On March 2 we launched CPAReviewMaterials.com, a website devoted to helping people pass the CPA exam. Help is offered through articles, a forum and a store that offers discounted study materials.

This was an especially fun project because the owner of CPAReviewMaterials.com is my brother, Andrew. This was the first time working with a family member on a business project and despite what some people say about working with family and friends everything went smoothly.

Andrew came up with the idea for the website after studying for the CPA exam himself. While studying for the tests Andrew realized that there were no websites that offered everything he needed in one place. He wanted to create a place that people could come to find advice, discuss issues, ask questions and purchase the best review materials.

Since the launch Andrew has been very actively promoting the site though Twitter, Facebook and on other related websites. Overall it’s been a very successful launch and it will be fun to watch the site community grow over time.

I’m excited to announce that Adam Lee Design has won two ADDY Awards from the Inland Empire Ad Club. The awards were announced at the Ad Club Gala celebration on the 12th. We won a Silver award for our annual report design for Loma Linda University Medical Center. I posted a short blog post on this design a few weeks ago. We also won a Bronze award for a brochure design that we did for San Gabriel Valley Medical Center. This piece isn’t in our portfolio yet but I will try to post a few images later.

This was my first time attending the Gala and I left feeling very inspired. There is a lot of great work coming out of the Inland Empire. Congrats to all of the other winners.

If you love Paris or cityscapes, you’ll love the Paris 26 Gigapixels website. The site provides an amazing view of the city, allowing you to pan around and zoom in to many parts of the landscape. A navigation panel on the bottom right links you to the “20 Most Beautiful Paris Monuments.”

Just a warning. I’ve already spent too many minutes of my day drooling over the city and wishing I could go back. I think I could spend hours on this site. Enjoy.

I came across a great website on Twitter today. Where We Design showcases design spaces from studios and agencies around the world.

I’ve been having a lot of fun browsing the photos of where other graphic designers work. Stuff like this really gets me motivated to make my own space more creative (still need to get around to hanging a couple things on the wall).

One of my favorites is this one in Tulsa, OK. I love the way the conference room is placed in the middle of everything and even raised up off of the floor a little.

In my design work, I’ve found that the state of my work area affects both my productivity and my creativity. For creativity I keep a lot of inspirational products, mailers, magazines, etc. around that I can browse when I need inspiration. I’ve also found that keeping my desk free from too much clutter helps me stay calm and productive. The messier my desk is the more stressed out I become.

What’s important to you in your workspace?

I recently experienced a great example of customer service on Twitter. It started when I complained about my web-hosting company (Earthlink) and mentioned that I was switching to Bluehost.

@basketsbybonnie responded to this post saying that she had been having problems with Earthlink as well and that she was considering moving her hosting to Network Solutions. Within a couple of hours both Bluehost and Network Solutions had responded to our discussion. Bluehost dropped in to say hi and Network Solutions also offered help if it was needed.