Recreating Spaces in OSX Lion

So there used to be a little gem in Snow Leopard called “Spaces” that would allow you to assign particular application windows to spaces, giving you the ability to easily switch between each space. Now that has all been replaced by “Mission Control”. An ambitious move by Apple to consolidate all of your open windows and dashboard in a single unified view. However, many feel Apple pulled the trigger to soon and without enough end-user testing, leaving out some crucial components along the way.  No longer can you just simply drag and drop your favorites apps to the space of your choosing and have it be assigned to that space until you decide other-wise. Now you must assign each application to an individual space, to “imitate” the effect we miss from Snow Leopard.

First start by opening system preferences…

Then select “Mission Control”…. make sure to uncheck “Automatically rearrange spaces based on most recent use…”  I also, highly recommend setting up “Hot Corners” if you haven’t.  They are basically areas of the screen in which you can drag the mouse and activate certain functions.  Such as dragging to the top right will unveil the desktop, moving all open windows temporarily out of the way…

Now close system preferences and we can begin organizing your different applications into spaces.  Let’s start with say your web browser.  That might be an application that you always want to take up it’s own space.

First open mission control (clicking the dock icon) and choose “Desktop 1″…

Exit Mission Control and then choose your first application in this case… “Google Chrome”

From here you will need to assign each application to it’s own desktop (or to “All Desktops, your choice”).  Typically I would suggest starting with the programs you use most frequent.  First, enter mission control , select the desktop you want, then right click the dock icon and assign “This Desktop”… Repeat this process as necessary with all of your applications you feel should take up their own space.  Such as maybe a “Word Processing” space, a “Web Browser” space and so on…  This way every time you click the application in the dock, it will switch over to a new space giving you uncluttered freedom!  Hope this helps ease the pain the transition to Lion.  More articles to come…!

Business Card 101

What is a business card? Really…  What does a good one convey?  What does a bad one say about you?  In short, we believe a thoughtful, well-designed business card can help earn you a good first impression and send the right message about you and your organization.  A good card say’s “Hey, I get it!…”  It makes a clear and defined statement about the person, company or organization it represents.

A business card, through it’s fonts, colors, and designs… expresses it’s self very quickly and always leaves a distinct aftertaste on that of the person accepting it.  A bad card… well, screams unprofessional.  In this day and age there is just no excuse.  There are too many relatively easy methods of accessing decent template card designs that any amateur with a local print shop in vicinity can whip up something passable.  So, why should you invest to have a profesional design your card?  Well, just as your business is personal, custom and unique, your business card should reflect “you” uniquely.  How can a stock template design that’s only commonality with your company is color represent “your” company?  To put it simply, there is much more to it…

Seeing the BIG picture…

Seeing your designs go from a simple sketch and on a scratch piece of paper to the final design you see when driving down the interstate is always an intoxicating process. Working with Next Level Baseball has always been a pleasure and when given the opportunity to design a billboard for one of their camps, well… we didn’t hesitate.

We enjoyed every minute of putting together a great billboard that we felt was not only a testament of how far we have come as a company in such a short period of time but also a fantastic opportunity to get some of our work in front the public eye. So, give us some feedback…. really, we can take it.

How to catch a unicorn…

Some say it’s been something like trying to catch a unicorn or even better, finding that much mentioned pot of gold at the bottom of a rainbow. At times, even we thought it would never get completed. In fact, as one client so eloquently stated, “I think you guys having a website is actually a myth. I mean, it’s been what, 6 months?” Well, not quite.

Friends, here it is. This is what we’ve been working on so diligently (besides your sites of course). 2009 has taught us much! We’ve heard your complaints constructive criticism, and took them all into careful consideration. So, without further ado, we announce to you Project Elixir aka Kode Red 2.0 Beta