Charlie | Web Design Columbia MO

Things that didn’t make it into my portfolio and/or to a finalized project, but were still a ton of fun.

I have a domain I intended to move CharlieCharlieCharlie.com to at some point, but I’ve decided that I like where I’m at. CoMoWebDesign.com is available for rent to anyone wanting a killer domain with some good SEO potential. Make me an offer via the contact page.

I see some companies here in Columbia offering “quality” $400 websites. That’s dishonest. Here’s why: It is my experience that setting up a wordpress website and quality theme with proper hosting and domain services reasonable customization of a theme and graphics SEO considerations met training for the client content insertion (assuming that it’s ready to go) [...]

Some sketches I came across from various projects.

You can’t sit and look at the screen waiting for your design theory to tell you what to do. An effective solution is derived from working and working and working over and over again. Experiment, fail, win, experiment, start over. Work work work. Your design education gives you a framework for working, but doesn’t give [...]

We all have tasks, projects, paperwork and to-do items we’re putting off. The problem occurs when we put them off until they’re really critically due — at which point that 2 minute chore becomes a frantic nightmare. I know people who perpetually live in that state of frantic – never enough time – overworked state. [...]

One of the quickest ways to size up a web designer in Columbia, Missouri is by how much thought it takes to understand their website at a glance. The old addage, “form follows function” should mean that with a single glance the user can ascertain the purpose and scope of a website. When a web [...]

I need to make an iPhone app, so I signed up for an iOS design crash course. This is pretty hard stuff (for me) but I’m making it easier on myself by making an infographic about iOS programming as I go. I find that it forces me to learn it by designing an explanation that [...]

Every web design client I work with says the same thing: I want to look professional; we do quality work. And they mean it. In various ways, their product or service is the best. Perhaps they are offering the best value for the dollar. Perhaps they’re offering the highest quality service. Perhaps they’re offering a [...]

Are things getting better for higher education where the web is concerned? I think so — even if it’s not in a perfect way. What I’m seeing is the rise of mid level administrators who recognize that the web actually is important, and that it’s also important that it be done right, but they don’t [...]

Web security is a very big deal, whether you like it or not. As some of you might be aware, I subscribe to a geopolitical forecasting publication called Stratfor. It was recently pwned by Anonymous Antisec hacktivists. The hacktivists obtained and revealed usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and addresses of thousands of members in the [...]

One of the coolest things about my job in recent years has been the addition of student staff. I generally have a handful of students: convergence or broadcast journalism, graphic design, computer science and Information Technology. Apart from having someone young around to show me the latest cat video on YouTube, it’s really refreshing to [...]

I love the Apple Magic Mouse. It makes browsing the web and documents a breeze. However, the slightest misplaced touch to the mouse while in Illustrator or InDesign and poof — you’re taken via unstable wormhole to a different quadrant of your artboard. I searched for a simple solution that does this: If I open [...]

If you follow me on Twitter, you see this phrase almost every Sunday: I am my own economic recovery act. What does that mean exactly? I subscribe to two philosophies about money. One is the Robert Kiyosaki’s concept that you should master your own home finances before you begin entrepreneurial enterprises. The other is Dave [...]

At the close of each year, I always want to post one of these kind of retrospective web design  industry posts with a local focus on Columbia, MO. And it never works out.

What an interesting year. Here are some thoughts and ideas I can share about the web design business. You can’t hide a web site that’s stagnant One of the hardest things to keep in mind about a new web site is that it will have to be maintained. A web design that doesn’t change and [...]

Some people are being very reactionary to the new Facebook stories filter, claiming that Facebook is now useless, or that you need to segment your audiences in higher education. I think that very few people do social media right to begin with. On top if that, some of the people freaking out over Facebook have [...]

Ahh, okay, you’re interested in becoming a designer? Well, in the same way that knowing MS Word doesn’t make one a successful writer, good design is 3% software and 87% design and communication discipline, and 10% business. So what I would recommend to someone interested in design, is to get a BA in Graphic Design and [...]

Recently in Columbia, MO the Blue Note sparked a large discussion about summer fest by posting a petition signed by surrounding businesses who feel their business is being put at a disadvantage by Summer Fest. They’re probably right — a successful business knows what its numbers should look like — and they’re probably seeing a [...]

There is a process for design. Here is a short description of the steps I take to arrive at a successful web site. Client Interview All designs start with questions for the client and what it is that they are trying to do. That doesn’t mean that I ask “What’s your favorite color?” it means [...]

I’m amazed by how sick I was one week this year; I rarely get ill — but when I do it is probably gonna wipe me out. I spent much of my time reading, which I really miss doing. I left all my entrepreneur books at my office: Crush It, The 4 Hour Work Week, [...]

Generic Sale Shirt for Show-Me State Games 2011 in Columbia, Missouri

This little guy is currently keeping me company at my desk.

The face of Lafferre Hall looks out on the quad

Great view looking down upon the ocean and sky.

Abandoned farmhouse near Nelson, New Zealand

Mizzou columns on a crisp fall day in Columbia, Missouri

New Zealand

I was thinking about Elmers School Glue. You know the stuff — white eliptical bottle, orange rocket shaped cap.

What if I told you I have a secret that adds 28 hours to my week; would you be interested in how I do it?