Following through with JMA

Well its been a while since my last post. Looks like the last post was done in July, a mere 5 months ago. So yeah it has been a while. This blogging thing can be hard to keep up :)

Anyways I just wanted to follow-up with my previous post about the plans with JMA Design Studio. For those who don't know about JMA Design Studio it is my business where I provide website design, custom illustrations, logo development, multimedia development, and now a new service consultation with Social Media. The plan was to create new business cards, new promotion package, and redevelopment of the website. Well I'm happy to say that the new business cards are completed, and the website is in the process of being redone as I type this (yeah, I can multi-task...I can write this and do web development at the same time...just kidding). Hopefully if all goes well I will have the website completed before the new year. It is my hope to start off 2010 with a new image, new services, and new contacts for my design studio.

Thus far everything is shaping up very well. I will keep whom ever reads this updated about my progress with the website and the business as things progress.

Thank you for reading!

In the works for JMA Design Studio

Right now I'm working on a new website layout for my design studio. This time I'm getting away from the Flash based website, which I've always made in the past. This time I'm making it more like a blog style website with a Web 2.0 feel. I figured its best to go with this type of feel for my audience. I'm trying to cater to more small business owners who are technically inclined and have a good understanding of what it means to have a web presence. I also want to target non-profit organizations and churches because of their good will towards others. I'm going through some design options and trying to figure out the best one for myself.

I'm also working on new business cards. I hope to have them printed on recycled material, so I can start making my design studio more environmentally green. There are so many more ways in which JMA will be going green, which I will blog about in a different post.

Once the business cards are finalized I will be putting together a big self-promotion package to better market myself as well. This will include new polo type shirts and other clothing with my logo on it, signage, direct mail advertising, etc. This is something I needed to do in the first place when I was starting my studio, but really didn't have enough dough for it.

I will continue to network with various businesses like I have been, I will be attending the local tweetup, and new this month I will be attending a day long Business Break-out session for designers like myself.

As you can see I have huge plans like I always do to expand my business. You can always follow me via Twitter, where you will find the latest updates about what I'm doing and you check in on me to see if I'm following through with what I wrote about with this entry. Follow me here: www.twitter.com/jmadesignstudio

Thank you for reading!

Take care,
Jason

Pepsi Throwback

I just wanted to drop a quick few lines to give my thoughts about the new Pepsi Throwback. I had my first sip of it not to long ago and gotta admit it isn't to bad. If you're unfamilar with it...it is a all natural sugar alternative that is a little better for ya. It doesn't contain the corn syrup, which can be harmful, so that's a good thing. When I took the first taste of it, it had a more sugary taste, and does seem to contain more sugar according to the contents, but I could wrong. Anyways not to get into the history of it and bore the crap out of you, I just wanted to say that I liked the taste of it, I like the Can design and the commercial on TV advertising it. It definitely gave it a retro feel. Mountain Dew also has its own Throwback version, which also contains all natural sugar, but I've heard mixed reviews of it. Well, that's just my thoughts about it. Overall, I like Pepsi Throwback.

Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman

Last night for some reason I flipped on the TV to check out one of the late night talk shows, you know like David Letterman and Jay Leno. Usually I watch Leno, but last night I thought I'd give good 'ol Letterman a try. To much of my surprise it was pretty damn good. Now I'm not doggin' on Letterman, I'm a fan of his show, and remember watching him quite a bit back in the day. His guest if you happen to not know was Joaquin Phoenix. I did hear that Mr. Phoenix was giving up on acting and was going the music route to be a hip-hop artist, which when you have a glimpse at him now you can really see the hip-hop look in him...NOT! Anyways, while being interviewed by David Letterman his body language was just comical and his answers were brief. This made for some awkward pauses and many silent moments. David Letterman didn't have much to work with, so he pretty much made fun of the moment and went with it. It was just one of those interviews that you had to see. Pretty funny in my opinion. I'm sure Joaquin was just showing off his acting abilities once again by being the guy he was last night. I sincerely hope that he snaps out of the music scene and gets back to being an actor. Just don't want him to give up on a gift like he has. I mean come on, who else could play Johnny Cash like he did? His performance on "Walk the Line" was unbelievable. Anyhoo, I know that this topic is all the buzz and that many people are writing about it, but I just thought I'd put in my two cents.

Thanks for reading, take care.

JMA Design Studio Website Redesign

So after careful planning and brainstorming I went ahead and decided to give my website a complete redesign. The previous design was good, but wasn't exactly what I wanted for my own site. I was hoping to make the design studio look professional and reach out to more people in the business world. With the new design I was able to provide a neutral background that could have different colors applied to it. The whole website itself is able to be scalable, meaning you can adjust the browser to any width while having the content move with it. There is a blog section and a FAQ section as well. I really wanted to have an area where potential clients can get answers to their questions, so I made sure to have an FAQ page.



It took me 3 weeks to complete the site. I designed it and laid it out in a couple days with Photoshop, then spent the rest of the time doing the development in Flash. It was hard to decide whether it be best to do a Flash site or a traditional HTML/CSS site. When browsering the web for inspiration I stumbled onto a great site that allowed me to get inspired and get the creative energy flowing. The site I referenced was done in Flash, so that helped with the decision of doing another Flash site for myself. I'm 100% happy with the new design, I'm happy and very confident in telling people to check out my website, and I'm happy to see what will happen as a result of the new design. I hope to gain work and continue to build upon the site and offer many more services if possible. I'm including a video that I did a couple days ago on YouTube that also relates to the new website.

Thanks for reading, take care.

Walking and the Indiana Dunes

So today I took advantage of the crazy warm temperatures by taking a walk at the Indiana Dunes, which is less then 10 minutes away. Me and my brothers spent about an hour or so walking along the frozen shore just enjoying the weather and catching up on what's been going on with our lives. Its been a couple of weeks since I last saw them, so it was good to hang out with them. I don't know for some reason I always enjoy taking a walk. For me it relieves stress and gets me out with nature. I'm a huge nature lover, so anytime I do get to be outside it is always a good feeling. I've been also preoccupied with my JMA Design Studio stuff, which I will get into with a different post. The last three weeks have been the quickest and most productive, because I have been working with my redesign for my own website. The end result was worth all the stress and frustration, I'm very happy with it. Hopefully I will get some good results from it. Anyways after a busy past three weeks it was good to take a walk. And the best place to take a walk for me is at the dunes, thank God I live close to it. That's about all I gotta say. Hope everybody is having some good weather.

Take care.

A Recap of Stuff

Hey, just wanted to drop a few lines to tell y'all what I've been up to. Over the weekend I discussed my website with a friend of mine. We came to the conclusion that it would be good to enhance it with a new design. Or at least I came to that conclusion a while ago. I'm not liking the current design I have now, also not happy with the results of it, so I'm going to redo it. Which is what I have been busy with recently.

On Sunday I mostly watched videos on YouTube. Watched alot of Classic Game Room, which has a bunch of reviews of games and stuff. I myself made a game collection video over the weekend for YouTube. Started with the Nintendo (NES) game collection. The games I have are some of my favorites from my childhood. Played the shit of them and still do to this day. Its funny how something that is over 20 years old can still be entertaining. Will probably do the handhelds that I have next. Sadly I only have the Nintendo DS and Gameboy, so I'll probably do those games together in one video.

Some other stuff that I would like to share. I unclogged a drain that was backed up. I went under the sink and took apart the P-trap and stuck my finger up the drain pipe to unclog the sink. When it all came loose it sounded like someone pucked into a bucket, since I had the bucket ready to catch all that was going to come loose. Was a quite a bit of crap stuck up there. Felt good to be able to fix it myself.

Went out and took some photos of the snow this morning (Monday). Had a yard stick and measured the snow. All total from the past week, or so, we have 14 inches. And yes it is still cold, so I don't see it going anywhere soon. Gotta love it.

I'm definitely enjoying things recently...everyday things are starting to really fasicinate me...its weird, but I'm liking it. It feels good to be a little happier than I was a few months ago. :)

Alrightly, thats all for now. Thanks for reading.
Take care.

Watching a Bunch of Movies Lately

So yeah, I've been watching a quite bit of movies lately, which is a perfect time for it, because of the shitty weather we've been having. I usually do this when it is winter time, either watch movies or dig deep into a game. Lately though it has been strictly movies. This past week I have watched Amityville Horror, Marley and Me, Star Wars Clone Wars, and Wall-E. All in my opinion were very good movies. Highly recommend giving them a try. Just thought I'd write a little about them to give y' all my thoughts, hope you enjoy.

Wall-E: I finally got around to watching this movie last night, and I gotta say it was an amazing movie. Pixar never disappoints, they always seem to create some of the most creative stories and amazing 3D animation ever. The movie starts out with the main character, which is Wall-E, as a lone robot on Earth who is there to compact trash. He eventually is greeted by another robot sent from space to find plant life. They become friends and go through an amazing adventure to bring back humans to Earth. Please don't hesitate to check this movie out it is pretty damn good. Just don't know why it took me so long to check it out.

Amityville Horror: I was flipping through the channels and noticed this movie was coming on. Now I remember seeing it on cable TV before, but didn't watch it, I just kept flipping through. So when I saw that it was coming on again, I thought what the heck. The story to this movie is that a newlywed couple moves into a house that had previously been a scene of a terrible mass murder. The son of the family that lived there before went through the home and killed his parents and brothers and sister. So the new couple along with their kids move into the home, which was very affordable for them. Not long after moving in they experience weird demonic occurrences that puts a toll on them. They eventually are driven away from the home and never return, leaving all their possessions. I thought this movie was damn good. The remake that came out not long ago, I guess sucked and wasn't true to the story that Geogre Lutz told, so I'm not going to even bother watching it. The 1979 version was good in my opinion. Oh yeah, it is supposed to be based on a true story. Definitely check it out if you haven't.






Star Wars Clone Wars: Ok, so with this movie I was going in with the thought that this movie was going to suck ass, so I was preparing myself for it, but to my surprise I actually liked it. Now I'm not 100% sure if this movie is supposed to take place in between the second and third episodes, but I'm pretty sure they do. It would only make sense I guess if the clone wars happened at that time. Like I know what I'm talking about...the whole Star Wars story is so huge that it would take me a life time to fully understand it. Anyways, to break down this movie I gotta say the character design was kinda unique. The way they modeled the hair and facial features made it look like it was blocky in some ways, so that took time to sink in. Animation and art style was top notch, so yeah visually it was excellent. Again going to the story of this movie, it was good, and will not confuse someone who hasn't watched all the previous movies, but still should watch them to get a general idea of what is going on. Overall I really liked this movie.







Marley and Me: Oh man, it isn't often that a movie like this comes along. It is a movie that grabs ahold of your heart and keeps on pulling. I hate to sound like a wimp, but I gotta say this was a emotional movie. Especially the last 20 or so minutes of it. Definitely don't want to spoil any of it, but I'm sure you'll guess what'll happen. If you are a animal lover, especially a dog lover then you're going to love this movie. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston seemed like a realistic couple who struggled with so many problems, but still managed to stay together, all the while the dog kept being the worst dog ever. There is a few funny scenes and a bunch of emotional ones too. Highly recommend this movie.

So there you have it, my list of movies that I've watched this past week, hope you enjoyed my general thoughts about them and if you have any comments about them, you know what to do.

Thanks for reading, take care.

A New Year...Thank God!

Thank God 2008 is over with. I'm so glad to have it in the past and so glad that the promise of a new year is here. I believe (at least I'm hoping) that 2009 will be a great year. In a few weeks we will be having a new president whom I believe will bring in some much needed change. It is so historic to have Mr. Obama come in as our first African-American president. Looking forward to seeing what he will be able to achieve...maybe he will be our next great healer, we'll see.

What I do see happening this year for myself? Well, I think I'm going to be doing more blogging, more socializing, meeting more new friends both virtually and in person, I see myself reaching new goals, and sticking to the old ones as well.

I also see myself remaining sober, which is always good. I see myself creating that retro gaming site that I mentioned last year, I will be updating my design studio site often, and hope to gain new work, remain financially stable, and hopefully be in good spirits about the economy.

I know that is a lot to be looking forward to, which is good...better than not setting yourself up for nothing.

Anyways, hope everyone has a great new year!

Take care.