The following video is inspired by John Croghan who submitted the obligatory, "Make my logo bigger" request earlier this week. John; you are favorite country musician client that lives in a trailer and complains about his KOA WiFi connection during our "high level" phone meetings. Enjoy:

Labels: john croghan, jokes, projects

Rutherford had an aggressive time line, but I think his web site came out much better than we both expected. Take a look:

www.rutherfordmaule.com

Join me in extending well wishes Rutherford Maule in the hopes that his application will be accepted by the Food Network!

Labels: client relations, rutherford maule

After months of toil and a patient client who let me take a two week hiatus to spend with my my wife and infant son, Seraiah Systems is finally live:

www.seraiah.com

Brian Wood is a man of many talents; a mixed martial arts fighter, a deejay, a personal trainer and a model. He recently turned pro as a fighter and Broz Design wishes him great success in the ring. I am more than happy to watch him fight from afar. :)

Labels: client relations, seraiah

Today I sent out four bids for full SEO campaigns (from keyword analysis to implementation to maintenence). This is coming off the heels of three SEO training sessions with a client on how they can internally manage a successful SEO campaign. I have seen a fundamental shift in importance from design to SEO in the past two years and for good reason; ranking hiring in Google or Yahoo! is far important than having a pretty website. The designer in me believes a professional, clean-looking website is always a must, however, the realist in me knows that clients need their websites to work for them first.

The Broz Design SEO knowledge base has grown leaps and bounds over the past six months. After working with multiple vendors and implementing numerous SEO strategies, a process has been established that will benefit future clients. As SEO grows and changes, the Broz Design SEO philosophy will adapt in order to keep the company and its clients ahead of the curve.

Labels: company junk, seo

Milton Glaser on the ten (10) things he has learned working in the design industry for over fifty years. Some excerpts:

Never have a job, because if you have a job someday someone will take it away from you and then you will be unprepared for your old age.

On eliminating 'toxic' people in your life:

There is a test to determine whether someone is toxic or nourishing in your relationship with them. Here is the test: You have spent some time with this person, either you have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn’t matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you are more energized or less energized. Whether you are tired or whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished. The test is almost infallible and I suggest that you use it for the rest of your life.

On liking the people you work for:

I discovered that all the work I had done that was meaningful and significant came out of an affectionate relationship with a client. And I am not talking about professionalism; I am talking about affection. I am talking about a client and you sharing some common ground. That in fact your view of life is someway congruent with the client, otherwise it is a bitter and hopeless struggle.

Labels: industry

My wife and I welcomed a bouncing baby boy into this world on April 7, 2009 (click here for pictures). We have spent the past few weeks in a dreary yet happy sleep-deprived state. I have enjoyed the time spent with my new son and am now working semi-regular days again as the boy has taken to dozing off in his swing in my office.

My apologies for any production delays, especially to my clients in the middle of projects. I will be grinding out as much work as possible over these next weeks to get caught back up.

Thanks to all of you for your understanding and well wishes.

Labels: client relations, company junk

I was once naive enough to believe that most business were ethical and operated their company with their client's best interest in mind. I understand the nature of capitalism is to make money, and yes, this is one of my many reasons for starting Broz Design. Money is the motivating factor for all businesses in the for-profit sector, however, it is only as good as the people who are giving it to you. I will not take a job just because someone threw a ton of cash at me*, but I will take a job because I think I can help a business double their sales leads with a successful SEO campaign or give them an active role in the management of their website with an easy-to-use CMS platform. An excellent reputation and a commitment to quality is far more important to me than revenue. I believe that running an ethical company will lead down a good path regardless if it is loaded with riches or not. Enter my membership into the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau. Time now to practice what I preach.

* A scenario I experienced while working for a former employer: A client was closed because they offered more than double our firm's rate. Their business? Sex toys. I have no moral/religious objection to the sex industry, but I am fully aware of the stigma attached to those that work with and within it. I felt it was our firm's duty to not only pass on the project, but understand why it was passing on the project. Instead, the site was built and our firm did not mention itself on the website as the designer/developer nor did they use the site in its portfolio. The lesson? If you are ashamed of any work you have done, than you are doing something wrong.

Labels: client relations, company junk, seo, wellsource