Local Mojo is finally up! We’ve been working on this behind the scenes at AgencyWeb for the last several months. I designed the front end of the site and built the css framework. Again we worked worked with Luke and his guys who built all the amazing features that make this platform work. It’s currently in soft launch but ready for some businesses to sign up for. It’s the perfect blend for most businesses. We found that a lot of companies don’t need or can’t afford a full blown web marketing agency like AgencyWeb, or they need something more then a directory listing like National Online Directory. Along came Local Mojo.

Local Mojo provides businesses with free local sites that provide the standard directory style information such as location with maps, hours of operations, payment options, services etc. But they allow you some “mojo” by having the ability to embed your own YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Twitter updates and more. Local Mojo also gives the user to track everything with powerful state of the art analytics and the option to buy targeted localized traffic to get even more visitors to your site.

So if you want a free website to help your local business check out www.localmojo.com and if you want to really have some mojo sign up for some of the enhanced features.

One of my favorite design sites Smashing Magazine just posted a new article about Backgrounds in Web Design. The article talks about the new trend in web design about using backgrounds as the main focus of the design. The sites they feature are very impressive and I can’t wait to have the chance to try out some new ideas.

My favorite would have to be the SilverBack web site, resize your browser smaller and wider to see what I am talking about, very cool stuff!

The good thing is I have been designing sites like these over the past year or so for here at Digital Skratch or at my other company AgencyWeb. I’m looking forward to trying new trying some new techniques and keep coming up with creative designs that are also functional and search friendly.

Body and Content Background as One
www.greengarbagedesigns.com
www.lifeskillssouthflorida.com

A Subtle Texture
www.agencyweb.com
www.digitalskratch.com
www.localmojo.com

A Simple Gradiant
www.universalhc.com

Semi-Transparent Content Backgrounds in Layered Designs
www.ihoopmadness.com

I changed the skin of our blog today. I think it reflects our corporate web site better and ties in nicely. I also changed the look of the AgencyWeb blog today. Now that we have this one updated, AW and the iMadness blog running maybe I’ll start to blog on a regular basis!

We launched the website for Green Garbage Designs. They specialize in eco-friendly clothing and jewelry. Go check them out for some cool gift ideas for the holiday season. We also launched another new site for Jack Lannom – Lannom Worldwide.

I’ve been working on a few sites over the past couple of months. 2 are complete and 2 more are about to launch. On the AgencyWeb side of things we launched the new Universal Healthcare Consulting website. I am proud of it and pleased with how it turned out. It is built entirely on wordpress so the client can update content themselves if they want. I also built the new AgencyWeb (my other company) site. It’s still being worked on as we are adding content as we create it but the framework is done.

I am also 99% finished with the new site for Jack Lannom – Lannom Worldwide, and Green Garbage which is an environmental clothing and jewelery company. That is is really cool in my opinion. So hopefully I get the last bit of content from those guys and it launches soon. I’ve also designed a few new logos and have been tweaking up the Digital Skratch site so go check that out.

We have a new layout up at Digital Skratch. It uses the same color scheme and content and similar design elements as the previous layout. Though this one is more web 2.0 looking and not really “framed in” I’m pleased with how it came out and looks cleaner and more user friendly. We also went with a similar design to our sister company Thats My Ad. To have some type of co-branding between the two.

I recently answered a post on Linkedin on simplicity in design and if simple has gotten “too simple“. I think simplicity is good. Why would you want to complicate matters and cause confusion when it could be simple.

In the world of design I think the web 2.0 phenomenon has brought simple design to the forefront where we see it every day. Simplicity is great for usability, as the design gets out of the way of the content so the user can focus on the job at hand.

With that said there is a fine line with good simple design and design that doesn’t put much on the page. One must find a balance between simplicity, getting the message across and not looking too barren. I have seen many 2.0 style sites with hardly anything on the page and they look so amateur. Then I have seen other sites with relatively the same amount of “stuff” on the page and they look amazing. It takes a professional designer who can add those subtle things to achieve clean web design.

I think simplicity goes beyond design and should be a way to live life -Less is more.

We did a complete re-design for That’s My Ad a web marketing company that specializes in Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics. The site features a rich Web 2.0 look to it, with a super clean and simple interface.

We have been working hard on our web site doing lots of minor updates here and there and revamping the look and content over the past few months. We will no longer be posting project updates on the homepage but rather use this blog for that. We also hope to be updating the blog on a more regular basis.

With that said we are wrapping up a website for a law firm, starting a web site for a home protection / hurricane company, and continuing work for JK Harris in the form of newspaper ads. We are also putting the finishing touches on new web sites for Media Placement Group and That’s My Ad.

The days of just getting online only through a computer are gone. There are more and more ways people can access the internet through other devices such as phones, pda’s, and gaming systems.

I recently purchased a Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone (I love both) and have browsed the net with both devices. I wanted to check out some design and usability differences to see if there were any major problems while accessing the internet on them.

Good clean design, css and proper usability comes into play even more on devices such as these as they may not have all the plug ins such as flash or the screen resolution may be limited.

I started with my site for example – www.digitalskratch.com

I recently added the ability to increase and decrease font size right from my website. This will provide better usability and allow users greater control over their viewing experience. On the iPhone for instance it maybe harder to read some of the smaller type, but with these controls it’s not a problem at all. It is easy to increase the font size to make it easier to read.

The next hurdle I had to overcome was the one of flash not working on both platforms. On my website I have 3 flash boxes. So I added a backup graphic that displays incase flash does not play. Again this will provide the user with almost the same experience as on a computer.

With proper programming and design your website should look nearly the same on multiple platforms, operating systems and browsers. More people will start to access the internet through devices such as these and designers / programmers need to be aware of them to provide users with a seamless experience.