Blog

Create Your Own Comic Strip at MakeBeliefsComix.com

At MakeBeliefsComix.com you can create your own comic strip, complete with interchangeable characters and thought balloons. Spend a few minutes with the site and have some fun. Or use the site as a teaching tool for children. It’s a great way to learn about emotions and communication. Add colors, text, and additional story lines. When you’re done, you can print your strip or just a single frame, or send to a friend. Additional links include story ideas and teacher resources. All in all, two thumbs up for a fun, interactive site.

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Grain Edit features modern design & vintage graphics

Artist Frank Chimero
Artist Frank Chimero

The Grain Edit blog is a well run, fascinating look into 1950s-70s design.

The galleries of artwork, brochures, vintage books and posters highlight artists worldwide. They also feature interviews, including many contemporary artists who have been inspired by the colors, shapes and fonts of the period.

If you enjoy design of any kind, or just need to feel inspired, check out Grain Edit.

Unique Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibit at Peabody Essex Museum

Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection

If you’re in the North Shore Massachusetts area, be sure to check out this exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.

The exhibit includes paintings, drawings, photographs, video, and various installations. Chanel No.5

As the Chinese have experienced increased artistic freedom over the last 40 years, a truly dynamic, expressive art scene has recently evolved.

For more info call 866-745-1876 or visit www.pem.org.

Improve website traffic and visibility with CreativeMind Search Marketing

Have you ever Googled yourself or your business and wondered why you don’t show up until page 3?

Patti Fousek of CreativeMind Search Marketing is the guru to contact to increase your web presence and achieve your website goals. Her services include Affordable Search Engine Optimization and In-house SEO Training Workshops. But one thing I find most valuable is her trainings and consistent blog posts about growing your business through social media and Search Engine Optimization.

From small businesses with sites containing as few as five pages, to corporate and ecommerce sites looking to enhance their brand, SEO services will enhance your website ranking with:

  • analysis of usability and design
  • targeted key word phrases
  • content suggestions and copy editing
  • web analytics, reports, and tracking

Do you think social media is just for kids? Think again. If you are petrified of social media like I was just a short while ago, Patti’s calm demeanor and expert hands-on training will put you at ease. Patti will fully explain the benefits of sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. If you want to blog, or learn another social media outlet, you can build credibility and show expertise in your field by learning how to post valuable content. Your business will grow and your website traffic will increase.

Be sure to visit CreativeMind Search Marketing online, follow Patti on Twitter for the latest info.

Attach your business card to anything with Card-It

Busy professionals give and receive business cards every day, and it’s usually the first impression someone has of us. And we don’t just hand cards to people directly; we staple, paperclip, tape, or toss into envelopes in ways that either cause the card to be destroyed when removed or be lost. Card-It has a solution. They offer a simple card punch that creates die-cut slits into which the corners of a business card are inserted. The punch is approximately 8.5×3.5″ and is a necessary addition to your office for only $29.95. Next time you send a potential client a brochure, flyer, thank-you card, proposal, contract, or invitation, be sure your card is securely attached and prominently displayed.

Expressionery.com supplies personalized stationery for everyday use

Expressionery.com offers unique stationery for every occasion. For everyday use, casual, seasonal, formal and fun notecards, paper, stamps, labels, and more, Expressionery.com left no stone unturned when designing their product line.

It’s more important than ever to send a note of thanks to friends and colleagues for a job well done. Now it can be sent in style, with a notecard that is sure to draw attention.

During the holidays and beyond December, a photo notecard capturing a fun moment is always a welcome sight among bills stacked in the mailbox.

Their monogrammed stationery is perfect for formal notes to colleagues and business professionals. Consider a set of notecards, stamp and labels.

Additionally, Expressionery.com has included accessories like book plates, calling cards, embossed napkins, and gift sets.

Having an event, shower, or party? They’ve made planning for business or otherwise fool proof by providing perfectly matched themes for impressing your guests.

Their website is fun and colorful, and easy to navigate. Be sure to check out their tips for writing thank yous or bereavement notes, how to teach kids to write cards and proper postal requirements. And personalizing your new stationery is a snap with dozens of patterns, images and fonts to choose from.

Promote the health of your brand and the environment

Earth Day, April 22, is observed in 175 countries and is celebrated by more than a half billion people every year. Earth Day is considered a day of action for changing human behavior and provoking policy changes.

Arbor Day, celebrated every year on the last Friday in April, encourages everyone to plant and care for trees. The customary observance is to plant a tree.

What does this mean for your business?

You can help encourage people to conserve and save our planet with eco-friendly giveaways. Many companies produce environment-friendly promotional products made of recycleable material that you can customize with your name and logo. Use these items as tradeshow giveaways or customer gifts.

Several promo product companies supply strictly environmentally responsible merchandise guaranteed to project your environmental goals.

Need ideas for products on which to emblazen your logo?

Pens and other traditionally plastic items made with biodegradable corn or recycled paper
Water bottles or travel mugs made from BPA-free plastic
Recycled paper notepads or Post-its
Toys like wooden yo-yos, recycled plastic flying discs, globe stressballs
Solar powered gadgets and chargers
Organic tote bags
Apparel made from organic cotton or bamboo, or recycled materials

Most promotional item companies will help you make decisions on environmental products that help communicate your choices and goals. Just be sure your logo is provided in the proper file format, usually as a vector file, so as not to incur additional setup fees from the promo company. If you’re not sure about your logo’s format, contact a graphic designer to review the proper file type with you.

What does Spot Color, Pantone and CMYK printing mean?

Clients frequently ask for a definition of Spot Color, PMS inks, and CMYK printing.

A spot color is a special premixed ink that is used in printing in addition to CMYK process inks, and requires its own plate on a printing press. Spot colors are used when only a few colors are necessary in a design and can accurately reproduce colors that are outside the gamut of process colors. They are not determined by altered color values or by color management, and follow a spot color matching system such as Pantone, Inc. Each spot color used will generate an additional spot color printing plate for a printing press, increasing printing costs. If you think your design may require more than four colors, consider printing the document using process colors (CMYK).

Pantone®, Pantone Matching System and PMS are Pantone, Inc’s standard trademarks for color standards, color data, color reproduction and color reproduction materials, and other color related products and services, meeting its specifications, control and quality requirements. Using Pantone colors will produce consistent color from more than one printer/supplier. Colors are normally referred to by a corresponding number on the Pantone palette.

CMYK stands for the ink colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, used in process color printing. CMYK is the standard color model used in offset printing full-color documents. When using the inks of these four basic colors, certain percentages of these colors can be added and subtracted to yield a variety of new colors. Combining 100% of all four colors together will yield black, while subtracting all the colors will yield white, or the color of the paper stock.