I Recently have returned to my sketch pad as a source of inspiration and design process. Starting a new project I would find myself jumping right into a Fireworks or Photoshop prototypeing because of time constraints, excitement for seeing a full rendered page, or just being a little too impatient. Being in a big hurry to have the finished design can lead to some major problems down the road. A paper pencil and pen are so much quicker and more personal in getting an idea down. Hand sketched prototypes are also fun, low-cost way to try out many ideas before you commit to a more intensive process. In hand sketching I am trying to spend more time with a design before I jump into layout and committed features.

I attribute my rekindled love of sketching to a friend and artist, Eduardo Smissen, had recently visited me and mentioned that he caries a sketch pad with him every where. He showed me some of his creations and I was very inspired by his tenacious creativity. He gave me a very nice pen as a gift and asked me to try keeping a sketch book with me as much as possible. Well I have not been able to sketch in all my free time but I have been doing it more at work. Especially In the beginning stages of design. So it is back to the drawing board for me and creating more websites on paper.

I would like to mention an excellent post on The Value of Paper Prototyping on Smileycat web design blog.

I have just recreated my website via Wordpress in a matter of days. I am very happy with this fully featured CMS that is disguised as a blogging platform. I had been using Joomla for a CMS for over a year and in the process of upgrading to the newest and secure version I corrupted some necessary files. I had methodical backups so I was not totally out in the cold, but I was frustrated with the process. I had recently built a client an event website that was completely powered by Wordpress. I loved how simple the Dashboard was to use, I and I recalled the ease of upgrading to the newest version with the press of one button. Much simpler then the tangle I had created with upgrading Joomla. This prompted me to recreate my website using Wordpress. Joomla is a very powerful CMS solution and used right can be the prefect solution for many small and med size business sites. Although I must say that Joomla feels bloated and awkward compared to the simplicity of Wordpress. So Here it is my Beta run of my new website. I hope you like it.