About Blou Designs

Founded in 2013, Blou Designs LLC, a woman-owned company, helps proactive decision makers combat the decision fatigue and busywork that tends to accompany business strategy and daily business operations.

Together we can take control of the narrative, compound effort by turning chaos into systems and putting data to work, and figure out the next step.

The Blou Designs Mission

The Blou Designs Mission is to:

• help people find clarity about the things they actually want to do and how they can get there,
• support the idea that humans are the most important part of any business solution,
• create a support structure so that humans (you!) can better do the human part.

This is doable for everyone who is open to the possibility that things could be better and is willing to put in the work. No job is too small for attention.

The Blou Designs Approach

You've heard the expression "throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks."

That spaghetti is chaotic (and messy!), and it results in an inability to understand why things are happening the way that they are - and what you might be able to do about it.

That's the antithesis of the Blou Designs approach, which is grounded in the idea that:

• understanding and being able to act in ways that effectively move the needle are only possible when you're working at the intersection of:
  • complementary personal and business VISION
  • efficient and effective SOPs (standard operating processes and procedures)
  • DATA to inform and assist

In this intersection, trying new things then looks like intentional action and low-risk experimentation (i.e., no messy spaghetti clean-up required).

That leads to:

• better data on what's working and what's not
• processes / procedures that you can incrementally tweak and improve
• visions realized, because you're able to clearly work towards your goals

Because Blou Designs sees these three things - VISION, SOPs, and DATA - as so closely interrelated, working with us on any aspect of your business will typically "touch" aspects of all three components.

• We'll ask a lot of questions.
• We'll do our best to help you identify and address inconsistencies between your vision and your actions.
• We'll use our technical expertise to explore your options in a practical way, and, as applicable, assist you with implementation.
• We'll work with you to define and refine processes and procedures around whatever we're working on together - including helping you get the SOPs-related documentation started and organized.

About Barbara

Blou Designs is owned and operated by Barbara Olsafsky.

Barbara began her career as an intern at NASA Glenn Research Center (new tab) (then NASA LeRC), first in Software Assurance and then in Power and Propulsion.

Following this, she worked as a research assistant to artist Chuck Csuri, extending his use of in-house graphics software. Discussions and samples of his work can be found in the book Charles A. Csuri: Beyond Boundaries, 1963-present (PDF; new tab).

Segueing into full-time, freelance consulting in 2005, Barbara worked with corporate clients to assess their needs and design and implement custom software, data, and training solutions.

She founded Blou Designs LLC in 2013, with a slight pivot to service not only Fortune 500s, but also solopreneurs like herself and other small businesses.

She holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies / Educational Technology.

In her free time, Barbara enjoys traveling. She also volunteers in the community in capacities such as an instructor for children at the beginning of their STEM pathway and senior citizens, a member of various advisory boards, and a coach of the SUNY Buffalo State Ethics Bowl team.

Technologies

Blou Designs' proficiencies include:

• Productivity tools such as Trello
• Platforms such as LinkedIn and YouTube
• Microsoft Office, especially Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote; VBA macros
• Google Sheets and Forms
• Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
• Techsmith's Camtasia
• ASP.NET C#, Classic ASP, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
• MySQL, MS SQL Server, T-SQL, SQLite, MS Access

Some of the Folks We've Worked With....