Archive for the ‘Business of Web and Graphic Design’ Category

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Nov
25
2011

How to Build a Killer Small Business Website

Posted by Chris in Branding, Business of Web and Graphic Design | Comments Off

“For many businesses, a Web site is the first way that your clientele will look at you…”
Forbes reviews 16 Solid Small-Biz Web Site Design Tips. These are definitely worth checking out.

Here’s the short summary:
1. Choose an Obvious Domain Name
2. Highlight your Brand: Modern branding involves coming up with a name and logo that can be effectively rendered on the Web. Simplicity is critical: You should be able to reproduce your logo on an appropriate scale in any format.
3. Spell out your products and services: Be clear and direct about what you are selling and why people need it.
4. Choose smart keywords: The key to SEO: selecting 50 to 100 key words most relevant to your products.

Oct
30
2011

Why Creative Web Design is Essential to Online Success

Posted by ChrisTags: , , ,
in Business of Web and Graphic Design, Small Business Marketing, Web Design | Comments Off

Every day, the internet is becoming more and more competitive in regards to being seen and getting noticed.  It is certainly  no secret that there are billions of websites online, and perhaps hundreds of thousands or more in direct competition with you within your industry.  The truth is, part of your success may hinge on the creativity of your web design.  Why?

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Sep
19
2011

Enjoy The Benefits of Unparalleled Marketing and Web Development –
Without The Exorbitant Price

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design, Small Business Marketing, Web Design | No Comments

Getting a business up and running on the web today is no easy feat – nor is it cheap.  If you have a small business and have been comparing prices for web design and development, marketing, print media, graphic design and other aspects necessary to your success, you’re no doubt gasping for air at how much money it takes just to get your business off the ground.  It doesn’t have to be this way, and you really don’t have to spend your life savings to get a good start.

Continue reading to find out why.

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Jan
14
2011

Design Trends for 2011

Posted by ChrisTags: , ,
in Branding, Business of Web and Graphic Design | No Comments

Back to Simplicity?

Everything inside the design world is permanently changing (as in life), evolving and adapting into new ways of expression and communication.

According to webdesginshock heavy details, clunky text blocks, dark color palettes and picture after picture will decline in 2011 as people begin to opt for much cleaner interfaces, that are minimal. By minimal they’re not meaning mediocre but all the opposite, a better use of the diagramming without saturating the pages with irrelevant information.

Some good example of this can be seen here.

With so much clamoring for attention online,  simplicity is the way to go. Interesting too that simplicity is difficult work. It means understanding how to effectively communicate a product or service without all the fluff. As much as I love graphics and art, I really enjoy understated elegance.

Simple is a breath of fresh air!

Oct
28
2010

Winning your audiences attention in creative web design.

Posted by ChrisTags: , ,
in Branding, Business of Web and Graphic Design | No Comments
Creative web design brings better results!

Creative web design brings better results!

I’m always preaching this…You have a very short amount of time to capture your audience’s attention online and to keep it for long.

This article, by one of my favorite online resources, Smashing Magazine, dives into examples of great web design and messaging.

Oct
19
2010

There Is No Plan

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design | No Comments

adventures-of-Johnny-Bunko-192x300I’m really enjoying this Blog (Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online) and intend to purchase their book “The Adventures of Johny Bunko…”

“The book follows the life of Johnny Bunko, a young man who was very creative and who loved to draw, but who was always told to “major in accounting–that way you’ll always have a job”. Bunko followed this advice, did well in school, and then got a job at the fictitious Boggs Corporation. However, Johnny soon discovers that he’s bored at his job, and he wonders if he did the right thing by trudging through four years of business school and picking a “safe” career.”

I found that these six statements that the Blog makes is very perceptive and encouraging:

1. There is no plan.

2. Think strengths, not weaknesses.

3. It’s not about you.

4. Persistence trumps talent.

5. Make excellent mistakes.

6. Leave an imprint.


Oct
04
2010

Dream Clients Wanted

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design | No Comments

Great blog by Smashing Magazine on how to promote your business to dream clients. Your client is out there and these tips are worth checking out. (Although, cold calling is one of them). Article here.

Sep
06
2010

Blogging Guides for Designer’s

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design | No Comments

Good news: you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you are about to start and run a blog! Great suggestions here from Smashing Magazine.

Jul
11
2010

How to Add FREE Lead Capture To Your Facebook Business Page

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design, Social Marketing, Technical | No Comments

rcFacebook provides many tools for maximizing the effect of your presence and brand on the social network, most of all by means of business pages, also known as fan pages.

Using a variety of applications and Facebook API tools, you can get creative not only with the page content, but with the design, too.

In addition to the cool design that you can do (or have done for you by Rosepapa Creative), you can also utilize FREE tools for lead capture. One of the tools that work really well for adding a newsletter sign up to your Facebook page is embedding a Google form. You can also embed other lead capture forms, which are a bit more complicated and most of which have a monthly fee, such as Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor etc. I think this one is good for starting out and getting familiar with lead capture from Facebook and also using the FBML application.

It is somewhat technical, however, give it a try.

If you need help, contact me or reply to this post and I’ll help you out.

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Jun
29
2010

Is the digital revolution isolation?

Posted by Chris in Business of Web and Graphic Design, Favorites, Small Business Marketing, Web Design | No Comments

isolateWhether freelancers, small agency founders or website owners, too many of us work alone.
Can you relate to this statement? I sure can.
The downside of the digital revolution is isolation. The Web allows us to do alone what previously would have required a team of people. It also frees us from the constraints of geography, allowing us to work from home.

But while these are benefits, they also leave us isolated.


Click here to read the Blog post by Smashing Magazine.

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