As you can see, Ignite Living has thrown off its shackles of yesteryear and been granted new life. The site wanted new clothes for Christmas and new clothes it got, albeit a little bit early.
Over the past year or so, I’ve come to despise visual clutter. The old Ignite Living had icons everywhere, stripes of color, doodads and widgets and little chocolate bunnies. It was, to be frank, awful.
It was also mostly blue and black. And for a site called Ignite Living that doesn’t make any sense. Anyone who has seen fire or actually been on fire knows that fire is reddish. So blue is out, red is in. Cohesion.
Particulars of the site for those who care:
Most fonts are Helvetica Neue, my second favorite sans-serif font. So why didn’t I use Gill Sans which is my favorite? Because Gill Sans loves donuts and pizza and is far too fat for this minimalistic site, which has obviously been subsisting on Top Ramen and running marathons.
But don’t let that fool you, this site is still strong. Look at the sidebar and you’ll see some pretty beefy tabbed navigation, brought to you by Javascripting. For those who don’t know Javascripting from a lettuce patch, that just means this site can benchpress about 640. To keep the metaphor alive.
I’ve also learned in my recent web design experiences that just because the footer is at the bottom of the site is no reason it has to suck. So my footer actually has stuff in it other than copyright information and other snoozy stuff.
What’s coming up in 2009
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Human’s Guide to Freelance Living If you haven’t read the free version, you should. It’s good and everyone tells me so. Even the people who hate it say it’s one of the best things they’ve ever hated. Makes me proud, that.
And it’s also free, for now, which is cheaper than the pro version will be. The pro version is going to have a lot more content, will sport a workbook section and will even be illustrated by yours truly. Go get the free version now, while you still can.
- More blog posts Yeah right. Anyone who knows me is well aware that any time I say I’ll write more, it’s a guarantee that you won’t hear from me for months. Luckily, I’m aware of this particular shortcoming and have planned ahead by writing scads of new posts. Scads meaning no less than one.
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Money-making strategies This past year has been crazy, with me quitting my Comfy Corporate Quagmire and starting my own web and ebook design business. That in itself is enough. But I’ve also been investing heavily, participating in affiliate programs, creating multiple streams of income, etc.
Much more on this to come, but the bottom line is this: the only way to make money, REAL money is to have it coming in from all directions, protect it and then find ways to make it grow while you go on ignoring it. This is all going to be a pretty major part of this blog in the near future.
- Witticisms and humor galore I love to write, but I suck at blogging. That’s a seeming contradiction, but is easily explained by my hatred of feeling boxed in. I can write until the cows come home, but the second I start writing for my blogs, I feel like I need to categorize everything. For a guy who is as imaginative (read: insane) as me, feeling like I can’t go off on tangents is a death curse and is enough to stifle me. So I’m going to be going nuts here. Just watch me.
- Other stuff I’ve got more plans than you can shake a stick at. Pick up a stick and start shaking it wildly. That represents only about 1/8th of what I have going on. And again, anyone who knows me knows that when I say “Oh, I’ve got plans, sister!” it really means, “I have absolutely no idea. Not about anything.”
I hope you like the new digs. I hope you have a great holiday and New Year, however you celebrate them.
And more than anything, I hope to see you all around here in the future and get to know you even better.
Tags :
22 December 2008 @ 4am
So this is what you’ve been up to… Very nice!
I’m looking forward to that ebook, too. I have the free version and it’s worthwhile.
22 December 2008 @ 1pm
Charlie,
Glad to hear that ignoring your money is going to be a big part of your 2009. It was a big part of my 2008, and my 2007, and…
Wait. This was about you.
Well, I always thought of high school science with all the blue and the flame motif (bunsen burner trauma), and that worked for me, but y’know, flamey-colored could be good, too. You know how much I adore your spare design sense, so more spare=more better. Be-autiful. Sleek.
And howcome that Chartrand guy always hears about everything first?
Good luck on finding someone to shake a stick at all your plans. I’ll peek in, often, but I’m not gullible enough to shake a stick for you. 
Regards,
Kelly
22 December 2008 @ 1pm
*ahem* ‘Fraid that last bit might sound odd.
What I meant was…
Oh, nevermind.
22 December 2008 @ 1pm
I have a whip I crack, but I don’t recall a stick I could shake…
22 December 2008 @ 2pm
Heh. Charlie’s seen your whip a bit too often, darlin’. That’s why I can’t get enough Ignite Living to satisfy me. So leave that whip hanging on the wall for a while, eh?
22 December 2008 @ 2pm
I was responsible for November. Not responsible for half of December. Just grab the right weeks, lady!
Finally...a book on freelancing that's not just about taxes, client acquisition and time management.
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