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Stock Photography Discount

Here at GDBD we have recently started using BigStockPhoto.com to find and purchase stock photography. BigStock allows you to purchase images at a set price as opposed to other popular stock photography sites that require you to purchase standard amounts of credits which in turn are used to purchase images.

BigStock is offering a promotional discount, in perfect timing with the holidays! Any friend who purchases an image through BigStock using this link: http://bigstock.refr.cc/UC1PWU will receive 50% off your first image (no account creation/activation required)! In appreciation, for every friend that purchases an image through our link, we receive 50% off our next purchased image. So help us – help you – help us!

Don’t forget to contact GDBD Design for your next web or print project.

Typography makes a great holiday gift

November 4 2011 by Stefanie in Creative Insight, GDBD Photo Blog, Graphic Design/Print Marketing, Tampa Graphic Design |No Comments

Are you looking for unique solution for your holiday gifts this year? Look no further!

The name "Stefanie" spelled out through Bevilled Edge Photography's letters

Susan, founder of Bevilled Edge Photography, takes photographs of everyday objects and structures that create shapes that resemble letters of the alphabet. She has put together a vast library of these photographed lettered and these images are available to view online. She encourages customers to search through her alphabets and select letters that they are attracted too. She then places the images in a sequence that spells out a word. This word could be a loved one’s name, a word of inspiration or something meaningful in your life – like the name of the town you were born in.

Images are priced individually by size or per letter for multiple letters spelling out a word. Her artwork is available in color, black and white or sepia tone. She also has two frame and matting choices; a black frame with a white mat or a brown frame with an ivory mat. Or if you are really looking for a show stopping piece, check out her gallery mounted images. These are individual letter images that evoke canvas prints.

On the “Create a Name” page (type your name or word into the “Gimme A… field), you can type in a name or word and generate a preview. This feature also includes size options and a total cost for the artwork. If you do not like one or more letters that the preview generates you can simply click on that letter and choose another.

This would make a great gift for anyone but especially those typography lovers out there!

Do you have a typography project, contact GDBD Design today to get help with your design.

Dive into Splash Page Motion Graphics

October 25 2011 by Stefanie in Tampa Graphic Design, Tampa Motion Graphics, Tampa Website Design, Website Design/Development |No Comments

We recently featured local gallery and vintage boutique, ArtPool, in the GBDB Design blog. This got me thinking about an old school assignment. I was assigned a group project that involved re-designing the website of a local business and my group of 3 students chose to redesign the ArtPool website. We chose their website because we saw an opportunity to be creative, since their business is focused on showcasing local artists, selling vintage clothing, accessories, and appliances.

While we collaborated on the overall design of the site, I was largely responsible for content management and coding the image galleries. However, my favorite part of the project (aside from experiencing the store for the first time, oo-ing and awe-ing at all the unique items) was designing a splash page for their website.

The motion graphics produced for the splash page were created using Flash. The short motion graphic animation showcases the ArtPool logo while also incorporating graphical elements throughout the website design. The finishing touch was to place the final swf file behind an image of an old tv set, at the time for sale at ArtPool, to bring in the vintage aspect of the boutique. See the live splash page here.

The inspiration for our site design came from the items within the store itself. We photographed items that had interesting textures or vintage patterns and incorporated them into the background and header graphics on the site. Unfortunately, the ArtPool website was updated shortly after our project was complete and we did not have a chance to document the original site design. However, I believe there are certain design elements that have influenced their updated website design.

While splash pages and Flash animations are not great for SEO purposes, if that is not a concern of your business, it can be a fun and engaging way to introduce your website to the user.

Stay tuned for a future blog article about Flash videos and how they could hurt or help your website design.

4 Useful WordPress Plugins

September 29 2011 by Stefanie in Tampa Website Design, Tampa WordPress Design, Website Design/Development, Wordpress Design/Development |No Comments

Here at GDBD, we have been getting lots of requests lately for custom WordPress websites. WordPress is a content management system that makes website content easily accessible for the everyday user. For this reason, many businesses are opting for WordPress instead of traditional HTML websites. With WordPress, you do not need HTML/CSS knowledge to make basic changes to your website.

One of the great features of WordPress is the access you have to innumerable plugins. Some plugins are also ‘widgets,’ which, according to WordPress.org is, “…designed to provide a simple way to arrange the various elements of your sidebar content without having to change any code”. The default WordPress widgets are typically a calendar, plain text or a recent posts listing. However, in our experience of wordpress development, we have found a variety of beautiful and functional plugins/widgets that have been helpful to us, and would like share with you here:

All in One SEO
This plugin allows you to enter in a unique ‘Title’, ‘Description’, and ‘Keywords’ that will appear in search engine results. This is useful because search engines will pull the title of your blog article, and the first 160 characters of the post or page, and display that information during a search. Having the ability to specify that information gives you more control over the exact keywords and descriptions you associate with each blog post. Inserting an article summary rich with keywords for the description will drive more traffic to your site.

Widget Logic
Ever wanted a widget to appear on one page but not another? Here is a simple solution: Widget Logic is a plugin that uses conditional tags to specify which page(s) a widget will appear on. An example of a conditional tag is: “is_front_page()”, which is a conditional tag for a static front page or latest posts displayed on front page. You can also set the widget logic plugin to display on multiple specific pages according to ID number, slug or page title, such as, “is_page( array( 42, ‘about-me’, ‘About Me And Joe’ ) )”. You can find a complete listing of WordPress conditional tags here.

Video Sidebar
This plugin allows you to add a video into your sidebar. The widget supports a wide variety of video based websites like YouTube, Vimeo, WordPress.tv, Google videos and more. Simply find your video “ID” (instuctions on how to do this for each different type of video are available on the author’s site), enter height and width of the movie, make sure it will fit within your sidebar, enter the title and short description and you’re done! Visitors to your website will have the ability to watch and listen to your video within the sidebar or to enlarge it.

SwfObj
The SwfObj Plugin enables you to easily insert Flash into your pages and posts with the click of a button. Once this widget is installed a new “flash” button appear next to the usual “Upload Insert” icons (as seen below).

When inserting the flash you are given the following options:

There are many more plugins available for WordPress websites. Have fun exploring and finding the one that best suits your needs. Or, if you or someone you know is interested in a custom WordPress design, please contact GDBD today for a consultation.

Website 101 Tips: How to Pick a Hosting Company

September 27 2011 by Summer Taylor in Tampa Website Design, Website Design/Development |No Comments

Now that you’ve picked your domain name, the second step before starting the design of your website is to sign up for website hosting.

What is website hosting?
If a domain is your website’s “physical address”, website hosting is the online office space that you’ll rent to store your website files. Website hosts offer space on a server to provide Internet connectivity and website storage. For a fee, website hosts offer space and accompanying bandwidth that’s required for users to access your web page.

What makes a good web host?
Unless you are a website designer, or have experience in picking a website host, you may not know where to start. The most inexpensive provider isn’t always the best choice for your business. However, neither is the most expensive one, so, as a general rule of thumb, don’t let price dictate where you will host your files.

Here are a few things to consider:

What kind of technical support will your host provide?
One of the most important considerations is the professionalism and availability of the technical staff. Support should be readily available and response time should be reasonable. If you’re on hold for an excessive amount of time, or it takes days for someone to respond to a support ticket/request, there might be underlying problems with the product or support is understaffed. Whether it’s a local company, or a popular provider, make sure they will be available to respond within a few hours and technical support is provided free of charge. Email problems or website glitches don’t happen only during normal business hours, so make sure you get the support that you need, when you need it. Service after the sale is very important… much like when buying a new vehicle.
What kind of security do they provide?
Ideally, hosting servers should be in a remote location and the host provider should provide regular backups. So, in case of a natural disaster or power failure, there’s a backup source to keep your information safe and up and running. Your website host should also have excellent security measures in place to prevent hackers from gaining access to your site and your customer’s information.
How much storage do they provide?
Depending on the size of your website, and what you’re business is offering, your storage needs will vary. A typical website will require between 20-30MB of storage space. However, why not go ahead and purchase 100MB of space for a few more dollars? This will give plenty of space to allow your business to grow without having to upgrade your plan. If you’re hosting numerous videos, webinars, or large files/photos, more than 100MB of storage space might be needed. Before picking your web host, have a conversation with them, or your website designer, about the type of site you’d like to create so you can pick the right hosting package for your needs.
Does your package come with e-mail?
More than likely, your new hosting package should include email. Questions to ask would include: how many email aliases come with your package? Is there an extra cost to add extra email addresses? How much space is included with each email address? Does the company provide support to set up your email address with Outlook and your smart phone?
Do you have to sign a contract?
There are many companies that don’t make you sign a hosting contract. If they do, make sure you can cancel at any time, and there aren’t any fees for cancelling. Also, it’s important to find out is what happens to your content if you do cancel your account. Always make sure you’re in complete control of your website files – with both your hosting company and website designer. Life happens, so make sure you have a backup of your files just incase. It’s much better than having to start from scratch.
Cost
Finally, have your questions answered about cost. How much will it cost you per month? Are there any set-up fees? Does the company charge monthly, quarterly, or yearly? Do they take credit card or check/money order?

It sounds like a lot to familarize youself with, but knowing the answers to these initial questions will help you save time and be better equipped to find a host that best suits your website needs.

Have questions or need some help finding the right website host? Throw us a bone!

Local Business ArtPool Inspires Creatives

September 22 2011 by Stefanie in Creative Insight, GDBD Photo Blog |No Comments

Far from boring, ArtPool is a local gallery, vintage boutique and themed event holder. Looking for that perfect custom accessory to add to your collection, a gift for someone who has everything or just a little inspiration? Head down to ArtPool and be ready to be amazed.

The walls of the shop are available for local artists to rent and 100% of sales go to the artist (meaning ArtPool does not take any percentage of the sale, artists are only required to pay for the space to display the artwork). The results equal an eclectic variety of shapes, sizes, color, subject matter, frames, artists and prices. It is a great opportunity for local artists, young and old, to get their name and work out there and maybe even start a following and a career. The walls are lined with paintings, digital and photographic prints, woodcarvings and more. On the shelves, or sometimes projecting from the walls, sculptures can be found. In fact, the art for sale spans the entire craft realm, a multitude of jewelry is dispersed throughout the long narrow shop. The majority of which is made by the owner of ArtPool herself, Marina Williams. Summer and I have both marveled at her creations. Jewelry here comes in a variety of mediums. Feathers, fringe, knitwear, and bullets are not rare occurrences at ArtPool.

Jewelry from ArtPool Octopus Necklace Feather Earrings

Jewelry is the gateway to other accessories, all vintage at that. Hair pieces, cufflinks, purses, mens neck ties, hats and don’t even get me started on shoes. Accessories are just the tip of the iceberg of items at this unique store. Lunch Boxes, vinyl records, kitchenware and the coolest lamps and hanging light fixtures you could imagine. The vintage clothing has just as much variety as the artwork and is just as much fun to look at! I have seen wedding dresses, faux fur coats, men’s dress shirts and have even tried on a smoking jacket similar to Hugh Hefner’s!

Vinyl Records from ArtPool

Events at ArtPool always have a unique theme and dress code. Most recently, ArtPool held Bowie Fest where attendees were asked to dawn apparel reflective of the pop artist Davied Bowie or any other 80′s icons with special prizes for best Bowie and biggest hair! Local artists are encouraged to submit themed artwork for all events (Artwork may or may not be marked for sale at owner’s digression. There is an artwork entry fee.) Volunteers and models are also requested for events.

All in all, ArtPool is a fun and interesting place. Get out and support our local businesses! Go prepared to find something you like and bring cash or check! (ATM available a block away)

Website 101 Tips: How to purchase a domain name

September 20 2011 by Summer Taylor in Tampa Website Design, Website Design/Development |No Comments

Lately we’ve been working with quite a few businesses who are interested in creating their first website. This can be a rather intimidating and confusing process if you’re not used to some of the terms and lingo being thrown around.

Don’t know what website hosting means? How does everything work exactly so your beautiful new website shows up online? Don’t worry! In this two part series we’re going to talk about the initial steps you should look into, or be aware of, before seeking out a web designer.

Domain Names – Your online address

One of the first things you will need to decide on is your domain name. In simplest terms, a domain name is similar to a home or business’ physical address – it’s your online address that displays your webpage. An important thing to remember is your domain name is not website hosting. Just because you’ve secured your name, it doesn’t mean your website will now show up live. More information on website hosting will be discussed in detail in part two.

How do we get started figuring out what that domain name will be and how to we secure it? A few questions to consider would be:

Do you want your website domain to reference your company name?
Do you want your domain to be search engine friendly (SEO)?
Would you like your domain to be a .com, .biz, or .org?

Most businesses secure a domain name that’s similar to the name they do business by. For instance, our website address iswww.gdbddesign.com , which is short for Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design. We could have also looked into gdbd.com, gooddog-baddog.com, etc. The general rule of thumb is to make your name something easy to remember, related to your website content, and keyword rich (if search engine optimization is a part of your online marketing strategy).

Before purchasing your domain name, write it down to make sure there are no spelling mistakes, or odd or unintentional meanings. If you think people might misspell your domain name, you might want to purchase those domain names as well. For example with www.google.com, they might want to purchase www.gogle.com or www.gooogle.com.

.com, .biz, .org – what do I choose?

When picking a domain name, most people look for ones that end in .com. This has been the most popular choice since the Internet’s inception and some argue that it’s the best choice for SEO purposes because of it’s popularity. However, by limiting yourself to a .com domain name, there’s a higher chance your domain is already taken. So as a result, gaining in popularity are .net and .org extensions. .net was originally intended for network providers and .org for non-profit agencies but currently both .net and .org domains is available to anyone regardless of it’s business type. Ultimately your choice for a domain name depends on what the main objective is for your website. So see what’s available and make a choice after weighing all your options.

Where do I go to purchase a domain name?

Purchasing a domain name is easy these days. There are numerous companies that provide domain name purchases. Some of the most common are:

Go Daddy

Network Solutions

Shop around and see who might have the best price. Some company’s offer specials. Where ever you purchase your domain, make sure to write down your customer number, username and password. Whoever sets up your website hosting will need this to make sure your domain points to the correct website host.

Additional Tips:

Purchasing your domain for longer periods of time (i.e. 5 years vs 1 year increments) might help your website SEO. Google looks at this as you’re planning on being in business for a while, so there’s a chance your rankings will improve the longer your domain is purchased.
Private vs regular registration - When you purchase a domain name ICANN requires your registrar to enter your contact information (name, physical address, email and phone number) into it’s Whois database. This means your personal information may be available to anyone who decides to check domain names within the Whois database. If this is a concern to you, consider registering your domain as private. This is an add-on service that will cost anywhere in between $7-9/year, depending on where your domain is purchased.
If you’re looking for a specific domain name and it’s already registered, you may have the option to purchase the domain from the existing buyer. I would caution this is usually an expensive process. So unless it’s imperative that your business have this domain under your control, it’s probably a more economical option to look into something similar. If you’d like some tips on how to buy a domain like a pro, here’s a great article written by the founder of PhoneTag.com.

Purchasing a domain isn’t difficult but we wanted to address questions we’ve been asked in the past. As mentioned above, if you make sure your name is something easy to remember, related to your website content, and keyword rich (if search engine optimization is a part of your online marketing strategy), the first step in creating your website is complete!

If you have any questions or need help purchasing your domain, please feel free to throw us a bone!

Featured Client: KOAL Industrial Filter, Inc.

September 14 2011 by Stefanie in Creative Insight, GDBD Creative Design - What Are We Working On?, Graphic Design/Print Marketing, Tampa Graphic Design |No Comments

KOAL Industrial Filter, Inc. incorporated in 2009 and in the beginning, their business was strictly on-site preventative maintenance servicing for heavy equipment in the construction, waste management and mining industries. In 2010, they started to become aware of issues their clients were facing when they tried to purchase filters for equipment, which lead to a loss of production time and needless expenditures. As a result, KOAL decided to make some changes which included expanding their product offerings by becoming distributors for Baldwin and Donaldson, and creating the KOAL PM Kit, which helps the customer bundle and transport filters to the field with more ease.

When KOAL approached Good Dog/Bad Dog Creative Design, they were looking to merge the preventative maintenance division of the company (named KOAL) with the product division (named KINGS) and create a single company identity. After brainstorming a few options, we decided their brand was stronger under the KOAL name and we would incorporate the idea of their other division, Kings, by using a graphic of a crown within the logo. The client also requested the logo have a vintage feel. The following is what we came up with:

With the logo having such an interesting shape, and us always trying to think outside of the box, we asked the client to consider a custom die-cut for their business cards. We’re grateful they agreed to move forward with our idea, and as a result we created a distinctive business card that, according to the client, has turned a few heads as they hand them out.

In 2011, KOAL has continued to expand their product offerings and is looking to move into new industries such as heavy marine and industrial power generation. We look forward to continuing our relationship with KOAL by helping them to expand their brand and improve their online presence through an e-commerce website coming later this year or early 2012.

How to make your sketches digital art

September 12 2011 by Stefanie in Creative Insight, GDBD Creative Design News, Tampa Graphic Design |No Comments

Wacom has done it again. The Inkling, set for release in Mid-September, is a new product that “bridges the gap between traditional, freehand sketching and digital development.”

How does it do this you ask? Well, the Inkling is a digital sketch pen. It has the look and feel of a normal ball point pen but with the added ability to capture your hand drawn sketch as a digital file. Your work can instantly become vector art as you draw!

What makes the Inkling so innovative and versatile is that you can sketch on ANY paper ANYwhere! You are not required to carry around a digital sketch pad or connect to your computer while you are drawing. The Inkling comes with a receiver that can store hundreds of sketches and easily transfer them to your PC or Mac. Simply clip the receiver onto your paper or sketch pad (remember to turn it on) and draw away. Of course the technology isn’t perfect, you need to keep a clear line of sight between the pen and the receiver. You must keep your fingers away from the tip of the pen and the pen a short distance away from the receiver for the technology to work correctly. View a video of how to use the Inkling

Another unique aspect of the Inkling is that you have the ability to create new layers. With the push of a button you can create a new layer that will be recorded and transferred with the rest of your digital information and sketches when you connect to your computer.

According to YouTube there have already been some complaints against this unreleased product. There is no feature to “erase”. However, one YouTube user commented that you could simply draw in pencil and trace the information you want to digitally capture with the Inkling Pen instead of drawing the original sketch with the digital pen. Don’t forget, you will have the opportunity to clean up and edit your digital art once is has been transferred onto your computer and exported into the proper program, be it Photoshop, Illustrator or the like.

I personally am excited to try out this new product. I never was very good at using the Wacom tablet, a product that allows you to draw while connected to your computer. I have a feeling the Inkling will allow for a more natural flow when hand sketching as opposed to the tablet.

AfterEffects Animations and Motion Graphics

September 9 2011 by Stefanie in Tampa Graphic Design, Tampa Motion Graphics |No Comments

While I was in college studying graphic design, I was assigned the task of re-creating a tv show title sequence. Everyone in the class had to choose from 20 popular shows from the 60′s – 70′s era – many of which I had never seen. The title sequence had to be a contemporary interpretation of the original tv show.

I choose The Munsters as my inspiration since I had enjoyed the show as a child. I especially loved all the spooky props and items throughout the Munster Mansion. After doing some “research” (and by research I mean kicking back to watch a few episodes on Netflix) inspiration struck: I wanted to do a spin off of The Munsters. I was in college so it only seemed natural that my idea was to send Eddie Munster off to college!

The majority of my time and work went into hand drawing, digitally tracing and hand coloring the scene of Eddie’s dorm room. I started with the basic furniture you have in a dorm room: floor, ceiling, walls, window, dresser, and shelves. All these items were colored digitally in neutral tones to differentiate these “normal” items from Eddie’s personal items, which were hand colored with colored pencils. The bed, which typically also comes in the set of dorm room furniture was replaced by a coffin because this is Eddie Munster we are talking about! The original character was about 9 or 10 years old, had fangs, pointed ears and a widow’s peak hairstyle and carried around a “Woof-Woof” werewolf doll. In the original show he slept in a coffin so that is why I pulled that into my composition.

Next came the ooky contents of the shelves: a jar of eyeballs, beakers with bubbling potions and a formaldehyde shark. A stack of chained together books lay next to the monster laptop computer on the dresser which has tentacles coming out of the bottom drawer. The finishing touches to this young man’s door room are an acoustic guitar, a sexy were-girl poster and a family photo. Finally add in some bats flying out the window and a gargoyle-ish guard dog (you know, for the trap door) – and this room make-over is complete!

Each of these items were key to introducing my character in the title scene. The idea behind the animation was to scan the rooms abnormal items – revealing a piece of Eddie’s character each time.

Adobe AfterEffects was used to create the animation. The camera tool allowed smooth transitions from one item to another. I used DaFont.com to find a creepy typeface I thought appropriate for the scene.Burton’s Nightmare felt right with its unique curves. I wanted to animate the typography in this opening sequence as well. I tried out a few text effect filters in AfterEffects but nothing felt perfect. So instead I went with a simple fade in/out effect with the type because it was more legible and took less time to introduce. The show would have an aspect of humor and to show that I brainstormed some silly names for each of the cast members – such as Drew Blood and Chewy Backa.

Finally I requested my boyfriend to learn The Munsters original theme song and we recorded him playing acoustically to give the intro an original audio.

Munster College from stefanie Pilcher on Vimeo.

Shortly after I finished the project I set aside some time to play with the image I had created. It felt great to work on something personal while also furthering my AfterEffects skills and knowledge. I wanted to see what kind of animations I could create by using this static single image I had created. Traditionally animation was created by using a multitude of frames per second, each frame slightly different from the one before creating the illusion of movement. These days animation can also be created using technology and digital models in a 3D space. With AfterEffects masks and pieces of my one image cut into multiple layers using Photoshop I was able to create animation.

Using simple shapes I was able to create my first animation in minutes. (Watch the eyeball)

Eye Motion from stefanie Pilcher on Vimeo.

My next idea took much more effort to set on track. After some Photoshop work I successfully cut out one drawer of the dresser and split apart the 3 octopus tentacles. Using masks I was able to choose how and when to reveal the tentacles.

Octopus Drawer from stefanie Pilcher on Vimeo.

While it is not the smoothest transitions, keep in mind this project did not have endless hours devoted to it and was done relatively quickly, done in a mindset where I was more interested in what I could achieve than how seamlessly I could achieve it. However, I do not think this imperfection takes away from the project, the animation style is different from traditional methods and this gives the movie a unique style.

Contact GDBD Design today if you are interested in creating a project that uses animation, motion graphics or Flash!