IN TECHNICOLOR Epic of an Illustrated Life

Business Profitability

2012-01-24T07:29:00.000-05:00

When starting up a business the new entrepreneur need to think about what products or services they'll be selling to the client. The next step in the process is pricing strategies. The one thing to ask yourself is to find the balance between charging too much or too little. Think on these terms about your clients or customers. They want the best value for their money and they will almost always do a quality comparison and make purchases based on the best price for the best value. Perception is everything. It's how the client will view your product or service and what they are willing to pay for it is based upon discernment. In the end, the client will tell you loud and clear through their purchasing behavior whether or not your price is too high, too low or right on the money. (SCORE)

When conducting your market research never assume anything. Determine what competitors and charging for products or services similar to you. Assess how your inventory measured up the terms of quality compared to those of your competitors. Investigate areas of the Internet, trade publications, and trade shows. Give surveys of customers or conduct focus groups. Try and get out and physically shop the competition and evaluate how the operate and how they do business. And, go straight to the customers themselves for feedback. Examine pricing models beginning start-up costs, followed by research, product development, materials (marketing and sales), manufacturing, staff, office space, equipment, packaging. Keep in mind, that the raise and lowering of prices can change in economic conditions, supply and demand, and competitor's prices. Prices are affected by inflation, recession, a boom, and raising and falling interest rates.

A Plan for Making your Business Profitable

The difference between gross profit and net profit.

Gross profit is the difference between a company's total revenue or sales of its products and services and the direct costs associated with producing and selling a company's products and services.
Net profit or net income is a company's total earnings after subtracting all its expenses from total sales and other income on a quarterly and annual basis.
The concept between them both is that gross profit is determined by taking the company's total sales and subtracting the goods costs. Cost of goods sold include raw materials, fuel, transportation, shipping, and employee's salaries directly involved in manufacturing of company's products and services. Net profit is determined by subtracting a company's sell, general, administration, SG&A expenses, depreciations costs, taxes from revenues and other income. SG&A consists of sales commissions, advertising, marketing, research and development, legal and accounting fees, general administration, other expenses, employee's salaries not directly involved in the manufacturing of the company's product or service. These are the CEO, CFO, and administrative staff. Depreciation refers to the gradual decline in value of the company's hard assets, for example, furniture and equipment. These are usually found in the middle of the income . Net profit is listed on the bottom. (Wang)

The misconceptions that new business owners have with regard to revenue and expenses.

In every business staying on top of obligations of paying taxes to federal, state, and local taxes. It will pay in the long run to keep accurate records by professional accounting. Tax professionals are well trained to keep up with the changing tax codes. As a business owners you need to understand that once your business opens the start-up fees are immediately deductible. If you overpay the Internal Revenue Service you are automatically audit proof. As long as you pay the right amount or a little overpayment. Make sure you properly document your expenses and make sure your getting good advice. Being incorporated can be expensive and a headache. Small businesses that incorporate don't make money for the first two years and are burdened by corporate tax payments and no income. It's best to take the home office deductible. Business expenses are not deductible. You can take deductions on business supplies, depreciation, phone bills, travel expenses, printing, wages, and other expenses. Extensions on taxes only means an extension to pay taxes this extends your filing date. If you do not pay on time it will mean, penalties and interest begin accruing from the due date. Part-time business owner can not set up self-employed pensions. When you start-up a company with a salaried position with a 401K plan you can step up a SEP-IRA and take the deduction. If you have the basic knowledge of how the tax system work you are still liable for the accuracy of your tax returns. If you have an accountant and he messes up your still responsible. (CPA Solutions)

Software for Business Management.

Sage Peachtree 2012 is one of the top accounting programs for Windows PC. The reviews claim it to be one of the best and can integrate with Excel. (Software News Daily)
MS Office Suite 2010 for Windows and MAC features Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. Does so many different tasks that you can integrates between the programs like transfer data from Word to a spreadsheet in Excel. It offers e-mail program and contact management.
Sage Act Pro Contact Management integrates with Microsoft Office and can be customized. It keeps track of progress with sales staff and has contact management for e-mail programs, and has capability to import contacts from other programs.
The top choice for business owners would be the Sage Peachtree 2012 because they need to keep records of all their sales transactions together. It makes complex accounting tasks like transactions, billing, payroll, and reporting more manageable for small business owners. It's new Vendor Management System showcases vendor history, payment, contact information, and historical information. (Justine)
When buying computer software the price tag is a fraction of the cost. The greater cost would be the installation, training, maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting. There are two kinds of upgrades: version upgrades and bug fixes. Bug fixes are more frequent they correct major software performance o r security problems. Major upgrades are fundamental changes and are less frequent. The main reason for upgrading is to maintain capability with clients and contractors that use the same software. Technical support on the other hand can be a bit of a problem. Even though the 90-day free support covers short-term installation and hardware compatibility problems, you still need long term technical support. This can get expensive and some companies charge a fee per year depending on required support. Try free sources from software companies that offer websites, newsgroups, and fax-back services that can answer most common support questions.

Pricing products and services for profit

Pricing can be just as important as the product. Take for example, Xerox. Despite its technology it wasn't selling its copy machines. They were too expensive. Their solution they stopped up-front purchase and charge by the copy. They placed their machines in offices for free and charged for the copies. No approval was required and office personnel grasped its utility and productivity. The trend grew and Xerox expanded. Gillette razors gave away the handles to their razor cartridge refills while their competitors sold them. The customers like the freebies, all they needed was the refills. Gillette razor use exploded as did the revenue for the company. These pricing innovations are just as important as the product innovations. That way your customer can pay for what they really want. Pricing your products and services can be very difficult. It can also be very confusing and frustrating, but is necessary for you to be complete effectively and to turn out a profit. (Frey)

Pricing to compete

Good marketing strategy is how you price your product and service. According to the experts at Inc.com competing on price has pass. They're saying that customers need more on service, marketing support, better fast delivery. Now that price is the least effective. Customers who have been jaded on sales know. This is where you can compete on price. But it takes some thought and smarts. Don't confuse customers will down one day then up the next. If you're going to compete with pricing it must drive every decision you make. According to Jan Bell Marketing of Sunrise, Florida sells its private label jewelry wholesale about a third of manufacturer prices. The company is able to sell for less and make more. Begin by examining how a company buys its raw materials. Purchases were made in bulk. Jan Bell brought direct from the source. Price governs everything to sell low controls every decision the company makes from buying to advertising to the customers. The lower your fixed costs the higher your margins. Jan Bell doesn't contract out anything. It makes a representative sampling of its line. So they know what each item costs and what should be charged. You can't afford to have inventory to sit around. The line must be designed to move quickly. Leave the caviar to someone else sell the fresh fish. (Brown)

Pricing scenarios in a sluggish market, an average market, and a strong market.

Market pricing is one of the most common methods for setting prices. The market pricing approach requires a strong market research endeavor to assess the customer's reaction.

Pricing in a sluggish market - In the solar panel market, when the market slows the prices fall. When prices are low means it can't support normal production. As in the China slowed its solar output booms as price slips down. China's plants are faced with backed-up inventory, slow capital spending, with shrinking profit margins. (Walet)

Pricing in an average market - When the market is steady the prices are moderate meaning it will less in demand. This is called "holding the market" the prices can drop but remains steady along with the market trend and production is steady. The economy is balanced.

Pricing in a strong market - In this market the product can met supply and demand, prices are increasing or decreasing moderately but production slows or decreases. The market trading volume corresponds to price change where increasing volume accompany increasing prices.

REFERENCES CITED

Brown, Paul B. How to Compete on Price. INC. May 1, 1990. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.inc.com/magazine/19900501/5179.html

Free Reports for Business Owners. CPA Cite Solutions. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.cpasitesolutions.com/content/articles/businessowners.shtml

Frey, David. How to Prices Your Products or Service for Maximum Profit. Marketing's Best Practices. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.score.org/events/workshops/pricing-products-and-services

Justine. Sage Peachtree 2012 Features and Review. Software News Daily. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.softwarenewsdaily.com/2011/07/sage-peachtree-2012-review-and-features

Business Sale Seminar. Barnes Walker. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.barneswalker.com/Business_Sale_Seminar_Outline_8.29.pdf

Trend Analysis. Investopedia. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trendanalysis.asp#axzz1kMtHjcaW

Wang, Elizabeth. Gross Profit Vs. Net Profit. Small Business Chron. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/gross-profit-vs-net-profit-4024.html

Pricing Products and Services. SCORE. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012.

http://www.score.org/events/workshops/pricing-products-and-services

Support and Upgrades: Determining the Real Cost of Software. Dun & Bradstreet. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. https://smallbusiness.dnb.com/technology/computer-software/1135-1.html

Walet, Leonora. China to Slow Solar Output Boom as Price Slips. Reuters - Singapore. Nov 2 2011. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/02/us-china-solar-siew-idUSTRE7A14QD20111102

Ward, Susan. Top 5 Small Business Software. About.com. Web. retrieved January 21, 2012. http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/software/tp/bizsoftware.htm

Financing a New Business Enterprise

2012-01-24T07:23:00.002-05:00

When you start-up your business you need to ask yourself in the business viable and can you make money at it? Most important do you have enough cash to start your business. It's crucial to understand the financial feasibility of a business. The key to cash flow is making sure that you have cash coming in than going out. If you know that your idea and product is viable then you know it is time to start-up your business. Starting a business costs more and takes longer than you think. You can make a trial run on your business to see if it is viable. (SCORE)

Step 1: Financing a New Venture

The 3 types of funding sources for entrepreneurs are the following:

Personal contact loans that refer to loans that you borrow from family, friends, and business associates. These people provide the needed support usually interest free to the entrepreneur and enjoy the benefits of a new venture. Angel investors are in this category with a no non-sense equity and few contract agreements. Venture capitalists investor in your business if you're experienced have more money if you need to grow and if you want to share and plan to grow fast and go public.
Government loans are called SBA loans, government backed loans that are in every state in the United States of America. The business owner can attend seminars and workshops in obtaining and applying for loan information. These work as guarantors with a network of local lenders to help promote small business to grow and succeed. The seven loan program helps the applicant to apply for a loan from a lending institution. The applicant is required to have a current business status, collateral, and credit history. Microloans are smaller loans no more than $35,000 and is obtained from local non-profit institutions. Grants are an excellent choice if you're in the technology field through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Bank and finance loans are commercial and are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government. IT can be difficult to obtain a loan through a bank since they differ in criteria when lending money. Depending on the amount and purpose of the loan, the primary and secondary sources of re-payment, and so on, means that the entrepreneurs after being rejected several times through different banks before being approved by one. There are three types of financing which can fund entrepreneur start-ups. Term loans are used to buy equipment, building, acquire another company, or expand operations. Business owner have an option to choose fixed or adjusted rate. Another loan is Revolving lines of credit is granted to a business to repay to the bank in the course of one year. Intermediate term debt is a short-term loan about 60 months or less and secured by collateral. (Sloan)

The Pros and Cons for each type of loan
The Pros of Personal loans can be obtained in a very short period of time because your business is shared with your relations based on a personal level. Business owners have the benefit and freedom of not having to pay back this type of loan in a required monthly payment or pay back interest.
The Cons of a Personal loan is that you will have to give up more of your ownership of your company. The more partners in the business the more you will have to divide up all the profits. Relatives feel they have the right to offer suggestions which may put a strain on business strategies and also the relationship. Like any loan owners should pay back as soon as possible owed to relations to avoid further conflicts.
The Pros of Governments that offer SBA loans provide a good way and promote a better interaction with local lenders. The loans increase the chances of getting a bank loan.
The Cons of Government SBA loans is that the guidelines are very strict. The lending partners could reject the applicants based on income, type of business, experience, assets, and so on.
The Pros of Bank Non-Bank Financial loans is that it can provide the borrower sufficient amounts of money and lines of credit. When backed by assets they can be obtained quickly. In the case of non-bank financial institutions, they look beyond financial history and assets and will lend to companies that have been turned down by banks.
The Cons of Bank and Non-Bank Financial loans is there is a chance for rejection with banks, if a business owner has poor credit and little income. Non-bank financial lenders ask for a business plan, personal financial statements, cash flow, and 25% capital. (Go4Funding)

A lender looks for in a borrower, you, the business owner, if you can pay back the load and how quickly. Can you put up the collateral and put up how much to ensure your ability to re-pay.

What lenders like to see is your character in personal credit history. They do examine credit scores. These are routinely done where loans are involved. Good character means you pay bills on time and not delinquent. There are no blemishes on your credit report. All banks do a credit report check. They look at your cash flow also known as capacity. They like to see a debt coverage ratio where every $ 1.50 you make to every $ 1.00.

Keep your income statement handy to review the revenue less cost of sales to get your gross profit and deduct expenses. (If you have a loan payment of $ 32, 998 X 1.50 = $ 49, 497). There must be an overhead when running a business. If you not bringing into the business than what you started with you'll run into trouble.

The lenders like to see capital that you, the business owner, brings in this is your assets. Banks will not finance 100%, like a down payment on a home. It can go 20% for a business loan or sometimes a little higher. There are certain conditions in a loan request if other factors may exist. How you as a business owner exhibit their expertise. Industries have higher risks. Lenders like to see collateral. This is a breakdown of business assets that is brought into a business. It can be personal property, equipment, real estate, and inventory. Banks will not give dollar for dollar. There are two types of guarantees which are unsecured (personal assets declared) and collateralized (stocks, bonds, second loans). (SCORE)

Step 2: Making the Financing Personal

Since it takes a considerable amount of capital to start-up a business affording your own business can take years of hard work through determination, passion, and perseverance. It's best to create a mindset, if you want to be successful. The amount of money for such a venture has to do with the goals and needs of the entrepreneur. When bootstrapping on your own without outside sources will make it difficult for an first time entrepreneur. If there's a lack of funding in a business chances are that the company would have to close or even go bankrupt. There are going to positive and negative sides to any business along with your pros and cons. (Butler)

It's best to make sure that your business plan will work before going deeper into it or investing too much into a new business. Once you have summarized about what your business will be and what you're going to do with that business and products and services that you will offer. When you set out to build a marketing plan, know who your target clients are, how you will finance your business, and what your goals will be and keep it going shouldn't be a problem. When you are educated in the pros and cons of business then you will be able to make the right decisions.

The Steps Needed to Plan for Future Entrepreneurial Endeavors:

Business Plan
Assets, Liabilities, Capital, Collateral
Financial Plan
Marketing and Advertising Plan
Target Market
Goals

The following are answers to questions to the state of West Virginia small business "Success Stories." These are some of the most recent SBA loan recipients with successful businesses.

Some of the trends that are seen are those in the technology, textile, food services, human resources, and automotive industries. The popular trends focus on the baby boomer generation. In the age of the internet social shopping has become a trend as well. Other growing trends are repairs and renovations, travel and tourism, healthcare, retail, green business, and physical fitness. (Wang) These jobs are to increased in the next few years in the future. Some of these business can borrow from $150,000 to up to $500,000.
There are different types of business that are receiving these loans. These range from child care services and food services to technology and textile businesses.

The three local West Virginia companies that have become successful and are still moving are:
Azimuth, Inc. is owned by Craig Hartzell and specializes in engineering, fabrication, and engineering services in support of the U.S. Department of Defense. Hartzell realized in order to be successful he had to created a company that would win contracts, providing exceptional support, and build up a solid reputation. He was competing with contracts larger well established companies so e need more experience and influence. To overcome this he entered the Department of Defense Mentor Program. They led him to his first contract. Azimuth has evolved into a reputable defense contractor of over 100 employees. (USSBAWVD)
ProLogic, Inc. is owned by Jay Reddy who is also the company's CEO. The company provides innovative information technology solutions. The company specializes in 3-D visualization, knowledge management, information technology support services, and independent verification and validation services. It started as a one-man operation and has grown to 75 employees. ProLogic relies heavily on contracts with the Federal Government. Most of the business is primary contractor to NASA, Air Force, Army, and others. Investing in good, knowledgeable people in the IT market is the success of his business. Good work gets more work. Diversification is another key to successful business. Reddy is also looking into other areas of the 8(a) mentor program that he feels will benefit other companies from its success.
Home Industry is owned by Mike Harris and his wife Pam, who purchased the original bakery business in 1984. They put together a business plan and loan package to secure financing. They started out with problems didn't have assets and no collateral to guarantee security. Their parents helped them and offered their homes as security. They pushed forward and approached Union National Bank now Bank One who suggested the U.S. SBA guaranty loan which allowed them to purchase the store. When Meadowbrook Mall opened in the neighboring town, Mike and Pam knew they had to make changes. They took their product on the road making deliveries to the local businesses. This opened up additional opportunities as several stores began requesting their pepperoni rolls. The business also survived a downsizing economy. But in 1994 their landlord terminate their lease so they turned to SBA again for help. They moved their operation not far from their original location just around the corner and down the street. Today they have 55 employees and five delivery vans. Home Industry Bakery pepperoni rolls are found on the shelves of Pantry Stores, Go-Marts, Sheetz, and Wal-Mart. Their delivery route goes as far west as Marietta, Ohio and far north as Uniontown, Pennsylvania. It took two years for Wal-Mart to sell their products. Persistence pays off, believe in yourself and your product. The Harris' believes their biggest asset are their employees. Pam the marketing expert says their success comes from the customer. The key is to pay attention to the customers, the customer is always right.

Based on my research, it may be a possibility that I can get a SBA-backed loan in the future. There is a graphics industry business owner who had successful plans and goals. The name of the business, Raven Wing Graphics, applied for financing to get the needed equipment in computer and software. (ABSN) It's not hard for a person into the graphics industry and very little equipment is needed to run it which is mainly computer, printer, scanner, camera, few art supplies, and software. Depending on your niche and your target area will determine whether you will need additional equipment to operate a graphics business. If I were to ask SBA for a loan it would be a small loan and would have it re-paid in about two years. I have most of the equipment I need. The small loan would be for replacement for computer hardware and upgrades to graphics software.

REFERENCES CITED

Butler, Lee. How To Become an Entrepreneur: Characteristics of an Entrepreneur. How to Do Things. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012.

The ABC's of Small Business Funding. Go 4 Funding. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.go4funding.com/Articles/Small-Business/The-ABCs-of-Small-Business-Funding.aspx

Sloan, Jeff & Rich. 3 Best Types of Funding for Your Biz. Microsoft Business. 2011. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/finance/business-insurance/3-best-types-of-funding-for-your-biz.aspx?fbid=2SaDztXoIbj

Small Business Assist Financial Management Book. SCORE. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. PDF.

Small Business Administration West Virginia District Office. Financing and Resources. U.S. Small Business Administration. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/2/3159

Aboriginal Business Service Network Society. Raven Wing Graphics Business Plan. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.absn.ca/GrapicArtist.doc

Service-disabled Veteran Small Business Owner Receives 7(a) Loan for Start-up Capital. U.S. Small Business Administration West Virginia District Office. Success Stories. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/2/3159/success-stories/3959

Minority-Owned Business Achieves High Growth and Success with 8(a) Program. U.S. Small Business Administration West Virginia District Office. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/2/3159/success-stories/4100

Small Business Owner Receives SBA Loans for Start-up, Growth. U.S. Small Business Administration West Virginia District Office. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/2/3159/success-stories/4099

Wang, Jennifer and Ohngren, Kara. 10 Trends That Could Change Your Business. Entrepreneur. Web. retrieved January 15, 2012. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217508

Starting an Entrepreneur Business

2012-01-24T07:17:00.000-05:00

Part 1: Legal Classifications of Business Ownership

There are 3 Major types of business ownership. They are sole proprietorship, partnership, the corporation.

· The sole proprietorship is a business entity that involves a single or sole owner of an unincorporated business. The owner receives all profits and has unlimited responsibility for all losses and debts. All assets and debts belong to the proprietor's.

· The partnership is a business arranged between two or more parties to advance their mutual interests, or co-ownership for profit. It is not a corporation or a separate entity.

· The corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that have privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many types of corporations. Early corporations established by charter. In today's contemporary feature corporation have limited liability. If a corporation fails the shareholders may lose their investments, employees lose their jobs, but neither are liable for debts to the corporation creditors.

Pros and Cons of Business Types

The pros of having a sole proprietorship is you don't have to do alot of paperwork or forms to fill out. The only things you have to do is file with you local city or county clerk's office. You control all the money you make in the business. You make business operation decisions. You are your own manager by responding quickly to day to day changes and decisions. You don't have to worry about government control over regulations, expenses and taxation. You don't have to do separate tax return for the business and you don't have to do a balance sheet.

The cons of a sole proprietorship is that you will responsible for all debts and obligations. Liability costs cover all assets and additional insurance may be needed to cover personal injury or loss. The business can be terminated in the event of the owner's death or failing medical or mental health. It is difficult to raise operating money or long-term financing with fewer assets. All the decision making rests on one individual. Sole proprietorship have less professional ethic than a partnership and lesser than a corporation. (Schreter)

The pros of a partnership business expenses when setting up are kept to a minimum and legal documentation is require to start a partnership. It's more straightforward and less complicated than a corporation. Partners have motivation and directly share in profits. It's easier to attract capital than a sole proprietor. It's easier to make decision than in a corporation, but more complex than a sole proprietor. You have more freedom from Federal regulations and taxation.

The cons of a partnership is that the partners must assume all business risks and purchases insurance to protect the business from any disaster. If a partner quits or passes on in death the partnership will dissolve unless it will operate under survivorship and create a new partnership. This is where partnership insurance should be considered. Long-term capital is hard to obtain. Partnership collateral makes it easier than sole proprietorship. All partners are held liable for partnership business activities and commitments of the partner. Buying out a partner is a difficult process unless an agreement is made at the beginning of partnership contract.

The pros of a corporation have owner protection legal liability for the corporation activities and debts. Legally the corporation is a separate entity. By maintaining this limited liability the owner must follow a number of legal corporate formalities. The corporation has the ability to attract investors. The stock has a strong selling point to investors willing to invest capital in the business venture. The corporation has a power structure made up of directors, officers, and shareholders. Each group has their roles to act in the company and their responsibilities within the corporate structure. There are stock options for the employees. This offer an appealing opportunity of stock benefits for employees to lock-in their price on the company stock.

The cons of a corporation is the expensive time and cost involved. A number of documents need to be prepared that include new articles and by-laws and filing fees paid to the Secretary of State's office or other business filing agency. The corporation must follow formalities which is required by law, to be sure it operates as a separate entity and independent of the business owners. This means directors hold meetings, recordkeeping of corporate activities, and maintain corporation continuing financial independence. The potential tax liability may cause the corporation to be "double taxed." The corporation is taxed for any profits earned. Individual stockholders earned profits from the corporation are also taxed. This happens in larger corporations and not issued for stockholders or owners of smaller corporations that work for the business itself and are paid salaries rather than dividends. A solution to the double taxation is for the corporation to file for S-corporation tax status.

Business Research: Steps & Costs Resources

The state I live in is the most difficult but not impossible area to set up a graphic design business. The area of demographics are very limited. Jobs in the area are those in the field of health and medicine, food service, coal and gas industry, chemical and metal plants, natural resources, business, transportation, and computer services. The area is growing but at a slow rate. The city Morgantown is the second in the nation in job growth. West Virginia is expect to post modest job growth for 2012. The West Virginia Small Business Development Center is the only business that is a division of the West Virginia Development Office and funded by the State of West Virginia, the United States Small Business Administration, Community Colleges, and Workforce Investment Board Partners. They provide assistance to emerging entrepreneurs and existing small businesses. They provide many free services, financial help, and coaching.

The WVSBDC helps the entrepreneur find the information they need to start-up a business and keep it growing. Federal statistics have shown that small business fuel the economy in the state of West Virginia. 97% of the companies in the state are small businesses. Their three step jump start gets you started in finding resources that is needed for your small business. They're there to help point you in the right direction. They explain how to reach your goals. The company doesn't offer loans or grants to start up a business. Their next step two, you are required to attend a workshop. You are assigned a business coach. The fundamentals help beginners in the nuts and bolts of starting a business. They help to develop your skills. Step three you get to meet your business coach that will mentor your steps into your business. They do suggest into getting to know yourself by knowing the pros and cons of a business in money management, bookkeeping, inventory control, production planning, advertising, promotion, marketing research, and general management. It's also suggested to evaluate personal and financial considerations that can identify ways you can prepare yourself in a business.

When counting the costs when starting a business. The highest cost would be the rent unless you have your own building to conduct your business then the cost would be property taxes, mortgage (if you owe on your property), and building maintenance. If you have a home business it would be most likely to travel to your client's place of business and this would add the costs of transportation and a vehicle. In a graphic design business an entrepreneur needs to consider the costs of equipment and software to help in design work. (Miller) If you were to make an annual sale of $40,000.00, after expenses the income expenses statement would have average sales, income, and total expenses that would leave a net profit of around $19,000.00. If you would include a SG&A Detail that includes your annual sales with services, supplies, repairs, travel, utilities and other deductions that could total around $11,000. This would leave your final profit at $8,000. (BizStats) The IRS has small business forms and publications for information in filing taxes returns. This should include any tax law changes, tax tips, and more. (IRS)

Companies that offer a service for setting up businesses.

A website called Bizfilings.com helps new entrepreneurs to set up their new business. Their fees start from $97.00 and up. BizFilings takes you through the learning process and guide you through to make sure that it is done right. Most all the set-up companies are about the same it the pricing that can vary. BizFilings you do it in 5 easy steps with a quick name and quality check and documents files and delivered. (Bizfilings.com)

MyUSACorporation.com fees are just $39.00 plus state fees. You can register a Non-profit, LLC, or a Corporation form. They have a wide variety of services and is the top service on the internet. They have live chat and are BBB approved. They are very informative and depending on the state they give full resources to help understand the process of setting up a business in their state. (MyUSACorporation.com)

The best choice for me would be MyUSACorporation.com because of the reasonable and affordable pricing and the complete and comprehensive information and resources that are available on the website. This will probably be the source I would use when starting up an actual business.

Part 2: Are you Ready to Start a Business?

• My inventory of skills is fairly broad and eclectic. They range from administrative office to health information specialist to fine art and graphic design with some skills in food services, insurance, and customer services.

The skills I will need to run a graphic design and creative services business is the knowledge and application of design software programs and office software.

Adobe Creative Suite includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, and Dreamweaver. These are the main tools that are going to be used in designing the products. When I look back when I was trained in using software was over ten years ago. Adobe upgrades provide new tools and ways to make the design and creation of graphics and artworks. The only analysis I would make here is the extent of my education and training over the years has made me an old pro in using the software. Except for Flash and Dreamweaver I used in recent years I studied at IADT at Tampa. The early version of began studies in graphic design at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.

I've also learned 3-D software Maya and I've also learned a program called Adobe Premiere Elements that creates and edits videos. I've also had an extensive study in art history, photography, darkroom, airbrush, materials, pre-press, and fine arts. All of this I've either learned in college, continuing education, workshops, seminars, and personal experiences through the years.

Some of the skills that I've learned on other office jobs will help assist me in working my small business.

• My areas of strengths have to be my creative thinking, innovative engineering, talent in drawing, and sticking to a project until it's completed, my passion for art and design, determination, good sense of intuition and initiative, motivation, multi-task, flexible, and having faith.

• The areas that comprise my weaknesses are obstacles or hurdles in Adobe Flash I need to overcome and learn once and for all how it is done and not be so intimidated by it. There are other weaknesses that are on a more personal issue in the way I will be able to become a professional since my age and physical appearance can limit my goals somewhat. I believe that there are some loss ends that need to be filled into the gap and it's never too late to work on those weaknesses to make me more confident. I think my biggest weakness is to overcome procrastination and anxiety, and my plan to overcome these are to one do what I haven't done in my entire life is to give it over to a higher power I call who is real and has the power to make all things possible. I find this verse relevant for anyone who need the answer to solving all problems―Hebrews 13:8.

REFERENCES CITED

BizMiner. Free business statistics and financial ratios. BizStats. Web. retrieved January 8, 2012. http://www.bizstats.com/sole-proprietorship-business-financials/arts-entertainment-recreation-16.0000/show

Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center - Your Small Business Advantage. IRS. Web. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/index.html

Miller, Eric. How Can I Start a Design Firm if I Don’t Have Enough Money? About.com. Web. retrieved January 8, 2012. http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/frequentlyaskedquestions/f/low_budget.htm

Schreter, Susan. The Pros and Cons of Sole Proprietorship. Fox Business Small Business Center. March 11, 2011. Web. retrieved January 8, 2012. http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2011/03/11/pros-cons-sole-proprietorship/

Partnership. Reference for Business Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Web. retrieved January 8, 2012. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Op-Qu/Partnership.html#ixzz1ixobFNJC

Pros and Cons: Why Form a Corporation? Findlaw. Web. retrieved January 8, 2012. http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-structures/corporations/incorporate-pro-con.html

Package Design in the Graphic Design Field

2011-10-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

Teresa Carr

GRAPH450-1104B-01 Package Design

October 5, 2011

When working with packaging design you can't separate graphic design from it really. Graphic design works with packaging design to appeal to the buyer. Being a graphic designer it would be essential to design packaging. There's no getting around it. What fascinates me about packaging design is the 3D form with the graphics that wrap around to create a sellable product. Some of the design have an art form that is attractive. That's why it needs to sell. The one thing about packaging that it's a different breed where the designer can take their innovative creations to a different level. The links below has some really eye popping examples of how packaging can inspire. [References]

The designer's idea is to encourage potential buyers to purchase a product. How smart can you be in creating a package with type, color, and strategically placed images along with type that is appealing and at the same time durable, safe, and functional until used? Some of the new innovative design is using less packaging, less waste, and less material. The idea is to design a minimal, economical product to get the message out of why you need that product. Can you sell a beverage or a frozen pizza? When you go down a cereal aisle in the grocery store or walk through the department store and see endless packaging of products large and small you see graphics galore. Some packaging is designed with quality and less type to clutter. What attract your eye most other than the brand? Is it the unique package the product is placed in? Just by examining the various types of products and the eye candy that stimulates your eyes and senses. (Mecado) There is always going to be a package that can be sold over the others. Popular, well-known companies tend to lean towards minimalistic design.

The importance of packaging design is to communicate to the consumer. The importance of branding is just as much because if you're familiar with the name of a product the customer is most likely to buy it. These are at least two of the most important keys for a graphic designer to keep in mind being communication and branding. This is the main purpose of successful packaging design. Another concern that a graphic designer need to take in consideration is the approach and the method of what market you are going to target and the demographics. For example, if you were designing for Indian food cuisine line to market in Nepal one needs to study that market and how it would appeal to the consumers there. You also need to consider how likely is the consumer going to buy the product. Research is important to a designer as to the consumers visual aesthetics in a large segment than over the small segment of consumer who look for the product details on the label. Originality and value provide very important information to help marketers maximize the promotion of the product package impact to the buyer.

So what does all this mean to the graphic designer that is needed in the process of creating packaging design. It's more than you know. It mainly deals with the right packaging and fresh idea that is in the niche of the graphic designer and his or her direct approach to a successful product marketing. Successful graphic design is the primary process to which packaging begins. The other thing to consider is the materials that will be manufactured and used to present the designed product. It's from the initial idea of the designer to the shelf in the store makes packaging design what it is. The importance of the graphic designer is the survival of the package design and the business of product sales. Without the design process where would packaging and our society be like. Pretty dull, huh? Let's not forget efficiencies that will complete the whole process that provide better product and improve the way we live. This begins through the ideation and concept development with specification drawings and customizing through illustration and 3D rendering of how the new product will look and feel. More important is the logo and branding and other design elements that will be used in the process of package completion. Graphic design is a big part of packaging and is here to stay.

REFERENCES CITED

Macedo, Amanda. 65 Outstanding Packaging Designs. Abduzeedo. Web. retrieved October 4, 2011. http://abduzeedo.com/65-outstanding-packaging-designs

20 Unusual & Creative Packaging Designs. Toxel. April 4, 2009. Web. retrieved October 4, 2011. http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/04/04/20-unusual-and-creative-packaging-designs/

The Popsop Team. Weird packaging for Weird Clothing. Popsop Industry News. Web. retrieved October 4, 2011. http://popsop.com/6498

Other packaging design references:

The Die Line http://thedieline.com

Lovely Package http://lovelypackage.com/

"Turning a Dream Sequence into Science Fiction" The Apocalypse and the Brave New World Revisited

2011-07-19T07:52:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Nowadays it hard for me to dream unless I get some kind of revelation while asleep. I'm a born again Christian who relies on the Lord Jesus Christ with whom I have a relationship with. I believe that God gives people dreams and visions to know the outcome of certain events. I think that most of my inspiration has come from these dreams. I began to fast and this helped with my dreaming. For the past three days I had three significant dreams in sequences that were related to one another. These dreams I believe he would want me to know for the future. One thing about these dreams were events that seem to be in the not so distant future. These dreams that I experience is from a world that seemed to be from George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World.

My first dream, I arrived at this place that I wasn't familiar with. It looked like another state I was in. It didn't look like the state I lived in. The area had a forest of conifer trees in the distance and the region had no mountain nor hills of any kind. Everything looked artificial. I saw a scene where once there was a large river that flowed from north to south but it wasn't there anymore. Instead of a river there was a wide gap from one end I was looking across to the other side. The gap was so monstrous that you could cross over to the other side. It became a large canyon. Then suddenly the ground on which I stood was shaking. It's was an earthquake. There was a man in the dream with me. There was something different about him. He was unusually handsome, but something about him bothered me. I felt like I didn't want to be with this person. He was making me feel uncomfortable because I was trying to see what was going on around me and he was a distraction. I was looking far away to the other side of the huge canyon that formed and I felt I needed to get across. Then I began to see vehicles like flying cars. These cars could float on air. The cars didn't have any wheels on them. They had some kind of antigravity propulsion underneath the body of the vehicle. The mechanisms under the cars seems to hum quietly and glow. Some of them flew across the other side of the canyon. The ground was still shaking under me. Then to the other side of me there was an automatic extension bridge that was stretching over the canyon. While the bridge was extending across to the land on the other side, it seemed to move like an escalator. The road on the bridge seem to be moving.

The second dream, I arrived at this other strange and bizarre place. It looked like some ancient civilization. The place I was in reminded me of a scene from the 1928 silent sci-fi film, Metropolis. I stood there watching all the strange manifestations that were taking place in this open air amphitheater type structure. The structure was made of a strange alien material. It's appearance was like lava stone, but with smaller pores like it was alive and could breathe. This structure had huge steps that descended down and then upward into a tower that had huge steps like a Babylonian ziggurat and an Egyptian pyramid. There was an extremely tall, thin alien female being was ascending up the ziggurat and stopped. The female being raised one of its arms up towards the sky as to worship it or to call whatever it was into existence. I looked at the sky and it was very dark. The sky had no sun, moon, nor stars. It was a strange eerie appearance that had muted colored of purple, deep indigo blue, and a heavy gray. The sky looked more like a backdrop in a theater than a normal sky. As I turned to look behind me there was in attendance a floating platform with a live Buddha-type figure of a large man that appeared to have a pale white skin. There the attendees that were present in this arena bowed down before this figure as it floated down towards the ziggurat-pyramid type tower. After looking at this strange ceremony, I just turned away from it, walked away, shaking my head in disgust.

The third dream, I arrived in this dusty small town setting. There was no signs of grass or vegetation anywhere. The place was very dreary and dusty almost desert-like as if it hadn't rained there for a very long time. I was a traveler on foot into this town and I was looking for supplies. I don't know why I would act this way, but I had in my mind I was looking for supplies and cool water to drink. I felt I was very thirsty. This place as I kept walking past these buildings that look like those from an Old West town of Dodge City. The dusty streets were covered with debris and the roads were dirt as well. The vehicles that moved on the road were moving very fast and didn't stop for anything or anyone for that matter. The vehicles were huge semi-trucks that were carrying what looked like large military equipment. In the center of the median was standing a militant guard with these large freighter trucks speeding past him. I witness one pedestrian hit by one of these large truck and no one stopped to help, even the guard didn't lift a hand. He stood almost android-like and stood like a statue with no emotion of any kind. The people in the town were walking about like they were zombies they had a sense of complacency in their appearance. I found it very strange. I tried speaking with one of the residence there and they walked past me like I wasn't there. I don't know why but for some reason I followed that person to a building that looked like a place where people meet like a club or restaurant of some sort. Now at this point I'd never go into a club, but something compelled me to follow this person. They ascended up a flight of wooden boarded stairs which creaked underneath our feet as we stepped. When we got to the top of the stairs we were stopped at the door's entrance the person ahead of me made no movement. The man who sat at the door on a stool had a strange looking device in his hand. I did know why until the person ahead of me walked past without any problems or the man asking for any kind of identification. I found that strange as well. When he looked at me he had a look of drunkenness in his face and his eyes looked as if they were dead. I told him I would like to go in and he said "you're not allowed." I said "why not?" He raised the device in his hand, and said "you can't go past this point." Then something in my conscience mind told me that you had to have the mark chip in your body to enter into any building in this town. I said "this is against my rights," and he just laughed. I then wanted to leave this town because I felt that I would be found out that I didn't have this chip in my hand or forehand. I didn't want to be caught, arrested, or even killed for not having this mark. I didn't look back. Then this scripture from the Holy Bible came to mind in Revelation 13:16-18, "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." I left this apocalyptic town forever never to return. I fled to the mountains and lived off the land free from the evil tyranny that ran rampant below. There I found the peace I was looking for through God's creation, His Holy Son, and His word. He told us that was all we need when all things would come upon the earth that would cause men's hearts to fail for fear. Perfect love casts out fear.

REFERENCES CITED

Carr, Teresa. Personal Journals and Manuscripts. Print. 11 June 2011.

KJV Holy Bible. Book of Revelation, chapter 13. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Print. retrieved 11 June 2011.

NPR Staff. Janelle Monae: Dreaming in Science Fiction. NPR. 14 May 2010. Web. retrieved 11 June 2011. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126833378

Who said that you Couldn't Find Art Just Anywhere? God's Creation is awesome

2011-04-10T20:04:00.001-05:00

A dreamlike wave found in an Indonesian river is stunning surf world

As discoveries of secret surf spots go, the incredible find by Rip Curl team members during a recent "Search" expedition in the jungles of Indonesia may be unrivaled.

What makes this latest wave discovery so fascinating is that it was made not on a coastline or island shore, but on a remote jungle river that gets pounded by a powerful tidal bore. But unlike other tidal bores that produce relatively small, mushy waves, this remarkable phenomenon pushes swells upstream in dream-like fashion at heights of 8 to 10 feet. [ see rest of story]

I did notice an anomaly in this video. Is it me or is the islands of Indonesia sinking? The waves are abnormally high and seem to go over into the land mass. The waters look really dirty too. Hmmmm, wonder what's up with that.Is the ecosystem under the sea being destroyed? Sad.... Jesus did make our earth beautiful, but sadly there is a conspiracy to destroy her.

Dada Collage and Material Elements

2011-03-07T04:29:00.000-05:00

The name Dada comes from the French word meaning, "hobby-horse." It was first coined in Zurich in 1916, considered the first anti-art movement at the time of World War I. Dadaism had a philosophy that was negative. It was anti-establishment and anti-social. Out of Dada there were different types of experimental art forms and techniques developed. The most famous of the Dadaists was Marcel Duchamp and his "readymades" or "works of art" made from "found objects." This concept illustrated the Dada idea that art could be made from anything.

Another Dada technique is called photomontage. This employed the use of illustrations and photo advertisements that were cut from popular magazines. This revived the Cubist idea of collage. Dada artists used these cutouts to construct puzzling and striking juxtaposition of letters and images. One such Dada artist Kurt Schwitters use of the collage included urban debris like bus tickets, wrappings, and other scraps of litter. He was one of the few purists of this genre.

Dada styles and ideas influenced other art movements, such as Surrealism, Pop Art, and Fluxus, as well as assemblage, installments, and performance. This developed into the Neo-Dada movement in America with such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg , Jasper Johns and Jim Dine who used modern materials, pop icons, and strange content. Dada had one rule and it was never follow any known rules. It's intension was to provoke emotional reaction from the viewer.

Dada is a kind of nonsense with a smothering of whimsy. Abstraction and Expressionism were the main influence on Dadaism. There is really no principal medium in Dada. These can range from geometric tapestries of glass, plaster, and wood. It was from this use of a plethora of mixed materials created in assemblage, photomontage, collage, and the found object gained it reputation as the Dadaist art. When one thinks of Dada they think "collage." The Dada artists found their idea of expression in the collage. Their goal was to create a message by patterns, content, and sudden interaction. This challenged tradition, in a way that the artist made references to contemporary life by using new materials and techniques. Dada was an art form that was innovative and strategic with its ability to create its legacy through the collage, photomontage, assemblage and found object.

The photomontage technique incorporated collage of actual photographs or photographic reproductions. The Dada movement developed the collage that was later discovered by Pablo Picasso and George Braques of France. The Dadaists like the cubists pasted materials like paper, fabrics, and other two dimensional materials into their works. It was a merging of art and everyday life. Instead of creating realism and still life they instead created abstract collages. They went far and wide in search of their source materials. Dadaist Kurt Schwitters made the use of bus tickets, calendars, maps, printed pamphlets, candy wrappers, lace, and many disposable ephemera. He collaged them together and they became a chaotic diary of life. A collage can be anything from clippings from newspapers, magazines, old books, ribbons, hand-made items, found objects, photographs, all cut and pasted to a blank canvas.

The collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but it was re-discovered in the early 20th century. The techniques of collage were first used as far back as ancient China and the invention of paper. The most common use of collage was used in medieval Europe. Gold leaf panels were used in Gothic cathedrals and gemstones were used in religious icons, images, and coat of arms. By 19th century hobbyists used collage methods in memorabilia in scrapbooks, photo albums and books like author Hans Christian Anderson. As time progressed collage extended to painting, wood, decoupage craft, photomontage, assemblage, and digital. Dada also evolved into assemblage a 3-D form of art that makes use of found objects of all types, sizes, and shapes. Marcel Duchamp was one of the first to promote this type of Dada 3-D art. His most famous work was titled Fountain, a urinal with a fake signature written on it.

An excellent example of how Dadaism and the use of collage is working in graphic design is a website called Found magazine. It's not a design website but it's main focus is collecting found objects. Many of the Dada collage are found in covers of magazines and music albums and illustrations. Today collage art has expanded to include works in digital media. Photographic collage art combines photographs to create new, and very unusual works. These techniques involve can be shrinking of large photographs to make small mosaic tiles. Cutting photos can be included in new images and taking multiple photos can create a modern, freethinking work of art. Some of the most stunning collage art used today are those done on the personal computer and with a wide variety of objects you can find. The rest is imagination.

WORKS CITED

Chen Design Associates. Fingerprint, The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design. How Books. Print. 2006

Esaak, Shelley. Dada Art History 101 Basics. About.com. Web. retrieved March 2, 2011. http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm

Koenig, David. Dada and Dadaism: History of the Dada Movement. Dadart. Web. retrieved March 2, 2011. http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/020-history-dada-movement.html

Suardiyanti, Ari. 35+ Beautiful Examples of Creative Collage for Your Inspiration. 1st Web Designer. June 1, 2010. Web. retrieved March 2, 2011. http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-collage-in-graphic-and-web-designs-for-your-inspiration/

The Message of Fahrenheit 451

2011-01-27T01:32:00.000-05:00

Teresa Carr

HUMN401-1101A-01 Literature and Film

Assignment Name: Unit 4 Discussion

January 26, 2011

The book and film of Fahrenheit 451 has a very strong and compelling message with a dire warning. I, myself, have for some time have notice the drastic changes in our society and how the governments not just in the United States but the whole world. As a Christian and a U.S. citizen, I take my freedoms seriously. They are important to me because I remember the ones who died and those who sacrifice to give us the freedoms we have today. I feel I have the same spirit to uphold these freedoms as my own, like any other American who values their freedom and liberty.

I believe that we can learn from the example of Guy Montag, Clarisse McClellan, and Professor Faber that we hunger for the same freedoms of living and thinking without the threat of a totalitarian government controlling our own affairs. Like those characters of the Fahrenheit 451 story, we will be in danger of losing those freedoms in the very near future if we do not exercise our rights of keeping the laws and commandments that guarantees our freedoms in a free republic society. We shouldn't be slaves to elites and the giants of government, mass media, and other institutions that conditions and brainwash us to passiveness and keep us subservient to meaningless and mindless entertainment, like television, video games, comics, and sports, over reading, spending quality time with family, and enjoying the outdoors and learning.

We would be in very much in danger of losing the freedoms we have now. In today's society we have become so complacent and desensitized to what is happening around us. Those who are in the know and understand what is going on behind the stage of the government and the tyrannical elites. Believe it or not, it is very real that the ones who have an agenda to control the general populace have to a point that they in their own thinking that most of the world problems are due to overpopulation and lack of natural resources. When America was first created as a nation, it was from the love of freedoms that the first immigrants, the Pilgrims came to the new land called America to practice these rights to worship God without being persecuted. When their freedoms became then by a foreign entity they once again took up the exercise of keeping those freedoms by fighting for them as Revolutionaries. During the time of war, great men meet together to create a document that for once and for all protect the rights of the freedom loving patriot.

Guy Montag in the Fahrenheit 451 story was a revolutionary in the future society he was molded into. First, a conformist for the government and loving his job he later began to realize that the suffering of others was wrong, and he longed for answers to why books needed to be burned, find the knowledge of he was seeking in the stolen books he read, and grow in the company Clarisse and Professor Faber who had love for life and freedom. It was more dangerous living in this society than the struggle for fighting for the freedom that one has. Once the government had the general populace under submission the freedom and liberty was gone forever. There are very few who found the path back to freedom was to dissent from that society and government and to live as a fugitive in happiness, truth, and free thought.

Most importantly there is a imminent reality that our intellectual freedoms will be lost. They can be vulnerable with the lack of keeping in check with those who desire in taking others individuals freedoms away. Why these freedoms are threat every day of our lives is due to the exercises of propaganda, deception, and evil to extinguish those freedoms from existence. Just by going to the reliable truthful sources of information available in a free society can prove by a shadow of a doubt that conspiracies to destroying freedoms of life, liberty, and happiness. Our freedoms are God-given gifts to be observed and practices as the Lord commanded it to be. Just like Jesus Christ, who suffered and died upon a cross, and rose again, two thousand years ago to set men free from sin so that they could enjoy the liberty of freedoms that He set in His Word, laws and commandments to keep our society free from harm and slavery from evil and tyranny.

The message is very relevant today, that if we do not practice the freedoms and laws given to us by others who had suffered to fight. Then why do we deserve to have them if we don't take a stand to keep our freedoms for future generations. It was in the words of Benjamin Franklin, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, said that if "we give up our freedoms for a little security we neither deserve freedom or security." It is for the love of this liberty and the love for one another that will conquer the threat of tyranny and lost freedom. Lord George Byron said it best, "the eternal spirit of the chainless mind brightens the darkest dungeon. Liberty, your habitation is the heart. The heart which loves of you alone can unite."

WORKS CITED

Byron, Lord George. Liberty Quotes. World of Quotes. Web. retrieved January 26, 2011. http://www.worldofquotes.com/topic/Liberty/index.html

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin Quotes. Think Exist. Web. retrieved January 26, 2011. http://thinkexist.com/quotation/anyone_who_trades_liberty_for_security_deserves/289390.html

Truffaut, François (Director). Truffaut, François & Richard, Jean_Louis (Screenwriters). Allen, Lewis M. (Producer). Fahrenheit 451 [Film], 1966. UK. Universal Pictures (USA).

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451 [50th Anniversary Edition]. Del Ray/Ballantine Books, New York. 1953, 1981.

Copywriting for Advertising Demographics

2011-01-09T18:12:00.000-05:00

AVD3001-1101A-01 Copywriting

Assignment Name: Unit 1 Discussion Board

Instructor Richard Misiano-Genovese

01/05/2011

The advertisement I identify in my local area is Abercrombie & Fitch. The company has for a number of times in the past has drawn on controversy in their type of advertising. The demographics cater to males and females between the ages of 18-24. It is categorized a men's clothing store in casual luxury apparel. There's not much of aired clothing commercial in my area of the Southeast. Actually it is close to none. Most of the advertising is done by direct mail circulars or announcements of sales on their website at abercrombie.com. It would be rarely that any clothing commercial would air here if it were a jean commercial or sportswear. Some of the creative angles that Abercrombie & Fitch is known for making people mad. Most of their ads deals alot with sexuality among other things.

Being no stranger to controversy Abercrombie & Fitch with its sexy ads its has raised alot of eyebrows. Many of their catalogues included nude models that was deemed too risky for young teens. The reason I'm bringing this up about Abercrombie & Fitch which had a store in my area came out with a T-shirt in 2004 with the slogan, "It's all relative in West Virginia." This brought about public awareness into the idea that the advertisement was a slur on the state residents stereotype of being incestuous. This had even had the Governor at the time, Bob Wise firing off a letter to the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.

The area that I Iive in has a large population of Christians and conservatives that can affect the sales of the company particularly if its advertising content doesn't appeal to the great good of its customers. It was a very long time that the company's sales remained at a stand still. The Governor made an appearance on the "Deborah Norville Show" from the city of Charleston, but Abercrombie & Fitch declined the invitation. The host, Dan Abrams asked about the T-shirts, and Governor Wise stated that the shirts were slanderous and untrue. Twenty millions tourists visited the state of West Virginia that year. It had the lowest violent crime rate in the nation and the highest rate of home ownership. The largest percentage of men and woman that wear the uniform of our country.

The Governor explained that people take advertising seriously. Abercrombie & Fitch needed to take the more positive approach to their advertising. They're a trendy store and popular no need to ruin it with bad advertising. Even if the company had an inaccurate portrayal of the people of West Virginia or the Governor concerns about marketing the state, thinking it would be cool can only go so far. Most Americans only contact is through mass media advertising. For a small state, there's lots of contact and for it to be on a T-Shirt it's not good for the state. The company has good quality clothes and doesn't have to stoop to this level to try and sell their clothing. What they chose to put on the shirt is some that anyone would kid around with let alone wear it, maybe.

In the case of New Mexico, the company did a shirt with the slogan, "40 Million Squirrels Can't Be Wrong." Animals and people are different. Animals are usually funny and cute. Targeting people is a whole different outlook. Getting the wrong idea about the way people live, and be stereotyped continually, enough is enough. The state boast some great college sports and tourism with millions of people who like to return and visit. That's the kind of advertising that Abercrombie & Fitch can help promote.

WORKS CITED

Deborah Norville Tonight. Abercrombie & Fitch Shirt Angers West Virginians. 24 Mar. 2004. MSNBC News. Web. retrieved 05 Jan, 2011. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4594392/ns/msnbc_tv-deborah_norville_tonight/

Maya 2011

2010-12-16T06:55:00.001-05:00

Image via AutodeskHi there,

It's been a while since my last blog post. I've been busy with classes. This is my last year and big things are happening. I'm taking a 3D class in Maya and it's lots of fun. Autdesk is packaging their products in the new 2011 Suite that includes Maya, 3D Studio Max, Softimage, MudBox, and MotionBuilder. I'm hoping and planning to have some tutorials I'm experimenting with and post some projects here also. Progress can never be finer. So far, I've done a house, a human hand, army tank, laser ray gun, and a group of objects using curves and the revolve tool, which is alot of fun. The objects I did were a wine bottle, hat, tire, picture frame, and a table lamp. Not bad, huh?

The illustration class was awesome and so was the instructor. We did a package collaboration of a music band. I used a local Christian band, Judah's Lion, and did the logo. You guessed it! It included a concert poster, CD, and a website. I'll be putting together a video and posting it on Youtube in a few days. 'Til next time.

I Can Only Imagine

2010-10-23T04:24:00.000-05:00

MercyMe
Tags:
MercyMe, MTV Music

This song was play at my dad's funeral 2 years ago. This is my tribute to the awesome band, MercyMe and to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Matisyahu on Religion and Music

2010-10-23T04:13:00.000-05:00

Matisyahu |MTV Music

http://www.mtvmusic.com/artist/matisyahu/videos/70020/king_without_a_crown

The Wonderful Ewe Slideshow

2010-10-05T04:13:00.001-05:00

Image via Wikipedia
The Ewe Review - Rochester, MI
Love Ewe! :)

'Pope Killer' Controversy ahead of Brazil Biennial

2010-09-25T03:46:00.001-05:00

An artist's fantasies of assassinating Queen Elizabeth II, former US president George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI have triggered controversy in Brazil ahead of a major art show opening.
Nine charcoal sketch self-portraits of the Brazilian artist, Gil Vicente, in imaginary scenes murdering world leaders have become the focus of fierce debate, with the national lawyers' association demanding they be taken down from the walls of the Sao Paulo Art Biennial, which starts Saturday.
"They claim it justifies crime. Stealing public money is not a crime? The reports on TV aren't trying to justify crimes? Only my work is justification of crime?" an indignant Vicente said in an interview with AFP. (read the rest of the story)

My Personal Goal Sheet for a Graphic Design Career

2010-08-11T05:50:00.005-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

by Teresa Carr

•Why do you like the graphic design field?

I chose graphic design as my field of study and for a future career because of my love for art and creativity. I like developing concepts of ideas to improve the way we live and how we think. I've always been doodling here and there through my lifetime. I think that I've always done something related to art and design. Besides the number of paintings I've practiced on, I've also did a few pieces for private individuals. Some of my memorable art experiences were doing design patterns for a co-worker of my mother who worked for a department sewing and alternation department. When I was a student in high school I took an art class. The school had a bicentennial celebration and everyone had a booth or station that offered a fun activity. I asked if I could set up a station to draw portraits and anything the participants wanted as a souvenir. It was a great experience and I enjoyed it very much.

My first book cover

I've also did a variety of other artworks for others and have worked with different materials ranging from signage and household items. Only thing I wish I could have kept a record what all I had done. I moved to Los Angeles in 1991. My first job was through a staffing firm at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the Services Department as a receptionist. I also worked a night job at Century Towers in Century City. After about a year I applied at Santa Monica College Graphic Design program in the Fall 1993. After graduating college in 1996 and moved to Nashville from Los Angeles I was connected with the author Sylvia Fleener to collaborate with her on the cover of her book, "The Omega Syndrome." Parts of the book were made into the TBN/Gener8Xion Entertainment production, "The Omega Code." More on the story can be found at Deception in the Church website (Who Wrote The Omega Code?). About two years later I signed with an agency and was assigned as a graphic artist to a Christian Publisher, R.H. Boyd, just outside Nashville, my first job in the field. Alot of interesting moments had happened with my time in Nashville. I will always remember the Creative Forum Group (that helped me to ease the transition from Los Angeles), The Woodmont Baptist Church, and the Sunshine Market off Thompson and Belmont. The most unique items that I have created were artworks on saw blades and metal garden objects like a butterfly. So it's easy for me to say that's why I love being in the graphic design field. What the graphic design field has done for me while I've attended IADT is to be a more refined and professional designer. The experience and skill that I've obtained in the past has helped considerably. Since then I returned home to West Virginia to take care of my disabled mom. Each year in June, the city of Charleston holds the Festivall where the city becomes a work of art. I was a volunteer and got a t-shirt to prove it. :) I love art festivals and gospel gatherings.

•What would you consider an acceptable job right out of school?

I never really envisioned what kind of acceptable job I would be looking for after I complete my schooling. Since I have one more year at IADT I think I will still have a little more time left to consider this. I've been doing some searches and researching different areas to where I can find my niche. My passion lies in illustration because I love to draw.

I found this page on how to get your first graphic design job and it pretty much explain what we've been discussing during the course of this class. The publication states to first examine yourself by your motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. The second is your work, nature, style, and variety. The third, is the job market and what types of businesses you will be presenting yourself and your work. A second publication I found is a good one on How to Get a Graphic Design Job After Art School this is a must read that can give you tips in to look forward to looking for employment and how corporate America works.

•Do you consider yourself a team player? Why or why not?

I would have to say yes and no to the team player gig. Yes, I can work with others at some levels of the design process. I would have to say no on some aspects of the game because I've always been a little shy and tend to work independently with less stress. With seasoned experience and tenacious can make you a confident and reliant team player. A successful team player is getting along with others. This means doing your part in be organized without creating friction, upsetting others, and causing others to turn from specific targets and goals. This means play nice and not make waves. The main focus on being a god team player is to immerse yourself into the project and most important know what roles each person is playing. The most important tool in team playing is communication always first listen and then talk, even getting into discussions. If you run into problems when someone is not holding up their side always do your job. There are many times that others just don't follow through and being a successful team player is to keep at it until the end. When there is a difference of opinion always negotiate. When your team is faced with adversity remember to always stay true to your group and be loyal.

•What do you consider your greatest weakness?

Dealing with weaknesses has always been my Achilles heel. I look at weakness on a spiritual level and also a professional level as well. Jesus said in the Holy Scriptures in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" to paraphrase "My Power shows up best in weak people." So this comes down to what is my greatest weaknesses. I take this from my portfolio review and how the other person saw me. In my voice was detected a sense of tentativeness. I tend to want to be hesitant to what I want to say. It sounds like I am unsettled in thoughts and opinion and much doubtful if it is the right thing to say and how I say it. I think that this has affected me throughout my life as long as I can remember.

We all go through storms and trials through this life, and my way to overcome this is to come to realize that we are going to make mistakes even when we try hard not to. We're not all perfect by a long shot. So I think that it just something that I have to wake up and accept myself as a person who has weaknesses that needs to be dealt with. I choose to trust in the Lord to guide me to self-improvement. Don't be ashamed that these things that happen to you. Regardless of how embarrassing it is life goes on. You forgive and be forgiven by the Heavenly Father. Prayer is a powerful tool that works when you need help with all your weaknesses to make you a stronger and better person.

· Where do you see yourself a year after graduating?

It would be really hard for me to say what I will be doing or where I'll be in a year after graduation. What I do plan is be job hunting and hopefully working in the graphic design field probably doing freelance work and during the process of building a network with clients. The economy is at a low at this time (2010), and the future is questionable about the recovery on the economy. The Wall Street Journal ran a news article on the outlook of 2011: Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse and what everyone needs to be prepared for. There seems to be no job creation at the moment and in order for an economy to survive is job creation.

In 2010, people could cash in on their IRA's, Keough, and 401K accounts. Instead of commenting on the state of the economy I'll cut to the heart of the matter. If I'm fortunate to find employment after graduate within a year I'm truly blessed and talented enough that some company will like my portfolio enough to be hired. The world we live in is changing and we need to adjust with those changes. As we move into more digital and technical jobs it would be best to say that graphic design would be promising career for the future both by standard and freelancing. Most of the growth will be on the Internet and in media. One designer said that he was hired 90% of the time online. I see that the future of graphic design jobs coming from the Internet as well. Since most jobs aren't advertised in the newspaper, they are found through the Internet. Looks like the Internet is a recession saver.

WORKS CITED

Cass, Jacob. How to Get Your First Graphic Design Job. Just Creative Design.com. Web. December 30, 2007. http://justcreativedesign.com/2007/12/30/how-to-get-your-first-job/

Laffer, Arthur. Tax Hike and the 2011 Economic Collapse. The Wall Street Journal. online.wsj.com. Web. June 6, 2010. http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704113504575264513748386610.html

Long, Michael. How to Get a Graphic Design Job After Art School. ISnare.com. Web. http://www.isnare.com/?aid=78892&ca=Arts+and+Crafts

Happy Independence Day July 4 2010

2010-07-05T03:25:00.000-05:00

HAPPY U.S. INDEPENDENCE DAY Juyl 4, 2010
One Nation Under God
Indivisible
With Liberty and Justice for All!

God Bless America, may her red, white, and blue stars and stripes forever stand in the presence of our Lord's (YAHWEH) glory in the name of His Son, Christ Jesus (Yeshua, Yahusha)

Creating a Great Portfolio

2010-06-02T06:19:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

by Teresa Carr

The most important tool for a graphic artist, to find a career in the arts field, is a knock out portfolio with at least 15 of the best work he or she can churn out. As a rule no more than 20 designs in a portfolio. Usually the director or employer does have the extra time to view a lot of unnecessary design. You want to hold their interest and not draw them away. Remember, less is more. Starting with your best piece first you’re your less towards the end and your next best piece to end with a bang. Even if it’s your first job interview, it always the first impression that gets one’s foot in the door. It’s good to be a well-rounded person and knowledgeable in quite a few subjects. Computer literacy is a plus. Graphic software the graphic artist equipped with are Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, QuarkXpress or Pagemaker, Publisher are the basics. A graphic artist that has a good working knowledge of other graphic software, such as 3-D, is a big plus in finding more work. If you’re one of those well-rounded artist who has a talent for illustration and traditional artwork you got it made. Most of all you need some good ideas and great taste. This is the making of one good portfolio. Back in the days of design school, creating a stellar portfolio was more of a chore about getting it just right and selection of the best of the best. The portfolio class was the highlight of the final year. This was broken up into 4 main groups; resource researching, resume writing and design, job hunting, and the main element -portfolio development and selection.

Here I will explain the 4 main groups and how they are used in getting gigs and bids for graphic jobs:

1. Resource Researching – this deals with finding the right place for you to start looking for the kind of work you like to do or niche you like to be. For example, if you focus is in the greeting card industry then pull from directories, agencies, bulletins, or even the phone book. Word of mouth is also an excellent resource for companies looking for freelance or employees. Another excellent source is a book called Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market. There are tons of unlimited resources on the Web. Some of the largest freelancers websites are Guru (www.guru.com), Gig (www.gig.com), Sologig (www.sologig.com), Hot Gigs (www.hotgigs.com), Creative Pro (www.creativepro.com), Elance (www.elance.com), and Get a Freelancer (www.getafreelancer.com). Another good resource is to network with some local groups and organizations that promote the creative community. The local one in my area is Create West Virginia an organization who is in development of bringing artists together and to help them build a creative community.

2. Resume Writing and Design – There are dozens of books on how to write a good resume. Check at the local library for a listing. To write a creative type of resume is not much different than on for an editor or administrative assistant, but adding flare to it to get the employer’s attention to get that design job. I will use my resume on the next page as an example. The vital information you’ll need is your contact information. First typeset your name in a larger point size and your business name, address, city, state, zip code, and country. It’s important to give phone numbers and other communications so that the employer can find you. If you have an e-mail address add that, too. If you have an online portfolio and/or gallery of your works, private or group, make note of the web addresses. The next step is to include your technical proficiency. This means what software and computer hardware you use and types of work you do. This is followed by professional experience. Here you add your creative work experience whether they are freelance, volunteer and other employment beginning with the most recent and working backward. Give the business name and contact address. List you key achievements with your job description. List dates of employment giving the month and year. After you have listed your entire employment information list your education and training, workshops and seminars giving the name of the schools you attended with contact information and the dates of attendance in months and years. You may want to include any awards or memberships that are applicable. Lastly for the reference section you can type, references and portfolio are available upon request. Usually the employer will sometimes ask for these if they want to see them. Styles of typesetting are to be as professional as possible. Don’t get overzealous with the type. Two different types of fonts are the limit. Keep it clean and concise. Work with type sizes, bold, and italics lettering for more eye appealing charm. Use active verbs, correct grammar and spelling. When using color do it sparingly with just one or goes good with black type. If you like to add a small logo place it around the top near your name or business contact information. I’m always changing or adding to my resume. It another endless quest for the perfect resume has become an art form as well. Choose your paper carefully. There are affordable, high quality papers available, or high quality laser print outputs.

3. Job hunting – This is a wide topic where one can take a big leap into the deep, vast ocean of opportunities. As the saying goes, “Cast your bread upon the water and it will come back to you tenfold.” I offered some places to start above in number one of the Resource Researching section. Let’s not forget other job hunting websites; Monster.com (www.monster.com), Career Builder (www.careerbuilder.com), and Flip Dog (www.flipdog.com). Some companies don’t advertise. So if you show an interest in a company check with their human resource department to see if they may have any openings; try your local employment agency for postings and let’s not forget creative temp agencies that hire out screened applicants. In the art and design profession can be tough and discouraging. It’s tough out there. Take to heart some simple advice. The secret to successful job hunting is never quit. Be resourceful. Be more than just competent in your profession, and be persistent and tenacious. A positive and enthusiastic attitude will help in your pursuit of a job. You will never stop learning in the “real world.” It wouldn’t hurt to be in the right place at the right time either. Always network with others, communicate and refine your skills. In the long run, hard work pays off.

4. Portfolio Development and Selection – We’ve come to the most important and crucial part of this editorial, the portfolio, which is the artist’s lifeblood. Without it is like an automobile without wheels. Lily Silipow, a graphic design headhunter said, “Your portfolio is often judged not by your best pieces but by your worst.” The thing an artist needs to know what makes a good, successful portfolio work is a great looking design or artwork with good design, layout, detail, development, use of color, drawing skill, concepts, and technique. An ideal number of pieces in you portfolio are between ten and twenty. Try for fifteen pieces. Arrange your pieces in a specific order. Start out with black and white, two colors, full color and end with a strong piece. Start out with a strong piece and end with a strong piece. Put in order according to categories: logotypes, brochures, editorial designs, book design, packaging, architectural renderings, and illustrations. Before going to an interview have your portfolio evaluated. Show it to other designers, instructors, or attend organized portfolio reviews. If you get different opinions the feedback may be conflicting. You make the final decisions. Do not take criticisms personally. Creative criticism makes you stronger and makes you a better artist in the process. Always keep your portfolio updated. If you’re still a student or taking a portfolio building class, always update with your best work. You can always rework previous projects. Updating helps you evaluate your progress and it’s best to “clean house” once in a while. There are different types of portfolio cases; zippered portfolio case with or without multi-ring binder, attaché-style portfolio, presentation folders, and book format. If you have slides and transparencies bring along a small portable light box and a loupe. Use slide and transparency protectors and put them in a binder. All works should conform to an 8 ½ x 11 format.

I’ve made a list of some of the artwork and design I include in my portfolio:

Black and white logotype design (typography), including calligraphy, letter art, corporate identity systems (letterhead stationery, card, direct mail) – best, strongest design
Two color menu design
Illustration #1 – full color (animal)
Illustration #2 – full color (still life)
Illustration #3 – full color (figure)
Architectural rendering drawing
Landscape rendering
Publication design (book design and jacket)
Packaging design
Animation and storyboard
Fine art (painting)
Poster Advertisement (Concert Promotion)
Magazine design (Christian theme)
Cartoon or Caricature – last, end with a bang.

Also include in side pockets of portfolio sketchbook of thumbnails, tear sheets, roughs, layout and marker comprehensives, transparencies and slides in binder, photographs of large artwork or three-dimensional pieces, videotapes of animations.

When the time comes to get that job, your portfolio is important because it shows your talent and abilities. The resume serves as your introduction to a prospective employer and tells him or her who you are. The interview gives you the opportunity to make a favorable impression while presenting your skills. These three will determine your success in a career in the graphic communications profession.

Good Luck!

Bibliography:

Berryman, Gregg. Designing Creative Resumes. California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1985.

Craig, James. Graphic Design Career Guide (first edition), New York: Watson-Gutpill Publications, 1983.

Graphic Artists Guild. Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (8^th edition). New York: Graphic Artists Guild.

Marquand, Ed. How to Prepare Your Portfolio (first edition), New York: Art Direction Book Company, 1981.

Marquand, Ed. How to Prepare Your Portfolio (third edition), New York: Art Direction Book Company, 1994.

The Workbook (published every year): national directory of advertising firms, design firms, illustrators, letterers, production artists, photographers, copywriters, printers, service bureaus, photo labs, etc. Architects and interior designers should have an industry directory or organizations that have a listing of firms’ addresses and phone numbers.

Amazing Magnet Motor

2010-05-25T04:16:00.000-05:00

HouseholdHacker — May 25, 2010 — Get the Shirts: http://bit.ly/scishirts
Mess with me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/dylanhacker

The big question is: How does this work?

The electrical current is traveling through battery, into the screw and wire
in a normal fashion. But when then current hits the magnet, the electrical current
is pulled out in a radial fashion instead of going straight through.

Because the magnet has the ability to move. It spins as the current travels
through it.

Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010

2010-05-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

Quotes are from an article entitled "We Are Nashville" by Patten Fuqua. To read the complete article, you can visit www.section303.com. I have no affiliation with this site.

This is significant to me because I lived in Nashville from 1996-2000. I used to drive down these streets most every day to work. Now, to see it all under water is very sad. My prayers go out to the families that lost loved ones. May the peace and comfort of Jesus Christ be with you all.

The History of Graphic Design

2010-04-20T23:02:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Man’s earliest known attempt of the visual record of his life began about 5,765 years ago. After the Great Deluge (The Great Flood) that Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives began the three major civilizations in the known world at that time. It began with the cuneiform writings of the Sumerians. The beginnings of graphic design can go back to the time of the cave drawings found in Lucerne, France, and in later civilizations such as the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and early Aramaic writings and the Book of the Law during the time of Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The printed word began somewhere afterward. The Phoenicians used the first formal alphabet, the first art forms. The evidence of the first example of printing was discovered in 1908 by an Italian archaeologist on the island of Crete. He found a clay disc in the ruins of the palace of Phaistos in a stratification dated about 1500 B.C. Before the invention of printing the written word was all done laboriously by hand. The invention of printing did not put an end to the skill and art that had gone into the illuminated manuscripts, which the monks had illustrated with beautiful illuminations or colored pictures of the Holy Bible. Printers followed the traditions of the monks, and turned out books of great beauty. Artists who had copied the works of the masters turned to pen and brush to etching and engraving in metal, so that their images could be printed in large numbers. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg brought the West up to date with his invention of movable type. Historians credit his invention as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The uses of paper were not new when Gutenberg’s type appeared. Eumenes, king of Pergamus, introduced the use of parchment for writing in 170 B.C. In making ink for printing, the Chinese lead the world in discovery by using lampblack in 400 A.D. Viscous or tacky inks essential for printing were used in Germany by Gutenberg’s time. Gutenberg is credited to the envisionment of commercial and cultural possibilities of printing as a process of graphic reproduction. With the cumulative effect of inventions of many minds in a growing civilization, we attribute the evolution of printing as a graphic art. The first books in Europe were printed in black letter or gothic type. They were designed to imitate the style of letter used by religious scribes living in Mainz, Germany, where Gutenberg began his activities. The roman letter type came later, it would have been lost if it weren’t for Emperor Charlemagne revived the ancient writings. Charlemagne encouraged the establishment of a school at Tours by an English scholar, Alcuin. The calligraphy of this school became the model for the rest of Europe. Artists began to use lithography after 1796, and even greater numbers of images could be printed. Photography and bookmaking are important productions of work from early printers, engravers, artists, craftsmen, and scientists. Through England, printing came to the American colonies. William Caxton, who brought equipment from the Netherlands to establish a press at Westminster, introduced printing in England about 1476. Among the books issued from Caxton’s press were Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Fables of Aesop, and many other popular works. Printing was used to promote colonization of the New World. There is on file in the New York Public Library a copy of such a promotion piece dated 1609. It is entitled, “Offering Most Excellent Fruites by Planting in Virginia.” One historian observed the fact that 750 of the first 900 settlers in the Virginia colonies died during the first winter was amazed at the power of the printed word. It encouraged new settlers to come to the New World, but also influenced the 150 survivors to remain. The fist printing press appeared in Massachusetts in 1638, soon after the first settlers established themselves. The first piece printed on the new pres was The Freeman’s Oath. The Bay Psalm Book was produced in 1640. Printing didn’t make headway in the colonies as it did in the Massachusetts Colony. It wasn’t until 1808 that printing spread to states as far as Mississippi to St. Louis. As migration continued west printing followed. Benjamin Franklin an important American citizen of his time began his own printing office in Philadelphia by 1732 and became the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Among his publications, Poor Richard’s Almanack became the most famous. Another great patriot of the Revolutionary Period was Isaiah Thomas. In 1770 he began publication of the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper in which he supported the cause of the patriots. He served during the Revolutionary War as printer for the Massachusetts House of Assembly. Following the war, he re-established his business, which had been destroyed. He became one of the leading publishers of books. In 1810 he published a two volume History of Printing in America which today remains the best source on colonial printing. For the past 400 years all type was set by hand. In the 19^th century men began to consider the possibility of creating typesetting machines. The first sufficient commercial machine was the invention of the linotype by Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1886. Of the various metal composing machines developed only two kinds are still used today. These are the Linotype, Intertype, and Ludlow that cast slugs (one piece fully spaced lines); and the Monotype that casts individual pieces of type in justified lines. Tolbert Lanston of Washington, D.C invented the Monotype in 1887. Washington I. Ludlow suggested the Ludlow Typograph in 1906 and later perfected by William A. Reade.

The first illustrations in books were made from woodcuts. They were carved out of woodblocks by hand leaving raised surfaced designs. Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg printed the earliest book using woodcuts about 1460. Between 1570 and 1770 illustrations in books were printed by copperplate engravings, resulting in a decline in the making of woodcuts. In 1770 Thomas Bewick of England developed the technique of using a special engraving tool for cutting across the grain, instead of with the grain. Today, woodcuts are only used to give an artistic touch to certain types of printed pieces. Around 1476, engraved copper intaglio plates the forerunner of steel engravers and gravure, were first used in France and Italy. Copper engraving made it competitive to woodcuts in England about 1545, and in France about 1569. Copperplate work is still used today for invitations and announcements. Photography for graphic arts involves the photographic processes and techniques used to reproduce illustrations and art subjects. The invention ans use of photography and photomechanics completed the mechanization of the printing process; made illustrations practical and economical to produce and reproduce; and foster the phenomenal growth of advertising, periodical, book and commercial printing. The development of photomechanics closely paralleled the advances of photography. In 1826 Joseph Niepce made the first metal engraving by light using a metal plate coated with bitumen and etched after exposure and development. Photoengraving developed rapidly in America and by 1871 it was commercially used for letterpress printing. By 1880 photoengraved prints had replaced woodcuts as illustrations in books and magazines. In that year, Stephen Horgan made the first halftone photoengraving for printing. It utilized a coarse screen and was printed by lithography in The Daily Graphic of New York, the first picture newspaper. If Gutenberg stepped into a 1950’s printing plant he would have stood at the typecast, set the type by hand and pulled a proof almost exactly as he did when first invented it. Today Gutenberg may recognize the output now, but the input would be strange to him.

The age of electronics and computers has completely changed the complexity of the printing processes. In the years since 1950 presses have speeded up, but have been replaced by photo and computer typesetting; photography is controlled by densitometers, exposure computers and automatic processors; color separations and corrections are done on scanners, and half tone output films are generated by lasers, stripping is done by CAD techniques, color proofs are made from separation films or from digital data from computers, computers are used to analyze production information on presses, and bindery lines operate automatically by computers for magazine printing. The future of graphic arts is being shaped by the expansion of the microcomputer and image processing software. Printing is being used without the use of plates and films by ink jet and electronic methods. Offset presses are becoming faster in the control of inking and dampening. Lithography will be the dominant printing process well in the 21^st century. Flexography with water based inks and gravure with electronic, laser, electron beam and direct digital engraving will increase in usage. By 2021, these printing processes will have about one half share of value of printed products. Publishers and printers recognize their part in the huge information industry that employs over three fourths of the work force in the United States, and many are expanding to telecommunications, videotex, interactive cable TV, direct broadcast by satellite, as supplements to printing. Graphic arts is sure to change in the years to come more than 540 years since Gutenberg the printed page and image will continue to flourish into the next century. It certain that the change will be the way it’s composed and produced, and will be around for many years for people to read, view, admire and enjoy.

Some of the well-known designers such as Neville Brody, Paul Rand, William Morris, Piet Zwart, Milton Glaser and David Carson have changed the world we live with their approach to graphic communication. Their brilliant innovation in visual communication have defined the way we look at it.

Graphic Design Defined

The Five Bee’s of Being Cool: Living with Purpose and Passion

2010-04-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

by Teresa Carr

For many years I struggled through my life trying to make it work out. I spent time in isolation thinking my life never amounted to much. I re-evaluated my life what I had done so far. Practically, most of my life had been surrounded with some kind of interest in art and design. Art to me had become more of an interest. I’ve learned that it’s the only thing I’ve thought about. I enjoyed going to art galleries and museums. I had also taken an interest in writing about subjects that interest me such as graphic arts, painting, design, bible history, archeology, astronomy, sciences, poetry, education, and farming. But nothing really gives me more contentment than art. There is one other thing that has helped me along life’s road and that the love and grace of God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. It was he who gave me this gift of art. It’s my only love and the only thing that I can do without getting bored, making too many mistakes, or I just don’t get fulfillment from another venture that will eventually end up in the dumpster of life. It is God’s will that we are to find our purpose in life, develop and work with it that means find out how to make money at it, and give back to God what he has given you. In the Bible, Genesis 35:30-35 mentions how Bezaleel was a craftsman of cunning works and engraving. Bezaleel was a slave in Egypt and when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt Moses elected Bezaleel to build the ark of the covenant. Bezaleel had it in his heart what the Lord called him to do. The Lord put wisdom (skill) into the heart of those that are stirred up to do with what gift He’s given us. Each one of us can do whatever God has called us to do. When we’ve not fulfilled our destiny it’s a set back in the life we are to live out. Remember it was said that when we get older we regret what we should have done earlier in life and never did it.

The problem I’ve encountered was it really what God wanted me to do? So far, I’ve come half way to achieving my desire only being stopped by a few obstacles and roadblocks. One of the big ones has been finance. This is due to the lack of work and fewer career opportunities. Geographically and demographically speaking I’m a prisoner who looks to escape to freedom of creative expression and productivity. To make something work it takes planning and hard work.

I’ve come up with the following Five Principles you can tackle about any challenge in your life all it takes is faith and truth in Jesus Christ. They have been proved and tested through time. These I call the Five Elements of Being.

1.Be in tune and follow your inner voice. Know what your talents are. It’s God’s way of talking to you. Speak your dream into being through the Word of God. Believe what God has for you. He gave you special talents and gifts. It’s up to you to know and use these talents and gifts for His glory. (James 1:17)

2.Be a Visionary. Write down your vision. Find your passion and figure out how to make money at it and give back to others. Take a leap of faith. Never give up on your hopes, goals, and dreams. If you have a dream in your heart it is God’s desire that put it there. (Habakkuk 2:2)

3. Never be a quitter. Always persevere. Never give up! When the going gets rough the tough get going. When one door shuts another one opens. Through obedience and persistence you can do it, because Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Don’t let anyone decide who you are. God made you unique and He has the final word on who you are, is God’s gift to you. What you do with your life is your gift to God.

4. Be Resourceful. It will take a lot of hard work. Build on your resources. It will pay off. Keep the LORD first place in everything. Commit your plans to Him. Don’t let your work be in vain, but trust in the LORD to direct your paths. (Psalm 127:1; Proverbs 16:3)

5. Be obedient. Always pray. Always let God be your guide. Seek him for direction and financial needs. Through obedience and persistence wait upon the Lord. He’s your support system. Accept where you’re placed and where you can best serve God. (I Thess. 5:17; Psalm 32:8; Psalm 48:14; Psalm 132:15)

Using Your Creative Gifts

2010-04-13T05:18:00.000-05:00

Posted by megagrafx@verizon.net in Jun 15, 2009, under Graphic Art Industry

: Image via Wikipedia

Using your Creative Gifts

by Teresa Carr

Some of you out there have a gift of sorts. Maybe you write, paint, sing, act, dance, decorate, design clothes, play a musical instrument, gourmet cooking, gardening, woodwork, sculpt, invent and just dream ideas and you felt good doing it. Those of you who have creative abilities may feel that you barely have time to be more devoted each day—let alone to practice your art. Do you sometimes feel guilty for not using your talents because your life is full of other things of everyday living? Some of us have fallen by the way side in favor of other mature responsibilities. But don’t be afraid of taking the time to develop your talents.

Recognize yourself as an individual, and see how God sees you.

Ask yourself:

Does God want me to give up on my creativity as an adult and feel lacking in fulfillment?

If God gave me a creative gift isn’t there a way to develop it?

Why would God the Creator who made us in His image expect us to just quit and forget our ability to glorify His creativity by expressing our talents?

The Bible mentions the usefulness of creativity and art. In Exodus 35:20-35, God called artists whom he chose to create the Ark of the Covenant and the Tent of Meeting. Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan were “master craftsmen and designers” who were filled with the Spirit of God with skill, ability and knowledge to lead the artists in this God-ordained mission. I Chronicles 25:1-7 tells how the musicians were set apart by God. Since God honored artists in the Old Testament, He still values artists today. In Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the three servants who were given talents by their Master. The one servant buried his talent and returned it without increase and was found wanting. The other two servants had put their gifts to work that increased in value were praised and entrusted with more.

Instead of seeking, hearing and acting on God’s vision for our life we get too busy making our own plans we overlook the very thing that could set us on the path toward spiritual fulfillment.

Do you have a whole list of roadblocks that you think are keeping you from exercising your artistic gifts? If you do and you put it off for a numbers of years, you can still start using them again. Some people got started late in life. Take Grandma Moses for example. All we can do is trust God to bless our gifts and desires to honor Him. He was the one who gave us those gifts and desires. The Lord is great enough and good enough to provide what we need to use our gifts to glorify Him.

Let your art be a part of your spiritual practice. Start making your gifts what god gave you a part of your daily worship. If time is an issue, log how you spend doing other things. The least we sit watching T.V., surf the Internet or talk on the phone, that time can be used for your creativity time. Begin using a schedule to develop these talents.

Here is a list to help get started:

Set aside about 20 minutes a day to write in a journal. This is time to listen to what God is saying to you. Write as if you’re writing letters to God.
Keep a record or schedule of how you spend your time each day. Separate a few minutes from each activity that you can use to create a block of at least 30 minutes a day for practicing your art.
Let others know your need to answer God’s call to create. Take 30-45 minutes a day-or even one hour 3 days a week-to work on your art.
Most of all give thanks and praises to God for giving you creative talents and guiding you to use and develop them.

Writer Thomas Merton said, “Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny.” Poet William Matthews wrote, “One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth a hundred shallow faculties. The first law of success in this day when so many things are clamoring for attention is concentration-to bend our energies to one point and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor the left.” Stay focused. It’s a discipline that must be practiced every day. In other words, through our talents we can be part of the Creator’s creative process as He molds us into a masterpiece.

Thank you Thomas Kinkade for inspiring me.

Also thanks to the folowing artists: Chuck Close, Michelangelo Caravaggio, The Nazarenes, John Rosenquist, Richard Estes, Georgia O’Keefe, Heinrich Hoffman, Carl Bloch, Michelangelo of the Sistine, Da Vinci, Maxfield Parrish, John Singer Sargent, Vermeer, Ruben, and others.

Christian Cinema

2010-03-17T00:40:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share something with you. If you happen to be tired of the old filth that you find in mainstream media and want something more meaningful try ChristianCinema.com. They have some of the best Christian and family-orient films available. Some of my favorite that I would suggest are The Passion of The Christ, Ben-Hur, Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Nazareth, Love Comes Softly, Faith Like Potatoes, The Story of Ruth, The Apocalypse, and the above one Hachi (based on a true story), and, oh, don't want to forget Anne of Green Gables. I would also recommend VisionVideo.com and JeremiahFilms.com as well. Happy Movie Hunting!

Happy Passover 2010!

New Thing-A-Day

2010-02-10T22:00:00.001-05:00

Image by Ed Battle1 via Flickr

I've signed up for the new Thing-a-Day creative people get together again for the second year for the entire month of February. Last year was a success the collaborators wanted to do it again this year. The only thing different is that you sign up at posterous.com and you can post by e-mail! Really cool huh? Check out some of my works there at http://mustardseedprophet.posterous.com

Registration closed on midnight February 1, 2010. Hopefully you can join us next year. May Jesus keep you in his lovingkindness and mercy through the new year.

Jerusalem Special Report-The Building of the Third Temple

2010-01-30T15:38:00.001-05:00

Prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes!

more about "Jerusalem Special Report-The Building...", posted with vodpod

Jesus Robot?

2010-01-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

God sometimes takes too long to answer prayers, so when you need an answer right away, try God Jesus Robot! Made by Bandai in the 1980's, this robot holding a cross was designed to answer questions, similar to a Magic 8-Ball. From the article Jesus Robots, Poo Dolls, And More: The Craziest Japanese Toys of All Time.

The Haiti Earthquake Aftermath

2010-01-20T10:09:00.001-05:00

The Artist's Studio: Titian Part 1 of 5

2009-12-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

An excellent educational video about Titan's famous painting, "Bacchus" and the acquiring, processing, and mixing colors for the artist's studio.

more about "The Artist's Studio: Titian Part 1 of 5", posted with vodpod

How to Bind Your Own Hardbook Book

2009-12-01T17:41:00.000-05:00

How to bind your own Hardback Book - More DIY How To Projects

Handmade Holiday Greeting Cards 3

2009-11-24T07:35:00.000-05:00

See more of my creative videos at YouTube.com

Download File, How to Create Greeting Card Sources

Handmade Holiday Cards 2

2009-11-24T04:07:00.000-05:00

See my video blog at YouTube.com

Jesus Loves You! Happy Hanakkuk and Merry Christmas!

New Card Creations from Heavenly Scrapbook

2009-11-24T03:58:00.000-05:00

The church is now creating greeting cards from Carrie Ford, a consultant with Close To My Heart. We all created a Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. I can't wait until Passover to make a card with a Lord's Supper and Lamb themes. Looking forward to new workshops. Here is some of my work.

If you like to see our workshop group go to my vlog at YouTube.com

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Handmade Holiday Greeting Cards 3

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