How much does a webpage cost?

I found the article How Much Does a Webpage Cost? to be interesting and maybe informative, depending on how accurate it really is…I’ve been wondering what the wages are for people in interactive design versus tradtitional print design, and while this link isn’t about that, it does break down the financial building blocks to a webpage. Also, since I know little about the process but am trying to find out, it told me the titles involved, potential time frame, and steps of the whole ordeal.

As student loans, a mortgage, and two dying cars tend to suck the life out of our bank account, I wanna know the buck value our endless hours at PC could give us…and I wanna know the good and the bad.   So, maybe this is a good starting place to get an idea?  Let me know what you think.  I’m not trying to be cold and heartless by pursuing something for the money – just trying to get a feel and know what is accurate.  In a year and a half, we’ll all have decisions to make regarding what we accept and feel we are “worth”, and that is a daunting task in itself…why start researching now.

 Ok, and all that stuff about the mortgage and student loans -  I could really care less about that, I just want some extra money so I can travel the world.

Editing for Anne

So I spent more time on this flipbook this week than the last couple of weeks…and you wouldn’t even know it! Ok, some formatting was done for the print version, and you can kinda see that…  So, for this weeks class, I wanted to get it printed and make a cover, but I got this great idea that I should try some editing, color corrections, and a grand finale zoom-in.  Sounds pretty easy, and I’m sure next year at this time the days it took me to make those changes will be reduced to minutes..but working in Photoshop/Bridge with batches, adding layers and setting up actions took a little time to get the hang of, and just getting 130 files to work together is a challenge.  But, here it is – I’m not sure if the end zoom-in is too cheesy, but I didn’t know how else to clarify the web address.  Feedback is welcome!!!

Technorati

I noticed on my blog stats that I’m sometimes refered to by Technorati.  Like most things in life, I’ve heard of it but have no idea what it is…so I’m checking it out.  I signed up, and to activate my claim, I had several options, but didn’t go for the easy way out…yes, I chose option #3, to make a blog post out of it.  So, to complete my blog claim, I’m postin’ my Technorati Profile.

Digital In, Analog Out

So after nearly 3 weeks of waiting, my used book from Amazon finally arrived.  The book, which appeared to have been packaged in a paper bag or similar item, had this little invoice tucked inside.  I don’t have anything against the old hand-written note, but I did find it rather comical considering the book was Brendan Dawe’s Analog in, Digital Out.  I’m not sure the output for this dear vendor was very digital, but maybe that’s why he’s selling the book.

Send a designer to Bonnaroo!

Hey let’s help out a fellow designer and get’im to Bonnaroo through the 2007 DAVE FM Search-A-Roo contest, where the winner gets to play live at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.  So my dear coworker, Greg Spencer, has been in the music circle for years and is just now getting some of the recognition he deserves.  In addition to his musical talent, he spends his days as an innovative graphic designer.  Check him out and vote for Big Atomic  - it’s down to 4 finalists for Bonnaroo, and you need him to go.  Why you ask?  Well, even if he doesn’t jive with your pallet or you don’t have ears, who would you want to be performing with The Police, Ween, Widespread Panic, etc etc?  Just some average dudes who play instruments, or a musician reprezentin’ your design community?  That’s right, designers unite and let’s send one of our own!  Vote for Big Atomic and let’s add some fabulous design aesthetics to Bonnaroo!

Take Three

So here’s my third attempt at my claymation flipbook, and the response so far hasn’t been positive.  A scathing review from Pig makes me wonder if I’m progressing or whatever the opposite word for that is.  I really had high hopes of making a final capture tonight – my actors are falling apart and need a long rest – but it looks like this was another step somewhere…in the right direction?  Not so sure.   After all these hours put into making a 10 second clip, I was hoping to have something a little closer to a finished product, not something that evokes silence and a facial expression of a disdainful sneer.

As for the change in copy – I really wanted to tie it in to Park Pride’s mission statement, which emphasizes improvement to parks rather than just keeping them clean.  Pig wasn’t thrilled with the change (among many other details) but I think it is better for Park Pride than the previous text.  Also, I see Park Pride as an underdog around here, and thought it might be nice to pass this on to them – their webpage has a primitive feel but I doubt they have the funds to improve it.  We’ll see if I can get a decent version first…

Well, I’m very tired tonight so that’s not helping the sad, gray cloud that lingers above me.  On a positive note, special thanks to Dre for helping me with my tripod issues…my squirrels thanks you.

Minor Observations

So excuse the terrible quality of my phone camera, but I thought I could capture plain and simple another perk to shopping at farmers markets.  The fruit flan cake on the top is from Publix, and the chocolate cream cheese croissants on the bottom are from the Dekalb Farmers Market.  Perhaps the flan has more stuff in it, but half the ingredients listed there are strange, strange names I’ve never seen before.  The croissants however, have common things that I know…and a little bit of a description of each: organic patent flour, non-fat organic dry milk, cage free eggs, filtered water…etc.

Anyway, perhaps as this country turns a little more green and starts to care about what we put in our mouths, I think farmers markets have an edge.  Sure, chocolate chip cream cheese croissants aren’t healthy, but when you need something for “polnik” (4 o’clock tea for Russians), perhaps it’s better that they aren’t loaded with mystery chemcicals.  Also, the Dekalb Farmers Market does not use preservatives either so don’t let em sit around…but that’s usually not a problem.  And one last  thing, $2.69 for three, usually still warm from being baked on site – you can’t beat that.

The Price is Certainly Right

 

While blogsurfing I learned the sad news of Bob Barker’s retirement…now who will spread the fiery gospel of spay and neuter your pets ?

Ok, anyway, back in April when reading Seth Godin and talking about web 2.0 was all the rage, I got this evite from some acquaintances…yes, come see them on the Price is Right.  I know Seth was bashing evite, saying it’s oh-soWeb 1.0 you loosers, but something about seeing this evite for a Price is Right party seemed so out of place…not because evite is supposedly old-fashioned now, but because it is so modern juxtaposed against a Price is Right backdrop.  I was amused but the kitchy-ness of the game show – and its old greens and oranges sitting next to poorly rendered web graphics.  Yes, come to think about it, I give credit to the Price is Right.  They kept their colors, magic spinny wheel and all its girls girls girls with Bob, and yet still survived all these decades…in a couple of years, evite will probably become a forgotten name.

Yes, and I heard from friends that my aqucaintances managed to score $11,000 and a hot tub. 

Little Del.icio.us things

So another day spent in the ‘burbs of Roswell in the stuffy printing lab…of course I use every spare moment to slack off online or read the ID magazines laying around.  Anyway, when I did a lot of trend research (we’re talking $2000 high-end diaper bags, motor cycle gloves, toddler couture, and anything related to the product research here) I always came across a lot of cool web sites, always scribbled them down to take home and look at later, and always lost those pieces of paper.  So, I started a notebook and organized my websites there by catergory.  Ok, that lasted a week, then it became just a bunch of scribbles bound together, then I lost the note book…

Recently, I started seeing del.icio.us mentioned and had no idea what it was…I looked it up, and viola!  it is actually something simple that can help me a great bit in a very simple way.  I usually assume site that I don’t know anything about but are mentioned frequently are too complicated, too trendy, too business related, or will take a lot of time to read.  Nope, I spent 2 minutes getting to the point, downloaded in a minute, and then had myself a virtual scribble pad of fav websites…only it wasn’t a scribble pad, but an organized tag listing that connected me to other organized lists, that I could reach via any computer. 

Maybe this is old news, maybe safari or firefox have this built in, but in my humble land of internet explorer all I ever had was a lengthy and difficult to navigate favorite list at home and scribbled pieces of paper at work.  Anyway, del.icio.us is just a little tool that takes very little time to understand and install but will help me in little bits for a long time.  Cheers to the little things!

Mix Page Mishaps

So this is what my mix page looks like…sometimes…i was so darn proud of the little bugger this weekend – researching how to play music automatically and making transparency screens - and then when I pulled it up in class on monday on at PC, I quickly shut the site.  Ah, the joys of learning html and css – so much for trying to add onto the yewknee format.  I almost called it growing pains, but you’d have to grow to have such pains…these are just starting pains.  Anyway, if you do visit my page and it resembles the one above, I’d be very excited to know.  However, at school the page was missing its background, the image was on the wrong side, the transparency box for the text was gone, and I’m not sure if the song played automatically.   This image was taken from the computer where I work, and it looks the same at my flat as well…both on pcs.

I know, the code is a train wreck.  There probably isn’t any quick solution other than to just learn it right, and CSS in 24 Hours was recomended to me (I will be getting it, but by the times it arrives there will be less than 24 days left to critique!).  Anyway, since I put a lot of time into learning it wrong, I just wanted to post a little pic to show what was intended, and in fact did appear at some locations…