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
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
