My boys were on a mini vacation at their grandparents this weekend. I was really looking forward to having time to catch up on the things that are difficult to do with two very active, curious boys around. I suddenly discovered when the house was quiet and there was no one around to make a mess to clean up and no breakfasts or lunches to prepare, that I started to miss the little guys. My husband was at work and it was just me left to do as I please, and I had no idea what to do.

I have been so accustomed to having my boys around and keeping my eye on the clock, making sure that we stay on schedule… breakfast at 8, nap for the youngest at 9, take the 3-year old to the potty every hour or so, lunch at noon, naps for both at 1. Without my schedule and craziness, I felt a little off and wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Quickly, I put a plan together and I felt secure again. I went grocery shopping.

Similarly, I always prepare a plan of my day and week at DDA. I know what projects need my attention and which ones can wait until the following week. Website design concepts - for a returning client that we created (4)  trade show graphic panels for - are due in about 2 hours.  Then, two other projects that were being reviewed have been approved and interior magazine layouts for a flipbook project need to be tackled along with an interior website page design for a kitchen cabinet company.  So, I have my plan, my schedule, and know exactly what to do with myself.  

In a previous post, I was commiserating with an author who wrote an article about the use of typography for html websites and the restrictions that we, as graphic designers, experience. I went on complaining that technology for websites with regards to html typography hadn’t changed in 12 years. Well, if you read last week’s postings by Mick, our Director of Interactive Media, you, like me… are thrilled! Scalable Inman Flash Replacement (sIFR) is just the answer. It’s as if I called out to the Gods of typography and they heard me… just like when I was waiting and waiting for our window installer to call back, then had a dream about him building me a piano, and he called the very next day.

So, I decided to check out this new technology (this Godsend). I took about a half hour this morning and read through the documentation, the how-to-use files and sample files, and got to work. I would like to preface what I’m about to write by stating that I AM NOT A PROGRAMMER. I change what I need to change, upload what I need to upload, and save what needs to be saved. Sometimes it works and sometimes I fail miserably, but thankfully one of our very talented and personable programmers, Amy, is located two offices down from mine and always ready to help.

Basically, all that is required is setting the typeface in Flash, exporting it as a .swf file, and calling it up within the Javascript in the html page. Magically, at least for me, the type is just as I want it to look: search engine friendly, linkable, and selectable. I’m very excited to implement this new technology in future websites we design. We can now have the best of both worlds… great looking type on websites that work!

Now, I only hope someone reads my post about wanting a new SLR digital camera….

I spend a lot of my free time playing video games. Like, a real lot. Games have been my passion since my Dad brought home my first system, the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Games have been my motivation and inspiration for becoming an animator - by learning 3D programs and basic scripting languages, I am building myself the necessary tool-set to go into independent game development on my own.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising,  I have been given numerous opportunities to work on web interactives that have tested my game design and programming skills. Between creating simple platforming games, point-and-click interactions, and even basic 3d to Flash integration, I am quickly building a portfolio of skills that I can apply to my own personal work. And the best part? I get paid for it too!

Games can greatly increase or intrigue your company’s customer base. You can have educational games, training tools that help explain something your company does or train employees. You can also have games for entertainment, that keep customers coming back to your site again and again to complete the next addictive puzzle. There are even social interaction games, that allow customers to interact with each other and your business, forming a close community that can be an asset for any small or large company.

Let DDA work on your website’s next big idea for a game or interactive.  With our diverse skill set and creative and efficient talent, we can make games that entertain, educate, and excite!

Yesterday, a Robin flew into the front window of our building. With a very large thud, he knocked himself out cold and was passed out near a bush at the front door. I giggled a little when I saw him as he reminded me of some parties from my youth, but then remembered the headache that also came with it and I felt sorry for him. I looked at the beauty of that little creature as he slowly started to move and look around. The feathers were fine and detailed, with a beautiful red breast. Even his eyes were dark and shiny like little buttons. It’s not often that we can have the opportunity to see such detail up close to appreciate its beauty. Not all might appreciate the same things that I do. They might be too busy or just be scared of this wild animal so close to them- and not want to look, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. At DDA, our graphic designers and  animation artists and videographers incorporate the most beautiful details into every graphic and web design. And the intricate details don’t stop at just aesthetic pleasure, the intricate code programming is a work of art unto itself as it works behind the scenes along with search engine optimization to enhance every website.In our busy lives, stop a moment and take a closer look to appreciate the beauty of the details in life.

Visitors to our Portfolio don’t often see what has gone on behind the scenes for each finished designed piece. What is shown in our portfolio is the chosen design, most often by the client, that has been printed, uploaded or burned to a CD or DVD. What they have not had the opportunity to view are all the concepts that were provided to the client to choose from. I like to give my 3-year old two choices. You can either have this or that, do this now or do it later, say you’re sorry or sit on the step. And, usually, it works. There may be tears, but it works. Everyone likes to have choices and most often DDA provides our clients with at least 2-4 choices to review before making a decision. We encourage client involvement and will provide our professional opinions and suggestions on designs - whether it be for a printed piece such as a brochure, logo design or trade show graphic, or a design for online or CD/DVD use such as a website, intranet, or video for CD/DVD. The designs that were not selected are saved in the client’s file and archived with all the other important files for that project. Since we do not use templates for our designs and each design is custom for our clients these other choices are usually not to be seen again. Until now… We will soon be offering, starting with our Logo Design portfolio, the option to take a peek at our DDA Sketchbook which will showcase the designs that were not chosen. It’s time for the unchosen to have their turn in the spotlight!

First off, you may be asking what is DNS, let alone why would I want this propagated. DNS stands for Domain Name System and is the way that Internet domain names (like zeroonezero.com) are located and then changed or more correctly translated into IP address (that’s these things ‘208.69.228.94′). We do this because humans like words, as they are easy to remember, but computers need addresses in numbers.

Each machine on the Internet has its own unique number, which is its IP address. So when you type in zeroonezero.com you’re really asking your browser to look for that information at this address ‘208.69.228.94′. The domain name system is really a giant database, probably the biggest and most used database in the world. No only does it handle billions of lookup requests but it is also changed each day by millions of different people. This is where the propagation part comes in.

If you kept and maintained a central list of all domain names and IP addresses, it would be monumentally impractical. Therefore, this list is distributed throughout the Internet in a hierarchy of authority. Your domain registrar, for example Go Daddy, points your domain name to a DNS server. This becomes the master authority of your domain. When a request is made to find a website, it goes to the registration database and finds out the DNS authority. Then it goes to that DNS server to find out what the IP Address is for your domain name.

The problem is, each Internet Server Provider (like Verizion or Comcast) caches their DNS records. This means making a local copy of the database and is done to speed up websurfing as you are able to lookup a domain faster. The downside to this is each company updates their local database with its own timeframe, which could be hours or could be days.

This updating of cache is called propagation and our website’s DNS information is now being propagated across all DNS servers on the web. So it can take anywhere from 12 to 72 hours for all computers to see the the correct location of a websites once it has been changed.

It is hard for me to find the words or topic I would like to write about. Luckily for me I am not a copywriter here at DDA, nor do I fit the mold. That is what makes DDA such a great place to work! The fact that each person here possesses a talent or ability that is above average is truly amazing. Thankfully our coprwriters are gifted and have no problem when it comes to writing content for a brochure, website, trade show display, direct mail piece, etc. or perform any other task for which they are needed.

A few days ago, I went to buy picture frames for a poster project I was working on for our new Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) office. There was a young lady working in the frame department at the time which made me say to myself, “Great, she’ll know what I want and I’ll be out of  here in record time.” So, I explained I was in search of 10″ x 10″ white square frames. “Oh,” she says “they are over here. We have 8″ x 11″ and 11″ x 14″ squares.”  ”No,” says I, “I need squares.”  ”Those are our squares.” I actually left the store bummed. Is it possible she did not know the difference between a square and a rectangle? Isn’t that something you learn in preschool? 

Segue to who we are as a full-service advertising agency at Dynamic Digital and what we expect. First, in terms of excellence, it is always to try and surprise clients with the quality of the work we produce. For example, we routinely provide not one logo when a company comes to us for logo development, we provide ten or twelve truly unique ways our graphic designers feel represents that company, its product/service, and the message they want to convey from a logo. The project coordinators work closely with clients to make sure we are on the same page with every request they make, be it changes to a website or reprints for a brochure, we have a process that ensures the client’s voice is always heard.

To stay competitive today, we have to excel everyday. As we have grown, we have resisted the temptation to isolate ourselves from clients. We do not believe in voicemail. Calls are answered quickly, as are emails. We want our clients to know that working with us on all their advertising, promotional, and marketing needs  includes a personal touch. Organically, our culture at DDA has always given everyone permission to perform.  David and I encourage initiative on every level. We knew when we started DDA that everyone who signs on — be it a programmer or a writer, a videographer or an animation artist, a production support person — has to WANT to deliver excellence. It cannot be foisted on anyone, it has to be the individual’s  choice. We have a saying on our wall “NO AVERAGE PEOPLE WORK HERE.” I should add, no average employee stays. 

“The principle is competing against yourself. It is about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” Steve Young    

Today is a big day. The launch of an e-commerce website, that is almost a year into the making, is scheduled to occur in only a few hours.  I find myself feeling like an anxious parent. I worry that the launch will go smoothly, I am concerned that the functionality will stay in tact, and I am hopeful that we have not incurred too many oversights.  And like a proud parent, my expectations are set very high.

Customized programming, video spins, and optimized content don’t even scratch the surface of this site’s capabilities and components. To see it launch and witness the successful interaction of so many technologies is extremely exciting.  

Tax day! I know I am not the worst when it comes to filing taxes, but I know that waiting until 7 a.m. on April 15th is not the best way to handle it either, considering I could have easily filed everything over two months ago. Perhaps taxes are the reason behind our week being slightly slower than others.

Sure, I still have plenty to focus on — our PPC clients, Surething SEO reports, requested website updates, and production coordination. Perhaps we should consider this a week to play catch up, so that when taxes are behind us and companies are ready to tackle their marketing efforts we will be more ready than ever.