Art Tech Studio Blog

Exciting news from Nikon

2008-07-14T14:06:00.000-04:00

Nikon has announced the second digital SLR built around its 12.1-megapixel, full-frame FX-format sensor. The 23.9x36mm CMOS chip is nearly the same size as a frame of 35mm film, and was first used in Nikon’s top-of-the-line D3 SLR. The new D700 SLR combines the FX sensor with many advanced controls handed down from the D3, but houses them in a more compact and affordably priced body. Notable features include Nikon’s 51-point autofocus system, a 3-inch LCD with a Live View mode, and rugged, weatherproof construction. Popular Photography technical editor Philip Ryan got his hands on a D700 in advance of the launch. Read his take on it here. The Nikon D700 will be available in late July 2008, for $2,999.95 (body only).

SEO and SEM

2008-07-07T11:46:00.002-04:00

Few people haven't heard the terms SEO and SEM. But what do they mean, and how will they effect you? Well, now that "everyone" has a website, and every new business that opens its doors has to have a website, what do you think will happen next? The race will be on to get on the first page of the search engines. That race has already begun. They are described with the following definition on www.webopedia.com . For information about getting SEO and SEM done for your website, contact www.arttechstudio.com .

SEO:
Short for search engine optimization, the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high in the search results of a search engine. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user. It is common practice for Internet users to not click through pages and pages of search results, so where a site ranks in a search is essential for directing more traffic toward the site.
SEO helps to ensure that a site is accessible to a search engine and improves the chances that the site will be found by the search engine.

SEM:
Short for search engine marketing, SEM is often used to describe acts associated with researching, submitting and positioning a Web site within search engines to achieve maximum exposure of your Web site. SEM includes things such as search engine optimization, paid listings and other search-engine related services and functions that will increase exposure and traffic to your Web site.

How to Create a Marketing Piece that Sells

2008-07-05T12:28:00.002-04:00

Art Tech Studio Free Seminar July 9th 2008

How to Create a
Marketing Piece that Sells
Professional secrets of concept, title, and design

Meet and greet local business professionals at this informative Art Tech Studio get-together. Learn what it takes to create your own beautiful brochure, advertisement, or promotional piece for your business.

Did your last marketing piece get the results you hoped for?
Do your collateral materials demand attention, or wind up in the trash?
Does your idea for an advertisement or brochure make sense?

Learn the importance of titling your piece correctly
Understand how to create beautiful layouts
Come up with a valid concept for your marketing materials

Date: July 9th
Time: 8:00am - 9:30am and 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Place: Art Tech Studio West Palm/Royal Palm Beach
Price: Free

The first half-hour is a meet and greet networking event. Coffee and Doughnuts will be served at the morning event, and hors d'oeuvres will be served at the evening event.

Please RSVP no later than Monday July 7th by sending an email to randy@arttechstudio.com or by calling Randy Levine at 561-333-7701.

Art Tech Studio 1241 North State Road 7, Suite #2, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
Ruby Tuesday Shopping Plaza on the SW corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and State Road 7
ArtTechStudio.com Phone 561-333-7701 E-mail Randy@ArtTechStudio.com

The American Economy

2008-06-28T16:34:00.002-04:00

When asked, "How's business?" most business owners used to answer in a positive way with a smile on their face. It's counter productive to be negative. But in today's economy I'm starting to hear another story. People are worried about the future. Personally, I've never seen anything like it, and I hope I never do again. Let's all go out and spend some money and get this economy moving again. Keep the faith.

The Importance of Multiple Methods of Marketing

2008-06-21T11:37:00.003-04:00

What happens if most of your clients come from the Yellow Pages, and the economy slows - if people just stop calling? What happens if you have a direct mail campaign that all of a sudden doesn't produce for you any more; because of unforeseen reasons? In business there is no silver bullet; and if you find one, it may not work forever. The answer is to diversify. Spread your marketing over different media and methods. And at all cost, do not underestimate the power of meeting people and establishing relationships. As a matter of fact, your relationships can mean the difference between surviving a downturn, and prospering right through one. So get out there and make some friends.

How to promote your website

2008-05-31T11:26:00.000-04:00

There are several ways to get your site higher and better rankings on the search engines (aside from all of the search engine optimization that we already built into your current site). Here are some ideas that I can recommend:

Click this link and create an account on Google adwords. Google pay per click is one of the most cost effective methods of advertising on the web, for most businesses.

Here is a link to a company that I recommend you use to promote your website. They will get you listed on all of the important search engines like google and yahoo within 48 hours. They submit your site every month. You can stay with the program on a monthly basis, or un-subscribe from it once you get listed. Just getting listed will get the ball rolling for you.

Sitemap generation and submission: We can provide this service for you. It helps Google to better know what is on your site, and Google likes to give sites that have installed a sitemap better rankings in their listings. The Price for us to do this is $150. Let me know if you would want us to do this for you. We will add all the proper files to your existing site.

Directory submission: You could us a company like this one to submit your website to hundreds of directories. I have not used this company, so I can't personally recommend them. Directories put a link to your site on their site. Then you will have hundreds of links in to your site. The more links you have in to your site, the higher on the Google you should go. You can also get links in by asking friends that have websites if they would let you put a banner on their site to advertise your site. They may approve it if you reciprocate.

You can find your own directory sites by doing a Google search on the term directory+your industry. Also try list+your industry.

You can also submit articles that you have written yourself to article submission sites. Or you can have a third party like this one do it for you. Your articles will have links back to your site. Those links increase your relevance at Google

24.4 megapixel Nikon D3X DSLR in the works

2008-05-27T11:24:00.002-04:00

Did you hear that there may be a 24.4 megapixel Nikon D3X DSLR in the works? It's looking promising. Right now it's at the top of the Art Tech Studio dream list.

Randy Levine and Proactive Training

2008-05-24T16:50:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to Art Tech Studio CEO Randy Levine for being "Client of the Month" at Proactive Training & Consulting. Anyone interested in this powerful sales course is welcome to contact Randy for his personal testimonial.

Local Website Designer Wanted

2008-04-26T15:56:00.000-04:00

Local Website Designer Wanted for West Palm Beach Multi-Media Design Studio. Please do not apply if you are not qualified or cannot live and work in the West Palm Beach area.

You must be proficient at Photoshop CS3, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash with Action Script 2, and CSS. You must have a good working knowledge of basic PHP for E-Commerce, some Java Scrip, basic XML, and an understanding of SEO.

You will be creating, designing, and dealing with customers on issues pertaining to their orders, etc. You must enjoy working with customers and a talented team of creative professionals. You must be a detail oriented, talented creative artist with great design ability. This is a perfect opportunity for an art school graduate.

Some on the job training will be provided, but you must have the basic skills listed above, and you must be a creative artist heart. We will need to see samples of your work, so please send online links to websites that you have created.

There is opportunity for advancement, and benefits with this established, fast growing company. This is a full time position.

New Client for Art Tech Studio

2008-02-16T16:47:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our newest client "Wax Daddy" Michael Angelo Prisco. We are looking forward to creating great logos, labels, websites, and more for this company that is destined for greatness.

More Changes to Our Site

2008-02-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

The ideas keep coming, so... The changes to our site keep coming. We should settle down and leave thing alone in about a week. We decided this time, that the navigation needed to be made easier. After all, less is more. So watch as we evolve.

Art Tech Studio is Looking to Hire a Modeling School Teacher

2008-01-28T14:19:00.000-05:00

Art Tech Studio is looking for a modeling school teacher. Any local candidates with qualifications can call Randy at 561-333-7701. We are looking for someone that lives in Palm Beach County Florida. Keep an eye out for our up-coming modeling courses.

As the Economy Slows...

2008-01-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

As the economy slows, so does business. When business slows, the tendency is to cut back on marketing advertising. But most experts will tell you that slowing your marketing and advertising is not a good idea. It can create a downward spiral that is hard to reverse. So if business is looking sluggish, keep a stiff upper lip and keep your advertising and marketing going. Things will rebound before you know it.

UpdateYour Website Frequently

2008-01-21T10:44:00.000-05:00

Updating your website frequently is good for your search engine rankings, and good for the looks of your website. We make changes to our website once a week, if not more. We are currently giving our site a major facelift. Visit our site in a couple of days, and you will see lots of new sample of our work. We think you'll be impressed.

Business Owners Day Off

2008-01-20T15:59:00.000-05:00

A business owner is never really off. Robert and Randy are busy at work on Sunday, again. Watch out for some great new advertising ideas; coming to a mailbox near you.

Art Tech Studio Has Updated the Website

2008-01-19T16:52:00.000-05:00

Check out all of the new functionality of the Art Tech Studio website today. You can now request a quick quote online. We will get back to you with information and pricing as soon as we can. Usually within a day or two.

Art Tech Studio and ATS Modeling

2008-01-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

ATS Modeling is up and running. Clients are finding models for hire at atsmodeling.com and more models are signing up every day. For information on becoming or hiring a model call Michael at 561-201-6021 or 561-333-7573.

How to Design a Business Card (part 3)

2007-09-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

So you have your elements, text, and images all laid out. Now it's time to add the finishing touches.

The background layer may be too simple. There may be a lot of empty space in an area or two. Consider who and what the card is about. Choose an element or style treatment that would be appropriate for the project. It could be a musical instrument for a musician, an architectural element for a builder, a gradient for an electrician, etc. I'm sure you get what I mean. Lay it on its own layer just above the bottom layer. Size it so that it looks good. Apply a blending option that looks right. Adjust the opacity so that it all works together. Get creative. Reposition and resize as needed.

Add more elements to that layer, or make yet another layer above it, and apply the same process of creation if you think the card needs it. Would anything else on the card benefit by applying some style to it? Do you need to stroke some text? If so, do it. If not, don't. Is something difficult to read because it blends with the background? Is something hard to see. Being a designer means that you have to solve any and all problems in a way that works and looks good. Being an artist means knowing when to add and subtract elements and styles. Use your judgment. The more talented you are, the better the result you will get. Talent is a critical factor; and there is nothing that can be done about that. Knowledge and experience helps, but talent is paramount. Have you ever heard the old saying, "Those who can, do; and those who can't, teach." Nothing against teachers, but there is a certain amount of truth to that saying. Everyone cannot be a Michael Angelo. But almost anyone can learn the techniques of painting.

Hopefully you now have a card that you like, and that others like too. Save your work one last time, and make a copy of it. Flatten the copy and convert it to cmyk. Some of the colors may have changed a bit from the original layered version. This is normal. Adjust the colors, saturation, and levels to get a result that you are happy with. Save this version as a high quality jpeg, or as PDF with cut marks, etc. Most printers can work with a simple jpeg. Do this for both sides if you have a 2-sided card. Realize that when you have your cards made, about 1/8 inch will be trimmed off around all sides for what is called the bleed. Your card is now ready for professional printing.

For more information, or if you would like to hire a professional to design and print your cards, contact ArtTechStudio. I hope you enjoyed and benefited from this tutorial.

Randy

How to Design a Business Card (part 2)

2007-09-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

After gathering your basic elements and ideas together, it's time to begin laying it all out. Choose a background color for the first side, and fill in your bottom layer (I am assuming that you know how to use image editing software here. See future Blogs for technical tutorials.) Lay all your critical elements, such as logo, images, and text where you think they will look best.

Choose a font that will look good, be readable, and make sense for the project, and apply it to your text. Your choice of font is critical. You must know what looks good and what works. The wrong font will ruin your design. Look at the fonts that we use at Art Tech Studio. Look at the use of fonts in high end magazine ads. Basic fonts like Times New Roman, Americana, and Ariel are safe and look good. Strange or flowery fonts have their place, but use them carefully and sparingly if at all. You can use up to 3 different fonts in most projects. But be sure to keep it simple.

Arrange the text and other elements where you think they look best. Symmetrical designs often look amateurish. Put elements off center, but balance them with the placement of other elements on the card. The layout should be balanced from top to bottom and side to side. It will feel right when it looks right.

In part three of How to Design a Business Card, I will discuss the finishing touches.

Randy

How to Design a Business Card (part 1)

2007-09-13T15:15:00.000-04:00

Business cards are a very important item in the design world. At Art Tech Studio we create so many of them that it becomes second nature for some of us. This is a simplified version of what we do when designing a great card for a typical client. If you follow these guidelines you will be creating good cards right from the start, and awesome cards after only a few months of practice.

The first thing that you want to do when creating a business card is to set up your document with the correct document dimensions. You will need to get that information from your printing service. Most printers require that you add 1/8 inch to all sides of your document for bleed, and that you work at 300 dpi or higher. So a typical business card that is 2 X 3.5 will be 2.25 X 3.75 at 300 dpi.

Next you will need to have all the text that you will use ready to copy and past into your design. The best way to do that is to enter and save that info in a text editing program like word.

Decide on a basic color scheme. The best way to do that is to use some or all of the colors from the client's logo, or to at least use colors that will go with the client's logo. Some people like to use a color wheel, or color wheel software to choose their colors, and others like to choose as they design; using their design sense to choose what looks good.

The next thing that we do is gather or create the design elements that will go into the card. We decide on what those elements will be at any time during the process of creation, and sometimes even change our minds during the creation. Elements should feel right for the project. They should tell the story that you are trying to tell, without being so obvious or elementary that a child could pick the element, but not so out there that nobody gets it. Choosing the right design element is an art all on its own, and is one of the things that separate good seasoned artists from novices.

Part 2 coming soon.

Happenings on the Light Side of Graphic Design

2007-09-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

Lots of funny things happen when you're working at a graphic design house like Art Tech Studio. I'd like to occasionally throw some of that up on this blog.

Randy: "Hey Alex!"
Alex: "Heyyyyyyy Randy!" (Alex's typical reply to Randy's "Hey Alex!")
Randy: "My computer is slow as molasses today."
Alex: "Are yooooou trying to say molasssssssses is sloooooooooow?"

The entire staff falls on the floor laughing.

Lots of New Things Happening

2007-09-09T08:55:00.001-04:00

2007 was a year of big changes for Art Tech Studio. It was the year that we made the big shift from being a photo studio that did graphic design, to a design studio that does photography. What that means is that now, more than ever, the emphasis is on advertising and marketing for businesses of all sizes.

Photography is still available as one of our strong points, but has taken a more subdued position in what we market ourselves as. Of course, we have not, and never will, forget our roots. We are willing and still capable of creating wonderful family portraits, as well as all of the more commercial types of photography.

Part of the shift toward the commercial side of phtography is modeling photography and services. We are so committed to the models in our area that we jumped through hoops for the past 6 months in order to qualify and receive a talent agency license for our new sister company ATS Modeling (license #TA891). That's right. Palm Beach County has a new talent agency. You can see the website at atsmodeling.com.

Even our storefront has changed, with the addition of 5 neon signs. As part of our new positioning as an advertising and marketing company, we now also sell beautiful high quality neon signs, both pre-made and custom.

Please check back on this Blog and add it to your feed reader using the links on this page, as there is more info to come about the changes and happenings at Art Tech Studio.

ArtTech's new website

2007-09-08T08:01:00.000-04:00

All of us at Arttech studio have been working hard to update our website. The new updated website showcases our work in a clean and modern style. Added features include a client accounts page, an ftp application for uploading and downloading large files, and the blog that you are currently reading.