Try following these guidelines and you can get the most out of every social media post, for your business.

Tips to Create an Effective Facebook Post

• Pick a thumbnail image which can easily be understood, especially at a small size.
• Relevant images, links, status updates, or videos which are specifically targeted to your audience profile.
• Great teaser copy. Sum it up quickly and write a great headline.
  See The Huffington Post for some great example headlines.

Tips to Create an Effective Twitter Post

• Make the text short (obviously), but descriptive
• Add hashtags which are appropriate to your tweet
• Use a url shortener
• Don’t use all 140 characters, leave space for retweets and mentions

As many times as we are told not to judge a book by its cover, we still constantly make snap judgments based on how things look.  We want to eat food when it looks tasty, and we want to talk people who are good looking.

The same basic concept is also true of how we perceive websites.  There are certain things that people generally respond well to and certain things that turn off customers.  If you are running a web-based business it’s important to understand these basic concepts when thinking about designing your site.

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We often hear “rules are meant to be broken”. Sure! Why not? The thing is, to break rules we first need to know what they are before we just start breaking stuff. If we haphazardly threw elements on a page as if we were rolling dice, we would not have order, we would have chaos. Though chaos, incidentally also has its place in design, but that’s an all together different subject. To keep things simple, we’ll stick some basic fundamentals of ad design.

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If you are selecting photography for use in your business marketing efforts, either from stock images or originals, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you want to choose a photograph or image that is going to compliment your company’s style guidelines or project design style. In addition, color palette, symmetry and balance are principles that will help you choose an image that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional for your layouts.

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It is said that animation knows no limit. The designers and artists enjoy an unprecedented freedom in the industry and this is what makes an excellent art form. But no creativity is free from the technicality. The artists must understand the basic principles of design. If you are good in fundamentals only then you will not survive in this industry. Your creativity must get reflected in your work. You must know how to apply the basic principles if animation so that the characters are not too detached from reality. We will focus on the essential principles of animation.

Staging

Staging is very important as it ensures that the main focus is on the action that takes place during a scene. The actions should be presented one by one and should never overlap each other. In this manner the audience will understand every move and gesture and the main action will never get lost in the midst of all the things happening around.

Squash & Stretch

This is the most important principle of animation as it instills life into rigid objects. The most common example would be the bouncing rubber ball. The ball appears to be round at the peak of the bounce but it does elongated when it is pulled down due to gravity. However, there is no loss in volume. It takes a certain shape when it is squashed to the ground and this defines the rigidity of an object.

Secondary Action

A secondary action should get noticed without pushing the main action into the background. For example, you may see a character putting his fingers on the table while speaking. This is a good example of secondary action.

Arcs

Have you ever noticed that in real life we always follow a curved path rather than a linear one, if you pick up something using your arm? You are definitely following a curved path. This is the same principle which allows the movement of inanimate objects looks more realistic.

Personality

A character should be distinct from other characters. No two persons share the same personality. Even twins have different personalities. This same principle applies to character animation. The character will move in its own distinct movement, it will have its own thought and not be a puppet at all.

Anticipation

You must have come across certain scenes in cartoons where the wind displays an anticipation of the action before the fall of a character from a height. Remember those funny cartoon characters that pause in mid-air after its step off a cliff and then starts falling. The actions get a lot of depth and character when you add anticipation to it. Not to forget that proper timing is an integral part of anticipation.

Exaggeration

This is the heart of cartoon animation. It takes ordinary animation to a level where it catches the eye. But it must be carefully used so that the actions do not cross the limits of reality.

One thing you must understand that there is no need to apply all the above principles in animation. The onus should be on learning the basics and why. You may omit one or more of these principles at the time of real work.

Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on cellphonebeat and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently did an article on gizmowatch. These days she is busy in writing an article on cellphonebeat.

Your images are created, stored, processed and even printed in two different techniques: bitmap graphics and vector graphics. It is important to know when it is best to use one type from the other as well as their weaknesses. This article will provide you a summary of the comparison between these two concepts in various dimensions—from its definition, to its subtypes and even their visual differences.

Definition

Vectors are lines and shapes defined by mathematical equations. In this sense, lines are not referred to as lines but as strokes, while shapes are not only shapes but paths. The difference is due to the integration of direction and intensity when it comes to vector graphics by means of mathematical estimation. Another key quality of a vector is its strength and keen detail which is achieved also because of its mathematical construction.

Bitmaps, known as raster, are images composed of pixels. Pixels refer to miniscule boxes that serve as points in a line. Hence, a shape would constitute of line blocks of pixels. Bitmaps are used in a wider range of photo-editing software programs such as Photoshop which enables flexibility in creating or editing your images. Furthermore, it is easier to include and edit photos from digital cameras into your artworks using bitmap.

File Formats

The tables below will show various file formats under the vector and bitmap types.

VECTORS

*compound file formats which means they can handle both bitmap and vector but are most commonly used in vector formats.

BITMAPS

Visual Appearance

To help you observe the marked differences between vectors and bitmaps, graphics will be used below coupled with some brief explanations. Here are two examples of vector graphics with file extensions in .eps and .pdf.

Both pictures show very sharp images even in detail. Furthermore, once zoomed in, the object shows that the line is continuous, with no open spaces in between. This time let’s take a look at bitmap graphics under a .tif file format.

For printing bitmap graphics, typically the minimum resolution is 300 dpi. Examining the image closely at 300 dpi, it showed that the lines are not as smooth as they were in vector format. When zoomed in, we do see one pixel after the other which formed roughness on the edges of the line.

This time, let’s examine a JPG image. Like the TIFF image and given the fact that its quality is already set to High, the JPG image also showed rough patches on the line itself. Furthermore, the white background in-between the lines is no longer pristine, there are spots of different colors which resulted from a compression noise. Another limitation of a JPG image is that it converts spot colors to a CMYK or RGB value which of course loses the purpose of the desired detail.

It may be concluded that vectors will be highly useful and will yield greater quality when use for your images. However keep in mind though that if you need to work with photographic images, bitmap files are much more preferable. This only means that although quality is top priority, you should still try to assess your needs first in order to achieve better results.

Vincent Sevilla is a professional graphic designer and a marketing consultant for You The Designer. The leading source of design news, tips, and tutorials and inspirational graphic designs.

Direct mail has become easier and more affordable than ever before. With traditional direct mail, businesses were required to either have or purchase an address list, purchase postage (approx. 28¢/piece), purchase a permit, and have your marketing piece printed.

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) simplifies the entire direct mail process. EDDM gives businesses a lot of control to where their mailings will be distributed. You can choose your mailing areas by zip code or by specific mail routes. USPS provides an online tool that display’s specific mailing routes and data for the number of residential and business addresses that your mailing will go out to. Not to mention postage starts at just 14.5¢/piece.

EDDM offers a great opportunity to businesses since it enables customers that would have never tried direct mail to take a test without significant risk.

From the USPS website:

Now you can tell the whole neighborhood what your business has to offer.

With Every Door Direct Mail® service from the U.S. Postal Service®, you can reach the market that matters most to your business: nearby neighborhoods. Postage is as low as 14.5¢ per piece – and you don’t even need to know names or street addresses. You simply identify the neighborhoods you want to target, and your printed piece is delivered with the day’s mail to every address.

Choose the option that is best for you.

• Every Door Direct Mail – Retail™ - Most local businesses choose this service. It’s our simplest, most cost-effective option. Every Door Direct Mail – Retail lets you send up to 5,000 mailpieces per day and doesn’t require you to purchase a postage permit. What’s more, you can take your mailings right to the front counter of the Post Office™ that serves the neighborhoods you want to reach. You can pay for postage with cash, check, or debit card.
• Every Door Direct Mail - This option is designed for businesses that want to send larger mailings. You submit your mailing at a Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU).

What Every Door Direct Mail brings to your marketing efforts.

• Reaches consumers in their homes. With Every Door Direct Mail, you can saturate an entire neighborhood with your message, and your mailing gets directly into the homes and hands of consumers.
• As much or little space as you need. Every Door Direct Mail offers a flexible range of sizes – making it ideal for anything from a quick sales announcement to an in-depth product story.
• Helps your messages work harder. With Every Door Direct Mail, you can include coupons, menus, event calendars, store maps, and more – all of which can help bring customers to your door.

How to get started – use a local printer or do it yourself.

Many local printers offer Every Door Direct Mail. They can help you produce, print, and submit your mailing to the Postal Service™.

I haven’t seen a tutorial  to create this type of effect in Illustrator yet, so I thought I’d put a quick and dirty step-by-step together. Before figuring it out most places that I have read would say to just use the 3d/Extrude tool in illustrator. Problem with that tool is that it doesn’t allow Oblique Projection. My method is pretty simple and only takes a few minutes, much easier than drawing all the individual lines. Here goes…

Step 1:

Add some type to your art board and then duplicate it. Next outline one of the copies you just made.

Step 2:

Now option+shift+drag the outlined version to make a copy and to offset it on a 45º angle.

Next send the copy that you just made to the back.

Step 3:

Go to your blend options and set the spacing to “specific steps” and type “20″ in the field. (you can play around w/ this number, the higher the number the more points you are going to end up with)

Step 4:

Select the 2 elements and then,

Go to Object > Blend > Make

You’ll end up with something that looks like the screen capture above.

Step 5:

With the item still selected Expand it. Object > Expand

After the item is expanded you’ll see all the repeated steps of your type/graphic. Next, with the item still selected go to the Pathfinder palette and click on the Unite button.

You’ll now have one solid object that looks similar to the one above.

Step 6:

Now create a 45º angle line fill. Here’s an excellent tutorial on how to do this. You’ll more than likely have to play around with the line spacing and line width to achieve the look you are going for.

Step 7:

Make a copy of your the graphic you just created and send it behind the graphic with the lined fill and add a color/tint to it. Finally, bring down the original type and place it on the top. Whalla!

Feel free to comment if you have any questions of if my instructions are unclear.

Ratio part starts at 7:17 into the video.

I started using ASE (or Adobe Swatch Exchange) swatches after stumbling across Adobe’s Kuler a few years back. I now use ASE swatch libraries for most of my client’s projects. Download the ASE file for the color palette at the top of this article.

So what are ASE Swatch Libraries? ASE’s are basically customized color palettes in which you choose colors and export them to a self-contained file from Illustrator for future use in Illustrator, InDesign or Photoshop. Importing the ASE files works very much like importing any other color swatch such as the preset Pantone® colors. Once imported the swatch will give you a stand alone palette window to hold your colors.

ASE files are a great tool to utilize when you have several different projects which use the same color scheme (such as company colors). It also helps designers/production artists/illustrators from inadvertently using a wrong color when manually adding in each color. If you have a project that requires a team of people, ASE files are a quick and easy way to share the color palette and also ensure the correct colors are being used.

Create your own ASE Color Swatch:

1. Open a new document and draw a box for each color you would like in your color swatch.
2. Fill each box with your desired color.
3. Select all of the colors in the existing color swatch window and delete them.
4. Now that you have an empty swatch window. Click each square that you created and drag the colors into the swatch library.
5. To export your ASE file, simply go to the drop-down box in the color palette and click. “Save swatch library as ASE…”
6. Name it, click safe and you are done.

Import a ASE Color Swatch into Illustrator:

1. In an open or existing document click the drop down arrow on your Swatches Palette
2. Select “Open Swatch Library>Other Library
3. Select the ASE file you would like to import and click open
4. A new palette box will appear with your imported colors

The following videos are a visual walk-through to import and export the ASE swatches.

EXPORT:

IMPORT: