Just a note to let you know that I have some upcoming times when I’ll be unavailable.
My whole family is coming into town this year for Christmas (drawn to what I wonder?) and like many of you I’ll be taking off work to spend time with family. For that I’ll be unavailable from December 24th – January 1st.
I’ll then jump right back in and be happy to help you finish up some projects and make sure everything is running smoothly. I will then be taking another break to recharge, work on some personal projects, look at my business over the past 2.5 years, and plan for times ahead. For that I will be unavailable from January 14th – 20th.
After that I look forward to providing you with more great design service that connects you to your clients!
I hope you have a relaxing and restful holiday break as well. (Don’t ignore it – You Need a Break)
On April 9th Apt Design is co-sponsoring an event hosted by the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, the 90-Minute Marketing Seminar. The presenters are Bill Hoke & Patty Graf-Hoke from Washington State. They will be talking about how businesses and non-profits can continue to market in a continuing hard economy by using cost-effective techniques.
From their materials:
More than 5000 people from Wasilla to Walla Walla, have attended the 90 Minute Marketing Workshops and walked away with practical, common sense strategies to help grow their business or organization. In just 90 minutes (that’s a promise) you will learn the basics for writing your own easy-to-use marketing plan and dozens of proven tactics you can take back and put to work immediately. This fast paced, real-world, hands-on workshop was created especially for small, local businesses and nonprofit organizations that are the backbone of our local economies and communties. For more information and testimonials, please visit www.90minutemarketing.com.
Staying on top of your company’s marketing is more critical now than in times of a booming economy (though you should remember to continue marketing even when things are going well). With many years in the marketing industry under their belts, the Hokes are sure to present a program to help you find the best ways to promote your company or organization. You can find more registration information on the Chamber’s website. I hope to see you at the seminar!
Today Apt Design is launching its newest venture – www.myPassionProject.com !
my Passion Project is a community-written blog that allows visitors to share with the world what they love to do – quickly, easily and for free!
A Passion Project is what you spend your extra time, money and effort on. Something you love to do. It may be a hobby, a collection, or a creation, but whatever it is you absolutely love doing it. Sharing it with the world on myPassionProject.com can be rewarding, empowering and fun.
I have been working on my Passion Project for the past few months, incubating it from concept to fully-formed idea to an actual website. I have had a blast designing it, developing it, and dreaming of its future possibilities. It has certainly become my Passion Project and I’m happy to finally let everyone see it.
There are already some amazing posts over on the site, so go check it out and be sure to leave some comments or submit something yourself!
Here’s a new wallpaper from Apt Design, ready to grace your desktop and remind you of one of the important things in life. It was a fun project to work on, and we hope you enjoy it. So download and pass it around to your friends, and don’t forget to leave a comment letting us know your thoughts!
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Or, if your tastes tend towards the dark and fiery, there’s this one:
The office of the future
In the design industry, as in more and more professions these days, geography is no longer a limiting factor in working with clients. Apt has already worked with clients across the country and around the world, but now we are trying something a little different. For the past week we have relocated the office to Northwest Arkansas, part vacation, part experiment in working from anywhere. With a laptop and cell phone, neither we nor any of our clients can tell much of a difference.
This is an increasingly popular way to do business. Freelancer designer and writer Skellie has a blog devoted to this entire issue. Her website Anywired shares stories and gives advice to those looking to have a completely mobile office.
The office of now
Why not try something different today? Get out of the office, take your laptop to a coffee shop or a park, and enjoy the freedom of working from anywhere. If you can’t necessarily move your workspace, find a way to get creative and do things a little different. Let us know about your experiences in the comments.
the blog has been a bit quiet lately as the apt office has been hard at work.
we’re finishing up a few projects and starting some cool new stuff as well. there is ongoing work that’s keeping us busy, and there is the ever-present challenge to make sure we’re getting maintaining a healthy work/life balance and getting enough time outdoors.
so keep checking back for looks at completed projects, word on apt design’s new target market, and information about how to make your business better.
until then we lift a cup of coffee in your direction and say, “carry on.”
apt design is featured in the latest edition of the wenatchee business journal in an article entitled, “Out on their own.” the article chronicles the startup of 4 new media companies in wenatchee, washington with biographies of each new business owner. we love the free press.
let us know: have you seen an impact on your business due to being in a publication?
Whether you are a client, fellow designer, big fan, or just a casual reader, Apt Design is giving you a little piece of beautiful design to help you make it through the day.
Spending a little time on creativity is almost never bad, and today we’ve spent some time creating (from scratch) this wallpaper for you desktop’s background. Go ahead, download and enjoy! A{readmore}nd don’t say we never gave you anything.
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This place is now feeling like a real business. The office setup has been completed. here’s a view of where great creative design gets done, and the tools and elements that are used.
- the 24″ imac with 2 GB of RAM has arrived, and its bigger than you would even think. inside is adobe creative suite 3 – the latest industry standard for all graphic and web design work. this mac flows along with incredible speed and looks absolutely gorgeous.
- out in front, a 9″ x 12″ wacom tablet. i write and draw left handed and this tool has become indespensable to my creative work. it seriously doubles effeciency and aids in everything from file management to illustration.
- a full-color brother laser printer. though this is definitely necessary for full color proofs and some letters, i’ve been amazed at how little paper i have used so far. very close to a paperless office.
- speakers for one of the most important parts of good design – great music. working from home gives you the great opportunity to crank up the music and zone into a project.
- a creative wall for inspiration.
- a better view than i’ve had at any other job. currently watching apples in the orchard ripen. watch for more ‘views out the office window’.
over in the corner – my companion throughout the work day (though she mostly just sleeps and makes me do all the work) – mocha. she is always ready to go out for a game of catch.
so, now “This battleship is fully operational,” and the option of commenting on my blog posts exists, so let me know – what do you think?
