WEB DEV TIPS BLOG
5
Aug
Many plant-derived forms are in Art Nouveau that seem to sprout from moldings, also used in this period were whiplash lines, paraboles, and hyperboles. Those that practiced Art Nouveau didn't detest machines as Arts and Crafts did; in fact, they used them to their advantage. Art Nouveau is considered to be a “total style”, meaning that its versatility allows it to be used in just about everything.
Aug
From 1850 to today art design has fluctuated a lot, sometimes we were influenced for longer, other times for just a short period. Each period seemed to overlap just a bit as we started to transition into a new one
MOVEMENTS IN TIME: ART AND CRAFT
From 1850 to 1915, with a height in 1880 – 1910, was an aesthetic movement by the British and American. The movement was inspired by John Ruskin's writings and it influenced just about everything from architecture and cabinet making, to garden designs. It had many known practitioners including William Morris and Walter Crane. During the movement many considered machines to be evil and made handcrafted everything.ART NOUVEAU
From 1880 – 1910 a style known as Art Nouveau became popular. It included many natural designs such as flowing and stylized floral motifs.Many plant-derived forms are in Art Nouveau that seem to sprout from moldings, also used in this period were whiplash lines, paraboles, and hyperboles. Those that practiced Art Nouveau didn't detest machines as Arts and Crafts did; in fact, they used them to their advantage. Art Nouveau is considered to be a “total style”, meaning that its versatility allows it to be used in just about everything.
MODERNISM
From 1880 – 1940 was the modern age for art, they had more realistic views. Modernist rejects things such as motif and focused more on emphasizing geometric designs.FUTURISM
From 1910 – 1945 was the first art form to be managed more like a business. The age was obviously driven by forwarding thoug
15
Jun
Jun
When you add an image to an editorial piece, it has to flow from one to the other. When you have the perfect pairing the outcome can be stunning and breathtaking and make a real impact. That being said if you don't make a good pairing, then you're taking something away from both the image and the editorial.
LEAD YOUR DESIGN
You have to read the editorial before making any kind of pairing if you want your perfect pairing. You have to let the editorial lead you to your design. Figure out what works better, photography or illustration? When you go with an illustration you tend to portray a more abstract thought. Illustrations can add more character and personality to a design, along with more color while photography can be more effective at representing a specific subject. Be it a place, a person, or an object, you're more likely to find your perfect pairing if you go with photography. It's easier to control the tone and mood you represent before anyone even reads the editorial.BE CREATIVE
Photography may be the only way to go in some instances, in these instances your image needs to represent something; it needs to be more substantial. When this happens you'll more than likely need a bespoke shot, which is a great time to art direct. When you are director you can choose the specific style, tone, and layout of your shot. If you can't get your own shot due to budgets, distance, or any other reason, it's a great idea to go with a stock photo. If you go with a stock photo remember to dive into all the photos you can find related to your topic, don't go with the first one
17
May
First on the list of iconic logos and branding is Coca-Cola. Over the years every logo seems to go through a ton of changes, some even end up looking totally different. From the beginning one thing about Coca-Cola has stuck, it's very distinctive cursive script. The script was extremely popular in the late 19th century and throughout the years, despite competition that regularly seemed to modernize their scripts, Coca-Cola stuck to their guns and their original script.
It's one of the most easily recognizes brand logos out there.
Next up you have McDonald's®, they, unlike Coca-Cola, didn't stick to their original branding guns. Originally they started out as a barbeque joint, but soon changed lanes and jumped into the world of fast food. Their iconic 'M' logo originally came out in 1961 and while there have been many variations, the M never went anywhere.
One of the biggest things we've seen from McDonald's® is the jump from showing off their happy meal in the wake of childhood obesity to showing a more eco-friendly and professional world with a shot at rivaling the likes of Starbu
May
There are a lot of big names out there with very recognizable branding logos. Many of them you don't even need to see the whole name, or even any of the names to recognize. For some simply see the mascot or colors of it to set off a spark of recognition in your brain and from there it doesn't take more than a moment to place the brand and logo.
ICONIC LOGOS
COCA-COLA
First on the list of iconic logos and branding is Coca-Cola. Over the years every logo seems to go through a ton of changes, some even end up looking totally different. From the beginning one thing about Coca-Cola has stuck, it's very distinctive cursive script. The script was extremely popular in the late 19th century and throughout the years, despite competition that regularly seemed to modernize their scripts, Coca-Cola stuck to their guns and their original script.
It's one of the most easily recognizes brand logos out there.
MCDONALD'S®
Next up you have McDonald's®, they, unlike Coca-Cola, didn't stick to their original branding guns. Originally they started out as a barbeque joint, but soon changed lanes and jumped into the world of fast food. Their iconic 'M' logo originally came out in 1961 and while there have been many variations, the M never went anywhere.
One of the biggest things we've seen from McDonald's® is the jump from showing off their happy meal in the wake of childhood obesity to showing a more eco-friendly and professional world with a shot at rivaling the likes of Starbu
23
Apr
Apr
The first thing you should know is what infographics are; they are pictures that represent “a thousand words.” They are becoming more and more popular everywhere and you can make them pretty easily, but it can be time-consuming if you don't know what you're doing. There are quicker ways to make infographics, but there are a ton of options to sort through and it's not always easy to decide which one is right for you.
There are plenty of infographic tools out there so here are some tools that may help if you're short on time but want a beautiful and creative infographic quickly. Each tool will have a short description to highlight what it can help you with.
TOOLS FOR CREATION
Visme allows the user to create a multitude of different things quickly and easily from banners, infographics, animations and more. It has quite the library full of shapes, objects, templates, and icons that you can choose from. They have a free account alternative or a premium plan for about $16, with special prices for teachers and students. Easel.ly has a free version for anyone that wants to try it. Using it is simple and doesn't require a ton of work. You start by choosing your desired template from their options, filtering the results is pretty makes it easy to find the perfect one. Next, you can add anything else you need such as text, shapes, graphs, and charts, etc. You can sign in to the site with your LinkedIn or your email, while the sites are mostly used to make “infographic resumes” th
23
Mar
Mar
Design is about more than just sparkle, shine, and sleekness, it's a lot more. It's about a lot more including the value of the product and brand, it impacts the engagement with the customers and the process that goes on behind the business, and that's just the beginning of the list. The world needs every designer's creative insight if you have an idea, a thought or away, the world needs you! It needs your abilities to recognize patterns, to combine ideas that inspire and influence those around you as you dive into engaging issues.
DELIVERING THOUGHT
As a designer, you need to be known for more than just code. You need to be known for knowing your business. The world is in need of a creative wakeup call and design thinking has its number. You are not just pixels, so don't let the world think you are. You have to add value that has an impact, if you're not packing a creative punch that's filled to the brim with knowledge gained from consumer insight, you're not helping yourself or the world in the way that you could be. It boils down to you being you, how you think, how you empathize, how you use those things to communicate with the consumers that make your company worthwhile. When presenting, be sure to talk up your designs with insightful thoughts, stories that elicit empathy, and blow them away with your brilliance. Don't walk into a meeting and drone on about technical this or that, as a designer you should already know that you need to connect with your audience. Study them and empathize with them, understand them and you need to understand that everything needs to have a case presented for it and everything you say and do has a financial impact.
15
May
May
More people are looking to create their own business online these days. Whether it be for web design or something else, online seems to the preferred way to go. When compared to the actual trek that you have to make into a web design store, it comes as no surprise that people want to do their own thing online.
With this being said, there are some legal issues that you need to think about with your online business.
REGISTRATION
This is probably one of the most important aspects of this process. You need to have your business trademarked and registered in an official capacity. Here are some factors under this umbrella you need to concern yourself with. 1) The structure of your business needs to be looked at. The taxes involved and the splitting of the income is all part of it. You need to have a coherent plan in place when you register your online business. 2) You also need to get an ABN. Some states will require you to get a GST along with it. If you have issues knowing which ones are which, do some extensive research before you go about getting them. 3) What names or entities will be tied up under your trademark brand? You need to have these names cemented and listed. Failure to do this could result in some messy legal issues. 4) You also need to get approval from the government for your brand or product. Read more
15
May
May
Everyone web design company worries about the costs over different projects. Some even turn down projects because they assume it will cost too much. Instead of letting it get this far with your company, look at some of these quick estimation tips. These tips should give you a better idea of how to handle things. This way you won't have to turn down any jobs, jobs that could affect your bottom line.
A SNEAK PEAK IS NOT GOING TO HURT YOU
It's not a bad idea to get a rough cost upfront. This way you can look at your budget. This way you'll know what you can afford. Sometimes clients and customers fail to communicate on this. This is one of the reasons why the cost comes into question. Looking at a rough estimate will give you some idea of whether or not you can even take the job. This will also save on the miscommunication.AGREE TO PAY IN STAGES
This is a good idea, if executed properly. Agree to a pay for a job in stages. This tip is made especially for those who only get those big projects, projects that can't be paid all at once. The client also needs to agree with this too. Otherwise, you will have another issue on your hands. You also need to see each stage is going to cost. If there is a way to phase out some of the stages to cut down on money, then do so. Some jobs don't require as many steps as you think. It's time to strip it down to the bare minimum.DON'T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
No one
15
May
May
Some of you might be wondering how fiction can help improve your ideas in your business dealings. Some of you might be wondering how it can help open up your mind and keep your more open and objective with your online web design company.
Below there are some simple tips that will help answer these questions and more.
CREATING THE EMPATHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO GROW
Sometimes business owners need to put themselves in another's shoes to get a better understanding. Look at the what writers do for a living. As writers, we tend to use our imagination a lot. We tend to think outside the box. This adds a level to the story telling. This adds a level to the sympathy and empathy. We use this to help stretch our minds, so that we can improve what we are writing about. The more imaginative it is, the more the public will buy it. This is what makes fiction work. Fiction sells things that most things in reality can't. This is exactly the reason why more businesses should try this as an idea. More business should try to go outside of the box to sell some of their ideas. Take web design. Web design is all about imagination. The more imagination you tap into with your design, the more visual the concept will be. The more customers you will attract.IT WILL HELP TO RELIEVE STRESS
Did you know that reading fiction reduces stress and anxiety? It does. Just reading 6 minutes of fiction each night will
15
May
May
These tips present to you are some of the best. These tips will help you to achieve the highest numbers possible, not to mention optimization.
MAKE YOUR POINT RATHER QUICKLY
Nobody wants to read a book. Your customer wants you to make your point and get out. Short attention spans are shorter than most of us realize. Most people will scan a page. They will scan a specific page to find what they are looking for. Your customers came to your site for a reason. Give them that reason upfront. Address everything upfront and make it quick. If you have to, use subheadings and bullet lists. Take a look at how I am arranging this content. This is how you need to be focused for your landing pages. If you do things in this manner, then your pages are going to be ranked higher on search engines.COLORS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT
Learn to contrast your colors a bit. When making some of your minor points, then you can use a more subdued color. The person will still get your point, but it won't be so in-your-face. When it comes to the major points and the call-to-action, you need to use bolder colors. Make those words shine. Make them count. This is all part of making a clear and concise point. If you wish for your customers to click on something for further details, allow this request to shine. This is where bolder colors come into play. The more you contrast your bolder colors with your more subdued colors, the more your landing page will outshine the others.YOU
15
May
May
There are lots of tools out on the market that claim they can be resourceful in building your website. Truth be told, you really only need a few of the tools to get your site up and running in a functional way.
