Getting Creative

Better Blogging

2010-01-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Getting Creative has moved!

We have moved away from our temporary home at Blogger.com and customized a Wordpress theme to better fit the functional and stylistic needs of our ever-growing web log.

Please visit our new blog to stay updated on the inner workings of and inspiration behind GetCreative Web Design. Thanks for reading!

Client Profile: All About Family

2010-01-18T14:33:00.002-05:00

All About Family, Inc. is a personal assistance and companion care agency in Richmond, Va. One of the great things about my job is the opportunity to work with a variety of companies in any industry. I was essentially unfamiliar with the job that All About Family (AAF) does in the community, but after learning about their work I can imagine that their services would be invaluable to almost anyone at some point in their lives. I am reminded to be thankful for the lack of monotony present in my day-to-day work with such a varied group of clients.

Background

For a company that specializes in taking the utmost care for people in times of need, I could not think of a more appropriate person than President Dianne Inman to run such an operation. Dianne is a very sweet lady who had nothing but positive things to say while we worked together. She operates a very efficient and well-run business, managing not to lose sight of the true focus of the company: caring for others.

AAF provides at-home care not only for the elderly, as I first imagined, but for many diverse people at different stages of life. They are available to care for those with both short- and long-term illness, pregnant women both during and after pregnancy, and even individuals who could merely use some company in their daily routines. The range of service is adjusted depending on the needs of individual clients, whether you need help with housekeeping or a live-in caregiver.

The Site

The first step for AAF was creating a new logo to represent their company. Their previous logo was effective but somewhat 2-D and lacking a creative twist. Their new logo is also simple, but is true to the company's compassionate identity.

After finalizing an appropriate logo, I began creating a color scheme for the website. Dianne herself is such a bright and cheerful woman that there was no doubt that this company needed clean, happy colors for their website. I took the yellow from their previous logo and made it a deeper, richer color. This coupled with a burnt orange, the burgundy of the logo and a good amount of white space created a bright website without being dull or washed out.

For the website layout I chose a bold horizontal navigation bar under a gradient header that incorporated the logo. This along with a gradient footer makes up the foundation of the site, with well placed text, photos, maps and other elements arranged throughout.

This design is definitely a favorite of mine (though I have found that my "favorite" design changes almost as often as I create new sites!). Have a look around the All About Family site and let me know what you think of the design, color, layout, anything! Thanks for reading, and thank you to Dianne and her staff for being such a great client to work with.

Tips & Tricks: Color Palette

2009-12-21T10:47:00.003-05:00

Tips & Tricks is a section in which I will share some of the techniques and helpful hints of design that I have learned over the years. In doing so I hope to share more about the GetCreative design process, and help clients to get the most out of their websites. Today, we'll start with choosing a Color Palette.

Winter scenes are made of a few color palettes unique to this time of year. There is the white and blue and silver winter wonderland that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us this week in central Virgina, and there are the reds, greens and golds of holiday decorations. Color has a greater effect on us that most people realize...colors can influence our mood, our appetite, and our opinions. This influence makes choosing the right colors for your website all the more important.

Know your colors
Colors on opposite ends of the color wheel, such as seasonal favorites green and red, can have very different effects depending on their use. Because red and green are contrasting colors they are hard on the eyes if layered on top of one another. If used in moderation with proper white space, however, they can create festive and welcoming images.

This is hard to read and can create feelings of anger.

This limited use of red and green, however, conveys the message in a subtler and more effective way.

Individual colors can also have different effects based on how we use them. Blue, for example, is a very popular color and can elicit feelings of peace and serenity. However it is also one of the most unappetizing colors. Blue in food is rare and in some cases (think mold) can signify that the food has gone bad. For this reason, restaurants or retailers in the food industry should stick to colors that signify freshness and health in food.

It is also important to think of your target audience; the color associations we have here in the United States are not the same for international consumers. And, colors used on the web have more limitations than colors used for printed materials (depending on your printer). There are 256 traditional web safe colors. Using these colors ensures that your viewers will all see your colors as you intended, and no unwanted substitutions will be made.

Pick your palette
Now lets talk about matching and coordinating colors to your advantage. Most of my clients come to me with either a logo or a signature color in mind; this is a great starting block for picking a color palette. You choose one color you know you want used in your design, and choose coordinating colors based on your industry and the purpose of your website.

Let's take this shade of green      and see what different palettes we can create with it.

We can make green the main color of our page, using different shades of green and neutrals to complement it, like this:



Or, we can make our green pop by using contrasting colors to make it stand out, like this:



There are many variations of palettes we can create starting with this simple shade of green.

There are quite a few online tools that you can use to help you create a color palette as well. ColorBlender.com allows you to put in the RGB values for your colors and mix them from there. ColorCombos.com has pre-mixed palettes for you to view, and you can search for colors by name, i.e. "green", or by hex number, i.e. "336633".

In this website for a Computer Services company, I used a green similar to our example with neutrals to make it stand out. The possibilities are vast, so spend some time mixing and experimenting with color before you settle on your palette. Or, let me do the color matching for you!

Client Profile: InfuZion Richmond

2009-12-09T10:42:00.005-05:00

InfuZion's splash page links to both the

Restaurant and Club at www.infuzionrichmond.com

Working with InfuZion has been exciting and rewarding on many levels. As my first restaurant client, InfuZion has been a great opportunity to break into this market and will be an asset to my portfolio, possibly leading to more clients in this industry. In addition to the design, I have had the chance to spend a good amount of time photographing the large and very aesthetically-pleasing InfuZion building, inside and out. Read on to hear about this great client!

Background
One of the biggest challenges with this client has been overcoming the company history. David Wheeler of Riverstone General Contractors and his wife Julie took over InfuZion after it had failed as an Ice Bar in 2008. The new owners spent many months and even more money in renovating the 10,000 square foot building for the reopening of InfuZion in October 2009.

InfuZion is equipped with an excellent lunch and dinner menu provided by Executive Chef Patrick Cook and staff in the restaurant, and an impressive party scene in the club including lights, video screens, VIP areas, two stages and a large bar. In addition to the relaxing dining room with piano, the restaurant also boasts a plush lounge area with couches and fireplace, as well as a separate bar and cocktail room.

The Site
With the task of creating a new identity for InfuZion in mind, I set to work creating a design that would adequately showcase this great space. First I created a "splash" page that leads to two separate areas of the website, allowing the restaurant and club to have their own identities. The semi-formal dining room and high class menu attracts a different crowd than the high energy club does, so it was important that the website speak to members of both target audiences.

The building is full of such rich and vibrant colors, so a black background seemed the best backdrop for the site. The restaurant portion of the site includes a full menu and dinner specials, as well as mouthwatering photos of the cuisine. For the club, an event calendar keeps viewers up-to-date on exciting happenings each month, and details are provided about the coveted VIP areas overlooking the lighted dance floor.

Take a look at some of the impressive space that InfuZion has to offer, as well as some scrumptious menu items:

Piano music creates a sophisticated and relaxing atmosphere in the dining room.

The menu offers many unique and delicious options,

such as this banana leaf wrapped mahi with shrimp,

broccoli and an amazing lemony risotto.

A new twist on an old favorite: Steak Bruchetta.

Cocktail tables in the sleek bar area of the restaurant allow for comfortable socializing.

The club dance floor and VIP areas, as seen from the larger of two stages.

The large bar next to the DJ booth provides ample space for

collecting your drinks without unpleasant crowding.

A second bar provides backup service on busy nights in the club.

If you haven't been yet, I encourage all Richmonders to make plans to visit InfuZion soon. Whether you go for the great food in a welcoming atmosphere or to unwind in style in the club, InfuZion has something to offer for everyone.

"New Look, Same Great Taste!"

2009-12-02T09:03:00.002-05:00

After a bit of a Thanksgiving hiatus, I am glad to be back to blogging and with an exciting website update!

I've spent some time on my own website...a task that is harder than it sounds for a web designer. When business is good it's hard to take a time out from paying clients to devote some time to my own online presence, but it is a necessary evil.

I've added a new page to the site- About Us- to share more about the company and how we work. You will also find links on the new page to Facebook, LinkedIn and the blog you're reading now!

The Home page has undergone some changes as well. The Flash slide show has had a makeover and there is a new Featured Client section where I will highlight our recent work.

There are other goodies too, so have a look around the site and enjoy!

*Check back soon for a post about the new InfuZion website!

Client Profile: Shear Image

2009-11-10T12:11:00.005-05:00

For the past few weeks I've had the absolute pleasure of working with one of my favorite clients to date. Tammy Cooper of Shear Image Salon and Boutique has been nothing but positive throughout the process of creating the new website for her company.

Screen shot of the new Shear Image site.

Visit at www.shearimagesalonandboutique.com

Background
Shear Image opened as a hair salon in 1994 and has become known for not only their great style and service, but also for the 'welcome home' feeling of the salon. The many talented and sweet stylists that work for Tammy have formed a close bond and the attitude of the shop closer resembles that of a neighbor's living room than a stuffy workplace. Stylists chat with long-time clients about family members they have known for years, while sharing photos of their own children and loved ones displayed on their hair stations.

In 2005, when the shop next to Shear Image was vacated, Tammy took advantage of the space to expand their already growing collection of boutique items for sale. This second half of the shop now houses an extensive collection of jewelry, purses, home décor and other gift items. Items range from college team gear to decorative wine glasses, with plenty of pink and green polka dots in between. As Tammy has been reminding us- only 6 weeks until Christmas and Shear Image is a great spot for both gift ideas and holiday décor.

The Site
While Tammy has been a friend of the family for years, this was only part of what made working with her so effortless. We all know how it feels to receive a complement, and Tammy was not shy in expressing her happiness with my work. Her willingness to quickly get content and pictures together on her end made the goal of having the site up with plenty of time before Christmas a breeze.

When I met with Tammy she knew right away the look she was going for in the shop. With a pink and black color scheme in mind, I created a swirly and sophisticated logo for the shop to which Tammy declared “LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.” With such an enthusiastic start I was very excited to continue with the web design.

Shear Image Logo

Created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

One of the functions this site needed to serve was showcasing new and seasonal products from the boutique. By customizing an open source photo gallery, I was able to integrate a way for Tammy to add and manage photos of products at any time- without having to go through myself for each update. With a brief history of the salon on the Home page and profiles of the stylists and receptionists on the Staff page, the site paints a brief and accurate portrait of Shear Image.

I will leave you with a few inspiring pictures of some of my favorite Shear Image products.

Super cute 'Bride' collection! My mom used the 'Mother of the Bride' bag to keep track of wedding plans for our big day in April :)

I own an embarrassing number of 'E' Koozies...but what can I say, they're great!

If I were 13 I would be all over these great Peace tote bags.

Now these I must have for our annual Christmas Party.

What a fun hostess gift these would be!

The perfect mug to carry around on those marathon holiday shopping days. No one should suffer through Black Friday without something warm and tasty at hand!

Happy holiday shopping to you all, and thank you Shear Image for being such a great client!

A Birthday Blog

2009-11-05T17:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome readers!

As a birthday gift to myself I've decided to take a little 'Me' time on this lovely November 5th to create a blog. I've had a wonderful day so far today, thanks largely to an abundance of phone calls from loved ones, goodies that arrived in the mail this afternoon, and the always-comforting 52 Facebook wall posts I've been fortunate enough to receive this year, and I'm looking forward to this creative outlet as a way of sharing, learning and creating.

So, what should you expect from these posts?
I plan to mix a little business with pleasure here, in an attempt to accomplish three things.

For one, I want to keep family and friends updated on my business ventures without them having to sift through my online portfolio. I'd like to share with you the joys, the frustrations and the thrills of web and graphic design. Not to mention, the precarious business of owning a business at the unripe age of 23 (that's 24 now!).

For both my present and potential clients, should they choose to peruse these ramblings, I hope to present a more personal side of myself. I have met some very kind and talented people in my work, and I am especially appreciative of those that have been patient as I learn the ropes of running a business. Here is a chance for me to reach out to them, and I look forward to posting more about some of these great professionals.

Finally, this blog is for me. As an English minor and general literature nerd, I miss the days of assigned writing assignments and have therefore assigned myself to this project. Running has always been a way for me to get my thoughts together in my head, and writing is how I get them out. I am looking forward to updating the world wide web on the things that matter to me, in my little office in Lynchburg, Va.

To get things started...
My birthday this year has included an addition to my small-but-growing collection of Canon DSLR camera gear. I took a few moments roaming the house with my fixed 50mm 1.8 Lens, then spent some time playing in Lightroom 2 (which I am very new to), and here are a few of the results.

These were a birthday gift and look gorgeous in our living room.

Our fall centerpiece in the dining room.

One of my favorite features of the house...awesome spice rack!

The spice rack, in a moody sepia tone.

My husband Adam gets credit for this photo of Katy, one of our cats.

Adam gave me this watch this morning. Love the colorful case!

Such a pretty watch, so excited to wear it to dinner tonight!

I hope you've enjoyed my first blog post! Please leave comments, feedback is appreciated :) Thank you to all of you who have made this birthday such a great one. Check back soon for exciting new posts!