Designing Obama – Digital Edition.
I’ve been meaning to pick up this book in hardcover for a while. But now that it’s available as a free PDF and (not free) iPad App, I’ll have lots to chew on until I do 
Also check out this podcast interview with Scott Thomas, the design director for the Obama campaign.
What’s with the new design and all the down-time?
It’s a good question. It deserves a good answer. And here it is:
What was previously my personal blog residing at briancasel.com has now become the CasJam Design Blog. This marks a re-branding, re-design, and re-focus of this blog. You can still expect topics ranging from design and development to freelance business and dealing with clients. But the plan is to put out more content, more depth, and more value than before.
Since this is no longer my personal blog, one of the goals is to bring other writers into the mix. We’re now hiring writers for both one-off articles and ongoing positions. If you’re looking to gain some exposure and make some cash while you’re at it, check out the guidelines and submit an article!
Read more
This summer has been a time of reflection for my business, and it has led me to a decision I’ve been contemplating for some time now. You may have caught my tweets and dribbbles about it already…
I will be relocating, rebranding, and revamping this blog.
This site will soon go by the name of the CasJam Design Blog (location TBA). It will be less of a personal blog, and more of a professional industry blog about the business of design (and other related topics). Here are a few thoughts on why I’m making this switch:
I’ve come to realize that building an audience and community is the most valuable long-term asset for any online business. The CasJam Design Blog is where I plan to focus the majority of my efforts and resources moving forward.
Read more
Sometimes it’s the little things that turn an average month of business into an outstanding one.
We all have our systems for going about our business. Things like your to-do list app and other GTD products you use to keep track of things. Your calendar of upcoming appointments / reminders, whether that’s Google Calendar, iCal, Outlook or an old-school paper wall calendar. Your systems have been working for you for months or years, so why change them?
Well, if it aint broke, don’t fix it. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on the lookout for minor improvements. Things that don’t disrupt your entire workflow, but may have huge unexpected benefits. Like a baseball player who’s batting average suffers for a week or two. He doesn’t want to re-learn how to swing the bat in the middle of the season. But he might make a tweak, like moving his back foot 2 inches closer to the plate or his elbow an inch higher than usual, and all of a sudden he’s seeing the ball again and finishes off the season with a hot-streak.
So what does this have to do with leaving business on the table?
Read more
As many of you know, the latest product that I’m currently promoting is WP Bids. In a recent post, I discussed about all the things that make this such a unique WordPress product. I even launched a dedicated website for it at WPBids.com.
Unlike my other ThemeJam themes, part of the challenge in marketing WP Bids is I need to educate people about what it is. Sure, it’s a WordPress theme, but it redefines how we use a theme in many ways (which I discuss here).
So my marketing plan for WP Bids is quite different than it was when I launched ThemeJam. The primary strategy?
I’m reaching out to bloggers in the freelancing, small business, and WordPress space about helping me to spread information about what WP Bids is and the benefits it offers to their readers. I have offered to have my product reviewed on their site, participate in interviews to discuss it, and even write my own guest article outlining the benefits. I’m delighted that a few have already accepted and will be publishing various forms of coverage in the coming weeks. One already has.
Read more