Back for 2010 and better than eva!
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under F(requently).A(sked).Q(uestions)., Pure Business
Hi there!
Nam Phan here! I’m back for 2010 working on some new and exciting projects for Digital FAB studios!
The great thing for 2010 is a new pricing structure. Gone are the days where I would have to crunch the proper amount of hours to complete a client’s project. Now, all the prices are on a fixed price scale and the price just increases based on complexity and time constraints.
Just submit an inquiry with some details of your project, receive a quote and start the project off with a 30% down payment.
For 2010, Digital FAB studios’ starting base pricing is as follows:
- Graphic Designs: $99
- Web Designs: $500
- Web Maintenance: $50
- Anything else, just submit an inquiry
Easy as cake or pie, whatever you prefer.
Tags: 2010 pricing, prices
Digital FAB studios is now on Facebook
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Digital FAB studios stuff
Digital FAB studios is now on facebook. Become a fan of ours by clicking on this link to our page..
http://www.facebook.com/friends/?added&ref=tn#/pages/Brandon-FL/Digital-FAB-studios/104090697823
Like always, thanks for the support!
Welcome the New Addition: My Homegrown Windows Home Server Box
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under DIY, Electronics
I’ve always been fascinated of having my own server of some sorts to host your Quake and Duke Nukem Lan games. As a kid, having a server made you feel like a bad ass of some sorts; I guess it was because not everyone in the neighborhood had one. With the advent of Microsoft’s Windows Home Server, my fanatasies of having my own server sprung up out of nowhere.
Since I’ve built and upgraded a good amount of computers during my lifetime, I’ve accumulated a fair amount of computer parts. So why not put it into good use… aka a Windows Home Server!
Here’s my setup:
- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0ghz Socket 754 Laptop Cpu
- 2 x 512mb Crucial Ballistix DDR 400 Ram
- Samsung EcoGreen F2 5400rpm 1tb Hard Drive
- ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2 Motherboard
- Rosewill RC-411 Gigabit NIC
- Antec Smart Blue 350w PSU
- Lian-Li v351b Case
After reviewing the parts I’ve put together, I was like, “Hummm, this setup should somewhat save me some power since I have a low powered hard drive and a laptop spec cpu.”
I can’t say for sure how much power I’m drawing from the wall until my P3 Kill-a-Watt device comes through. I’ll just have to follow back up with an update with the exact figures. What I’m sure of is that I’m not achieving the reduced power via AMD’s Cool and Quiet and Windows Home Server Power Schemes. After running AMD’s power utility, it appears the cpu does not throttle back to 1ghz; and when I try to utilize a power scheme other than the default, ‘Always On’, the box crashes. Ugh!?
Other than trying to figure out on how to reduce my energy consumption as much as possible, my Windows Home Server box has been great with dishing out my music, pictures and videos out to my Playstation 3. If you’re interested in piping all your media over to your Playstation 3 via the DLNA protocol, give this website a good read: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/streaming. You just need to download two things: Tversity and ffdshow.
If you have some spare parts laying around, try building a neat little Windows Home Server box. There’s a relatively good size WHS community, so do your research and build yourself a cool WHS box.
::Update::
In regards to the power consumption… I’m currently running a different cpu now which is a AMD Sempron 3000+ which have replaced 3200+ laptop cpu. From what my kill-a-watt meter have shown, there’s not much of difference of my power consumption from one cpu to another. At this point of the game, this setup is consuming 70 watts at idle and the highest reading I’ve seen during load is pulling about 85 watts from the wall. Yeah, it was a bit disappointing. 
The real game changer was when I replaced the aging Antec power supply with a brand new SeaSonic S12II 330 watt power supply. After the power supply swap, the kill-a-watt reported 51 watts during idle and 72 watts during load; what a difference an 80+ certified power supply will do!
Tags: amd, media, ps3, windows home server
My Quick Review of my somewhat new Dell Studio 15
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Electronics
About 3 months ago, my long time companion, a HP Pavilion dv1000, finally bit the dust. I tried to resurrect the HP by replacing the CFL bulb but that appeared it wasn’t enough. So the HP and I parted ways; the HP listed itself on Ebay and I looked towards a nice mail ordered Dell Studio 15.
Some basic specs of my new Dell Studio 15:
- Intel t6600 2.0ghz cpu
- 3 GB of Ram
- 250 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
- Ati Mobility 3450 with 256 MB
- LED Backlit Monitor
- Wireless-N network card
- Illuminated Keyboard
- Biometric Fingerprint Reader
The laptop is a bit on the heavy side of things. Heavy as classic Russian military machinery so I guess the weight is a good sign of reliability. There is not a sign of flex on the chassis when I grab the laptop at it’s edges.
As for the OS, I’ve decided to replace Windows Vista in favor for Windows 7 Beta (now running the RC). Nothing against Vista but Windows 7 is way better than it’s former. I’ll just save the Windows 7 review for another time.
Overall, I love my new sexy red laptop! The illuminated keyboard is bright and solid. The battery life is awesome; on a full charge, Windows report 3.5 hours of life. The built-in webcam and mic is really handy for those Skype sessions. The most important thing is that this laptop have just have enough horsepower to play some of my games such as Red Alert 3 and Company of Heroes.
A lot of people complain about how glossy laptop lids picks up those pesky finger print smudges but the Studio’s rubberized lid soaks oily finger prints just as well. A wipe down with a slight damp paper towel is needed to de-smudge the lid.
If you’re looking to purchase a Dell Studio (or any product from Dell), try to hold out for a sale which can save you a nice chunk of change from upgrades to free shipping and handling.
Tags: ati mobility 3450, companion, dell, games, studio 15
New Personal Site: Namphan.com
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Rambling, design
Well, hi there!
I’m Nam Phan of Digital FAB studios and I have created a new site: namphan.com. Pretty original domain name, eh?
The new site was created to self promote myself, Digital FAB studios and to illustrate what a simple website with a clean layout can accomplish.
Now go and check it out! Definitely tell me what you think about it.
Tags: clean, modern, nam phan, namphan.com, self promote, simple, web design
How is HOW Magazine?
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Rambling, design
It has been about a month and a half since I submitted a subscription for HOW magazine (via Amazon.com), and now I have finally received my first issue of six total issues over a year span.
So how is HOW? Unlike other graphic/web design magazines, HOW doesn’t really publish articles in regards to design tutorials and any technical how-to; HOW talks more about the business aspect of web & graphic design. It’s like reading Money magazine tailored for the art and design industry. As a designer, sometimes we’re so involved with creative deveopment for our clients but we never really think about the legal side of the business and how to sustain a constant flow of business until the IRS comes knocking or when we’re just desperate for any type of work during the those rough times. This is probably the only magazine I know of that publish articles that deals and reminds us with those matters.
A portion of the magazine do some showcasing from various designers. Unfortunately, if you’re strictly a web designer, the magazine doesn’t really showcase various works from web industry but a bit more biased towards the print industry. Some of the showcased print media are very creatively impressive which have become a great source of inspiration for some of my own web designs.
Give it a look whenever you get the chance. The only bookstore/newsstand storefront that I have found HOW magazine is Books-a-Million. A subscription of HOW magazine consists of six magazines for a year (an issue every two months) for about $30 bucks.
Tags: amazon, creative, How magazine, legal, literature, print, subscription
Project Spotlight: Redlines Design Studio, LLC
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Pure Business, design
Who? Redlines Design Studio, LLC
Website: redlinesdesignstudio.com
Company Background: A small company that offers full architectural production services for architectural firms, developers, contractors & interior designers. Redlines’ pièce de résistance provide solutions for larger firms looking to outsource their jobs to without the need to worry about additional expenses such as: overhead cost, program licenses, additional workstations, and employee benefits.
Services: Logo, Business Cards, Brochures, Bulletin Fliers and Web Design
About 3 months ago, George Santizo (owner) of Redlines Design Studio, LLC contacted me with a simple request: Review and creatively expand on his preliminary business card and brochure sketches.
After reviewing his sketches, I determined he’s looking for something clean and modern. I decided to do a bit of tweaking to his base design. The first thing on the agenda was to develop some type of identity and branding starting with the color, logo and typography.
I decided to continue the three basic colors employed on George’s initial sketches: Black, Red and White. The logo is a bit of a play of the logo on the sketch but also resembles the shape of the letter “r” to represent “Redlines”.
Once the identity and branding has been solidified, I proceeded with the construction of the business card and the brochure.
By keeping it simple and working off of my design principle, I achieved on creating a piece of media that embodied words such as: solid, bold and modern. You will notice on one side of the media is plastered with a calm white background and then when you flip it around, you will notice a very physique red. Overall, the design package successfully draws attention and creates depth.
The continuity of the theme can be found on the bulletin fliers and the website.
Overall, the project was a success. The package (business card, brochure, bulletin flier, and website) all went live without any complications and the client was extremely satisfied!
Tags: branding, business card, logo, project, redlines design studio, redlinesdesignstudio.com, spotlight, website
The Best (and Most Counter Productive) Game for 2009
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Rambling
I was supposed to have this entry up 2 nights ago but I have been hooked on this flash game, Coconut Run. The game is supposed to promote ingenuity for a company called, Johnson Controls but the game was developed from the bright and creative minds of Colossal Squid.
Pretty much, you create some type craft or vehicle out of ordinary blocks such as: lines, rectangles and circles. In addition, you are also supplied with wheels and shocks to help you on your quest to deliver your massive load of coconuts through a route which entails mountainous terrain on the usual point a to point b scheme. Simple, but here’s the twist; the game pits your coconut shopping cart against (or relies on) the law of physics.
You just have to give it a try and once you try it, you’ll be hooked… muwhahahahah!
Tags: coconut, colossal squid, counter productive, flash, games, run
How To: My Web & Graphic Design Small Business/Home Office Essentials
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under Pure Business, Rambling
With today’s market, it’s a great time to plan for a business! Yeah, I heard the stock market is fluctuating more than the daily tides but that’s okay. As long you can keep one thing in mind, which is trimming the fat, you’ll be fine. My idea is that if you can a build a honestly solid business model during this current economic downturn, I’ll find it hard pressed that your model will spring a leak when the economy rushes back up north to profit.
What’s fat? Pretty much it is wasteful spending on nonessential items that you think you need. It’s like this: do you really need to eat that greasy burger? Yes, you do need to eat, but why a greasy burger?! You get what I’m saying..?
From my own experience, my business model in regards to office essentials is this: Work with what you have. You’ll can’t beat that. My equipment is paid for.
We’re human, so we always have a want for the latest and great gadgets and widgets. Though most of time, that’s all in your mind. Just like that greasy burger; once you gobble it all down, your mind has been satisfied but I’ll bet you will be hungry for something more filling (and healthier) to satisfy your tummy.
If you’re truly working from scratch and looking to purchase some capital for your small business/home office, here’s my top 5:
- A simple large desk
- Desktop Computer -or- Laptop
- Printer
- Camera
- Toys (For those days when you’ll need some creative inspirations)
These items do pertain to my creative business so a couple of those items would be a bit different to yours.
It’s a given to shop for items that are on sale but if you’re somewhat crafty, you can save a lot of money hitting up the garage sales for used equipment.
For those items you can’t afford that piece of office equipment but at the same time you’re not too sure if you will utilize the item as much, try looking to vendors (a.k.a. outsourcing). For instance, I don’t have a fax machine but I wouldn’t mind having one for whatever reason. The only thing is that, I can’t justify the cost of spending $100 for a piece of equipment I might use once a month.
My solution: Anytime I need to fax anything, I just head down the street to my local FedEX Kinkos and just spend a quick buck to fax a simple sheet of paper.
Hopefully, some of my tips do shed some light on office essentials. Just remember this: Think with your tummy, not with your head. We all need to make some type of money so we don’t come home hungry. (Although, I heard office equipment is a bit high in fiber).
Tags: business model, equipment, home office, recession, small business, soho
Great Walkthrough of Contact Forms
Posted by Nam-o | Filed under design
Designing contact forms for clients or for anybody is well.. just contact forms. Sure, they’re really useful to draw in those most regarded potential clients we all freelancers long for but from a designer’s stance, contact forms are just blah! The problem some of my colleagues and I run into is that we don’t create an obsessive amount of contact forms to remember the true essence on how to build them and how to really dress them up (really!).
During my journeymen adventures of the world wide web, I came across this awesome walkthrough video blog of creating contact forms by Mr. Chris Coyier.. http://css-tricks.com/video-screencasts/21-walkthrough-of-contact-form/. If you prefer reading the article, just follow this link: http://css-tricks.com/creating-a-unique-contact-for/
It’s a great video to bring the spark back to designing contact forms. Check it out, even if you need some type of form tutorial, it’s a good starting point.
Tags: chris coyier, contact, css, forms, help, html, tutorial, video, walkthrough
