Thought & Theory

Dennis and I will be live streaming on Ustream.tv today at 3pm EST. You can watch us in the embedded video below or on the iwearyourshirt.com Daily Shirt Show. Stop by, say hello and ask some questions about Thought & Theory!

In case you missed the live broadcast, here is the recorded video:

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

Happy New Year! In the spirit of the moment i wanted to share some tools that have really helped make 2008 a productive and successful year for us.

1. Dropbox - Dropbox has single-handedly been the most useful tool for us. The ability to sync files seamlessly between all computers in the company has really kept the ball moving - no more waiting for files, they’re just there. We’ve also found it extremely useful for sharing/collaborating with clients, allowing any client on any platform to grab a folder within the project and view and edit files. Dropbox is free for up to 2gb of space, and $9 a month for 50gb - you can’t beat that.

2. Google Docs - We use Google Docs to house most of our literature in a single application independent location. We keep everything from proposals, ideas, and client docs, all usually written within Google Docs, saved, shared, and exported (as .doc or .pdf) directly online. We also use it to house a single calendar that displays all upcoming tasks, and important deadlines. For a totally free solution, it’s unmatched - all you need is a browser.

3. Ruby on Rails - Rails is nothing new to us here at Thought and Theory. Our first app, Only Human used Rails when the framework was in it’s infancy. Now, however, Rails has evolved into something pretty incredible. With features like ultra readable code (à la ruby), a clear distinction between business logic and presentation logic (à la MVC), an amazing host of gems and plugins (à la the awesome community), MERB(!), and a great deal more - Rails is leading the way for us in terms of a nice solid platform to build upon. Disclaimer: we are not moving towards a Rails only development process, it’s just that we like it, and you should too.

4. GIT - Source code management isn’t a joking matter anymore, you gotta do it, especially when working with a team. We’ve used subversion in the past, but now we are getting hooked on GIT (pun, maybe?). For repository hosting we’ve been using Github, but codebasehq is looking pretty darn sweet for teams.

5. jQuery - Again nothing new for us, but it deserves a huge high-five. Javascript is fun again - thanks jQuery!

Happy New Year, be safe!

We have some big plans for 2009 and that involves expanding our team to make those goals attainable. We’re looking to take on another web designer to help us with client work and new internal projects coming soon.

Here’s the official job description:

Web Designer

Location: Remote (Can Work From Anywhere)
URL: http://www.thoughtandtheory.com

Thought & Theory is seeking a passionate web designer who loves design and the web. Your primary responsibilities will be designing interfaces and developing branding for our various clients and internal projects.

Talent means a lot, but drive, potential and discipline mean more. Don’t just tell us how you love designing for the web, show us. We’re looking for someone who constantly creates things and loves working on new projects and initiatives. Someone who lives and embraces the web and all it’s outlets of expression.

Benefits:

• Health Insurance
• Remote Work (Work from anywhere but be available at scheduled times)
• Flexible Hours
• Flexible Vacation Time

Requirements:

• Strong understanding of design fundamentals
• Basic understanding of UI Principles and Usability
• XHTML/CSS (Code to W3C Standards by Hand)
• Basic Flash, experience with animation
• Strong writing fundamentals
• Basic Javascript and Javascript framework knowledge
• Basic knowledge of CMS’s and Dynamic Applications

Nice to Have:

• Copywriting experience
• SEO experience

If you’re interested and want to chat with us about possibilities, drop us a line at dennis@thoughtandtheory.com.

Happy Holidays from everyone here at Thought & Theory. We’ve had an amazing year and have met and worked some very incredible people. We look forward to 2009 and thank everyone for all their support in 2008.

Sometimes designing for yourself is the hardest thing in the world. You second guess, over analyze and critique things to death. You want it to be perfect. You want it to be everything and a little more.

Four versions, three logos iterations, three fully-built prototypes and eight months later we are proud to finally release EMPRNT, a resource for designers who love design books.

Some Random Notes

• This was a huge exercise in what we could do without. By going through all those versions where we had every feature under the sun, we learned what was absolutely necessary and what could wait till later. We had to focus on things that made us different. In this case the content we produced was the hero, not necessarily all the features.
• Expression Engine, the CMS we used for one of our initial versions, does not like to do complex things like multiple to multiple relationships. It requires a lot of nasty hacks and provided more problems than solutions. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing CMS, but it just wasn’t right for this project.
• The reason the site goes from a skinny layout to a wide layout is to visually represent the act of opening a book.
• Sometimes I forget how powerful Ruby on Rails is. It gave us a great foundation to build this site on. Also, Jeff built this thing from scratch. Go Jeff.
• This project was born in a Panera.
• Big name designers are really busy. Really busy.
• Variable grid layouts are really cool. Being the fourth person to use that concept is not.
• Jeff and I have too many design books. It’s an addiction.
• That being said, there are so many more design books I want to buy.

We’re excited about launching the site but we’re even more excited about what’s to come for EMPRNT. Thanks to everyone who helped us out along the way and we hope you like the site.

Check Out EMPRNT
Designer Holiday Gift Guide
Interview with Chuck Anderson (No Pattern)