Thursday, 12 August 2010

Week 2: Home sweet home

We're in! I kind of expected an office to be a "nice to have".  I didn't expect it to be something we'd sort out in the second official week.  We've only committed for three months, and it isn't using up too much of our precious cash, so it feels like a good move.  Thanks to Nerys and Charlotte at for getting us in so quickly.

In other developments, we've been using to create the mock-ups for our software.  So far the experience has been more positive than negative, and at just $59 for the year, it is certainly great value for money.  We have our first usability review tonight, and if it goes well then it's a big step towards understanding how our software will actually feel when using it.

After our unhappy experience with we took a different approach to find a designer.  We decided to only look at freelancers, because we felt you get more for your money and we decided to only look at people in Brighton and Hove because we wanted to be able to meet them easily.  So we got onto, searched the directories, and then we went through all the websites reviewing their portfolios.  It is incredible to me why a freelance designer wouldn't have a decent website.  If any of you are reading this, here are my tips as a potential client: get a website, make it usable not an art project, put your contact details, oh and make it clear you want me to call you no matter what project it is.

We had a meet-up with the designer we found, he's a great guy and we're kicking things off straight away. A good designer is another thing we've decided we can't scrimp on.  If the software doesn't make the users feel the way we want them to then it'll fail, and that really would be a waste of money.

Finally, today is our first roadmap lunch.  We wanted a way to let Mike explore the excitement he has for the future without being an interruption to our development.  Development needs momentum, and interruptions are a killer.  Of course, Mike's imagination and excitement is what made this company possible, so we don't want that lost either. So, we have a designated lunch hour each week, Mike runs it, and we don't get stressed that we should be coding. Should be fun.

Excitement levels:  Can't talk... coding.


  1. Looks as though things are progressing nicely, long may that continue for you three :)

  2. There are so many great designers and illustrators in Brighton it does seem crazy to not utilise the wealth of talent in your own city.

    Excellent news!

    Good luck with the rest of the day.

  3. Thanks guys, we've made a lot of progress in a short space of time. Now... just to make some money somewhere.