31Three

Design Ideas for myfamily.com

Just a quick “behind the scenes” post today, as I’m busy working on another project that I should launch in a couple of weeks.

I recently had the opportunity to work with myfamily.com (a sister company to Ancestry.com) on a redesign for their control panel. While I was working on that project, they also had me do up a few home page designs to give their internal design team some different ideas.

Using their existing site as a base for content, I created a few mockups for them that appear to being the starting point for their newly launched redesign.

Permalink // 31 Comments // April 1st, 2008

eWedding Redesign

There’s been a bunch of projects that I’ve done over the last year that I’d love to post here, but haven’t been able to because they’re still under a NDA. One of those projects just launched yesterday (congrats Matthew!).

If you’re planning on getting married anytime soon, head on over to eWedding.com and sign yourself up. The launch is still in the early “honeymoon” stage, so there might still be some bits and pieces that need tweaking.

Permalink // 28 Comments // March 28th, 2008

Cloned

I just noticed that this design studio…
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Developed this website…
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And while I was taking screenshots of those, I got an email about this one…
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I swear there’s a cloned and slightly demented version of me out there making half-baked 31Three esqe websites. I think this cloned-me needs a name. Any ideas?

Update
My clone has apologized and has learned a hard lesson. Part of me wants to leave the post up as a warning to others, but a bigger part of me knows that I’ve crossed the line in the past myself, and I ought to extend some grace here. I’ve deleted a few comments that linked back to his site… my apologies to the authors of those comments.

Permalink // 14 Comments // January 11th, 2008

Mobile Web Book Design

When Cameron first asked me to do the design for his upcoming book Mobile Web Design, I’ll admit that I was a tad intimidated. Even though we’ve worked together in the past, this was the first project where he would be the end client. And I tell ya, there’s something about designing for another designer that adds a layer of pressure to the mix. Especially when that designer is as capable as Cameron. Mixed in with the intimidation and pressure though, was a feeling of honour. I knew how much time and energy he had put into this book, and was humbled that he would ask me to be a part of it. Continue Reading →

Permalink // 38 Comments // September 13th, 2007

31Three.com Redesigned

This site has been looooong overdue for a redesign. I gave it a small refresh back in October of 2005, but the basic design has remained unchanged for the last three years. Three. Years. My business has changed a lot in that time, and my previous site just wasn’t keeping up.

The largest change I’ve made with my business has been shifting my focus from web development to web design. As a result, the vast majority of my clients are now developers. In order to reflect those changes on my site, I’ve dropped all mention of logo, print, and full website work, and have instead given much more room to showcase my web designs. I’ve also tweaked the copy quite a bit to better target the market that I would like to work with. Continue Reading →

Permalink // 122 Comments // May 23rd, 2007

Embrace Pet Insurance Process

A few weeks ago I gave a behind the scenes look at a project called Embrace Pet Community. What I didn’t mention then was that this particular project actually involved two different websites, and also marked the first (and hopefully not last) time that I was able to collaborate on a project with Cameron Moll.

The wireframe portion of this site went fairly quickly. Embrace wanted a simple three step process (Learn, Compare, Get a Quote) to be used, as well as a few other standard items. The first wireframe was a bit visually awkward, but the other two had enough good things going for them that we felt comfortable moving into the design phase. Continue Reading →

Permalink // 25 Comments // April 9th, 2007

Happy Daddy

I received an email last week that really caught my attention and put a good smile on my face...

I know you're busy, but I thought I could ask again, with a perk this time... See below to see your sign on bonus, a brand new unopened Nintendo Wii, this will vanquish "Grumpy Daddy" forever! I heard you liked bowling on the Wii and know this is perfect for taking breaks.

If you can do just 2 pages and new identity, I can have this to you in 2 days. Don't you owe it to your family to be "Happy and Fun Daddy"?

Continue Reading →

Permalink // 22 Comments // April 6th, 2007

ExpressionEngine Control Panel Theme

I’ve had a few requests for a new ExpressionEngine control panel theme that matched the look of the new site a bit better… so I came up with this. Enjoy.

Download CP Theme

Permalink // 72 Comments // March 21st, 2007

SXSW Highlights

• Nintendo Wii – The first thing Sean Sperte did when getting to the hotel room late on Sunday night was set up his Wii and challenge me to a game of bowling. I had just come from the Avalonstar tournament where I helped Team Canada get quickly eliminated by bowling a 64, and my confidence wasn’t quite at record levels. Thankfully the Wii is more forgiving, and I was able to keep up with Sean. Now I just have to figure out how to justify buying one.

• Write, Better – The first session I went to was concisely titled “Write, Better” and was moderated by Greg Storey. Greg transparently talked about the fears that he had when submitting the first post to his Airbag Industries blog, and how he eventually overcame those fears, and found his unique style and voice. This was exactly what I needed to hear. Check the SXSW site for a podcast next week.

• EllisLab Meetup – It was great to rub shoulders with other ExpressionEngine users, especially guys like Mark Boulton, Jason Santa Maria, Veerle & Geert, and Mark Bixby, whose work I really admire. The food was amazing as well… thanks again Rick!

• Grids are Good – A 30 minute session with Mark Boulton and Khoi Vinh that could have easily been 2 hours long. The time constraints were unfortunate, but I still walked away with some very useful information. Check out the mockups they worked on , and keep your eyes peeled for the podcast.

• Web Typography Sucks – Mark Boulton and Richard Rutter joined forces for one of the most informative and applicable sessions of the conference. Any time you see someone set their line-height to 4 decimal places, you know you’re dealing with a pro. Slides and Resources

• Design Patterns – Another session that I wish could have been longer was Luke Wroblewski’s Design Patterns. Luke did a fantastic job explaining how a design pattern library can assist designers in making decisions based on different usage case scenarios. Slides and Resources

• Tuesday’s Lunch – Meeting up with the guys from Method Arts (Mark Bixby & Brian Warren), the most awesomeist Sean Sperte, as well as fellow Canadian and Wishingline’s front-man Scott Boms for an elongated lunch was one of the more memorable moments of the conference for me.

Permalink // 9 Comments // March 16th, 2007

EllisLab, ExpressionEngine, CodeIgniter and EngineHosting Redesign… Whew.

Earlier today 4 of the sites that I’ve been working on for the past 5 months went live. Right now I’m extremely excited to finally be able to unveil what I’ve been working on, and extremely tired because I’ve been working on them way too much.

Here they are…

• EllisLab.com
• ExpressionEngine.com
• EngineHosting.com
• CodeIgniter.com

I’m in the process of finalizing an article for Digital-Web.com that will detail the design process behind the ExpressionEngine home page (check for it March 19th), and once I gather some strength, I’ll add some more details here as well.

Time to start packing for SXSW! Woo hoo!

Permalink // 62 Comments // March 8th, 2007