Portfolio Site Redesign

it took me long enough, i know. i hadn't updated the content on kateshay.com in over three years. well, until now that is. i've adopted a whole new layout and moved from flash to a sort of portfolio-blog. twitter and facebook have been integrated (you can "like" projects at the detailed view level).

no more static layouts, never-ending loading bars, and re-learning flash every time i want to update. this way i'll get to share projects big and small, link to this here lovely blog, and really just make a more fresh and dynamic UX.

have a look around. i hope you like it.

Cheater Registry

yikes!

"Developed by a group of friends who've been on both sides of infidelity, CR's a brand spankin', terrifyingly public index where anyone with privileged fling-fo can sound the alarm by posting names, photos, and pieces of damning evidence..."

Log in at Cheater Registry and be damned.

Pretty Loaded

back in the land of dial-up, websites took forever to load. a new art form emerged: preloaders.

Pretty Loaded is an archive of preloaders that preload other preloaders...which in turn reveal yet more preloaders...it's a tribute to a vanishing art form amid a constantly changing digital landscape.






























Get Loaded Right Here.

Pitchfork

so, you think you're a hipster? well break out your white jeans and fanny packs, cuz you can stay on top of what music will be cool tomorrow, today. check out Pitchfork for music news, reviews and of course, the forkcast. but i warn you, this site might cause cravings for fixies and PBR.

It Even Has A Watermark—Business Card Gallery

speaking of Francesco Mugnai, he also has a great site called Oh My God. It Even Has A Watermark. it's a gallery of business cards that you can apply many different filters to, including things like color and material. a great place to get some inspiration. you should also watch the video clip in the about section, it explains the name of the site.

and p.s. if you haven't seen american psycho, read up on it before you put it in your queue. it's not about type design.

Thoughtpile

Sharing ideas. Not exactly a new idea, but I kind of like the interface on this. In their own words:

"Thoughtpile is an open invitation to share your best ideas with the world."

Basically, they come up with a topic, and you come up with answers. Then people can vote on them. You know, like Yahoo! Answers...but a lot prettier. Plus you get to win stuff if your answer gets the most votes at the end of the week (specifically a Herman Miller Embody chair. yes, this is a ploy to sell stuff).

So go ahead, jump into the Thoughtpile.

Viewzi

I'm really not sure how I feel about all these new search engines that bring up results in "new" and "visual" ways. yes, i think they are beautiful. yes, i'm glad people are out there trying to make changes. but are they really going to catch on? I know I see one, say "oh! neat!" and then close the browser window on it for good. perhaps that really is just me and my jaded self.

In any case, here's a new one. It doesn't seem all that different to me than the last visual search engine I posted about. But why not give it a chance, right? check out Viewzi. It's even a little more personal: they have blogs (both typed and video). How 2.0.

Help Josh Decide, Palin Is President

Oh the Interweb. How did people survive elections without all these videos, games and websites? I can't even count the YouTube videos that have hit my inbox and IM while at work. Most of them so funny, and so very sad. But there's much more than video footage of our candidates making the rounds. Some real time has gone into a bunch of sites dedicated to this year's rather important election.

I'll share two.

First, a site from a guy just trying to make sense of it all. Sway his vote, and get some good sense out there. Head to Help Josh Decide and tell him who he should be voting for, and why.





Once you've gotten your serious opinions out of the way, lighten the mood at Palin Is President. Rollover and click your way through the oval office as you imagine what it might be like.

YouWorkForThem

YouWorkForThem is all shiny, new and updated. You should go check it out. Don't forget they have a freebies section, too, if you like that sort of thing.

Jonathan Saunders

Here's a personal site that caught my attention. Well, really just the homepage—I think there's more that he could have done with the navigation and design of individual project pages. However, I really liked his look/feel on the index page. Take a look!

Mint

It's "refreshing money management." Cute. But cuteness aside, Mint is seriously helping me get my finances in order. It's seriously easy to use, it's free, and it helps you stay on top of your budgets. I spent about 5 minutes plotting in a couple different screen names and passwords yesterday, and all of a sudden my financial life was in front of me. Since I was at work I didn't have all my account numbers in front of me, so i'll be getting to those this weekend, but let me tell you: I am completely impressed by how easy this program is to use. Plus I'm a sucker for statistics, and Mint is full of useful analytics. You can also set email and mobile alerts for when you're exceeding your personal budgets, have a low balance, need to pay a bill, etc.

The only downside: you're reminded you're spending way too much on wine.

Internet Memes

Remember that YouTube video that was going around three years ago? Me neither. Until I saw this website. Have a look around, and have a walk down interweb lane.






I can't believe I forgot about Hatt-baby.

1-UP

Just a random personal website I stumbled upon. Some nice work by Joakim Jansson.

Mentos Kiss Cam

as our computers get cooler, so can our advertising. here's a great example of taking technology to the next level...in a rather amusing way, might i add. Mentos created a site called the Mentos Kiss Cam where you get to make out with a bathing suit-clad hot chick. score! it uses your webcam: when you get near it, so does she, and the two of you can go at it via your monitor. sure makes me want to go on a tropical vacation.

Smirt MiniJet

Always on the lookout for some great sites, this one was passed on to me this morning. (thanks!) At first glance, the Smirt MiniJet website is really quite pretty. I love the color scheme and the user interface. It looks more like some millennial's graphic design portfolio than a product website. And then I watched the videos! So wonderfully random, complete with cowboys, a french host, and singing poodles. All of which make me want to buy the freaking torch.

Creative Urge and the 29 Day Giving Challenge

This post is a little out of the ordinary for this blog, but it's still relevant.

I recently reconnected with a friend and she shared her new work with me. I have to say, I'm really rather inspired. Her name is Cami Walker, and she's created her own business called Creative Urge where she uses her mastery of strategy to help you make your dream career a reality. In her own words:

Creative Urge is a business endeavor or creative project that begs to be manifested into reality. It's the change in career you've been yearning to make. Or that new business idea you know will set you free – if you could just launch it. It's that book you've been dreaming of publishing or that artwork you want to see hanging in someone else's house.

I can help you bring your Creative Urge to fruition so it exists in the real world – not just in your head.

That's great in its own right, but what really inspired me was her 29 Day Giving Challenge. Perhaps it sounds a little cheesy at first, but after watching Daryn Kagan's story on it, I began to appreciate it more and more.

So how is this relevant, you ask? This project has become a worldwide movement online. She's managed to create something huge out of a simple social site. Something us interactive AD's can look up to. And if we can't make it happen, we could always get her advice on our next career move.

Mixwit

This weekend I went to the Download Music Festival. Honestly, it was slightly underwhelming as far as the music and tech gadgets were concerned (too bad that was the point of the fest!), but the company was fabulous and the people watching great. Anyway, what's my point? I heard one band play that made up for the rest of the average, generic rock-like sounds that permeated the venue. And as we speak I'm using a great application for creating new playlists and sharing them with your friends: Mixwit.

This site uses Seeqpod and SkreemR to find streaming mp3's online and lets you create, save, and share playlists, No Purchase Necessary. They do have links to buy the mp3's on amazon, should you so desire. But amazon? Really? I wish it were iTunes. Eh. One fun perk is that you get to put your lists on customizable old school cassette tapes.





















By the way, the band is Cut///Copy.

Gubb

I've actually been using this website for a long time now. At least a year. And I love it! Some people that know me know I love lists. I usually have a few going at a time: to do today, songs to buy, places to go, restaurants I want to try, bars to check out, gifts I want to get for people....no really, I keep lists like these. My memory is so bad that I sometimes I even forget important things, so i gotta keep lists.

Anyway, there's one website that helps with this: Gubb. It's all about lists. I can have as many as I want and can customize them accordingly. I can cross things off or just have them disappear all together. I can email or text myself (and my friends!) my lists. I can change colors, assign due dates, retrieve and add things by text, archive completed items, and rearrange lists on the page. There are mobile versions of the browsers for my PDA (ok, maybe i just like thinking about my iPhone). Then you an print your lists because sometimes you just want it old school.

SearchMe

a whole new way to search? well, not really. but it's prettier, that's for sure. SearchMe is a visual search engine that looks like it was designed by Apple, and search results are displayed as "stacks" of web page images you scroll through like album art.


and no, my website was not found. never fear, i submitted it.

The Shiny Squirrel

With a new place to decorate (ok, maybe it's not that new anymore) i've been keeping my eyes peeled for wonderful, affordable art. Often I find that the two don't go together. But! There are lots of places to seek out such a thing, and one of them is a site called The Shiny Squirrel.

Self-described:
The Shiny Squirrel is a platform for emerging artists and designers that features exclusive limited edition and/ or one a kind pieces. It seeks to showcase the growing market of young talent that need a voice and forum to display and sell their work.

After a bit of perusing I'm certainly liking it. Now I just need to stop buying art and start buying food.