It’s that time of year again, and 3thought would like to wish all our friends a very Happy New Year. The annual New Year’s card has gone out and we hope it inspires you to achieve greatness throughout the upcoming year. We have once again adapted our original card illustration to wallpaper for your various digital devices. Enjoy!

• 320 x 480 (iPhone 3G and 3GS)
• 640 x 960 (iPhone 4G)
• 1024 x 768 (iPad)
• 1280 x 800
• 1280 x 960 (widescreen)
• 1440 x 900
• 1440 x 1050 (widescreen)
• 1600 x 1200
• 1680 x 1050 (widescreen)
• 1920 x 1200 (widescreen)

(Control Click the link you want and select “Download Linked File As…” or for PC users Right Click on the link you want and select “Save Target As…”)

Big thanks to everyone who supported us through 2011. We wish you all the best.

• Read More in the Patriot Ledger
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1. A good read we found this week is entitled: How to Steal like an Artist (and 9 other things nobody ever told me), by Austin Kleon. There’s some great advice in there about how to live life on your terms. The part that really resonated with us was Austin’s theory about how young artists can be successful. He says the key is to “Make good stuff, and put it where people can find it“. This has always been the underlying belief behind our business. When we started, we knew we had experience and we were good at what we do. But as a newly formed company, 3thought had no reputation. So how do you building a reputation? You make good stuff, and then you put it where people can find it. It’s a slow process. It can be frustrating at times because we all want instant gratification. But if you look at the jobs we’re working on today, many come from the reputation we’ve built over the course of our careers, and especially the past 2 years at 3thought.
2. Last Saturday marked our second birthday. 3thought has been creating good stuff for over two years! If you’re interested in seeing a bunch of this good stuff, we encourage you to check out our portfolio. One bit of caution though… If you only view our portfolio, you’re only seeing one piece of the puzzle. Yes, it’s a very important piece, but to be successful you need to do lots of other things, too. You need to run your business efficiently and not have high overhead. You have to answer the phone when clients call, be responsive, and be accountable. If you say you’re going to do something, you need to make damn well sure you do it. Don’t just do it to get it done, but do it to the best of your ability. To be successful these days, you have to create a website, and a blog, and a facebook page and a twitter page, and go to networking events, and conferences and meetings, and have a product that people want. Listen to your clients. Listen to the consumers. But most of all, you need to love what you do and you must be good at it.
3. Life is way too short, so make sure you fill your life with good things. Good family, good friends, good work, good food, good music, good books, good design.

If you design websites, the question you most often hear is:
“How much is a website?”

This is not an easy question to answer, and the easiest way we have found to explain why is to ask “Well, how much is a house?” This instantly resets your frame of mind. We, as people who are familiar with living in homes, understand that houses come in all shapes and sizes. They offer different amenities and features and levels of quality. We all know that those factors affect the price.

Here are some examples to help you value your options for a website.

Pre-Owned & Furnished Condos

These are those do-it-yourself website builders. The cost to gain entry is generally pretty low which makes them seem very attractive. But they were essentially designed for someone else (a generic someone else). You don’t have a lot of control over the set-up and general aesthetic. Pretty much you just move in your furniture (i.e. some copy and images), and make it work. Although this is fine for some people, many find it restrictive to live within the rules that someone else set up.

Image via Wikipedia

Modular Homes

This style of website generally involves purchasing a template and having it customized. You get to pick a base design, and then you can upgrade with add-on features. You will work with a designer to decorate everything to your taste. Here, you have more options to get the features that are right for you, and generally this is still a pretty affordable option. However, if you decide that you want a modification that isn’t part of the standard options list, it can get very costly and cause more than a few headaches.

Custom-Built Houses

Here you get it your way. Every part of the layout, every finish, each and every tiny detail was created just for you. You work with a team to architect exactly what you need and then they get work to build it to your exact specification. These types of website generally have a higher initial cost, but can provide greater value because they are exactly what you want/need and generally you are more satisfied with them in the long term. Just as you can custom build a 2-room cottage and a 23-room fully automated mansion, there is still a wide range within this category.

So, what does this mean…

Well, it means you should follow a similar process for purchasing a website as you do your home.

1. Make a list of all your must have features.
2. Make a list of your nice to have features.
3. Decide how much sweat equity you are willing to invest. (this would be upfront copywriting and design as well as on-going maintenance)
4. Look at your budget and come up with what you can realistically afford.
5. Realize that you may have to adjust your expectations.
6. Select the best value for you knowing it may be more or less than someone else.

If you would ever like to discuss your options for creating a website for your business, we’d love to grab a coffee and chat. Drop us a line via our contact page.

We, at 3thought, like to take a cue from our design idols at Apple and try to “think different.” For that reason, we opt to send out a New Year’s Card to all our clients and friends. This year’s card got such a positive response, we decided to adapt the art to desktop wallpaper for everyone to enjoy.  Pick your size and download from the list below.

• 320 x 480 (iPhone 3G and 3GS)
• 640 x 960 (iPhone 4G)
• 1024 x 768 (iPad)
• 1280 x 800
• 1280 x 960 (widescreen)
• 1440 x 900
• 1440 x 1050 (widescreen)
• 1600 x 1200
• 1680 x 1050 (widescreen)
• 1920 x 1200 (widescreen)

(Control Click the link you want and select “Download Linked File As…” or for PC users Right Click on the link you want and select “Save Target As…”)

Thank you to everyone who supported us through 2010. We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.