» Redesigned and developed jonwallacedesign.mobi

Back in the summer of 2009 we launched a mobile friendly version of jonwallacedesign.com (see this previous blog post http://www.jwd-blog.co.uk/2009/08/jwd-goes-mobile.html) - This was a good quick fix to allow users to easily experience jonwallacedesign - digital design studio on their mobile devices.

Since the turn of the year we have been slowly enhancing the jonwallacedesign - digital design studio brand and wanted to reflect these enhancements into the pocket sized version of jonwallacedesign.com. The new iPhone and above (e.g. 320px wide and above) version of www.jonwallacedesign.com features some great new CSS3 tricks to render drop shadows and embed our house fonts for all to view. The new mobile site has been optimised for iPhone viewers and above meaning that we now have a tailored experience for those browsing on a modern mobile handset with deep-links into the main jonwallacedesign.com desktop site for those that want to explore further; we see this mobile site as a shop window which peeps can easily browse and then follow up their browsing in earnest on their desktop machine to get the juicy details. We have tied in some clever detection scripts into www.jonwallacedesign.com to serve up the mobile version of the site to users browsing on devices with small screens which enables us to best tailor the site to the devices on which users are accessing the site.

Next time you are browsing on your iPhone do have a look - http://www.jonwallacedesign.mobi - and remember if you have a site up on the web and your current design/development agency have not suggested a mobile version of your site get in touch and we will happily discuss this with you ;] Happy browsing!

» New Live Talkback site launches

Things at jonwallacedesign - digital design studio are still very much on fire with lots of fab client work in the studio. We are very proud to launch the new 2010 Live Talkback website featuring a design and build refresh from the previous site created in 2009.

Dive into the jonwallacedesign website to find out more about the project - http://www.jonwallacedesign.com/portfolio_websites_livetalkback2010.html // alternatively why not have a look for yourselves at http://www.livetalkback.com! Enjoy and get voting!!!

» New CartoType website launches

Wow, what a fast start to the New Year! We have been super busy throughout January working on some great projects, one of which; the new CartoType website has just launched. Check out the new gorgeous design and effortless CMS workflow development -> http://www.cartotype.com, or if you want to read some more about the project why not check out the case study in the jonwallacedesign - digital design studio website - http://www.jonwallacedesign.com/portfolio_websites_cartotype.html

Lots of new projects are deep into development and will be launching in the coming months so stay posted!

» From nowhere to hear in a year….

An introspective of Jon Wallace's business development throughout 2009.

What a difference a year makes… Wow how things have changed, this time last year I was saying my farewells to a great bunch of folk at Adobe and about to embark on a radical switch in career direction.

Previously I had always aspired to work at the biggest agencies in the UK if not the world, working with some of the best clients and the best talent in the digital design field - learning new tips and tricks with every project and aiming to outshine all the competition agencies and winning award after award… These days my aspirations are very different. After a year of setting up jonwallacedesign - digital design studio I can safely say it has been the best career move of my life! I love being my own boss and the transparency of working directly with clients; being able to affect and influence their businesses; such an empowering feeling, which as a designer who's main role in life is to take a brief from a client and make them beam with sheer happiness as a result of the hours of hard-work, is what it is all about for me.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my days working with the likes of Matinee, Panlogic, Graphico, glue London and Adobe but the feeling of winning clients, designing, developing and delivering directly back to them gives one a sense of satisfaction not achievable within a large agency/organisation.

One thing I am continually aware of from running jonwallacedesign, is not standing still, running your own business means you can never stop marketing yourself, looking for your next projects and bringing new clients on board. I guess this works well for me, as I have always been the kind of person to never stand still or stop wanting to work - I was always in the office hours before the rest of the team and could never stop thinking about work even after leaving the office! My desire to continually improve means whenever client work is not taking my attention, the next version of www.jonwallacedesign.com is on my mind, the mobile spin off version, what other business streams we could tap into and where the next new client might be resting… These things keep the mind focused at all times.

Having spent working 10 years for others, I can easily see me working for myself for at least the next 10 if not 30! If there is one piece of advice I can offer other designers who are considering taking the plunge and setting up for themselves, I would say go for it; as long as you are prepared to work harder than you have for anyone else and are 100% into the idea, if you can't oblige with these two things then it might be best to take that next role within an agency as nothing less than 100% effort works here.

So, as it's Christmas time, I raise a glass to the future and would like to clink a glass with my clients who have helped make the maiden year of jonwallacedesign - digital design studio a real corker and look forward to a prosperous 2010 - a clink for you if you are reading this and looking for a digital team to help make 2010 a special one for you too.

Merry Christmas - http://www.jonwallacedesign.com/xmas2009/

» Are you a talented freelance designer/developer

If you are... we would love to hear from you! As things hot up at jonwallacedesign - digital design studio we will have requirements for design/development assistance to help knock our clients socks off! So if you are looking for some new challenges in the New Year and would like to work with the team at jonwallacedesign - digital design studio then please do drop us a mail with your details. studio@jonwallacedesign.com

» Merry Christmas from jonwallacedesign

We never think it's too early to start celebrating Christmas, so with that in mind, please check our our festive message and enjoy a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

http://www.jonwallacedesign.com/xmas2009/

Raise a glass and have a very Merry Christmas!

» Jon Wallace interviewed on Creative Boom

Creative Director Jon Wallace, was recently interviewed by Creative Boom website (http://www.creativeboom.co.uk) to give a little insight into the creation and running of jonwallacedesign - digital design studio. Jon talks about his career to date and the joys of running the studio at jonwallacedesign. The full interview can be found here - http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/bath/2009/12/08/spotlight-jon-wallace-digital-designer-bath/
Many thanks to the guys at Creative Boom for running the feature!