Launching Real Soon

Posted by Shaza Hakim on June 1, 2010

Up to this hour, we’re still doing last minute removal of things from the original Stampede v3 design. With the amount of content we’re dealing with – 24 dissected portfolio pieces at last count – 8 months of detailing work on weekend and after hours don’t seem at all extravagant.

All in all, I spent around 180 hours of design time and that’s not only because of the level of complexity involved, but mostly the routine of going macro when everything is done, then removing almost half of it.

I still do incremental design change after sending the templates for Joomlafication, some so minute that only the most observant will notice. If we don’t have our own internal programming powerhouse, I can only imagine the costly bleeding.

Because this is the most ambitious project we have done for ourselves just yet, tension does run high and heated arguments over design vs code were so commonplace that when we finally come to an agreement, it was worth sitting back to take in what just happened. Such is the merry partnership I have with Dov.

It took 4 major revisions, countless minor ones, a bit of going back and forth with the rest of the team for valuable insight (whether to place this element or that on the right or left or scrap it altogether). Stampede v3 was almost a practice of convoluted layering (up to 400 at last count) to achieve a particular blend, testing out new composition for different content type, revising typography properties. Let me not bore you. Needless to say, it required plenty of patience as well.

Though I must say the only constant throughout the revisions was our signature color red. Our new logo and branding does not go through multiple iterations like most design agencies do. The branding – if you can call it that – was a split second decision of deciding what embodies Stampede. After that was decided and validated by the rest of the team, we now have a new logo, polished and all but still represents the very same identity.

Stampede has been very blessed and lucky, to say the least. We have a good score of clients who pretty much leave most design and development decision to us. We also get smart young people generous enough with their passion and time to become part of our team. I felt it’s about time for us to share values that have prevailed since Stampede’s very early days so we have designed and built a special page for this. As co-policymaker at Stampede, I probably have more fun with the Values page than most people expected.

So when v3 is finally launched, you may find it look way simpler than the actual effort – I sure hope so after the many hours spent mulling over what to safely remove and what to keep.

But then again, Stampede’s own website design has always been a sort of escapism for us from daily client requirements. It’s something we don’t do everyday and probably will never do again. For that reason alone, I know a few more days of punishing pixels is worth it.

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What I Like About Webcamp KL

Posted by Shaza Hakim on May 28, 2010

“Where you finally associate faces to names you often hear blogging and follow, maybe even stalk, on Twitter.”

Shaza Hakim thinks WebCamp KL has the goods and gets the maddening itch to tell people about it. Shaza is the Creative Lead at Stampede.

So yesterday was Stampede’s second time attending the Kuala Lumpur chapter of WebCamp, hosted by MindValley. Webcamp, to borrow the term, is a series of free events in the spirit of BarCamp with specific focus on topics related to “working” on the internet. It’s a great place to catch up with the Malaysian web community and finally associate faces to names you often hear blogging and follow, maybe even stalk, on Twitter.

On to the reasons why I dig Webcamp KL…

The Gathering of Stampede

We’re working remotely, all of us. Dov and I in Langkawi, Shaiful in KL, Syazwan in Ipoh and Anita in Banda Aceh. Sometimes we gather in Langkawi for some little island time, sometimes we meet in the city to welcome new team members and chat with potential partnering prospects – idylic but nothing consistent. So WebCamp is about as frequent as it gets for us to meet each other every month. It’s also convenient excuse to sound all-important (and ridiculously pompous) “Oh sorry I won’t be around this week, heading to Kay-Eyl for a web development conference”.

Above all, any opportunity to meet and hang out with the team, having good time screaming at each other’s ears at the “after-party” (read: high-decible char kuey tiaw stalls) is a must-go. No exclusion.

Meeting Smart Malaysian Webheads

I don’t know who coined the term “webheads” but if it means being part of the “web eco-system” (who coined that one now?), count me in.

I meet heavyweight Malaysian web developers who talk about intriguing things like the mathematics of social web interaction, how minute tweakings dictate your online sales conversion and how determining the good side of your profile shot is crucial for an effective social branding. These are perhaps things that start to grow on you after 10-15 hours of exclusive Googling, but it brings substance when you listen to the condensed summary of it delivered by a next-door geek unlike yourself, born and bred in Malaysia, who probably enjoys a frothy cup of teh tarik too afterwards.

High-Profile, Schmo-Profile

There are a few celebrated figures in Malaysian web industry who are yet to grace the event, but I’m more than happy to meet the real deals – people who do amazing web work yet remain relatively low profile by choice.

Most who attend are active web people, professionals of their turf. And by professional I don’t mean the ubiquitous aesthetic quality but rather the fact that this is a full time commitment. That and the responsibility of getting damn good at it.

There’s a different type of camaraderie – that silent nod you give each other to acknowledge whatever war stories you have. Working webheads make a different group altogether. You are not college students making extra bucks doing safe design for mass purchase. You have clients to plan great things with, schedules to manage, team members to rally around and devise devilish things.

You also have bills to pay, spouses who worry you’re not doing much else besides switching from one screen to the next, parents having touble explaining what you do to curious neighbours. There is no other safety net, no try-outs but damn it if you don’t love every minute of it.

Gizmo Parade

Alright, at the peril of sounding like an insufferable out-of-towner, I saw the first iPads (two of ‘em) and Nexus One on a Webcamp. With MacBooks and iPhones, it’s almost like walking into an Apple-sponsored affair. And let’s not forget the Wonder Woman life-size model and statuette in every corner. Make no mistake, the web is a boys’ club and no place is more prevalent in its dude-ness than a web event. Though strangely, it’s nice to be one of the girls who play with boys too.

The Tweets

Like most web-related events, Twitter is heavily bombarded with #wckl hashtags as the event unfolds. We have livestreaming and if you’re stucked in traffic jam, chances are your fellow webbers will be wondering out kindly with a tweet.

I’ve always been a passive participant – I like to listen and make notes. You’ll see me nod occassionally when a topic validates – that’s as vocal as I get.

Now Twitter allows me to absorb the content and timeline of an event at my convenience. I can go back to and scan through everybody’s hashtags and say “yeah I thought what that dude said was spot on too!”.

You can probably tell by now that I don’t go to many events if trivial things like this makes me excited. You’re right. I don’t. But I sure go to the right event if I were to check on the tweets afterwards.

Wu Han

Finally, I think I speak for everyone when I say Ngeow Wu Han is the star of the show. The resident creative director at MindValley, he is the main driving force behind the conception of WebCamp KL and probably the Jay Z among Malaysian web designers. Working for a company geared towards the more lucrative American and international segment of the market, he’s quite the visionary to look back into the scarce inner circle of working webbers in Malaysia. It gives many of us a rare but clear glimpse that we have something really special brewing here.

Web Baby FTW

WebcampKL 4 was super special because four hours later, a baby Ngeow was born into the web world. Congratulations to proud parents @ngeow and @salameander. Now if we can get more webbers to procreate, we can introduce some hope to the population and usher in Malaysia’s Vision 2020 goal (sheesh am I really writing this?) in full tech gear and style.

(photos from WebcampKL on facebook by the multi-talented @dannyfoo)

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In Absolute Awe of Irina Vinnik

Posted by Shaza Hakim on May 15, 2010

Irina Vinnik is an illustrator and designer from St Petersburg, Russia. I can read a little of Russian but you don’t have to speak the language to appreciate the painstaking details she perfected in each of her elaborate illustrations. Her first book published recently, “The World of Dolls: Stories and Legends”, probably excites designers more than their children.

Come to think of it, there are many better designers out there robbed of their deserving limelight because they are not in it for the fame. In the end, it’s the craft that matters.

Hers is no ordinary design work and I’m still awed, so I’m going to cut my post short here. You can also see Irina’s portfolio on Bēhance. Enjoy.

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