By Chris Lahey
Thursday, March 04, 2010
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We found out today that we are one of three finalists for the Phizzpop Design Challenge, a national design competition aimed at the incorporation of the latest and greatest Microsoft technologies into a redesigned web presense for the Boys and Girls Club of America's national website.
We will be at the MIX'10 conference in Las Vegas from March 14th to March 17th to give a presentation and hopefully will come out on top of our competitors.
Even if we do not win the grand prize, it is truly an honor to be selected as a finalist against many competitors on a national scale. If you'd like to meet up, Tweet or email us.
See ya!
The Station Four Team
By Admin
Monday, December 14, 2009
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Station Four owner Chris Olberding was quoted in an article in 904 Magazine about marketing strategies for the upcoming year.
On the cost effectivness of online advertising Chris said, "It's a lot easier to 'buy' business at a loss through paid search than it is to generate a profit. With more business jumping in the search marketing game, this has lead to steadily rising costs on a per-click basis."
On the search engine friendliness of Flash-based websites: "Search engines, notably Google, have gotten a whole lot better at indexing Flash-based websites. [However], just because search engines can index Flash, doesn't mean that they do it particularly well, and there are still a host of technical challenges to creating a Flash-based site that will rank well in search engines."
Check out the full article at http://904mag.epubxpress.com/link/ninmag/2009/nov-dec/28?s=0
By Chris Olberding
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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Station Four is growing. We're currently looking to bring in two people over the next couple weeks - a graphic designer and a web design/production intern. Our primary goal is to expand our capacity (so many projects, so little time). Second, we're looking for someone who wont just allow us to process more work, but can add something to the company. The job descriptions are intentionally vague - you bring the raw talent, we'll teach the rest.
Please contact through via email (info@stationfour.com). Only applicants who provide a portfolio will be considered (digital/pdf is okay).
Designer (Print & Web)
Primary responsibilities:
- Develop web design compositions in Photoshop from provided wireframes/layouts.
- Work with clients on print design and branding/logo projects.
- Work on internal documents, print materials, and presentations.
Requirements:
- A great eye for design, must have at least one web design under their belt that demonstrates talent
- Experience in managing print projects
- Ability to work in a team and to communicate clearly
- Discuss design in a professional and analytic manner
It would be nice:
- Background with illustration
- Comfortable in a PC environment
- Basic knowledge of HTML/CSS and web standards
- Interested in learning more about web and user-experience design
Web Design Intern
Primary responsibilities:
- Create design prototypes, including graphic design, site navigation, and layout of content for client websites and internal projects
- Ensure that the layout of the content is accessible and logical; recommend improvements if necessary.
- Create visual concepts that match the content and the image wanted by the clients
- Build websites using HTML/CSS according to web standards in the ASP.NET development framework.
- Perform maintenance and updates to existing websites when requested by clients.
- Perform research and preparation of blog posts on various topics.
- Work on internal documents, print materials, presentations.
Requirements:
- Experience in web design producing table-less, XHTML, standards-compliant cross browser, and gracefully-degrading code
- Advanced knowledge of XHTML, CSS, and of digital imaging and illustration with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, formal training is an asset.
- Comfortable in a PC environment
- Very good spoken and written English
- Ability to work in a team and to communicate in a clear way
- Experience with print design a plus.
Intern will learn about:
- Managing web design projects and client expectations
- HTML/CSS best practices
- Working in ASP.NET as a designer
Experience or familiarity with ASP.NET is not a requirement.
By Chris Lahey
Friday, June 05, 2009
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Client Relationships
Every time that you win a bid with a client, you are not just getting money from them. You are creating a relationship that is not unlike a relationship that you would develop with a friend or a loved one. There are unspoken and spoken rules of conduct and there are also obligations that must be met in order for the relationship, and ultimately the project to be a success.
Starting Off On The Right Foot
I've been in the web design and development business for almost 10 years, long enough to see many of these such relationships come and go. Some are one time things, and some are lasting partnerships. With all of the different types of projects and relationships, there is one thing that remains the same. And that is the position with which you start the relationship. In order for any project to be a success, the relationship has to be initiated from a position of strength. And more importantly, it must be beneficial for both parties. The money might only flow one way, but there is an equal and opposite energetic response to that check.
I've seen companies in the past that would do anything for a check. They would lie, mislead, and sell you up the river and back again. I've also seen companies underbid the first project and then attempt to get the money back in future projects. There is no room for prospecting in client-based work. I've seen companies set up with an amazingly large gulf in between the sales and development departments. Sales always over promises which in turns causes the development team to under deliver. This cycle always exists to the detriment of the project and the client relationship.
Know Yourself
Bidding is never fun. You do your best to come up with the most appropriate solution for the client and hope that you hit the mark; one that is going to achieve their goals and will also be beneficial for you as a design/development company. Every now and then, a project comes across your desk that appears to be the makings of a great relationship. However, there are a few things that you must be cautious of that can sour an otherwise great relationship.
In order to function with clients you need to have a solid understanding of who you are and who you are not. This applies to you as an individual and also to you as a company. In the courting phase, pre contract signing, you need to be able to put your best face forward. And you'll also need to stand your ground when you're boundaries are pushed. If you don't have a solid understanding of yourself, your business, and your product the client will pick up on this and the relationship may never have the chance to come to fruition.
Cheap, Fast, & Good - Juggling Expectations
Every relationship starts off with predefined expectations. Managing them is paramount to navigating a successful project. Does the client have unrealistic expectations? Are they asking for too much work for the budget? Do they have extremely tight deadlines? The old saying applies now just as it did then: "There are three things a project can be: cheap, fast, and good. But you can only have two."
You can have it cheap and fast, but it won't be good. And you can have it fast and good, but it sure isn't going to be cheap.
These Boots Were Made For Walkin'
If a client is demanding that they get all three. Walk away. No project or relationship that is founded on those expectations is worth it and it will never result in a quality product. Furthermore, you will be setting a precedent that will never be able to be broken with that particular client. And when the next project for that client comes along, you will be stuck in the same unprofitable mode that you were in with the first project. Knowing when to let a project pass you by can is a tough lesson to learn. However, it will define you as an individual and it will define you as a competent and ethical business.
To sum it all up, working with clients is like dating. Be open, be honest, and be true to yourself. It could lead to something amazing.
By Chris Lahey
Friday, April 03, 2009
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We just launched our new website yesterday evening. Launching is always a frantic event. No matter how much you pre-plan, it always seems to be a frenzy of last minute To-Do's that make a launch an especially stressful event. It took us about 6 months from the moment we decided to do a redesign to get it launched. Take into consideration that we were doing client work concurrently. The standard "cobbler's family with no shoes" syndrome.
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By Chris Olberding
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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Recently I was asked by a university student studying web design if they could interview me as part of a class project. I agreed, however I was too busy for a phone interview so I ended up responding in length to a set of questions in writing. I believe a much of what I wrote would be applicable to all design students interested in web design so I'm posting my interview here.
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By Chris Lahey
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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Over the past few days I've been going back and forth with the support team at Mosso. They are great by the way. However, we couldn't seem to find a solution for the problem that I was having. I needed to return 301 redirects for .html pages and have them redirect to their proper .aspx pages in a newly redesigned website.
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By Admin
Monday, September 01, 2008
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Regarding the compilation of notions of a one Terry Barrett on Artworlds and Definitions:
I think writing of a personal experience, and of the opinion that I am loosely grasping as of this moment, when it comes to the definition of art, would perhaps be more interesting for you. That is, rather than simply regurgitating what this one, I’m sure very competent and credible art critic, Mr. Barrett, has to say on the subject.
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By Chris Lahey
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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I had a rather frustrating experience today that was worth mentioning.
At Station Four, we deal with a number of website hosting companies. Some are better than others, but for the most part, they are all the same. I'll take a moment here and describe a scenario that, in all my years or development, has happend more times than I can remember. Seeing as how we do almost all of our work from scratch, we often have a database driven application that we have running on our servers during development. When it comes time to launch, depending on the client's preferences, we begin to push the code and the database to the preferred production servers.
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On Wednesday I receive a call in the office from someone telling me that they are with Google and needed to confirm my address on my local business listing. The caller had a thick accent and their phone connection kept dropping. After confirming my address it seems that the caller wants to call back later in the week. Through the garbled connection he asks if Friday at 2pm would be okay. I say sure.
On Thursday I ignore a call from an 800-number, the speaker leaves a message trying to confirm something for Friday at 2pm without mentioning her company or a callback number. I shrug it off.
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