Here is a cool technique for turning a photo into a posterized vector file using Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator CS3. (Dont worry, it’s relatively easy.)
Archive for the ‘ZoomCreates.com’ Category
Zoom Creates a Fuller Bros. Web site
Monday, September 14th, 2009
Last Friday, Zoom was abuzz with the launch of a new web site for a locally based company with a global reach—Fuller Brothers, Inc. We are extremely pleased with our efforts here and are proud to present the new Fuller Bros. web site.
Cheers to the Zoom Creates team that made this happen!
Guess Those Beaver Biceps
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
We’d like to spotlight a site that we finished recently. Beaver Biceps is a web site sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Oregon and Oregon State University. It’s a game where any Oregon resident can play a guessing game trying to match different pictures of OSU Football Alumni to their biceps. The prize is a year’s supply of dairy products, so why not give it a try? If we weren’t already non-eligible, we’d have entered.
So what are you waiting for? Head over to Beaver Biceps and guess. It won’t take longer than a few minutes, and it’s stimulating for your brain.
Oh, and while you are there, feel free to take a look at some of the code. We have some fancy jQuery stuff going on there for some fun pop-up action. Just make sure you disable No-Script or none of the game will work.
Fun with Flash: Gravity
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009A while ago, I built a Flash animation for one of our clients that showed particles floating around while an attractor sucked them up. It was so much fun building and testing it that I started building a game out of it. I took the magnetic algorithm I was using in the animation and put it in the game, but I replaced the particles with a single missile and used multiple attractors. I turned it into planets in space with an orbiting rocket. It’s entertaining to see how long your rocket will orbit the planets before crashing into one.
Go ahead and try it out. (more…)
Dove Lewis, Another Zoom Neighbor
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009In addition to Lisa’s Won’t you be my neighbor post about the good neighbors around Zoom, I would like to point out another good neighbor directly across the street, Dove Lewis. Dove Lewis is a 24-hour emergency animal hospital. While we don’t rely on their services every day, it’s nice to know they are there when you need them.
Fortunately I have only needed them once—so far…
It was an early Sunday morning about 5 years ago. I was just waking up, and my wife, Bridget, was in the living room reading the paper. Hoss was busy being a puppy. I heard some rustling beside the bed, looked over and saw Hoss chewing on something white, but didn’t think too much about and tried unsuccessfully to fall back to sleep.
About 5 minutes later I decided to get up. I looked over to see what Hoss had been chewing on but didn’t see anything, just him chewing on my shoelaces or something. I asked Bridget if Hoss had brought anything white and chewed up into the living room. She said that he had not and then came into the bedroom to find out what it might have been. After looking around the room she screamed, “I think Hoss ate my underwear!”
As new dog owners we had no idea what to do. We called Dove Lewis and they told us to bring him in. They said there were two options: 1. we could wait and see if it passes, but it might not and then he would need surgery, or 2. they could induce vomiting and hope he had not eaten anything sharp that could injure him on the way up. We asked them to induce vomiting and they took him away to work their “magic”. About ten minutes later he was returned to us safe and sound. They said he barfed up the underwear…as well as two socks! Then they asked if we wanted them back! Needless to say, our house has been a lot cleaner since the incident. ALL our clothes now make it into the laundry basket.
10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Take-off!
Monday, August 10th, 2009
As I type this, I look over and see a Web department full of busy little bees putting the finishing touches on several big online projects. Each website journeyed through the research, planning, design and content development phases here at Zoom Creates, and now and we’re waiting with baited breath to see the final products as they launch, one by one, onto the Internets.
We’ll announce the sites on the blog as they launch in the coming weeks, but here’s a sneak preview to whet your appetites: Prepare yourself for an online store for a local cheese and gourmet foods purveyor, a robust consumer site for a nationwide solar panel manufacturer and the website for a local manufacturer of worldwide-distributed tire products.
Even in the dog days of summer, it’s lift-off time at Zoom Creates.
Zoom Creates Goes to the Derby
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Pinewood Derby, that is. This weekend, defying the crushing heat, three gentlemen Zoomers competed in the very exciting 2009 Adult Pinewood Derby competition. They handcrafted their wee little cars from a regulation block of wood, then sent them flying down the track to vie for championship status. With sexy results!
Greg’s Subaru, shown here in a diorama that depicts his car’s actual neighborhood habitat, won 2nd Overall and 2nd Coolest.
Kris’s eerily lifelike Jeep (complete with tiny Kris inside) won 13th Coolest.
And Kurtis’s Linux Racer won 7th Coolest, an honor he celebrated by making a commemorative T-shirt to wear to work today.
Congratulations, racers! We applaud your creativity, craftsmanship and speed.
Won’t you be my neighbor?
Friday, July 31st, 2009
Zoom Creates has been located at 1941 NW Quimby since May 2007. What we knew we were getting out of the move was hip new digs, more room for the dogs to make their own and a chic new space in which to make magic. What we didn’t know we were getting out of the move were fabulous neighbors all around!
To our immediate left lies the Lucky Lab, which we have affectionately coined Conference Room L. The Lab provides a reprieve from the daily grind while affording us free wireless internet. What this means to Zoomers is that at any time we can head over to the patio, laptop in hand, and get some work done in the sun while enjoying a slice of pizza or a BLT. We think this is wonderful.
To Zoom’s immediate right you’ll find the photography studio of the extremely talented Michael Jones. Michael has been an incredible neighbor to Zoom Creates! Whether he is offering up his phenomenal talents to our team for the Zoom Creates website photo shoot or dropping off a bundle of green beans fresh from his garden, he is the epitome of great neighbor goodness.
Last, but certainly not least, one door down from Michael Jones’ studio is Art4orm and it’s subsidary, Hip Printing. We rather enjoy Zachary, who is the face of Hip Printing. You can count on smiles and sunshine from Zach whether he is in our studio dropping off print jobs or bringing us proofs. Always at the ready to assist us as a colleague or friend, Zach and Hip Printing’s neighborliness does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
As you can see, Zoom Creates has been blessed on all fronts to have neighbors we also are fortunate enough to call partners, colleagues and friends. Cheers to the people who call 19th and Quimby their home!
W3C Validation & Testing
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
W3C
Here at Zoom Creates, we’re fanatical about testing & validation of the web sites we produce. Before a web site is launched, our team performs a site-wide validation check for HTML & CSS compliance using the globally-recognized standards taken from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
What the W3C does:
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. It is the organization which all web standards are derived from and should adhere to.
Top 3 reasons why validation and testing of a web site is important:
- Multi-browser, multi-version, multi-OS compatibility: Ensure that the site will look the same on every web browser and operating system being used. However, there are some limitations to this (see below).
- Search engine indexing: A compliant web site allows search engines to more easily index the contents of a web site, making for superior organic SEO results.
- Maintenance and scalability: When future edits need to be made to a web site, starting off with a compliant site provides the developer with a “clean slate” to work from. Not having to go back and fix junky code saves valuable time and costs. (more…)
What’s a brand rollout without Pink Noise?
Monday, July 27th, 2009
This week one of our treasured clients, Bradley Angle, is throwing a brand roll-out party to announce the complete rebranding of their organization, a process we took them through over the past several months. We’re extremely stoked to see their new brand go out into the world, and thrilled to be invited to join in the celebration. Bradley Angle, after all, is an outstanding part of our community and we’re honored to support them. It’s all very warm and fuzzy.
Kurtis, however, has taken it to the next level.
You may or may not know this, but Kurtis is a member of Pink Noise, aka “A band that will make you believe.” When he heard about the party being planned, he jumped at the chance to perform and add that certain “je ne sais quoi” to the festivities that only a new wave 80′s band can provide.
It’s sure to be a blast—we’re dusting off our Robot and White Man’s Overbite moves, practicing our Slam Dancing techniques, and pulling those tight acid-washed jeans out of the back of the closet.
Congratulations to Bradley Angle on a new brand and an exciting new chapter in their organization!
