Having your own website is such a great feeling!

It's just that it becomes a pain when you have to update it regularly (and apparently laziness isn't a virtue)... The ability to put out fresh content is so important in our Google-obsessed world.

That's why I love the quick results you can get with a content-management system setup on your site. My clients often ask me about these, so below are a summary of the best 3 (please note that they are in no particular order or preference - each have their own merits and quirks):

Joomla - http://www.joomla.org/
Joomla! is one of the best and most widely used CMS applications. It is suitable for creating corporate websites or intranets, online magazines, community-based portals and much more. It has numerous built-in features as well as a large selection of extra modules and components which will enhance the value of your website and will enrich your visitors' experience.

Drupal - http://drupal.org/
With Drupal you can easily build many different types of web pages - from simple web blogs to large online communities. Drupal design is not as fanciful as that of Joomla, but it is very easy to customize, has built-in search tools and search-engine friendly URL's as an extra module, discussion capabilities and news aggregator, as well as much more.

Wordpress - http://wordpress.org/
Wordpress is the most popular blog application on the net. Because of its popularity and enormous community, it has evolved a lot from its original purpose, and now you can use it to manage a complex content-driven website much more easily.

These 3 popular Content Management Systems (CMS) empower users to take more control of their content output.

So when it comes to updating website content - do I prefer plain or managed? I prefer managed wherever possible (although there are some situations where plain is best).

How have you found your journey with CMS websites?

Digital Design (Spring 2011)
Oklahoma State University
Professor Justen Renyer
Illustrator, Soundbooth, Cinema 4D, After Effects

This Kinetic Typography project was created from the dialogue of Conan O'Brien's final episode of The Tonight Show on NBC. In this farewell address, he describes his feelings towards NBC and the situation at hand. His personality exudes positivity and humor allowing this dialogue to describe his character very well. Even through the hardships of leaving NBC he promotes hard work and kindness.

The concept behind this video is to show Conan O'Brien as a the monumental entertainer and solid wall that he is. Conan O'Brien is and will continue to be a seasoned television entertainer. After drawing inspiration from Lou Dorfsman's Gastrotypographicalassemblage, this concept was achieved by creating a literal wall from over 60 individual typographic layouts. These custom crafted layouts reference a variety of vintage type design. The combination of vintage styled typography and modern 3D letter forms achieved in Cinema 4D provides a contrast between old and new. This contrast emphasizes time to create a sturdy and timeless object. This solidity and timelessness is the perfect representation of Conan O'Brien.

Have you seen this incredible Levi's viral ad? A person walks coast-to-coast across America in stop motion. It's basically a commercial, but the effect is genuine. A group of guys traveled across the US, grabbing one shot at a time:

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One of the most positive and feel-good advertising campaigns you might ever see!