» Holt Dezign : Cool And Creative Graphic Design

IBikeDaily

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:15:59 +0000

IBikeDaily is a new business, with their launch planned for early April. I have been working with them on many aspects of design, logo’s, apparel, and website to name a few. I was given the ok to give everyone a peek at their logo… enjoy, more on the way.

GetFueled.com

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:51:28 +0000

Fuel Fotography is a boutique photography and videography studio in Willow Glen that services the greater SF Bay Area. Documenting automobiles, people and nature, locally and worldwide. They wanted a clean and organized site to showcase their work, I set them with a WordPress theme that would allow for large images and small sections for a captions. The site turned out great, it’s easy to navigate and check out all the get photo’s Fuel Fotography has taken.

Check the out the entire site at www.getfueled.com

Jcreativ

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:42:27 +0000

Here is a logo I designed for Jcreativ, a design firm that specializes in product development for the electronics industry. The logo incorporates a skyline, cool typography, and the use of an inviting color to express clean, corporate and creativity.

Fuel Fotography

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:12:38 +0000

Fuel Fotography is a boutique photo studio located in San Jose. They wanted me to create a clean and simple logo that could be used on photographs, clothing and all marketing collateral.

5 Coolest Photoshop Photo Effects

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:41 +0000

Looking at how powerful Photoshop can be in terms of photo editing, it’s probably not important if you suck at taking photographs or being labeled an amateur photographer. As long as you picked up a couple of Photoshop photo editing skills, it will still impress those who sees it. Below is five of the coolest photoshop photo effects tutorials.

Comic Book Effect

Dynamic Lighting

Movie Like Effect

Lomo Photography

Dusky Lighting Effects

VAC Logo Contest

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:00:15 +0000

The VAC is the local fund board of the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Business Improvement District. Our goal is to promote and enhance the lodgings and businesses of Cayucos for the sustainable social and financial betterment of the community as a whole.

GUIDELINES:
The Visitors Alliance of Cayucos (VAC) would like you to take the text: “Visitors Alliance of Cayucos”
and turn it into a sleek, professional logo. The winning designer will receive $500.

The design uses two colors, a brilliant blue that is energizing and refreshing, and a relaxed and calming mocha brown. I also incorporated two key elements, a starfish and a sand dollar, that I believe connect people to the ocean. The design is simple yet complex, and and conveys a sense of stability and excitement.

I saw the ad for a new logo to represent the Visitors Alliance of Cayucos (VAC), and thought it would be fun to participate in the contest. Here is what I came up with.

WordPress Training Courses

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:00:10 +0000

Learn to use WordPress to set-up & manage your websites & blog with our comprehensive, hands-on, Basic & Advanced WordPress Training. You’ll discover how to use and customize themes, add extensive functionality through the use of important plugins, organize and manage your content, even how to Search Engine Optimize your WordPress blog or website for high page rankings & more customers/sales.

Learn this in my 1 Day Basic WordPress Training, $399

- Installing a new copy of WordPress
- Creating a Database for you site
- Admin/Dashboard panel basics
- Installing your theme
- Writing your first post
- Updating personal settings
- Updating Profile
- Edit General Settings
- Changing templates
- Adding a post
- Using the visual editor
- Using Categories and tags
- Managing categories and tags
- Writing & reading settings
- Managing Comments
- Discussion settings

- Adding and deleting a page
- Paste copy from word
- Paste as plain text
- Changing the page order
- Adding a photo
- Adding a video
- Managing uploaded content
- Media setting
- Changing the header/logo image
- Customizing sidebar with widgets
- Managing recent comments
- Installing Google Analytics

Learn all the above & this in my 2-Day Advanced WordPress Training, $799

NOTE: Taking the Advanced WP Class INCLUDES the Basic WP Class as the first day of training of the course. There is NO NEED to purchase the Basic AND the Advanced WordPress Training classes.

- Single post page template
- Adding a comment form
- Creating the page template
- Adding the new page template
- Inserting image galleries
- Creating custom theme functions
- Installing widgets
- Backing up your database

- The basics of on-site optimization
- Achieving in-site opt in WP
- WordPress URL & menu structure
- Plugins to aid in wordpress SEO
- Tips and tricks for higher rankings
- Hosting sites for best rankings
- Analyzing & tracking your progress

Ready to start? Click here to schedule your training.

3 Illustrator Tutorials For Every Designer

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:00:40 +0000

Adobe Illustrator can be a little tricky to get your head around, particularly after getting used to the workflow of applications such as Photoshop. The differences between layers and the creation of objects and shapes can be really weird at first hand. Luckily there’s a range of help available for free online in the form of tutorials. Here is a collection of my three favorite articles from various sites that every designer should check out, whether you’re a beginner or advanced user, there will be something here for everyone, enjoy!

Vector Tracing a Photo

Creating a Crazy Cool Logo

From Sketch to Vector Illustration

Holt Dezign Cycle Gear

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:00:21 +0000

If you pound the gears regularly like I do then you gotta get some Holt Dezign cycle gear, it’s a must have! For 2012, I have put together an awesome jersey, a cool set of matching shorts, and jacket for those cooler days. Made from the highest quality materials, and manufactured here in California. Drop me a line if you’re interested in a set for yourself.

Hiring a Graphic Designer

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:00:54 +0000

You’ve come up with a great product. Now you need the graphic design to complement your product and the text that describes it. Not being artistically inclined or adept at the technicalities of computer graphics, you decide you need some help.

You may be thinking, “I’m not sure I can afford to hire a professional graphic designer.” The truth of the matter is that you can’t afford not too.

Why you ask?

A poorly designed web site, or a site that is glaring “homemade, homemade, homemade” gives the impression that the product or service it is promoting is of the same quality. As you’ve heard before- People do judge a book by its cover. Your book’s cover is your web site.

Fact of Life on the Internet- If your entire site doesn’t look professionally designed you’ve got major problems. At best making a profit with a poorly designed website is going to be a struggle.

So… you decide maybe your site does need the touch of a pro. Who do you choose?

As you begin your search you’re obviously going to try and make sure you get the best “bang for your buck”. Before you make a decision make sure all your questions are answered, preferably in writing. Some questions that you will definitely want answers for are listed below.

1) Is this person a professional? (Ask to see samples of their work)

2) Is this person trustworthy? (Ask how long they’ve been in business, and if they can provide references)

3) Are the prices fair and reasonable? (Make it clear you will be getting more than one proposal on the work you need)

4) Will I get the quality I need? (Make sure upfront that the professional you’re hiring will do revisions if necessary.)

Many of these questions can often be answered while viewing the designer’s own site. It will give you an instant review of their work. Often there will also a page containing samples of their work. If not, don’t hesitate to ask.