Joseph Thiebes

Mr. Clown is Bringing Creepy Back

When Paul Weir, creator of Mr. Clown, came to me with his idea for a new website, I was thrilled to take on the project and be a part of this  creative work.

Mr. Clown “… teaches the children of the world the importance of following the rules and doing as they’re told.” Mr. Clown teaches his lessons in the most creepy way possible, of course, since Mr. Clown is also a serial killer who wields a machete and hangs out under your bed or in your closet, waiting for you to forget to brush your teeth.

Paul was looking for a comic site that would allow him to post his comics on a regular basis without having to learn the skills of a webmaster. He also wanted to have merchandise available for purchase and to connect everything to online social networks like Facebook, Buzz, and Twitter.

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending the launch party (dubbed “Mr. Clown’s Super Sweet Sixteen”) to celebrate the brand new website and Mr. Clown’s debut. It was great fun and included live music and food, along with hand-colored images of Mr. Clown for sale.

Do you need a website to showcase your creative work? Working with a shoestring budget and want to have the ability to make your own updates to the site? Contact me via e-mail or simply make an appointment, and we can sit down to discuss your needs.

Mr. Clown, serial killer lesson clown.

Jerry Hall of Fish With Me shows his latest record-breaking catch.

My latest website project is for a fishing adventure company in Vancouver, Washington, called Fish With Me, which offers tournaments and fishing trips to Baja / East Cape and other prime fishing locations.

This website was fun and gratifying to build. It was a major redesign from an older site, and was more than ready for a fresh look and some modernization, to make it bright and inviting. We reorganized the information, remodeled, added a blog, and created profiles for Buzz, Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, and Youtube.

This site is an example of how a small business or individual can start building a community around their services or any topic of interest with a few simple tools. It is to these small businesses and individuals that I hope to bring the full power of the web with customized, professional graphics and layout.

Do you need to modernize? Want to have the ability to make your own updates without advanced HTML skills? Whether you are in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area or elsewhere, email me or make an appointment to discuss your needs.

Fish With Me

The stories I hear from my clients sometimes make me cringe. There are many companies out there advertising website design and hosting, but instead these companies simply resell you a website that was created automatically while charging ridiculously high prices for the website and the monthly hosting fees. With competition like this, my services advertise themselves as the word spreads and my clients tell their friends and colleagues.

Don’t pay a high price for poor service.

I have lost count of the number of people who have told me about being taken in by these companies and individuals. The story is always very similar:

1. Client pays hundreds of dollars for a website.
2. Company provides a website with pre-packaged design and little to no customization.
3. Client pays hundreds of dollars per month for “maintenance” or “management” of their site.
4. Company does little to no maintenance or management, but simply collects the money.
5. Any actual maintenance issues (even minor corrections to text) take weeks, even months to complete.
6. Client eventually hires a real website designer and saves hundreds of dollars – and headaches! — every month.

Get excellent service, reasonably priced.

Perhaps it is just me, but I think most business owners would want to go straight to that final step. Utilizing my services as a website designer, and taking advantage of the strategic partnerships I have developed with Information Technology professionals, will not only save you money but bring you peace of mind. When you hire me to design, build, and/or move your existing website, you will enjoy the following benefits:

• Local, personal service: Are you in Portland, Oregon? Call me on the phone and meet me for coffee to talk about your business and describe your vision for the website. You might even run into me at the grocery store, buying ingredients for my next quiche.
• Building your business identity from scratch? I’ll design your logo and find a color palette for your business according to the ideas and moods you want to convey, and I’ll make all your publicity and advertising materials match — online or in print.
• Even if you start with a simple and plain template, you’ll have my assistance in getting it to work the way you want. We can always add graphic design later.
• If you want to maintain your website yourself, I will be happy to sit down with you and show you how to make changes, post blog entries, and even install plugins if you want to explore.
• Monthly hosting fees are only $20 per month. If you need me to make changes to your site for you, I’ll give you a quote before starting work.

A distinction that makes a difference.

When you hire me to build your website, you can rest assured that the money is staying in the local economy, and that I will likewise spend it responsibly on bike parts and organic groceries. You’ll also have a website that you can be proud of, and which you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for!

Welcome to the new home of thiebes.org technology consulting and graphic design. Check back here for news, updates, and more information about my work. Do browse through my consulting, website design, and graphic artwork by clicking the links at the top of the page.