The Eye of the Chicago Web Designer
I can’t help myself, it seems it is not enough for me to be creative during the day designing websites, logos and the like. My creativity spills over into my spare time too. The outlet for my endeavors is my personal blog “Creative in Chicago” which is just sky rocketing along.
Here is one of my latest creation, a piece of String Art where the negative space does the talking!
© 2012 Chicago Web Designer
Chicago web designer tip of the day: Check your Google Ad preferences
The Chicago web designers tip of the day.
Here is a little short and sweet thing for you to check out on this amazingly warm Chicago afternoon, it’s 40 deg F and I have just been out WITHOUT a coat on!
If you have a Google account click HERE and see if the profile Google has of you, is correct. They use information gathered from your web browsing history ( if you have that enabled) to show ads more relevant to your interests.
But it seems not all profiles are correct.
Here are the categories and demographics of my profile.
Amazingly I only seem to have three interest categories which is a little odd as the very nature of my web and graphic design job, means I run a huge gamut of searches across a wide range of subjects and industries. Secondly they have me pegged in the 25-334 age range …which is sweet … but incorrect. Just about the only thing they got right was my gender.
Google allows you to remove or edit anything you like and also opt out of the tailored ad system completely.
Does Google have your profile correct?
© 2012 Chicago Web Designer
Screenr.com: A video tutorial tool.
Tested a useful application from screenr.com today which allows you to capture your screen and make screen casts. It is easy to use, requires no download and is FREE.
Here is a very quick video tutorial I made on how to subscribe to our blog “The Chicago web designer”
© 2012 Chicago web designer
Looking for a Marketing Visual: Try Tagxedo
Here is a interesting application to quickly and easily generate tag cloud images, Tagxedo.
It grabs the most frequently used words from any web site or blog feed , search term or Twitter Id.
The fonts, color palette and shape can be easily customized.
and you can even upload a custom shape …here I uploaded the icon of our logo.
The images it creates can be saved in a number of formats. A good idea for a really quick marketing idea.
©: 2011 Chicago Web Designer
Pinterest: Frequently asked questions
One of the hottest social media networks is Pinterest. You have questions we have answers.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networking sites. It is a virtual pin board enabling you to share images you find online. You can organize your images onto separate boards according to your interests. For example within my collection I have a board of contemporary art work and a board of free printable.
Who is using Pinterest and what are they using it for?
The majority of Pinterest users are women aged between 25 and 44. It is primarily used to share DIY, craft, beauty, art, design, home decor, food, fashion, photography and garden imagery. If for example a pinner is remodeling a home they may have boards for Kitchens, bathrooms, landscape design, painting techniques etc.
How do I get started?
Currently Pinterest is by invitation only but if you email z.feast@indigoimage.com I will send you an invite. You do need either a Facebook or Twitter account to activate your profile but you can unlink from these accounts at any time.
How do I configure a board?
A new Pinterst account come with five empty boards which can be configured however you like. It is also very easy to create new boards as you need them. You can set the title a description, a category, and who is able to pin to the board. New boards can be made during the act of pinning an item.
How do I pin an image to a board?
There are various ways to pin an image to a board but by far the easiest is to install the ” Pin it” button to your browser toolbar. Then whenever you come across something you’d like to share hit the “Pin It” button and follow the prompts. You will be able to add you pin to an existing board or even create a new one and your pin will automatically be added to your Pinterest profile without ever having to visit the site.
You can also repin images you see on other users boards to your own boards.
What type of things can I pin?
You can pin any image or video you like* but the most successful pins , the ones that get repinned onto other boards, liked, commented on and “go viral”, are those that are interesting, unique and well photographed. In essential “Eye Candy” images are the winners.
(* for a full disclosure on what is permissible see here)
Finding Friends
Because your Pinterest account is already linked to your Twitter or Facebook account it is easy to see which of your friend are already using Pinterest. You can also follow other pinners whose boards interst you…following all of their boards or just an individual board. The more active you are in the community the more followers you will get.
Can Pinterest drive traffic to my website?
When ever an image or video is pinned to a board it is automatically linked to the source site so there is definitely potential for traffic. My personal blog Creative in Chicago receives about 15% of it’s traffic from Pinterest.
The lastest figures show that Pinterst is used predominantly by women aged 25-44
Follow me on Pinterest!
©: 2012 Chicago web designer
Elements of a good email signature
The New Year often give pause to thought on how you are conducting your business. Are you making the most of your opportunities, using your time efficiently, attracting the right sort of clients? It is a time for reviewing and updating and I have a number of things I will be updating over the next few weeks for my own business.
On the agenda today was my email signature and as much of my business communication is done via email, it is an important little snippet at the bottom of every email I send. It essentially acts as an electronic business card.
What are the elements of a good email signature?
- Your name
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Fax Number
- A very brief statement on what you do and offer
- Link to company web site
- Links to social media profiles such as Twitter and Facebook
- Keeping the signature short and sweet
In my signature I also have my logo and also the word “Thanks” so I don’t have to type it out every time. The signature can also be edited on a per email basis, so if I need to have a more formal finish I can easily delete “Thanks” and replace with something more appropriate. The same goes for adding my surname.
Here is how it looks.
Setting up an email signature in Outlook is easy and there are great instruction on how to do so here.
© 2012 Chicago Web Designer
Chicago web designer: Creative balance
The old saying goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” If all I did was work, work, work I know for certain my digital creativity would dry up. I keep my passion for web and graphic design alive by balancing work and play. You will NOT find my chained to my computer screen day and night. Oh, I also have no interest in having a data plan on my phone so I can check my email etc. where ever I am. When I step away from my computer I like to step away from the electronic world.
It seems however I am unable to step away from the creative world. Here are a few of the fun non computer creative things I have done in the last year.
- Invested in an SLR digital camera, while my photos are far from professional I did qualified for a profile on istockphotos.com
- Built some sand sculptures in the gorgeous white sands of Florida.
- Learnt how to tie the fantastic monkey fist knot
- Enjoyed the creative eye candy of down town Chicago. From the wonderful impressionist painting in the Art Institute of Chicago to the amazing reflections from “The Bean“
- Transformed a dungeon basement room to a teenage penthouse complete with painted skyline mural
- Made an igloo in the garden after the spectacular snow storm in February
- Got creative with food with some doggy cookies …for humans.
- Got inspired to buy some watercolor paints after discovering a painting I’d started at age 17 and never finished. Brushing up on some seriously lost skills!
- Planted a vegetable garden …that our resident garden critters enjoyed very much.
I am looking forward to many more creative adventures in 2012… digital or not.
©: 2011 Chicago web designer
in: Chicago Graphic Design, Chicago Web Designer, Random Thoughts
Happy Holidays from Indigo Image
He’s back, my little mascot, who always does such a lovely job of preparing a holiday message! He debuted three years ago here, and also did a great job last year.
But without further ado here is this years holiday message.
Happy Holidays!
©: 2011 Chicago web designer
Free Facebook cover graphics: Facebook Timeline
Facebook will make it’s new timeline approach to profile pages default on December 22nd. The look and feel of the profile page will change and additional functionality to visit past posts via a timeline, will be introduced. If you don’t want to wait you can easily get the new timeline visiting here , a clicking the “get timeline now” button.
The new profile page features a large cover photo which you will need to set. You can use one of your existing photos or upload something new.
The dimension of the cover photo is 850px by 315 px, if the image you select is smaller that that it will end up being stretched and not sharp.
I created a montage of contemporary graphics for my cover photo, they are the same as the ones I used to create the “Color Punch” igoogle theme.
To get you started I am offering three contemporary graphics you can use on your own Facebook profile. Download by clicking on the image and saving to your computer. They are sized correctly and ready to go.
Color Splat
Color Punch
Rays
© 2011 Chicago web designer
Free printable birthday cards: Vectors
I get rather disgruntled sometimes when I go to buy a birthday card and I find nothing I like, is it just me?
So I have put my graphic designs skills to use and created my own birthday card which can download for free. I actually have this card on my personal blog ” Creative in Chicago” and was recently picked up by About.com, making it their number one choice in a list of 20 free birthday cards.
The card comes in four color combinations and works well for men, women and teens. Click on the one you like and download the pdf. Print it out on some good quality card stock and you are good to go.
© 2011 Chicago web designer
