Make Design, Not War

Clients From Hell: Client: “We want out home page to be very minimalistic. We like lots...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:17:44 -0400

Clients From Hell: Client: “We want out home page to be very minimalistic. We like lots...:

Client: “We want out home page to be very minimalistic. We like lots of white space, and only the most important elements. It should look like Google - basically, a logo and one or two other important things.”

Me: “Great! In that case, what would you consider to be the one or two most important…

The Top Five Places to Learn WordPress (for free!): WordPress is...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:24:05 -0400

The Top Five Places to Learn WordPress (for free!): WordPress is increasingly becoming one of the most influential technologies on the web thanks to an incredibly powerful admin panel, a myriad of ready to use premium themes, and tons of useful plugins. I personally switched over to using WordPress solely as my technology of choice about 3 years ago when I realized just how…

The Redirector for WordPress: Easily create vanity URLs on your...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:23:35 -0400

The Redirector for WordPress: Easily create vanity URLs on your WordPress site to redirect to any other url. For example, you can use this plugin to have http://www.myblog.com/iphone point to a link on the itunes store. Obviously you can also use this to point many urls on your site to the same post. * Redirect from simple local urls…

If you own just one twitter plugin for Wordpress, let it be this...

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:09:00 -0400

If you own just one twitter plugin for Wordpress, let it be this one! The only premium twitter plugin out right now – with support for multiple twitter users and includes a ton of premium options. This is the last Twitter plugin you’ll ever need! Check out the full feature set at the download page.

Woot! In collaboration with the awesome Shane & Peter crew,...

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:36:33 -0400

Woot! In collaboration with the awesome Shane & Peter crew, we’ve finally launched our first line of premium Wordpress plugins. Be sure to check them out at http://premium.shaneandpeter.com/ !

Check out our brand spankin’ new Events Calendar Pro - A...

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:34:00 -0400

Check out our brand spankin’ new Events Calendar Pro - A Premium Wordpress Plugin that allows you to manage all of your calendar events (like band tour dates, gig lists, upcoming events, conference calendars, and more!).

The Aspire Theme for Wordpress is officially available now -...

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:22:00 -0400

The Aspire Theme for Wordpress is officially available now - complete with tons of killer jQuery effects and custom features - this is probably my favorite Wordpress project so far - check it out here!

Check out Jacob Bian’s Portfolio at Behance - some hot...

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:18:13 -0400

Check out Jacob Bian’s Portfolio at Behance - some hot illustration coming from this guy :)

Speaking of hot desktop wallpaper, Desktopography is due for a...

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:27:08 -0400

Speaking of hot desktop wallpaper, Desktopography is due for a new release in the next couple months (if my math is right).

Alex Varenese is pretty damned incredible - blending retro...

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:21:50 -0400

Alex Varenese is pretty damned incredible - blending retro sensabilities with a range of typographic styles (from constructavist to psychadelic to ultra modern), this guy is worth checking out.

Some awesome work from Justin Maller. If you haven’t seen...

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:18:56 -0400

Some awesome work from Justin Maller. If you haven’t seen his work, you’ve got to - it’s hip, relevant, and breaking new groudn in the field of illustration :) Oh, and he has some killer desktop wallpaper (over 40 HD resolution pieces).

ThemeForest Competition Winner!!! Flex is a premium Wordpress...

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:35:00 -0400

ThemeForest Competition Winner!!!

Flex is a premium Wordpress portfolio theme that’s designed specifically for photographers, designers, motion artists, and all creatives to display their work in a slick, grid-based interface. The VGrid plugin used flexes as the browser-size changes, and all projects can be launched via a lightbox (images, galleries, videos, etc.) or a full post-template! With 10 12 professionally designed styles, and the ability to create your own in mere minutes, the Flex theme is perfect for anyone seeking an image gallery based site. Check out all the features at the link :)

A series of three posters promoting the benefits of buying...

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:38:00 -0400

A series of three posters promoting the benefits of buying locally grown food. I originally conceived of this series as a part-brainstorm for The Remakers project and part-class assignment for an upper division poster-design class with Alyssa Lang. These posters have been selected to be shown at the Pacifica Design Center in Los Angeles as part of an AIGA sponsored event and will soon thereafter move to the AIGA EMERGE show.

ThemeForest Competition Winner!!! Flex is a premium portfolio...

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:25:00 -0400

ThemeForest Competition Winner!!!

Flex is a premium portfolio theme that’s designed specifically for photographers, designers, motion artists, and all creatives to display their work in a slick, grid-based interface. The VGrid plugin used flexes as the browser-size changes, and all projects can be launched via a lightbox (images, galleries, videos, etc.) or a full post-template! With 1012 professionally designed styles, and the ability to create your own in mere minutes, the Flex theme is perfect for anyone seeking an image gallery based site.

Spring 2010 Lineup

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:16:56 -0400

The school winter quarter is just about done now and next quarter should be light, which means now I can get a better grip on what’ll be going down for the Spring. Here’s what’s on the agenda right now:

1. Launch the Flex theme (first HTML, then the full WP theme).
2. Release a few of my older HTML templates as WP themes (Eminent, HyperPress, Iconic, etc.)
3. Begin work on a brand new set of Event themes (specifically for musicians/bands/performers).
4. Begin Magento theming!
5. Begin rolling out plans for the summer themes.

As always, you can find out about any new product releases here and at my ThemeForest account: http://themeforest.net/user/epicera

Cheers!

Photo

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:06:00 -0400

danielku: typegoodness is a great site to check out for all...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:53:54 -0500

danielku:

typegoodness is a great site to check out for all you type lovers. Some links to some really nice + free downloads.

Originally inspired as a photography website for my very...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:10:00 -0500

Originally inspired as a photography website for my very talented sister in law (Jo Distaso), I designed the Atlantica pair of Wordpress themes (Classic and the Dark Version) way back in the Spring of last year. I don’t usually weigh in on my own projects, but I’ve gotta say that I still really enjoy the subtle typography and gridded image approach to a website theme that gives it an almost timeless feel. Where so many of my projects begin to feel dated in my own mind after a year, I think I’m going to enjoy this one for a while.

obligatory chuckleWhat never ceases to amaze me about Apple...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:33:00 -0500

*obligatory chuckle*

What never ceases to amaze me about Apple critics isn’t just that they are always clever, it’s that from a visual perspective, they are always pretty damned well designed. Sure, it helps to have so much source material to work with (as does the fact that lots of your fans/critics are designers themselves) - but even from a basic Photoshop perspective, this is solid B+ work. What frightens me is that the jokes played on Apple are often designed better than the ads for their competitors.

If you haven’t seen Storyville before, and you love...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:32:00 -0500

If you haven’t seen Storyville before, and you love coffee, you’ve gotta check this out. Surprisingly, their site (which I first came across in the early 2000’s and totally blew my mind back then), is still relevant even though it’s perhaps beginning to show a little bit of age. And while I never really liked Flash as an eCommerce platform, their ordering process has been designed and implemented extremely well.

The branding materials are designed flawlessly and the whimsicle packaging (complete with toy airplane boy stickers, exceptional type design, and tissue paper wrapped vacuum bags) will transport you back to your favorite birthday as a kid…

Oh, and their coffee rocks.