Designing a Priceless Heirloom
Lemmee tell you about my latest crazy project: creating a prototype (and template) for a genre-busting concept: a family memoir/cookbook for the Heirloom Meals Recipe Project in Massachusetts, USA. This was the brain-child of Carole Murko, whose unflagging enthusiasm for family food stories has spawned a weekly radio show on NPR (National Public Radio), regular tv appearances, and several hour-long […]
Book Cover Design Tip # 1: Avoid Lazy Graphics
I see a lot of non-fiction book cover designs that fall into the trap of using lazy graphics. These will kill your book sales faster than a 1-star review on Amazon. (Why listen to me? I just won an industry award for non-fiction book cover design for this cover.) What on earth is a ‘Lazy […]
Easy Peasy Panoramic Photos for your Header Banner
Finding a panoramic photo for the header of your blog or website can be a real pain. You can try cropping a photo in Photoshop, but the elements don’t always fit within the squat format. You could download an app or buy a special lens add-on, but that’s expensive and adds yet another item to […]
The Evolution of Famous Logos
Most major companies change their logos every 5 years or so. Check out the old logos for IBM. Image courtesy of Glow-Internet.com Evolution of Logo Design by Glow New Media
8 Ways to Turn a Commodity into a Must-Have and Escape the Price War
“All my customers care about is price. They window-shop here, then go buy it at Amazon/Walmart/ChainX.” When you say, “nothing matters to them except price,” what you’re really saying is, “nothing matters to them about our product/service, except price.” If your customers see your product or service as a commodity, you have no choice but […]
The Chef Contos logo & store-front sign
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a logo you’ve designed in a large format like a store-front sign. When designing this logo, I wanted to convey the warmth and joy that celebrity, Chef Contos naturally radiates, as well as her love of all things stylish, organic and made-with care. I sketched the illustration elements […]
The 6 Best Sources for Photos and Illustrations for your Blog or Presentation
Blogs with striking images get more attention, more clicks and higher search engine ranking. Presentations with interesting photos keep your audience focused and entertained. But finding the right images can be a challenge, and then there’s the cost and copyright to consider. What’s a blogger to do? 1) DIY (Do It Yourself) For a small […]
What makes for a great logo?
What’s the difference between a great logo and one that is just… okay? It looks so easy. Pick a font. Change the color. Add a symbol to the front. Voilà, a logo. Why not do it yourself? After all, you have good taste. You know how to use Microsoft Word. Or Photoshop. How hard can […]
Why is it so hard to find a web designer who can design?
It’s never been easy to find a web designer with good visual design skills. Why? Because the majority of web designers are actually programmers. And why is that? Because you need to know how to code to make images and words appear exactly how and where you want them to on the internet. Coding requires […]
Need printed business cards or postcards? Moo is for you.
I’m often asked to recommend a printer for clients. For large items (reports, manuals, packaging) I recommend a local printer with experience doing high-end stuff for local museums and arts organizations. But when it comes to small items like business cards, postcards or thank you cards, I do not hesitate to recommend the online service, […]