http://christopherkaufman.com/wp-content/themes/press

18 May 2009, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Art, Business, Culture, Entertainment, Politics, Portfolio, Technology, 0 Comments

Can you change everything?


This is a good post from Seth Godin’s Blog about getting out of ruts (I know we all face them from time to time).

You might not be as permanently stuck in a rut as you think. The rut you’re in isn’t permanent, nor is it perfect. There are certainly less perfect ruts, but there may be better ones as well. The certain thing is that you can change everything…

  1. Buy a competitor
  2. Sell to a competitor
  3. Publish your best work for free online
  4. Close your worst-performing locations
  5. Open a new branch in a high-traffic location
  6. Hire the best salesperson away from the competition
  7. Join the competition
  8. Host a conference for your competitors
  9. Connect your best customers and organize a tribe
  10. Fire the 80% of your customers that account for 20% of your sales
  11. Start a blog
  12. Start a digital bootstrap business on the weekends
  13. While looking for a job, spend 40 hours a week volunteering and freelancing for good causes
  14. Go on tour and visit your best customers in person
  15. Answer the customer service line for a day
  16. Learn to be a killer presenter
  17. Let the most junior person in the organization run things for a day
  18. Delete your website and start over with the simplest possible site
  19. Call former employees and ask for advice
  20. Move to Thailand
  21. Listen to audio books in your car instead of the radio
  22. Sell your cash cow division to the competition and invest everything in the new thing
  23. Find more products for your existing customers to buy
  24. Become a gadfly and tell the truth about your industry
  25. Quit your job
  26. Move your operations to another city
  27. Become a vegan
  28. Have all meetings in a room with no chairs, and everyone wears a bathrobe over their clothes
  29. Open your offices only four hours a day
  30. Open your offices 24 hours a day for a week
  31. Find every project that is near the danger zone (in terms of p&l or deadlines) and cancel it, no appeals
  32. Go for a walk during lunch
  33. Get an RSS reader and read a lot more blogs
  34. Go offline for longer than you thought possible
  35. Write five thank you notes every day
  36. Stop sending spam
  37. Do your work somewhere else. Set up your chiropractic table at the mall
  38. Have everyone at work switch offices
  39. Give your most valuable possessions to a stranger
  40. Go see live music
  41. Start a company scrapbook and take daily notes
  42. Hire a firm to make a documentary about your organization
  43. Buy some art
  44. Make some art.
  45. Do the work.
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05 Apr 2009, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Business, Design, Internet, Technology, 0 Comments

40 Excellent Free WordPress Themes


I’m a big fan of WordPress, I love the power, ease and flexibility it provides. In fact, this site is built on the WordPress platform. I came across this article from Six Revisions, showcasing 40 great WordPress themes (and they’re free). Themes are a great way for beginners to get started with WordPress—no design or programming knowledge necessary. Check it out:

WordPress – the popular open source publishing platform – allows you to easily customize your installation with WordPress themes. Installing themes is a simple affair, and if you’re just starting out with the publishing application, you can check out this guide on using WordPress themes.

In this collection, you’ll find 40 high-quality and free WordPress themes handpicked from the vast amount of free themes out there on the web.

Note: Be sure to check out the license of the theme for restrictions in usage (if any) and it’s always good (and very much appreciated) to attribute the designer even if they don’t explicitly ask you to.

For another great WordPress themes collection, check out: 50 Beautiful Free WordPress Themes.

Irresistible

Irresistible screen shot.

Demo – Download

Magazeen

Magazeen screen shot.

Demo – Download

Imprezz

Imprezz screen shot.

Demo – Download

Blues

Blues screen shot.

Download

iLibrio

iLibrio screen shot.

Download

Dark Classic

Dark Classic screen shot.

Download

remedy

remedy screen shot.

Demo – Download

Vintage

Vintage screen shot,.

Download

CorporateMag

CorporateMag screen shot.

Demo – Download

Futura

Futura screen shot.

Demo – Download

The Morning After

The Morning After screen shot.

Demo – Download

Holiday WordPress

Holiday WordPress screen shot.

Download

Fontanella

Fontanella screen shot.

Demo (chose Fontanella in the list) – Download

Greenway 3C

Greenway 3C screen shot.

Demo – Download

Grid Focus

Grid Focus screen shot.

Demo – Download

Annexation

Annexation screen shot.

Demo – Download

Brilliance

Brilliance screen shot.

Demo – Download

Love Earth

Love Earth screen shot.

Demo – Download

Compositio

Compositio screen shot.

Demo – Download

Elegance

Elegance screen shot.

Demo – Download

Rewire theme

Rewire theme screen shot.

Download

Colourise

Colourise screen shot.

Demo – Download

Individual

Individual screen shot.

Demo – Download

WP-Premium

WP-Premium screen shot.

Demo – Download

WP ThemedVista

WP ThemedVista screen shot.

Demo – Download

Wynton Magazine

Wynton Magazine screen shot.

Demo

Vectorize

Vectorize screen shot.

Download

Elegant Grunge

Elegant Grunge screen shot.

Demo – Download

Smashing Theme

Smashing Theme screen shot.

Download

Zeke

Zeke screen shot.

Demo – Download

Androida

Androida screen shot.

Demo – Download

BlakMagik

BlakMagik screen shot.

Demo – Download

Love Bugs

Love Bugs screen shot.

Demo – Download (for personal use only)

Nature Gift

Nature Gift screen shot.

Download

BlackRed

BlackRed screen shot.

Download

Club Yellow

Club Yellow screen shot.

Download

Blogtheme

Blogtheme screen shot.

Demo – Download

Portfolio – WPESP

Portfolio - WPESP screen shot.

Demo – Download

iNove

iNove screen shot.

Demo – Download

SohoMag

SohoMag screen shot.

Demo – Download

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04 Mar 2009, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Design, Portfolio, Technology, 1 Comments

Hungry Girl Twitter Design


hungrygirl

One of my (many) side projects when I’m not designing interfaces for a large mortgage company, is Twitart, a small company I created to design Twitter backgrounds and avatars. I recently had the opportunity to create a background for Lisa Lillien, a.k.a. Hungry Girl. Lisa has a great book (with a new one on the way) and website, and sends very helpful daily emails about eating right. It was a lot of fun working with Lisa, here are a couple of ‘tweets’ she posted about her new background:

OOMG!! Look at this ADORABLE new Twitter page design. SO CUTE! Thanks to my pal Chris at http://www.twitart.com. YAY, CHRIS!!!1:23 AM Mar 3rd from web

FOUR MINUTES HAVE PASSED AND I STILL LOVE MY NEW TWITTER BACKGROUND!! http://www.twitart.com and Chris ROCK so very much.1:32 AM Mar 3rd from web

You can follow me on Twitter @kauf and @twitartdotcom, you can follow Lisa (Hungry Girl) Lillien @HungryGirl

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24 Jan 2009, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Business, Technology, 2 Comments

Kroger Paperless Coupons


Kroger has introduced paperless coupons that link to your Kroger Plus Card (pretty cool). You can browse for coupons online or on your iPhone, BlackBerry, etc., pick the coupons you want, and link them to your card. When you scan your card at checkout, the coupons you selected are applied to your order.

Here is the full article from the Detroit News:

Cutting a stack of coupons from the Sunday newspaper has helped pass many an afternoon, but now Michigan’s largest grocer wants customers to trim their grocery bills from the comfort of their own phones.

Time-crunched shoppers can download coupons on their BlackBerries, iPhones and other mobile devices now that the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. has unrolled a mobile coupon program at all 2,477 Kroger locations nationwide. Savings apply to dozens of national brands including Colgate Palmolive, General Mills and Kimberly-Clark.

“Retailers have a wider generation of shoppers shopping with them than they ever had before,” said Kroger spokesman Dale Hollandsworth. Younger consumers have come to expect Internet and mobile-based savings, he said.

Coupon usage increases across all ages and income levels when the economy is down. Coupon redemption is up 72 percent nationwide, according to an August consumer poll by Massachusetts-based marketing consultant Prospectiv. Internet coupon usage has surged by 73 percent since 2005, according to a report by Scarborough Research.

Mobile couponing, savings that can be accessed on the go, represents the next frontier. However, no other major supermarket chain has debuted a program of Kroger’s scope, according to the Food Marketing Institute and the Michigan Grocers Association.

Twelve million people, or 5.2 percent of mobile subscribers, received at least one coupon on their mobile phones in November, according to the latest data available from market research firm comScore Inc. That’s a 66 percent increase over the year before.

Coupons link to an account

Kroger partnered with San Jose, Calif. digital company Cellfire to create the program and tested it last summer at 20 Kroger stores in Metro Atlanta. More than half of consumers in the pilot program redeemed more than one coupon, according to Hollandsworth.

Customers can register for a coupon savings account at www.cellfire.com from their mobile phone or computer. Entering their mobile phone number and Kroger Savings Plus card number links the coupons to the account. Shoppers can then browse coupons from their phones or computers and click on desired deals, which are then loaded onto the grocery card and redeemed at checkout.

Used or expired coupons are removed from the Cellfire account. New grocery offers appear every two weeks.

The service is free of charge but standard mobile usage charges may apply, depending on the carrier or data plan, according to Cellfire.

Convenience of Web coupons

Web coupons represent just 0.4 percent of the multi-billion dollar coupon industry, but are expected to grow.

Sunday newspaper inserts account for more than 88 percent of total coupons, according to the Promotion Marketing Association. Magazines. Direct mail and in-store handouts account for the rest.

Sunday newspaper inserts are “still predominant, but there is a tilt towards tech-based coupon delivery systems,” said Jeffrey Stoltman, Wayne State University marketing professor.

Web coupons are often more convenient for consumers, who can search for deals quickly and don’t need to remember to bring their clippings to the store.

“Clipping is laborious,” Stoltman said, “but a couple of clicks on a keyboard and you’re there.”

Mobile couponing has great potential “given the number of cell phones out there,” according to Charles Brown, co-chair of the Promotion Marketing Association Coupon Council.

Paperless coupon systems can also save money for retailers who spend “tens of millions of dollars in processing costs collectively,” said Dan Kihanya, vice president of consumer marketing for Cellfire.

However, mobile couponing is a new behavior and retailers could lose customers who don’t have cell phones or don’t feel comfortable with technology, WSU’s Stoltman warned.

Savings can be substantial

Kroger shopper Nancy McKinley of Grosse Pointe said she was not aware of Kroger’s mobile couponing program but would welcome a more convenient alternative to newspaper clipping.

McKinley, who saves between $5 and $15 with coupons at Kroger each week, said she generally sets aside newspaper coupon inserts and goes through them every couple of months.

“A lot of times they’ve expired before I get to them,” she said. “You’ve got to save money.”

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03 Dec 2008, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Design, Personal Projects, Portfolio, Technology, 1 Comments

Custom Twitter Backgrounds from TwitArt


Have a look at my latest creation, TwitArt. I recently created TwitArt (a very small business at this point) to offer Twitter users (tweeters) a means to order completely customized, professionally designed Twitter background images and avatars for their accounts. As Twitter has grown, so has the desire of Twitter users to create their own unique graphics, making their page stand out from the crowd. For users who may lack the design skills to create their own professional background design, TwitArt provides an affordable solution. Prices range from $18 for just an avatar design, up to $78 for an avatar and background combo. Check out some of the work I’ve done so far in the TwitArt gallery.

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13 Nov 2008, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Portfolio, Technology, 1 Comments

Now Tweeting on Twitter


So, I finally gave in today. I’ve started tweeting on Twitter. I created an account a long time ago, and tweeted once, months ago, but never really got into it. The ability to sync Twitter with this blog and my Facebook status updates was a big sell for me. It’s nice to have all of my social networking updated simultaneously, and a big time saver. I created a custom background for my Twitter page, have a look and see what I’m tweeting about.

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30 Oct 2008, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Business, Technology, 0 Comments

Zazzle Introduces Embroidery


From TechCrunch:

Zazzle Launches Custom Embroidered Clothing: Who Knew Stitching Could Be This Cool?
by Jason Kincaid on October 30, 2008

Zazzle, the site that lets you custom-design and sell everything from T-shirts and hoodies to sneakers and skateboards, has launched a new feature that may well put it leagues ahead of its competitors: embroidery. And while the prospect of having an embroidered shirt may not sound appealing at first (I’ve always associated embroidery with tacky nametags emblazoned on polo shirts), Zazzle’s new feature is very impressive and will likely draw a large number of new customers.

In the past, most custom shirt designs from Zazzle and its competitors have used flat prints that are essentially glued on top of the fabric (these are higher quality than the iron-on products you’ll find in stores, but look similar). These look fine enough on T-shirts, but tend to look much cheaper (and tackier, depending on the item of clothing) than designs that are actually sewn into the fabric, and don’t hold up as well to multiple washings. Now, Zazzle’s new embroidery option is giving users the chance to have their designs sewn into their clothes, resulting in items that are much better looking and durable.

The process for producing an embroidered item is a bit more involved than for a standard Zazzle order. After selecting a suitable (non-copyrighted) logo or design, users upload their image to Zazzle and choose how large they’d like it to appear on their pieces of clothing. Zazzle then has to “digitize” this image – converting it into a format that is compatible with their automated sewing machines. To do this Zazzle uses a computerized system that does around 50-70% of the work, and then passes the files on to a large team of human workers who manually ensure that every design accurately reflects the image that was uploaded. Prices to have an image digitized vary depending on the number of stitches required (average prices seem to be around $10-$20), and the process takes 24-48 hours. But you only need to do this once for each image – once you’ve got your digitized file, you can apply the same stitching to any item of clothing on Zazzle without having to go through the process again.

The digitization process is simple for the user (you just upload the image), but Zazzle’s Bobby and Jeff Beaver say that the technology behind it is very complex – a team of Zazzle engineers has been working on it for over two years (surprisingly enough, this custom clothing company has a heavy focus on technology, with around 30-40 engineers). The difficulty associated with the embroidery technology ensures that it will be hard to replicate by competitors, and the team has also protected its IP where appropriate. Each image has to be converted to an instruction set of stitches, maintaining the complexity of the original design while still restricting the final output to fall within the physical limitations of the sewing machines.

To ensure that the customer will be satisfied with the final product, Zazzle has built what amounts to a sewing machine emulator – you can watch a clip of how the stitching will be done in the machine, and see exactly what the final product will look like down to each individual thread. These movies are a great safeguard for customer satisfaction, but they’re also really cool – I never thought I’d find myself watching a sewing video for fun.

As with other Zazzle items, users will be able to sell their creations on the Zazzle marketplace. The Beavers say that besides their mainstream customers, this option will give professional embroiderers a place to showcase their wares, explaining that they haven’t really had a place to do so online.

Zazzle’s embroidery option is likely to be a big seller, especially as the holiday season approaches – a custom embroidered jacket or shirt makes for a great gift. The new technology also helps separate Zazzle from competitors like CafePress (which only does pseudo-embroidery using sew-on patches).

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28 Sep 2008, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Culture, Design, Technology, 1 Comments

iPod to be Accessible to the Blind


Apple has volunteered to work with the state of Massachusetts to make iTunes 8 and the new iPod nano fully accessible, unlocking music, movies, and the free lectures and other educational material in iTunes U to blind users.

According to a report by the Associated Press, John Olivera of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind said the state approached Apple for help in making the wealth of educational material in iTunes U available to blind students. 

Apple worked out an agreement with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to make iTunes fully accessible, using VoiceOver technology developed for Mac OS X Leopard to enable blind users to set up an iTunes account, access iTunes U content, purchase albums, and rent movies.

There are currently “major gaps in the online world for blind consumers” the AP story noted, but cited Coakley as saying, “Apple is the leader, they’ve become the industry standard. Other companies that compete will have to or want to do this.”

The agreement will build upon the existing accessibility features introduced in iTunes 8 to make iTunes U fully accessible by the end of the year and complete full access to remaining portions of iTunes by the end of June 2009, according to a report by Mac accessibility site Lioncourt. 

The agreement includes a three year commitment to maintaining accessibility in iTunes, and Apple also donated $250,000 to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. 

Prior to the agreement, Apple had made much of iTunes accessible with the release of initial VoiceOver support early last year. Apple enhanced VoiceOver and added Braille support in Mac OS X Leopard last fall. The company has also added Closed Captioning playback support in recent iPods and Apple TV and has provided support allowing iTunes content producers to add subtitles to their material. (Apple Insider)

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