I found this video while reading the I Love Typography blog.  It is the opening sequence for 5th Typophile Film Festival.  The entire sequence is done by hand. None of the effects are computer generated and it is amazing.  After you watch the video, read FontFeed’s blog entry about how it was all done.  Simply amazing.

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo.

This icon is quite simply gorgeous!  I upgraded from Yojimbo 1.0 to 2.0 this weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find a new icon in my dock.  I found my eye continuously wandering down to sneak a peek of it in the dock.

Bare Bones Software's Yojimbo 2.0 icon

I don’t know who designed it, but hat’s off to Bare Bones for either buying or making such an elegant representation of software that is so incredibly cool and useful.

Brettro joins the conversation by expanding itself into the social web: Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

Become a fan of Brettro on Facebook to show support for small business, standards-based web design, and the handfull of Brettro clients.

Twitter

Follow Brettro on Twitter to be kept up to date on what the business is doing and to Brettro’s reactions to changes in the industry.

Imagine a time and a place where:

• telephones were wired into walls and had busy signals, 
• mail came via a person putting paper into a box at the curb, 
• music was pressed onto vinyl and the only way to listen to it was on the radio or from a record player,
• photos were taken by cameras with rotating flashbulbs with film that had to be developed and printed on to paper.

That time and place was a mere 25 years ago, but it seems like centuries have passed.

Then, on January 24, 1984, Apple announced Macintosh.  The first personal computer with a graphical user interface and this thing called a “mouse.”  I remember the first time I saw one, I was 12.  And I had to have one!  I was hooked.

I’m not sure how it happened, but in 1985, one showed up at home.  From that time, the Mac is the only computer I’ve ever owned.  Sure, I’ve used PC’s.  I, unfortunately, use one daily at my government job.  But my muse, my tool of choice, the device that catalyzed my creativity is Macintosh.

I’m not sure why I was so instantly enamored with this computer. Maybe it was because the people that originally created it were so passionate about it.  Maybe it was because it completely tossed conventional wisdom of the time about the purpose of personal computing.  Maybe it was because it came with multiple fonts and that appealed to me. Or maybe it was because I saw potential in it; I understood that I could do and create things with Macintosh versus just tinkering around with a computer trying to get it to work.

Regardless of the motivation, it changed my life. It was the platform that gave me desktop publishing skills that helped me launch my first business in high school and land my first job in Washington, D.C. It gave me the confidence in my ability to approach a U.S. Congressman and convince him he needed this thing called a “web site” to make himself available 24 hours a day to his constituents. 

And right now, it is the tool that I use daily to create print materials, videos, and websites for Brettrospective’s clients.

So, Macintosh, happy 25th birthday!  Here’s hoping the next 25 years lead to even more mind-boggling, game changing innovation.

I have sat on the fence about Adobe (né Macromedia) Fireworks long enough. I am convinced it is time to integrate it into my web design workflow.

Some Background

Before the Adobe/Macromedia merger several years ago, Macromedia developed Fireworks as an inexpensive image editor for creating web-optimized imagery.  With the exception of Dreamweaver, I was a hardcore Adobe fan, preferring the tight integration and familiar interface of Photoshop and Imageready.  I didn’t care that Fireworks was a superior product.  I liked my workflow.  Why learn something new?

Along came the Adobe/Macromedia merger and in the ensuing product shakeout, Fireworks (rightfully) survived and Imageready disappeared.  My workflow was agitated a little, but Photoshop CS 3 had enough web-centric features for me to continue using it (allowing me to continue ignoring Fireworks).  Plus the integration between the two was not as seamless as I would have liked.

Shaking Up the Workflow: Why?

One day after Adobe’s Creative Suite CS 4 shipped, I am on the verge of upgrading.  I have read about and watched online video about the new feature set in Fireworks.  And I think it’s time to shake up my web design workflow completely and embrace this amazing program.

Besides sporting a consistent interface with the other Adobe apps, Fireworks CS 4:

• Provides great prototyping options giving Brettro clients a more interactive design review experience;
• Greatly improves its integration with Photoshop giving me more comfort as I learn a new application;
• Ultimately will improve design efficiency at Brettro as I become more familiar with Fireworks and its feature set.

Why bother learning new apps and focusing on efficiencies? The web is a dynamic and constantly changing place. Being familiar with and using the newest tools for designing websites makes me a better web designer, makes Brettro a better web design company, and ultimately produces better products for the client.

I love efficiency.  And I hate spam (not Spam, I’ve never actually had that.)

These two love/hate things don’t seem like they would marry well, but interestingly they do: in my years developing websites, my clients always seem satisfied with posting an email address for use by potential customers.  Sure, it’s easy for the potential customers to click an email link, but there are (at minimum) two inherent problems with that:

1. You have no control over the content sent
2. Spam

The best way to easily overcome both those problems: use a web form.

With a web form, you can capture exactly the data you need, provide feedback to the user submitting the form data, and keep the spam spiders at bay.  Finding a web designer or web programmer who can put program a user-friendly, interactive form capable of warding off attacks by hackers (yeah, it’s a problem and it happens) is difficult.

Enter Wufoo.

Wufoo is a web-based web form creation tool that:

• Gives non-technical users the ability to create web forms;
• Provides designers and programmers the ability to integrate forms into websites and manipulate data;
• Captures user-entered data into a secure database for use by you;
• Includes a reporting function to present data in interesting ways.

And there is a Wufoo for everyone with prices ranging from free to something near $200 per month (that’s for some serious form usage, though).

Besides creating and maintaining a superior product, I like that Wufoo is another small business.  The handful of Wufoo-ers are based in Tampa, Florida, saw a niche for themselves on the World Wide Web, and wrote a darn good web app that seems to be largely successful.

On January 20, 2009, the United States government will engage in the peaceful transfer of its government for the fifty-sixth time.  Though its beginnings were humble—the first swearing-in (of George Washington) took place relatively quietly in New York and the following happened inside the U.S. Senate chamber—the inauguration has grown to become one of the most amazing, interesting, and moving traditions and celebrations of the United States.

As the inaugural celebration has evolved, the planning and the logistics for the various inaugural events have been divided among three different groups, each with its own specific events to plan:

•  Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies: responsible for the swearing-in ceremony and the luncheon;
• Armed Forces Inaugural Committee: responsible for the parade and presidential security;
• Presidential Inaugural Committee: responsible for the balls and is not established until after election day.

Brettro and the JCCIC

The JCCIC is responsible for the swearing-in ceremony and the luncheon that immediately follows.  This organization is created every four years by an act of Congress and is comprised of several members of both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.  The U.S. Congress has been responsible for the swearing in ceremony in some manner since George Washington took the oath of office.  In 2005, the JCCIC in concert with both the U.S. Senate Historical Office and the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms, spearheaded an effort to document the history of the inaugural swearing-in ceremony on its web site.

Brett Bearce, Brettro’s founder, has been fortunate to develop the past three (out of a total of four) JCCIC websites, including the 2009 JCCIC web site.

Seeing History Unfold

So, on Jan. 20, 2009, whether you’re sitting on your sofa watching the ceremony in warmth and comfort or you’re sitting at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.’s chilly winter air, remember that:

• The United States’ guarantee of the peaceful transfer of governmental power from one person to another—and from one political party to another—is incredible.  
• What you are witnessing is history.  
• The inaugural swearing-in ceremony is a testament to the strength of the U.S.’s founding documents, the respect its people have for the rule of law and the rights accorded to them by both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and an excellent example to other nations.  
• Even the occasional protest of the ceremonies on Jan. 20 speaks to the strength and respect this country’s citizens have for the ideals on which our country was founded.

Before then, take some time to visit the JCCIC web site to:

• Learn about facts and firsts from each inaugural
• Watch swearing-in ceremonies dating back to the early 1980s
• Understand what happens on Jan. 20
• And to keep abreast of new and exciting information about the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009

Several months ago I read about this really great new web-based, web site content management system called Big Medium created by independent developer Josh Clark.  The article focused on the CMS’s simplicity, installation ease, and the fact that it was created by an independent developer, all things that I find appealing.

Big Medium logo

I downloaded it immediately, printed the manual, installed the 30-day, fully-functional trial, and started reading and designing.  This product seemed made just for me:

• It writes code to web standards
• It allows web designers the freedom to create unique designs
• It gives businesses the ability to easily create and update a variety of content, from text to images to podcasts
• It can handle multiple user accounts with different levels of permissions per user
• It really is easy for content providers to use
• It is very inexpensive

I was hooked!  

At the time I read about Big Medium, I was almost done redesigning brettrospective.com and was ready to launch.  I decided to use my own website as a guinea pig to see how easy moving to Big Medium would be.  Let me tell you, it was easy!  The few times I ran into bumps, Josh was quick to respond to my support questions and always provided an easy, workable solution.

I have also started using Big Medium as one of my “maintain it yourself” solutions for my website customers.  Several clients that use it find it both fast and easy to use!

I wish I could remember where I originally read about Big Medium because that blog or website author deserves the credit for finding Josh, seeing the value of this amazing product, and writing an article about it.

Check out Global Moxie’s Big Medium, and if you find it just as amazing as I do, come back and learn how Brettro can help you get your Moxie-backed website on the Internet.

Screen Shot of Brettro 3.0

Within the next few weeks, Brettrospective will launch a new website.  Much like the current website notes, this is part of a new, bold brand rollout which includes:

When I started Brettro, I knew the business process that would leave my competition in the dust is my desire to provide my clients with a place where they could go to see the most up-to-date status of their project.  During the past three years, I’ve researched, studied, tried, and implemented multiple ways to achieve this.  From day one, I established a custom website for each client where they could find any documents relating to a specific project, a timeline, the complete list of deliverables, and a status.

My early efforts were cumbersome for me and not very usable by my clients.  I spent more time managing the client website than actually producing material for the client.  Something needed to change.

In early 2008, I read, somewhere, about this thing called Backpack by 37Signals.  (I wish I could remember where.)  I checked it out and realized that Backpack wasn’t what I needed, but their flagship product Basecamp was exactly what I needed.

Basecamp is a web-based project management tools that provides:

• A simple, intuitive interface (even allowing for basic customization to minimally “brand” it to match your business)
• The ability to grant access to any number of people and companies
• A place to post messages (which can be responded to via email)
• A place to upload files
• A milestone calendar for establishing deadlines
• An area to create multiple to-do lists and the ability to assign those tasks to specific users

In short, this is exactly what I needed.  And it was inexpensive.  And fast.

I have used Basecamp with a handful of clients since adopting it in March of this year and have found it to be an invaluable resource for managing multiple clients and multiple projects.  And my clients have enjoyed using it.

Besides being able to completely capture all aspects of a project in one place, the greatest benefit for Brettro is that I am now spending significantly less time managing a project, which allows me to spend more time focusing on the creative work and affords me the opportunity to charge my clients less for a project.

And, as a small business who appreciates doing business with small businesses, it pleases me that 37Signals is a small operation based out of Chicago chock full of highly skilled, incredibly talented, and even famous (in the web industry anyway) staff.

If you’re looking for a simple, easy-to-use project management solution, head to Basecamp.