The Ten Four
Rally the web & Stop Bill C-11 from breaking the internet in Canada
On 06, Feb 2012 | No Comments | In Blog | By Corbin
The internet is fighting a war many people don’t even know exists. I say the internet, and not the people of Canada, because for the most part, countries all over the world are fighting to maintain internet freedom and privacy, not just just us Canadians. ACTA has been passed in several countries, including Canada, many countries including our own did so as quietly as possible. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is essentially an international standard for copyright and intellectual property rights enforcement.
Lessons in Awesomeness – Get Your $h#% Mobile Ready!
On 16, Jan 2012 | No Comments | In Mobile | By Corbin
The last few years have been extremely exciting for us computer nerds. In such a short period of time we’ve seen desktop computers evolve into areas even science fiction couldn’t predict. Inside the majority of our pockets is a computer more powerful than those that were sent with the Apollo Boys of NASA to the Moon.
8 Tips to Becoming a Blogging Jedi!
On 09, Jan 2012 | 2 Comments | In Blog | By Andy
Blogging is a great way to educate your audience and inform them about recent happenings in your industry. It can also be a great way to educate your audience about who you are, what you love & hate, and what you’re passionate about. But your audience isn’t just going to start reading your blog as soon as you publish your first post. You have to prove to your audience that you are an expert in the area that you’re blogging about & you have to make it easy for your audience to find your blog post in the first place!
Designers.MX
On 10, Aug 2011 | 6 Comments | In Music | By Andy
I’m sure you’ve been there before. You start up your iTunes or iPod and scroll through your playlists five times before settling on the same mix you’ve listened to for the past ten days. Lack of kick-ass, upbeat and inspiring music can result in not only boredom, but could eventually lead to creative block. Well, not anymore! The coolest website to knock our socks off over the past month or so has definitely been Designers.mx.
Getting Started in the Graphic and Web Design Industry
On 11, Jun 2011 | No Comments | In Design | By Andy
When I was first starting design school I always wondered how I was going to introduce myself to the design world. The go-getter in me wanted to throw myself out there after my first couple of school projects, but the business orientated side of me kept telling me to hold off for the right time. But when was the right time and what was the right approach? These questions, and more were cooped up in my head for months (driving me crazy)! I have to say, if someone told me that I would co-own a design creative with one of my best friends at the age of 25, I’d call their bluff and smack ‘em right upside the head! However, beyond my own belief, here I am now writing this post in hopes of sharing few quick tips on marketing yourself as a designer, networking in the industry, and the greatest business tip of all time!
Common Sense is Good Sense
While studying business at university, my father was always the first person I would turn to for advice. Heck, I still get awesome tips from my old man! But the one piece of advice that stood out for me was to always use common sense. I know this sounds like it’s a given in the business world and even in everyday life, but trust me – it works. When meeting with a prospective client and they are promising you a boat load of money for an hour of work on your end, does that really make sense to you? What if a client is always dodging a contract signing but is hounding you to get the work done ASAP? In my experience in any industry, it’s always a smart idea to ask yourself, “Does this make sense to me?”
Keep Calm and Carry On
You know that feeling when you just wrapped up a really great client meeting? It feels good, doesn’t it? You just want to run back to the office and start hammering out designs left right and center. Or what if you just received a call from a prospective client, telling you that you didn’t win the proposal? You kind of feel like you want to run over to said clients office and give their head a shake! In my opinion, It’s always a good idea to step outside of the hot seat every now and then. If things are heating up quickly, whether good or bad, sometimes you just have to keep calm and carry on.
I went to a marketing seminar a couple of years ago and one of the main presentations was titled “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The speaker was a Marketing Director at one of the largest law firms in the United States and he told a very telling story. It was about how he once arrived at work only to find out that his firm lost a major account, because of an accidental email that was floating around. Obviously his first reaction was to freak out, start sweating bullets and start firing people on the spot. But he took a different (more calm) approach. Instead, he casually called a department meeting and got low down. He then sat back and analyzed what he just heard, called the client and resolved the issue just like that. It was that easy, and mostly because he just kept his cool and didn’t freak out.
So the next time you land a massive project, or get some news from a client – whether good or bad – remember to keep calm. Sure it may be exciting (or depressing) in the moment but always step aside and take a deep breath. You’ll thank yourself, avoid an unnecessary sweat-a-thon, and save yourself the stress of getting too worked up.
To Test the Waters, or Dive Right In?
I’ll be honest… I wasn’t too sure how I was going to introduce myself to the local design community here in Halifax. As a student, should you tread slowly and surely and wait for the right time, or do I just dive right in? I guess that’s really up to you. If you think your ready to make your work (and your brand) open to the public, then do it! Going through school I wasn’t handed any student positions or internships, but that didn’t stop my from walking into every agency with my head up and my resume in hand. After a couple months of pestering a few unsure agencies I was finally offered a part-time job and I was still in school! I learnt a lot from that job and it made me realize that I wanted to start my own company. If it weren’t for my constant networking, emailing, phoning and meet-and-greets, I would probably still be unsure of which path to take.
Command Base is Heading to PEI
On 24, May 2011 | No Comments | In What's New | By Andy
So Corbs and I have decided that we are going to load the car and head north as Command Base is heading to PEI this week to visit some clients, take in some of good ol’ red soil and possibly have a pitcher of Sweet Oblivion or two (or three, who knows). As Charlottetown is the hometown that I’ve grown to love and adore, it’s obvious to say that I’m a little more familiar with Prince Edward Island than Corbin is. After all, he has only been there once and to say it was a bit of a hazy time is maybe a bit of an understatement.
So now we find ourselves scouring the interwebs trying to see if there is anything new and exciting happening in downtown Charlottetown. Are there any new bars, restaurants or music shops around town? Does Leo still have the best Thai food in the city or does he have any new competition? We’ve heard that Halifax’s own Rich Aucoin will be playing at Hunter’s on Saturday night so if you feel so inclined to come have a thunder mug with us, feel free to email or tweet us.
So if you know of anything new and exciting happening around Charlottetown this weekend give us a shout! Otherwise we’ll be forced to tell Denim Dugay that you stole one of his cords of wood… and you don’t want that.
App of the Week: Qwiki
On 13, May 2011 | No Comments | In App of the Week | By Andy
Corbin and I love our apps, and in this section we are going to feature a once a week post featuring our favorite new mobile and web apps. Everything from productivity apps to pointless (and may I say time wasting) games.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a brand spankin’ new iPad 2. Obviously, as soon as I could rip it out of the box I was on an app downloading spree. I’m not new to apps as I have an iPhone, but with the larger screen and better functionality, I was pretty pumped to be downloading games like NHL 2K11, social media platforms like Flipboard, sports news apps like TSN, along with pointless entertainment apps like JustinTV and Planetary. But there was one app that stood out from the rest. One app that was so original and cool that we just had to post it on The TenFour: Qwiki.
Qwiki is probably the best general education app I’ve ever downloaded. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it an education app but more of an information experience app. The basis is quite simple: You simply open the app, type in what you want to learn about and Qwiki gives you a 2-5 minute presentation on the topic you searched for. The interactiveness of the app is awesome. It combines relevant images, videos, infographics and narration to describe the topic of your choice, which makes learning about it easy since you don’t have to read through tons of text.
Corbin and I have spent numerous hours searching random things because this app presents the information in such an cool and original way. The app also gives you related topics at the end of each presentation, so it’s easy to just go from one topic to another. With over 3,000,000 different topics, you can see how you can spend so much time on the app.
Also, this app is FREE! Yes, that’s right… you don’t have to spend a cent to experience the awesomeness that is this app! If you are the type of person that is always looking for some cool apps, and you like to click and scroll through tons of interesting topics than you should definitely go download this app now.
Hello Earth!
On 12, May 2011 | 3 Comments | In Blog | By Corbin
It’s good to be online! After months of hard work we have officially launched our website. While we’re still the new kid on the block, we have big plans. For those who are reading this, you are bearing witness to the birth of what we hope to be a long and prosperous journey through the field of website & graphic design. If you’re new to our part of the web, allow me to give you a brief rundown on who we are.
We are the combined creativity of one Andy Keith & Corbin Fraser. When we merge our creative super-powers, a technological event occurs similar to what you may have seen in the movie “Transformers”. (The first one, not the second…that one sucked). An everyday machine transforming into a megalithic monster, ready to cast its awesomeness out into the web.
We twist code & pixels with our mighty caffeine powered brains, creating what we hope is something fresh, exciting, and easy on the eyes. While we could go on all day giving hilarious metaphors to how nifty we are, your safest bet is to see for yourself. Browse our portfolio, read a little about us, or if your feeling as talkative as we are, follow us on Twitter & raise your glass as we all scream “Sociables!”.
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