Grab the attention of your customers!
Stand out from the crowd!
Distinguish yourself among the masses!
Now,... that's easier said than done. So I have compiled a list of "to do" when creating a flyer for your next event.

1.) Use a Heading: A heading will focus the reader quickly of what is going on in the flyer. With out a header the reader will not be able to quickly identify the reason for the flyer.
2.) Use an image: The image will enforce the headline. It is also the biggest draw to the flyer. A nice picture of an object or person will draw more attention than having many scattered images. If many images need to be placed in the flyer then group them together then create a hierarchy so the viewer knows were to look first. Remember, big images tend to be looked at first.
3.) Use simple fonts for easy reading: Good headings and images will grab and hold the viewers attention to begin reading through the flyer. Use easy to read fonts because this is the important part! Try to keep information concise and to the point. Try to not use more than 3 different fonts in the flyer.
4.) Use colors that will grab attention: Another attention grabbing item is color. Bright colors command attention. If  bright colors are not in your theme or color scheme then try using complimentary colors. If you are not sure what colors are complimentary of each other use a color wheel.

Below are some examples of flyers created by Creative Logo Art. If you would like Creative Logo Art to custom design your flyer please click here and fill out the creative brief, this month it is only $50.

I just wanted to share with you the video software that I use to make my video tutorials. Its called camstudio. You can down load it at http://camstudio.org/ . Its a great way to record presentations off your computer screen.

You can create video tutorials like I do or create video presentations off your computer screen. Post them on Youtube or embed them in your blog or website.

It is very easy to use. Here are some highlights of the software.

1.) You have the ability to save it as an .AVI or a .SWF format

2.) You can record full screen or define the area you want recorded.

3.) You have the option to record audio simultaneously or not.

4.)  You also can highlight the courser so people can easily identify what you are pointing at on screen. I like this function.

Please take a look at the short tutorial below of the software. Just so you can get the feel of what the software can do for you. I would recommend this especially if you are on a tight budget. It is worth the price… lol.

Please leave a comment on what you think about the software. Would this be useful for you?

To resize your canvas in photoshop you want to go to IMAGE –>CANVAS.

There are two ways to change the canvas size.

1.) Absolute

2.) Relative

In absolute method you put the entire size of the image. If you start with a 4in by 6 in canvas and want a 8in by 10 in canvas then you would put 8in by 10in which would result in an increase in the canvas size. The background color will appear.

In the relative method you would check the box name relative. Then you would only enter how much you want the canvas to increase by. Therefore if you have a 4 by 6 image again and you want to increase the borders by .5 inches then you would say1 in for the width and 1 in for the height.

You can also just add canvas to one side by changing the anchor.

Changing the canvas size adapts to increasing as well as decreasing. Check out the video below.

Here are some short cuts to help you navigate photoshop.
Control + = to zoom into the picture
Control - = to zoom out of the picture
Z = give you the magnify glass to zoom in or out
Holding space bar = gives you the hand to pan to left ,right, up, or down around the page.
Plus other short cuts for navigating Photoshop.
Here is a quick video tutorial on how to navigate Photoshop for all you newbies out there. Hopefully this is helpful. You can instantly download the Photoshop video course by going to the store. http://www.creativelogoart.com/store2ps.html

Why pay for something when you can get it for FREE? lol

Constant Contact and Aweber are excellent email marketing solutions. But these companies charge a monthly fee for their services. They have their strong points and you may still want to use them, but feedburner offers a great Free email marketing solution. Within Feedburner their is an option to set up an email subscription to your blog for free. Feedburner is owned by google and is set up to retransmit your blog by email and rss feed. The only requirement...is to have a gmail account.

I recently dumped my aweber account because I was not using it to its full potential. I was essentially wasting money every month with out a return on it. As a small business owner it is important to assess and re-assess what is working and what is not working. And as a small business owner I assessed that Creative Graphic Arts marketing ventures were to maximize the free offerings before paying for services.

If you run a blog this is an excellent solution with no cost involved. We'll, the only cost is time. The time to set it up should only be a few minutes once your gmail is set up. This tutorial will walk you through setting up your account. Did I mention this service is for free? lol

This tutorial will show you how to create a highly polished looking font in illustrator CS3. The main tools you will use are the pathfinder, pen, gradient and stroke. Hope this helps you when creating your master pieces.

In this flyer I hand crafted each particle which cost me a bit of time. Afterwards I decided to add a glow effect. That decision could cost me another 30 minutes adding it to each individual particle. Therefore I grouped them all together and made them a smart object.

Making a smart object allowed me to apply my layer effects to a group of layers. This allowed me to finish faster.

I hope this tutorial below will help you in your designing. Please view the video and don't forget to share this with your other creative friends too. lol

Key ideas to remember:
On PCs;
Grouping multiple items = ctrl + G
Creating smart objects of that grouping = right click the mouse on that layer group and select smart objects.