Phos Lighting and Electrical Website Design

Phos Lighting and Electrical, based in Tulsa OK, recently came to me with a request to redesign their website.

Main Design Challenge:
Merge two existing websites, one for Outdoor Lighting and one for Electrical Services, under one site and the Phos identity. The company started with only Outdoor Lighting services but have now grown to specialize in five different areas within the company that all needed equal emphasis when visiting the new website.

Here's a quick look at the newly redesigned Phos Lighting and Electrical website. You can also view the full website at www.phoselectric.com

Time to catch up!

It's been a crazy busy, but great year.. time to do some catching up on the blog and website! Before I pull together my thoughts for a new post, here's a quick peek at the new website we just launched this month for Pearsons Ministries International.. LOVE these guys!

Sammy Morris Football Camps | Photography and Design

Just recently finished a photoshoot and design work for Sammy Morris Football Camps. The camps are led by Devin Lemons, former line backer for the Washington Redskins, and Sammy Morris, running back for the New England Patriots. They have been a ton of fun to work with and gave me complete control over the design and photography from start to finish... love clients like that! Below are several images from the photoshoot and a look at the poster, brochure and website designs.

All images © Rebecca Siegrist and MorrisLemonsInnovations. Unauthorized use prohibited.

Additional rotating images for the large spotlight area on the main page:

A Website Facelift

Personally I like change, just for the sake of change at times. I rearrange furniture, repaint wall colors, change out my desktop image, and change work environments (Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, backyard, etc.)... keeps things from getting stale (love Webster's definition: "tedious from familiarity").

When it comes to a website there is typically a large investment of time and money up front to establish the look and framework. If designed and programmed well initially, the layout and functionality should work for years to come, so a complete redesign should not be necessary, nor would it be financially smart. However, I love a website facelift and often recommend for my clients to do one yearly. Small changes and updates, made within the existing framework, can add new interest and life to an existing site, all for a much smaller cost than a complete redesign. If a return visitor notices even small changes they are likely to browse through your entire site again, reinforcing your brand and content in their memory.

Below is a simple example of a facelift I recently worked on for the Northstar Church website. First image is the current website, second is the updated version.

New C1design.com Website + Slideshow Pro Highlight

Finally finished the C1design.com website redesign and updates! I'm not a web programmer by any means so it's quite the effort for me to do my own website. Still a few rough edges to smooth out but if you have feedback or suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Just to note, I do not do any of the programming on my client websites. I bring on one of several trusted programmers to work with... I keep my personal focus on continually growing in design and photography.

Slideshow Pro - Slideshows in a Snap!
Slideshow Pro is a Flash based slideshow application for creating and displaying slideshows.. without having to know or use Flash! I used it to create all of the slideshow galleries on my new site. Best part, it was only $35 to download the Adobe Lightroom version! Check out their website for all of the application options and uses: slideshowpro.net

Texture Use and Overlays + Free Downloads

Whether doing design work or photography, I love using textures. In design, when done in a subtle, appropriate way, it can add depth and interest to an otherwise flat and stale piece. Recently a client and friend of mine, photographer Kimberly Jarman, asked me to work on an update for her blog background. Instead of the typical full page "repeating pattern" background, I used a mix of textures over a gradient. Both Kim and I love how this turned out! You can view her full blog at www.kimberlyjarman.net.

Texture Use in Photography
Years ago I started to notice different fine art photographers use of texture and began working with some on my own photography. I love the way it can transform an image into an art piece, create an aged look, or simply something unique. Below are a few examples, showing the original photo and the textured version. These were all created using either one simple texture overlay in Photoshop (typically the Linear Burn, Multiply, or Overlay Blending Mode) or in some cases I used multiple textures with additional dodging, burning or edits to the image.

Free Textures
Whether you're looking for textures to include in design or photography here's a free, high-res texture to download (shown in the first image set above): Click Here for Free Texture Download


Also, a simple Google search for "Free Textures" will bring up dozens of freebies online... here are just a few that I've used:
Free Textures on Flicker
Free B&W + Grunge Textures
CGTextures.com