Do Good Design

I reread Susan Cooper’s classic The Dark Is Rising often, and this year I’ve decided it will have to be every Christmas.She wrote it when living in America and homesick for England, and as any an ex-pat will understand, the book is a wonderfully romanticized vision of old-fashioned and, of course, supernatural, England.The story is about Will Stanton, the youngest of 9 (or 10?) kids, whose 11th birthday is … Continue reading »

I confess, it always annoys me when someone who’s starting a business says “Oh, I’ll just do my own website.” As if, gee, it can’t be that hard so I’ll learn how to do it and save myself the money!

Or I hear complaint after complaint that “I’m just not getting the sales I need and don’t know why,” and I go to their website and it’s a disaster.

But then I realized, most people don’t know that while anyone can do web design, it takes a lot of skill to be … Continue reading »

Tired of feeling let down by yet another empty Christmas? That feeling that surely it’s supposed to be better than this that you stifle by saying “Christmas is only fun for kids.”
Well I am. So this year I decided it was time to start trying to find ways to have the magical, wonderful Christmas that I’ve always secretly wanted.
I’m going to be researching old-fashioned Christmas traditions, books to get me in the mood, music that brings in the cheer. … Continue reading »

Make it easy for people to do business with you and they will. Or to put it another way: cater to the newbie, the beginner, maybe even the dunce.

I write today primarily to the spinners, dyers, weavers and other fibre craftspeople trying to make a living from what you do, but really, it applies to anyone with a website trying to get people to do something:

Remember that most folks don’t know your work the way … Continue reading »

Recently I realised that there was a real demand for simple, inexpensive 4 or 5 page websites and that Do Good Design should start doing them, our way.

A 5 page website to get you started

I call these “starter kit” websites, because many folks will start out with this kind of website and then upgrade to a much more sophisticated website later.

Starter kits websites are for people who need something they can put on their business card, that gives people an idea about what they do without requiring too … Continue reading »

It can be a struggle to keep local businesses going, which is why I like to do anything I can to promote ones here in my town of Stromness.

Quernstone Knits is one of 3 shops owned locally by the same person, Elaine Bentley, and is my local source for yarn and handmade knits.

Elaine also manages The Quernstone which sources me with small gifts for friends and family, and The Christmas Shop, a seasonal shop that brings just a dash of … Continue reading »

Luck, fate, destiny, God. Personally, I like the word “serendipity” the best: “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident”, according to Dictionary.com. Making your own luck perhaps.Whatever you call it, it can be reassuring at times to think something’s helping you out, opening a door here, smoothing the way there as you head towards a dream.

Good news: The universe is on your side

Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way is convinced serendipity is on our side as we pursue our dreams. It’s … Continue reading »

I’ve been having great fun this week checking out how websites are using short video clips to show people how to do something. I’ll be doing video for the next website Do Good Design is redesigning, Five Senses, and there are a number of benefits to your website if you do it well.

First off, what’s a good educational video clip like? Check out a UK-based website called Video Jug that gives your professionally produced, easy to understand videos on anything … Continue reading »

I like to check in on Flash websites from time to time to see if I need to start using Flash for my clients’ websites. Happily for me and them, Flash is still awkwardly slow and frivolous, so if you’re wondering whether you need a bells and whistles website like this one, the answer is “God, no”.

What’s Flash?

Not sure what Flash is?

Flash is the software most often used in film trailer websites and other websites aimed at The Youth. For years, its developer, Macromedia, has been trying … Continue reading »

What’s your sign? Colour sign, that is.

Your personal birthday colour

Pantone’s created a website, Colorstrology.com, that has a colour for each day of the year, your astrological chart by colour.

So for anyone born today, your colorstrological — sure, that’s a word — chart reads:

“You can help many people if you keep true to the spiritual part of your nature. It is important for you to stay connected to generous and loving people, as partnerships are an intricate part of … Continue reading »