Ultimate Mac Office
Design Wiblet of the Day
Jan 8th
This is a header that I designed for Photo Super Hero, which is a photography website dedicated to bringing you news about photography, great products, helpful advice all in one place. It’s been touted as ‘way less stuffy than other photography sites’ and I suppose that is because it’s written from the perspective of a photographer, who started by buying a DSLR and figuring everything out by becoming self-taught. That advice is passed on through the posts in order to help others.
Aside from that wiblet of the day, I have a ton of projects to get to including designing another blogger background for a client, as well as a business card mock-up. I look forward to when I can present my designs electronically to a client in person, in a swish ultimate mac office, complete with LED screens on
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Doggy Bed?
Sep 17th
YES! If you’re a freelancer, or someone who telecommutes, or someone who is an enlightened Mac User, then chances are you have an awesome, stylish home office in place. Or at least, are planning to have one that fits the above description in the not to distant future!
Well have you forgotten about your best furry friend? Don’t forget they will be working right there with you, as you blearily wipe the sleep out of your eyes to get stuck in, with your coffee hot, and your slippers still on to start your day at 4am. Why not shop for some awesome looking pet supplies for them, that match your office so that they can keep you company in style?
Don’t they deserve the very best in doggy home-office bedding?
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Canvas Print
Sep 13th
When designing items for selling (as opposed to designing to a brief), it’s unavoidable to design without using my own taste as a guideline. Which is why I added this post to my Ultimate Mac Office Series, because this design, is something that I would purchase and hang on the walls of my future dream office.
One of my income streams as a designer, comes from Zazzle.com. I love the freedom with which I can make designs, posters and other merchandise on their site. They’re also always bringing out new products to which I can apply my designs.
Here’s a canvas print that I made today. I’ve designed it to be part of a series, but it works well in a modern interior by itself as well.
Purple with Circles by macnessa
More Purple Posters
Please do stop by my gallery on zazzle and take a look at my other canvas prints, as well as photography posters etc.
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Seminar Chair!
Jul 21st
Chances are at some point in your photography or design related career, you’re going to give some kind of seminar or workshop. Knowledge sharing is a big in the world of SEO right now too. People are wanting to learn, and others are willing to share, and we’re close to a perfect world than we think!
Like how funky and cool are these? Way better than ordinary chairs, and so much more like classroom chairs for the 21st century.
Heck if I had cool funky chairs like this at school, I might have paid more attention, owing to the more vibey environment.
These would go so well with some of the other furniture we’ve chronicled here in the Macnessa.com ‘The Ultimate Mac Office’ Series.
Do check out the archives, or click the “Ultimate Mac Office” tag in the tag cloud in the side bar if you’d like to see more.
Add these chairs to a bright white table and you get an instant funky workshop vibe working right away. Stand them on hardy and versatile beechwood finish laminate floors and even better!
Just think of how you could co-ordinate soft furnishings with all the great colour choices!
These are definitely going on my ‘going to buy when I open my own design studio – for the collaboration/meeting area’ list!
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Fittings
Jul 6th
I occasionally post about things that I’d like to incorporate into a fresh new home office space, when I get around to having a ‘fresh new space’ to makeover from scratch.
I’ve talked about various rugs, bookcases, desks and other things that are swish, cool and funky enough to be associated with a sleek new 24″ iMac.
But what about that part of the home office that the majority of clients rarely get to see? The bathroom! Theoretically it probably isn’t part of a home office, but it’s still a part of your daily life, and I’m sure you visit it at least once during the course of your ‘at home’ working day. So it counts. Because I say so.
So let’s talk faucets!
How about this kind? They’re so edgy! How about these? It would be impossible to decide on the spot. So many options!
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Viewing Station
May 9th
Finally, a return to my ‘Ultimate (mac) Home Office’ series, I’ve missed it! For those of you who don’t know, I often showcase products that I myself would like to use in my future radically awesome home studio/design space/home office/zen den!
So for today’s showcase, let’s talk tv stands. Why, you ask? Why would a photographer/graphic designer need a tv stand? Elementary my dear Watson…
Every photographer needs an area with a plush, stylish sofa for her clients to sit on, with a whopping great LCD screen in front of them, so that they can view a professionally edited slidehow of their wedding/portrait sessions once they’re ready, so that they can fully appreciate what they have purchased, and to help them make buying decisions when it comes to prints/posters/canvas prints they want etc. The perfect time to do this of course is once the couple is back from their honeymoon, and really still in the glow from after the wedding, providing of course that the honeymoon went well.
They can also invite moms/dads/friends with to relieve their special day, and *those* folks might even purchase their own copies of the Wedding Photo Slideshow DVD. If you can showcase your work like this it not only looks professional, but also enables you to keep an eye on the news, or fashion trends or whatever you need to keep your eye on at work.
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Storage on Castors!
Mar 8th
Say hello to functional, and sleek.
Say hello to large enough to contain A2 prints and posters!
Say hello to the Alex Drawer Unit, on casters, from IKEA!
I like this drawer unit so much, that I want three of them. Side by side. Providing me with extra worktop surface – and oodles of storage space inside for designs, proofs, photographs, you name it – which can fit flat inside the drawers, up to size A2!
As a photographer, and graphic designer, I have constant need of place to put stuff, flat, where it’s not going to be damaged. This unit would be beyond perfect for all my needs, and the fact that it’s on casters, just means that I can move it around my home office as and when the mood strikes me.
It retails from IKEA Australia for AUD $219, not bad considering it’s size and usefulness. Click on the image or link to view the product at IKEA’s website.
Have you made any good storage finds lately?
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Some Extra Freelance Work for Graphic Designers
Feb 13th
I just made a discovery of sorts. One that’s allowing me to test and flex my newly discovered graphic design muscles. It’s called 99Design.
It’s basically a site that anyone with some graphic design skill (or judging by some of the entries a distinct LACK of graphic design skill) can sign up for. Inside it’s hallowed halls, you will find people who are offering a set some of money, and have submitted a design brief.
For example Joe X might be offering $100 for a nice 200px by 200px logo for his latest blog, he might specify some colours that he prefers and maybe one or two things to avoid – most people are quite open about what they dont want, often it’s a kind of font they dont like that they ask you NOT to use.
Anyway, the entries are open for a week, and anyone can submit a design. The smarter designers seem to hang back for the early contenders work to be given feedback (by the person wanting the logo), or be eliminated. It’s a good way to evaluate more closely the likes and dislikes of the client.
After the week is up, the client picks his favourite design, and the designer is paid via Paypal, and then supplies the hi-res version.
It’s a great way for designers who are looking for work, or coming back into work, to practice, build a portfolio and get valuable feedback from real clients. Plus, some of the offers are really, really good like $700+. Plus as the client you’re getting a very very wide selection of work to select from, so everybody wins.
You can bet your sweet backside I will be all up in the koolaid talking about it on facebook just as soon as I have a winning design.
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Why I Need An iPhone…
Jan 1st
Apple iPhone
Seriously.
Obviously, I’m a huge Mac fan. All their products aside from being brilliant innovations in technology, are BEAUTIFUL.
Seriously. When last did you look at one of their new products? Or even old products? Gorgeous I tell you.
So of course I don’t so much as want an iPhone, as really, really need one. But I’m patient, at least.
I’ve had a run of bad luck with cell phones lately. Seriously.
I had a Samsung E350. I loved it. One day I saw it going round and round and round in that little window in the washing machine. Sadly, she did not make it, and her cold lifeless steel body is nothing but a dummy phone, destined to spend the remainder of her days in a display case somewhere, merely pretending to be real.
So I replaced Samsung E250 with Sony Ericsson something.
She was quite cool looking, given her reasonable price. A teal colored flip phone. Her ring tones rocked my world. Real Music at last!
One day I switched her off, just a month after we first met, only to have her vibrate feebly in my hands when I tried to switch her on again. She is *still* in that no mans land, where all the socks and paperclips go, that is ‘cell phone repair land’.
So, I bought Sony Ericsson replacement phone. Determined not to get too attached to her, I didn’t personalize her all that much. Just two weeks after we first adopted one another, I had to jump into my pool fully clothed (with her in my jeans pocket) to fish Reebok out of the pool – (he’d slipped off the step where he was playing and I was watching from – thank god he was totally ok, just coughing and spluttering a bit), less than 3 seconds in the water and pffft. Nada.
In total despair I told MacHubby of my misfortune. After berating me for doing something SO STUPID AS KEEPING MY PHONE IN MY POCKET FOR BUCKETS SAKES, he suddenly whipped out one of his old phones, also of the Sony Ericsson sisterhood. A phone so funky it even took a micro sd card! So she keeps me company now, while I wait for Teal Sony Ericsson to reappear.
But really, none of this would have happened if I’d had an iPhone. I just know it. Because instead of treating you with utter disdain (like PC’s and other technological brands), I just know my iPhone would love me back 
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Diversification In Practice
Dec 14th
Everybody needs to diversify their business in this day and age.
I’m a photographer, who does image manipulation, moonlights as a graphic designer now and then, and who writes copious amounts of marketing material for various suppliers, as well as writing across a broad range of subjects on the web.
A local example of a business that took a look at itself a decade ago and today is a thriving diverse empire is Spier.
They started out as a wine estate.
They’re now a wine estate, with several award winning restaurants, they have a theatre, boutique hotel, thriving deli and picnic area attached and even a livery yard, and riding school. Aside from that they have a falconry, and a Cheetah conservation centre.
African Cheetah
Which is where I snapped this duzy of a photograph, right through the fence. It helps when you have a 300mm lens which can focus straight past the safety bars! Now of course these guys don’t have to hunt for their food, and can’t get up to full speed in their current enclosures, but they still maintain healthy weight without the need for diet pills
So in all they’re a good example of why diversification can take your business to knew heights, allow you to reach more clients, or keep your existing clients coming back for more of the same – or something new.
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