The bf/Stop

We believe blogging is a great way to improve your search engine results. We also realize the referral and marketing benefits in communicating in a fun, casual way with  your clients with recent imagery and verbiage about what you’re doing within your business.  

We know that everyone wants something new, creative, different and fun for their blogs. We also know the power and ease behind using platforms like WordPress, which is why, based on feedback we’ve received after offering our free blog theme last year, we’ve decided to offer a variety of premium themes to our clients. These themes will come with varying levels of service, such as installation, customization, slideshows, etc.  We will also be offering custom themes as well, designing them from the ground up!

So get your blogging wheels turning and think up some dreamy features you’d like to see come to life … we’d love to hear them!

Across several industries, a lot of attention is given to trendy color combinations and Pantone spends a lot of time color forecasting and selecting the Color of the Year. The Kuler site is another spot I like to hit when looking for palette inspiration for various projects, whether it be for logo design | branding or web design and even custom marketing materials.  Creating palettes or strips of inspirational mixes is a great way to pull your materials cohesively together.

For fun, pop over to Colorstrology.
I’m Fair Aqua Pantone 12-5409.

What color are you?

As artists, we know visually stimulating flare breeds creativity.

Get your notepads out, or if in fact, you’re like the guys in the office here (no paper, no pens, no tangible office paraphernalia whatsoever) perhaps just your “favorites” button will suffice.

French Paper

Hello Lucky

MoMA

Ohdeedoh

WC Couture

We are here and it’s HOT! (Really hot, like 107 degrees) Thank goodness for obnoxious air conditioning, we’re actually freezing.

We’re on day 3 at Skip Cohen’s Summer School with some of the top speakers and photographers in the industry, with one more day to go! So far, it’s been so great shaking hands and meeting some of the wonderful faces that make up some of BIG Folio’s awesome client list. What a bunch of amazing feedback and compliments! We even had a client convince a non-BIG Folio user to switch, based on his stellar experience, while standing in line to talk to us! That’s powerful stuff! Here’s a few quick snaps of Erik and I making our way through some very long days. Some of the events of the day yesterday included anchovies, we’ll just leave those images out.
You can thank me later.

Ran across a great little iPhone app called Keymote the other day. Keymote is a programmable remote that let’s you control your Mac with your iPhone over a wifi connection. After purchasing and downloading the app ($3.99), pairing it with my MacBook Pro was a snap. It even worked over an ad-hoc wifi connection.

I was able to create some basic keysets for both Aperture and Photoshop. Here’s a quick screencast demonstrating some hands-free editing (view the large version here).

Give it a try and let us know what you think. In case you forgot, here’s some good articles on Photoshop keyboard shortcuts.

In this economy, I’m always curious where people are putting their marketing efforts.  What has changed this year for most, in this industry in regards to keeping their businesses healthy and forward moving? What creative ideas are people coming up with by necessity to keep the volume flowing and consistent? Is reinvention key, with fresh branding and marketing? What about community networking and bundling your marketing efforts with other like-minded vendors to reduce your costs and utilize each others contacts?

Does the economy force you to cut the fat or put MORE effort into these areas? Are you investing in furthering your education and building your networks by attending workshops and conventions? Tapping into social and viral online marketing tools like blogging, Facebook and Twitter? Are you offering pricing incentives? Changing your product line? Including more in your collections? Installing referral programs for your best clients?

We’d love to hear what you’re doing!

If you haven’t stumbled across Seth Godin’s blog yet, here is some hardcore reading and info on his book,  Tribes.

… a few sites that we think are just snazzy. Prepare yourself for inspiration overload.

Wiley Valentine

Amy Atlas Events

Elum

OnceWed

So many insanely talented people out there… much more to come!

If you didn’t know, the male to female ratio at BIG Folio is totally off kilter. Not to mention, the itty-bitty two, outnumbered, estrogen producing contributors here are splintered off into separate spaces. We don’t even get to poo-poo or smear the guys as a tag-team and we’re pretty certain they planned it this way. Around these parts, the boys definitely rule. With that comes a few negatives.

1.) Daily music selection usually consists of something that contributes to them feeling uber-manly. Note: Def Leppard after they return from the gym.
2.) Communication inside a wall-less, partition-less, open office consists of sideways banter, inaudible grunts, burps and movie line recaps from Nacho Libre and Zoolander.
3.) Like brothers, they’ve all determined my weakness for such words as “moist”, “kumquat” and “mole” and find extra fun ways to use them in sentences.
4.) We all share a bathroom. Nothing further to say.
5.) There is no flare or fluff within the office walls. No cute paperclips, no fancy pens, no desk folios, no cute frames with sentimental imagery or quirky, witty coffee mugs. Just bare, blank workspace.

I’m exceptionally interested in seeing how people work and live. What inspires you to get up and get to your desk/office/studio/cave everyday? We want to see it! So show us your workspace. Is it a swanky and mod? Vintage and eclectic? Messy and loved? Let’s see! Send us your images and don’t you dare clean up first (we’re onto you). The person who sends in the most inspirational and unique workspace wins a new Premium BIG Folio site of your choice!

If you’re like us and love design and how it’s used in the workplace, visit The Savvy Photographer, a recently discovered hot spot for kitschy ideas!

… that variety is the spice of life. However WE say, that textures are.

So many people ask us daily about unique ways to individualize their websites when they purchase a template from BIG Folio. Everyone wants to stand out and create something that is all their own and textures are a fantastic way to add unique style to your online portfolio.

Our team of professional designers has created a collection of gorgeous website textures which can easily be added to your site. Each texture pack contains both JPEG and PSD files. Using Photoshop, you can easily adjust the colors and effects, giving you infinite possibilities. View them here.

Take a peek at some fabulous client sites showcasing great ways textures are separating them from the masses. These are some of our favorites…

1. Clayton Austin
2. Meg Ruel
3. The Vanity
4. Comfort Studios
5. Lidia Guerra

ATLANTA!

If you haven’t heard… WPPI is promoting their first ever Roadtrip, with 17 industry leaders, in September!
Have you registered for one of the 4 cities they are landing in, yet?
We’ll be set up in Atlanta with amazing speakers, Kevin Kubota, Tony Corbell, Sarah Petty and Kirk Voclain.

If you’re there and you don’t come give us a high 5, we’ll know.