Need an RGB and Hex Color Code Chart?

Do you know your Hex colors? OK, what's #00bfff? Red? Blue? Sky blue? Deep sky blue?

I found a site that has RGB codes, Hex codes, the color name and a little box with a color sample in it. Really helpful when you are looking for a specific color.

Hope this helps.

What do you think?
1. How well do you know your hex colors?
2. Do you only use the basics or do you venture out?
3. Are you wondering why you would ever need this?

How to Add a Free Poll to Your Web Page

I am needing to ask my clients what features they want in the future, so I needed to create a poll. I remember just a year or two ago when I wanted to do this it was costly and difficult. Well, for me anyway, maybe I didn't look in the right place, or maybe technology is moving faster and thus making it easier to offer things like this for free.

I found a great site that offers free polls to put on your website, blog or MySpace. It's called PollDaddy.com.

It's free. That rocks.

They've got other products I'm sure they'd like people to purchase, but for the time being, the polls are free.

You create your poll by submitting a question and all the answers, then you choose the skin and they give you the javascript, flash code or a direct link.

You can randomize the questions for each viewer, block multiple votes by IP, allow for multiple answers, and even use CSS to style your own look. Their styles aren't bad, though, so you can make a poll and post it to your site in about 5 minutes.

Once the "Vote" button is pressed, the poll shows the results right there. It's really a great app.

Here's quotes from their site:

What is PollDaddy?
PollDaddy is an online tool, which allows you to create free polls and place them on your website, blog, MySpace, hi5, Friendster or Xanga account or anywhere online that you can paste a bit of JavaScript or Flash!


Polldaddy Features
PollDaddy is simple and flexible, allowing you to customize our styles to match your website or email campaign. Deliver your poll through JavaScript, flash, direct link, widget or RSS to survey your user's opinions.


100% Free polls!
PollDaddy is free for you to use and enjoy, we hope that while using PollDaddy, you might take the time to check out our other products too.

There is no advertising on any of our polls, and we never redirect your users away from your website or blog, so if you want to start using our free polls today, then its time to sign up!

Here's a poll I created just for fun:

Fun!

Hope this helps.

What do you think?
1. Ever used a poll on your site?
2. Did people use it?
3. Were you surprised by the results?

How to Design a Good Logo?

Whenever I get hired to produce a logo, I like to feast my eyes on other logos for a couple of days (if I have the time). You know, Inspiration.

I'll do a google image search for "logo" or just drive around looking specifically at logos. You know, get my brain thinking along those lines.

Well, while researching recently, I found this site called "GoodLogo.com".

This site is dedicated to the artform of the logo and its accompanied corporate identity. We hope to serve you here with the finest selection of logos, selected and submitted by everyone from all over the world. With our voting and rating system and our classification in categories we would like to give you a multidimensional view on the best logos for different purposes.

This is a site where they've got a bunch of international logos displayed. They've got a way to rate the logos and some case studies on some major logos.

It's interesting looking through these and noticing how familiar they are.

So, what make a good logo? More specifically, what makes these famous logos good logos? Well, I'd venture to say that they are just logos that are famous. Being easily recognized does not mean it's good. I mean, the World Wildlife Fund logo could have been anything. It could have been a zebra, you know? Well, although everyone thinks Pandas are cute, right?

Well, maybe one of my logos will end up being globally known. That would be fun.

What do you think?
1. Have you designed a globally known logo?
2. What is your favorite logo?
3. Has your business logo changed over the years?

Free Flash Image Gallery with Thumbnails

I needed to post some pictures as a gallery for a wedding consultant, and for a home builder in the same week. I thought about popup windows using a javascript winpop, but with so many popup blockers, that's becoming less of an option.

I tried using a hover tooltip with a message and larger image (like on istockphoto.com) but the script I used didn't work on windows IE.

I thought about using Photoshop's automated web gallery thing, but it's really difficult to integrate the code that is generated by Photoshop into my existing design.

Sure, I can manually build each large image into its own page, but that is tedious and not well suited for adding images in the future.

So, I found SimpleViewer. Simpleviewer is a flash/.xml/.js system that works really well.

I found it really easy to modify and implement into my existing design. The guys at AirtightInteractive have done a great job answering questions right on their website. SimpleViewer is very modifiable. You can change the background color, add an image to the background, add captions, etc. Good stuff.

Here's an example of their viewer demo.

Here's their list of features:

* Intelligent image pre-loading.
* Intuitive image navigation
* Lightweight (17k).
* Customizable interface - Set text color, frame color and width, navigation position.
* Resizable interface - Interface scales to fit browser window.
* Cross platform - Windows/Macintosh/Linux (requires Flash 7 or higher).
* Flash 7 detection. Users without Flash 7 are messaged to upgrade Flash.
* International font support.
* Keyboard Navigation (Cursor keys, Home, End, Page Up/Down)
* Mousewheel navigation
* Optionally right-click to open image in a new window.
* Free!

Here's their FAQ and instructions on how to customize SimpleViewer.

They've even built AutoGeneration versions including Flikr, Wordpress, Server Side Script, Photoshop, Picassa, iPhoto, and others.

This is a great app. Fairly easy to use (you'll need to know some very basic html, but not flash) and free.

Also, check out their other demos...these guys are good.

Hope this helps.

What do you think?
1. What do you use to build galleries?
2. Have you used SimpleViewer?
3. Can you post a link to your gallery (even if it's not SimpleViewer) so we can check it out?

How Latin Text Can Keep You from Getting Fired

I think I've learned my lesson, but you know, sometimes I can't resist.

We've all been designing a website or brochure or something and need some dummy text. Well, sometimes I get this crazy idea to write fake text, thinking no one will ever read it...they'll just think it's dummy text. We've all done it, right?

Well, that's not always true. Years ago, I was designing a brochure for a geriatric clinic and decided to write fake copy about liver spots and thinning hair. It was not appreciated. Not by the client or my boss. I sure got scolded for that one...not fired mind you, but my hand was slapped.

I have to admit, I've done it since then, but not so obviously. Most people don't read that stuff, but to be sure, some do.

I've actually gotten better at copyrighting in the process, or at least better at BSing.

As graphic designers, we've all seen dummy text, and many of us have used it. If you don't know what it is, it's believable looking Latin text that can be used as a place holder in mock-ups and comps.

Lorem Ipsum Is what the industry calls this stuff. It's text generated to look like sentences, paragraphs, etc.

Well, I found a site that generates Lorem Ipsum text for you.

This guy has coded the site to generate text as paragraphs, words, bytes and even lists. You can specify how many paragraphs you need for example. Like this:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Etiam odio turpis, tempor a, sagittis eleifend, condimentum quis, nunc. Suspendisse nec ipsum. Pellentesque lobortis auctor augue. Cras tortor lacus, vulputate id, imperdiet vitae, mollis sed, neque. Vivamus lorem augue, malesuada et, lobortis at, tincidunt et, orci. Mauris quis pede id lectus sodales lobortis.

Vestibulum nonummy varius nulla. Quisque lectus odio, dignissim vitae, mattis faucibus, accumsan id, lectus. Donec tempor tellus a dolor. Phasellus viverra ligula et urna. Etiam massa. Integer faucibus lacinia orci. Ut malesuada purus a odio. Vivamus non tellus. Mauris congue scelerisque tellus. Duis dolor. Integer quis leo.

Sed pellentesque convallis diam. Sed porta consectetuer libero. Cras tincidunt sapien vel nulla.

or lists like this:

* Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
* Etiam semper aliquet diam.
* In aliquam lectus sit amet massa.
* Donec pulvinar neque vitae magna.

* Cras quis orci eu velit mollis consequat.
* Etiam imperdiet consequat elit.
* Aliquam posuere mollis velit.
* Praesent ac velit sed lectus accumsan euismod.
* Morbi congue vehicula eros.
* Quisque at leo eu turpis iaculis auctor.

The site has some interesting historical facts about Lorem Ipsum in case you want to know why the industry uses it and where the text came from.

Apparently it originated in the 1500s, and is from a writing called The Extremes of Good and Evil by Cicero, written in 45 BC.

Anyway, just thought you might be interested.

Hope this helps.

What do you think?
1. Do you use greeking or do you try to come up with fake copy?
2. Have you ever come up with fake copy and it came back to haunt you?
3. Have you ever set type in a galley?

Adding Images in Blogger is Such a Pain

You know how it adds that big block of "code" up at the top of the post when you add a picture (when you are in "Edit HTML" mode). It adds it up there even if you are at the bottom of the page and want it at the bottom of the page. Frustrating.

If you write your post in "compose" mode, then you can just grab the picture it places and drag it to where you want it. It still adds it to the top, which makes it a pain, but it's fairly easy to move.

Maybe they'll change this soon. Wordpress actually places the image where you want it, but then you have to manually code in "vspace=5" and "hspace=5" and "align=left" for the image to not butt up to the text. Silly. Just silly.

Well, once you add the picture (we're talking about Edit HTML mode here), scroll up to the top of the compose window. Start at the top left corner of the code that Blogger added and highlight that whole amount of text all the way to the last </a> then copy and delete the text you just copied.

Scroll down to where you want to place the image and paste it in there, right next to the word you want it next to.

Depending on if you chose align left, right or center, it will place it accordingly.

Hope this helps

What do you think?
1. Is Blogger going to be updated soon?
2. What frustrates you about Blogger?
3. What do you love?

Designs In Nature: Happy Face Spider

You know how U-Haul has been putting illustrations on the sides of their trucks? Have you seen the one with the Happyface Spider? Well, I looked it up and there really is a Happyface Spider (Theridion grallator) It's found in Hawaii. They are so funny.

I remember when U-Haul didn't have illustrations on their trucks. I think this was a genius idea. The fact is, I remember it was a U-Haul truck, not a competitor's truck.

I've compiled some pictures of the spider I found on the web here for you to check out.

It's not even that they are just some pattern that looks like a face, it's a smiling face. Maybe to a bird or some predator it looks like a hostile and aggressive expression, but don't some of them look goofy? One of them looks like he's got buck teeth, and another like he's got a huge nose.

I've read that they hide at night anyway, so it's not like they'll be seen by birds who hunt during the day. Just interesting.

What do you think?
1. Have you ever seen one of these?
2. Do you think U-Haul did a good thing to add illustrations like this one to their trucks?
3. What's the coolest Design In Nature you've seen?

3 Ways to Promote Your Graphic Design Business

I've been featured on GraphicDesignBlog.co.uk in their Freelancer Focus series.

They ask a series of questions and you (the freelancer) answer them.

They are always looking for guest bloggers, freelancers to take part in their Freelancer Focus and also submitting to their Design Case Studies. Check it out. They offer links back to your site.

It's a really great site. Very informative and very rightfully becoming an authority in the Graphic Design Blog Genre.

Here's the post about me on the Freelancer Focus!

What do you think?
1. Have you taken part in the Freelancer Focus on GraphicDesignBlog.co.uk?
2. Are you a freelancer?
3. What design blogs do you read?

Warning: Something Very Bad Could Happen

My Father in law just installed a mower on the back of his tractor, and I got looking at the instruction manual. Among the complicated instructions on how to attach the thing were warning signs that caught my eye.

I had never seen this particular one before. It's got a guy being twisted around a drive shaft. Wow.

Well, I've always been intrigued by warning and safety signs. In fact, there's something I really enjoy about the little symbol of the man slipping on a wet floor. So much so that I go out of my way to look at wet floor signs just to see the little guy falling. It's one of those crazy thing I do. Maybe other designers do this too. Maybe it's just me.

Well, pinch point signs are interesting too. Anything with a mangled hand is sure to get attention. (see below) I guess that's the point.

So, then my question is: how do these symbols become standard? Does OSHA hire some graphic designer to come up with the design of the symbol? Do they test market it? Is there a focus group? Is the symbol's effectiveness gauged by how strong of a negative reaction it gets from viewers? Or is it the biggest laugh?

I mean, think about the Biohazard sign. It's really pretty. Maybe ominous and scary, but also really very well designed. Is it ominous and scary because I know what it means or because the design is purposeful. The radioactive symbol is really nice too.

Well, I've gathered some of my favorite warning label art and posted it below for your enjoyment. You've probably seen some of these around. I took off all the words so they'd look more like stand alone pieces of art, but these are actual warning label symbols.



Here's a site where you can make your own warning sign!

What do you think?
1. Have you seen any crazy signs around?
2. Have you ever designed one of these?
3. Why is it so complicated to attach a mower to a tractor?

Touching Up a Photo

OK, I realize this video is fairly old, but it interested me because of the Photoshop-type software use there in the middle. Pretty amazing stuff.

I've had clients ask me to take out wrinkles and pimples before, but nothing like this.



Here's the Dove Campaign For Real Beauty website.

What do you think?
1. How far have you gone to touch up a client's portrait?
2. What was that software they used?
3. Does this film change your opinion about Dove?

A Giveaway That Could Pimp Out Your Blog

David Airey is having an blog anniversary, and he's put together an excellent list of prizes you (or I) could win.

The idea is that you blog about the giveaway, send him an email with the URL of your post, and you're in the running. There's a couple more ways to get another entry into the running, you can check it out on his website.

Here are a few of the items that interested me in the really long list of great prizes:

• Great Stuff from David Airey (the blogger sponsoring this giveaway. His company logo is very nice.

• Custom Wordpress Theme Design. This is so great. You need to check out his themes. They are very good.

• Signed copy of Blogging Tips by Lorelle VanFossen. This book looks like an important one to read.

• Logo Design from GraphicDesignBlog.co.uk. Tara is a great designer. Take a look at her portfolio.

• Watercolor Print from Ed Roach Watercolors. Very talented artist. Very fine work.

It's a really long list of prizes, very cool. I'll let you know if I win anything.

---

This giveaway brings up something I think is really interesting. All these sponsors are giving away these things basically for links to their site.

First, they get a link from davidairey.com, who will most definitely get tons of traffic from this post/giveaway. I mean, giving away $4000 worth of prizes is huge.

Second, the post will get tons of traffic because the way to enter the contest is to write a post on your own blog and link to the giveaway post.

Third, most of the sponsors will get links from posts all over the web from people posting about prizes and linking to the sponsor's site. This is one of the ways presented by David to get another entry into the giveaway.

This is a smart idea. The sponsors give away something, but they get links, and more importantly, traffic to their site.

It's kind of a "Win, Win, Win" situation...David, Sponsors, You (or me). I dig this.

Hope this helps.

What do you think?
1. Are you going to take part in the giveaway?
2. What's more important to you: PageRank or Visitors?
3. Are you a Blogging Graphic Designer?