Design Basics

At times there comes the urgent need to lay down the basics of the job we people do. Some may sound a bit "out of fashion" but really they are still a "part of the game".
The design basics (some of them which I follow) are:
1] The size of the Images you choose affects the way your page loads. Heavy image slowing down your page means that the visitor has already clicked on the next site.
2] Keep your page layout as simple as possible. Many times I come across sites with those "revolutionary" layouts where the visitors get lost quite often.
3] Fonts, yes, the fonts...keep the variety/style of fonts to minimum possible. Do take care on how would the printout of your page look like and also its appearance on the screen.
4] Different browsers may display your page differently, have you checked this?
5] Content, good, readable, interesting. Do not "over SEO" the text. The visitor might get bored/confused/misled reading something which was alien to them.
6] Though ads are a good thing to have on your site, too many of them make your site appear just like a classified newspaper. Sure you don't want your site to look this way, or do you?...
7] Soothing look on the page makes the visitor "stay" there for some time. Do not use blinking images. According to research, such irritants are very effective in chasing away visitors from your site.

Frankly, I might not be the best of the designers out there but I follow some basics all times and every time. This makes my job easier and simpler and "processed" (I only have to follow the process) and my output is worth my client's money :D

Share the knowledge.

I recently came across my "professional" friend who believes that in order to maintain seniority order, one must keep away from sharing knowledge from the subordinates.
I was a bit surprised hearing him say this.
Was he implying that he really has to hide from his juniors? Did this mean that he "survives" in the knowledge vacuum? Is he so much watchful of young budding probables who might take his place? Had he put a self imposed limit on his growth?.....
Really, is this what keeps a professional going on and ahead? I sincerely don't think so.
It could be that I was lucky enough to have seniors who were open, progressive, practical and professional. People who shared their knowledge and helped me grow.
Though I am indebted to them, I must say that my seniors gave me the chance and challenge to go and "prove it" to myself and the people there.
I believe in sharing knowledge as I know that it leads one to further improving self, knowledge and skills.
Knowledge and the style (procedures,processes) one uses on the job is the property of the firm one was working for at the time. It is not the person's personal property to keep back, hidden.
As a matter of fact, people who had their outlook just like my friend could progress only till a limit, the limit which was self-imposed.

Getting Organized :)

I spent my last weekend on organizing my workplace which really needed attention for quite some time....really :)
I know it always is better to be organized but, the "but" word always had many of those wonderful escapist words one could ever use...
How to get organized? Well some simple steps could help like:
a] Jotting down all tasks one has to to really helps, this is similar to a "to do list". You know when and on which date you needed "that" work done but are in the "postpone-it" mode since so many hours,days,weeks,months or worst...years !
b] Get a calender, need I say more about this :)
c] Get a diary and write in clear terms your goals. These help one stay focused and guided. This is really handy to mark down your progress towards your goals.
d] Priority on the tasks,jobs and act accordingly. If one works other way round then the outcome too would be the other way round.
e] Greed, yes greed of getting details, details about your job,tasks. For example you could make your task,job progress actuals and match them against your job,task plans. Nothing short of a "greedy" approach would make you perfect in being on time always :)
Business, no matter how small or how large it might be is built using those 24 hours of the day.
Numerous tasks,jobs,issues and what not, but only one reason to go ahead - if they can do it then why can't you !! :)

You as your own Boss !

Now, I again come back to the same discussion, the thing which most of us think about...
Yes again I would talk about the "self" job,business and income too :D
The reasons why I would prefer to be on my own are following:
1] I could start my business with a very nominal investment. Just a machine and some space to work (could even be my garage). I get to set my working hours !
2] The "part-time" freedom for full time....Necessarily it develops into me making all efforts for myself..yes "my own self". I get to keep all the fruits of my toil.
3] Ingenuity of "my" work and the fact that it cannot be copied by anyone :)
4] Growth...yes, you get a lot to learn when you go solo, believe me.
5] You are one who would brand or disband yourself & your business :D

It is a fact that very few such start ups succeed amongst the fierce competition and tough business essentials but again it is only those "determined" souls which are examples for many others to follow suit.

Your Company...Are You Company?

Most of us work as professionals with a majority of us working in companies while others work as freelancers (with or without a company name). What ever may be the "employment" style, one thing is certain, we "are" a part of the job we do..
I say that we are a part of our job (for salaried people) AND Company itself towards its employees on the other hand on the basis of the following few things.
a] Company ethics and our adherence to them
b] Experience or knowledge which we would gather as we work and then its sharing..
c] The process/technical development we do becomes the "company" property. Do we contribute to this?
d] The impact of our services(good or bad)on the company's business,clients.
e] Work,process management skills...professionals know what I mean here.
f] Acceptance, by the company and by the employee too to proceed towards a primary objective i.e. further/future growth.
g] Delivery...of service by the employee and its matching in equal terms by the company...
A company, here means similar to the English word "accompany". When both the employee and the company become one then there are miracles,achievements,growth...

My first question again, Are we company? ... :)

Blog Writing Business or Fun !

Well this is a point on which most of us could talk for quite some time, some choosing money,some fun while some (like me) choosing both of them :)
The way you can be out here and make a presence is really interesting. I would bet with anyone out here on the impact and effective way one can make themselves exist out here on the "WWW".
I write for fun and the way people take interest and businesses make business from my writing gets me "some" business too !!
Yes, true that there comes a time when people tend to go more for the money part of it but this is really a short lived preposition. One cannot be a minting machine for too long. There would come a plateau when the "catchy" thing goes before the writer even realizes.
So for me, I am a fun loving business person, what about you guys? :)

Your job - your reputation

Offshore jobs means you get clients sitting thousands kilometers away giving their specifications, details, explanations and hoping they get what they expected.
It becomes even more intense when you have a fresh new client who could get more business for you if you hit it "correct" the first time.
We recently had a client giving us details and explanations and though he was not a fresh lead, we going by our policy worked till the last detail with him to get what he wanted. Can you guess what was his "last" specification?...well he wanted his site made all over again, new fresh and with changed themes and feel !!
Did this meant us redoing all the jobs all over again? well the question is the answer and believe me this was a "real" job we did within a record time but really we "earned" this client for a very long time to come :)
I know many people who give out jobs and after many delays, extended time lines and talks get the final output which is of no use to them. What a waste of time, effort and money for the client [and the client itself is lost at the service provider's end] !!!!
Boring, detailed enough to put your team to sleep and what not, each and every client specification and its implementation goes a long in securing your client base. A little offmark and a client could go to someone else !