Whats Cooking at Iman Studios!

Don't mistake our silence for having nothing interesting to talk about. What have we been up to? Well, what haven't we been up to?

Here is a quick summary of our upcoming projects:

Muslim Calendar: www.muslim-calendar.com (coming soon)

Iman Studios was hired to redesign, organize, code and give ideas for a better use experience. Our professional web design team of designers, coders and consultants are working on a new and moder look to their otherwise aging interior content structures. In addition to that, we have also redesigned and reformatted their weekly subscribed to newsletter. Look for it in the coming weeks.

Dawa Corps: www.dawacorps.com (soft launched)

Iman Studios, a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in professional website design and creative solutions, designed the new Dawah Corps website, catering to educating the youth about Islam. Unlike other non-profit organizations, DC wanted a very unique look that really appealed to a younger audience. Something urban and out the box. This unique design reflects the personality of their organization and their audience.

Ask Baba Ali: www.askbabaali.com (coming soon)
Baba Ali of Ummah Films is at it again. His new show, Ask Baba Ali, is a unique new way of presenting answers to todays most asked questions by Muslim Youth. Using Video and his own comedic personality, Baba Ali will entertain and most importantly educate his audience and give his 2 cents. Funny, Witty and most of all Entertaining. The new look will boast a Word Press them designed around a web 2 layout. Look for it in the up coming weeks.

New Iman Studios site just launched

The New face of Iman Studios is up and running. I would love to hear you comments on the new site. A lot of new features as well as services. Still working some small bugs out but for the most part its good to go. We are fully staffed now and have some great developers who have joined are team. Bringing all the latest development tools to the table we intend on stepping up our game in design as well as functionality. The site is coded completely in CSS/XHTML and uses AJAX in certain sections of the site as well. We intend on making constant improvements to the site and keep it updated regularly. Check out our Our Works section for all our latest work in Web Design, Logo Design and Motion Graphics. Your critique is appreciated as well.
Thank you for all your continued support as well as business. We hope you keep us in mind for your next project. From our family to yours, we are appreciative.

Regards

Web Design, the quest for inspiration!

The web is filled with incredible works of art. Beautiful graphics, stunning photography, awesome motion, slick animation and sometimes all that put together, to create that one website that leaves everyone breathless. These days web designers are a dime a dozen. Any sane person that can follow a couple of tutorials and invest in some software can create their own website. But as a web designer myself, the difference is very visible between those who’s pores leak of creative juices and those who design cause they got nothing better to do. In no way am I degrading those who lack that creative edge, but actually applauding those who do. For many, web design started of as a hobby or branched off other creative arts like making music or painting or even creative thinking. It’s awesome that someone can express his or her creative originality through a productive outlet such as Web Design.

But like all things, even creativity sometimes runs out and we find ourselves looking at an empty white photoshop document trying to get inspired. Frustration builds up, and that’s when we quit designing and open up our favorite first-person shooter and let it loose baby. When does it go from something you love to do, to a chore? I have felt that mental block many times and it’s hard to meet deadlines with a quality product when you have no ideas. But don’t give up, you are a creative enthusiast so find some creative solutions to get you motivated to work design again. Here are a few things that have worked well for me.

1. Go to award sites like, coolhomepages.com, cwd.dk or Internet tiny awards. You can view other people’s work and gain some ideas. Either the site of the day or the popular site section can provide some needed insight on things.
2. Go look at your own portfolio, what better way than to admire your own work and be proud of yourself. You are a designer, remember that. It’s those creative people that achieve quick success.
3. Listen to ambient music. No, not elevator music. But electronica, ambient, ambient trance, chillout, soundscapes, atmospheric or even some deep non-vocal trance. Music helps you get into moods and sometimes you can feel your heart beat a little faster as you get motivated and the hair on your arms stands up thinking about design. Even if you only listen to rap or rock, try this out, it’s definitely relaxing and mentally stimulating. You can go to Shoutcast Radio or the Radio Station Guide to find some pretty cool radio stations.
4. Exercise. Get out there, work up a quick sweat and get your heart pumping. This has worked for me many times.
5. Take a shower. When I am in the shower, a hundred ideas go through my head. You are alone and only hear the sound of water. I have had some million-dollar ideas in there, all too soon to forget as soon as I step out. But think about a potential design and draw it out in your head.
6. Become a member of some design forums. There are so many out there take your pick; Site-point, Kirupa, Flash-Kit etc… Most of them have an inspiration or a cool site section, which list web sites that people think deserve recognition and therefore motivational. Also go to the site critique section to find some cool ideas and give your thoughts.
7. Finally, do it because there is a future in it. Imagine yourself being successful with every site you design. Then take steps towards it and make it happen.

The only way to really make it here is to have your own business. You already have that creative skill set that many others lack. Take that and run with it. Don’t compare yourself to other designers, there is work for everyone. Get your portfolio site up if you haven’t done so already. It doesn’t have to be super-duper or better than that other designer’s sites, because your clients don’t know the difference. There is a market for everyone, remember that. With over a billion sites on the net, and more sites going live everyday you can definitely get clients.

Visualize and chase that goal!

Do you really need to re-design your website?

As daunting of a task as it may seem, your website is your company’s image and needs to look presentable. Ask yourself, how long have I had my current web site design? If your answer is more than 3 years, then its time to start thinking, redesign. Web technology advancements are very rapid and every year the web breaks through with new and improved web applications, usability, design and back end programming. Car manufacturers often change their models every 3-5 years. Always introducing something new, more sleeker, faster, with better gas mileage etc… If the Honda Accord still looked the same as the one from the year 2000, their competition would definitely surpass them. But they still make minor changes every year to give their customers something new to look forward to. Just like cars, web sites also need a fresh design every once in a while. If you aren’t going to do it, your competitors will.

Your site may look great to you, after all you approved on the design and paid for it, but in reality it may not be all that groovy. You may ask, who is to say what looks good and what doesn’t. Well, nobody really. Even web designers differ in taste and may sometimes be on opposite ends of the spectrum. To do a quick reality check, look at some web sites throughout your industry. See what they offer, how they have designed it. Is it appealing to you? Do these sites give you ideas for your own? Does it bring out the competitive edge in you? Sure, some sites may make you feel just down right heroic inside. We aren’t saying your current website is super UGLY, although that maybe the case. That is why it is important to sit and evaluate your web site. No matter how great your product or service may be, if your web site doesn’t grab your potential customer’s attention within the first 3 seconds, they most likely will hit that infamous BACK button or close the browser all together. Sadly, web surfers aren’t very patient and need something stimulating to look at once they hit that GO button.

1. Evaluate your site’s usability, the look and feel and most importantly content and it’s placement.
   
2. Send a quick survey to some of your customers and gather their input. Your customer will appreciate that you value their opinion and will gladly provide you with constructive feedback.
3. If possible, contact a professional web design firm and ask them what they think. Actually, contact a few. Most web design companies will usually give you their professional opinion for free, with hopes that you select them as your service provider.
4. Look through your site, and see how well it conveys your products and services to someone who knows nothing about it.
5. Take a peek at your competitor’s sites in your industry and other industries to obtain ideas.
6. Ask yourself, was your site launched just because everyone else had one and forgotten, or does it really do something tangible?
7. Get your hands on a web analytics report that tells you how many users have visited your site. You can usually obtain this by logging into your host’s website or by calling them. This can give you needed information on how many hits your site gets, where most of your viewers go and how long they stay. This is also a great tool to gain some insight on your next big marketing campaign.

Once you have gathered all this data, evaluate your budget and see if there is some room for a web site redesign. If so, then please get it done. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it the right one. Appearance is so important and will only continue to increase the demand of great designed sites, so stay with the flow. Don’t drown your organization in this sea of ugly web sites.

Sarfaraz Ahmed
Iman Studios

Ummah Films - Season 1 Intro

I was watching Spike TV the other day, and saw one of their little commercials for Ultimate Fighter. It was kind of a very rugged scratched look and feel to it, with spots and everything moving in 3d SPACE with camera action. I thought I would try something similar with Ummah Films, since I just finished making their website.
So I came up with a little 10 second animated effect marketing Ummah Film's season 1, The Reminder. Check it out.

TNT - Channel: Movie Intro.

Hey Everyone, or the few that come here. I am working on a Movie Intro for the TV Channel, TNT. This is basically what you see right before the movie start, basically stating that this movie is brought to you by TNT.
Its not completely done yet, but is a rough draft that I wanted to share with you all, and possibly get some feedback. I definitely want to get into the special fx industry and I trying very hard to learn multiple programs to make that possible. Well check out the clip here
TNT Movie Intro

IS goes Motion Blurring

Messing with After Effects again. Saw this intro for a TV show this past weekend, I think it was for Ghost Hunters or something. Freakkky show!! anyways. I loved this awesome effect that they did with the letters kind of dissapearing away into the dark with a set of ghostly letters behind it. I had TiVO, so I rewound the commercial and recorded it. Watched it over and over again, and tried to animate the same effect in After Effects. After a couple of hours I stopped very frustrated with my self, had some spicy heart stopping curry and then went searching on GOOGLE for tutorials on how to make text blur away while making it do ten other things. Well I knew it wouldnt come out exactly like the commercial, but I try and set high expectations for myself. Hey you aim for an A and you can end up with a C, as long as you pass right.... Nah, maybe that worked in college, but I am a little more passionte about this than I ever was about shcool. Well, regardless of what I got in college, FINALLY I came up with this. I like the little effect it created, add some music, trying hard to synchronize but not close, and BADDA BANG BADDA BOOM>> IS Motion Blur
:( still not up to par? I know, I know... I am trying here people, give me a break..... JOKE>>
Slightly larger file> 3mb, just 30sec of your time.. sorry.