I also made some decisions about my content that helped me get off the ground. Let’s start with those.

One of the challenges to getting Spinning Wheel Studios off the ground has been whether or not to launch with a portfolio. I’ve got some projects that I’m finishing up (and one that I am about to begin) that will be featured in the portfolio. These projects are central to the portfolio because they represent the highest quality of work that I have produced. After giving it a good bit of thought, I decided that the portfolio is not critical for launch. I will design for it while designing the site, but I’ll wait an implement it when my projects are finished.

The reason that the portfolio is not critical to launch is because I think potential clients would rather find out about who I am and what I can do for them. The portfolio is important, but it’s not a dealbreaker. So I am going to have “about” content as well as a blog at launch. The “About” section will have a sort of manifesto called the “philosophy.” It will also have information about me personally. I may even have a page of links to choice destinations on the web that are related to web design. The blog (called “Ideas”) will be a place for me to provide relevant content about web design, business, and other things.

But without any further fanfare, I present: concept #9 (click the image to see it at its original size).

Concept #9

The style is intentionally simplistic and minimal, using Spinning Wheel red as an accent color. The homepage gives a quick overview of the site and ends with a contact form. I wanted it to be dead simple to contact me about a project. I may take the contact form out in a later revision and put a big contact button in its place that links to the contact page, but whatever I end up doing will be simple.

The big image at the top pays tribute to the tangible aspect of “spinning wheels.” I plan to use this sketch-like photo technique on other parts of the site as well. The sketching represents the figurative meaning of “spinning wheels.” It refers to the act of thinking and making. It has an unfinished feel that represents the process of creating something.

I take the design of my site seriously because it is my primary interaction with potential clients. It affects my position in the competitive web design market. I want to be known for simple, stunning designs that are clutter-free and easy to use. I want to attract clients who think the way I do. Come to think of it, an interesting idea for a future post would be to describe my ideal client.

Anyway, my previous concepts didn’t match up with my goals for the site. But Concept #9 has really grown on me in the last 24 hours.

I am trying to decide how to move forward with the design. I could build out the page templates in Photoshop and then convert them into HTML/CSS. Or I could use this homepage mockup as a sort of style guide and design the templates in HTML/CSS. There are advantages to both of these approaches. But I’m leaning toward designing in the browser because, although it is a bit tedious and a little more difficult for me (because my disability makes typing a chore), I will get an ongoing look at what the site will look like in the browser and I can build on that progress directly. Besides, dealing with multiple Photoshop documents scares me a little.

Then there’s the CMS question. My last portfolio site (which lived at this address) used vanilla PHP/MySQL that I wrote myself. It got the job done, but since I also plan to implement a blog, I’m leaning toward using WordPress for the site’s back-end. In fact, I’m nearly sure of it. That’s not the question. The question is whether I should design my pages starting with a blank WordPress theme or create HTML/CSS mockups and then integrate them into a blank WordPress theme. I think its simpler to start off styling your own markup. But then you have to bend WordPress to your will later in the process. Or I could start by designing on top of WordPress, but there’s a lot of extra markup to deal with that, for me at least, slows down the design process.

So these are my thoughts on Concept #9 and the roadmap to launching Spinning Wheel Studios. Tell me what you think about this early draft.

Logo Design 2

I think the bold text makes the design more balanced. Before, the wheel took over. Now there is a bit more unity.

On a related note, I’m struggling on the SWS site design. I’m my worse critic and I have high expectations. I’ve done 8 different homepage designs in Photoshop, trying to figure out what direction I want to take it. I think my main problem is that I still haven’t narrowed down the site’s content. I don’t know how many pages I am going to have or what information needs to be in my portfolio.

Of course, I know better. That’s what makes it so pathetic.

Logo variations

I actually made the middle one first. It looks great when it is the center of attention. Like in the center of the page. The top one seems appropriate in the top left of a page. For this reason, it has a good chance of being the one I choose for the website. The bottom one seems like it would live in the bottom right of a page. I imagine it would look cool on a pamphlet cover or something. A quick note about the color. Red is my favorite color. I realized this when I was a kindergartner coloring a picture of the Cat in the Hat. But red also has a place in minimal and modern design. When it comes to the screen, red is part of the RGB color trinity. It’s an exciting color. It’s bright.

Now a little about the philosophy behind Spinning Wheel Studios. I’ve been writing content for the website. Actually, content is at least, if not more, important than my portfolio this time around. It might seem like I’m placing the talk over the walk, but that is the wrong way to think about it. It’s about education and communication. I want prospective clients to know what I’m about. I’m not saying a portfolio is not important. But, even with the portfolio, content will be important. I could easily post screenshots of websites I’ve designed, but when it comes down to it, a website can’t be evaluated properly as a static image. And since I am showcasing my work, I want visitors to know what actually went into the work. That’s why case studies are going to be an important part of my portfolio.

There are a lot of things I want out of the website. But not all of those things have to be realized at launch. I recently read “Rework,” a book by the founders of 37signals. It was an inspirational, no-BS reworking of the way we work. Perhaps I’ll write a review in the future. One of its great bits of advice was to keep things simple. To not be afraid to start small. To get started on a project instead of talking about it forever. These ideas really spoke to me. So I started out at the core of Spinning Wheel Studios. I wrote “Our philosophy.” For give the plural writing of a freelance web designer. I have good reasons for doing it that way. And if the final site is written in that style, there will be an explanation of why on my about page.

So here you go. Draft one of my philosophy.

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We build websites on good foundations. We start with your message. We obsess over creating something that real people can use and appreciate. If you are ready to break through the clutter, we are ready to help you do just that. Not by producing even more clutter, but by stripping out the unnecessary and finding your project’s true meaning.

A purpose-driven site

A lot of websites out there were created without much consideration as to their purposes or how they should go about fulfilling their purposes. When we are approached about a project, the first order of business is to figure out what the purpose of the project is. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t have an answer to that. You probably have a good idea of why you want a website but are having trouble putting it into words. We can help you do that by defining the purpose of your site and helping you expound upon that definition.

Getting your site out of your users’ way

Good design is not always something you notice. Think about the objects that you interact with everyday. You use them, get something done, and move on with your day without putting a whole lot of thought into how or why those objects were made the way they were made. But someone actually put thought into making those objects. If something does what it is supposed to do, even if one takes it for granted (perhaps especially when one takes it for granted), that’s good design.

Same thing for web design. Think about Google. We go there, type a search, and leave. People are busy. Generally speaking, they need to get on your site, find what they are looking for or do what they need to do, and get off as quickly as possible. If your web site can do that, the folks who visit your web site will love you for it. Even if they don’t realize they do. If your site helps them keep moving, they’ll be back again and again.

Great design won’t make up for lack of substance

The point of a website is to provide information. Sometimes that means an about page describing your business. Sometimes it means keeping your audience up to date with a blog. Sometimes it means helping them be more productive. Sometimes it means helping them communicate. A website can do a lot of things, but that’s just it. It needs to actually do them. If your site has the latest and greatest effects but doesn’t actually provide the information people want, then people are going to quit coming to your site.

Don’t forget to have fun

Websites should be fun! Okay, okay, projects differ. We know. But it never hurts to put a little humanity into your website. Something that will make your users smile. At the end of the day, if you can help your users get what they’re after and  pat them on the back during the process, then you’ve done your job. And we’ve done ours.

I wanted a name with carefully chosen ingredients. It needed to be inspired. It needed to have a meaning beyond web design. I wanted a name that was flexible enough to let me offer a range of creative services if I chose to broaden my horizons. I wanted to put a piece of myself into it.

I asked myself, “What inspires me?” I should have asked “who” instead of “what” because all I could think of was my late grandfather. He was a wise, funny old man. He was a problem solver. To this day, I believe a lot of my creative tendencies came from my many Friday nights spent with him when I was growing up. He and Mimi (my grandmother) could always tell when I was concocting some grand scheme that might involve playing with fire or taste testing everything in the fridge. They would say, “I can see those wheels just a spinning.” I think that statement would hold true for me today. In that sense, Spinning Wheel Studios represents a perpetual state of aspiring to do something bigger and better than before. It shows that thoughtfulness and passion goes into my work. And it serves as a reminder to me to always keep my grandfather’s determined spirit close to everything I do.

Spinning Wheel Studios is probably justified on it’s inspirational merit alone, but it also has a piece of me in it. You may know that I have a disability that requires me to use a wheelchair to get around. I often write about these disability-related experiences at “I hate stairs.” It may seem corny at first, but the choice to go with Spinning Wheel Studios included the idea that it is a reference to my disability. I am making a conscious effort to simply be myself. At the risk of sounding naive, my disability is a part of who I am. But that doesn’t mean I want to flaunt it around or make people feel uncomfortable. But, on the other end of the spectrum, I don’t want to hide my disability like it’s a big secret. I want to integrate my disability smoothly into my online presence. I figure if someone decides not to contact me about a project because I have a disability, then it probably isn’t someone I would have enjoyed working with anyway.

So I’ve explained why I chose the name, so now let me provide some insight into the logo/emblem.

My design style has always been clean and sleek (at least that’s what I am going for!). As I learned more and more about design, I came to appreciate minimalism in design. The idea that less is more appealed to me. Eventually, my quest for learning about design led me to the documentary film Helvetica, named after the popular Swiss typeface (if you would like to know more about the film, I wrote about it at my brother’s blog, The Learned). Helvetica introduced me to “modernism.” I became very interested in modern design and learning about it brought together a lot of loose ends I had about the purpose of various styles of design. The bottom line is that I now had a name and a back-story for the type of design that I liked. Armed with that information, I have been teaching myself about modern design on an ongoing basis as part of my regular education regimen.

So, needless to say, I looked at Helvetica as a first choice of type for the new brand. I started with the letter “S.” I honestly don’t remember where the impulse came from, but I ended up making duplicates of the letter “S” and rotating them in place. I realized at some point that it kind of resembled my wheelchair wheel. It was love at first sight.

These are the thoughts that went into the making of this new brand. It meets my requirements and has rich personal meaning.

But most importantly, the domain name was available!

This space first served as a personal playground. It was an ongoing experiment from which I learned a lot about the art and science of making websites. As I began to take projects as a freelance web designer, BlakeWatson.com became a space to showcase my work and sell my services. I never really intended to build something big around BlakeWatson.com. After all, it was first a fun personal website, not some cool brand. So it’s time to take that responsibility off of the shoulders of BlakeWatson.com and hand it off to a younger, more ambitious generation.

What is coming is a culmination of everything that I have learned since I began working on the Web seven years ago. It will be fused with my personality and aspirations. This time around, there is a purpose. There is a goal.

Over the next few months, I will be finishing up some current projects while working on this new brand under which I will offer my creative services. I will provide updates on this space. I can’t give too much away at the moment, but some exciting developments are underway. More on those in the coming weeks.

For now, I’ll give you some insight into my plans for this new creation. I want to do much more than showcase my work and sell my services. One of my biggest new goals this time around is to educate. I want to help people better understand what websites are and how they can be useful. I want to help people understand what goes into making a good website. After all, it’s a lot more than pretty pictures on a page. If people understand what it is that I do, then I think they will understand the value of what I do. And that in turn will produce better websites for people and organizations who might have otherwise settled for less.

So now you know about my little secret. Check back to see how things are going. I will continue to update this space with news about my progress.