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Logo Design for Urban Luxe Interiors done in 2012

Logo Design for Impermia Coatings LLC done in 2012

This is a 2-sided Media Kit for an online reality business news site

This was another redesign. The original website was built with a Flash header and coding that was not up to standards. Built a custom WordPress theme to make it easy for the client to update the site on their own and to help with SEO.

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Logos are the centerpiece of a company’s brand image. The quality of a logo will give the impression to the consumer how much a brand means to the company. An effective logo can help sell products, and conversely an ineffective logo can potentially hurt sales. So what makes a great logo?

A great logo needs to be the following:

Make your company stand out from your competition

Don’t try to copy someone else. Instead of trying to emulate the competition you should be trying to set your company apart.

Use meaningful colors

Colors carry meaning. For example green is associated with the environment or money, black with elegance or luxury. Think about adjectives that describe your business to find colors that would be the most appropriate. For more information on color association check this link out

Use the right font

Just like colors, font typefaces have meaning. If you have a construction company you probably don’t want a curvy, feminine-looking font.

Keep it simple

Your logo should be simple enough to make a quick impression on your target audience.

Make it memorable

Your logo should make an impression on your customers.

Also, if you need a logo designed for your business you can always contact me.

Now that Google is allowing businesses to participate in its Google+ social network, through new Google+ Pages it’s time for you to find out how to create a Google+ page for your business.

Creating a Google+ Page takes only a few minutes. However before you can create a Google+ Page, you must create a Google+ Profile (if you don’t already have one). Read on to find out how easy it is.

1. Log in to your Google Account

Log into your account, If you don’t have one you can create one here. Once logged in click the ‘You+’ link at the top left of your Gmail dashboard.

2. Creating a Google+ Profile

Enter your first and last name, or the name of your business. Click the ‘Add your photo’ link to add the logo of your business. Click ‘Join’ once done.

3. Creating a Google+ Business Page

You will then be offered to create a Google Plus Page For Business. This link will be helpful if you have trouble: Google+ For Business. You will be directed to a page that allows you to create a Google+ Page dedicated to your business,similar to a Facebook Fan Page.

Add any information that you would like on your Google+ business page.

Google Plus For Business will then suggest to you some things for you to do to finalize your page or you can do it later.

If you’d like to see how a Google+ Business Page looks like check out mine.

Your website needs improving. Really though, everyone’s website needs improving. Websites are like living, breathing creatures. If you don’t put anytime into nurturing them they will die. Below are 5 Free ways to improve your website. Even if you only do one of these items on the list it is a step in the right direction.

1. Update your site content

Start with a single page like your Home page. Invest in some copy writing help or photography, a little will go a long way. Write a new blog post. Anything you can do to update your website content will not only let users see that your website is indeed active but it also helps in search engine optimization.

2. Analytics

Get an overview of your website traffic with Google Analytics (it’s free). If you already have Google Analytics, spend time each month looking at them. What are your most popular referral sources? What search engine words are people using to find you? If you find Analytics too confusing you can always ask a professional for help.

3. Add Social Media to your site

Do you have a Facebook fan page yet? If not here’s how to create a fan page. If you do make sure you have a link to it on your website. I like to keep my links to Facebook and Twitter in the header or footer of websites I design so that they will show up on any page a user happens to be on.

4. Revamp your existing copy

Make sure that the copy you have on your website is in small, digestible chunks. No one likes to read a ton of text on websites. Use headings, bulleted lists and white space to help readers scan the page quickly.

5. Navigation that makes sense

Look at your navigation. No really look at it like you are just coming to the site for the first time. Does your navigation make sense? Do you really need to have every item listed or could you put items in a drop down menu? Does the actual text in the links make sense to users? Should you be more specific? Don’t make users think when it comes to navigation or they will just leave.

That should give you enough to work on for now. Do you have any other tips for improving websites for free? Comment below.

This was a redesign of this website. The original was built with Intuit but had a poor design and coding that was not up to standards. Built a custom WordPress theme to make it easy for the client to update the site on their own and to help with SEO.

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I do want to go into more detail about designing HTML emails in the near future but came across a couple of awesome resources that I just wnated to get up right away.

Emailology is a website that guides designers and developers to use good cross-client compatibility code. It is very well-commented, includes hacks and gets you off the ground quickly. There are also tips and tricks categorized for each e-mail client.

This is going to save me and other designers a ton of time in testing.

Fractal is a web application (beta) for validating HTML-CSS code across 24 most-popular e-mail clients. It not only tells you what is wrong with your code, it also suggests fixes too. It works by pasting the code into the application and running the validator.

Two new resources in the battle for HTML email design. Anyone else try these or are there even better ones out there? Let me know.