In my Week in Review post for October 20th, I mentioned that I had been working on a “secret” project for a client of mine and that we would probably be launching the site on or around November 3rd. Unfortunately, we didn’t make our November 3rd launch…but November 11th is just as good. The project as you might be able to tell was a redesign of Cuzoogle. Cuzzy had been talking about redesigning his site for awhile now and giving it a more updated look. We both sat down (cross-continent) and came up with an interesting layout that would allow for him to put in his necessary ad spots as well as something that looked fan-freakin’tastic!

While this project wasn’t a completely custom theme; we did start off with the basic layout from the Simple Red Theme from Easy Wordpress that Cuzzy had been using. The biggest challenge in getting everything looking as it should were the widgets that Cuzzy uses for advertising. They took some tweaking, but they all fell into place like they should. The new theme is in between Evolutionary and Revolutionary when it comes down to it. Since the original theme had a lot of good quality stuff already built-in, we didn’t need to revolutionize the theme…however, the design elements added were HUGE improvements over the old version.

This is a quick breakdown of all of the new added features… (more…)

After the success of the RSS Feed Icons – Glassy Set that I released back in June; I have decided to release another set of RSS Feed Icons to the masses. I have been doing a lot of grunge artwork lately with paint spatters, scratches and stains so I figured I would try my hand at putting together a set of Grunge Icons. However, this time I decided to mix it up a bit and include not only the 128×128 icons, but a matching set of 64×64 as well. This set includes the colors that you see above: blue, green, purple, red, orange and yellow. The icons are saved in PNG format with transparency to fit into your design with ease.

Download: RSS-Feed-Icons_Grunge.zip (136 KB)

If you have any suggestions for future freebies, or would like to request a custom design of your own shoot me an email and I will get back to you ASAP! I have opened the doors to the GrandmasterB design center and I am now taking on new design projects. Whether you are looking for custom banner ad design, print or web design…GrandmasterB can do the job. Check out the new Design Services page and see the services I am offering.

~ GrandmasterB

For awhile now I have wanted to review some of my favorite websites that I frequently visit. This review is my honest and truthful opinion. If there’s something I love or hate about the site reviewed I will let it be known. I have not been paid by the reviewed website’s owner for this post.

iDesign Studios is a web design and development company owned and operated by Selene Bowlby. Selene’s original intention for her site was to use it as a showcase for her portfolio of previous work. From the moment that I first visited the iDesignStudio’s website I was impressed with the overall look and design of the site.

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I’m back for the conclusion of my post from yesterday (My Web Development Tools). Part two will focus mainly on my browser of choice…FIREFOX! I know that Firefox is probably not new to most of my readers, but I have installed a great set of add-ons that will make any web developers life easier. By the way don’t forget that Firefox Version 3 is now available in Beta4. If you’d like to check it out it can be found here.

Tool Number Four: Firefox 2

I LOVE FIREFOX! There, now that that’s out of the way I can concentrate on giving you details as to why I use Firefox to develop sites. I use Firefox for two main reasons. I code every site and test as I go with Firefox. The main reason is that the fine folks at Microsoft have discontinued Internet Explorer for Mac; which quite honestly is fine with me. I do have a standby Windows machine dedicated to testing once I am sure everything looks fine in Firefox. The other reason I prefer to do all of my work with Firefox is the great add-ons that you can download from the mozilla site. That’s the beauty of using an open source browser; the community of developers come up with some of the coolest add-ons to make your internet experience more enjoyable.My favorite add-on for Firefox is the Web Developer Toolbar by Chris Pederick.
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I have been asked many times what are the best tools (programs) to use when designing and developing websites, or what do you use when you develop a site. For me it all starts with the most simplest of tools…pencil and paper. What you say? This clown uses a pencil and paper to design websites? I find that by drawing out ideas first helps me to find a direction for the design. This approach really isn’t any different than how an author approaches writing a novel or a sculptor creates a masterpiece out of bronze or marble. Only after I have a good idea of where I want to go with the design do I sit down in front of my computer (Mac of course!) and get busy with Photoshop.
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