Blogging is one of the greatest ways to market your company and it’s a concept that isn’t being utilized by enough businesses out there. You can do so many things with it; a blog attached to your company’s site gives you a great avenue to distribute free resources to clients and potential customers, you can announce company news, generate excitement about upcoming events, post tips and insider tricks on your industry, etc. The options are limitless as you can see and could be extremely valuable for your company. Customers will value this extra information as well as the opportunity to see more of what you do.
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We just launched a new site for a diamond and jewelry store in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Diamond Source. The design is classy and elegant, with deep reds that really show off the wonderful products that they have to offer. The site features categorized diamond lists and a full shopping cart so customers can now purchase their jewelry online. This vibrant site is geared toward their customers, with simplicity and organization in mind. The Diamond Source’s beautiful products speak for themselves and now their site shows them off in a whole new light. Check it out at diasource.com.
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A post I wrote for Web Design Ledger came out today. It’s about setting goals as a designer:
Goals are important to have in life. They are especially important for website design, because without any goals, you have nothing to shoot for in the end and nothing to measure your success by. Goals help designers focus on the important things and not lose sight of what you want in the end; goals are what help designers deliver outstanding sites every time.
See the full post at WDL.com
As many of my friends know, I love food! I also love fun and unique logos so I figured it would be appropriate to gather a collection of great food logos for today’s post. These creative marks are from restaurants, food suppliers, clubs and other companies. They inspire hunger and excitement while maintaining good style. Enjoy!
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So you’ve decided you want to redesign your site, or create one for the first time and you’re hiring a web designer to complete the task. But do you know what to look for? There are tons of people out there that design and/or code websites, and making the best choice for you and your company may not be the easiest decision. Today we’ll cover a few things that you should definitely look for and even some things to watch out for. A website isn’t like buying a new printer, your company’s reputation and image is on the line. You want to make sure you end up with a great looking site and a smile on your face.
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There are many differences in the way you should handle images based on their desired output, will they be used in print or online? Different file types, sizes, and resolutions are best used online in order to maximize the quality but minimize the size. Do you know all the tricks in getting your images set up correctly?
Online vs. Print
In print, you want to make sure your images are sharp and ready to be viewed up close (unless we’re talking billboards, large displays, etc.). This usually means a high resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) with no pixellation and close attention to detail. Online images need to be treated differently. Online you have to worry about space, hosts usually don’t allow you to store an unlimited amount of stuff so you you need to try to get the most bang for your buck by downsizing images without losing too much quality.
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We just launched a great new site for the Phoenix Derby Brats, a brand new youth derby league run by Arizona Roller Derby in the Phoenix area. They offer a great opportunity for youth girls to get out there and have some fun while getting a great workout! They wanted the site to be youthful and a little girly but not over the top. It also needed to be tough and rugged. A fun color palette and lots of great textures help this site stand out with its fun and unique characteristics.
Check out the new site: PhxDerbyBrats.com.
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Starting your own business is tough, but working for yourself is very rewarding and worth the extra energy! There are tons of things involved in getting your company up and going, but if you have a plan and do your research, you should be all set to do some business in no time.
Some of the most important things to think about are your design elements. Many people don’t realize the importance of design and branding in setting up your company, but they are crucial parts in setting up a business that will withstand time and any economy. Your brand shows your clients who you are, what your values are, and what kind of products or service you’re selling. It needs to be consistent and used in all of your marketing materials so it should be set up from the beginning. Consistency helps show that you’re a trustworthy and dependable business.
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A blog post I wrote for Web Design Ledger came out today:
As most of you already know, WordPress 3.0 has been released. Although it’s still in a beta release stage, you can take it for a test drive and check out the many new features that are available. Many people already use WordPress for many things other than just blogging but this release will certainly create opportunities for managing content even more effortlessly than before and using WordPress as more than just a blog.
See the full post at WDL.