Sasha Endoh Design

Original T-shirt Designs Available For Purchase

Sasha Endoh — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:00:32 +0000

As some of you might be aware aside from running my freelance web design business I am also a partner at a local screen printing shop, In Print. We have always wanted to launch a line of our own designs, as well as designs from local illustrators and artists, and open up the front of our print shop as a retail space. While we are finishing up the retail space for a grand opening in months to come, a soft-launch of sorts is taking place on our online boutique with a select few designs available for purchase.

The majority of the designs available right now have been created by me. Most of these designs originated as personal drawings and illustrations and I’d love to hear what you think!

Come on by to see if something strikes your fancy at http://store.theinprint.com! All of the designs I’ve created thus far can be viewed at http://store.theinprint.com/artist/sasha-endoh.

Happy shopping!

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar May 2013

Sasha Endoh — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:35:05 +0000

It’s time to once more liven up your desktops! For the month of May I had a little fun and took inspiration from my love of nature shows. Thus, I present to you “Octopus: The Master of Disguise”.

This lovely desktop calendar comes in a variety of sizes, and as a stand alone wallpaper without a calendar. If you’re not sure about what size is right for you screen stop by What’s my screen resolution to find out.

Available calendar sizes: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Available wallpaper sizes (without calendar): 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Come on by next month to see what I’ve cooked up for June. And, of course, I’m always happy to hear your comments!

What you need to know to protect your WordPress website from getting attacked and becoming part of the super botnet

Sasha Endoh — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:04:45 +0000

It has recently become clear that a huge attack on WordPress websites is underway. The attack is spearheaded by unknown parties but what is known is that more than 90,000 IP addresses are being used to brute-force crack administrative credentials of vulnerable WordPress systems.

Why would anyone care to attack numerous WordPress websites across multiple hosting services? To put it in layman’s terms once they gain access to your WordPress admin interface they alter the code of your website to harness the awesome power of hosting servers – which are typically tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times faster than a locally infected machine in your home or small business.

If you’d like to have a bit more background information on the ongoing attack here’s a great post with lots of information: Huge attack on WordPress sites could spawn never-before-seen super botnet.

What can you do to protect your website

Now, since the original reports of this ongoing attack has sprung up an official statement has been released by Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress:

Almost 3 years ago we released a version of WordPress (3.0) that allowed you to pick a custom username on installation, which largely ended people using “admin” as their default username. Right now there’s a botnet going around all of the WordPresses it can find trying to login with the “admin” username and a bunch of common passwords, and it has turned into a news story (especially from companies that sell “solutions” to the problem).

Here’s what I would recommend: If you still use “admin” as a username on your blog, change it, use a strong password, if you’re on WP.com turn on two-factor authentication, and of course make sure you’re up-to-date on the latest version of WordPress. Do this and you’ll be ahead of 99% of sites out there and probably never have a problem. Most other advice isn’t great — supposedly this botnet has over 90,000 IP addresses, so an IP limiting or login throttling plugin isn’t going to be great (they could try from a different IP a second for 24 hours).

Link to the original statement

So, in essence, all you need to do is to make sure that if there is an “admin” username in use on your site that you change it to something else, something a bit less commonplace, and when creating your password make sure that the strength indicator tells you that your password is “strong”. Here are a few pointers on creating a strong password.

To my clients

As always, I’ve got you covered! Most of you have your own, personalized logins with strong passwords. I will also be going through and making sure to make necessary adjustments to all of your websites to safeguard them from being attacked. If you feel so inclined, you can change your current login passwords as an extra precaution. Just make sure that your new password is “strong” and that you write it down someplace for the next time you need to login.

Updates

Should any updates come out of the WordPress camp I will be sure to update this post. So stay tuned!

Introduction to Parallax Scrolling In Web Design: 22 Examples and 5 Tutorials

Sasha Endoh — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:44:30 +0000

Parallax websites seem to crop up more and more as of late. When a client recently asked me about creating a parallax scrolling site I knew that the effect is no longer just for those with particularly nerdy web design inclinations.

The basic effect is accomplished by using multiple background images moving at different speeds as you scroll through a website, creating depth and perspective (more precise definition of parallax). That said, there’s a multitude of effects and techniques that can be used together with the basic parallax to create a unique experience for your website visitors. Whether it is used to give your site visual depth or to control the timing and appearance of elements it can be used as an engaging storytelling mechanism.

Straightforward Parallax

A few samples of parallax at its basic to get you started. Notice the depth of field accomplished by using blurred graphics and variable scroll speed.

01. Cultural Solutions UK

02. Time Code

03. FK Agency

04. NH Hotels

05. Unfold

06. Ràtatattoo studio di tattoo

07. Healthshare

08. Lois Jeans

09. Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Centers

10. Biamar

11. Ascensión Latorre

12. Putzengel

13. Sputnik Creative

Parallax To The Max

Not to say that the sites above are not spectacular in their own right, but the website below are really going to blow your mind!

01. Gramercy Park Hotel

02. James Bond 007 Cars Evolution

03. Range Rover Evoque Special Edition With Victoria Beckham

04. Flight of the Fireflies

05. TAG Reaction Recruit Tokyu Agency

06. Discover Bagigia

07. BAKE Agency

08. BeerCamp at SXSW

09. Michelberger Booze

Parallax Tutorials

Now on to the business end of things – how to get started with making amazing parallax websites!

Your Thoughts On Parallax

What do you think? Do you find parallax websites to be an interesting and compelling way of presenting information or products, or do you think it’s all a bit too much?Let me know what you think.

And if you like this article please take a moment to share it below!

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar April 2013

Sasha Endoh — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:45:27 +0000

It’s time for another desktop wallpaper calendar! For April’s wallpaper I’ve created a cherry blossom themed design, with a little magic and mystery.

You can preview all the available sizes of this wallpaper below by clicking on the size links. And, of course, the wallpapers are free to download!

Available sizes: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Like the background but don’t want the calendar? No problem, download this wallpaper without the calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Not sure which size is the right one for you? Stop by What’s my screen resolution to find out.

Stop on by next month for the May installment – it’s already in the works and is going to be feature some very interesting creatures!

And as always, don’t be shy – leave a comment to let me know what you think about this month’s wallpaper. All feedback is greatly appreciated!

No More Monthly “Best of Web Design”

Sasha Endoh — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:25:00 +0000

If you’ve been following my “Best of Web Design” posts each month, then you’re in a minority. Because so few of you come to read these posts, I’ve decided that tweeting interesting articles and pinning cool websites throughout the month will have to suffice.

It’s not even that so few of you come to read these articles, compared to other articles on my blog. It’s not you, it’s me. I would rather reclaim some of the time spent putting together these round-ups on making interesting desktop wallpapers, or getting time away from the computer, or, you know, doing some actual client work.

So, goodbye “Best of Web Design” monthly round-up, hello more time to bring you some original content. Let’s make some magic!

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar March 2013

Sasha Endoh — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:05:02 +0000

It’s that time again – new desktop wallpaper calendar time! For March the theme is birches in hopes of the spring to come. This beauty features a custom illustrated background with some photoshopping on top.

I decided on making this month all about birches almost immediately after finishing last month’s jackalope calendar. To my surprise and delight, it turns out that many Slavic cultures consider March to be the month of birches (more about March).

You can preview all the available sizes of this calendar below by clicking on the size links. And, of course, the wallpapers are free to download!

Available sizes: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960,
1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050,
1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Like the background but don’t want the calendar? No problem, this time around I’ve made a version of this wallpaper without the calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960,
1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050,
1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Not sure which size is the right one for you? Stop by What’s my screen resolution to find out.

Stop on by next month for the April installment.

And as always, don’t be shy – leave a comment to let me know what you think about this month’s wallpaper. All feedback is greatly appreciated!

Best of Web Design: January 2013

Sasha Endoh — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:01:20 +0000

Hi all, how’s your January been? Slow? Yep, same here and more or less same around the web. The holidays have a way of slowing everyone down and it takes a bit of time to get back up to speed.

This month was all about looking forward to the rest of 2013 so this round up will be all about predictions, tutorials to help you improve your craft, and words on improving your business.

But first let’s start with the best in websites that popped up in January.

Notable Websites

This month there was one website that really caught my eye.

Form Follows Function is hands down the most interesting website to come out this month. The site features HTML5 experiments in many shapes and flavors. Do yourself a favor and spend a bit of time playing with this beauty.

Looking forward to 2013

Each year a slew of web trend predictions emerge all over the web. Many of them contradict each other, which is one of the most compelling reasons to read them.

Learning your craft

What’s a better way to improve your future than improving your craft?! Here are some lovely tutorial round-ups, and a bit on kick-starting your creativity.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 New Round of Tips and Tricks by Stéphanie Walter on Onextrapixel
Collection of the Best Photoshop CS6 Tutorials by Stacy Summers on Crazyleaf Design Blog
New Year’s Resolution Guide for Developers: Getting Them Done! by Jamal Jackson on InstantShift
Guilt-Free Creativity: Stop Kicking Yourself & Start Producing by Elizabeth Grace Saunders on 99U

Did I miss anything?

There you have it! Not a huge round-up but one that can certainly keep you entertained for a good chunk of time.

Let me know if I missed any spectacularly designed websites or must-read articles. Stay tuned for next month’s Best of Web Design!

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar February 2013

Sasha Endoh — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:02:31 +0000

Continuing the monthly desktop calendar feature, here’s February’s gem featuring custom lettering and jackalope (more about jackalopes) illustration.

You can preview all the available sizes of this calendar below by clicking on the size links. And, of course, the wallpapers are free to download!

Available sizes: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1600×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Stop on by next month for the March installment.

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar January 2013

Sasha Endoh — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:35:57 +0000

Yes again, Happy new year one and all! This year I’ll be trying to give you guys some handy goodies once a month, like this desktop calendar that I drew over the holidays.

You can preview all the available sizes of this calendar below by clicking on the size links. And, of course, the wallpapers are free to download!

Available sizes: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1600×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Stop on by next month for February’s desktop calendar.