website + business card

About a month or so ago, my client needed a website in a hurry for his daughter as a graduation present. The challenge: She is a health & wellness coach/instructor who loves both red and purple.

Red makes me think of food, or an emergency. Purple reminds me of flowers or something of the noble-variety.

How exactly was I going to pull this off!? If you've ever researched the health & wellness industry, everything is pastels and spa-like colors.

Solution: I decided to tone down the red and the purple and soften the colors with some blue...

A few hours later, the site was done — with a matching business card:

Creative Brochures

Once upon a time, when I was a little teakettica and a production artist for a book producing firm called Pneuma Books, we put together these adorable media kits for our clients.

I accidentally stumped upon this while looking for other samples to mail a prospect. I wish I could take all the credit for this creative genius, but although I designed and laid out some of these, I was working under the creative direction of Pneuma Books. If you haven't already, check them out.

I wanted to post this for those who want to start promoting their company but don't want the usual, and sometimes horribly boring, tri-fold brochure. You have so many options, including specialty paper (even recycled!), awesome folders, consistent company branding, or even brochures with a custom shape.

Don't hesitate to contact me for ideas at www.teakettica.com.

We have something for every budget!

And, without further delay... check out this media kit:

Closed...

Open. Notice the business card on the bottom.

All the materials inside

Half-fold brochure...

... that also doubles as a mailer.

teakettica now on Facebook.com

Check us out! teakettica web & graphic design studio is now on Facebook!

website design, graphic design, search engine optimization, custom projects, company / corporate branding (logos, business cards, brochures, letterhead, etc), project rescues, and industry research.

Become a fan or just browse our online portfolio.

One Space or Two?

The endless debate: one or two spaces between sentences? Although we were all taught to put two spaces between sentences in typing class, I have become accustomed to following the Chicago Manual of Style from my days working as a production artist for a book producer.

I think this article from the CMOS is really convincing, and most importantly, practical:

The view at CMOS is that there is no reason for two spaces after a period in published work. Some people, however—my colleagues included—prefer it, relegating this preference to their personal correspondence and notes. I’ve noticed in old American books printed in the few decades before and after the turn of the last century (ca. 1870–1930 at least) that there seemed to be a trend in publishing to use extra space (sometimes quite a bit of it) after periods. And many people were taught to use that extra space in typing class (I was). But introducing two spaces after the period causes problems: (1) it is inefficient, requiring an extra keystroke for every sentence; (2) even if a program is set to automatically put an extra space after a period, such automation is never foolproof; (3) there is no proof that an extra space actually improves readability—as your comment suggests, it’s probably just a matter of familiarity (Who knows? perhaps it’s actually more efficient to read with less regard for sentences as individual units of thought—many centuries ago, for example in ancient Greece, there were no spaces even between words, and no punctuation); (4) two spaces are harder to control for than one in electronic documents (I find that the earmark of a document that imposes a two-space rule is a smattering of instances of both three spaces and one space after a period, and two spaces in the middle of sentences); and (5) two spaces can cause problems with line breaks in certain programs.

So, in our efficient, modern world, I think there is no room for two spaces after a period. In the opinion of this particular copyeditor, this is a good thing.

Read the whole question/answer here:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/OneSpaceorTwo/OneSpaceorTwo03.html

go humans go

I saw this billboard while driving to meet the creative director of Pneuma Books, and I thought it was one of the best advertisements I have seen in at least 5 years. I have to say, this is the first ad that has ever touched me.

There is a pretty decent article about it written by the New York Times (a media source I’m not too fond of with only a few exceptions)

Down Economic Times Elicit Upbeat Campaigns
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: March 9, 2009

SAY goodbye to the dutiful Quaker Man who declared of his namesake oatmeal, “Nothing is better for thee than me.” He and the Quaker Oats division of PepsiCo are clambering aboard a fast-moving marketing bandwagon by offering upbeat exhortations during these tough economic times.

“Go humans go” is the theme of a major campaign getting under way for Quaker Oats. The theme acts as an umbrella under which all the division’s oat-based products are being peddled; as an announcer in a commercial declares, “The power of Quaker is in everything we make.”

Read rest of the article here…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/business/media/10adco.html

Client Lunch in Hagerstown, MD

Yesterday I went to visit a client in Hagerstown, MD to do a photo shoot of his office for his website. I haven't been down to Hagerstown in several years, and I almost forgot how beautiful the scenery is. Route 70 is wonderful drive with little traffic.

I got a glimpse of some of the distribution facilities like FedEx, Kellogg, and Lowe’s... and had a fabulous lunch to boot.

I snapped this shot on route 70. Don’t try this at home!

Not bad for a shrub soaked in a little hot water

Black tea, overshadowed by its brother green tea, and even its sister white tea, finally makes it into the media to also contain health benefits. It believe it gets overlooked because of the high caffeine content, but it's still no where near the amount in a cup of coffee.

From http://www.teabenefits.com/

Recent studies in leading medical journals declare black tea a potential heart tonic, cancer blocker, fat buster, immune stimulant, arthritis soother, virus fighter and cholesterol detoxifier. Not bad for a lowly shrub soaked in a little hot water.

About time! :)

Now accepting credit cards!

Good news! For our customers' convenience, teakettica web & graphic design studio is now accepting credit cards via PayPal. Check it out here.

Having trouble working? Download this free Ambient Soundscape Generator

Something that really helps me work is Vectormedia's Atmosphere (Ambient Soundscape Generator). Although it's extremely relaxing, it also keeps me focused. They have a free version that is actually rather awesome. The program allows you to turn your PC into a complete nature sound environment generator.

You can easily switch to and from themes such as: deep forest, rainy day, ocean night, thunderstorm, night stream, forest stream, dawn chorus, rainforest, and ocean's edge. You can even customize each setting with the sound of the rain on your roof, fountains, or various bird noises. You can also create relaxation CDs or sound affects for video or webpages.

Download it here.

Makes me want a cup of Mighty Leaf's tropical green tea...

Best drop down menu solution ever.

This is by far the best drop down menu solution I've ever encountered. Install a drop down menu in minutes, fully customizable.

This is a Dreamweaver plugin by f-source.com that works with a GUI to easily organize your plugins and to create the menus.

You can get a ton of menu options for multiple domains for only $199, or you can purchase just one menu per domain for $30ish, or one menu for multiple domains for $50ish.

I highly suggest anyone serious about web design check this out!

teakettica takes #3 on google.com

Stealing 3rd place for company branding elkton maryland, organic search engine optimization...