Amy, 24, Melbourne, web designer, piano student, Slytherin, nostalgia (and chocolate) addict, and languisher in all things baroque, rococo, and Tolkien.
At last, both a post and a fresh look for this little journal. I think it still needs a bit of work but I’m quite pleased with this layout, though all the graphic elements came from www.scrapbookgraphics.com. I feel vain sticking myself in the middle but it made more sense than to feature someone else. The picture is by Juliette, my lovely friend. Comments here have been totally disabled for a while because I’m getting an onslaught of dozens of spam comments every day!
I haven’t felt like doing anything for a few weeks because I’ve been in so much pain and discomfort, having sores and rashes from head to toe! With lots of open, cracked skin and a low immune system my body decided to get a staph infection too, which was gross. Eczema has really been ruining my life. I haven’t found much relief in any one thing, and the most difficult part has been trying to break the nighttime itch/scratch cycle and habit. We must’ve spent about $700 on the doctors, the useless medication they prescribe, and other products to moisturise/bandage me up in! I am tired of the rigmarole of appointments and getting hopes up for nothing, and know that a real healing is more likely to come from good skincare habits, a detox, and a turnaround of diet and supplements. Things have let up a bit today though, so I fixed up this layout, practised lots of scales, went for a brisk and warming walk, and am going to end the day with a bit of Icewind Dale multiplayer and read Chamber of Secrets to Adam!
Some updates on my recent work:
Circa Nocturna
CN contacted me a few weeks ago to redesign their site again and I eagerly accepted the challenge! I put together a simple template using a graphic and colour scheme that matched this year’s poster. The site is powered with WordPress so that staff can add or change content as they please – some of the content reflects this! I think overall it’s an effective site, but given more time and resources, the site could’ve benefited from an image slideshow on the front page (showcasing stand-out designs from previous years), and from a news feed.
This template option is a great package for individuals or small ventures who need a simple site, a tailor-made design, and a small number of pages (which might include news articles or blogroll, galleries, contact forms, or other info. pages).
Fist To Keyboard
My client wanted a small blog for posting game reviews, news and other gaming “nonsense” to. This blog is powered by WordPress and could support multiple users and much more if needed. The website has a small Google AdSense placement designed to advertise related services or products. If the website generates a lot of traffic the owner may make a good profit from a few advertisements. I don’t recommend plastering your website with ads because, well, it looks disgusting and is often a security risk. The integrity of a website shouldn’t be spoiled by featuring too many ads, or ads that link to anything scam-like — does anyone even click those flashing “Congratulations, you are our 1 millionth visitor!” eyesores?!
Alex Welch Guitars
Here my good friend needed a simple website for his guitar-making and repair business. He is slowly organising and adding his content. The website uses Joomla! as its content management system and can be updated by the client whenever needed. The design places the focus on the guitars and makes information easy to get with no more than two clicks.
NextG LED business cards
My client needed some business cards printed on the fly, along with a website and email address. We agreed on a curved and “glowing” design on glossy cards which were received about 10 days after placing an online order. The website is in progress!
My newest client, Yarra Valley Zumba, has just had me design their website. It’s bright, reminiscent of the Yarra Ranges and simple. The emphasis was on bright colours (like Zumba uses on their website and products), on ease of use for less computer-savvy folk, and was to be easily updatable. My client was very happy and I had a bit of fun putting together something that’s a bit different than usual. The initial hard part was working out how to use their logo properly, because using it straight was uninspiring and they have a long list of rules as to how it should (or should not) be used; there are also any number of ways of using the word “Zumba” incorrectly in a sentence, which we needed to be careful of. I ended up purchasing the font they use and creating one from scratch instead, which was just what we needed.
My mind is being pulled from desire to desire in a mental tug-of-war between The Hobbit, 18th century decadence, chocolate brownies, Pokemon SoulSilver, Deathly Hallows (26 sleeps!), exercising, web design, flights of fancy with Adam over our future dreams, and longings for room to spread out or traverse. One day I’m blindly obsessing a theme or thought, and then it changes like the weather – which has also been going from rainy to sunny and lovely, to snow (it’s the middle of October!), to air conditioner weather, and back to rainy and chilly. Today is lovely again so I planted some capsicum seedlings and buried a mouse that the cat caught. The weather is one reason why I like Spring, apart from all the bloom and greenery everywhere. The reason I can’t love it completely is because I have to take more allergy and asthma medication than usual.
Now, on to the specifics of the first sentence. On Friday I got to dance and jump about the house gleefully after Peter Jackson confirmed some casting decisions at last. Most of us are thrilled with the news and with Martin Freeman for Bilbo. It all put me right back in crazy-obsessed Amy mode which was great, but I had no outlet whatsoever to channel the intensity of the happiness since I had to take Adam to the dentist. I used the happy-energy to roam gift and vintage stores, grabbing another bottle of that heavenly moscato, and a longer wishlist than ever. I was very controlled and didn’t even let Adam buy me anything – he does spoil me a bit, usually… If I bought everything that took my fancy I would’ve come away with a MOR box set of perfumey cosmetic treats like this (the lipgloss is so edible), an old silver teapot, a pile of vintage postcards of theatre and opera dames (I was swooning at that point), a sparkly black bolero, some snow-pea seedlings, a Purcell biography (but not at $50!), and pretty lingerie that will never fit me.
Yesterday my mood plummeted but I used the time to tidy my room (never a small task) and clean the kitchen with Adam. I then bought 13 things online, only to be refunded for 12 of them straight away! I’ll post about the stuff if they ever arrive though.
I’m also working on a website for a lovely client at the moment. In fact, she’s just the sort of client I love. A pleasure to deal with, provides quality content and photos, enough room for me to exercise creativity, and she knows what she wants. I can’t wait to share it and its evolution, because I’ve finally started to fully grasp these Web 2.0 ideologies, while still keeping to my own aesthetics.
Oh, and for some reason I made a tumblr. Feel free to follow or whatever it is you do there. I’m going to be posting impulsive things there, things of less note than what I put here.
Sister Blog
Juliette at Classical Doll