Block 81

How my first Sabbatical Week went...

TL;DR - it was well worth it. Looking forward to the next one and the next one and... you get the idea. 😎

https://block81.com/blog/the-seventh-week-sabbatical-part-2

The Seventh Week Sabbatical – Part 2 | Block 81 With it also being my partner’s birthday week, I had more to look forward to than just some time off. In a way you could say that the time off started on Saturday, in which case Monday just felt like an additional day off. Tuesday ended up being a little different, mainly because I didn’t have.....

Awesome clients + hard work = awesome feedback. 😎

Started working on a logo/monogram for someone near and dear to me. First logo project in a looooong time. 😄

Wrapped up a second website for IIA last week! 🎉 This is a client portal used by IIA clients to get exclusive client-only content.

This project was less heavy on UI design and more so on the development side. Read more about it on our portfolio: https://block81.com/work/international-institute-for-analytics-client-portal

New blog post: The Seventh Week Sabbatical – Part 1

https://block81.com/blog/the-seventh-week-sabbatical-part-1

The Seventh Week Sabbatical – Part 1 | Block 81 Prioritizing rest and time away from stress triggers, be they client work, personal projects, or something else. Time blocking and the Seventh Week Sabbatical I’ve written about time blocking before , so I won’t go over that in detail again. I’ll just add that time blocking really helped in se...

New blog post: The Iron Triangle (of Web Design Project Expectations)

https://block81.com/blog/the-iron-triangle-of-web-design-project-expectations

The Iron Triangle (of Web Design Project Expectations) | Block 81 Scope, time, and budget = quality The principle behind the Iron Triangle is that the quality of a project is constrained by its scope, timeline, and budget; any changes in any one of those constraints will directly affect the others. No matter how you affect any one constraint, if you don’t adjust...

Recent feedback from a new client on the first UI designs for their website. This is just a small taste of the stuff that makes me look forward to work every weekday. 😊⁠

New blog post: Why I Ditched Basecamp

https://block81.com/blog/why-i-ditched-basecamp

Why I Ditched Basecamp | Block 81 Basecamp made a huge mistake and lost Block 81 as a customer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

New blog post: Thoughts on 2021

https://block81.com/blog/thoughts-on-2021

Thoughts on 2021 | Block 81 Thoughts on 2021 and a look at 2022.

New blog post: Why I Don’t Do Unscheduled Phone Calls

https://block81.com/blog/why-i-dont-do-unscheduled-phone-calls?x-craft-preview=jVLLLaYQsW&token=_nPpFHcpzkZ8sgPcJxkkOlR2Thf3ltnQ

Why I Don’t Do Unscheduled Phone Calls | Block 81 Sticking to scheduled phone calls only was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my business. Here's why.

New blog post: Why Your Website Needs a Privacy Policy

https://block81.com/blog/why-your-website-needs-a-privacy-policy?x-craft-preview=rek80wBb06&token=W1YXiYvhiMRnnlev7hkUAIg435O4HKBh

Why Your Website Needs a Privacy Policy | Block 81 If you run a website pretty much anywhere in the world, you’re going to need a privacy policy that complies with the regulations and laws where your websit

New video: How I manage fonts on my Mac

https://youtu.be/a0nY1GOhBR4

New blog post: Diversity in Web Conferences

https://block81.com/blog/diversity-in-web-conferences

Diversity in Web Conferences | Block 81 The last two web conferences I attended showed a big lack of diversity. This needs to change.

A high-level view of how I keep my Mac organized, including two key tools to make sure I can keep working through a disaster.

https://youtu.be/sUEaQXLhaTw

www.youtube.com

New blog post: Why Moving Away From Squarespace Is A Pain

https://block81.com/blog/why-moving-away-from-squarespace-is-a-pain

Why Moving Away From Squarespace Is A Pain | Block 81 While it has some merits, many businesses that start out on Squarespace will eventually need to move away from it and that can be a pain.

A super high-level explanation of what I do as a full stack designer, including the main tools I use.

https://youtu.be/S7aEJGdP_tM

www.youtube.com

New blog post: Managing My Time With My Calendar (Or How I Learned To Love Time Blocking)

https://buff.ly/2XpvwyE

I've been selling a few items on Creative Market for the past couple years or so. I've now moved some of those to my site. Everything else on CM will be copied over too, but in the future I'll be adding new ones exclusive to the site. Check it out!

Graphic Design Products & Stock Resources & Downloads | Block 81 Bring your design & social media projects to life with unique graphics and templates designed by Block 81.

New blog post: Organizing CSS/SCSS files

https://buff.ly/3Ej7SoM

Need an experienced Craft CMS developer?

https://buff.ly/3zzinS4

New blog post: Two Tools I Use For Compiling Website Assets

https://buff.ly/2Wwp3Bz

New blog post: Hello Fastmail!

Hello Fastmail! | Block 81 Why I switched to Fastmail, how it went, and why you might want to consider it.

New blog post: Organizing My Life With Things 3

Organizing My Life With Things 3 | Block 81 Flawless syncing While the vast majority of my work and tasks are done in my home studio in front of my computer, sometimes I need to refer to Things while I’m on the go. Instead, Things 3 allows you to organize your tasks and projects pretty much any way you want. I don’t worry about when it ne...

New website!

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be super busy the past year+ which has meant putting some of my own stuff on the side. But in between the client work and life outside of work, I managed to redesign https://buff.ly/37W8tgY!

I was hoping to launch it last month as July marked the 18th anniversary of this little studio. 😃🎉 But it just couldn’t happen. So a month later is good enough. 😉 With that said, I still consider it in beta as there may be a hiccup here or there, plus a few more features to add.

New website launch! Small project for a construction company that works on some big projects.

Oregon Construction Company Ward-Henshaw’s name on a bid sheet means quality, experience, and the professional knowhow of 40+ years in the construction industry.

My 2020 recap...

2020 Recap | Block 81 😬 Sure, there’s no way I could’ve really known 2020 would be such a dumpster fire for so many people across the globe. 🤷‍♀️ I’d like to be able to say that despite the challenges of 2020 that I came out unscathed. On the one hand, despite my struggles, I want to highlight whatever ...

New portfolio piece is up!

EnviroLux Energy Systems Website Redesign | Block 81 EnviroLux Energy Systems, a commercial LED lighting company, turned to Block 81 to help them revamp their website.

I used Basecamp back in the day. Then I quit. Then I went back. Here's why.

Why I Switched Back to Basecamp | Block 81 And, like so many project management and productivity apps back then and (worse) today, it felt like the team behind Basecamp was catering to actual teams with zero regard for the solo operator such as myself. Plus, it was just confusing to me. 🤷‍♀️ It took a while, if I recall correctly, b...

Back on the Bullet Journal bandwagon.
https://buff.ly/2TjFj45

It's Time to Rethink Your RFP
https://buff.ly/31qNCQa