Elegance in Web Design

Elegance in Web Design – and Graphic Design in particular – is another important attribute we really want to pay attention to, meaning to not only consider elegance as a sort of decoration but rather integrate it as an essential part of our online communication. We need websites and blogs that ‘talk’ , that ‘attract’ and ‘captivate’ – especially when it comes to images, ads and web graphics. So let’s look into how we can achieve exactly this.

Living that close to Nature and considering it my most graceful teacher, I am often stunned by the aesthetic beauty of apparently simple things. Actually, I have come to the conclusion that Elegance has a lot to do with Balance and Harmony.

I thought of this today when watching these beautiful, extremely long-tailed sunbirds – considering their tiny size – hovering in perfect balance over sumptuous red flowering gums in my garden – high up in the wind! What a perfect example – and luckily I had my Coolpix P90 for some great digital photos. These pictures inspired me to write an article on “Elegance” which I had foreseen for my Web Design Consulting Publication.

Elegance in Web Design

When thinking of Elegance in Web Design, we want to first define what it actually means – so we get a clear understanding.

Wiki describes it as “… the attribute of being unusually effective and simple. It is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness, particularly in the areas of visual design and decoration. Elegant things exhibit refined grace and dignified propriety.

Some westerners associate elegance with simplicity and consistency of design, focusing on the main or basic features of an object, its dignified gracefulness, or restrained beauty of style.

Others understand the word in an opulent light as in tasteful richness of design or ornamentation “the sumptuous elegance of the furnishings.”

The proof of a mathematical theorem is considered to have mathematical elegance if it is surprisingly simple yet effective and constructive; similarly, a computer program or algorithm is elegant if it uses a small amount of intuitive code to great effect^.

In engineering, a solution may be considered elegant if it uses a non-obvious method to produce a solution which is highly effective and simple. An elegant solution may solve multiple problems at once, especially problems not thought to be inter-related.

In chemistry, chemists always look for elegance in formulations as well as effectiveness in dosage form design.

Visual stimuli are frequently considered elegant if a small number of colors and stimuli are used, emphasizing the remainder.”

Now here we have some significant keywords pertaining to Elegance that all point us into a clearly defined direction when approaching our Web Design or Graphic Design:

• Simplicity
• Effectiveness
• Tastefulness
• Grace
• Restrained beauty of style.

And coming back to our little feathery friend – it’s all there… and this is where Nature surprises and astonishes us all the time, it’s what makes it serene and what resonates with us as deep inside where we know that all is ONE.

If we manage to express these feelings with our Artwork, we touch, we communicate and we captivate; then our goal as graphic designers is attained.

Learn Adobe Photoshop at Weekly Ycademy Trainings

If you wish to learn Adobe Photoshop join our weekly Ycademy Trainings where we teach basic principles and techniques and where we also show you how to integrate important elements into your Web Design – like Elegance.

Ycademy Trainings are hands-on with step-by-step guidance to allow all participants to advance and produce web graphics they can be proud of. The results after just a few sessions were astonishing! There’s nothing like getting a grip on something that seemed so far away – if not impossible – and then producing one’s “own stuff”! Yes! You can!

The next Ycademy Training is on Thursday at 7 pm London time.

Read more…

• Wegowell Publishing
• Transparent Fonts
• Circle Experiments 1
• Creating your own Signature
• Header Graphics

High Performance Publishing

High Performance Publishing – if combined with a search engine optimized Script like Semiomantics XO for example – brings us the results we expect and need… sooner or later depending how heavily the targeted keywords are being fought for. It’s a matter of learning, understanding and applying smart Editing and Website Publishing principles and then applying them correctly within a continuous stream of original content in form of articles, posts, images and even videos.

Oh yes, it’s work … and those who have been going the extra mile over the past years do know what I mean!

High Performance Publishing

High Performance Publishing is a ‘must’ for any website or blog owner who needs to become visible on the top of Google to get Traffic – meaning visitors to his website, meaning potential customers and… sales.

When I wrote and published my last Web Graphics Tutorial with the title: “How to combine Color and Black and White in an Image” I did not have buyers in mind, but to provide our Semiomantics addicts with a guide to become yet a little bit better, yet a little bit more independent and confident in designing their Blogs and giving them an extra edge.

However, having just set up a Semiomantics WP Best eShop this past weekend – by far not finished though – this like any new blog needs regular ‘fuel’ in form of targeted posts.

So having just seen the astonishing high performance publishing result of  “How to combine Color and Black and White in an Image” with 2 entries already on Google Top 10, this is an excellent opportunity to provide my readers with a solid proof of our results in form of a screenshot showcasing our performance :

High Performance with Semiomantics – Google Top 10 on 13,4 million

Semiomantics Consultants Sell Results

High performance Publishing is part of what our regular participants learn at Ycademy Business Building Seminars – in other words a knowledge and skill that is acquired and refined over time, in regular weekly Ycademy Workshops and in individual support and coaching sessions and that then can be sold as a Service with utmost confidence.

Semiomantics Consultants sell Results! They have applied their knowledge and skills over years through their own high performance publishing that puts them ahead of most competitors in terms of Google Top 10 rankings – and this is the result they sell. There’s a lot implied and there may be certain individuals who might want to know more and should simply join the Semiomantics and Ycademy Workshops, but most people who buy a high powered Ferrari are not interested in how the clutch is fabricated and how the machine is tuned: all they want is a top result, be first, be best, be seen: at the top… and in Internet terms that means Google.

If you can beat 13,4 million competitiors with a key phrase like the one above within such a short period of time – just a few hours, perhaps 3, perhaps less… I didn’t look… I know… we are used to this and it’s normal – well, if that’s a non-disputable fact, IMAGINE what we at Web Design Consulting could do for YOU!

Read more…

• High Performance
• Web Graphics That Talk
• Web Content Writing for Web sites
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation
• Visitor from Mars on Google

How to Combine Color and Black and White in an Image

I’ve always had a faible for Black and White Photography, and in my experimental filmwork – especially for the advertising industry in Europe – I then integrated an item in color. It is a good way to focus the viewers’ attention exactly where we want to have it.

However, this was very complex and costly in the old days.

Today, with the incredible advancement of modern technology and especially Graphic software, programs and tools like Adobe Photoshop CS4 – it has become so easy… if you know what you do!

In this Web Graphics Tutorial I will show you, step-by-step, how to combine Color and Black and White in an Image – one image. I will do this using the same picture with the honey bee on a flowering gum that served to introduce you to one of several ways of creating rounded corners – which we need for our brand-new Semiomantics eSHOP. Yeah… I better get my act together and create them for myself too… it will happen :)

How to Combine Color and Black and White in an Image

Here’s how to combine Color and Black and White in an Image using Adobe Photoshop CS4 – just follow the steps, ideally with a picture that has a clearly defined focus – like perhaps your face – and a background that’s not just plain but has some Laura Ashley movement in it… meaning some sort of floral or other design … not just a simple plain background:

1.

Open your Photoshop and pull in your designated jpg for instance.

You see it on the LAYERS menu to the right, a nice colorful picture. If you don’t see that menu, open it from Windows at the top. Fine!

2.

At the top under IMAGES > ADJUSTMENTS open the drop-down menu and click on DESATURATE.

As a result, you get a black and white picture – all colors are gone now. Check it on your Layers menu – it’s the same. As you see on my example, even the legend at the bottom is in black now.

3.

Open your HISTORY menu now – also to the right – and you see your original in color and, underneath, the ‘desaturate’ command you just implemented. Fine!

4.

On the bottom of the History menu you see a SNAPSHOT button – click it to take a snapshot of the current black & white image. You see it showing immediately underneath your original in color.

5.

What we want to do now is restore the color in the bee… (… or your face…) and as I did in a second stage, in the main flower – so the background basically remains monochrome.

Right – let’s go!

First, make sure the original picture on top of the History menu shows the History ICON to the left – it means we will work on the colors.

Alternatively, if we want to say restore some of the black and white background as we messed it up, then we need to tick the Snapshot picture… so the idea is to move between these two to get the desired result.

Don’t stress about it if it’s not yet clear to you, just follow the steps and you will see it all falls into place!

6.

We will now use the HISTORY BRUSH on the left tool menu and – with the mouse tip or, better, a graphic pen – paint on the picture.

If you followed the above advice, you will see that the moment your pen tip touches your image, it restores the original color of the picture! Just do it and observe how this works… there’s no other way of learning this.

If you color in too much – say you create some color spots on the background that you want to keep grey, then go back to the History Menu on the right side of your screen and tick the Snapshot. Now get to work again and you see that you can take away color this way.

So you understand that you can add of the original color or eliminate it as you wish.

For the delicate areas use the zoom at the top or on the navigator to increase the size so you can work more precisely.

You can also change the diameter of the History Brush on the little dropdown menu at the top depending on the size of the area you are working on – and you can adapt the opacity as well if you do some refined work in transitional areas, say between hair and the background – you see it on the light fluff on the back of the honey bee. Of course, one can spend lots of time refining this – and in real Artwork etc you would. Here my main purpose is to demonstrate how it works and to get a pleasing result myself.

7.

Once you have colored an item while leaving the monochrome background untouched and you are satisfied with your result, SAVE the image for the web and upload to your server.

of course, nothing stops you from going to Layer > Duplicate Layer… and play with filters and adjustments now – that’s how I achieved the blue background. Have Fun!

Adobe Photoshop CS4 at YCADEMY Workshops

We will look into this as well as yesterday’s ’rounded corner’ exercise and also how smart Plugins can make our life much easier … at today’s Ycademy Workshop starting at 7 pm London time in our YCADEMY Conference Room.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• How to Create Rounded Corners
• Bianca Gubalke Products
• New Semiomantics Shop
• High Performance
• Joy

Best Small Business Product Shop

Best Small Business Product Shop is the latest development, and still very much in the construction stage. The Product Shop is the next step that follows up on the IT Consulting site created in 2009.

The Small Business Product Shop is a based on the WP Best eShop, a  WordPress based Semiomantics Script, installed and configured during this weekends Ycademy Business  Building Seminar.

Personalised Business Products

Based on years of experience, the Small Business Product Shop will offer everything that is needed to build a top ranking online presence.

We offer the very best up to date web solutions whatever your need: complete hosting solutions ~ custom website development ~ web applications ~ e-commerce ~ business development ~ system management and maintenance services. All services are based on top performing Semiomantics scripts.

Check back for more to come from the Best Small Business Product Shop.

Read more..

• Small Business Online
• Christmas 2009 and beyond

How to Create Rounded Corners

When creating a look that stands out a bit from the rest on a website – like we did for our new Semiomantics Shop at the smashing Ycademy Business Building Seminar this past weekend -, it’s all about details… even if it’s just about whether a corner is sharp at 90 degrees or rounded or swung in a decorative fashion.

With all Seminar participants professionally equipped with Adobe Photoshop, everything becomes possible for the knowledgeable web graphic designer, and here is a brief Web Graphics Tutorial as to “How to Create Rounded Corners” – ending with a picture like this:

How to Create Rounded Corners

Here is a step-by-step guide for you to follow and get the exact same result as I do – just click the images to get a bigger view in the overlay and simply observed what I have done… it should be really clear… :

1.

Open your Photoshop and pull in an image that you want to give some rounded corners, say at 15 degrees.

Open … and browse to your Pictures and select one.

2.
On the left side Tools bar, click the ROUNDED RECTANGLE TOOL.

3.
On the top horizontal bar, set the Radius to 15 px and see to it that you also select the rounded corner rectangle here of course.
Now place the cursor – which is a little cross now – a little to the inside of the top right corner and pull it over your picture, so that you have equal distances and a fine ‘frame’.

4.
Now you’ll be shocked that your picture disappears – duh! What happened?
No stress! Right-click on the layer – which now shows a Shape – and the Layer Styles with the BLENDING OPTIONS at the top open. Scale down the Blend Mode Opacity to 0… and you will see your picture appears again – like magic!

5.
Go to PATHS. If you don’t find them on the right side of your screen, click on Windows at the top, tick Paths and you have it. Whenever you miss a tool, chances are big you find them here.
Now right-click on the highlighted (blue) Shape 1 Vector Mask.
The Make Selection Popup opens – just as you see it on the picture here.

6.
Give it the values as on the screenshot – i.e.

• Rendering: Feather Radius : 0
• Tick anti-aliased
• Operation: New Selection
• OK

You see the ‘marching ants’ now…

7.
At the top, go Edit > Copy Merged

8.
Then go File > New and open a new transparent picture; its size should be big enough for the picture you just worked on.

9.
Then go File > Paste

HOPPLA! Your picture with the rounded corners waits for you!

Now you can save it and use as you intended to!

Ycademy Workshop

I hope this was of help; if I missed something or wasn’t explicit enough, or you get lost somewhere… let me know! We will do this exercise and more about creating Web Graphics and Images at tomorrow’s Ycademy Workshop at 7 pm London time in yorGOtalk, our brilliant Conference Room by Microsoft!

I wish you much success in Creating your own Web Graphics!

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• New Semiomantics Shop
• Bianca Gubalke Products
• High Performance
• Joy
• Style

Bianca Gubalke Products

Bianca Gubalke Products is the new WP Best eShop currently under construction – based on a WordPress based Semiomantics Script and configured at the first Ycademy Business Building Seminar 2010 that’s taking place right now.

Bianca Gubalke Products

Based on remarkable results over the past years, the new Bianca Gubalke Products Shop will offer everything that’s needed for a professional and high ranking presence on the Internet – from a smart domain name research, over hosting to a customized setup, configuration, running and maintainenance of personalized Websites and Blogs for private individuals who wish to build their Authority on the Internet… to Small Businesses with an ambition to succeed online… and large Corporate Clients who need to build, maintain and expand a professional and continuous presence on Google Top 10 positions to maximize on Traffic and Sales while cutting down on increasingly expensive Google Ads.

Each Project managed personally by Bianca Gubalke will focus exclusively on the Customers’ requirements – dependable yet independent.

Personalized Web Design & Publishing Services

Benefit from our Personalized Web Design & Publishing Services based on Google efficient Semiomantics Scripts, original well-edited Content and eye-catching Artwork -

• Customized Web Design,
• Captivating Web Graphics and
• Search Engine Optimized Writing and Publishing

as lined out in Web Design Consulting.

Stay tuned as the Bianca Gubalke Products Shop evolves. . .

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• New Semiomantics Shop
• High Performance
• Joy
• Style
• New Semiomantics XO 2010

New Semiomantics Shop

The New Semiomantics Shop will be the hot topic of the first Ycademy Business Building Seminar of a cycle of 12 (one Seminar per month) starting today, Saturday 23rd, 2010. It presents an extension of the Ycademy December Seminar 2009, where Seminar participants set up individual IT Consulting Blogs as the example featured below (click on the image; it will lead you to the original Web Design Consulting Blog).

The Ycademy Seminar January 2010 was booked out within days.

New Semiomantics Shop

The new Semiomantics Shop is a basic Semiomantics WP Ecommerce based Shop solution that can be adapted to any WordPress Theme. It is an especially interesting approach as each product and each brand requires customized solutions.
We will be reporting on this exciting new Semiomantics Shop Workshop that equips our Web Design Consulting Team with a very efficient way to not only sell own products and services, but to provide customers with a user-friendly store that connects to the whole sales pipeline requirements plus follow-up and customer care.

The cherry on top: an Affiliate Program hooked to the new Semiomantics Shop!

To be continued. . .

Read more…

• High Performance
• Joy
• Style
• New Semiomantics XO 2010
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation

WP Best eShop

This week-end the WP Best eShop Script by Semiomantics goes live at the Ycademy Online Seminar.

WP Best eShop is the must user-friendly eCommerce solution for home business. The script is running on WordPress and based on a well designed premium theme, which has been rewritten for semantic optimization. It has all the necessary hooks to run with any existing WordPress CMS as well as with the custom made, high power scripts from Semiomantics; adding the Semiomantics HiPo SEO Engine is an option which makes the WP Best eShop the most powerful eCommerce script to conquer Google Top 10 positions.

eshop11Move your mouse over image or click to enlarge

WP Best eShop Theme

Best WordPress Shop Theme

Compared to other solutions,WP Best eShop is more user-friendly and wastes less server resources. The Architecture integrates Product publishing with WordPress and is similar to Post publishing, using the same editor. Product options are selected with simple mouse clicks and images are stored as custom images for compelling handling by java based zooming scripts.

The basic layout is simple, clear and streamlined to keep customers focused on their purchase. Up-selling enhancements are built in as well as multiple payment gateways.

Best WP Shop Seminar

The Ycademy January Seminar will be the best ever for participants to follow. The new desktop sharing tools will project the presenter’s desktop to all participants; this way it will be easy to follow and to apply each click.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read also:

• IT Consultant Seminar by Ycademy
  IT Consultant Seminar by Ycademy
  IT Consulting is an intere…
• Ycademy Online Seminar December 12-13, 2009
  Organize your Business with Microsoft Office
  The most compl…
• The Internet beyond Facebook with YORGOO
  The Internet beyond Facebook with YORGOO and Ycademy
  When Y…
• Facebook and Home Business
  Facebook and Home Business
  Facebook and other social networ…
• WordPress Seminar by Ycademy
  WordPress Seminar by Ycademy
  This week-end will be a busy o…

Web Content Writing for Web sites

Attention-grabbing Web Content Writing for Web sites in combination with smart Editing and SEO Publishing are definitely key to our online success when it comes to getting our websites or blogs to occupy Google Top 10 positions. Just as the creation of a smart Script like Semiomantics and its knowledgeable setup, configuration and implementation in the invisible background of the website, Web Content Writing for Web sites that make it to the top of search engines and then captivate readers and potential clients and buyers is a special skill if not a profession in its own right.

Web Content Writing for Web sites

Web Content Writing for Web sites differs from normal writing practices as we know them from printed copy… books, catalogues, newspapers, magazines etc … where a lot of emphasis is placed on our literary qualities as authors, writers, journalists…, our writing style, the way we express ourselves and are in command of the language we’re using.

I am and will always be an absolute fan of a good ‘real’ book that I can hold in my hands, feel the precious cover – binding a book is something I did myself long ago – feel the pages and touch illustrations and photos with my finger tips as though they could come alive. . .

However, there are books one loves and wants to keep and there is information one needs when doing research for a project for example – and there it’s just an immaterial, intellectual transfer of data that’s needed … and for this the Internet – and with it today’s brilliant Kindle – are just perfect!

Writing for the Internet

However, as everything on the Internet is fast-paced and rather surface-oriented, few people really read and take contents to the depth it may deserve – Internet readers skip.

So what we need to focus on from a web content perspective when writing for the Internet is to…

• think before you write to start with: what do you want your post to trigger in the reader? And what reader? What target audience?
• be original, concise and succint… and if it’s not important to say, don’t say it… noone has time for that;
• allow readers to scan your posts by providing pulling, clearly defined headlines;
• write in a simple, conversational style;
• personalize it;
• be informative and contextual – always with the readers’ interests in mind (what’s in it for me) and then, most importantly:
• besides writing for the reader, write for the search engine spyders – yeah, that’s tricky but efficient!

Professional Style

A professional style has to do with an

• aesthetic layout,
• good, readible fonts and
• harmonious colors -

which are obviously provided by the website owner in case you are taking on a copywriting job – unless you are doing it all by yourself.

Pictures and Images

We all know… a picture tells a thousand stories… meaning if you can integrate original pictures or images that talk, you can write less with the same if not a vastly better effect or result.

Look at the image above and literally feel the drama… what would you want to add to this?

Also… be inspired by modern advertising and movies: how much is being said? How much is being shown?  The Internet is becoming increasingly media and interaction oriented and you are well advised to reflect this dynamic evolution and trend within your posts and articles.

Web Content Writing Services

Despite a so-called information overflow, there isn’t that much original, good stuff out there, contrary to what one might assume and in relation to the scary masses of individuals writing and posting every single day. Twitter reduces it to a few words – and with explosive success! Is it that little we actually have to say? Ooops, no side-tracking – back to the topic here!

But do the exercise and go to Google Top 10 and see how long it takes you to find something of real content when researching a certain keyword or topic. One has to wade through masses of undigested nonsense until one eventually gets to the real stuff… and then it’s the learner’s or reader’s paradise – right?

There are many Web Content Writing Services out there and there is place for everybody.

So if you have a brand-new Website or Blog – or one that has been around for a while but without much success and probably not even updated and properly maintained… – and writing is not your business as something else is, actually what the Blog should help you with in terms of online presence… who should you ask? Who could you outsource to?

I believe, personal contacts and connections based on a good reputation and authority on the Internet make all the difference – in other words Trust based on facts. And then of course:

• a proven track record of good, solid writing and publishing – including captivating web graphics;
• Reachability;
• Punctuality;
• Reliability;
• Precise targeting;
• Visibility on Google Top 10 and
• Competitive prices.

How can you find out?

Simple… look the writer’s name up on Google and study some Writing examples, eg. on his or her website. See what resonates with you and your project or ambition – and then take up contact and find out more.

At Web Design Consulting you will always get precisely what you need – and much more! Our Semiomantics Team is known for the personal touch and will go the extra mile to fulfill your expectations with care and diligence!

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• High Performance
• Working From Monkey Valley
• Creating Web Graphics 6
• Top Performance in Sports
• Online Communication

Monkey Valley Resort on Mobile

I just got some screenshots directly from the iPhone in Europe to demonstrate how the new Monkey Valley Resort Website actually looks on the Mobile web – and I’m absolutely thrilled! The quality and resolution are just outstanding and I left the image big so you can appreciate it here even though the picture may take a moment to load. This is soooo sexy!

Above, you see the Frontpage of the Monkey Valley Resort Website, which features a large elegant slider displaying the various chapters and attractions of the hotel resort 30 kms out of Cape Town, South Africa. What is remarkable here is how beautifully the slider displays – all based on new technology as, sadly, Flash does not display on mobile phones and this forced us to adapt in our Semiomantics Website Development, learning new languages like CSS3 and HTML5.

Monkey Valley Resort on Mobile

Much if not most of today’s business on the Internet is piped in one way or another through the mobile web… a reason why Monkey Valley Resort had to be visible on mobile.

Here is a horizontal version (probably 1 : 1) … and of course you can zoom up text or whatever you are interested in… and get to where you want to go in a fast and user-friendly way, eg. Click and BOOK!

The Importance of Functionality

The Importance of Functionality in terms of Website Design has a lot to do with the ease and user-friendly interaction between the website and the website visitor: the website has to communicate to the visitor what it is all about in an attractive way, guiding through what it has to offer and fulfilling almost intuitively what the visitor is looking for and making it easy to follow through with the desired action – say to book a room in a hotel…, to buy, pay and even download say an ebook… or to simply offer various sights of a specific area or place that shows the visitor what he can expect, eg. in a holiday resort or when researching a new home in real estate.

Today, being visible on the mobile web is crucial to the success of any website or Internet business – and therefore one of the most important functionalities of a website or blog.

Nowhere more than on the Internet do we see such rapid and continuous change and do we have to adapt, learn new languages and keep developing our knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis as in the virtual arena. A website or blog is not built to last forever and it needs a regular allocation of funds (budget) – it’s a project in constant development, adapting to the changes, changing with the trends and always trying to offer readers and visitors something new, something modern and going the extra mile to capture the traffic that leads to business and success.

Avatar by James Cameron

Avatar by James Cameron is most probably the most captivating 3D fantasy-science-fiction-action movie we have seen so far and it will definitely influence the way movies will be made in the future.

While the story has a wonderful mission and can be understood – without words – on many different levels, it touches both sides within us: the deeper knowledge and longing for wholeness and harmony with Nature … and the destructive violence of  power and greed that are in constant confrontation within the fabric we human beings are being made of – and as we see it with the indigenous humanoid culture of the Na’vi on planet Pandora… it’s no different. Not yet. . .

What fascinated me most was…

~ the concept of the Avatar itself – according to Cameron “… an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human’s intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body…” which I’d like to expand into reflections as to who we ourselves actually are when incarnating in a chosen body (?) and going through a life experience or life situation;

~ the whole idea of a vast bio-botanical neural network of constant connection (think Akasha), communication and interaction – which in my view could have had much more depth, but it’s beautiful as it is presented and might just open the space to some future cinematograph who’d take these tentative beginnings much further;

~ the technical side with its amazingly photo-realistic computer-generated characters and environments

~ and the Graphic Design of it all of course!

Avatar by James Cameron

We can learn a lot from writer, producer and director James Cameron, who we all know from grand best-selling movies like “Aliens” and “Titanic”.

His goals were clearly set and he didn’t let time interfere with his vision. While he wrote the script as early as 1994 and decided that Avatar would have synthetic, computer-generated actors and a couple of leading roles “who appear to be real but do not exist in the physical world” as he expressed himself, he decided that since in his view the technology at the time wasn’t ready to translate his vision in an adequate way, he waited for the right timing and focused on refining the technology for the following years.

Until 2006.

In September 2006 he declared that he would be using his own Rality Camera System to film in 3D where two high-definition cameras would be used in a single camera body to create as perception of depth.

Additionally, Cameron used  new sophisticated motion-capture animation technology to create incredibly photo-realistic computer-generated characters. The difference now was that Cameron’s new virtual cameras allowed him to watch directly on a monitor how the actors’ virtual counterparts interacted with the movie’s digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action – instead of the normal motion-capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors’ motions have been captured.

“It’s like a big, powerful game engine. If I want to fly through space, or change my perspective, I can. I can turn the whole scene into a living miniature and go through it on a 50 to 1 scale.”

No wonder, to create the Pandora complex as seen in the film required over a petabyte of digital storage.

Official Avatar Movie

I see you

“I see you” could become a code word for all those having watched Avatar – and I warmly recommend you do, ideally in 3D!

I loved it – I see you there again maybe. . .

Read more…

• Coco Avant Chanel
• Harry Potter
• Goya’s Ghosts
• Angels and Demons
• Film Reviews

2010 Cape Town Accommodation

With the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup on our doorstep, South Africa is gearing up to an event of exorbitant proportions and an influx of people from all over the world the Rainbow Nation has never seen before!

Have a look at the Soccer City 2010 Stadium in Cape Town and let the architectural forms and African music give you goosebumps in anticipation of the thundering event that awaits us in June – everybody included!

Accommodation, B&B’s and places to stay in South Africa will be the hottest topic around – and with it. . . 2010 Cape Town Accommodation.

2010 Cape Town Accommodation

2010 Cape Town Accommodation – including accommodation in Noordhoek as part of the Southern suburbs along the Atlantic seaboard – will be especially sought after for the matches so far scheduled according to the official FIFA Schedule :

Match 2

11/06        20:30   Cape Town Uruguay – France

March 11

14/06     20:30 Cape Town Italy – Paraguay

Match 23

18/06   20:30 Cape Town England – Algeria

Match 30

21/06  13:30  Cape Town Portugal – Korea DPR

Match 44

24/06  20:30 Cape Town Cameroon – Netherlands.

If you spent all your money on Soccer World Cup Tickets and you want to get away from the buzz and madness of the town, Accommodation in idyllic rural Noordhoek – just 30 miles from Cape Town – may be a great choice.

Web Design Consulting

If you need to get onto the Internet map for 2010 Cape Town Accommodation it’s a bit late, but not for us at Web Design Consulting!

Expect high Performance at reasonable prices… and screenshots to proove we are among the Formula 1 drivers on the Internet highway!

YEBO GO GO 2010!

Read more…

• High Performance
• Best Price Accommodation Cape Town
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation
• Graphic Design Services
• Malachite Sunbird

High Performance

High Performance and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are the first and most important factors to be considered when setting up a new Website or Blog, never mind whether you are a private individual or a corporate company. Getting solid and knowledgeable advice from a professional web designer or Semiomantics consultant will save you money, time and frustration – although the fact is that performance and visibility on Google Top 10 as well as on Social Networks genre Facebook and Twitter do increase if you are prepared to invest more – provided you are in good, trustworthy hands – as at  Web Design Consulting .

High Performance

High Performance is meanwhile an almost abused slogan and promise to any prospect who wants to start a presence on the Internet.

Not long ago, I saw it even in big, bold letters on the rear window of a car driving next to me on the highway. With a juicy price tag to the service, per month that is. I made a mental note of the website and promptly looked it up on Google – and didn’t discover it anywhere.

How to choose a Performing Web Designer

So how does a normal person without too much insight or experience regarding Web 2.0 know how to choose a performing Web Designer?

By doing his due diligence and looking the Web Designer or Web Design Consultant up on Google!

Is he in control of his own name to start with? Look at the website, the performance, the look, the functionalities… now… today! Not a year ago… right now! Look at what comes over, how the images talk to you, the content resonates or looks rather fishy. Is there a proven track record of consistent work and proven results, eg. screenshots as you see regularly on this website, biancagubalke.com? Meaning absolute proof of targets being reached and within which time frame?

Let’s look at yesterday’s example:

Web Graphics Joy

My article on ‘Joy’ as an important element of Web Graphics Design reached a top ranking on Google – position 3 on over a million entries to be exact – within two minutes! See the screenshot below, where I researched the search term “Web Graphics Joy” with quite another thought in mind… I wasn’t prepared for such a smashing result that fast … but that’s the Power of our Semiomantics Scripts in combination with smart Editing and Publishing :

"Web Graphics Joy" on Google Top 10 – position 3 – in 2 minutes

Web Design Consulting

When considering these details, one gets a feeling as to where Web Design Consulting Services sound right, efficient and reliable – and fun to work with! And, as we are talking about High Performance… where a script – meaning the secret engine that drives the performance of a website or blog – achieves its goals, meaning where posts reach Google Top 10 positions on the keywords as delivered by the client and then targeted.

Of course, a client needs to know his keywords; if he’s wrong on that one noone else is to be blamed.

Finding the right keywords should not be taken light-heartedly; getting it right here is fundamental to one’s success online, and it is a Science – a highly paid one. Yes, it pays to invest in proper keyword research – and as the Internet changes daily following the temperamental movements of the masses and of course Google, it’s an ongoing process.

It never ends!

Setting up a website or blog is only the beginning; then the real work starts with daily publishing of good, well-edited content and regular maintenance to keep it alive and building towards its goal in terms of visibility on Google – and then staying there.

With our knowledge, dedication and support at  Web Design Consulting you will!

Read more…

• Joy
• Style
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation
• Captivating Pictures
• Web Design Consulting

Small business online

Today any business that ignores the potential of marketing online is missing out on the enormous pool of potential customers and profit that the internet has to offer. The internet has opened up a global playing field for any business to take advantage of it and be an active player.

Developing an Online Presence

Developing an Online Presence can be a relatively simple affair if you know which steps to take first, otherwise it can result in being a total nightmare when searching for the right solution for your business. You can get totally lost in the minefield of information that there is. Discussing your business needs with a Small Business Consultant can save you both a lot of time and money in the long run.

Small Business Online

Building a Small Business Online

As with operating any other business, starting a small business online is a matter of developing good practices, building confidence and relationships with customers and offering products and services at a fair price.

Small Business Marketing plan

In order to market your product/s online you must have a marketing plan in place, a roadmap that drives to your ultimate goal. Drawing up such a plan is not to be a rushed process, it is worth taking the time and doing some research in order to achieve the desired result. Here are some basic questions that need to be considered when creating your marketing plan:

* Do you have the right product to attract potential customers?
* Is your product/s priced competitively?
* Which customers are you targeting? where is your target market?
* Which effective marketing techniques will you employ to reach your target?

By really spending time researching, testing, tracking and evaluating strategies, your plan will generate not only high volumes of traffic but interest, brand recognition, customers and sales that boost your business profits. Marketing plans also need to undergo periodic reviews; markets change, trends change, all of these to be considered when you evaluate the success your  plan.  

Small Business Marketing Budget

One of the first essential steps for any business, on or offline,  is to decide upon and allocate a marketing budget, both yearly and the monthly that includes the running cost.  Without advertising your business it is more likely not to succeed these days due to the enormous aggressive competition that there is around.  Marketing your small business does cost money if you wish to succeeed!  One of the main advantages of marketing  your business online is that you do have low start up costs however as your business develops online you may need to expand and also take into consideration new marketing techniques that could further generate business growth.

A marketing budget has to based on a solid business plan. The budget must be realistic; even if you go so far as to learn how to do it yourself there is still a cost. Not everyone has the time nor the patience to go through the learning curve that is required to run a profitable small business online.

If you are busy running a business time is always at a premium. Working together with a  qualified online business developer or consultant, discussing and brainstorning ideas means that he/she will find the best solution for your particular business needs and time and money is not wasted. Spending money on the right solution is an investment towards your business’s future.

IT Consulting 

At Small Business Consulting we are part of a small international team of highly trained web developers, designers, project managers and consultants who will work with you on a one to one basis, discussing your plan and the best possible solution in order to assure long term customer satisfaction and performance.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more..

• Web Development
• Christmas 2009 and beyond
• Preparing for MMX
• IT Consulting
• Learning Online

Joy

Joy – as an emotion of elation, inspiration and delight… triggering a smile… a precious moment of letting go the pressures and worries of the day while opening up to capture the message and ideally respond to it in a favorable and most natural way – this Joy is definitely part of what our Web Graphics strive to express. It’s a matter of giving, reaching and receiving.

While we all love Joy – or happiness as we call it – and this deep wish is reflected in each song, each poem, novel, movie and even in a decadent piece of chocolate…  only few actually reach it.

To me, there’s Joy and Laughter all around us… in little things in Nature that just need to be seen and felt… opening our hearts in a big way!

Joy on Google

I came across two Joy Quotes I really like, especially as I so much respect the great minds behind them:

The Buddha teaches us:

“We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them. ”

And this is from Mother Teresa: ” Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”

Interestingly, when looking up “Joy” on Google there are around 140 million returns, just one paid ad that really made me laugh, and while even the Wiktionary seems to be short of explanations for Joy as a state of being… unless referring to names, what comes up are Joy for Mining Machinery, programming language, carpets, radio stations, books, bands, quotes… and yes, Merriam-Webster gets to the roots in the 13th century for this source of delight by describing it as “… the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by… the prospect of possessing what one desires”.

Captivating Web Graphics

Which brings us straight back to our objective in this article: the importance of captivating web graphics and attractive images on websites and blogs – be it for online advertising or just accompanying editorials and posts -  to attract and envelop visitors with that pleasant feeling that accompanies “… the prospect of possessing what one desires”.

In online marketing our prime objective is to give the customer what the customer wants or needs… and a successful way of doing so is by transporting our message – in other words the offer – through captivating web graphics that evoke Joy!

For any of your Web Design, Web Graphics and Publishing requirements benefit from the personal touch and joyful approach at  Web Design Consulting.

Read more…

• High Performance
• Style
• Captivating Pictures
• Web Design Consulting
• New Semiomantics XO 2010

Style

Style is one of the key elements when it comes to Web Graphics or any form of Design. . .  and here I don’t refer to style sheets… although they present a basic element of  Website Design today.

Style has to do with your “Secret Garden”. . . it is something you recognize immediately – and as such it’s important for your web presence and especially for your Branding.

Style expresses who you are.

Style – What is it?

Style – what is it?

We know the expression “style” from musical compositions and linguistics. Yes, it has to do with composition.

We know it from stars… think Michael Jackson, think Tina Turner… Madonna… Queen. Each has or had their particular style – which resonates with us or it doesn’t. It has to do with resonance.

There are distinctive architectural styles over the centuries and epochs that shaped them. We distinguish it easily in Visual Arts, where style refers to either the aesthetic values followed in choosing what to paint and how… or the techniques applied in doing so. It has to do with aesthetic values, definitely.

And of course, style is the determinating factor when it comes to fashion design. A legend like Coco Chanel was – and will always remain – its icon.

Style as a Creative Expression

According to Wiki, Design it refers to “…the process of creating something”.  Hmmm, I’m not too convinced here, but definitely, Style is a creative expression.

An expression of what?

An expression of an individual… creator? Designer? Artist?

An expression of time, an epoch, its people?

Here we have another important element: Time!

But then, style is timeless… and perhaps herein lies its secret: to express timelessness – the essentials of being – within Time and with the right Timing.

Web Design Consulting

At  Web Design Consulting we take the time to understand what our clients want to express – and guide them into finding, developing or enhancing – their own Style.

When creating the above color composition from an original picture from my garden, I thought of our German partner Ute Schaedler.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• High Performance
• Joy
• Captivating Pictures
• Web Design Consulting
• New Semiomantics XO 2010

Internet Marketing services

Marketing a product, any product, whether on or offline requires planning. Offline, you need the services of an advertising company to market  your products, or if you do it yourself and use the services of a  publisher and/or leaflet distributor, newspaper/magazine advertising. Online there are many Internet Marketing Services offered that provide effective marketing campaigns with measurable results and Google top ranking.

Internet Marketing

The advantages of Internet Marketing is that it is relatively inexpensive if you compare cost ratios with offline advertising campaigns, online there is much wider audience that a company or small business can reach. With the increase of internet users world wide and today’s technological advances, Web 2.0 strategies  encourage much more consumer interactivity online, product research with smooth and speedy shopping results.

Internet Marketing Services

Internet Marketing Strategy

In order to achieve success in marketing a product online it requires a internet marketer to develop an internet marketing strategy, one that clearly defines and targets a specific audience in order to achieve measurable results. Discuss your specific needs with a qualified IT Cosultant who will guide you through the complexity of  a successful marketing campaign.

Results can be easily measured with the use of web analytics to ascertain the efficiency and value of any marketing campaign providing value for money.

Internet Marketing Services

Internet marketing Services are many and varied. There are many ways in which you can communicate your advertising message to a targeted  audience.

* Email marketing
* Banner Advertising
* Contextual advertising
* Social Media optimisation
* Search engine optimisation (SEO)
* Search engine marketing (SEM)
* Mobile Advertising

just to name few of the methods applied to internet marketing.

Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising is a recent phenomena, a trend that cannot be ignored. The mobile industry is developing fast and growing. Many of the larger companies have already adopted the mobile medium as a way to advertise their products. Small businesses to are beginning to see the value and are adopting this method of advertising targeting specific audiences.

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

2012 by Roland Emmerich

With a new heat wave hitting the Cape of Good Hope down here in South Africa, the best place to be today was the sea, the fridge or … the movie theatre.

So we went to see the movie “2012″ by Roland Emmerich – which USA Today called “… the mother of all disaster movies”… and truly so.

OUFFF! Disaster isn’t my cup of tea at all, but with my interest in Design and 3D Animation and being a grand movie freak, I went there for the special effects… and I got more than I wanted! In fact, I needed some time to land after having been swept across all continents by land, air and sea escaping monstruous tsunamis, tornado earth quakes, continental shifts, polar inversions etc etc and this in all sorts of ways the human race literally raced to survive after solar flares had basically set the inner earth core on fire with temperatures rising at gigantic speed and dramatically changing the planet forever.

2012 by Roland Emmerich

Without today’s fascinating and incredibly advanced technological possibilities – and corresponding budgets – a movie like 2012 by Roland Emmerich would very probably never be made.

The storyline isn’t that different basically from what you may remember from “The Day After Tomorrow” – when temperatures over especially North America dropped astronomically within just 7 short days and the President of the USA had to make some difficult and drastic evacuation decisions… Here we have the inversion on a global scale, we also have the ‘warning’ and the initial disbelief of the world’s political leadership in what some scientists from the other end of the world – this time at the bottom of a boiling hot copper mine in India – have to report… until things start happening… literally cooking… California disappears, Yellowstone disappears, Washington falls, the Vatican collapses. . . and there is almost no more place to go, no escape… but for those privileged 400,000 who could pay a ticket at 1 Billion Euros a piece – who of course consider themselves as the creme de la creme of the human race and worth of carrying on the species after three modern “Arks” (… well built in advance for this exact planetary situation, hint, hint… and conspiracy believers are nodding…)  would place them together with some representative Master pieces of our Civilization’s Art and Culture  – like the Mona Lisa, officially stolen from the Louvre – into a new dawn… to start again from scratch.

The joke for me was that this place – at the end of the movie – this new dawn… was exactly here, at the Cape of Good Hope… in the middle of the current heat wave – and the Drakensberg became the highest mountain on earth. Yeah, life would start again in Africa … and there were surrealistic vistas when, within the total apocalyptic chaos, we see helicopters transporting giraffes and elephants in biblic ‘two’s – so African safaris in the brave new world would be secured…

Yet, with so much overwhelming chaos at incredible lengths and with hammering music slashing out at our emotional barometers, one was no longer drawn into the magic, it was too much, too long, too loud, too obvious, and despite the incredible Special Effects – well, less would have been more in my personal view.

I had also been interested in how the Mayan Calendar had been woven into the story, knowing that there was never a prediction of an end of the world but the beginning of a new era or epoche, called the era of “Ethics” – which I would greet with all my heart… but except in stereotypes like “If we stop caring for one another, we lose our humanity” … there wasn’t much of what I would have expected.
So if you are a fan of disaster movies and this is exactly what you expect – then the movie delivers the promise, then this is for you.

You were warned!

Read more…

• Friday 13th November 2009
• Circle Experiments 1
• Creating your own Signature
• Header Graphics
• Colour

New Semiomantics XO 2010

Spot-on with the beginning of the new year, the new Semiomantics XO 2010 theme has been released by Yorgo Nestoridis.

This limited edition is offering Web Designers at Web Design Consulting even better and more efficient ways to serve their customers in terms of their presence and competitiveness on the Internet, based on the latest web development and cutting-edge of technology.

The new Semiomantics XO 2010 was SOLD OUT within a few days!

New Semiomantics XO 2010

Included in the release of the new Semiomantics XO 2010 was a one-day online Semiomantics Workshop to introduce the new owners to:

~ the features of the new theme,

~ its many layout variations that can be explored depending on the purpose and target market specifications of the website or blog,

~ a large variety of  applications for different customer requirements, and

~ smart Editing and Publishing techniques to ensure excellent visibility on search engines and Google.

Semiomantics Consultants

Semiomantics Consultants will satisfy their customers’ needs by delivering attractive websites or blogs that quickly achieve top Google rankings.

Of course, performance on the Internet is closely related to cost… that’s just as it is… and as such Semiomantics offers more sophisticated solutions for more sophisticated demands – at a different price and with higher rewards. It’s a matter of choice depending on what importance a customer allocates to his Internet Business and his Goals… and what means he can give himself to reach them.

But the worldwide trend to buy and sell online is obvious and accelerating  following Bill Gates’ statement a few years ago:

“Within just a few years… you either have an Online business or you have NO business!”

Website Accessibility for Mobile Devices

Website Accessibility for Mobile Devices is an increasing trend and with Google just coming out with the new Nexus and Mobile Advertising predicted to surpass $6.5 billion in 2012, it also came over loud and clear that Semiomantics will be positioning itself for the future:  go mobile!

Expect more on this HOT topic in future Semiomantics Workshops and Ycademy Seminars 2010!

This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.

Read more…

• Website Maintenance Service
• Style
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation
• Best Price Accommodation Cape Town
• Captivating Pictures

2010 Noordhoek Accommodation

While I enjoyed Noordhoek Beach watching one of the rare Oyster Catchers. . . our articles about 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation have made their way up to Google Top 10 with the power of Semiomantics and smart Network Publishing.

Oyster Catcher on Noordhoek Beach

2010 Noordhoek Accommodation

Here are the latest results on Google Top 10 for “2010 Noordhoek Accommodation” which show that, within this short period of time and without the keywords within the domain name in any way, we now occupy 7/10 spots on page one on Google:

Amazing results!

However, on the Internet there is no standstill; like on Noordhoek Beach we are constantly on shifting sands with high tide and low tide and lots of surprises inbetween! So we have to be flexible and teachable all the time to work on our continued success.

Semiomantics Seminar 2010

As we are starting with our first Semiomantics Seminar 2010 today followed by our first InfoCall 2010, my entire focus will be there in order to be even better equipped in terms of latest Knowledge and cutting-edge Technology to best serve our customers at Web Design Consulting.

Read more…

• Style
• New Semiomantics XO 2010
• Best Price Accommodation Cape Town
• Best Price Accommodation Cape Town
• 2010 Noordhoek Accommodation