Get mail done.

Before minimalism in web design became the vogue and hipster mantra over the past year, I’ve always been a fan of the “less is more” ideology. If you search enough on the web, you can find a vast assortment of chaotic, over-bearing websites that make your head spin. When I happen upon these jam-packed homepages, I feel an overwhelming sense of never being able to find what I am after … and I leave.

Sparrow Mail is different.

From the moment I visited their website I was captivated! First, their paper airplane logo is just cool. It tells me that they care about the small details. The homepage is as simple as it can be and highly effective. The graphics demonstrate they have two core apps — one for the Mac and one for the iPhone. From there you can take two paths and each will easily show you the benefits and features of Sparrow.

Each app page is extremely engaging and quick to read. The blend of text, iconography, and images is perfect. And the rotating testimonial feature at the bottom of the Mac app page is a nice touch.

Check out the Sparrow Mail website and see for yourself why they are my Website of the Week.

Memorable Name. Very Clean Design. To the Point.

This sums up the Swedish web design agency UPPERDOG’s website. What I really like about UPPERDOG is that there is no doubt as to what they do and their emphasis on beautiful, responsive design. The first thing you see is their name, what they do, and three distinct columns describing their core methodologies. You then get an oversized graphic to draw you into the section that communicates how their firm is different. The homepage is wrapped up with social media icons in the footer.

There is a cool feature on their strategy page – the iPhone adapter cord “plugs-in” as you scroll down the page. And again, they keep the layout clean and broken into sections to communicate the key points. The fonts are crisp and UPPERDOG does an excellent job of balancing white space with their graphics and content. Their images really hit on their capabilities and the quotes draw you in to read them. The ONLY complaint I would have is that there are no samples of their work anywhere on the site, and if I was a potential client, I would want to see what they’ve done for others.

UPPERDOG is great in form and function and it earns my Website of the Week award.

Further complicating the situation was the late 90′s idea that your job description should be engaging and invoke inquiries from the person to whom you are speaking. A cornucopia of titles have emerged over the last decade in the creative world … Design Guru, Web Design Ninja, Chief of Design Intellect, Ideation Specialist, Creative Officer, Designer of Experiences, etc. You are “supposed” to come up with something clever because designer or web developer is just too stale and boring. Yet, the problem with the artsy fartsy names is that people look at you like deer caught in headlights. Maybe they ask you more questions or maybe they think you’re on another planet.

Then there’s the idea that a solopreneur or freelancer should make their businesses appear bigger. You have to come up with a business name that’s cool and start writing text on your website as ‘we’ instead of ‘me’. After all, no one wants to do business with a one man (or one woman) shop, right? Thank goodness people ARE starting to realize that one person can actually do a great job at what they do and they don’t have to be an agency with a plethora of services to be successful. I thought about going back to the agency concept because I thought it would get me closer to making one of Fast Company’s important lists. Then I had the illumination that doing so isn’t really all that important and I don’t want to manage a group of people who may or may not care about the business as much as I do. Whew!

What’s this post really about???

That I think it’s really OK to just be who you are and that you don’t need a fancy title or business name to be a success. What matters is that you do great work and that you provide amazing solutions to your clients. You can provide an awesome experience even if you are a solopreneur or freelancer – and it’s not a negative to call yourself one. All the business books and blogs out there are excellent resources, but they can cause analysis paralysis because you’re trying so hard to follow what the experts say. So quit thinking so much and just do! Be who you are and be proud and I will do the same.

I’m James Dalman. I’m a designer. And I endorse this message!

Challenging designers to follow their passions and choose their own paths. One day at a time.

This statement alone caught my attention and resonated deep within my soul. From there I was hooked on reading and checking out the mission of Kern and Burn, a blog and print publication dedicated to inspiring designers to pursue their dreams. Kern and Burn is the brain child of Tim Hoover and Jessica Karle Heltzel, and together they presented a great idea at Kickstarter to create a book based on the blog.

The Kern and Burn site is minimalistic yet powerful. Everything is laid out with purpose and is very balanced. They use the white space very well and then frame it off with a soothing color palette. I love their font choice and their custom icons. The featured artist of the day has a great description action that allows the photo to be the focus until you hover over it with your mouse. Finally, they just have awesome stories featured there and overall excellent idea.

Kern and Burn is definitely my Website of the Week!