Tweetery – iPhone App
By no means do I consider myself a power Twitter user. I’ll send out the occasional tweet here and there, but the vast majority of my Twitter usage is to learn and gather info from other designers and professionals that I follow. In fact, after (finally) purchasing an iPhone this year, I actually started using Twitter more and more. From the onset, I used Tweetdeck. I had already heard of it and it’s free. One day I saw Tweetery as a free App to download so I gave it a try. (As of 2/27/10 the app is $1.99.) Initially, I was impressed. When you first open it you are greeted with a nice looking homepage that is refreshingly different than your typical “Twitter look” that most Apps tend to use.
Here is what it says on Tweetery’s website.
Simplify your tweet stream! Temporarily mute people who over tweet. Take action on a tweet faster than ever with our slick tweet action panel. With a clean, elegant interface maximizing legibility and simplicity, Tweetery is more than a twitter client– it’s a pleasure to use.
PROS
- Simple
- Dark colors are easy on the eyes – nice gray and blue color scheme
- Quick – Especially compared to Tweetdeck
- Readability – good word spacing, contrast, and size
- Large buttons – when you click on a specific tweet the window that pops up is clear, the buttons are big, and any web link is highlighted and easy to tap
CONS
- Unlike Tweetdeck, there isn’t a visual way to know what Tweets you haven’t seen since you’re last visit
- Price (while not expensive) it does cost $1.99 (What can I say, I’m cheap)
- While I prefer the dark color scheme, a light one might be a nice option
- No built-in link shortener
Screenshots
Basecamp
Finally, after a few weeks of debating if it was worth it, I pulled the trigger and signed up with Basecamp. For now, just the personal version which provides 1gig of storage and the ability to manage 3 projects. I have to say, after just a few days of usage, I’m really impressed. For me, as a self employed graphic designer, I work from home. Being able to utilize centralized to-do-lists, deadlines, and file uploads with clients will prove to be worth it’s weight in gold.
The Better Way To Get Projects Done. Trusted by millions, Basecamp is the leading web-based project collaboration tool. Share files, meet deadlines, assign tasks, centralize feedback, make clients smile.
basecamphq.com
This post is intended to be sort of an introduction to the fact that I use Basecamp and to gather thoughts from other designers on how they use Basecamp. Do you have any tips or tricks that a new user would need to know?
What I intend to do is write a very thorough review after about a month of usage. So, if you haven’t yet, subscribe to our feed and get connected with Blueprint for Design.
In addition to reviewing Basecamp, I plan on reviewing Outpost, an iPhone App for managing your account and projects. After scouring the internet, this seems to be the highest rated App. If you have any suggestions on a better route to take, I’d love to hear them? (I haven’t purchased it quite yet.)
Below is a screenshot of the Basecamp dashboard lifted from their website.
Color Scheme Designer
This week, I’d like to share a useful website with everyone, Color Scheme Designer. I use this site with just about every project these days. It’s quite simple. First, decide a color to start with. Plug the number in, and you are provided with a list of colors that relate and/or look good with your original. The site is most useful when figuring out colors for a website project, but can be used for just about any graphic design project. You may even be an interior designer looking to find some colors for your next project, this would work. The site works with web based colors so you will be using a six-digit number referred to as a hex triplet of a hexadecimal number.
A hex triplet is a six-digit, three-byte hexadecimal number used in HTML, CSS, SVG, and other computing applications, to represent colors. The color white would be referred to as FFFFFF.
To begin, let’s take the blue color from the Blueprint for Design logo at the top left of this site. The hexadecimal number is 558FAB. On the Color Scheme Designer website, click the area I have highlighted with the red box in the below image.
A window will pop up to add your six digit color value. Once you click OK, then the magic starts happening. You are first introduced to the mono color scheme. In our case, the colors are variations of blue. (The image above shows this.) Other viewing options include; mono, complement, triad, tetrad, analogic, accented, and analogic. Each one will give you a set of colors that, according to the color wheel, mathematically look good together. For instance, after entering the color 558FAB, I then clicked on triad in the top left and this is the color chart I was given.
From here, there are a number of different things you can explore. You can check the tick box in the bottom right to see what text looks like overlaid on the colors. You can click ‘Color List’ on the bottom left to see what the numeric values of all the colors are. You can even click on the links to the bottom right that say ‘Light Page Example’ or ‘Dark Page Example’ to see a mock up of a website with your selected color scheme. Here is what my color choice looks like on a light page example.
Another great feature is the ability to export the color scheme you’ve created in various formats. A drop-down menu in the upper right contains all the export options. I use Photoshop, and for most web designers, I suspect this is what you will use. Here is how to do it.
A Quick Guide for Importing Color Palettes in Photoshop
1. Export your color palette from Color Scheme Designer and save to your computer.
2. Open Adobe Photoshop and open your Swatches tab. (Pictured below.)
3. Click on the drop down arrow at the right and choose Load Swatches.
4. Browse to the .ACO file that you saved from Color Scheme Designer and open it.
5. The selection of colors are now displayed.
There are quite a few resources on color theory on the web. A recent article was written on Smashing Magazine’s website called “Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color.” I found it to be quite interesting. Near the bottom of that post are a few other links to useful color theory articles.
Do you have any websites or applications to recommend on choosing colors for designs? Is there a process that you use?
Klok – Time Tracking
Time management is one of the most important aspects of working on my own as a freelance designer. Keeping track of hours spent on each project is vital to running a successful business. In the past, I’d have an Excel spreadsheet for each project. I’d fill in my start time, then fill in my end time each day. I’d say at least half the time I’d forget to fill in one or the other. What was I left to do then but guess? This method wasn’t fair to me or my clients.
One simple online discovery changed everything. Klok. Not only is Klok simple to use, it’s free. Yes, 100% free.
Your time is your product. Every minute you spend working that goes unaccounted for is like giving away your product for free. Tracking your time accurately is essential to staying profitable.
In addition, knowing how much time you spend on past projects, can allow you to better estimate future projects. Do you know how much time you spend in meetings? On the phone? Promoting yourself? Making sales calls? http://klok.mcgraphix.com
I’ve grabbed a few screen shots Klok features on it’s website and posted them below. Clicking on each image will open up a larger version.
Week View: See all your projects in a handy bar graph/calendar display. Each project can be assigned a unique color.
Description: Double clicking an item allows you to be more descriptive about the specific entry. It also allows you to modify the time in case you need to make any changes.
Time Entries: See a list of all your entries and the time spent. Modifying this menu will also modify the calendar view.
Reports: See reports of what you’ve been working on as pie charts. See how you’ve been spending your time. As a side note, I like to try and keep track of everything I do, including my own business/overhead projects. For me, seeing how much time I spend in all facets of my business is helpful for time management.
If you are looking for a free way to manage your time, Klok could be the answer for you. It’s ease of use and simplicity make it worthwhile. I also challenge you to start tracking your time during the day to see how you’re spending (or wasting) it.
DOWNLOAD KLOK V1.5
Do you, as a designer or small business owner, have any other recommendations of time tracking software?
WPtouch – WordPress Plug-in
This site was created using WordPress (WP). One of the biggest benefits for anyone considering using WP for the content management system (CMS) on their site is the amount of added features, or plug-ins you can add. If you want a certain feature on your site or blog, there is a good chance someone has already created just what you were looking for.
One plug-in I have implemented on this site, and a few others, is WPtouch. The plug-in is designed to change the format and look of your site to be suitable for viewing on mobile devices. According to Brave New Code’s website, the mobile version of a site will be viewable on iPhone, iPod touch, Android or BlackBerry touch mobile devices.
More than just a plugin, WPtouch is an entire theme package for your WordPress website. Modeled after Apple’s app store design specs, WPtouch makes your WordPress website load lightning fast on touch mobile devices, show your content beautifully, all while not interfering with your regular theme.
http://www.bravenewcode.com/wptouch/
Plug-in Highlights
- The ability to choose which pages to view
- The option to easily choose colors and icons to match your “real” site
- Works in both vertical and portrait format on device
- The ability to turn on and off the theme when viewing on device
- The clarity and ease of use on touch screen device
I’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this plug-in. With so many visitors viewing websites on mobile devices, this is a great, simple solution to make their experience more device friendly.
Here are a few screen shots of what the Blueprint for Design website looks like on an iPhone.
I knew I forgot something
Have you ever stood there in fear in front of some store aisle, or in your car, or in front of a client…
Well, I have. Felt like the wind was kicked out of you, all flushed with surprise because you knew something was missing.
First, I used to walk around with a pad of post-its. Sticking notes on everything and everywhere, things I HAD to remember, to do’s, to call’s…anniversaries!
Let me say I looked pretty funny with post-its stuck to my glasses and they just weren’t practical, especially in the winter.
But, luckily I found this great little program called Remember the Milk. It’s a great little program that WILL NOT let you forget whatever you tell it to remember. And, it has the great e-mail feature that will send you reminders.
Please go check it out and share your thoughts!