Cycle of Constant Improvement

One of the philosophies I have in life is that of constant improvement, there is always something that can be made better, more efficient and intuitive. WoodMarvels.com is no different.

So far this year, we have made the following positive changes in the site

• Re-released our videos in HD quality. We are the only woodworking site offering free 3D assembly videos but that doesn’t mean we can’t make them CLEARER and BIGGER!
• WoodMarvels.com Volume 2. I didn’t need to make another book with twice the stuff and even cooler models, I can just keep selling this stuff online but so much has changed, I just had to get it out of the door (ETA: October 2009).
• Selling EPS files. Selling our bread and butter sounds counter-intuitive but thanks to Derek’s suggestion at Ponoko, he convinced me it was a good idea and it’s being implemented across the site.
• FREE PLANS. WoodMarvels.com makes money by selling plans, so making the more complicated ones for free doesn’t make much sense, especially when you consider there isn’t any competition in this arena, but again, it’s a good way to get the word out and improve the experience of our visitors.
• More product shots! Almost all of our products offer a 3D assembly animation but in addition to this, I’ve made it a point to release static pictures at several angles for our models as well. Necessary? No. Fun? Yes 🙂
• Cooler models! I’ve progressed in my design ability tremendously and want to keep making bigger, more complicated 3D models for people around the world to enjoy. I have a few very large projects in mind but in the meantime, I’ve focused on making my models more intricate and detailed.
• Key way system. Although my models are getting more complex, I still want them to be very easy to assemble using as few parts as possible. This year, thanks to my experienced with Jerry, I began using key way systems throughout new models. Not only do they strengthen the model tremendously but they also make assembly far more intuitive.
• Renderings. I am always tweeking our renderings to improve the quality output of the image. They are now rendered at 600 x 600 pixels and I am seriously considering bumping that up to 1000 x 1000 so people can zoom into the model as file sizes become increasingly irrelevant.

Best Animation Ever!

My hope is to produce and compose animations like this on a more frequent basis… if I had to pick one assembly 3D animation out of all of them, this is by far the best in my opinion. They should all flow like this!

What about 3D Images?

Ah… I can’t wait!!! Imagine being able to visit the site and see the model in true 3D, you can spin it around, zoom, explore how pieces fit together etc… it will be amazing! The technology is ALMOST there to be able to offer it online. Internet connections are getting faster, computers are becoming increasingly powerful and the although the rendering technology isn’t to the quality I would like to use for WoodMarvels.com, it’s very close. Like I wrote, I CAN’T WAIT to offer this!!!

The Bottom Line

Take the initiative, improve yourself before others ask you too!