Can you brand your business and launch your brand online . . . . without losing your mind? A great idea can hit you anywhere. It can wake you at 2:00 a.m., so compelling that you jump out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, and begin outlining your business plan. Remember, though, in the heady rush of dreaming up the business, to build a launching pad for it. In other words, a presence on the Internet. Because in today’s buzzword search-engine climate, a website is the most powerful marketing and sales tool available to any company, large or…
Choose Appropriate Fonts for Your Self-Published Book Interior A quick look on your software reveals myriad choices of fonts and you can always find more! But like shopping in a candy store, you have to make judicious selections. It is important to select appropriate fonts to communicate your message to your readers, particularly when dealing with titles and headlines. Why? Because specific fonts can evoke a certain attitude and feeling that reinforces your intended message. Fonts for Headlines Choose a bold font with the right personality for your book interior. After all, fonts (like people) have personalities, and different designs…
You can design award winning book covers by using appropriate colors, imagery, symbolism, style and typography. Here’s how our team produced 7 award winning book covers at the CIPA EVVY Awards banquet. The Front Cover The front cover of your book should capture the essence of what’s inside. Smart self-publishers include an endorsement or short testimonial from a VIP on the front cover. Quality book cover design attracts potential readers faster than any other element, regardless of who you are or what you’ve written about. Large publishing houses and established authors all know a creative cover beckons to their devoted fans while also attracting new readers. Self-published authors…
You experience harmonious colors in many areas of life: clothing, architecture, interior design, jewelry, gardening, as well as advertising, marketing, and corporate identity. It becomes easy to select harmonious colors if you follow a proven color theory system. The steps below will show you how to create well-planned color schemes based on the “Bourges color circle” system. In 1918 Albert Bourges based his color theory on a circle of 20 hues. Complementary Colors Complementary colors are exact opposites that enhance one another. When you blend the two together, you get neutral black. When used together, they both appear brighter and…
A flyer is an inexpensive and highly effective way to grab attention in a very busy marketplace. How do you create an eye-catching flyer that will stand out in the crowd? Here are 10 techniques that professional designers use to make flyers “pop.” 1. Write a snappy headline or title Make it memorable, unusual or provocative using a few carefully chosen powerful words. Popular titles contain one or more of these words: Easy, The Secrets to, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive, How to, Free Bonuses, Now You Can, Discover, Proven. 2. Use colorful or striking graphics to create an eye-catching flyer One…
Here’s how to scan photos to get the best resolution from your desktop scanner. First, I’ll explain some of the basics and terminology and then I’ll provide a handy table for reference at the end of this post. Halftones and Lines per Inch (LPI) In graphics arts terminology, a photograph from your camera is called a “continuous tone” image. Printing presses require a continuous tone image to be converted into a “halftone.” A halftone is created by placing a “screen” made of thousands of dots on the photo and taking a “picture” of it. Nowadays, this screening process happens using computer…
Today I have some good news and some bad news. First the good news. The good news is that the great people at SmallBusinessCEOMagazine.com are publishing an article in their December issue that was submitted by yours truly. Click here to read my article: “How Relationship Marketing Can Help Your Business During Bad Economic Times.” If you haven’t visited SmallBusinessCEOMagazine.com yet, you’ll have to check this out. They have created an incredible open-to-the-public online magazine just for small business owners and entrepreneurs like us. You can access articles written by the top people in their professions. They also have a…
Are you hunting all over the Internet to find competent graphic professionals to help build your brand, design marketing materials and craft your website? Is it possible to find one studio, designer or design team who does it all? Based on my decades of experience in graphic design, I’ve found it’s impossible for one person to do it all, and do it well. We all have limitations on our time and skills. So to stay competitive and serve my clients better, I’ve built relationships with other professionals in the same or supporting fields. I’ve also established strategic alliances with marketing consultants…
I’ve asked a good friend of mine Lauren Klopfenstein, who is one of my trusted design team members to share her top 10 website production tips. For several years now Lauren and her associates have consistently delivered exceptional designs to my clients. We’ve worked together on branding, logos, websites, packaging design and a number of marketing and advertising projects. Here are her tips — does your website meet this criteria? 1. Have a plan, ask yourself some important basic questions Think about your site and what you want it to do. Spend time evaluating what you think your customers want from…