Happy Halloween
October 31, 2008 by Maria G. Nozza |
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Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers
I got this email/joke and I thought it was too funny not to pass it on!
Unfortunately, I can’t give credit where it is due because I have no idea where this originated from. But, I still want to thank them for this.
I take this with a grain of salt, but apparently, a father got creative with a picture of their angry child.
I’m usually pretty down on using PhotoShop because I think most designers overuse it. However, this is an exception. This is actually hysterical.
Enjoy! Happy Halloween!
We’ll start with the picture that started it all and go from there.
On your way to the paperless office
September 25, 2008 by Maria G. Nozza |
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Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers
I don’t know about you, but I have A LOT of paper. Stacks and stacks of it.
So, I went browsing on the Epson website (the US side) and came across a wonderful new scanner.
It’s the Epson Perfection 4490 Office and I now covet this scanner.
I don’t really need a new scanner, but this one may be just too good to pass up.
It’s got a document automatic feeder. So, put the papers you want to scan, and wham it creates a PDF for you. How fast is it? 3 B&W pages per minute at 300 dpi, or 2 color pages per minute at 300 dpi.
Imagine? Anything you need to keep, but would rather have a digital copy of, you can scan it and put it on CD. Or, it’s fantastic if you just want a digital copy of it (in case something happens to the hard copy).
Some of the specs from the EPSON website:
- Automatic document feeder for documents up to 8.5″ x 14″
- Professional level 4800 x 9600 dpi resolution
- 3.4 Dmax for wide dynamic range and greater image quality
- Powerful Epson Easy Photo Fix™ to restore faded color photos
- Transparency unit with dedicated light source for better scan uniformity
- Versatile scanning with film holders for 35mm negatives, slides and 2-1/4″ transparencies
- Digital ICE™ Technologies for film scans
- Powerful software package for photo and document scanning; includes Adobe® Photoshop® Elements
T A K E A W A Y S:
I wonder a couple of things and I’ll try and find out:
- Can it scan front and back automatically?
- Does it recognize if a page is blank?
Photoshop taken too far?
August 22, 2008 by Maria G. Nozza |
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Filed under Blog, Swipe File
Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers
Last Wednesday, Dane Cook took to his MySpace page to vent his frustration on his new movie’s poster.
For a “lay-man” with only a “self-promotion” background, he does a pretty good job of analyzing the poster’s graphics.
I’ve copied and pasted the entire entry below (including his occasional use of profanity):
“Dear Diary
Before the downpour let me just say that my new movie, “My Best Friends Girl,” is the best / funniest film I’ve done yet. It’s got a terrific cast. Kate Hudson, Alec Baldwin, Jason Biggs, and myself really kicked the funny around. This movie showcases our talents accordingly as it expands on them. It’s a fun R-rated flick. An edgy comedy with a dash of romance.
That being said, let me address the fact that although I’m not a marketing major, I have a bit of a trusted reputation after 18 years self promoting. I’d like to inform you I had no say in this marketing campaign, but if I did, things would be different since it is obvious that this poster is boring / odd and has zero to do with the movie I performed in.
Here are a few things that truly blow about my upcoming movie poster to promote the release of the film opening on September 19th:
1. Graphics:
Whoever photoshopped our poster must have done so at taser point with
3 minutes to fulfill their hostage takers deranged obligations. They should have called Donnie Hoyle and had him give a tutorial using “You Suck at Photoshop” templates. This is so glossy it makes Entertainment Weekly look wooden.
2. My head:
The left side of my face seems to be melting off of my skull. I guess I am looking directly into the Ark of the Covenant? Are they going for the bells palsy thing here? My left side looks like Britney Spears’ vagina.
3. The Stare.
My character apparently has fallen in love with a strand of Kate Hudsons hair. Kate’s mannequin is desperately in love with the inside of my right ear while Jason is half stunned, half corsage.
4. Lips:
It looks like I’m wearing Maybelline Water Shine Diamonds Liquid Lipstick. My characters name is now Winter Solstice and I’m a hooker with a heart of gold. Jason is my floral carrying pimp, while Kate is my first trick!
5. Fashion:
My character is sporting a very high collar. I mean damn they should be snow capped at that altitude. It’s going for the vampire lurking in the castle basement vibe. An Olympic pole vaulter would have a tough go clearing that collar. I’m also able to turn my head comfortably 360 degrees, because I was raised in an abandoned barn by a family of owls.
6. Flesh:
It’s no secret that I’m more rugged facially due to a drunken visit by the teen acne fairy, but according to this poster I’ve got perfect porcelain flesh. I look like the fuckin’ bathroom floor at Caesars Palace. One of Marie Osmond’s dolls would look at me and say “shit … that guys got flawless skin!”
7. Hair:
It’s actually a close up shot of Tom Sellecks Magnum P.I. mustache they photo-slapped on my noggin’.
8. The set:
Pick one. This entire film takes place:
A. on Gattaca
B. at the Fortress of Solitude
C. inside a crystal wind chime
9. The cast:
Alec Baldwin is so fucking funny in this movie! Is he on the poster? I think so. He plays the wise talking plant Jason is clutching.
10. Final thoughts:
I set out to make a movie like the men and women, that you and I respect, are making. My generation of comedians, actors, directors and producers that I wish to collaborate with as I build a solid body of work.
Granted, one poster stinking up the joint isn’t the end of the world. Yet it sends the wrong message about our movie and I just wanted you to know, that I feel the pain. I really love the film and I know from past missteps marketing wise that the wrong poster sends the wrong audience into the theater.
Thanks again for all of your support. If you have not seen the red band trailer (which is excellent and represents the flick accordingly) watch it below! Just click of the mute button and your rolling!
PS – “Its funny what love can make you do.” I just threw up all over this awful poster.
Wow, wait … it looks better.
Hey … I love my new movie. Jeez … it IS funny what love can make you do.”
E-mail etiquette
July 24, 2008 by Maria G. Nozza |
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Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers
E-mail has just exploded in the last decade. Everyone does it, but not everyone does it well.
It’s always been interesting to me that the subject of e-mail manners or courtesy is another of those things that is frequently overlooked and never really dealt with.
You would think that since everyone’s doing it, that everyone would be sharing how to do “correctly”. Or at least, share some simple “rules” of conduct when emailing people.
Here’s my list (which can also be considered my pet peeves)
This list to me should be given to everyone once they get an e-mail address. I’ve got a much longer list, but I thought I’d give you the basics for now:
- Never write an e-mail if you are drunk or pissed off. You’ll write something you’ll regret and it always shows!
- Never write things that you’ll later regret or shared with others. Words come and go, but emails are forever and in writing. AND, they can be instantly sent off to a whole bunch of people.
- Don’t put the e-mail address into the To: field until you are finished. You may accidentally press send (or it somehow magically happens) before it’s ready for primetime. This way, it won’t get sent until the e-mail address is in the To: field.
- When e-mailing a group of people, their e-mail address should be in the BCC field. It’s an issue of privacy and some may not want their email spread around (or worse, become spammed by being placed on others lists inadvertently).
- The e-mail subject line should make sense and reflect the content in the e-mail! Nothing generic like “hi”. I get so much email, I’d like to see at a glance what the subject of it really is (the title “subject” in this case should not be considered a misnomer! It should really be the subject of the email!)
- Keep your e-mails short and to the point. No likes to read a loooooonnnnnnng email. If it can be said in 2 sentences, don’t take 10 to do it.
- Don’t clog inboxes with large attachments: Never clog up e-mails with huge attachments and use up the person’s allotted memory. Instead use services like YouSendIt and then send the link to the file.
- Multiple attachments: If you are sending way more than 1 attachment, Zip it!
- Don’t send “Read Notification Receipts”: It’s annoying and what’s the point? You’ll go back and tell the person, “but I know you read it!” It means they opened it, not necessarily read it.
- SPELL CHECK! It always looks bad and you never know who’s going to read it.
- Remove personal information (like phone numbers or cells) if you know that many people may get the e-mail.
- Always reply to e-mails! Believe me, the person sending them is expecting to hear back from you!!!
T A K E A W A Y S :
It’s about good manners. And with all the emails we get, these things should be no brainers!
This list (to me, at least) is about courtesy and being conscious of the fact that we get so many emails, these guidelines should be a necessity!
Use signature files from your email program
July 23, 2008 by Maria G. Nozza |
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Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers
There’s no reason to have only 1 general signature for all your emails you send.
With today’s e-mail programs, you can create a bunch of signatures all tailored to your needs.
Tailor your signatures to your audience:
- Clients (Professional)
- Clients (Personal)
- Newsletter subscribers
- People looking for info on your website
- Prospects
- Customers (past and future)
- Family and friends
T A K E A W A Y
Creating separate files for your signatures is a necessity because it makes responding to emails automatic and tailored to who your audience for that email.
You don’t want to retype or copy and paste the signature each time you send an email. Just take the time to set up the various signatures and then reuse them over and over.
