times New Roman). This really isn’t the place to get all cute. All text should be html, not embedded as an image. This helps SEO and it gives users the chance to enlarge or make their font size smaller on their browser.
4.    Loading times: Optimize any images to the smallest size possible that is able to give you good visual quality. You know how annoying it is to go on somebody’s MySpace profile and have to wait one hour for all the images, flash galleries, videos, and animated GIFs to load? Exactly. If it takes more than a couple of seconds for your site to start loading, the chance is most visitors are going to leave. Not really the results you’re looking for!
5.    Content: Even though you might not be working with subject matter that requires or uses frequent textual updates, it is good to throw in fresh bits into your site occasionally. If you’re making a web portfolio, try to update with photos or screenshots of your work. If you’re running a doggie day care business, keep owners in the loop with news and pictures of current events. If you’re a doctor, put in an article or two pertaining to your practice. Fresh content makes people happy and turns them into recurrent site visitors.
6.    Have fun: The most important and often over looked aspect. This is your web site! Have fun with it. Treat it as your creative brain child and you will see many wonderful things coming out of it.

It’s not often to come across a book that could benefit people in any type of profession and lifestyle. But Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind might as well be the next required reading list for youngsters and adults alike.

Pink talks to us about the way right-thinkers will soon be dominating the world - and it’s happening much sooner than you’d expect. Right thinking has been associated an attributed with traits like intuition, randomness, holistic synthesizing, subjectivity, and viewing things from the “whole” point of view rather than the partial side of it.

There are six basic senses, essential to success, which are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Each sense is fully detailed and pleasingly explained in its pertaining chapter. Pink emphasizes that having all the discipline and passion in the world, but lacking these fundamental six concepts, is the reason why things don’t get done in our society, and why we’re more than often focusing our energies toward failure. This applies to ourselves, our jobs, our families, our day-to-day lives and activities.

This doesn’t mean that left-brain thinkers have it all wrong; it’s just a matter of realizing that we’re in the midst of a drastic shift which is taking us out of our comfort zones.

Not sure if you’re a left or right brain thinker? Try this test out and find out.

http://www.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm

Despite the industry you might work in (web design, fashion, accounting, law, sales, technology, construction, etc.) there are a myriad of ideas that will refresh your perspective and outlook on the way we do, see, feel, and think things.

Fresh out of the virtual oven: www.RabbitsMonthly.com

Sometimes we get so busy here at Turbonacho that we forget to brag about the new websites we have completed. RabbitsMonthly is a fun and cool new project, dedicated to bunny lover everywhere, young and old. If you’re interested in purchasing a rabbit and don’t know where to start, you can follow the RabbitsMonthly’s easy 6 step system.

They will help you select food, bedding, hay, chews, treats and toys. Plus, everything will get shipped right to your door, so you won’t have to spend time shopping around.
As an added bonus, if you purchase a Start Up Kit and then purchase a rabbit at a pet store, you can send in the receipt and RabbitMonthly will reimburse you for 50% off the original price!

This cute and playful website design was crafted with HTML, CSS, and a PHP shopping cart.