Identical logos

I was talking to a friend of mine and he want me to design a similar logo (almost exactly) like cingular. But I told him I can't do that because of the copyright and all other legal issues. Later, he was referring to this site which has some famous logos which identical to each other. I was shocked to see how similar they are. see for yourself here.

Balancing Work and Home

I know this is out of topic for today but I think it's worth sharing especially for women readers! Good luck!


Work is addicting...and more so when your computer is your office or shop! And while you spend hour upon hour to network with other netpreneurs and provide online customer services to your clients, you tend to neglect a dozen odd household jobs.

Hours seem to fly by when work online. As for your household duties, with great effort, you just take care of the most basic ones like fixing dinner, driving your kids to school etc.

Cleaning, Organizing, Buying Groceries, paying your bills, going to the post office etc. are postponed till the last hour. So how do your balance your work along with your home?

There are two important steps to do this. First, make yourself realize the fact that you HAVE TO take some time out for your home and there is no excuse in the world to avoid that.

Secondly, start organizing your available time. Here are some quick steps to help you balance your work as well as your home.

1. Divide available hours between your home and your work diligently.

2. Set timers when you are working online.

3. Maintain a 'To Do' list or a diary.

4. Picture yourself going through the troubles of paying your bills later than allowed.

5. Set aside some time for all those jobs which require you to go outside. For e.g. going to the market, post office, bank etc. Try to coincide these with each other. Say, for example, you could take care of these after driving your kids to school.

6. Make up your mind and start some kind of organizing/ decorating/ renovating activity around your house. These are so addicting that once you start, you will enjoy yourself a lot.

7. Similarly, take up your favorite hobby in the afternoon. You will love the change and enjoy getting creative.

8. Plan weekly activities. Take up cleaning once a week. Go for outings once a week. Call upon a friend once a week. This will help you maintain your social life as well.

9. Surf the net for information related to a hobby. This will get you started with that hobby and also give you the much needed break from work.
10. Surf the web with your hubby or children. Show them websites of their interest. That way, you will also get to spend more time with them.

Just like the old saying - 'You Eat to Live, You do not Live to Eat', I'll say
'You Work to Live, You do not Live to Work'. It's no use being successful on the cost of your home and your family.

The 'Dot Com Women' of today are not women who stay online for hours with a guilt feeling on the back of their minds. They are women with a strong desire to succeed in their personal and professional lives. And you are one of them! That's why you chose to read this, isn't it?

Good Luck with your efforts to striking a balance between your work and your home!

Happy Birthday Google

I was watching the news today regarding how successful Google in this 10 years. I still remember the old Google back in 1998.
Anyway, long story short, Google knows that what you searching on the Internet such as your medical history, illegal downloads, and much more.
My question is, is it OK Google to do it? Well, the Google says that it use the data to get how people click and search.
Finally, do you want to know how big Google is?

It's a combination of McDonald, Boeing and FedEx.

Marketing in Recession

I always wonder how do we do marketing in a recession period. As you'll know people just don't want to spend much in recession. They want to postpone the project, cut budget or just don't purchase.

For the brand marketers this won't be a big problem. They tend to survive better than you and me.

Long story short, read this article if you interested in reading further.

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/feb2008/ca20080219_060846.htm

Spyware Removal Utility

We always had big problem with spyware all the time. Although we use Mac a lot, some times we have to use PC to check the compatibility issues with web sites. But there is lots of program out there for us to try, but who has all the time for it.
Here is the website that talks about some major anti-spyware removal software.
Here is the link

It's recommend that you should have more than one anti-spyware on your computer since some anti-spyware was not intelligent enough to capture all spyware. At Astagram Studios, we prefer Webroot Spy sweeper and Kaspersky Internet Security.

Good luck!

Recycle!

I found this site http://www.re-nourish.com/, which help designers go green. They offer tips how to make it happen.
Well, it's our world and our duty to keep it clean.
Here is the little description from the site

What is this site?
renourish is a resource for the graphic design industry. When green design is usually discussed, most people think of buildings, products or even cars, but what about packaging? Shouldn't magazines, business cards, brochures and websites be green? At renourish, we're helping to start the conversation on green graphic design by providing defintions, tips, and links to sustainable resources designers can use to make their work a little greener.

Organizing the files

When we overwhelmed by projects, it's a good chance that we forgot what files we're working on and sometimes we label the wrong files with wrong names. Organizing files which can come in handy when an old client call after 2 years and ask for a revision on the project that we have done.

Having said that, how do we organize our files. Well, here in Astagram, is a very vital part of our daily routine. Here how you can do it.
First, it's important to choose a consistent way of naming files and make sure you follow it all the time. Choose very clear file name, which can search later on your computer. Attaching version number also a good method most of the designers follow. Last, when the work approved, attach lable "final" with your description and label version. Here are some examples.

• client/product_name_brochure_v1.psd
• client/product_name_brochure_final.pdf

Now we are done. But, how about the folders? Naming the folder also very important for archiving purpose. For example,

• 2007 > January > Client Name Brochure > Final > files
• Print > Clients > Name > Band Name Brochure > Photos > files

See how easy is this. After naming files and folders, make sure to backup in DVD or External HD. This would prevent you losing the files if an unfortunate event occur.
Good luck!