CMS Vacation Rental Website Launch

The custom cms, content management system, web design for SunShinyFlorida.com vacation rental site launched last week and final web design enhancements were completed over the weekend. This example of cms web design techniques has the following advanced features:

• Home page flash slide show with controls for play, pause, and stop
• Separate interactive flash photo gallery featuring their home
• CSS and XHTML custom design contact form with captcha to avoid spam
• Custom vacation rental availability calendar to show open rental booking dates
• Matching color scheme custom integrated Blogger blog for vacation news
• Custom 404 error page providing navigation options to keep visitors engaged

The admin backend control allows the owner to create unlimited new pages in xhtml with css that comply to W3C. For the price of 10 static web design pages the intial launch is a 25 page cms website, and the owner may now add 100, 500, or 1000 website pages at no additional cost. The web design service price included resources for seo, or search engine optimization to enhance visitor experience and attract search engines.

Small business owners interested in a web design makeover, or completely new website design, are welcome to request a no obligation evaluation of their website needs. View my main site or the CMS Vacation Rental Site Launch for ideas about website design features that you would like, and then email me from any page.



TAGS: content management system cms web design website launch seo search engine optimization

Web Design and Graphics Resources

A new web design video tutorial demonstrates masking photographs to clip the background, and then combining two photos for a web graphic illustration. This client purchased a stock photo of a boxer being punched and wanted to convey a message about new internet users being abused in an upcoming web design. The second photo overlay in this web design graphic adds a business shirt and tie to the boxer's bare chest to look more like an internet user.

Next, a new custom business card artwork gallery #2 features 50 more full color business card examples. Most include the business card front and back to show how card backs may be used for small ads, or a call to action. The gallery uses an advanced web design technique in CSS to display 50 cards larger than actual size in half an open browser window. Enlarged business card views display instantly as you mouse over the thumbnails, and do not use javascript or flash. In addition, each card has a caption describing the company business product or service in plain text for added SEO value.

Finally, both card galleries have a new comment for clients who want to order fewer than 5000 new business cards. The printer I recommend now offers 1000 2-sided full color UV coated cards for $30 plus tax and freight.

Watch the advanced photo edit video for web graphics on my main site, or view 100 examples of business card artwork in the original 50 card gallery or new Gallery 2 with 50 more designs, and then email me from any page with questions about custom graphic art for web design or print.



TAGS: advice business cards small business advice video tutorial web design

Post Card and Flyer Gallery Redesign

The new photo gallery display web design technique in CSS on the main site was used to redesign the post card and flyer gallery page. The old version was converted to pure CSS in perfect XHTML with CSS2 and zero code errors. This advanced web design method includes similar features to the recently created business card artwork gallery as follows:

(1) 3 rows of 6 post card and flyer thumbnails (18 examples)
(2) enlarged views of each post card on the same page
(3) seo friendly caption in actual text in enlarged views

A key advantage of this web design technique is the old design showed just 6 examples of artwork that required scrolling to view the entire page. The new css web design method displays 18 examples in approximately half the open window browser for easier viewing by visitors. An added bonus is the seo or search engine optimization of the enlarged views with descriptive text captions that may be indexed by search engines.

View these 18 graphic art examples of full color custom designed post cards and flyers as displayed on this gallery page. Gorgeous post cards or flyers in full color 2-sided designs allow cost effective advertising to mail or hand out. This Post Card and Flyer Artwork Design Gallery includes front and back enlarged images of custom flyer and post card artwork.



TAGS: post card artwork css gallery graphic art seo search engine optimization web design

Business Card Gallery Converted to CSS

As part of the web design makeover of the Small Business Resource Center website I converted the custom business card gallery in pure CSS. The thumbnail graphic of each of the 50 business card examples has been reduced in size, and the CSS layout renders enlarged versions of each, and all within a half page area. Unlike web design techniques in some photo galleries using javascript or flash, the business card gallery renders enlarged views instantly without a popup window or redirect to a JPG on a new page.

View the following screenshot from this gallery of custom business card artwork, and note that the card thumbnails and enlarged version (larger than actual size) takes up very little space on the page. The sequence of encircled numbers in the graphic below point out (1) the 5 rows of 10 business card thumbnails as contained in an area 550 pixels wide by 180 pixels high, the (2) enlarged view of one of the business card designs as displayed below the gallery rows, and (3) the seo friendly caption in actual text that appears under each photo.



(1) the 5 rows of 10 business card thumbnails
(2) enlarged view of one of the business card designs
(3) the seo friendly caption in actual text

This improved web design technique with CSS allows having 50 photographs with enlarged views in half an open browser window. The caption under each photo adds search engine optimization value to the web design because the text can be indexed by search engines. The caption text is visible to visitors for improved usability, also, which helps people viewing the business cards identify the company and their business for each design.

View the Graphic Art | Business Card Design Gallery to see this advanced web design technique for creating a business card or photo gallery with CSS. The enlarged views of the 50 cards are each 400 pixels wide, so presenting 50 cards in such a small space is a big improvement over the previous version of that page.

Finally, the web design of this page is complex yet meets W3C standards compliance with perfect code in XHTML and CSS2. A revised gallery of post cards and flyers will be next using this same technique. Unlike the current design with a handful of examples, the post card gallery will include 18 custom post card designs in a similar small space. Readers interested in a compact photo gallery web design for their small business website are welcome to email me for a quote.



TAGS: business card artwork css gallery graphic art seo search engine optimization web design

CMS Web Design Video Tutorial Released

A new page of our main site provides web design advice for small business owners including a CMS web design video tutorial just released today. The video demonstrates how the Small Business Resource Center website was converted from static pages to CMS or Content Management System generated pages using plain text.

The video includes a tour of the backend admin section of this site, and a demonstration of how new pages may be added to a CMS based design in plain text without having to learn or know HTML code. An important aspect featured in the web design tutorial is how my custom designed CMS system provides simple methods of adding META information for search engine optimization, or SEO, also.

At the same time, a new episode on the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast provides advice and information about web design using CSS styles, or cascading style sheets. The podcast show notes link to the video, also. The new and easy-to-use technique for creating a new small business web design with CMS relates to CSS for separating content and presentation and is a big part of this latest web design service.

Existing customers with static web design pages created by me are welcome to inquire about converting their website to an owner managed content management system. A $500 discount off my published price is good for existing customers and valid through June, 30, 2008. Watch the CMS web design video tour and podcast episode about web design and css styling to learn more, and then don't delay as the end of the month approaches.



TAGS: advice cms content management system seo video tutorial web design

Design Evolution and CMS Web Design

As new technology evolves, the evolution of web development design and cms web design continues to make great progress. My goal has always been perfect code to comply with W3c standards with zero code errors, and creating websites designed with seo rich content for search engine optimization. Most CMS, content management systems, create code errors yet with 1000 files in the system to tweak, getting a perfect cms site has been nearly impossible.

With the newer wide screen format for personal computers, the layout of some websites are not displayed as well as expected. The reason in some cases is a stretchy design that fills the screen and creates long sentences in wide screen view. The advantage shows up on smaller computer monitors at 800 pixels wide, yet that goal is practicaly obsolete.

From tracking stats of visitor systems used to view my site, it turns out that fewer than 5% are on 800 x 600 screens. The purpose of a flexible design is filling the screen on all sizes without needing a horizontal scroll bar, yet accommodating older technology appears to affect very few people.

As a result, my choice for the future is fixed width site design of 960 pixel wide sites that will apparently display well on any size screen. By using xhtml with css these custom web designs will also display well on small screens like the iPhone or cell phones, too.

Meanwhile, the design evolution and cms web design has conquered the problem of creating a site the owner can manage, and finally have perfect xhtml and css. To begin demonstrating this newer cms method of web design, I've added a section for readers to view to see the development and evolution of cms. The concept and new feature is the subject of the latest podcast episode entitled Custom CMS Web Design Demo, so you may now listen about this breakthrough in design services that I offer. Email comments or questions from any page of this website.



TAGS: advice cms content management system search engine optimization small business services

New Large Screen Video Design Services

I began using a new production technique for large screen web video for small business websites, and the following example was recently launched for a tutorial on the RBO Vacation Ads website. The lesson demonstrates how to edit or resize photographs to 500 pixel wide using free photo edit software from Irfanview, yet this same advice can help blog owners adjust photos to any width.



Advantages of my technique for video production include larger display size and clarity, plus zero ads like some free hosted video websites. The custom video design includes mixed tracks with background music in the intro and outro, and the narration which was recorded separately.

You may want to view another video tutorial at Rent by Owner Vacation Ads. For small business owners who want a similar custom design large display video online ad to feature or introduce their products or services, contact me for a prompt quote.



TAGS: advice custom video small business advice small business services video tutorial website design

Website Tabbed Heading Graphics in CSS

A novice small business website owner questioned how heading backgrounds with rounded corners are created and referenced a real estate website using the technique. This was a custom website design using css with graphic design of background images, and explains the technique used.

The sample real estate site was done in HTML plus CSS for layout without tables which provided an excellent example of what can be done creating a tableless web page. Before looking at the code my guess was the page was done with tables, so I was surprised (and impressed) with their layout. Here's a graphic of three sets of links with a top heading and text in pure css that only appears to be created using tables.



The headings were done in CSS and each is a background image which consists of just two graphics which allows text headings. For the ones in question, right clicking on the rounded corner at the left and selecting "view background image" in FireFox (on the real estate site... not this graphic here) allows a visitor to view the corner only. In IE you may not have the view option and might have to save-as to see the square with the upper left corner in white.

Next, right clicking on the far right to view the rest of the background image you would see it is a single thin vertical line with shading to match the horizontal highlight at the top of the rounded corner. The "square" is used once, and then the vertical slice butts up against the "corner" and repeats horizontally as many times as necessary to fill the space.

Attributes in the CSS call out "no-repeat" to place the corner once and "repeat-x" for the vertical line which repeats (x = horizontally) until it reaches the end to fill in the background. The outside border was done using the "border" attribute and specifying the color.

After visiting the site, and for such a well designed page, I was surprised the home page had over 100 code errors. The designer mixed HTML with XHTML creating most of the errors, and if they had validated the code at W3C the errors could have been easily identified and fixed.

In summary, the technique for a heading background and box outline requires advanced design methods in HTML with CSS, plus the graphic skills to create the matching corner and vertical repeating graphic. The person making the inquiry mentioned examples used elsewhere with gradient fills. These use the same code technique except a different custom matching set of graphics.



TAGS: advice css graphic design custom website design

Two New Card Designs with Custom Logos

The custom business card gallery on my main site features more than 50 designs done for clients, yet it has not been updated in at least a year. Here are two recent card designs with custom logos for a real estate company and an insurance company. Graphics are shown larger than actual size in low resolution.

Real estate card of Green Investment Group, LLC



Insurance card design for Einstein Insurance and Investment Group



Each features custom logos from sketches provided by the client, and then rendered in a unique way or color scheme in vector graphic art for print to match their corporate image. Clients needing a business card, custom ad, or print advertising yet don't have logo artwork can email me a scanned image. As part of my small business services I can reproduce just about any logo in vector art for print or online.



TAGS: business card card design custom logo graphic artwork small business services

CD Cover Artwork for Newly Released Album

I just completed custom graphic artwork of a CD cover, CD insert, and CD label for a newly released album, Back to the Basics, from Shizz Entertainment and featuring 21 songs of indie artists in the Philadelphia area. This comes less than a week after designing a one page website for them and creating posters, flyers, and other printed marketing materials.

Shizz Entertainment, a small business and Philadelphia independent artist recording studio, also does production and promotion for solo artists or groups, and specializes in gospel, r and b, jazz, and poetry whether vocal, instrumental, or both.

Below is the music album cover design and other artwork shown approximate actual size in low resolution.



Next is the cd album insert showing tracks of these independent musical artists and groups in order of their appearance: Shizz, Young Don the Don, Young Leek, Nuckles, Scrooge, Geezz, Lord Dom, Millz Banks, Black Card, Kanard, Mac Money, 12 Gage, Crazy Ink, and O.C.S.



Finally, here's the look of the finished CD label simulated as printed and placed on a production CD. The look matches the album cover and includes all 21 track titles and the names of each artist or group for every song.



The artwork was custom designed for this promotional music CD, and free downloads of all tracks are scheduled for released on the Shizz Entertainment website later this month.

Readers interested in affordable custom web design or matching graphic artwork for print are welcome to email me from any page for a no obligation review and proposal.



TAGS: cd artwork cd cover design graphic artwork promotion small business

New Website Launch for Recording Studio

Another custom web design was launched earlier today for Shizz Entertainment, an indie artist recording studio in Philadelphia, PA. The simple starter website will expand over the coming months to add more details about their services, including featured artists, music downloads, and perhaps videos.

Shizz Entertainment specializes in recording, production, and promotional services for independent music artists. Genres include gospel, rap, rythym and blues, jazz, and poetry. Solo and group indie performers are welcome to inquire about low cost solutions for getting started.



The above screenshot of part of their website includes the custom logo design that I created for Shizz which is already being used for posters, printed marketing materials, and t-shirts. CD cover designs are in work.

Previously covering Philadelphia metro only, Shizz Entertainment is expanding with services for indie performers in most East Coast cities. New website content will be provided and added as their time permits, yet a free download sample CD with 21 tracks is scheduled for release soon.

The custom web design for Shizz Entertainment meets W3C standards for XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 with zero code errors, and content is optimized for seo, search engine optimization.



TAGS: launch custom logo design custom website design small business services news seo

Custom Audio Produced for Storytelling Blog

From a chance encounter with a reader of my personal blog, Growin' Up in Maine, I recently completed and uploaded a custom audio production to allow readers to listen to this guest storyteller. The narration is by Larry Hall, 91 years old, and he agreed to having me record his story rather than just post it as text.

Visit the blog to hear this humorous tale Roping the Grammar School Bell in 1928, and a bonus story about the local sheriff's brand new Model T Ford. This is a unique piece about growing up in a small town nearly 80 years ago. Listeners are welcome to inquire about custom audio or video production for their small business blog or website, as well.



TAGS: audio custom audio blog audio production small business services

Unique 50 Photo Website Gallery

Following up on the Monday release of the SolarusUSA integrated blog, my design of their main awning products website launched earlier today featuring a unique 50 photo website gallery. Imagine a visitor viewing 50 large photos as shown below in this post, and being able to view every photo on one page without scrolling down the computer screen.



Each awning photo displays 495 pixels wide by 356 pixels tall, so viewing 50 without moving down the screen may sound unbelievable until you actually see it. The photo above is slightly larger because it includes a border and outline, plus a full text caption at the bottom of the photo. Search engines cannot index graphics, however, the text caption on their website is real text, not a graphic. The search engine optimization, or seo, value of this design is an added benefit of this custom website design technique.

Finally, some photo galleries can come close to this performance, but they depend on a script or flash to present the series of photos in one place, and those techniques have zero seo value. Search engines ignore scripts and they cannot read flash website content. The photo gallery that I developed for SolarusUSA is a breakthrough enhanced technique being offered as part of my custom website design services, and the layout is done completely in XHTML 1.1 and CSS2.

Despite the complexity, the page code complies as valid to W3C standards without errors. View the photo gallery for solid color awning fabrics here, and the striped pattern awning fabrics here.



TAGS: launch photographs photo gallery website design search engine optimization seo

Chinese Character Logo in Xara Xtreme

I recently created a logo design that included Chinese characters for a new client in Orlando, Florida, whose core business is services to restaurants, especially Chinese restaurants. The client furnished a handwritten version of the characters for their logo which I then recreated in Xara Xtreme.

Their printed marketing materials will be in English. The top view shown above is the handwritten scanned version they provided, and below that is my finished version that was integrated into their logo for the benefit of clients who read Chinese. The phrase has meaning for the majority of their customers without being dominant, while the look is decorative rather than literal for the other restaurants.

Duplicating an existing design or sketch into a finished logo is just one of the services that I provide for custom small business artwork for print or online. This client confirmed the rendering was perfect and easy to read, so with some imagination and Xara Xtreme vector graphics software, graphic designers can achieve professional results.



TAGS: graphic artwork logo design logos small business services Xara Xtreme

Small Business Podcast Listener Reviews

With the release of episode 002 of the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast, feedback and customer reviews from listeners has been positive and encouraging. USA and international email comments were received from two professional web designers and existing clients which included the following:

Just listened to your podcast. I found it to be excellent, clear and informative; your voice inflection is awesome. I'll be tuning in regularly.

Excellent job, precise, direct to the point and informative. Who could ask for more?

Enjoyed the podcast very much. Actually I think it’s a much better idea than video in a way because it can be totally scripted and read. You just can’t do that with video.

Looks like a home run Jim!! I would like to set up something for people that have questions, too.

The podcast show topics cover websites for small business owners and each episode features a tip of the day, plus a catchy opening and closing theme song. One reply included a tutorial request for a new custom video production as featured on this blog, also.

Feedback is certainly appreciated, and I'll be sure to give serious consideration to listener requests taken from the website mailbag. Thanks.



TAGS: small business podcast podcast launch news podcast customer reviews

Custom Site Launch and Special Logo

I finished and recently launched a new one page custom website design for Accelerated Lending Group, Inc of Orlando, Florida including a special logo. The 3 separate line drawings of the custom logo for their website are shown to the left of their business card that I also designed, and were rejected.

Sometimes extracting the mental vision that a client wants in a web design or piece of matching artwork is a challenge!



The owner wanted a symbol similar to ancient Greek ruins with columns and decided they preferred a realistic building, so I created the near photograph effect which was approved. The logo was done in Xara Xtreme vector graphics software which is my choice for custom website graphics and matching artwork for print.

Once the logo and color scheme were approved, a matching 4 x 6 custom flyer post card was created, also. The website is modest yet allows them to have their www domain name on the printed materials, and new web pages will be added in the near future. A one page custom website may be perfect for other small business owners on a limited budget, or just starting up.



TAGS: artwork logo custom website design website launch

EzineArticles Desktop Wallpaper Download

A blog post at EzineArticles.com shows the mug illustration from the graphic tutorial I posted on August 17, 2007. After reading the warm comments, I decided to create a custom high resolution version of the mugshot available for download for EzineArticles platinum authors, and others.

View the tutorial and custom photo illustration used for the wallpaper from my previous post, or right click and save target as to download the free EzineArticles mug desktop wallpaper here (250kb JPG zipped folder). Unlike some free downloads, you do not have to register or reveal your email address.

Article writing is a great way to increase backlinks, and the desktop wallpaper is a friendly reminder to keep writing.



TAGS: graphic artwork desktop wallpaper free download article writing

Platinum Author Mug Illustration

The coffee mug shown in the photograph below was in a surprise package received from Chris Knight of EzineArticles.com in recognition after they promoted me as a platinum author. I once mentioned this item to a client who said they'd love to see the mug and then suggested I post it on my website.

The customer is always right, so a smaller version of the photo is now featured on my Directory of Small Business Articles Published Online, and the graphic art tutorial that follows explains how the coffee mug was edited using Xara Xtreme to create the dynamic look and special effects.



By combining graphics and digital magic, this is how a photograph of a simple item like a coffee mug can be enhanced. The photo edit took less than an hour using Xara Xtreme which is perfect for creating professional illustrations for your small business website or advertising artwork for print.



The left photo (A) is just the mug held at arm's length outdoors, and the center photo (B) was a recent Florida sunset that I snapped and chose to use for the background. I took each photograph with a Canon PowerShot A80 digital camera in auto mode. The right photo (C) shows the 6 elements that were combined as layers in Xara Xtreme, and then placed on top of the golden sunset photograph for the finished illustration. Here's the tutorial showing how the 6 elements were created:

1. The coffee mug was precisely traced in Xara Xtreme and the background removed
2. The glass table top effect was done using a black rectangle overlay with 75% transparency
3. A clone of the coffee mug was cropped and flipped to create a partial mirror image
4. The shadow of the mug and handle was applied in Xara Xtreme at 38% black
5. The shadow under the mug was done as a black ellipse with 4.4px feathering
6. Part of the sunset photograph was cloned, cropped, and flipped to create the reflection

If you are interested in a cost effective vector graphics software program, Xara Xtreme is my choice for custom graphics and photo edits. Download a free 30 day trial of Xara Xtreme here.

UPDATE: Download this illustration as free desktop wallpaper here (250kb JPG zipped folder). Readers do not have to register or reveal their email address, so just right click the link and "save target as" for your copy.



TAGS: advice graphic artwork photo edit tutorial xara xtreme

Advertising Artwork for Magazine

A consistent look in all media advertising is important for establishing branding and a familiar corporate identity.

Besides custom website design, my services include custom matching graphic artwork for print. Below is an example of a half page full color magazine ad designed for Roll Screen Solutions of Orlando, Florida. The ad will target high end homeowners next month in a home renovation magazine.



The image is smaller than actual size, and low resolution. In addition, I've designed client advertising including phone book and newspaper advertisements in full color, black and white, or 2-color. The design artwork in this example was half the price of the magazine's art department rate, and matches the website, brochure, and business cards which I also created for Roll Screen Solutions.

A few years ago I created artwork for a highway billboard to match one client's color scheme. In their case the advertising agency would have done artwork for free. After having me do their website, custom mailers, trifold brochure, newspaper ads, and business cards, the client preferred paying for billboard artwork to keep the consistent corporate identity.



TAGS: graphic artwork custom artwork magazine ad advertising artwork

Xara Xtreme Digital Design Tip

The artwork in this custom door tag photo edit tutorial was created using Xara Xtreme, and illustrates how combining techniques allows designers to get some interesting special effects for printed marketing materials.

For this client a plain photograph of their truck and trailer was received after I designed their custom logo, and before the new logo was added to their fleet.

The vehicle is typical for their business which is lawn service, power washing, and landscaping. They were anxious to order a custom door tag immediately, and I suggested using this photo and letting me add the logo digitally.

Here's how the finished photo for the ad was designed with the final look displayed in the photo of the last step.

Step 1 - Original photo received from the client. A duplicate clone was created so I had two copies in Xara Xtreme.



Step 2 - Using one copy of the photo I precisely traced the truck and trailer to create a clipping mask, and removed all the background leaving the truck/trailer only.



Step 3 - Using the second original photo I applied a 20% blur so it would fade into the background when the clipped truck and trailer were added later.



Step 4 - Next, the logo vector art was imported and placed on the clipped art along with the phone number in several areas, and then the Xara handles were used to warp the perspective to match the photo for a more realistic look.



Step 5 - A 55 pixel wide portion of the entire left side of the blurred version of the photograph was removed to create an illusion and add a 3D effect when the final step was completed.



Step 6 - The clipped truck and trailer were placed precisely over the blurred version of the truck/trailer in the photo so the truck front protruded off the photo to the left and appears to be driving out of the photograph and onto the page.



The effect was a success and used immediately for the printed custom door tag, and will be incorporated into the custom website design next for a consistent look in print and online. Designing with Xara vector graphics software makes creating professional results so easy that I've been using their programs for almost 4 years.

Novice designers looking for a cost effective alternative to the $500 to $1000 software packages will appreciate the price of Xara Xtreme starting at just under $100USD. Download and try Xara Xtreme free for 30 days, and you're welcome to send me samples of your work, too!

You may want to view the complete custom door tag here to see how the photo was integrated into the advertising piece.



TAGS: artwork tutorial photo edits door tag design xara xtreme

Two Custom Matching Blogs Launched

Additional small business blogs integrated with matching graphics to the client's main website were launched recently and available to view. JB Owens, Public Insurance Adjusters, provide commercial and residential clients support analyzing property loss due to disaster to maximize insurance benefits. Roll Screen Solutions LLC specializes in retractable screens and awnings for your Florida home or business with custom design motorized or manual products.

Each client blog matches the main site with familiar graphics for a consistent marketing message and corporate identity.



Visit the James B. Owens blog here and the Roll Screen Solutions blog here.

Custom blogs with graphics to match your website provide an easy way to quickly add fresh content to your small business website. Pricing starts at $200 and includes 8 features for your custom template with every order. Visit the custom new blogger template page for more examples of client websites with integrated matching blogs.



TAGS: blogger blogger templates small business services custom website design custom graphic design

Website Animations in Xara Xtreme

On occasion some of my custom website designs include animated gifs, and Xara Xtreme is my software of choice. In general, I am opposed to website animations unless they serve a significant purpose.

Wild or flashy animated gif graphics may violate issues of website accessibility, which may sound strange at first. Actually fast moving graphics may cause seizures in persons with epilepsy, so the decision involves much more than good taste.

I recently created two examples that met my guidelines because first, they were cute, and secondly, each served a practical purpose. Rather than feature each here out of context, you may view my examples created in Xara Xtreme on the actual websites to get the full effect.

The buzzing blowfly in the upper left of the top banner at Australian social bookmarking site Flyblown.com.au was requested by Ric Raftis, the website owner, who is a good friend and fellow custom web developer. The meaning escaped my grasp until he explained that "flyblown" is an Australian term and common euphemism Down Under.

Next, for Roll Screen Solutions in Orlando, Florida, the animation is a product demo of one of their garage door screens in operation. A still photo simply couldn't convey the ease of operation for the retractable door screen, so the animation demonstrated the product with a twist. The animal actor in the demo is the real star.

Using Xara Xtreme the first animated gif was done with 2 frames. The roll screen demo required 36 frames which means 36 separate drawings. Each was done in kind at no charge as statements of gratitude, personal and business.



TAGS: graphic artwork animated gif artwork example Xara Xtreme

CD Album 4x6 Flyer Advertisement

Recording artist Monk contacted me for a 4x6 flyer announcing the album debut and official release party of the Thugology MD All Black Album at Club51 in Rockville MD on April 20. It was a rush job and took less than a week from concept to finished print.

The specification for a 4x6 post card size design was black background and simple plain white text. The Club51 logo is red and white, so Monk agreed to allow red and some creativity. Here's a look at the front artwork that I created shown smaller than actual size.


Official Thugology MD All Black Album Release Party Ad

The back (not shown) includes admission, contact phone information, and a list of performing artists: Lil Buck, Twisted Mindz, Mo. Co finest Monk & Tha Don. Keeping the original concept of white text, the illustration of this ad shows how white text on black can jump off the page with simple shading.

Do you have a challenging design or deadline? Let me know what you need and how quickly.



TAGS: printed ad design post cards flyer examples graphic artwork

Limo Service Business Card Design

This tutorial shows how I created a limousine service business card using layers of photos and graphics. This Florida limo owner specified he wanted a card with 2 palm trees, a towncar, and the sun. The following sequence illustrates how the effect was created with 3 photographs and custom graphics. I substituted a Florida sunset photo instead of the sun to improve the overall layout.

Step 1: The photo of two palm trees cropped 3-1/2" x 2.0":


Step 2: The limousine company logo graphic was added next:


Step 3: A green graphic to simulate grass was used across the bottom:


Step 4: The pink sunset photo overlay blends in to the palm tree photo:


Step 5: Next, the towncar photo hides the floating palm tree effect:


Step 6: The name, phone, and other details completes the look:


If the palm tree photo looks familiar, it was used in a previous post comparing a photo in screen view and printed. When creating custom business cards it is important to give each client a unique look. If doing a card design for your company, consider combining photos to appear as a single scene. Visit the business card gallery on my main site to view more custom card examples.



TAGS: design tutorial business cards custom graphic design limousine business card