Proliferation

Apr 25
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Fusion 360: Masters of Web Design

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Here at Fusion 360, we do website design better than Martha Stewart does tax evasion. Here are some of the various awards and accolades we’ve won over the years for our sleek and classy Web design.

The Webby Awards – 1x Winner

One of the oldest and most prestigious awards for Internet excellence, since 1996 the annual Webby Awards have honored the best and brightest in the world of digital marketing and website design. Presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the Webby Awards cover everything from social media and video content to outstanding website design.

To win such an award is considered “the Internet’s highest honor,” and Fusion 360 is proud to have been a recipient.

The Davey Awards – 3x Winner

The Davey Awards are designed for the small advertising agencies with big ideas. Offering awards for all kinds of creative content from both digital agencies and ones that work in traditional print, the Davey Awards honor those that take an exceptionally creative approach to the challenges marketing and design companies face everyday.

With three different wins for our characteristically creative, user-friendly website design, Fusion 360 stands up tall against the big ad agencies — just like how David stood up against Goliath.

The W3 Awards – 1x Winner

Presented by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, the W3 Awards honor everything in creative excellence on the World Wide Web. The W3 Awards honor advertising agencies big and small — and everyone in between. With awards in marketing programs, videos, website design, mobile features and social media, the W3 Awards truly feature all of the Internet’s best content.

As a one-time winner of the W3 Award for our outstanding website design, Fusion 360 joins the ranks of the Internet’s best and brightest. When it comes to Web design, why would you go with anyone else?

Creative Excellence, Quantified

As one of Utah’s top advertising agencies, our clients don’t just trust we’ll deliver the best results — they count on it. While our current stash of awards may be nice and shiny, we’re always looking to bring home as many as we can.

For the agency of the future with the awards to back it up, count on Fusion 360 to bring you the best website design money can buy. We guarantee it.

Apr 18
0

The Importance of a Company-Wide Style Guide

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For any company or brand maintaining consistent style, branding and visuals are absolutely essential. No matter whether you’re working at a small startup company or a multi-national corporation, having a style guide to refer to is invaluable for anyone in the website design profession. Here’s why.

Let’s say you’re working as a Web designer for a small company. As the sole designer, you come up with all the company logos, fonts, colors and other miscellaneous elements yourself. Now say the company is expanding, acquiring new big clients, and now you’re working with a team of website designers and Web development professionals. Do you want to have to personally teach each new employee that comes in the specifics of your company’s style and branding? Of course not!

Enter the company style guide. With a handy style guide that covers everything a Web designer needs to know, from fonts and hex values to logo sizes and placement, you’ve just saved yourself a hell of a lot of time and effort.

So what does a style guide for company website design typically entail? A company style guide can include information regarding brand voice, company colors, brand logo, positioning and terms of use, typography, specific icons or icon sets and much more. You can even include information on brand history & vision, social media guidelines, copywriting guidelines, design layouts, grid standards and examples, depending on your company’s needs.

A comprehensive company-wide style not only ensures everyone at your company knows what they’re doing, it also ensures that some inexperienced designer doesn’t come along and ruin all your hard work. For freelance designers, a style guide can function as a great housekeeping tool, allowing you to return to work with an old client without too much hassle.

Above all, a company-wide style guide ensures your work will stay consistent, and certifies an efficient, high-quality level of production. For website design professionals everywhere, your style guide is your instruction manual — don’t forget it!

Apr 14
0

How Colors Affect Your Website

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Colors are very curious — they can make you feel something and change your mood. As a web designer, it’s important to pick the right colors for your clients’ websites. You wouldn’t want a yellow website for a funeral home, or a black website for children. As a web developer, it’s important to know what color schemes to use to help set the mood of the website. 

Color Theory

When it comes to picking colors, it’s important to understand three words: contrast, complementation and vibrancy. There are different shades to every color, so knowing what colors are going to contrast the colors you’ll be using will be important to you.

Complementation is similar, but these are colors that will accent each other such as blue and yellow.

Vibrancy is where mood setting comes in; picking a warm color will tend to energize the user, while a cooler color will be more relaxing. Knowing these basics will help you understand how the colors are going to work for you.

Design Principals

One easy design principal to remember in web design when picking colors, is to put a lighter color on your background, so that your text is easy to read. When designing around text, don’t get super creative — you want to keep the area simple.

If a web developer is looking to get a reader’s attention, make sure that you have colors that are contrasting, like using a gray background and lighter foreground. People’s eyes will usually look at the brightest color first — usually white, and that color will grab their attention. Using a variety of contrasting colors will help keep focus on certain page elements.

Color Scheme

Web designers can find a variety of color schemes, and picking that scheme can be a tough decision. Colors can bring out different feelings in people, like cool colors versus warm colors. As a web developer, there are different tools you can use to find schemes such as Adobe and Photoshop. These tools can help you find what color scheme and mood you’re trying to set.

Apr 04
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Put Your Ego Aside and Give the Client What They Want

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It can be hard as a web designer, and web developer, to put what you know aside and give the client what they want. You may feel that your idea would be more beneficial and look good too, but your client may want something different. Your client may not know best, but they know what they want their website to look like.

When to Give In

Web development and web design is your art, and as that artist, you were hired to do what your client wants. An easy fix may be to tell the client your idea and see how their idea and yours can come together. As the web developer, they may find your idea better, because you know what you’re doing as a web developer. However, if your client doesn’t agree with you, agree to disagree and give the client the web design that they’re looking for.

Don’t Lose Your Job

As the web designer, you are getting paid to make the website they want, and second-guessing a client can cause a good relationship to go south. This website may be your baby — but to the client, it’s a company and a business. The client may want a website that suits their needs; perhaps something that’s easy to use or straightforward and practical.

Relationship with Your Client

You may find yourself second guessing yourself when presenting to a client, wondering: Why did I become a web developer or a web designer? Sometimes the problem is the client, and you may have to cut ties and go your own ways. If a client isn’t giving you the respect you deserve and degrading your hard work, then this isn’t a website problem, it’s a problem they have with you. Just like any other job, you may not be the right fit.

Don’t lose your head over a web design, just listen to your client and do your best to meet that image in their head. You can still add flare to it, but make sure it isn’t all your own doing.

Apr 04
0

Why You Should Update Your Cell Phone For the Sake of Mobile Developers

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The worst thing that seems to happen when not updating or updating your phones iOS or OS is having an app crash on you, or have an app that isn’t supported by your current iOS or OS. Web development companies are on top of their apps, and will usually release them with the latest phone updates.

What Happens When You Update or Don’t

When updates do come to phones, Web designers and Web development firms are on top of getting their websites updated so that they will work with the latest version of Apple or Android. If you don’t update your phone, you may not be able to use apps you could before. Get the new app if it has been updated and load it up, as certain apps are updated for certain phones. And if your app decides not to work, go and check the app store and make sure there hasn’t been a recent update. If there has, that’s the app you want.

Updates on Your Apps

Apple has a place in their App Stores that allows mobile Web development firms to fix bugs and securities in their apps. Most updates are for this case, so if your app isn’t working properly on your phone, then you probably want to update your phone to the newest OS or iOS. The mobile developers create these updates to keep your apps up to date and working properly. Usually your apps will update by themselves, but make sure that the iOS and OS is going to be compatible.

Most mobile Web development firms don’t release the new versions of their app until the next phone update. Some will release their app for free for a short time, while they’re upgrading the usable app. This is usually to help with sales.

In the end the way to make yourself happy and the mobile developers happy is to update your phone when it needs to be.

Mar 25
0

The Toolbox of a Web Developer

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Computers seems to have their own language with HTML, CSS and other acronyms that only computer savvy people know. So as a web developer, you will need to have some words and knowledge in your web developer toolbox, to help a company in their website design. 

Coding Knowledge

As a web developer, you will need to know at least basic coding. If you’re not sure what coding is, it’s the language of a computer. HTML is the underlying code in the Internet, and CSS is where web developers go to put the information together to create a webpage.  It’s important to know where to plug in words, numbers and symbols to help a website stand out and be useable. After learning your basic HTML, it’s also important to know how to connect the HTML with the CSS so you can actually do your job in the website design.

Know How to Research

When it comes to research, it’s helpful to know what language you are coding in, and we’re not talking Spanish and French. It’s helpful to know how to find the information online and in books on how to code. You’ll want to know your sources and feel comfortable knowing that they will help you in website design.

Bookmark useful websites and know how to navigate them, because as much as we all think we can memorize the language of coding, it is very unlikely. Practice makes perfect, and over time you’ll be able to remember different codes for different functions.

Becoming Knowledgeable

Learn how to use HTML and CSS in different ways and not in just basic design. HTML and CSS are just the basics in building a website, and knowing more than the basics is going to help. Different clients are going to have different needs when it comes to a website. Learn how to create your clients’ website, and really understand different codes.  Know the different platforms on websites, learn WordPress and spend time learning about media queries. In the end this will help you become a better web developer.