bellafaith has come a long way

i've been super busy the past few months, but i finally had time in between projects to finish bellafaith's redesign! originally, i chose bright colors for summer, intending to change the colors to correspond with the seasons. however, now it is technically fall and i've only just launched the bright colors! maybe i'll switch the colors out in a month or so... if i can wait that long! i love fall colors {the golds, browns, oranges, deep reds, etc}!! but i'm also a big fan of that purple....

you can probably see now why the redesign was in development for so long. as a designer, i am always getting new creative ideas and i am my own worst client. for my clients, i will sketch out a design {on paper} and then lay it out visually in photoshop. after any changes are made and the client approves the design, then i'll actually code the website. i tend to skip a lot of that when i design for myself and just "wing it". not recommended {as Francisco Inchauste points out. maybe i'll actually follow the rules with my next redesign {it sure would make things a lot easier}.

so, before i unveil the new site, let's start at the beginning. i launched bellafaith design about 13 months ago with this design:

my first website

then, i decided to play with flash a little bit. i added a landing page where the visitor could select whether they wanted to view the html {version above} or this flash design:

my flash website

well, i got annoyed with the landing page {as most visitors do - who wants that extra step?}, so i started looking to redesign. i really liked the idea behind the horizontal way, so i created a simple site using javascript to scroll the site horizontally:

my first real redesign

and then, i decided i wanted some more color & fun to bellafaith's site. plus, i wanted to use cufon, so i redesigned. it took a few months to work on the site, but here it is now:

ta-da! it's bright & fun!

i was so excited when i launched the site last night, and that excitement has grown as i've already seen a triple increase in traffic to www.bellafaithdesign.com! so now that the site is finally up, maybe i'll actually have time to update you on all the projects i've been working on lately!

finally, a real entry!

I originally used this blog to test blogger designs, without the intent on ever writing anything. This blog has been "up" for almost a year with just a "test blog entry" & I figured it was finally time to write something real. However, I've been trying to come up with how I should officially start this blog. I have now come to the conclusion that I should just start with some background info on myself.

I've always had a passion for design. Growing up, I wanted to be a Fashion Designer. I held my own fashion shows and loved everything about clothes. During high school, my design focus changed and I wanted to become an Architect. I went to Kansas State University for Architecture, for a semester. After spending so much time in studio that first semester, I was bored of drawing lines & wanted something else. I changed my major to Advertising and with that lost my out-of-state tuition waiver (something K-State does for those majoring in Architecture & live in Missouri), so I transferred to the University of Missouri.

I was at MU for a full year (even took summer classes) and actually worked for an Architect (one of my two jobs, the other was at Abercrombie & Fitch, so both design related, right?). After my Fall semester at MU, I transferred to the college in my hometown (a mixture of things led to my transfer). So, I started design classes with my other Advertising curriculum at Northwest Missouri State University & I was immediately in love with graphic design.

I took classes for 2 semesters and due to other things going on in my life, moved to Kansas City without finishing. I worked in a jewelry store and then took a career in the financial industry (yes, design took a backseat at that time). My husband & I were married a few months later and eleven months after that were blessed with our first daughter. I stayed home with her and a year later, we were blessed with our second daughter. Sixteen months later, we have been blessed with our third child, this time a little boy.

A few months after our second daughter was born, I was ready to unleash my creative passion. I started my own graphic & web design business. I had purchased some books before she was born & didn't get around to reading them until after she was here. From reading the books and various online resources, I taught myself web design with valid html, xhtml & css. I learned how to hand code, since I couldn't afford the software needed at that time. The only software I used was Adobe Photoshop Elements & Notepad. Once I could afford it, I invested in an Adobe Creative Suite 4 package. I have also learned some php and javascript. I want to become even more knowledgeable about these and learn how to use and apply Flash.

My first website

I named my business after my 2 daughters (this was before I knew we were pregnant with #3) & my Christian faith. I have other business venture ideas (all relative to design) & hope to launch them soon. I plan to use this blog to experiment with designs, showcase current projects, and also share resources with other fellow designers (or wannabe designers). So there you go, more info about me than you needed (or wanted) to know.