Elegant Graphic Designs | Category Archives: Blog

How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo, Part 2

Numerous of graphic designers claim that the appropriate selection of fonts determines the general feeling when someone is reading the text. So if the font has an emotional and psychological affect on a person behavior, than deciding the right and perfect font becomes much more important. As noted in part 1 How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo, different fonts have different spellings, size and kerning. For example, the word “Logo” with one font will be different in form from the same word “Logo” in another font. In this article we will discuss further in how to choose the right font for your logo with combining fonts, the number of fonts to use, and three key techniques in making your final decision. Welcome to How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo (Part 2).

2 or More Fonts

A major component a designer needs to do is to choose the best fonts that combine with each other perfectly and nicely. Combing fonts can be surprising, however many designers have an understanding of how to choose a pair of fonts that would be acceptable for headings and subheadings titles, such as using italics, making a font bold, etc. The right choice of fonts can make the logo look original and unique. Keep in mind you do not have to use extravagant fonts to get the perfect logo, surprising the most standard fonts will create the magnificent look of a logo. Above all, make sure the fonts look and make sense to you, if they are combined appropriately you will know instantly and more importantly so will your audience.

Number of Fonts to Use

Normally designers use one or two fonts in their logos, website and other design platforms. But the most important thing in a font is to have a few typefaces, such as regular, bold, and italics. The rational number of fonts in the design is 3 (or 2 if you are designing a logo). Companies, for example, often use bespoke fonts to illustrate the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the brand. Naturally, this skill is quite challenging. But the thing to remember is to have the font be unique but not too flashy. The font should allure attention without interfering with the comprehension of the logo.

The 2nd font is applied for the text, so its central action is readability. These two fonts should coexist with each other naturally, because even the slightest dissension may ruin the recognition of the content. Titles should always be unmistakable and striking, but not too big. The goal of a title is to prepare the reader for the next piece of text. Think of it as a transition from one piece to the next. When deciding a font, take readability as the critical criteria. Do not reinvent the wheel, use fonts that looked good in previous projects. Many skillful designer has a few tricks in their sleeve, but normally and using past fonts will always work for your logo. If you want to spice some things up do so carefully and nothing overpowering because again, you want the logo to read easily for the reader.

3 Font Rule

If choosing the best font for your logo or project is becoming difficulty, than here are three techniques that will help you decide the perfect font:

1. Be Safe, Pair Right
Many fonts are generated in serif and san serifs. A well-thought method is to decide the fonts that can be safely used in a matching set: for instance, Meta and Meta Serif, and Droid Sans and Droid Serif. The appearance of the letters in these pairs are nearly indistinguishable; but at the same time they are complementary, making them good to use and apply.

2. Contrast, But Not Too Much
If the primary font is calm and easy to read, than you may choose an intense secondary color to contrast. The key is to not go over the top, in other words very noticeable headlines can sometimes distract the reader’s awareness. For instance, Noto Serif is known for smooth contours of letters, easiness and stability. At the same time, Noto Serif is evocative and sympathetic.

3. Enhance
The two previous methods were focused on the equivalence of outlines, this method however is about enhancing contrast by a font with different ratios. To use this method correctly, the designer must have good taste and know what they are doing before working on anything. Take a logo for a business as an example, focus on what the business is about and the environment around it. To illustrate, if you are designing a logo for a car company you would not design a logo or choose a font that relates to public schooling, no you would go for a more car & speedy approach.

In the end, the most vital criteria are font’s recognizability and readability. If you are not an experience designer, better choose more or less classical alternatives. As a designer, it does not matter what fonts you have applied if you get the proper outcome. Sometimes chance are account for and lead to surprising revelation. But above all, listen and hear yourself! No one but you knows whether you are ready to experiment. If you take all these tips into effect you will take your font and logo skill to the next level. We just explain How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo (Part 2), now we want to hear from you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

For a clean and simple to use cheat sheet to help you pick the perfect font for your logo, we recommend this diagram by Julian Hansen.

And thanks to Shawn B for this great video!

The Natural Way To Increase Your Blog / Site Audience

The triumph of some blogs may lead you to think you need to spend a lot of money into marketing a site in order for it to be successful. However, that is not the case. If you have an enormous budget you can employ many writers and drop thousands of dollars on advertising, yet that does not guarantee revenue and results. A blog audience can be grown naturally and in doing so will not cost you a dime. In this posting we will showcase how you can develop a triumphant blog without spending hard cash on text links, sponsored reviews or banner ads. Welcome to The Natural Way To Increase Your Blog / Site Audience.

Make Your Blog / Site Design SEO Friendly

Paid advertising practices are a beneficial way of gaining the profile of a new blog and sending traffic to it, a great example of this is pay-per-click marketing. Even though this practice is significant for customer targeting & brand recognition, it can be really expensive and your traffic will stop once you stop funding your campaigns.

In contrast, search engine traffic is a superior and alternate traffic source to acquired. If you can get your content information ranked in search engines you can get thousands of visitors every day & it will not cost you a dime. For many blogs, search engine traffic make up around 70% to 90% of all traffic.

WordPress is a search engine friendly platform, however in order to make your blog content and design get ranked easily by search engines do the following:

Select a theme that has been optimised for search engines
Apply a good SEO plugin such as All in One SEO Pack or Yoast SEO to help gain your blog’s SEO setup
Website speed is also important and search engines favors it, so be sure to use a plugin such as WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or WP Super Cache to lower the file size of your pages & improve page loading times.
Register your blog on services like Bing Webmaster Tools & Google Webmaster Tools

Emphasis on Quality Content, Not Keyword Fillers

Because search engines always change their ranking & algorithms factors, what works one year may not work the following year. However, what does always work is good content. So stop putting your articles with many keywords and instead, pay attention on writing a great article for your readers. Do not write articles for search engine bots, write it for humans. If your articles are useful, than it will likely be linked from websites. In fact, they are more likely to be shared on social media networks as well. Because of this, it will lead to a higher ranking in search engine results, which than leads more shares & arriving links being produced. Make time writing educational articles that help people. Solve issues for your audience and they will share & link your blog in return.

Stay in Touch & Write with Other Blogs

If you want to increase incoming links to your blog and lift the profile of your site, than start publishing articles for other blogs and websites. This skill is known as “Guest Posting.” In order for this tactic to be successful, you need to:

Make sure your bio is shown underneath the article you publish
Write for a blog that is in the same field as you (in other words, write and discuss about similar topics)
Aim for a blog which has a huge audience

It is essential that the blog you write for has a great audience. The reason why you want to stay in touch and write for other blogs is because to raise the profile of you and your blog, so you would want to publish an article on a blog that creates hundreds of comments each article. More awareness leads to more conversation, which than leads to more profits for you.

The Natural Way To Increase Your Blog-Site Audience-Design SEO Friendly

In the end, be honest and be yourself in your blog & you will generate a status as someone who is sincere. Advertising and marketing your blog takes time, it may take months until you start seeing results, but pay attention on writing great contents and being yourself. In doing so, people will listen to what you have to say and more importantly they will come your blog and site. We just explain The Natural Way To Increase Your Blog / Site Audience, now we want to hear from you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

Why Logos Are Essential in Advertising

When a business advertise, many different types of techniques are used to establish a brands highest potential. One major advertising technique are logos, which many companies fail to notice but can bring great results over and over. Successful businesses use this technique to promote public recognition and revenue.

Logos in the past have been an important part of brand advertising and marketing team. Advertising logos through a brand‘s visual depiction can strengthen and convey a brand’s core concept and values. Because of these benefits, logos play an important role in connecting between the company and its audiences. Logo advertising carries a great importance in any business, ultimately having the right logo design is critical. Great examples of this strategy are Subway and McDonald’s because they are both known by their logo brand. So why are logos important when advertising your business? The following tips will show you how to make your logo more effective and powerful by its mere design. Welcome to Why Logos Are Essential in Advertising.

Logo Creates Identity & Assurance

Introducing a logo into a marketing campaign will help build your brand’s corporate identity in the eyes of your audience and overall public. Brands like Starbucks, Nike, and Apple have all made their organization and business identity awareness through the power of their logo and showing it via all their advertising practices.

The more your logo is shown in your advertising, the more trust, identity and recognition you will build from the public, which than will lead to sales, profits and revenue for your business. Logos that are small are more effective and easy to understand to the public eyes for their simple and clean shape. For example, a small logo can easily be placed on website without a problem, which is important because they show your customers you are a respected and safe site to use. Without using these types of logos, the public may be a little suspicious of contacting, buying, and trusting you.

Enhances Brand Awareness

Marketing your logos is essential because it will improve the Awareness of your brand on a national and internationally degree. Setting your logo on all your advertising marketplace will create you to show your brand to a wider audience. Thus, it will help bring revenue into your business as you go along with your advertising needs.

Connect With Your Audiences

Incorporating your brand’s logo on your advertisements will help your audiences connect the product you are trying to sell. Marketing logos for reliability is one of the finest ways you can connect and summon a positive response from your audiences. Displaying your deals of the day without your logo is not going to be as effective as what it would be if you did include your logo. Remember, the audiences need to be able to relate to something with the business, so the brand’s logo does that bridging the connection between company and customer.

Makes The Marketing Plan Easier

Marketing your logos as the cornerstone tends to be easier to plan. While you can create a great poster or create ads with illustrations, not everyone has the time to stop and read your ads. This is where Logos can help you. Establishing your company’s logo on your ad gives your audience the chance to glance faster and recognize the brand easer. Because of the this, your brand’s image will be embed into your audience minds and easy to remember for later. Using only logos in your advertising is much easier to plan and allows you to create strong, yet relatable advertisements yearly.

Linked To The Business

It is critical to make your logo linked to your business, that is why it is important hiring a professional logo design company to create your brand’s logo. To do this, one needs to find out what the business does; for instance, what are best colors that represent your brand. Car logos tend to work on blues, silvers, blacks and other darker colors while food chains tend to favor the red and yellow colors while. In creating a relevant logo, it needs to capture a reaction and be memorable.

See What Your Customers Will See

One of the most important thing to remember is to know how your audience will view the logo and know their perspective on it will be because the face of your business is your logo. For example, Is it relatable to your customers? Does it show professionalism? What emotions will it evoke? Keep in mind that your customers will be the one that connect your logo with your brand & products, so be sure to keep this in mind when designing your brand’s logo.

Emulate Other Competitor Logos

Knowing your competitors is just as crucial as knowing your customers, so check out what they are doing and how they are designing their logos. Doing this will give you a better idea into what you could and should not be doing when designing your brand’s logo. The most successful logos are simple and clean, the less complex it is the more unforgettable it will become. When looking at your competitors logo think about what makes theirs memorable, such as colors they apply, and whether they use similar designs or shapes.

Clean Yet Compelling

To get your audience’s awareness, you need to create a clean and compelling logo that immediately gains the attention of your audience. The car maker Jaguar, for instance, features a jaguar in their name. Because of this, the logo is powering, captivating, and amazing to look at. Today Jaguar is a trusted brand name and their logo is well-known internationally. So always keep your logo clean and compelling to capture a fast impact to your customers.

In short, applying logos in your advertising strategy is a tremendous way to build your overall image and trust with your potential audience & customers. It is noteworthy that your logos be applied to their full potential to exposure your brand and its link with your customers on a macro scale. We just explain Why Logos Are Essential in Advertising, now we want to hear from you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

10 Secrets to Attract and Keep Visitors on Your Site

Your website is built, your content is golden, and your products & services is ready to go. Now you just need to attract & keep your visitors on your site even longer. How do you do that? According to Time.com it is documented that people who go to websites spend an average of 15 seconds on a site before they click onto something else. Fifteen seconds! That might be enough time for a basketball player to score eight points, however it is barely enough time to change a visitor into a customer. But it can be accomplished with masterful content and amazing design on your site. Welcome to 10 Secrets to Attract and Keep Visitors on Your Site.

1. Observe your Aesthetics

If you only have 15 seconds to capture your visitor’s interest and keep them on your site even longer, you better have an attractive and captivating site. 75% of websites users, according to a study at Stanford University, say they make quick decisions about a company’s credibility based on their website design. So if a visitor does not like the look of the site, they will leave the website immediately. One essential strategy to grab visitors attention is to make sure the website is exquisitely attracting. That is:

Is your website design professionally?
Do you use your own domain?
Do you have a convincing “About Us” page?
Is your contact information easy to read?
Any guarantees?
Is your portfolio/work up to speed?
Any reviews, references and/or testimonials you may have?
What are your credentials?
Do you offer customer support?
What social medias do you have?

2. Make it User-Friendly

No one likes to solve a puzzle while placing an order. So be certain your site navigation makes sense and easy to use. If your site is difficult to navigate, your visitors will leave and move to another site, especially when its a click away to go to another site. So make your website easy to navigate and more importantly user-friendly.

3. Link the Content

Picture if all of the content on your site was consistently breathtaking, and linked in a way that leads visitor from one article to the next, one image to another, and ultimately a call to action. Visitors would click from one strategically work of content to the next until they feel satisfied to contact you. However, this can only be done if you make the most of your domestic linking, which is the skill of linking one post to another. In other words, create a blog and tell your visitors any news, updates or information that would be helpful to them and how you can aid them. Remember you are not trying to sell yourself, you are trying to make a conversation and help your customers grow.

4. Develop Extraordinary Content

Be sure you are delivering content your visitors want to read and see. Because even the most instinctive and delightful sites will not be able to fulfill their goals if the content is not extraordinary. So be a problem solver, be engaging, and be informative. Only than will you be able to get people into buying your product and/or services.

5. Break It into Blocks

Nothing is more ignoring than having a large block of text to a reader. So the best way to do this is by using headers and sub-headers in your content. That way your information is digestible and not a whole block of text. Think of it like a novel, there is not only 1 chapter, but several chapters so that it gives breathing room for the reader.

6. Expand

There are those who enjoy to read, watch videos & prefer graphics. And than there are those who want to obtain their information through a variety of mediums. Your website needs to attract to them all if you want to keep visitors on your website longer. To do this you can write a compelling article, and then convert it into videos, illustrations, images and much more. Use what you got and endure on it, your visitors will be interested in what you show.

7. Be Professional

Be aware of presenting yourself in a professional demeanor if you want visitors to take your site seriously. Proofread everything for grammar and spelling errors. Make sure you are using a consistent style, and always be certain your website is a proprietary name.

8. Be Original, Current & Exciting

It can be very difficult to keep your content original & current with so much information being shared on the world-wide web. For instance, nobody wants to read a blog post that is a month old, much less a year old. So pay attention on keeping your content current. Having your content timely not only attracts and brings back visitors, but it also lets the search engines know that you are still in business. Those are two exceptionally useful benefits of being original, current and exciting.

9. Call for Action

Every business knows what their visitors want to do, but you are still going want to make it clear for them. You can do this by inserting a call to action on every page of your site. Make sure it is noticeable so that all your visitors can find it and easily read it.

10. Need for Speed

As mention before, you only have 15 seconds to grab your visitors interest to your site. If they spend half of that time waiting for the site to load, you will already lost them. In fact, according to Kissmetrics.com, nearly half of all website users expect sites to load in just two seconds or less. Another 40% say they will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. So get the need for speed and you will keep visitors on your site for a longer period of time. And more importantly, change visitors into more customers.

Take all these tips, trick and secrets into effect with your site and we guarantee your website will explode and transform into the site & business you always dream. You know who you are, you know what you want, now go out there and share/show who you are. It has been great revealing the 10 Secrets to Attract and Keep Visitors on Your Site, now we want to hear from you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo

Normally in any web design, print design and motion graphic project you will see fonts being applied. Fonts are a combination of characters, symbols and sizes all put together. Fonts, in general, are one of the most important and perceptible elements of any corporate identity and design. Naturally, the choice of a font importantly affects the recognition & awareness of the brand and its customers. So what font should you use for your logo? Its a question always ask, so here are some tips on how to choose the best font for your logo design. Welcome to How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo. And be sure to check below for a corky, short, simple and informative video on what font to use.

Know Your Font:

Sans-Serif
Sans-Serif type fonts have small emotional charge and are linked with functionality and realism. They are a trustworthy choice for those who search for harmony and don’t bother with demonstrating themselves through the font design.

Serif
Serif type fonts are less engaging for they incorporate a less male approach but more animate and humanistic style, which are more favorable to females. Many studies have proven that serif fonts are much easier to read because serifs make it natural to move from letter to letter while the letters/fonts don’t conflate with each other. For more about Sans-Serif and Serif fonts visit our What Font to Use post.

Decorative
Decorative fonts are often used to highlight modernity, awareness, and uniqueness. However, they are often difficult to read and can be hard to execute in design.

Handwritten
Handwritten fonts are used in an attempt to communicate affection, kindliness & close relations. Large businesses often used this font style to look more friendly, companionable and easier to get across their audiences.

Know Your Size

Font size remarkably affects the readability. Before printing all handwritten fonts, you have to take the size of their letters into account.

If you want to use fonts in small sizes, follow these simple rules:

The font should be simple, clear, and clean.
The font should have weak contrast.
Avoid serifs or intensify them by giving a plain and even strong shape. The font should not have components that become undetectable when scaling.

Know Your Type

Choosing a font depends on where you are going to use it. For instance, the serif font used in ads, posters and slogans are more readable than any other font. In contrast, sans serif fonts looks more blankly.

Choosing sans serif for the main text is often a common beginner’s mistake, the reason is because letters written in sans serif conflate with each other, which does not improve the text’s readability. San Serif is great for large sizes because the font itself with increased character spacing only. For example, San Serif is one of the best options for headers since they immediately attract the attention of the viewers.

Serif typefaces are more practical because they allow you to type texts in small sizes without losing clarity. However, these fonts are not expressive. So do not overstock typefaces with serifs in them. Just remember the simpler the font, the more readable it becomes.

Be careful while working with decorative typefaces. For all their attractiveness and stylishness have one major downfall… they are too difficult to read! Such fonts are often used in logos to create a certain feeling on a webpage. Moreover, deciding an uncommon font can be justified only if you have a particular content. As often said, use custom fonts with caution. Plain, clean and simple fonts like Arial, Futura and Helvetica are the best. In addition, the header and the body text should be preferably the same font.

Know the Color

Color is the most important thing in a logo design. There are two main criterias while choosing a color for a logo.

A designer must understand what is the psychology of the color, in other words what would be the reaction of the audience when using one color or more, and/or when combine.
What is the characteristics of the brand and its color palette, such as positioning, seriousness, general concepts, etc. In other words, the characteristics of the logo defines your brand as an individual.

The more contrast colors between the font and the background, the easier it is to read. The most common font color is black on a light background. A key factor is to not highlight the font too much. For example, choose one or two accents such as italic, bold, underline, or shadow. And be sure to highlight important pieces of the text and don’t overdue capital letters.

Know Your Alignment

The audience and viewers has to read the letters freely so that the brain does not have to work so hard on reading it. Left aligned are easier to read than width aligned ones. At whatever cause do not place lines vertically; the maximum rational slope of horizontal lines is 20 degrees. Many psychologists & graphologists have claim that the genuine preference of fonts determines the general mood when someone is reading the text. And because the size and kerning is different in every font and spelling, the mood changes as well. For example, the word “typed” with one font will be different in form from the same word “typed” in another font. The beauty of fonts!

In short, it does not matter what fonts you apply, as long as you get the desired outcome and clients satisfaction. Occasionally risks are justified and creates surprising discoveries. But no one knows best when you are ready to experiment but yourself, so listen to yourself and you will be alright choosing the perfect logo. We gave tips of How to Decide the Perfect Font for Your Logo, now we want to hear form you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

And Thank You to Little Biz Marketing for this great video!

How to Get Your Post to Go Viral

When a post of a video, image or illustration goes viral it can get about million views and counting. That’s a big number of viewers looking at one piece of content for any company or person to not ignore. But what is the secret? There really isn’t any secret but instead of a plan and strategy. One might think that nothing is done out of the usual, and that it is random what post goes viral. But that is not the case. Some posting are purposely generated to go viral. How you may ask? If you want to bring more awareness to your post, blog or website than here are some tips to make your post go viral. Welcome to How to Get Your Post to Go Viral.

1. Be the first to break down the news to your viewers.

You can be the first to hear about a certain topic or story while using Google News & Alerts, as well as RSS feeds. This is crucial and requires a lot of time and patience to find a story that you have an opinion on, as well as being the first to talk about. Jot down on your personal belief about the story and be the first to share it. In time, your viewers will come to depend on your blog as the place to go to hear about the news first, and in doing so, they will spread the word about your post & blog to their friends and family.

2. Be expressive, use amusement and be distinctive.

Everyone can post an instructive article, but it takes some imagination to make them humorous, captivating and unparalleled. Readers are more drawn to humor, as it makes whatever they are reading that much more unforgettable. A perfect example of this would be TheOatmeal.com who uses drawings to tell a story. By putting a creative take on what you are posting, more viewers will be drawn to your post and once again, more likely to share it with other viewers.

3. Know your readers and know when to post.

Look at the standings of your blog & decide when are the peak hours of visitors. This lets you know when your post is being visited the most. Organize a pattern, plan and schedule your posting during those peak hours to get greater results in views and shares.

4. Communicate with your viewers.

Always make time and spend as much as possible with your viewers. Readers want to know that you care and pay attention about people looking on your posts. Reply to comments or emphasize specific comments in future posting. In doing so, your viewers will be inform that you do pay attention to what they say. Think of it like you are a salesperson, you not there to sell the product you are there to sell yourself. So make aware of what they want and need, and follow up with how everything is coming along. Remember people skills pays the bills and this applies to posting as well.

5. Stay in the loop.

The establishment of project does not happen overnight. You are going to need to read other blogs and post to stay up-to-date to know what is current in the news. Review posts from other bloggers and leave comments. Be honorable and ethical about your opinions without being subversive.

6. Discover out what people like and search for.

Find particular keywords in your Internet searches to decide what is at the top of people’s search lists. By recognizing what content types are popular & current, you will be informed of what you should be posting about.

7. Be active, enthusiastic and mobile with social media.

The only way your content and posting is going to be share is if you are active with how it is publicized. Social media has made it effortless and easier for viewers to share links with other viewers. Because of this, contributing through social media will help bring more awareness to the information you are posting on the Internet.

8. Track down which social media sites work best for you.

Social medias like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and instagram are all great, but which one will be the best & which will be a waste of time for you. Check your analytics & see where your traffic comes from. Refine your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths by inserting links on your posting, there you can discover which social media are bringing you the most traffic and ultimately getting more views.

Distribute links to older posts at the end of your current posting.
This is especially practical if the posting are related to each other, or are part of a series that help answer your readers concerns. This tip will make your posting seem more finalize, and will make it much easier for your viewers to look for similar articles, rather than having to search through the entire blog.

10. Connect and socialize with your viewers. It make them feel appreciated.

Create surveys or polls that your viewers can be apart of and determine what is published on your blog. One could also create contents and give prizes to those who leave a certain number of comments. On the other hand, you can have a random drawing of a name of those who leave remarks on a certain posting. Readers want to fill like their attention to your posting and blog is appreciated, and this can be one of the best ways in doing that.

(Lastly!) Make your posting & entire blog helpful.
You want to create a resource that viewers can use with any situations they have. Provide useful tips, problem solving strategies & links to other great information they can use to find out more about whatever problem may have. This ultimately can help your viewers save a lot of time looking through number of websites in order to find what they are looking for, and instead just come to you as their resource.

In the end, having your posting go viral can be valuable in bringing more traffic to your blog, website and collecting more attention to what you are posting. In contrast, be aware there are more eyes on your blog, so it might result in being examined more. Above all, do not allow any negative light to distract you from what you love doing, just as long as other people are also loving what you are putting up on your blog and site. We gave tips of How to Get Your Post to Go Viral, now we want to hear form you. As always, comments and thoughts are always appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

How to Create and Promote Traffic to a New Site

Making a new site is straightforward, but building it successful with regular traffic is a difficult task. It is an skill that one learns with experience. Every business ask the same question, how can I get more visitors to my website? Or what can I do to stimulate traffic? In this post we introduce to you some tips and tricks to help you generate traffic to a new site. This skill is offend known as website promotion, or as we say getting consumers to come to your website. Welcome to How to Create and Promote Traffic to a New Site. And for more information on traffic please be sure to comment below and we will get back to you right away.

Focus on Content

It is heavily stated “content is king” and that is true. But the kind of the content you expand on can either take you to the top or take to the bottom with poorly written or structured content, ultimately making you lose all your audience. The key element here is to write distinctive and informative content. There has to be no grammatical or sentence errors and plagiarism is something you must avoid, for it will hurt your new site entirely.

So what does your audiences want to hear from you? Because people are highly active on social networks, your audience will come in all shape and forms, there may be some frequent visitors, some regular users, and some that can careless. For that reason, people like to share what they like and find interesting, so its very important to have information and content that will bring attention. This attempt and skill will make a person share your posts. Use exciting images, graphics and videos into your posts will help gain interest. People feel more connected with visuals, and such posts are likely to get shared. The more the shares of your posts, the higher the chances of getting more traffic to your site.

SEO Friendly

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) if done correctly can gain traffic by the minute. Search engines are a significant source of traffic and open-source content management system such as WordPress is an SEO friendly platform. Likewise, there are Permalink settings where you need to configure the URL tom make it search engine friendly. Never leave your site uncategorized; always choose a suitable category for it. Similarly there are many small changes that can help you make your site SEO friendly and help you gain traffic rapidly. For more in-depth information on SEO please visit our SEO 101 article.

Apply Social Media

Social media is an remarkably powerful means of gaining traffic. Facebook has more than 1 billion active users. LinkedIn and Google+ have more than 300 million active users. So people who are active on social media and can be termed as “content distributors” or influencers to your new site. Bring attention into the value of your influencers and they will reward you back!

Here are some useful social media tips:

Create and maintain an account for your your site in all social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ etc.
Make sure the profiles and the pages that you create for your site are 100% complete. Fill in as much information as possible. Profiles that are complete are more likely to gain more trust and believability from the audience.
Connect personalty and directly with the audience at your page. Follow the well-known figures of your industry.
Share your posts on all these social media sites. Make them visually engaging so that more people share your posts and ultimately your site.

Achieving successful results at social media sites requires patience and persistence. So make sure you follow all the above tips attentively and carefully if you want your website to generate high traffic.

Use Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a extraordinary tool that every site MUST install to check the sources of traffic. It gives you information like what sites or webpages sending maximum traffic, total visits, and average time spent by the visitors on site. In fact, Google Analytics gives you the percentage of new visitors and bounce rate. All of this data is very important in conceiving the marketing strategy for your new site. You can find out the sources of high traffic as well as information on high quality traffic. High quality traffic means visitors who are spending more time on your site. This would help you devise your strategy and focus on on sites giving you high quality traffic.

Apply images, illustrations, graphics and videos

It is recommended to use related images, illustrations, graphics and videos into your posts. An image speaks more than the content. You can either design your own images or illustrations, or you can buy them from sites such as Shutterstock or Dreamstime. These images are a great source of traffic through the means of image search. One significant tip here is always allow other viewers to share your images but on condition they re-link back to your site. If anyone shares your images without giving you back link, you can find this out using Image Search Function sites like images.google.com or tineye.com.

Research Keywords

The choice of proper keywords plays a huge role in the success of a website. Many tools such as adwords and Keywordtool can help you in this regard. You can also use these tools to find out the key phrases that are commonly searched by people related to your business. These keywords should be applied to make titles for your posts. Optimizing articles with target keywords can assist you get more traffic. The target keyword should be used uniquely in a title and the content should be emphasized on the subject.

Responsive Web Design and User Friendly

A responsive web design site is essential for the success of any website and a good theme is the backbone of this. A powerful and professional design can help gain confidence of visitors. The usability also plays a major role. Make sure your site is user friendly and easy to navigate. They should be able to easily find and do what they want to do on your site. The design should be responsive and available on all platforms. For more information on Responsive Web Design visit our Why Responsive Websites are Important post.

Communicate with Your Visitors

When visitors read your posts and if they enjoy it or have any questions, they are likely to leave comments. So make it a habit to response to all your visitors comment. If there is a question, clear it immediately. Visitors feel good when they encounter a site owner who is giving them personal attention and their chances of revisiting the blog increase.

All in all, the result of any successful site depends on their traffic, so follow these tips and you will have a triumph website! We mention How to Create and Promote Traffic to a New Site, now we want to hear form you. As always, comments and thoughts are appreciate.
And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

The Crazy Color Profiles of CMYK, RGB and PMS

Every business has its own unique language and terminology that can sound a bit nonsense to the uninitiated. The graphic design world is no exception to the rule. You may have heard the terms CMYK, RGB and PMS in association to color when designing for print, but you may not know what each acronym stands for and more importantly, why you should care. So, if you want your final design to appear the way you wanted, it is critical that you educate yourself on each of these color profiles and the difference between them. Welcome to The Crazy Color Profiles of CMYK, RGB and PMS. And be sure to check below for a great video on CMYK, RGB and PMS.

What is CMYK?

The name CMYK comes from the four colors applied during the printing process, which is often referred to as four-color process due to the fact that it utilizes four different colored inks to create an array of different hues.
C = Cyan
M = Magenta
Y = Yellow
K = Key (Black)

The explanation black is referred to as “key” is because it is the color used in the key plate, which provides the contrast and characteristic for the final image. In CMYK, the key color is always black, but with other printing methods (such as two-tone printing), the key tone could be something different.

In fact there is another unspoken “color” in the CMYK profile, and that is the white from the paper stock that you print on. Layers of CMYK ink are laid in varying layers to create tonal differences. In other words, the less ink used the more white that shows through, creating a lighter tone. When designing CMYK printed brochures, you should always do so on white stock or else you may end up with color conflicts For example, CMYK colors are always blended during the printing process itself, which can sometimes cause a slight inconsistencies in the color printing process. It is usually not recognizable, but it is something to remember when using logos with specific color branding for it can change.

What is RGB?

The RGB color profile is solely used in digital designs, for it represents the same colors used in computer screens, televisions and mobile devices. In contrast with ink, colors in the RGB color wheel are created by mixing light itself. The letters RGB stands for the different colors used to create dissimilar hues:
R = Red
G = Green
B = Blue

Because RGB is projected against a screen using light, it has no real canvas to be placed upon. If all three colors are used together at higher strength, it will result in white and lighter tones, while black is produced with less light against the darkened screen. In face, notice the absence of RGB color results in black? This is different from the other two color models (CMYK and PMS) because the absence of printed color is usually white. More importantly, no two monitors are adjusted exactly the same way! In other words, one RGB color on one screen will and might look different on another screen.

What is PMS?

Pantone Matching System, better know as PMS, is a universal color matching system generally used in printing. Unlike RGB and CMYK, PMS colors are generated with pre-mixed ink long before the image are actually produced, resulting in the most stable color possible. If you need help identify the numbered code for the color you want visit the Pantone Color Finder. This verifies an accurate color match every time and eliminates any mismatch between your digital design and the final, printed product.

In short, it is important and critical to know the basics of what CMYK, RGB and PMS are and does. Each color profiles has it own language and purposes, so knowing what is best for your final project depends on your knowledge on all three color profiles. We talk about what CMYK, RGB and PMS are, now we want to hear form you. As always, comments and thoughts are appreciate. And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

Elegant-Graphic-Designs-The Crazy Color Profiles of CMYK, RGB and PMS

Thank you to GH Imaging for this groovy video!

What Makes a Good and Catchy Logo?

When looking at a logo, sometime we say to ourselves “Man, why didn’t I think of that?”
So why does logo gives us that impression? To understand this, we must understand five important and effective elements into designing a logo. Though logos may seem easy to create, generating and capitalizing their true value is the most difficult thing to accomplish. Welcome to What Makes a Good and Catchy Logo. And check below for a great video on what makes a good logo video by VOX.

1. Simple

A simple logo design gives one an easy recognition and allows the logo to be flexible & memorable. Good logos attribute something unmatched, extraordinary and noteworthy without being overdrawn. After all, if one can not describe what a logo looks like then how can they remember it?

2. Memorable

An compelling logo should be memorable and easy to remember. We won’t remember a logo that is cheap, distracting or poorly made. Instead we want something that is simple, well-design and appropriate. In other words, a good logo must be must be unique, clear and memorable. Again, if one can not describe what a logo looks like then how can they remember it?

3. Timeless

An effective and powerful logo should be timeless & endure through the ages. In other words, will the logo be effective in 10, 20, 50 years or will it be forgotten? A great example of a timeless logo is the Ford logo. With this timeless logo, one can see how effective it can not only be for the brand, but the business entirely. Notice how the Ford logo has barely changed, this is a prime example of a timeless logo design.

4. Adaptable

An effective logo should work across a wide range of mediums and applications. The logo should be simple and practical. For this reason a logo should be created in a vector file format to ensure that it can be scaled to any size. The logo should be able to work both in vertical & horizontal compositions.

Ask yourself; is a logo still effective if:

Printed in one single color?
Printed in reverse (i.e. light logo on dark background)
Printed on something as large as a poster banner?
Printed on something the size of a sticker?

One technique around creating an adaptable logo is to begin designing in black and white only. This allows one to pay attention on the concept and shape, rather than the instinctive nature of color. Another thing to keep in mind is the printing costs because the more colors used, the more expensive it will cost for the business on the long run. Another key element is to know the commercial printing process so that you wont come across any printing problems. In other words, learn the difference between CMYK, RGB and Pantone color systems. When creating logos, the Pantone color system is recommended.

5. Appropriate

How you position the logo should be appropriate for its purpose. For instance, if you are creating a logo in the car world, it would be appropriate to use a bold font and exciting color scheme. In contact, this would not be wise to use for a children hospital environment. In addition, a logo does not need to display what a business sells or offers as a service. For example, computer logos does not need to show computers, and a car logo does not need to show cars. The Harley Davidson logo isn’t a motorcycle, nor is the At&t logo a mobile phone. In the end, a logo is simply and purely for identification purpose.

How would you describe what makes a good and catchy Logo? As always, comments and thoughts are appreciate. And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

And a Big Thanks to VOX for this great video!

The Difference Between High and Low Resolution?

For anybody who has ever been bewildered about high-resolution, low resolution and dpi, fear not for you are not alone. Just researching countless number of articles out there can make your head spin and your eyes feel like it is going to explode. So sit back, relax, and let us answer all the questions regarding High vs. Low Resolution. Welcome to What is the Difference Between High and Low Resolution? And be sure to check out the great videos below for a visual presentation.

What is High Resolution?

Resolution, in general, means the characteristics that is in an image. Higher resolutions will have more characteristics than lower. If you’ve ever seen a print ad or even an image online that was blurry and unclear, that means it is a low resolution. Images that are clear and detailed are high. In other words, high-resolution means that something is produced at a very high level of detail. Such as in an audio file, video file, image file or printed image. Most commonly, however, when using the term high-resolution, people are speaking about visual hardware like a computer monitor or television or a digital image.

The advantage of high-resolution in video or imagery is a clear, sharp, and more pragmatic image. In order to receive the advantage of your high-definition television, you will need to receive a high-resolution signal such as HDTV programming packages. and Blu-ray system. For digital photography, you would need to take a high-resolution photo and see it on a high-resolution monitor to see the difference.

What is Low Resolution?

Low Resolution is best for online because of web graphics and online photos which are normally created at 72dpi (dots per inch). It’s suited best on here because it makes file sizes smaller, consequently pages load faster. Computers generally capture images at 72dpi, but then once printed with the same image it will print out jagged and hazy, even though it looks clear on the screen. In contrast, 300dpi is used for print publications or commercial printing. This is the reason why you see pictures clear, glossy, and detailed because they are high resolution.

What is dpi?

Dpi stands for “dots per inch” or the amount of pixels per inch of an image. The more pixels it consists of, the sharper it appears, which is why 72 unlike 300, as mention before will be blurry if printed. Dpi sometimes gets mistaken with pixels per inch (PPI), but that is different. It is important to note that trying to expand or stretch an image that is low resolution will not suddenly make it high-resolution. The image will be larger, however it will still retain the same blurriness.

In the end, it is crucial to know the recommendation and guidelines for your situation regarding high and low resolution. Under no circumstances, you should be sending out pictures to be printed that are blurry and not pleasing. Paying attention and comprehending what resolution is expected is the first step in creating an impact-full and successful advertisement, website, or photograph.

How would you define the difference between high and low Resolution? As always, comments and thoughts are appreciate. And remember… Elegant Graphics, Exquisite Designs. Welcome to Elegant Graphic Designs!

Elegant-Graphic-Designs-What is the Difference Between High and Low Resolution

Thank you to FIZZ designs for this great video!

And Thank you to Chris Shockley for this wonderful video as well!