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International Literacy Day

Tech Warrior — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 11:45:00 +0000

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
—B.B. King

IInternational Literacy Day marks the importance of communication. You are a formidable force when you have mastered the ability to communicate - be it in writing, speech and even thought.

According to the United Nations, more than 717 million people around the world, both children and adults, have a severe lack of literacy skills. This is both alarming, but also eye opening.

Imagine you're not able to understand a written instruction for your work, or to cook something as simple as spaghetti? Granted, through learned experience and over a period of time, one can learn how to make pasta al dente, but it doesn't change the fact that you can't order off a menu, understand which offramp to take, potentially how much something costs - the list seemingly just grows and grows.

Here in South Africa we have LITASA (The Literacy Association of South Africa), a volunteer-run member body with the primary purpose of promoting literacy. Through research, sharing of best practice and community collaboration, they aim to grow a strong literacy community.

Where possible, what can you do to make an impact and help nurture and guide future readers, thinkers and speakers to a world relieved of illiteracy - share them with us!

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No growth without change

Tech Warrior — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 12:25:08 +0000

Many a false step was made by standing still.
—Tim Ferriss

Following on from my previous article — another lesson which I've had trouble with is time management; be it related to a project or a daily task. Maybe I'll update my slogan to:

Adapt. Be open. Be clear. Be timeous.

It's not something that changes overnight. Developing good, healthy habits and setting yourself daily targets or goals is a good place to start though. I am fond of taking a process in my personal and professional life and optimising it, ultimately reducing the amount of time it takes to get it done.

In my personal life, I've grappled with sleep. I don't tend to get enough of it, either because I'm watching online lectures, or trying to watch every TEDed video available... However; in the last month I decided to pick up mountain biking again, and you need A LOT of sleep in the build up to and recover from the treks.

I have my first competition at the end of April. I have no doubt it will be a slog, but it has given me a short term goal to chip away at on a regular basis - in more ways than I can mention here - it has made me become more cognizant of how I use my time specifically around my training regime, when I train and how much time I spend training.

Professionally, over the last few weeks I have set myself the goal of generating eye catching graphic designs on a weekly basis. I have tried to create a minimum of 5 new designs per week; sometimes I manage, sometimes I don't - but what I am doing is honing my craft on a continual basis - optimising it through consistency. I'm no digital Monet or Picasso yet, but I know I'll be there by the end of the year.

Time management skills are something which can be developed. I've found that using 'Carrots and Sticks' motivates me best. Setting goals which are achievable, but still push me, harbour better results. The Pomodoro Technique has helped with my workflow during the day, helping again optimise my time management.

Lastly, the 5 minute journal has been a blessing. Essentially I set aside 5 minutes in the mornings and choose three things I’m thankful for; three things I would like to have happen during the day and a daily affirmation for myself. In the evenings I again set aside another 5 minutes and take stock of what made the day great overall and then I choose three things that I could have done to make the day more productive, more insightful or better in any way. Through 10 minutes of introspection, I am incrementally improving my daily habits and it pays great dividends.

As the header image indicates - there is no growth without change.

As we’re moving into autumn I believe it's the season for change!

Cheers

What do you think of the following Tech Warrior logo?

Should we have started using it 5 minutes ago or should we stick with our trusty shield?

Whichever you think is best, drop us an email share your thoughts with us!

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A thrifty passion for bric-a-brac

Tech Warrior — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 16:10:16 +0000

Thrift, as defined by the Merriam-Webster english dictionary, is the careful management, especially of money. Thrifting then, is the action of spending a set amount of money to maximise the total amount of goods one will receive, similarly to someone who is frugal.

Thrifting is often associated to shopping, either for antiques, gently used clothing items, books and the like. The list goes on. It's the idea of reduce, recycle, repurpose that comes to mind and this is what Zoe at Still Life has a great enthusiasm, skill and passion for.

Nestled in and amongst other arty-crafty restaurants and shops in the Linden suburbs, Zoe has established for herself an attractive shop filled with all manner of wonderful bric-a-brac. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for either for yourself, a loved one or a work colleague there's a 110% chance Zoe can assist.

When Tech Warrior set out on this particular website journey the overriding desire was to create something that reflected the space Zoe had created. A vibrant, fresh and quirky shop which is open to all, and appreciated by many.

Bottling Zoe's creativity and mixing it with Tech Warrior's understanding has resulted in a website that is both energizing and practical. Thank you, Zoe, for choosing Tech Warrior to develop a website that is as charming as your store!

Read Zoe's feedback below:

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

Matthew and Tristan had previously designed and printed my business cards and they were delightful, so using Tech Warrior was an easy decision

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

The only hesitation was, possibly the price involved as I was on a tight budget

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The professional approach to the brief and asking good, solid, questions

Showing me the different layouts for the website and in so doing it made the visual aspect easier for me to plan my story

Keeping me updated on the progress made and setting a date and time for work entailed

Regards

Zoe Leesam

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Finding certainty in uncertain times

Tech Warrior — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 15:26:49 +0000

The world of money, be it digital or physical, is a nebulous, living 'thing'. Like energy it moves around, it bounces between people and organisations. It can move from one country, state or province to another. It never sleeps. Much like opportunities which are waiting to be capitalised on.

When Tech Warrior first started this project, there was some learning that needed to be done. What is an arbitrage trade? How can you make an income out of it and more importantly how were we going to develop a website to help explain what this is all about.

Tech Warrior and the South African Bitcoin Arbitrage (SABCA) team first spent some time bouncing ideas off one another, learning more about what each organisation has achieved and hopes to achieve all the while focussing on the end goal - create a website that demystifies, enables and empowers its visitors around all things arbitrage related.

Thank you to the SABCA team for their continued engagement to create something marvelous, functional and educational.

Read the feedback from SABCA's founder, Chris Broekman, below:

Blockchain is the tech. Bitcoin is merely the first mainstream manifestation of its potential.
—Marc Kenigsberg

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

I saw that you had built a website for Roman Cabanac's the Morning shot podcast.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

Whether you had the technical ability to integrate my Json endpoint to the site.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

Good communication

Affordable for a new and unproven business that is being "bootstrapped"

Talented developers.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

For my site I really want it to sell my mailing list so that I can get a bigger audience. I feel like a bigger list of options for integrating MailChimp campaigns would be a big selling point. e.g. Pop ups when clients visit the site to sign up with the mailing list.

Thanks and regards.
Chris Broekman

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Pockets of excellence

Tech Warrior — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 16:52:58 +0000

To write or not to write, that is the question...

When one recalls similarly famous lines you are transported either into a high school English classroom or a theatre; I much prefer the latter!

On the western edge of Johannesburg, in Ferreiras Dorp, is an organisation lending support to aspiring South African artists. Offering these talented artisans a platform to share their thoughts and passions to an audience as well as other accordant maestros.

The Tin Town Theatre venue and surrounds hold both historical and cultural significance. It was founded by Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) CEO, Marcus Desando and is currently run by the talented Tshepo Ratona with the aid of Phumeza Damane. The space offers both up and coming as well as established artists an opportunity to stage performances, learn and encourage collaborations.

Working with Tshepo on this website was fantastic. The shared insights taken from our respective professions allowed the melding of theatrical artistic vision and expression with the progressive drawing board of web development. Thank you, Tshepo, for choosing Tech Warrior to develop Tin Town's website.

Read on below to see Tshepo's feedback:

Thank you so very much for your talents and effort. We at The Tin Town Theatre NPC, truly appreciate.
—Tshepo Ratona
Producer
Tin Town Theatre

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

The moment I saw the Website from Johannesburg Opera, I knew I wanted to meet and have a great relationship with the company that designed it. Its beautiful, creative and well thought out, that is what made me want to work with Tech Warrior.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

I had absolutely no hesitations, I made up my mind when I first saw your work.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The kind service, the openness and the effort to truly understand what the client needed and how you could possibly help them.

The turn around times and the constant communication to ensure that we remain in the same page.

The list of options that were basically the best and I had a heart time choosing what the project should look like in the end because all options were carefully created with an effort.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

I got the best services I wouldn’t know what could possibly change.

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Moving, feeling and learning

Tech Warrior — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:36:11 +0000

Some, if not most people find it difficult to display emotion and express how they feel or bring to light undealt issues of the past. I'm sometimes a culprit of this. Drama and play therapy brings theatre processes into a space which encourages either groups or individuals to express and work through emotions and 'stuck' issues.

Welma de Beer has over thirty years worth of experience in working with children, adolescents and adults; be it as a drama therapist, lecturer, teacher or a drama practitioner. As a practice, drama therapy is found in many 'mainstream' institutions such as voluntary oragnisations and NPOs, mainstream and special needs schools, National Health Service institutions and private hospitals.

Working on this project with Welma was loads of fun from collaborating on the colour scheme to late night phone calls trying to decide where content should go or if there was enough content all together!

Thank you, Welma, for allowing Tech Warrior to play a role within your pocket of excellence. To learn more about what Welma has to offer head on over to her website!

"Play is a child's natural medium for self-expression."
—Virginia Axline

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

I decided to use Tech warrior because I knew the people to be kind, caring, truthful, honest and their work to be detailed and beautiful

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

I have no hesitations

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The three things that I most liked were their: dedication even though I was difficult; their gentle approach; and their sense of aesthetics

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

No, not in my book

Welma de Beer

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Measuring the immeasurable

Tech Warrior — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:31:14 +0000

Architecture, like painting or sculpture, is an art form. The swell of emotions one experiences as they walk into a sunlit room or how the complexity of a historic building captures your intrigue and you can't help but wonder, "How did they manage that?".

Melville based firm, Nicholas-Whitcutt Architects, strives to instil such emotion in all of their designs while also managing to keep functionality and sustainability at the forefront of their work ethos.

With the above in mind Tech Warrior worked closely with one of the firm’s lead architects. Both architect and web developer fused their respective knowledge to produce an end product that speaks to the firm’s values.

From Tech Warrior’s perspective, working on this website was amazing from the word go. The engagement from the clients, the willingness to learn something foreign, for both developers and architects alike, resulted in a beautiful website.

Thank you to both Nicholas and Michaela for their enthusiasm throughout the process; and thank you for allowing Tech Warrior to become part of your firm's growth.

Read Nicholas' and Michaela's feedback below:

From being a jaded recipient of services offered by others, I rediscovered an enthusiasm for what we do by looking at it from the outside with
Tech Warrior through the website process. Thank you!

—Nicholas Whitcutt
Nicholas Whitcutt Architects

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

Micha, whilst exploring the NLP, spoke of your website as being one that appealed because it was strikingly more about what she was looking for than all about the people that hosted the site. So when it turned out that you had done this, and did websites too, it made perfect sense for us to work with you.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

My only hesitation had nothing to do with Tech Warrier, only the thought of going down the website road again. We had spent an eternity developing our own website, and when it was finally ready it did nothing in terms of bringing work in. So we moved to someone else who immediately took it down while they transferred it onto a new platform, and the same work started again and went nowhere for a long time. I became angry and frustrated at the thought of starting again.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The philosophy that it is not about us, but the people who are looking for us; the detailed briefing process and prompts/questions to follow (i.e. guidance) and the creative enthusiasm around evolving an identity that not only reflected what we understood but also brought something over and above.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

NO!

Nicholas Whitcutt

For someone like myself who had tackled my own websites in the past and a bit of designer background I always believed we didn't need anyone to design a website for us.

I'm amazed at how wrong I was! What we had done before compared to what Tech Warrior can do is like chalk and cheese. In this case I even enjoy being humbled because we got a super website from the Tech Warrior team!

—Michaela Rothaug
Nicholas Whitcutt Architects

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

I have seen your 5th Place website and really loved it! It;s so well structured and looks so professional. It also seems that there is not a word too much on it, it's well balanced.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

It looked expensive, I doubted we can do it (well, you had obviously suggested a barter, but apart from that I would have worried about affordability)

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

Great guidance (from first meeting to the pages you send out to fill in, to gentle reminders to send stuff, haha), great quality of the resulting website (it looks so professional!), good insights of how to best begin ("look through the eyes of your client when you write stuff" etc.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

I have no idea what you could do better. It was pretty good, no? In our case maybe go back to initial though of more and bigger pictures at the beginning, but that's quite specific. Generally I see nothing you guys could do better.

Michaela Rothaug

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How much does it cost to build a website, part 2?

Tristan Green — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 00:30:00 +0000

Welcome to part two of our exploration into the elements that affect the cost of building a website. Remember to take a look at Part one of How much does it cost to build a website for the full picture. In this part we look at indirect elements like hosting, domain registration and logo design.

Our chief want in life, is someone who shall make us do what we can. This is the service of a friend. With him, we are easily great.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Logo design and a website

You need a logo before you can have a website, unless you run your business as a sole prop, under your name and think nothing of a mix and match approach to colours and fonts. This does not look very professional but many do-it-yourselfers, seem to think it is fine.

Tech Warrior has evolved a sequence of processes that endeavour to eliminate some of the back-and-forth communications with customers, mainly because no one really has time to have six or seven meetings around the type of font your logo should have.

This is why Tech Warrior has created a document work flow so we can reduce the time it takes to deliver logo concepts to our clients. The cost is reduced substantially mainly because we’re not having to set up meetings and discuss all the changes. From start to finish a logo can take as little as a week to complete, however if the content document is lacking substance, expect the logo designs to match! As David Ogilvy said, “Give me the freedom of a tight brief.”

To host a website?

Hosting a website with Tech Warrior has a base cost of R170 per month. The more pages your website has, the more the hosting costs. We do, however, try to manage If you were to have a 51 paged website, the hosting would increase to R420 per month.

This topic fluctuates based on the client requirements, simply put if the client wants or needs more; the hosting costs more.

Purchasing domain names carefully is a very important aspect of owning a website. Having a website is an important part of running a business. Make sure you are the rightful registered owner of your domain name.

To secure a domain?

When you decide you want to build a website, ask yourself what the purpose of the website is going to be. Are people going to be buying products from you through an ecommerce website, or will your website just be an online portfolio displaying work you have done. Head on over to our learning hub and read this article it outlines the 5 steps required to get your website up and running.

I’ll touch on one of the topics the article briefly covers, the purchasing of a domain. If you imagine the entire internet as a humongous cherry pie, when you purchase a domain, you are effectively buying a piece of this “Internet Pie”. Depending on who you make the purchase with the price will vary, some local organisations such as Domains.co.za, Afrihost and Xneelo all offer domain registrations; companies such as GoDaddy, Wix and WordPress also offer domain registrations, however your domain will be suffixed with the chosen service provider’s name, like so, “secondhandjoburg.wordpress.co.za” instead of “secondhandhoburg.co.za”. The main reason for this is branding for the CMS, but you are effectively utilizing their server capacity which needs to be paid for in some way or another.

To put your colour palette together?

The colour palette’s Tech Warrior creates are all done in conjunction with the client as a way to maximise customer satisfaction from start to finish. If you already have a logo developed, we’ll use colours from the logo to create brand consistency.

Once a deposit has been received for the requested work we’ll generate a colour palette and subsequently a logo to match. As the South African colloquial adage goes, “nothing for mahala’.

As you can see, there are a few costs involved with getting a website developed from domain registration to logo illustration. Depending on who you choose to develop your website costs will vary, the main objective is to try and not have the wool pulled over your eyes. That’s the purpose of Tech Warrior’s Learning Hub articles; we have an objective to equip our customers, new and recurring, with knowledge to help them make informed decisions.

As with anything, if you are unsure, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to assist!

Further reading

How much does it cost to build a website, part 1

How long does it take to build a website?

How important is it to have a website for my business?

What is website hosting?

What is a domain and do I need one?

Visit our learning hub for more articles

The post How much does it cost to build a website, part 2? appeared first on Tech Warrior.

A flick of the wrist and a roll of the dice

Tech Warrior — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:26:16 +0000

Most people don't know about the table-top game culture, one which seems to be full of life and growing by the day here in South Africa.

One of our team members, Tristan, used to be a part of this culture many years ago. He would buy miniature figurines, cut them out of their moulds, file down the injection moulding lines, apply a layer of base coat and paint the models in various colours. The objective of the game was to outwit your opponent by rolling a set of dice. Different rolls meant different things. One of the worst things that could happen, and it occurred more often than not, was having your dice fall off the table in the heat of the moment. Did you roll a 6 or a 2? Does the roll count at all? It could have been a winning throw, but now an obstruction is called.

Thankfully, someone noticed this issue and designed a dice board. A nifty, rectangular type of box which not only houses your dice, but affords you, the player, an opportunity to throw your dice without worry of losing them over the side of the table.

Goodberry is pioneering the dice board industry in South Africa. The brains behind this marvellous operation are Scully and Zan. All their boards are made using sustainably sourced woods, eco-friendly paints and faux leather; delivering unique works of art with every build.

Tech Warrior built Goodberry's website and Scully took the time to write a testimonial for us, read it below:

Firstly I would like to say thank you for an amazing job on our site. As a small business and start-up, it was wonderful working with a caring, professional and organized company
—Scully, Goodberry Co-founder

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

It was by chance that Matthew and I met and I am happy to say that we did. It was originally by word of mouth, through a mutual client. Matthew gave me great advice in the beginning and really cared for what I needed.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

None really, from meeting the team, you get a real sense of ease, that your business is in good hands.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

They are friendly, kind, and thoughtful. Your energy is wonderful!

They take the time to give you what you want but also what you need, even when you don’t know it ??

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

To be very honest, I am very happy with everything I experience with the team. It is very rare to find companies nowadays that really take the time to work with you, for you and not just for a quick buck. It doesn’t matter what level product you go for, they treat you like gold and really use their industry knowledge and experience to make creating a webiste so much easier. They delivered all round. Great work Team,

Love Goodberry.

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Food & Trees For Africa 2019 annual review

Tech Warrior — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 12:03:00 +0000

Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) is a leading Section 21 Non-Profit Organisation that addresses food security, environmental sustainability, and greening. FTFA has values that resonate deeply with Tech Warrior, those of efficiency, transparency, and accountability. They are an innovative organisation and have become one of the best social development organisations on the continent of Africa.

Tech Warrior has been working with FTFA for a few years and are very proud to showcase our most recent job for FTFA, their 2019 Annual Review. The job entailed the design and layout aspects of the review coupled with some info-graphics. FTFA offers Tech Warrior a unique opportunity to support an organisation that strives to make a meaningful impact to the lives of all South Africans. Additionally it's not often that we get to do print layout work so all around this job and our relationship with FTFA is very special to us.

Food & Trees for Africa returns year after year to Tech Warrior for their outstanding design services. Our experience from the very first year has been one of ease and simplicity. Tech Warrior listens, understands our requirements and then gets on with the job with creating beautiful appealing artwork. I would highly recommend Tech Warrior for anyone requiring graphic design skills in their business.
—Kate Sheldon - FTFA Operations Manager

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