Graphic Design Greenville

Many businesses are starting blogs nowadays and you may be looking into creating a blog for your business. I am writing this blog entry, to give you some advantages and disadvantages of blogs so you can make the right decision on whether to start a blog or not. I’ll also give you advice on how to create a blog on the cheap and how to get traffic to it!

Note: There are quite a few blog software creators. My favorite is Wordpress.org because of it’s ease of use, clean code and vast amount of FREE templates. Any reference to the blog interface is talking about wordpress.

Advantages of Business Blogs

• Naturally search engine friendly - Blogs help you create great site structure with tools like tags, categories, and links. The tools give you an excuse to add keywords all over your site as well as structure the site in a search engine friendly manner. For example, this page’s url, is graphicdesigngreenville.com/website-design/whats-all-the-fuss-about-blogs. You can see quite a few relevant keywords like “website design” and “blogs” as well as my domain which has “graphic design” and “greenville” in it. In my URL, “website-design” is the category. If you want to see all posts under this category just simply go to graphicdesigngreenville.com/website-design/. Google and other search engines like this structure.
• Gives your business a personal side - Blogs aren’t corporate and they shouldn’t be. It’s a chance to let some personality out! Your business website is professional, gives people facts, and sells to them. Your blog allows you to let customers know about your latest news in your business, give customers advice, and wish them a happy new year (or other holiday)! You have a chance to help  them out for FREE with your information and because of that they will have a positive memory in their mind about your company.
• Drives traffic to your business website - Your blog can drive traffic to your website, so when people are ready to buy, they can visit your site with more confidence in your products and your knowledge about them.
• You might become a blog star - If your blog catches fire, people can subscribe to your feed-that’s blog talk for you get lots more traffic to your blog and business website!
• You control the content - You can write freely, post images or videos and not have to pay someone to add it to the site. Once you complete your entry you just simply hit PUBLISH and it is live on the internet!
• Easy and Quick setup - If you need to get content up fast, you can purchase a domain name and hosting, install the blog, and have your first post up in 1 day!

Disadvantages of Business Blogs

• You control the content - Don’t get drunk on all that freedom! Keep your blog focused on a topic you decided on from the start. Keep the look consistent, your content relevant to your chosen topic and your posts spelling and grammar free.
• It needs your time and commitment - Are you ready to commit 1-3 hours a week to a blog. blogs that don’t get updated often are looked over quickly and forgotten (no rhyming intended)! If you start one, set an alarm in your calendar to write a quality post at least once a week.
• Popularity isn’t necessarily a good thing - Because blogs are great tools, many people have them and create them every day! (no one has an accurate number but technorani is tracking 133 million Blogs). The difference between you and them is you know how to use them to benefit your business!

My tips for a success blog

Create your blog on a separate domain from your business website that includes keywords you want people to find you with.  The main tip to keep in mind is to create content that viewers will read and make the content relevant to what you are selling. Also, strategically place your keywords into your blog by including them in your posts through tags and categories.

The cheapest way to start a blog is using blogger.com or wordpress.com (FREE). The only disadvantage is you will have their name in your domain name. For example, mine would be “graphicdesigngreenville.wordpress.com”.  An advantage of using these services is you can network with the other bloggers on those sites and drive traffic to your business website that way.

The thumbnail below is an example of a blog I set up for a real estate and business owner, Steven Sarkela who wanted to give people information on his Condo and Beach home rentals in Charleston, SC and the Folly Beach area. With a 10 minute conversation over the phone, he had his first blog entry up.  He picked out a theme, I modified it a little and had his site up in a day. Visit Steven Sarkela’s website at www.stevensarkela.com.

Steven Sarkela's Blog set up by Photo Graphics

Setting up a blog for you or your business can be more affordable than an actual website. Blogs are also a great addition to your marketing materials and existing website. Please contact me through my website www.pgraphics.biz, if you are interested in setting up a blog or need any of my design services.

HAPPY BLOGGING, Calvin

Filed under: Small Business Marketing, Website Design on February 16th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Heart of Texas Logo Design

Kimberly Fowler of Heart of Texas Real Estate Group wanted a logo that set her real estate company apart from all the other logos that featured the state of texas and a heart in various forms. After talking with her, we decided including the elements of the horse and the state flag of texas. I created a one color design as well for use on business cards as a foil stamp or metallic ink.

Heart of Texas Logo Design One Color

Kimberly Fowler is a realtor near Waco and Temple, Texas. If you are interested in real estate in this area, visit her website: www.heartoftexasgroup.com

Filed under: Logo Design on February 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Cody's Kayak Rentals Logo Design

Kayaks have a distinct shape, as do the paddles for the kayak. I wanted to incorporate both into the  logo design for Cody’s Kayak Rentals.

Cody's Kayak Rentals Website Design

With the Cody’s Kayak web design I wanted to create something earthy that appealed to people wanting to get outdoors. I used burnt edges, rough stitching, and organic backgrounds to create the effect. The t-shirts reflect the same earthy feel I kept consistent across the mediums.

Cody's Kayak Rental T-shirt Design

Cody’s Kayak Rentals operates out of lakes and rivers in the Greenville, SC area including Lake Robinson and Tiger River. To rent a kayak or to learn more about Cody’s Kayak Rentals, visit www.codyskayaks.com or call Duane at  (864) 293-4632.

Filed under: Logo Design, Print Design, Website Design on January 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Woodcrafters Cabinetry Advertisement Flyer Design

Woodcrafters needed something to leave behind with potential customers that had more information about their cabinet and countertop installation company. The design had to be consistent with their existing marketing materials and target two types of customers. The main message was directed at remodeling home owners but the design also had to appeal to builders.

Woodcrafters Cabinetry is a cabinet company in Greer, SC. They carry many popular cabinet lines such as Kraftmaid and Blackstone Cabinetry. You can visit their website here.

Filed under: Brochure Design, Print Design on January 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

THE PROBLEM PHOTO:

Bad Photo of Home

ALL of us have seen this photo that is low resolution, highly compressed under exposed with the house on the hill looking like it is a pyramid because the photo was taken with the wrong settings and at a bad angle! I am here to give you some tips on creating photos that will help sell your properties…well at least make them look better and stand out more to your potential buyers!

Here are common problems and the solutions:

Low Resolution photo - a blurry or pixelated photo where you can see the actual square pixels or the photo is blurry from trying to enlarge a smaller photo using Interpolation. You don’t have to know what interpolation is you just have to know how to fix it!

SOLUTION - My teachers always preached “Start with the best original!” Meaning take photos on the highest setting you need for your output (web, print, billboard, flyer, etc), because this saves space and allows you to work with lower file sizes which in turn allows for quicker downloads and uploads. If you don’t know if you are going to make a large photo, but you might, just shoot on your highest setting. Most cameras now days are higher than 6 Megapixels.

The house looks like a pyramid! - This has to do with a combination of lens distortion and angle.

SOLUTION - Try to be level with the house when you take a photo. Many times I have to stand on my truck to get the angle needed. Basically you want the camera level (imagine it sitting on your counter). If the house looks like it is pinched or bulging out, it is most likely a lens distortion issue. Lens distortion usually happens when you zoom your lens all the way out. This can be fixed by using an image program like Adobe Photoshop with it’s “lens correction” filter. If you don’t have access to Photoshop, a practical solution is to back up and zoom in which will minimize the distortion effects.

Underexposed Photo (Really Dark) - Caused by not enough light.

SOLUTION - Take photos with the enough light in the day or mount the camera to a tripod and take the shot a couple hours before dusk. A flash might not be strong enough to give the photo enough light because usually you are more than 15 feet away. You can also fix this in image editing software but it is easier and better to fix it in the original shot.

Overexposed Photo (really light/bright) - caused by taking photo in direct sunlight at noon-2 PM.

SOLUTION -  Wait for the sun to go down in the sky so the shadows aren’t as harsh and the sun isn’t as strong. You can also fix this in image editing software but it is easier and better to fix it in the original shot.

Highly Compression photo - The image, usually a jpeg, looks dirty and pixelated.

SOLUTION - All you have to do to fix this is take your original photo that should be clean and crisp and save it as a jpeg, but pay attention to the Compression/Quality setting in the dialog boxes.

Other helpful info:

WHAT IS THE SIZE OF A PIXEL? Well to give you perspective, screens are usually 72 pixels per inch (ppi) but for output on business cards or professionally-printed flyers, you need images to be 300 pixels per inch. Another way to look at it…my camera creates 8 Megapixel images, and when I bring it onto my computer it says the dimensions are 3456×2304 pixels, You can easily see your output options by dividing those by 72 or 300 pixels per inch. The image would be a 48×32 inch image on screen (72 ppi), which is huge since most screens are 9×12 inches. If we were printing the image and needed it to be 300 ppi, the image would be 11.52×7.68 inches. These are the maximum sizes the image could be without losing quality and detail. You can shrink them to fit your output. If you have Adobe Photoshop or Elements you just go to “Image/image size…” in the menu to shrink the photo.

The best time to take exterior shots depends on the type of photo you want:

Dramatic photo - You want to take the photo in morning or evening (bring the tripod). This gives more harsh shadows but neat colors for the background sky. Turn on some lights on the inside for a warm, homey look.

Evenly lighted photo - Cloudy days are a natural “lightbox” as they spread the sun’s light out evenly.

Sharpen, balance color, add contrast, saturation, adjust shadows/highlights - These all can be done in photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Elements.

THE FIXED PHOTO:

Fixed photo of home

Get these problems under control and you will have awesome looking photos that will draw the eye of your potential buyers! If you have any problems you need me to troubleshoot, drop me a line!

HAPPY SELLING!

CALVIN HANSON
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
WEB - WWW.PGRAPHICS.BIZ
BLOG - WWW.GRAPHICDESIGNGREENVILLE.COM

Filed under: Graphic Design Articles, Photography, Small Business Marketing on January 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Photo Graphics Speaks

Calvin Hanson, owner and design professional of Photo Graphics, will be speaking to Hillcrest High School seniors on January 8, 2009.

His goal is to educate the students on the graphic design profession. He is honored at the offer to speak to the students.

Filed under: Non-design Personal, Pro Bono Design on January 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

Merry Christmas from Photo Graphics

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you all my customers, readers, family and friends for a great 2008! I wish the best for you, your family and your business in 2009.
Calvin Hanson

Filed under: Non-design Personal on December 23rd, 2008 | No Comments »

Take a page from large retailers and offer your customers gift certificates! Gift Certificates work great around the holidays for those hard to buy people and you can take advantage of it. The best part is any business can create them using Microsoft Publisher or any word processor! Microsoft has quite a few templates on their site-just search “gift certificates”.

A checklist of things to include on your business’ gift certificate design:

• Make it simple and professional, if you are printing it out and designing it.
• Make sure the design has the essentials. TO, FROM, AMOUNT, and AUTHORIZED BY. Always include all of your business information and website as with any marketing piece! The recipient might not know where your store is!
• Print it on heavy weight matte or paper so your customer can easily write on it. The weight of paper is for durability and professionalism. The recipient might not redeem the certificate for months so you want it to last.
• You can easily fit 3 certificates per page. A good idea is to make it the size of a dollar bill so it can easily fit in a wallet.
• Security might not be an issue, if you plan on selling 10 to 20 certificates. If you plan on selling hundreds, you might want to put a type of watermark so it is difficult to photocopy (see example below).

Love of Fitness Gift Certificate Design

Love of Fitness has had good success with their personal training gift certificates seen above. If you are interested in a personal training certificate, visit her website and contact her for more information. If you are interested in gift certificate design or need help designing your certificates, contact Calvin at pgraphics.biz.

Happy Holidays!

Filed under: Graphic Design Articles, Print Design, Small Business Marketing on December 16th, 2008 | No Comments »

South Carolina Policy Council Christmas Card

Recently I was commissioned to create the Christmas card design for the South Carolina Policy Council. They needed a Christmas card that was festive and classy. I created a somewhat nostalgic look with the textures and borders and kept the colors and font festive. The design needed a .125 inch white space border because the printer called for no bleed.

The South Carolina Policy Council best describes what they do on their website:

Since 1986 the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation has brought together civic, community and business leaders from all over our state to discuss innovative policy ideas that advance the principles of limited government and free enterprise.

South Carolina Policy Council Christmas Card Back

Filed under: Postcard Design, Print Design, Small Business Marketing on December 4th, 2008 | No Comments »

Cabinets and Tops Advertisement Design and photography

One of my great clients, Cabinets and Tops needed an advertisement for the Greenville News. They designed a kitchen for an upscale builder in Tuscany Falls in Greenville, SC. I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful kitchen. For the ad layout, I wanted to create an eye catching design to match the dramatic photography. I played off of a fairytale story theme to add interest.

Cabinets and tops ad Design by Photo Graphics - Ran in the Greenville News

This ad design was ran earlier this month (November) in the Greenville News. I wanted to deliver a simple message that Cabinets and Tops satisfies all of their customers. What better way than to add a testimonial to the ad! The headline combined with the white space draws viewers in to read more.

Cabinets and Tops of the Upstate is a cabinet and countertop designer and installer in Greenville, SC. Visit them at their website www.cabinets-tops-upstate.com

Filed under: Print Design, Small Business Marketing on November 21st, 2008 | No Comments »