Iman Studios - the official blog

Half Our Deen: Muslim Marriage site of the year!

2010-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

Baba Ali, the top Muslim video blogger, boldly jumped into the Muslim Matchmaking market by launching www.HalfOurDeen.com. A market controlled by giants such as, Shaadi.com, SingleMuslim.com and Muslima.com, could be a tough industry to crack. But he was sick of sites that treated people like used cars only sharing data, and more data. He built a matchmaking site that is now known as the "Match.com of the Muslim world". A real matchmaking site based on 56 levels of compatibility that actually looks at the inner you, your character, your religion, your personality and your social life. Lets back track here a bit to its birth, when HOD was just an idea. Baba Ali, not known for talking about what he wants to do, but just doing it, approaches Iman Studios to take on the project. Iman Studios, being familiar with Baba Ali's previous projects such as www.ummahfilms.com, www.muslimgames.com and www.askbabaali.com, accepts the challenge and starts brainstorming.

We were asked to completely rethink how the traditional Muslim Marriage site looked and functioned. A blind approach that took us out the box and into a project that changed the game completely for us. He demanded something far from the norm, that hadn't been done in this elusive niche market. A challenge we were up for the taking. Iman Studios quickly put a team together comprising of, fearless designers, .net developers, clean coders and a mathematician who studied Harmonic Calculus (umm what?) to tackle the algorithm.

The website boasts a proprietary custom algorithm that powers the match percentages calculated form the compatibility tests, a personal question module that allows users to add their own questions of what matters most to them, weekly matches sent to your in box and completely ad-free. A lot of these were firsts for us, but exploring the unknown is what has gotten us this far. We faced a lot of challenges but trusted the team to find a solution and make the site that much more powerful.

The delivery was very time sensitive due to the amount of marketing that went into the site prior to launch. We delivered and it and went into Beta testing 2 weeks prior to launch. With over 133 testers buzzing around the site and providing us feedback we corrected any last minor bugs and awaited a much anticipated opening ceremony. The launch was quite successful for a Pay only site. 250 users signed up within the first 48 hrs exceeding most of our goals.

Baba Ali was happy yet again, being a repeat (x3) customer. Our team learned a lot from this project, we did experiment with some pretty awesome technologies as well as some hard core coding by our developers. A Muslim Matchmaking Site - Half Our Deen
Check it out. We would love to hear from you.

10 BIG Reasons why you should have a BLOG

2010-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Fast and Simple:

Blogging is a fast and simple way of posting content, images and video to your site. A web designer can get it designed and set up within a few days. Posting with engines like Wordpress is a breeze. Just type and publish :)
Cheap:

Its fairly cheap to get a blog designed and developed. Unlike a website, a blog takes less effort which means more savings for you. With a blog on your site, you have a very powerful marketing tool at your fingertips.
Fresh Content:

Having a website is great. You have your about us page your services brief and your contact page. Now what! Usually websites just sit there without ever being updated and the content rusts. By rusts I mean, search engines have nothing new to report about your website. Been there done that. A blog changes all that. With the power to Post at will, the blog can shake the cob webs off your website and give it LIFE! By blogging consistently you provide not only search engines but also readers with new content to explore and read.
Google Friendly:

Its good become friends with Google. One condition for its friendship is being optimized for search engines. A blog ranks you higher in search engines. Content is king and new content is even better. Using keywords that describe your website and its products or services will move you up in the rankings, slowly but surely. Blogs are search engine's best friends. Don't have a site without one.
Direct Contact:

Over time with consistent blogging, you will have developed a following of readers who will subscribe to your blog and get updates via email every time you post something new. This is a direct line of communication between you and your target audience. For example, we are a professional web design company and we write mostly about what is most important to our industry and market.
Brand it:

The more you blog, the more people hear about your website. Repetition is a great way of remembering something forever. This creates awareness of the product or service you offer. Its just like those annoying car wash coupons you get in the mail. We rarely use them, but you do remember that company that gives those car wash coupons every time. When you do need a car wash, who do you think you will go to? EXACTLY!
Business Relationships:

By speaking freely and posting honest and open content on your blog, it will create a very relaxed and informal environment where your readers will soon feel like they know you well. With your readers commenting on your blog and you replying back to your posts, creates that one on one bond with potential clients. This in turn creates trust in what you do. Blogging is a great way to network with readers all over the Web.
Mr. Expert:

This is your Blog. You are the one that knows your website and its content the best. Nobody else. Become the authority on what you are advocating. Most of the readers that come to your blog are people in search of information and knowledge. Potential clients will be much more likely to engage with your products or services if they see you as the Expert in your field. Yes, you might not know everything, but you know more than your customer. Be confident and post as the leader of your industry.
Customer Insight:

By allowing customers to leave comments on your blogs, you get an insight on what their reactions, their problems and their needs are. You can also get a feel for what kind of topics the readers are more inclined to comment on and what they aren't interested in. This will give you some great leads on what to focus your efforts on when marketing and how to direct your website content.
Traffic, Inbound links and Indexed pages:

Simply put; visitors, Visitors and MORE VISITORS! The HubSpot recently did a statistical survey to compare companies that blogged regularly to ones that didn't blog at all. After looking at over 1,500 companies the results were staggering. Companies with a blog have:
- 55% more visitors
- 97% more inbound links from other websites
- 434% more indexed pages
  
  Every client that comes to us with hopes to have a killer website that looks and functions better than their competitors, we almost immediately recommend them to have a Blog. We tell them the exact same thing we have told you. That was one of our main reasons of sending out this newsletter. We didn't want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to get ahead online in their industry. It doesn't take long for a blog to capture readers. Readers who are looking and thirsty for information and services from the right company. These could be your readers and potential clients. If you don't already have a blog let us know. We can build a blog that will fit in within the theme of your website. I hope to hear from you soon. :)

Sarfaraz

Client tips for finding a Professional web design company.

2010-02-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

You the client are badly in need of a professional web design company or freelancer and just don’t know where to find the right one or which one to pick or even where to start. Well I am in the Los Angeles area and how many web designers do you think are in this area? More, even more than your last thought. Wait let me show you (Google maps above).

Yeah EXACTLY! Those red dots aren’t Starbucks locations, but are actual web design firms and freelancers located in the L.A area. Ridiculous! Well at least you have a lot of choices, too many choices. I can understand your pain and the level of stress to invest thousands of dollars on some firm which you have no idea about. But they do exist and hopefully all of them have a website for you to view their portfolio of work.

Well, here are a few tips to keep in mind when looking for a web design firm or freelancer.

1) Know what you want before-hand.
These days no matter what you buy, you are bound to jump online and find out more about the product. Research. Educate yourself on what you actually want. Just knowing you need a professional website with an image of a dog chasing its tail is not enough. Here are a few things to know before you go looking for a web designer.

a) What is your call to action? What is the #1 thing you want to achieve from having or redesigning your website? Is it sales, more members, more hits, downloads or getting the word out. This will help you decide if you need an informative, ecommerce, database, networking website or just a blog. What’s the difference? Thousands of Dollars!

b) How many pages or links do you need for all your content? Re-asses your current site and pick and choose your content and if extra pages are necessary. This will save you cost and important real-estate on the web page.

c) Do you need a content management system? A CMS will help you maintain your website all on your own. Most popular CMS’s like Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress are pretty straight forward, almost like using MS Word. Alternatively you can also hire a webmaster to do the updating for you. Cost: Webmaster > CMS. By a lot. Go for the CMS.

d) Know your Budget? $150 is not a budget for a professional website. I understand you are a student and live on your own and have student loans up the yin yang, and you walk 10miles to school and can afford to drink Starbucks everyday (comes out to about $150/mo) but still want an AWESOME website with all the bells and whistles and flash.. You are better off going with a template from Monster. Just remember, 1000 other people also have the same looking website as you and on the World Wide Web, you don’t want to look like the rest of the sheep. Your basic informative website from a medium priced design firm will range from $1500 - $3500. That’s about 8-10 links, a contact form and a decent custom design. Hopefully coded in table less format, better known as CSS/XHTML. Some even give you a blog and a content management system along with it.

e) Research your competitor’s websites. Obviously you want your website to shine in the industry you represent. But see what they are up to. Note down what you like about them and what you don’t like about them. Do this for about 3-4 sites. Here the look and feel really matters. Functionality is definitely important, but your customers and viewers will base their initial experience of what they SEE! So a designer who can pay attention to detail and has some pretty decent designs in their portfolio might suit you best.

2) Google the web for web design firms.

a) Google the web for, “Professional Web Design” or “Los Angeles (your city) Web Design”, in your area first. The reason I say this is because it’s always good to have someone local to go to.

b) The top results on Google are because they have marketed themselves really well. Not always are they the best choice for web design firms. That’s why it’s best to look directly at their portfolio of work to get an idea of what their capabilities are. They may or may not impress you.

3) Request a proposal. Contact the web design firm.

a) Go to their Contact Us page and fill out the form if they have one or email them with your requirements. Most proposal forms have certain questions that they as web designers need to ask to formulate a comprehensive quote. The more information they have the more accurate they can be in giving you a quote. So be as descriptive as you can.

b) Personally meet your designer. Local web designers can sometimes meet you at a coffee shop, come by your office or meet at their office to discuss your project in more detail. To some of you it matters a lot that you physically meet and greet your designer. If that’s what it takes then do just that. Remember it’s your money and your website; you do what you have to do to feel comfortable with hiring them.

c) Talk to your designer over the phone. Meeting personally is not always the most feasible option for a lot of clients. I know most of my clients I have never personally met, but I make myself available over the phone and email throughout the day. You can also get a feel for who your designer is by seeing how quickly they respond to your emails or return your calls. Whatever it takes to make you comfortable.

4) Check their Portfolio of work:
Most web design firm’s sites look amazing. But their portfolio could tell a different story. Check their work and look at their designs, and see if that’s the style you are looking for. Go through their site to get a feel for functionality. The more diverse their sites are the better chance they can cater to just about anything you need.

5) Read their client testimonials:
Client testimonials are a great way to see what the client thought about their work. Most likely you will only see positive remarks, but you feel more comfortable that others have also used their services and have been satisfied.

6) Talk to some friends or family that are familiar with the industry:
There is always some IT guy you know that may know a little about what to look for. They could possibly recommend someone to you as well. Word of mouth is a good way to get recommendations as its direct form the source and most likely legit. Don’t have your best friends, sister’s, BFF’s dad do it, because he knows how to use Photoshop. You get what you pay for and it’s true. Go with someone who does it for a living.

Web Design is a creative art and you have to be passionate about it to be really good. Creativity can’t be taught, it is something that comes from within and it’s the ability to see something that doesn’t really exist. The ability to create that and put it into something tangible can be a huge plus to the creative mind. Respect the art. After all at the end, it’s your site that is on the line with potential readers and clients. These days with our economy more and more people are closing shop and going online. The competition is getting heavier and the eternal struggle to be unique has web sites embracing new designs and technology. It pays to LOOK better here. HAPPY HUNTING!!!

Sarfaraz

http://www.imanstudios.com

Well Egg Consulting - Our newest work.

2010-01-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Well Egg (http://www.wellegg.com), a consulting company on the east coast. Needed a new look to their existing older website. Something fresh and professional with a clean look and feel to it. We designed with a WEB 2 feel in mind and backed it up with a blog and a Content Management System.

The design is clean and simple. A very visible and easy to use navigation. A big large screenshot to show the application being supported by Well Egg (SAP). We used light pastel colors to give it a very smooth feel. We also redesigned their logo and gave it a more cleaner feel. The back end is CSS/XHTML strict 1.0 (table less design), php and a wordpress theme for the blog and the CMS.

Would love your feedback on it. I apologize for not updating this blog on a regular basis. I will try my best to do so now. Thanks for reading. For more of our work check out our professional website designs at, http://www.imanstudios.com.

Whats Cooking at Iman Studios!

2007-12-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

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

2007-09-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-07-23T09:20:00.001-07:00

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.

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.
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.
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.
Exercise. Get out there, work up a quick sweat and get your heart pumping. This has worked for me many times.
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.
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.
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?

2007-07-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Evaluate your site’s usability, the look and feel and most importantly content and it’s placement.
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.
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.
Look through your site, and see how well it conveys your products and services to someone who knows nothing about it.
Take a peek at your competitor’s sites in your industry and other industries to obtain ideas.
Ask yourself, was your site launched just because everyone else had one and forgotten, or does it really do something tangible?
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

2006-09-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-09-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-03T01:03:00.000-07:00

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.

After Effects Intros

2006-07-15T17:51:00.001-07:00

Lions Gate Films, Disney, Miramax, Touchstone Pictures. All Names of great movie making companies. Their popularity grows with every film. Pretty soon, their corporate identity, their theme music their whole introduction becomes an icon that notifies audiences everywhere that, "Yeah, I know what that is". Brand Identity and Loyalty. Well enough of that. I thought to make something similar to these greats. Wording is not important right now, but I used Iman Studios as an example of what we can possibly do with Movie Intros. The possibilities are endless, all you need is a bit of an imagination. Here is something quick about 10 seconds long. Quicktime needed to watch it. See it here.

Eart Day Commercial

2006-04-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

Working on a short commercial for Earth Day 2007. I figured while I am learning the software, Adobe AFter Effects, might as well do somethign that is more porductive, like working on an actual project.
Very simple. I know the text has to be there for a little longer, but this is what I have so far. I haven't yet experimented with video in After Effects, but will do that soon enough.
Let me know what you think of this.

After Effects: still experimenting.

2006-04-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Another sample. I really don't have a direction in this one, still learning the software. I wanted something cinematic, without the use of video, kind of like a preview to a movie without showing any clips from the movie. I know it dosen't really make sense, but I am limited to my knowledge of the software. Well for what its worth, here it is:

First Attempt at After Effects.

2006-04-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Experimenting here! Last night I took a shot at Adobe After Effects 6.5. I have seen some really cool effects in movies, commercials, especially ESPN and opening credits. I have always wondered how they did it??. I was so intrigued by the way these effects werer done, that I reserached it and found out that most were done in After Effects, 3d Studio Max, Light Wave, Maya, Photoshop, Flash and Combustion. Well a combination of a few of these programs. Well somany programs so little time. I decided to go with After Effects and just start learning the tools and some filters that they use to get some really cool effects. Last night I sat and just messed with all the filters and effects, added some music and came up with this thingggy! Whatever you call it. Either way let me know what you think!

Business Directory

2006-04-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

My latest project, a MySQL Powered business directory. www.thecommunitydirectory.com 90% done. Just waiting for the clients approvals and check ofcourse. This was my first time venturing out into the programming world. Dealing with Databases, scripts, PHP, MySQL and admin tools. Man, that's confusing. Had to get some help. A good friend of mine, is a programmer and he wanted to work with me on a project and also get more into web development. I decided to give him a shot and it came out pretty well. Ofcourse we changed the color scheme about 4 times. I liked the first one which was orange and gray, but currently it is baby blue and gray, which is not too bad. Looks nice, a good contrast. This was a pretty challenging project. Not having too many graphics, just something simple, catchy but still keeping it clean and crisp. Much like Google, but nicer fonts... :) I learned a lot and since all I have been doing was Informative or graphic intensive sites, I can now expand my horizons a little into databases.
With so many new technologies and languages coming out its kind of hard to keep up. Doing a project that utilizes these aspects is a great way to learn and stay sharp. Gotta keeeep up!!!

The Photography Website - brief analysis.

2006-04-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

The initial page layout for www.camerabstract.com (soon to come) is www.imanstudios.com/camera. Very simple site, tried to keep it clean and not cluttered. The client wanted a palladium feel to it. This site is dedicated to display a portfolio of black & white and palladium photographs. The current logo (as of 4-1) is being changed, working on that right now. The images at the bottome are just space fillers. In its place wil be a scrolling flash movie which will scroll right to left depending on the movement of the mouse. Every image scroling will also be a link that will open up a larger version of that image. The website is kind of shifted to the right a little, and needs to centered more.
The top picture of the trees, will fade in and fade out every so many seconds to different images, that will alos be a flash loop. The contact button up top is also too close to the edge, and will be moved over as of (4-1). But thats the basic layout.
Waiting on the client to send me the initial deposit and then I will begin. With most clients I have dealt on the payment issues, there is always a delay in getting the money, i dont mind it being a 2or 3 days late, but when I starts taking weeks, then I do get a little furstrated. They are quick to sign the contract and FAX it over. But I guess I can understand, sometimes we all run into situations where we just don't have that extra income at that point. its ALLL GOOD... but dont PUSH IT>>

Ugly sites: why people love them

2006-03-30T12:58:00.000-08:00

There is no limit to how many UGLY sites are out there (with respect to this lady thing over here to the left, good lord IT could use some braces, and a razor LOL). It’s rare that you run into a clean well-designed site. I go to google a lot, like everyone else because I need info or trying to find something and when I do find it.... It’s just like. What the HECK were you thinking? It really seems like people are intentionally designing them UGLY. WHY?? Do nicely designed websites scare people away? You know what, I want to come up with a search engine that works just like google, but only searches out nicely designed, clean looking, well organized, well thought, nice color schemed sites for your search. Not the ones with 9 different fonts, 20 different colors, Everything is BOLD, because they want EVERYTHING to be important.. uhhhh ... what’s the need to bold then...... like this site right here http://www.superstarmanagement.com/ .............
.................... One word....................... "Throwup" Everything is bold. He got flashing lights on black squares with a menu bar that’s just floating around, almost trying to decide where it wants to settle down. And that sonar thing on the header is giving me a headache, looking at it just go into your brain everytime.. Ok enough bashing the site. I sent an email to the guy, but no response. This company is huge, VERY BIG. Sponsoring movies like ATL, and big celebrities, actors, singers, athlete’s etc.... crazy..
Well what I wanted to say ask is that, Do people really feel safer going to ugly websites. I mean is it like, UGLY=CHEAP... BEAUTIFUL=EXPENSIVE.. Well maybe a little but still.
it could also be that the design firm that did the site probably put in all their effort and skills to use, but it still came out UGLY, and the customer didn’t know the difference as long as he had some flashing icons going off like STROBE lights, he paid the guy. SAD :(
I have a client who's website needs a FACE LIFT, actually everything needs to be lifted and tossed away somewhere far far away... current site ( http://www.nssplus.com/) can you say I AM BLUE
There is so much going on in that site, I felt like someone was breathing down my neck.... felt like everything was caving in, shortness of breath, and the light.... the light., its sooo soo pretty.. It’s getting closer.... hehehh... ok fine.. Well that’s how bad it was.. So I said, wow.. Let me get to work and after about 14 hours came up with this www.imanstudios.com/nssplus .. hey NICE, why thank you. Used a more professional interface, clean white, still kept the blues and reds that he wanted... Changed his logo around a little, included a new flash header that will be different on each of the main pages. The guy who I was dealing with from NSSPLUS loved it.. he said our site just got plastic surgery.... but the decision-maker dint like it. He still was in love with the HYPNOTIZING blue screen of FREAKING DEATH... that has been pasted over his Bifocals. This guy is soo old school, but runs a multi-million dollar firm. I am not asking him to just give me money, I am giving him a quality product that will step up his image on the net. His competition is CISCO.... How do you plan to compete with CISCO with a site that looks like kaka dodo (excuse my French).. he just wants me to create flash banners for all his pages.. and that’s it. I just wish I got one opportunity to talk to him... I usually go through his marketing guy, who I don’t know if he is relaying the messages properly or not. I think I can make him see my vision, butter him up a little and then go through. Well Ill keep you updated on this. Anyway.. Lunchtime... :))
I am out.

New Layout: Color Scheme

2006-03-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

My latest project. http://www.dahji.com/, a personal store of arts and apparel by a guy from Virginia. He wanted something that really had a clean and crisp look at the same time a warm color scheme. I knew I wanted to use the browns oranges, whites, and some grays, but needed exact colors. So I went to http://www.colorschemer.com/. Pretty cool site. It gives you different color schemes according to what type of environment you want to create. Not just for websites but for everything. I mean you could use it to paint your room if you wanted.
Well if you look at the website its pretty simple. I wanted to have fewer link on the main navigation but he needed direct links to all his pages, so they had to be put there. My toughest challenge was in Dreamweaver, when it came to putting the shadows in the exact place and make the tables the exact size to achieve the clean look it currently has, sometimes it gets frustrating. The client was very happy with the site, and has contracted me for more work. At the end that’s all that matters. Check out the site; let me know what you think. One thing for sure, the guy can sure take some nice photographs.

Family Favors: Free of Charge :(

2006-01-31T08:44:00.000-08:00

Here it comes. I was going to get to it but had to really think of this one before posting. Family meaning, immediate, cousins, relatives, close friends etc… People you are really close to and know or interact on a daily basis. . Have you ever been good at something, or maybe you are the stronger one in the family, or the taller one, or the person who knows all about computers, or knows about fixing Antique Amish toilets K , or just a handy danady man or whatever you call them. Or perhaps you just happen to be a WEB DESIGNER. Here is the question?
Should you charge your "family" to design a web site for their personal or business use?
Now when I was fist starting off I asked my mom if I can redesign the web site for the school that she works for. Now I needed some projects under my belt like I explained many posts ago to get any type of recognition as a designer. So I told her I would do it for free. That’s fine, it’s your mom so you have to do it. Plus she cooks and feeds you and carried you for 9 months, so you don’t have much of a choice. I designed that web site http://www.newhorizonwestside.com/ about 3 years ago. This isn’t how it looked back then; this is actually my 3rd revision of the site. Till today I still update it every other month and put up various content. That’s cool. No problem. Ok
Now my uncle in san fran finds out that I do web sites, so he asked me how much it would cost for me to do a website for a restaurant. I said yes I will do it for you. So I created a full FLASH website for him. http://www.houseoffalafel.com/ . It came out cool, put up some menus and news clippings. Now do I charge him? Of course NOT. I did not charge him, he is my uncle. He kept on insisting that he will pay me and asked me for my rates and all that. He has been there for me and supported me when I was younger, he was kind of like the COOL uncle of the family so I was more than happy to do it for him. So family is family, you have to be there for them no matter what. I mean it’s just that money can break up relationships. That’s why doing business with family shouldnt be called BUSINESS, its called Family Favors. When money gets involved, people measure hard work at different weights. In my opinion it just isn’t worth it.
Then my little sister (cousin) was getting married and needed a site to show the place and time directions, she wanted something simple. But I can’t do simple. I can either do my best or just give you a template. Regardless whether its free or not. Money doesn’t measure the hard work I put into something. Because most of these sites will be displayed on my portfolio and people will look at it. They will not know which sites I did for free or which I charged for. They just see sites and I will be judged by it. So I give it a 100% every time I design a web site. So my cousins’ site, http://www.samerandanish.com/ I did was a full flash site, left it for expansion once they give me some pics to work with. But no charge for that either. Common that’s like my little sister, I will be the monster of the family if I charge her for that. LOL… oh well. I hope nobody else in my huge family with 38 cousins don’t need and site done.

It ain’t easy….

The $$$Buck STOPS HERE!!!!!!!!!!

2005-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Listen to this!!!!
This Real Estate guy from Dubai gets a hold of my email address and sends me an email of how badly he is in need of a web site. He said he sells apartments in huge 60 floor towers. He said he would do it himself but doesn’t have the time because he is so very busy with all his clients selling them apartments. In other words making bank. He said he wants something completely in FLASH. Very smooth moving, sharp looking, edgy, clean, crisp, hot and fresh out the oven. (meaning unique). Then he tells me he wants something that looks just like http://www.zara.com/. I emailed him back , " hey no problem we can make something SIMILAR to it if not better." Now zara.com is an ok looking site. Kind of dull in color but decent flash. I just didn’t like the jagged movement of the site when it switches from one page to the next. I mean it’s a fashion site with beautiful people. Slow it down a bit be smoother. Anyway, he wants a quote and he tells me that Price is very important to him. Cost is key in this project. (also interpreted as; "I got no money to spend on marketing my growing business with 100s of clients, but I want an awesome flash site. Sincerely, el cheepo") He also wanted to see a mock design of it. He was testing my creativity. He said " Show me your style of design. I will compare it to others and if I like it I will pick you." Hmmmm.. ahhhhh ok geeeee ok yeahhhhhh . SURE I will spend 4 hours designing a nice little layout for you so you can go with another designer. Common what do you take me as, a JOKE!!!

4 hours later I had a design ready for him. WHY DID I DO IT? Well you see the problem with me is my creativity goes wild as soon as a project idea is brought forth. I mean I am serious. I literally take a pencil and sketch the design all over my brain. Then I start talking to myself and arguing with myself of what color scheme to use. But at the end I always get my way. I think?? The other thing is, I don’t like being challenged, but love to be competitive. I like to step up to the plate. I don’t care what it is. Designing a web site, playing sports, eating spicy lava like curry… whatever. So I designed it.
Very clean looking. I really took my time to be detail oriented on this one. But I did it. I then estimated how many hours it would take to actually implement this design and put it all into flash with the effects and all the bells and whistles. My total came out to around.. ohhhhhhhhh 40-50 hrs. Now taking that and applying my web design minimum wage to it of $30/hr brings me to around $1200-$1500 bucks. WHAT? You think $30 is too much. No way! $30 is a joke price. That’s dirt-cheap. People start to question your credibility when you go this cheap. They probably start to think you are the swap meet of web design. There are companies out there, tearing apart bank accounts with rates as high as $150/hr. MAN, if I could charge like that… ohhhhh man.. But you see its getting the clients that will actually pay for it with a marketing budget, is the problem. NETWORKING, its all about NETWORKING. Well back to el-cheepo. But considering this guys situation, I said to myself, "Why loose a client over $600 measly dollars… Wait there is nothing measly about $600.. I take that back. But I really wanted help this guy, and the project seemed like fun. Plus if the word got out in business booming Dubai of me as a web designer, there could be more projects coming my way… So I quoted the guy $950… Yes $950.. I mean, am I generous or what… just say I am generous… I even said I will design him a logo and a business card free of CHARGE.. Magic word here is FREEEE. People love it. I feel like I am doing NON-PROFIT work.
You want to know what this guy tells me.. MAN>> this guys said.. "I like your design, but I want it to look EXACLTY LIKE zara.com. EACTLY like it. No change. Also I can only pay you $700, $950 is too high" … are you feakin’ kidding me….. Man this was ridiculous… So I said. " I am sorry that I cannot go any lower than that. Maybe you should consider going with someone who can throw some text up in notepad with some flashing gifs that say " WOW- WOW-WOW-WOW" and a dancing clown that moves across the screen waving his hands. With 20 different font sizes and colors, that changes to 20 more different fonts and colors every time you roll over it. Like this one LOL// http://www.southernorthopedics.com/ Hahah wait wait wait, this one is even better. http://www.womenkickboxing.com/ or to top it offf this ONE>>>>>>> Weddings site ahahahahh oh man.. I am crying, did you see those things, that dead pigeon trying to fly… lololol… dude what the heck was that….. I gotta forward these to the Dubai guy… " ok let me bookmark these… Man o man….
Those types of sites will for sure get the audience’s attention, and make them hit that little X in the top right hand corner of your screen

I really think us web designers are underrated. To learn new applications is difficult and time consuming. Especially stuff like PhotoShop, Flash and Dreamweaver where you have thousands of possibilities. Even if you do pick it up its not necessary that you will be good at it. Just because you can make a ball go from left to right doesn’t mean you know flash. They say you are still a beginner at flash if you do not know AS (Actionscript). Which to a certain extent is true. You are very limited if you can’t implement AS. Creativity!!! That is number one. If you are not creative you cannot be a designer. Yes you can copy other designs and modify templates but what’s the use when there is a need to be unique. But you will not get into making good money like that. Then you have Dreamweaver. Now that is a frustrating program, if you don’t know coding or html. Tables inside of tables inside of frames inside of more tables. That also takes some time to learn. IT AIN’T EASY!!!! It takes hours of dedication and patience to learn. We took the time to learn it, we are knowledgeable in it, and we deserve to get treated with some RESPECT. "R – E – S – P – E – C – T … Find out what it means to me … sock it to me sock it to me….."
There is no bargaining in web design. You pay for what you get. This ain’t downtown, I don’t sell fake Louie Vatan purses. COMMON PEOPLE GIVE US SOME CREDIT!!!!