247 Media Studios is an awesome design studio based in Germany, now with locations in Dubia and Tokyo. They’ve worked with plenty of big names in the gaming and music industry, and are probably known best for creating top-notch Flash based websites.

I’ve been a minor member of their forum for some time and have always found it useful for Photoshop tips and tricks. Sometime last year the content got a little stagnant with only a few people posting/commenting—I’m just as guilty on this point—so I stopped visiting. Out of curiosity, I hopped over to 247 Media’s forum today, just to check out what’s been going on, and I got a bit of a shock.

They’ve completely redesigned their site and forum. Gone is the dark grungy Flash site, and black forum. In it’s place is a crisp black and white site with a hint of teal. Instead of Flash (which took forever to load) the new 247 Media is a blogstyle html portfolio with news briefs and job openings on the side. Best of all is the inclusion of the RSS Feed to keep up to date on their goings on.

Sadly, it seems that their forum is still stagnating. In addition, a lot of the image content has been lost since I was last there, which is a total bummer, because there were some great tutorials up there. I for one am going to keep an eye on it and see how it evolves.

A side note about design forums. There are a ton of them out there, and I’d recommend anyone starting out to check some out. They are a great way to learn about the ins and outs of the creative and business sides of the design industry. They’re also helpful for getting good feedback and tips for improving your work. Just don’t act like an ass if someone doesn’t blow sunshine up your skirt. If you want to get the most out of it you have to participate in the dialog and keep it civil.