Belize Visual Communication and Graphic Design - iBelmopan

We are back!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 02:43:00 +0000

👋 It's been a while!

Don't even know where to start. It will take some time to tell the whole story, but these things will gradually come out.

I have a question for everyone that was and is still a loyal reader of this special community we built together.

Would you love to see it come back to life? And also, what kind of content would you love to see? Let me know in the comments section below. Or you can directly reach out to https://twitter.com/ibelmopan

You can also find the new version of iBelmopan here as well.

Love always!
iBelmopan💓💙💓

Our New Site

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 15:30:00 +0000

Good Day,

Just updating everyone that we have moved our site to www.ibelmopan.com. Thanks for all the support so far and we hope that we can connect, enjoy and share new material in our new home.

Are these the 10 most useless graduate degrees?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 08:36:00 +0000

According to an article from Yahoo, that I briefly browsed over today, here are the top 10 most useless degrees. If you are currently pursuing one of them, according to Yahoo, you might be wasting your time. Very peculiar if you ask me but you decide whether this is true or not. Obviously the list was picked based on two things (earnings and unemployment rate). What you think?
Here is the list:

#10 Human Resources and Personnel Development

#9 Criminal Justice and Fire Protection

#8 Commercial Art and Graphic Design

#7 Music

#6 Mass Media

#5 Marketing and Market Research

#4 Chemical Engineering

#3 Information Systems

#2 Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration

#1 Language and Drama Education

A new Era for iBelmopan in the Visual Communication galaxy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 10:27:00 +0000

First of all, I would like to say hello again to those loyal followers and would like to personally apologize for being disconnected from my blog or not keeping it up-to-date. Time has not been on my side due to some important steps that I took in life (family, improving education).

The future looks very crystal clear for our little startup. Thanks to some related training and studying in the field our team has been unfortunately separated for a while but there is a lot of hope for something big. We are discovering that this field has a lot of potential and that a new era will soon emerge and we not only be a simple a small startup but something that improve the lives of all us Belizeans. Your patience might just translate to access to a new knowledge and information learning portal; that is the motto of iBelmopan.

You might have seen some of our work in the past and if you have any recommendations and ideas for our little blog don't hesitate to share. Combination of small ideas normally sparks big ideas and we are all aware of that. Information is power and we want to give you access to that power. That is our pledge to you but for now some serious and necessary steps need to be taken to improve what we do best; visual communication is the future and so are you. Together we move and we are no more blinded.

Toodles for now until we meet again and we might possibly have some surprises along this journey. Thank you again for your patience.

Facebook Pages and Personal Profiles: What is the Difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 00:37:00 +0000

I have seen some confusion amongst business owners when it comes to getting their business on Facebook. They approach it the same way they did when they first signed up for Facebook; they create an account to promote their business

This is not a very good idea and actually is against Facebook policies. You must only have one Facebook personal profile.

More info can be found under Registration and Account Security here.

Here is how Facebook defines Personal accounts and Pages:

Personal accounts:

Used to connect with people you know in real life
For individual, non-commercial use
Can connect with other people, join groups or play social games

“You can create and manage a Facebook Page from your personal account. Please note that only the official representative of an organization, business, celebrity or band is permitted to create a Page.”

Pages:

“Pages are for businesses, organizations and brands to share their stories and connect with people. Like timelines, you can customize Pages by adding apps, posting stories, hosting events and more. Engage and grow your audience by posting regularly. People who like your Page and their friends will get updates in News Feed.”

Some benefits of creating a Facebook page are:

SEO – Your page is indexed by search engines. If you type in Belize Social Media in Google you will find my Facebook page. Try it!
You can have unlimited fans. With a personal account you can only have up to 5000 friends.
You can have multiple pages.
Access to Insights.

Click here for more awesome benefits.

Need help in creating a Facebook page? I would love to help you! Please email me at socialmediaconsultingbz@gmail.com.

About Guest Author: Andrea Rodriguez is a social media consultant in Belize passionate about helping small business owners and mompreneurs get their business online and achieve greater success. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn.

Amazing Belmopan Round-about Statue [Illustration]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:10:00 +0000

Product Name: Belmopan Roundabout Statue Illustration
Product Description: This is an illustration of the statue found by the round-about in Belmopan City. It was done with Adobe Illustrator using a cubism touch. It can be customized to any preferred size or color. It is a limited edition and we can also frame it for you for an additional fee. It makes an excellent gift for those wonderful mothers or friends. Anybody that is seriously interested in purchasing this piece (either digitally or printed) can email us at ibelmopan@gmail.com.

Poster: Belize Social Media Consulting Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:43:00 +0000

This is a poster we did for Belize Social Media Consulting for a contest they are promoting on Facebook and Twitter.

This is what they had to say, on Twitter, about the final product:

@BZSocialMedia : "@ibelmopan wow! wow! wow! #speechless absolutely love it! More than I expected! Thanks so much!"

Why Unblocking of VOIP Is Good News For Belize Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:10:00 +0000

The news broke on April 29th, 2013 that Belize Telemedia will no longer block Voice Over Internet Protocol – ( VOIP ). This is great news for Belizeans at home and abroad, no more costly phone bills!

The Prime Minister said “Of course this ability to now freely access VOIP will further harness the power of the internet, and allow Belizeans to enhance many facets of their lives, particularly in areas such as long distance learning with video-conferencing capabilities, computer to computer conversations with families and friends abroad, and even internet-based television.”

The reason I was excited about the news wasn't just that I could do video chat with family and friends but I was thrilled that small business owners and entrepreneurs can also now tap into an even greater arena!

Imagine a fashion designer from Belize wanting to gain exposure and want to show off her work real time? She can now schedule on line video chat meetings with potential clients; she can offer a “LIVE’ private viewing to a select group of people!

Now one of my favorite methods of video chat is Google + hangout, it is super easy to use. All you need is a gmail address and your contacts. Just the other day I did a Google Hangout with a contact I met on Google+ from South Carolina!

Here are a few ways you can use live video chat for:

Host live, face-to-face conference calls with customers, suppliers, etc…;
Announce new products;
Demonstrate product features;
Create a video blog;
Answer customer questions;
Hold internal meetings with employees;
Create training videos;
Conduct interviews with loyal customers;
Offer consultations
Attend webinars

“Start up costs to a business can be high, and if you’re a young entrepreneur lacking the financial backing of a Fortune 500 company, it’s time you turn to all the technology available, particularly the networking services offered through Google, to save money as you build your business.” Sarah Hill

So take a look at your business and see how you can use the unblocking of VOIP to your benefit.

If you want to know more about Google+ and Google Hangout send me an email at socialmediaconsultingbz@gmail.com.

About Guest Author: Andrea Rodriguez is the manager/owner of Belize Social Media Consulting.

Shop: Belmopan High Quality Vector Map

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:57:00 +0000

Product Name: Belmopan City Map
Product Description: This is a high quality vector map of the city of Belmopan. It can be customized to any preferred size or color. It is a limited edition and it can also be purchased along with frame. It makes an excellent gift for those wonderful mothers or friends. It can go on cups, t-shirts, brochures, guides, wallpaper, etc. Anybody that is seriously interested in purchasing this piece (either digitally or printed) can email us at ibelmopan@gmail.com.

Image of the Day: Sensational Vector Art by Martin Sati

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Today's images of the day are brought to by design firm Martin Sati. Below you can see some of their amazing work and the use of colors and shapes to illustrate some of the best pieces I have seen in a while. You can check out more of their work here. Truly inspiring if you ask me.

Belize New Identity Logo on "One Show Design" 2013 Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:49:00 +0000

The Belize logo has been chosen as a finalist for the “One Show Design” 2013 awards, in the category of “Brand Identity – Logo Design.” The Belize Tourism Board and its Advertising and Online Agency, Olson, created the Belize logo as a part of a re-branding of Belize’s identity.

Responsive Web Design in Belize

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:19:00 +0000

The rising demand in mobile devices can only mean that the entire population is finally committing fully to mobile technology — the main reason being that nowadays you can do almost anything through mobile devices that you can do on a computer. Surfing the internet is the biggest one.

With that comes a strong demand for Responsive Web Designing. But what exactly is Responsive Web Designing you might be asking right now. I am not surprised if you don't know because this is a very new technology. My job here is to make you become aware of these new technologies and that is exactly what I am going to do here.

Responsive Web design is basically a website that can automatically read and adjust to the various screen sizes of any device that has internet browsing capabilities. What it means is that if a certain website has a responsive design it can properly open on all kinds of devices (desktops, laptops, mobile devices, etc...).

So if you are a web developer/designer in Belize, this is something you should start to implement in future projects. It is not in demand right now in Belize but being equipped with these skills will allow your designing firm to be in front of all the rest.

So far I haven't seen any responsive web designs for Belize. If you know of any please let me know. Or if there are any designing firms that are already doing it, share them with me, and I would be more than willing to feature their work here.

What do you think of the future of Responsive Web Designing in Belize?

Belize Fan Pages Taking A Gamble?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Ok I have to admit this is a bit of a pet peeve for me and I’ve hesitated writing this blog for this same reason.

It seems that there are seasons on Facebook where contests of all sorts keep springing up or a new page is hosting a promotion to create awareness. Most of them are really good and I even won an overnight stay from a contest I saw posted on a Facebook page.

However this is where it gets a bit sticky. It seems that very few people are aware that the contests or promotions are not in compliance with Facebook rules and they are in danger of getting their page shut down!

I myself was ignorant of the rules when I just started with Facebook, I mean how many people actually sit down and read the Terms and Conditions? Unless of course you’re into that sort of thing.

So I want to use this post to encourage those who are running contest, promotions, etc or thinking of doing one to take some time to familiarize yourself with the rules. You’ve already put a lot of work, time, energy into your page, probably built some really good connections, have a great fan base etc… are you willing to take a gamble and risk all that?

Two of the most common rule breakers are:

1. “You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.”

2. “You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.”

Take the time to go through the Facebook Page Terms it will help you to be able to create contests and promotions that won’t be considered illegal by Facebook.

Now I know that it says that “Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or a Page App.” Many small business owners on Facebook in Belize don’t have it in their budget to pay a third party app to run a contest, some might not even own an international credit card. So this poses a problem.

However I have seen some very creative contests that are posted on Facebook pages that didn’t use an app. My favorite is done by Amber Sunset Jungle Resort. Very Creative I think! They are using their blog to host the contest. Now having a blog is highly recommended but that’s another post.

The other page that is also in tourism industry is currently hosting a contest as well. They use a third party app and the contest has been going good so far.

The Inn at Robert’s Grove

Take a look at how they do it and start brainstorming about how you can come up with a successful contest that won’t risk your page getting shut down.

I chose these two pages because these are the ones that I currently know about. If you know of anymore please leave me a link.

If you are a small business owner in Belize or leading an organization and would like to know more about the guidelines or about hosting contests or promotions please leave me a message. I would love to hear from you all.

Now it’s your turn! What are your thoughts about the guidelines and contests/promotions on Facebook?

About Guest Author: Andrea Rodriguez is the manager/owner of Belize Social Media Consulting. Andrea is a working stay at home mom and is currently a social media manager for two clients in the tourism industry in Belize.

Digicell's website finally gets a makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:39:00 +0000

So Digicell finally did a redesign on their official website and let me tell you this one has a soothing and impressive design — but I wonder if it was built with responsive web design capabilities. It doesn't matter because this new design totally kills the one they had before.

The new design is fairly easy to understand and the most important links are boldly visible on the front page.

One thing I didn't see on the makeover was a blog section. I believe this is something they can work on in the future. Overall, I believe this design clearly speaks great things about Digicell, especially since they are the top mobile service provider in Belize.

I also like this map that displays all their cell sites found in Belize. Really cool! You can find the full map in this link.

Well done Digicell! I give it a straight 9 out of 10.

What do you think about the new design?

Illustration of all Game Controllers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:21:00 +0000

This chart shows the evolution of game controllers in a very intricate and compelling manner with the use of some amazing illustrations.

You can see the full size chart here.

TAS Belize [IBASE]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:12:00 +0000

Company: TAS Belize
Website: TASBelize
Info: TAS Belize is a full service Graphic Designs & Marketing Company. Our services include Graphic design, Website Development, Video Production and Radio Advertisement.
Phone: (501) 822-0011 or (501) 637-4921
Email: info@tasbelize.com
Twitter: @tasbelize
Facebook: TAS Belize
Pinterest: tasbelize

Inspirational Illustrations of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:05:00 +0000

Here at iBelmopan we just love inspirational designs so we decided to share some of those with you to see if you get some inspiration as well. It is always good to find inspiration, especially in designing. Here goes a set of illustrations that have given us some inspiration for the day.

You can check out more of these rich illustrations here.

Belizean Reggaeton at its Peak! Lo Que Siento Por Ti [VIDEO]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:20:00 +0000

Just when you thought Reggaeton was dead in Belize, along comes 'Lo Que Siento Por Ti' just to give us a kind refresher that Belize got talent by the bunch. Excellent video, cool production.

Profile:

Lo Que Siento Por Ti Music Video - Chami-Ka featuring Melonie Gillett. Reggaeton Music. Shot in beautiful Belize at Robert's Grove Beach Resort.
Director: Melonie Gillett
Production by: 3D Prototype Animation and Metamorph Creatives

23 Popular Logos Rendered in Comic Sans Font

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:15:00 +0000

Comic Sans is literally prohibited to use in graphic designing, especially in logo brands. Why you may ask? It just doesn't look appropriate and everybody just hate it. In fact years back there was a movement that wanted to ban Comic Sans forever.

Any designer will tell you the same thing but after you see this list of logo concepts for some of the most popular brands in the world, you might just feel the urge to use the Comic Sans font again. Don't do it!

via imgur

Suga City could well be the next Oil City [COMIC]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:46:00 +0000

With the recent discovery of oil in the district of Orange Walk , Government and its people couldn't be any happier.

And according to sources there is a strong possibility that is of commercial quantity. So is Orange Walk the next big oil well found in Belize? If it is, how will it benefit the 'Orange-Walkenos'?

Here is my perspective:

Introducing Belize Minimalist Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:54:00 +0000

We love designing just as much as we love nature. So in an effort to combine both and give them the proper attention they deserve, from now onward we will posting a special digital art collection of what we call "Belize Minimalist Designs".

These designs will be posted here on our blog regularly until we run out of ideas, which is probably never. If you have any ideas for a design, don't hesitate to send us your ideas and who knows, maybe we can make your idea come true.

These designs are done using a special vector designing software and so the designs are available in any scale you desire. We will also be having some of the designs for sale. They make the perfect desktop wallpaper or Facebook cover. But if you prefer it on a cup, shirt, poster, sticker, necklace or any other stationery product, you can start to send in your orders to ibelmopan@gmail.com.

We love birds and so our first minimalist design featured today is the Toucan. The toucan is Belize's national bird and so it is a very special creature for us.

Here it is:

Don't be afraid to tell us what you think of our design on the comment section below.

Belize Facebook Population 2013 [INFOGRAPHIC]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:41:00 +0000

Last year, on this same day, we published our first "Belize Facebook Population" infographic on our blog. The piece got a lot of response on local and social media, so we decided that this year we would update it, add a few other improvements, and publish it again.

As you may notice, this year compared to last year, the number of Facebook users has increased by 23% (making a total of 81,560 real users) as shown in the infographic below. That means that 25.93% of the total population of Belize has a Facebook account. Wow!

Out of the 81,560 users 49% (39,964) are males and 51% (41,596) are females. Those averages didn't change compared to last year.

The research shows that 32% of those Facebook users are between the ages of 18 to 24. The lowest numbers of users are those of ages 65 and up which constitutes a 1% of the total Facebook population in Belize.

Here is the infographic:

See original quality of infographic here >>

Belize Telemedia Limited Unveils 2013 Telephone Directory

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:33:00 +0000

BTL, the leading telecommunications company in Belize, has just unveiled their new telephone directory for the year 2013.

BTL's 2013 Telephone directory will be available starting April 2nd at any BTL Customer Service location.

On the cover, we see that a picture of the San Ignacio Market is being featured.

We are not sure when they will have the digital version online but we will post that information for you as soon as it is made available.

(Image via Yellow Pages )

More Coming Soon

Don't just read the easy stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:44:00 +0000

It is what it is. If you just read the easy stuff, you will just be entertained by it but you will never grow from it.

What that line really means is that you if you never actually read complicated stuff and try to understand it, you will never learn anything at all. One of the biggest examples is that of the Bible. The Bible is so complicated and hard to understand but once you understand it, you have enough knowledge to survive in life without getting into trouble. The same applies for everything.

I can further go to say that Social Media networks are killing us in that sense. They are making us forget on how to be complicated. What I am trying to say is that sometimes complicated stuff are better than the simple ones. If you don't get it, it is because you are not used to complicated stuff.

Belize News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:17:00 +0000

1. Government of Belize Responds to Guatemala’s Proposals

2. Ambergris Caye Wins 2013 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Islands Award

3. Belize Band Fest Pictures

4. Giovanni Choto to defend Cross Country Title

5. Belize Defence Force still in Number One Position

6. Trinidad draw improves Belize’s FIFA rank to 128th