Wednesday, January 4, 2012

How to make your computer speak whatever you type:

1. Open Notepad and copy-paste the following code into it.
Dim message, sapi
message=InputBox("What do you want me to say?","Speak to Me")
Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak message
Notepad - Make Your Computer Speak
2. Save it with the name speak.vbs and click Enter.
Save File - Speak.vbs

3. Double click the saved file and Speak to Me application will open. Type in the box all the things you want your computer to say and then click OK.
Speak To Me
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to : http://theheatweb.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, August 5, 2011

Web Design Rules That You Can Break

1: Do Not Display the Horizontal Scroll Bar

2: Use a Minimal Number of Font Faces

3: Do Not Use Too Many Colors

4: Make Your Site’s Goal Obvious

5: Navigation Should Be Easy To Figure Out

6: Use Different Colors for the Text and Background

7: Don’t Put Animation in the Way of Your Content

8: Stick to Web-Safe Fonts

9: Don’t Have a Splash/Landing Page

10: Don’t use Tables

 More Details >>

Monday, April 11, 2011

GRAPHIC DESIGN RESOURCES

Cheap/Free – Royalty Free Photo libraries and Vector Graphics

  • Fotolia A large collection of low price images stating from £1
  • morguefile A largish collection of free photos for personal or commercial use
  • istockphoto A large selection of royalty free images from a few dollars
  • 123rf A large selection of photo, a bit cheaper than istock, you can purchase with credits or subscription
  • dreamstimeRoyalty free pics from a few dollars
  • Go Media Royalty Free Vector Images and TexturesA good selection of good quality vector image packs (containing several images) and texture packs starting at $14.99. Also some freebie vector images and textures you can download
  • Texture KingA selection of free downloadable textures such as brick, rust and grunge
  • Digital Vector Maps As the name suggest vector maps including globes and countries average price about $40

Graphic Design Forums and Web Design Forums
Please see my post getting help online for more information on each forum

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Web Design Tips

1. Have all your clients fill out a detailed project form asking them what they want, what style they like, what websites they like and so on – The more you know the easier it will be to give them exactly what they want.
2. Always study the competitor websites of your client so you can make sure your design is better and has everything they have + more.
3. Make sure you get everything you can from a client upfront, which includes copy, pages needed, images, quotes, company colors, their logo, etc.
4. When creating a website it’s helpful to start off sketching or creating digital wireframes to layout everything the client needs on their website.
5. Always send project proposals.
6. Create and send detailed contracts that both you and the client date and sign.
7. Outline details such as initial concepts, number of revisions, time-frame, payment schedule, etc, in the contract.
8. Have the client sign off on the project once complete.
9. Send payment invoices and payment invoice reminders – try software such as QuickBooks.
10. Keep digital, hard copy and backups of all paperwork such as the above mentioned. You should also save and copy receipts and anything else you might need for taxes.
11. Always keep backups of client files going back several years if possible – you never know when a client may contact you asking for files from a while back.
12. Organize all your paperwork and records on a regular basis to make filing taxes easier – try organizing by year and client names.
13. Use project management software like BaseCamp to keep in touch with clients and to get feedback during the design process.
14. Keep contact and project info on all your clients so you can send them future promotions.
15. Send personal/handwritten thank you letters once projects are complete.
16. Never forget the client is always right!
17. Monitor your brand/name online for any mentions – try Google Alerts to start.
18. Respond to any positive and negative messages quickly to thank clients and resolve issues.
19. Get and publish testimonials, case studies and feature projects in your online portfolio whenever you can – don’t forget to get permission to use these in your marketing.
20. Make sure you have an actual marketing plan, budget and goals for increasing business.
21. Offer clients discounts for referring new clients.
22. Send out promotional emails or postcards on popular holidays.
23. Stay up on the latest marketing trends and use them to your advantage – such as Twitter, Facebook Pages and more.
24. Never stop marketing! You never know when something will come up such as the economy taking a hit. It’s better to have to turn down work than be desperate for it.
25. Occasionally review your business/marketing plans and budgets for ways to cut expenses and to find growth opportunities.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

50 Useful Tools and Resources For Web Designers

An effective, well-organized workflow is an important asset of professional web designers. The more useful and time-saving your tools are, the more time you can focus on important things, thus creating a foundation for timely good-quality results.

more...

Audio Files

Audio Jungle