June 2010
2 posts
3 tags
20 Must Have WordPress Plugins For Every Website →
Caronisified’s Think Vitamin blog has a great rundown of some of the most useful plugins for the WordPress content management system. Some of these are well-known, others are more obscure, but every one is worth checking out.
5 tags
Solved: Gmail, iPad, iPhone, and multiple from... →
For a long time I’ve forwarded many email addresses to a single Gmail account, a setup I call Inbox Heaven. It’s great because you get a unified inbox to collect mail from multiple email addresses that you can check on any device. One caveat has been that Mail on the iPhone and iPad won’t let…
May 2010
10 posts
Chrome Extensions for Web Development →
A really handy round-up from Google’s Webmaster Central blog of some of the top Chrome browser extensions for web developers.
1 tag
“The queasy blend of friends and “friends” is central to the Facebook experience....”
– Eileen Jones nails it [via pbones] (via jimray)
5 tags
First Impressions of Wired's iPad App
Wired’s new iPad version (iTunes Link) of the magazine has finally hit the iTunes Store, beginning with the current June issue. Macworld has a good rundown of the basics here. As a subscriber to the print edition, I was particularly curious to see how the content was translated to the new tablet medium.
To date, most magazine-to-iPad transitions have been pretty underwhelming. Popular...
2 tags
Please Pardon the Mess...
For those of you who may be stumbling across this new version of the Bainbridge Studios blog for the first time, welcome. This blog has seen it’s share of fits and starts over the past four years and today’s post is the beginning of a significant revamping I’m undertaking to get the blog relaunched, following by an expanded completely redesigned version of the Bainbridge Studios...
4 tags
Tacoma Mall’s Apple Store Opens Saturday →
Finally! 10am Saturday marks the opening of Tacoma’s first Apple Store, and our own recent relocation to Tacoma finally feels complete. Man, I’m a nerd.
As per usual, the first 1,000 visitors get free Apple t-shirts.
(via The News Tribune)
A List Apart: Articles: Quick and Dirty Remote... →
It’s often overlooked, particularly on small-scale projects, but even the most basic user testing can provide a wealth of invaluable information for both designers and clients. We all think we know and understand how our users will interact with a product or feature, but until you sit down and spend some time observing real people in real interactions with your site or web app, you’re...
WatchAral Balkan: The Art of Emotional Design (courtesy of Carsonified)
3 tags
Send Stuff to Tumblr from Google Reader →
Man, I love me some Google. The search giant rarely fails me when I’m looking for a particularly random hack or code rewrite.
Case in point: As I’m working to get this new version of the Bainbridge Studios blog off the ground, one particular source I definitely wanted to integrate was the occasional shared item from my Google Reader feed. Initially, I figured I could import my shared...
1 tag
Links of the Week: May 22nd
Google Font Directory The full listing of Google’s newly embeddable webfont selection.
Pictaculous Generate custom color palette from a image upload (link courtesy of Dan Benjamin).
Linear Gradients One of a number of excellent tools on the site for generating CSS-based visual effects.
You can see all of our recommended links on del.icio.us
April 2010
2 posts
5 tags
Links of the Week: April 23rd
jQuery Masonry by David DeSandro An excellent twist on the standard CSS “float” approach to arranging page elements (courtesy of Cameron Moll and Daring Fireball).
Smooth Scroll Effect with Local Anchors More jQuery magic.
Keynote Presentations on the iPad Best practices for creating a Keynote presentation on a Mac for use on an iPad (link courtesy of Daring Fireball).
Twitter HTML...
March 2010
1 post
3 tags
How to Give Yourself a Raise Without Losing... →
As a freelancer, you can give yourself a raise by increasing your hourly or per-project rates. This part is simple, but setting up the right preconditions for the change is a trickier process. How can you raise your rates while making sure you still get plenty of work?
November 2009
1 post
“Everything takes three times as long as you think [to get done], plus meetings.”
– Merlin Mann, speaking the truth about client work at Phoenix Wordcamp.
July 2009
2 posts
2 tags
Handy Code Snippets for Web Designers/Developers
Antonio Lupetti, via his excellent web design/development site Woork, has posted a handy round-up of HTML/CSS/Javascript code snippets. For users of Panic’s Codadevelopment app on the Mac, these items should definitely be added to your Clips library.
10 Useful Code Snippets for Web Developers (via Woork)
2 tags
Are Discount Logos/Corporate Branding Worth the...
Thursday Bram recently posted a great piece on the website FreelanceSwitch, discussing the pros and cons of clients going with inexpensive logo/identity designs from discount online “logo mill” companies (large-scale “design” shops that employ ultra-inexpensive designers to crank out hundreds (in some cases) thousands of logo designs each year for clients paying anywhere from $50 to a couple...
December 2008
5 posts
7 tags
End of the Year Links of the Week: December 31st
How Entrepreneurs Can Survive a Cash-Flow Crisis BusinessWeek discusses ways for small business owners to deal with cash-flow difficulties from the current recession and credit crunch.
Outdated Security Threatens Web Commerce Researchers have successfully faked the digital certificates that Web browsers use to verify a site’s authenticity, spotlighting the failure of some security firms to...
Happy Holidays and Time for a Break
I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish all of our clients and happy and healthy holiday season. Thank you immensely for your business here in 2008 and we look forward to hopefully providing you with even more great design services in the coming year.
A quick note on holiday scheduling: The Bainbridge Studios office will be officially closed beginning Wednesday, December 24th for the...
2 tags
Links of the Week: December 19th
How To: Separate WordPress Comments and Trackbacks A handy tutorial for editing WordPress blog comment structure.
WordPress “Art Direction” Plugin This new WP plugin, currently in beta, allows you to individualized styles for each post (ala Jason Santa Maria’s redesign of his personal website).
Viewzi: Rich Interactive Search Results for WordPress Derek Punsalan’s review of a new search plugin...
3 tags
Ski Lodge is an Ideal Example of a Top Notch...
Since it’s introduction this past summer, the iTunes App Store has exploded with content, as thousands of applications across a range of categories vie for users’ attention and dollars. One of the toughest tasks for the consumer is separating the wheat from the chaff; identifying high quality mobile applications that provide value for their dollar.
There are different ways an application can...
5 tags
Links of the Week: December 12th
Mobile Awesomeness This one is an excellent gallery website showcasing mobile website and web applications.
Amazing Myspace Pages This is a good roundup of some really solid design work on custom MySpace pages.
20+ Great WordPress 2.7 Compatible Plugins This is a handy reference from Mashable.com on some of the top plugins that are fully supported with the latest WordPress release (ver. 2.7).
...
January 2008
5 posts
3 tags
Website Launch: RideFlyReservations.com
We’re continuing to expand our footprint in the online travel sector with the launch of the newly redesigned RideFlyReservations.com. We’ve been working with the fine folks at RideFly for the past two months on developing the site’s front-end/user interface, which was then coded by their in-house development team for deployment. Click here to check out the newly redesigned site.
3 tags
Website Launch: Vanessa Minnillo
We’re very pleased to announce the launch of the new official website for television personality Vanessa Minnillo. Ms. Minnillo, the former host of MTV’s TRL and a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, has been working with Bainbridge Studios over the past year on developing a new online presence, which is now live. We’ll be working with Ms. Minnillo over the coming weeks and months on...
2 tags
Dreamhost Accidentally Charges Their Entire User...
Ouch. Glad I’m not in these guys shoes this morning.
The fine folks at Dreamhost, one of the better known (not always for the right reasons) low-cost shared hosting providers, managed to incorrectly bill all of their users for past-due web hosting services. For most of those users, though, their accounts weren’t past due. The billing happened because an automated billing system and one keystroke...
2 tags
Harry & David’s Holiday Inundation
Click Z’s Anna Maria Virzi highlights findings from a recent Email Experience Council report on holiday email marketing. Overall, retailers increased holiday emails by more than 45% in December, but the largest increase (among 109 retailers featured) was Harry & David, purveyors of fruits, gift baskets, and Moose Munch. Harry & David, which normally send out a marketing email to...
3 tags
Website Launch: Crossbeam Capital
We’re proud to announce the launch of a new website for Crossbeam Capital, LLC, a Bethesda, MD-based real estate investment firm. We partnered with one of our regular collaborators, Crossbow Group, to design and code the site, which went live earlier today.
December 2007
1 post
2 tags
Goodbye to a Legendary Backyard Rink
If this isn’t sure-fire evidence for the effects of global warming, I don’t know what is: Wayne Gretzky’s dad, Walter Gretzky, has given up on his legendary backyard ice rink in Ontario due to warmer winters and difficulty maintaining the ice. It’s now (sadly) a swimming pool.
(via the Globe & Mail).
November 2007
1 post
1 tag
So Exactly What Kind of Tagline Does $250,000 Buy...
The Times of London reports on the rather mixed reaction to newly revealed official slogan of Scotland. After more than six months, and £125,000 (approx. $250,000), the Scottish National Party revealed the new marketing slogan:
“Welcome to Scotland.”
“It feels governmental, corporate and static,” said Anita Califano a senior consultant with Wolff Olins.
Of course, one has to be wary of...
February 2007
1 post
2 tags
The 2012 London Olympics Rebrand: What the Hell...
The web has been abuzz this week since the announcement of the newly redesigned logo and branding campaign for the 2012 London Olympics. Granted, the initial logo design utilized by the London Olympic committee, used during the process of bidding on the games, was a bit conservative and understated, but the new look (see below) goes 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
The Valve has dug up...
January 2007
1 post
1 tag
What’s the Worst Possible Way We Could Approach...
What’s the worst possible way you could approach a task? That’s an interesting twist on traditional problem solving and one that Cameron Moll suggests. Outlining the worst possible outcomes, scenarios, features, etc. of a project at its outset can give you and your team and unique roadmap of hazards to avoid.
Once you clearly understand what you don’t want the end product to be, you’re well on...
December 2006
2 posts
3 tags
Lessons Learned Courtesy of Mother Nature
The past five days have been rather harrowing for many of us here in the Pacific Northwest. The windstorms that swept through the region last Thursday night knocked out power to more than one million homes throughout Washington and Oregon. Aside from addressing the most basic issues such as maintaining food and shelter and avoiding the cold, Mother Nature also brought with her a test for...
3 tags
Death and Business
I found out today that one of our clients passed away suddenly last month.
A fit, energetic man in his forties. The kind of person you never expect to be “the first to go.”
We hadn’t worked directly with this particular client and his company (of which he was a co-owner) since redesigning their website last year and I hadn’t had contact with anyone from their office in some time.
Hearing news...