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15tags Blog

Company blog of EmaStudios, a tini web design agency focused on making web beautifuly simple.


EmaStudios Update 14/9/08September 14

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

-Michelangelo

Lately I’m pushing hard myself. I’m working out regularly as you people know to lose some “15 years Christmas weight”, we just closed a deal with the excellent guys at BeenVerified to work on their visual design (we couldn’t wait anymore, we worked in a couple of things together and those guys are wonderful), the studio is growing really fast and the people working with us is fantastic; the best of the best out there. We have a really good luck this quarter, the projects we are working are amazing, fun and interesting.

And, to add a bit more of complexity to the equation, since a couple of weeks, I’m learning how to play classic guitar. Funny, it is easier than it looks and much more simpler than I though it was going to be. People always say it’s hard, but if you put your hearth and mind in it, believe me, it’s easy as using hotmail (just kidding.)

Today, I want to announce, I will be learning a new skill that will probably have an important impact in my design skill over time. I’m learning how to do illustrations and concept arts. My brother is one of the top artists right now in Buenos Aires (http://www.carloscabrera.com.ar), and I love his work. Since we where kids, I had the ability to draw, to illustrate. I was


Web Sites for the iPhone or how to slow down innovationsAugust 26

Lately I have been seen a lots of web sites blog and online newspapers coming up with their own “iPhone version” of their business. They are everywhere. They usually start with an “i” so, if you where looking EmaStudios web site for the iPhone it will be “http://i.emastudios.com/” which takes my mind back to the old “http://wap.emastudios.com/”. From my point of view, building a web site, blog or newspaper entirely from scratch for a particular device it’s going back to 1995 when AvantGo ruled the world and the “Palms” where “so hot right now!”.

If you have an application like basecamp for example, it’s necessary to do the “iPhone version” but, that’s just because the application needs to be specially designed as an app for the iPhone. On the contrary, having a blog, a news paper or any other web site in the iPhone version is like doing a wap version; useless. There is a huge market for wap, we all know that. But it takes back innovation like 10 years. The browser should adjust the site, not backwards. If you don’t agree, then I’m assuming you are one of the really happy designers or coders who laugh with joy every time you have to do an Internet Explorer version of your work.

Again, the browser should adjust the site, not backwards. In fact, Apple agrees with me. They have come up with Safari for the iPhone, an splendid piece of software that lets you see, AND READ a website like if you where looking it at your own home

Stay in shape, be more productive, do more every dayAugust 20

For the last few years I haven’t been working out at all, I just eat, work, slept and play some videogames when I had the time. That was all I did. I was pretty much out of shape (a lot) and started thinking on my own health. Worst than that, I had been tired all day long while working; so I decided to do something to change that, and boy, what I did was simple and everyone can do it.

I bought an exercise bike last month and started to workout every day. The first day the longest I could do were just 10 minutes. Really, I couldn’t go any further, I was in pain, all sweaty, almost dead. That was the first day. The second day, the same thing happened, just 10 minutes, a bit less maybe, but in the fourth day I managed to do 15 minutes! boy that was a great day!

Now, I can do 25 minutes! That’s almost 30 minutes per day! I feel better, I work better, I don’t feel tired anymore and what’s best of all, I have been eating a lot less!

Funny thing happens when you workout in the morning.

  1. You think again before eating anything that can make you fat during the day because, you see, you worked your ass off at the morning and you don’t want to throw that away. So you start taking food very seriously and eat a lot less. It’s hard to do a diet or change your food habits, but that’s because you don’t have any good reason to stop eating like a pig (I know I did), but that changes automatically the minute you start doing exercises; guarante
Getting RealJuly 30

One thing that always bother me is how some people don’t act on the web like they act in the Real World(TM). A good example are possible clients that come to EmaStudios knocking at our door. I’m talking about Emails of course. At EmaStudios when we talk with a client and we either, can’t help on a project or it needs someone else expertise, we tell the client about it and point in the right direction. We even hook up people with those who will going to give them a good, valuable solution inside the original budget.

It’s common sense. Being friendly. If someone stops me at the street and ask me for some direction, if I don’t know the answer, I just try to point to someone who may have the right direction. Like a policeman, a news stand, a baker store or any other person I may know have the answer.

What I do not do, is just walk away.

Lately, I had 2 possible clients that, after exchanging emails, they just stop talking with me. It doesn’t happen often, because I’m a pretty clever guy, but they did. They just, didn’t answered. When I emailed them back (thinking “oh well, they must be busy to keep up talking”) they came back to me with a “we just got another design agency, sorry! thanks!”.

Anyone out there running a business knows that’s a “no-no”. It will keep happening, I know. I just wish people would be more kind to each other, it seems to me it’s the same asking for a direction at the street than asking what you

Lunch time with Christian Van Der HenstJuly 28

Today I had a very good and tasty lunch with Christian Van Der Henst, the head of “Maestros del Web, one of the most profitable and large communities online that speaks Spanish and let me tell you; Christian is quite a guy. It takes some balls to laugh about the stupid jokes I make and he scored 10/10 on that test. He has come to Buenos Aires before, but I’m having the feeling this time he would like to stay even longer than he is willing to admit. This city can get under your skin so easily you won’t even realize it. Christian has big plans for Latin America, and if there is someone who can pull those plans off, that’s Christian.

Now, there are a couple of myths about Christian that have risen between the community because of his continuous trips around the globe:

  1. He works for the CIA or some sort of spy agency.
  2. He is loaded, that’s why he can travel everywhere all the time.
  3. There are really ten or twenty Christian Van Der Henst spread all over the world as a part of a scientific experiment.
  4. He has managed to discover the old, arcane ways of the space-universe portals to travel everywhere he wants.
  5. The guy can actually fly.

None of those are true (at least, he didn’t fly while I was there watching, but he did went to the bathroom after we lunch together, so the Nr 5 may be up to dispute) and the guy isn’t loaded. He is an average worker/business