Do Good Design

With all the posturing, it’s tough to tell which candidate for the US presidency is going to “bring about change”, so I thought we’d use colour psychology to cut through the crap and see what the candidates are really saying through their website design.

I got the idea from the Boston Globe’s article, which asked some typographers to assess the logos of US presidential candidates.

Today let’s make a similar assessment: what messages do … Continue reading »

I’ve just posted an article with an overview on colour psychology and how to use it to help your website stand out from the crowd.

Here at Do Good, we use quite a bit of colour psychology in our designs, and I thought I’d share some tips with you. But first, a bit about how I got into colour psychology and why I think it’s such a useful marketing tool.

[The link to the article is at the end of this post, or if you’re impatient: “… Continue reading »

“Websites for doing good, done well.”

Welcome to the new Do Good Design tagline. This was actually the second most popular choice, with 14 votes, compared to “Making the world a better place, one website at a time” that got the most, at 16 votes.

The top two taglines weren’t even my ideas — they came from you all! In fact, I’d like to send a gift to both people who wrote these. Unfortunately, Polldaddy doesn’t tell me who submitted these entries, but if it was you, get in touch so I … Continue reading »

I need your help. I can’t believe how long it’s taking me to come up with the right tagline for Do Good Design. A tagline is that one sentence right near your logo that tells people what you’re about.

Right now, it’s “Websites for people who do what they love.” But that’s not quite right. As Nick Usborne told me, “Porn producers may love what they do, but it’s not exactly who you’d want to work with.” Yikes.

What Do Good Design is about making websites for … Continue reading »

One of the things I most love about the Internet is all the resources for learning things. Like how to paint, or make jewellery, or even build eco-friendly houses.

And because it’s so readily available and easy to learn, more and more people are learning, and then selling, crafts, as an article on the BBC, Why the Web Is Getting Crafty, explains.

On top of the how-to videos and articles, the web provides communities where you can share tips and ask questions … Continue reading »

It’s time to call a halt to Trademark Madness (TM)tm.

TMtm is a virulent strain of marketing where you slap a legal “tm” next to everyday words like “business” or “mind” or “love” and stake your claim. It’s your phrase, you own it.

The Whole Youtm, New Beginningstm, Jumpstart Your Lifetm.

Like imperialists subduing the natives, you plant the flag of “tm” and righteously declare “These words are mine, and I’ll sue you if you use them.”

Perhaps you think you’ll sound more professional? More authoritative? … Continue reading »

I call it the “But I Deserve It” Syndrome: where you think you should have the nice cars, house, clothes, holidays because you see it all around you in the media.

You deserve it. You’re worth it. I know the siren song well.

The problem is, like the Sirens, it can lure you to your death. Or at least a lot of depression.

As the BBC article about The Selfish Capitalist: Origins of Affluenza explains, rising numbers of … Continue reading »

If you’ve been putting off backing up your computer, procrastinate no longer. Do you really want to find out what happens when your computer crashes and you don’t have everything saved to somewhere else?

I didn’t. Well, now that I’ve had my iMac for almost a year. And I’ve knocked my computer off my desk and crashed it into the bookshelf. Twice. [Note: yet another reason to buy a Mac — they ‘re bombproof. My computer actually took a chunk out of our bookcase and kept on running.]

I spent hours … Continue reading »

I’ve been talking these past couple of weeks about how to improve your business website by making it look more professional and sleek.

I like to do things myself, and and I find tutorials to be the best way to learn. So I’ve written one about the Contrast Rule tutorial, one of the Big 4 Rules of Graphic Design.

Contrast is about making a statement with your … Continue reading »

Luminaries board game

I need more board games. Less TV, more good old-fashioned family fun.

So today’s internet research mission has been five hours (and counting) of searching for a game which includes:

The best board game features

• beautiful, elegant design
• quality pieces — none of that plasticky crap stuff
• stimulating but not too hard (skip Risk/Chess/hugely strategic stuff)
• no lying, killing, or amassing great fortunes

What’s left? It’s all slaughter and political intrigue. Empire building and buying stuff. No thanks.

Board Game Geek

I came across … Continue reading »