Spotlight on Chris Brown

Describe your business.

Refueled is a multimedia company that specializes in publishing, design, and film. We are most known for our lifestyle magazine that goes out twice a year. I like to say the publication is more than a magazine — it's a lifestyle brand. Anyone who is interested in music, style, and adventure will find something familiar and approachable in the magazine. Each issue is like an entry in my personal journal and reflects what I'm feeling and enjoying at the moment.

Have you ever built a website before?

I've designed many websites but have never handled any of the back-end coding. For my previous site, I designed how I wanted it to look, but then handed over the mockups and art files to a developer who did all of the coding. That's just not my thing. I see things creatively and aesthetically but I know very little about coding the back end of a website. That was the big draw to use Adobe Muse™; I could lay out the website the same way I do the magazine.

How long did it take you to feel that you knew your way around in Adobe Muse?

I knew my way around almost immediately. It felt just like laying out spreads for the magazine. I didn't have to spend a bunch of time trying to figure everything out. It flowed like Adobe® InDesign® and all of the other Adobe products. It was only a matter of minutes before I was pulling in text and image boxes, layering items on top of one another, and moving things around.

Did you watch any of the training videos or did you jump straight in?

I tend to be a jump in with both feet type of person. If I do something wrong I'll learn from it. With Adobe Muse, everything was right in front of me. I could do things organically, which is what makes it so easy.

What did you think when you first heard about Adobe Muse?

I was stoked. No coding is a designer's dream. I heard about Adobe Muse from a friend who is a web programmer and knows I'm a huge Adobe fan. I immediately went online and downloaded it. I wasn't really skeptical about it; to me it was another layout program, another tool to get my aesthetic and what I want to share with the world online.

How long did it take you to create a website with Adobe Muse? Were you surprised?

I was completely surprised at how fast I was able to put the Refueled site together. If you've worked with layout programs before, you'll be up and flying in no time. Like my previous site, the new site has a clean, modern aesthetic. I liked being able to start anew and place text and pictures exactly where I wanted them. It took no longer than a day to put the whole site together with links, tabs, pages, etc.

How do you feel about Adobe Muse now?

I really dig it. It is simple, clean, and fast. I have nothing but positive things to say. Since I launched the site I've gone in and made changes and added content. Everything integrates really easily. Even if someone isn't a designer, if they've done some work with design I think Adobe Muse will be really easy for them to learn. I'm looking forward to using Adobe Muse for a long time to come.

Any feature requests?

Sometimes, when I layer something on top of something else and preview the page the items might shift. I find that I have to group them so they stay in position, which works well. If there's anything I'd like to see improved it is the layering capability.

What possibilities does Adobe Muse open up for your business?

I no longer have to pay a web person to make changes to my own site, which saves both time and money. I can make changes in 15 minutes that previously took a day with the back and forth of working with a web programmer. I simply make the edit, Adobe Muse spits out the HTML, and I put it on the server. Everything is now, so the quicker I can get content up the better for my business and my readers.

Learn more about the Refueled Magazine website in the Muse customer showcase.