Though currently just a design submission for a local city, given the design guidelines, I'm hoping my water tower design is chosen. I'd love to see it looming over the park it's supposed to be erected in where even in the scalding California sun, the illusion of cool bubbling water might keep ya cool.

My portfolio is currently down after a slight programming snafu ate the code...slurrrrp. Please check back on 1/25/2010 to see the new portfolio.

It's hard to believe this is my first post of 2010, but with holidays, vacations and a plethora of work projects I'm just now coming up for air. Admittedly, I've been doing more Facebook and Twitter than blogging...I need to get back on the ball.

Key on my agenda is a total website redesign for FreeFrog.com. It's looking dated and it needs more WOW factor.

Other side projects include getting my fantasy universe, Rhunyen, finished and printed (or at least in PDF) for mass market. Also, I need to see how the Go'Mo Invasion is coming. My other game universe, Timeon Rizer, is on hold at the moment -- has been for several years -- but ideas and motivation are brewing, so I hope to do something with that this year. Finally, I hope to radically diversify the type of design projects I'm doing...I'm feeling stuck in a rut lately.

Enough talking. Time for me get in gear or it'll be 2011 before I know it.

Well, I haven't been diligent on my website or blog updates, so here's the skinny on what's up FreeFrog's up to lately:

• Working on the polished version of my RizerGS game system. For those in the know, it's been a long, lame attempt on my part, as I keep reworking it ad nauseuam. This time, it’s close.
• Madly trying to get my act together to continue promoting the Go-Mo Invasion as creative art/writing, merchandising, etc. I’m hoping to have merchandise ready for the holidays, and fancier stuff ready for next spring.
• Dabbling with creating some new dark ambient tracks, using my iPhone's recorder for spot sound sampling. I'm no Robert Rich or Lustmord, but hey, it's fun and moody.
• I'm fixing up my NEW motorcycle -- yep that's right and I got a new "used" one -- and prepping my good old VStrom for sale. I'll post more about the new bike soon.
• Working, working, working.

More to come.

The California International Marathon has posted a little spot regarding my logo design. Very nice.

Well the craziness of design is nonstop. I finalized the Running of the Bullipedes logo back on May 13, but the client wanted just a bit more "Western" added after the fact. A FreeFrog's work is never done. So, with a few more silly elements added – cowboy hat and boots to be precise – it's mighty cute (see below). Given the fun nature of the venue, it's perfect. ;-)

Well it looks like I'm on a roll with logo contests locally. The Sacramento Running Association – the parent organization of the California International Marathon (CIM) – has chosen one of my logo submissions (as in the logo above) for their upcoming Running of the Bullipedes event.

Details are still sketchy, but according to CIM's Facebook page it's a short "fun run" to kick off the 2009 Folsom Rodeo happening July 2, 2009 in Folsom, CA. It sounds like a hoot!

Mmmmmm...coffee! With a little help from FreeFrog Designs, a small independent coffee distributor has finally moved into the Internet foray to promote their clever and tasty blends.

Online ordering will soon be added along with real product shots, but the warm, satisfying colors and design are in place for Brown Eyed Girl Coffee to make their splash on the web.

It's time to get your java on!

I'm truly elated and honored to have found out yesterday that my logo design submission was the one chosen for the 27th Annual California International Marathon (CIM) happening in December 2009. WOW!

CIM is considered one of the best small marathons in the country. With something this big and public I can't wait to see all the swag and other promo materials with my logo front and center around town and at the event. Given that there are some very talented artists who submit designs every year, this is very cool and very rewarding indeed.
I'm still refining the colors, but when the final, official version's ready, I'll do another post so you can check it out. He, he. :-)

Over the last weekend The Great War Society (TGWS) took the wraps off it's all new FreeFrog designed website. TGWS is committed to providing information and maintaining awareness about one of the largest wars in history, which is WWI of course – also known as the Great War.

From a design standpoint it was a fun challenge. The requirements for coding were that it needed to use traditional HTML and CSS, with only a minimum of scripts, and no Flash, as they will be maintaining the site themselves with consumer-level web tools. Visually it needed to provide an inviting, yet somber feel and use a limited color palette. While some of the back-end pages on the site are still being converted at their end, the new front-end GUI is mighty purty and garnering good reviews for their users. Woohoo!

One of my recent web design clients, Finding Paws, just got featured in the San Francisco Chronicle for her pet detective service. Congrats Donna and glad that website's bringin' in the biz!

I finally set up a CafePress merchandise store for FreeFrog-related merchandise. It's rather ecclectic at the moment, with logos and whatnot from FreeFrog Designs, as well as my original RPGs Timeon Rizer and Rhunyen.

Grab some FreeFrog goodies now.

The cool folks over at http://ascii.jp/mac/ (MacPeople magazine in Japan) have added my Consoleicons to their new shareware/freeware section. Groovy.

What can a FreeFrog say, but Hoppy Holidays to this whole crazy world full of dwindling habitats, competing faiths, forgotten religions and staunch atheism. Live and let live is my motto. My poison secretions await those foolish humans that don't. Hoppy, hoppy. Joy, joy!

I'm a regular attendee of Mike Summers' Sport Bike Night events for motorcycle racing fans. Recently he asked me to make the SBN site professional looking on a very limited budget. Though still a bit barebones, it'll evolve over the next season to have some WOW factor, but for now, the goal was a clean, intuitive and professional design.

The mostly text-centric NAPOLEON Journal website has gotten the FreeFrog visual treatment and now has a some visual pizzaz now.

A new site design for a small pet detective firm, Finding Paws, is now live. This site was implemented with WebYep to allow full editing and maintenance by the client.

I'm having fun creating original one-off posters for OA Paintball – a paintball company out of Maryland. Not the most extraordinary creations, but it's design on a budget, so it's fun over form in this instance.

Both a recent FreeFrog Designs client and my favorite motorcycle accessories shop, Throttle Wear shut its doors unexpectedly at the end of July. Sadly, I had just launched their e-commerce site and done a full website makeover, but apparently other market forces were at work that made the business not viable. The shop and its wonderful staff will be missed.

Another full site revamp by FreeFrog Designs, this time of the Cafe Boogaloo website, is now complete. This is my first client-based use of RapidWeaver and the WebYep CMS, so we'll have to see how it works over time.

Well it was about time to do a total revamp/makeover of the FreeFrog.com website. I was going to use Dreamweaver, GoLive or Freeway, but decided instead to try out RapidWeaver. It may seem odd for a web designer to use such a "simple" tool, but I work daily with the other high-end apps (so I'm hardly lacking in practice), and yet for frequent updating and adding odds and ends RapidWeaver is fun to use and quite flexible. Why not think outside the box.