I just read a piece that really hit home. I've said this before, but, to quote from this article "It’s astounding to me how many businesses come to us without their data after leaving an agency. In fact, many come to us not even owning their own website." Many designers will register your domain name but put themselves in all the contact fields- Registrant, Admin, and Technical, which means that they technically own your domain, and releasing it from an unwilling (or missing) designer can be a nightmare.

Once your domain name is registered, go to whois.com or similar site, and check your domain name. Make certain at least two of the names are people associated with your company- I recommend two different names- so you have control if the need arises. Do this before your designer is paid in full so you have some recourse if they reuse to change it. The designer should also be willing to give you copies of your web files- you own anything you paid for.

Here is a link to the article:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/digital-extortion-dont-let-your-data-be-held-hostage/278587/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedpress.me&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+searchenginejournal

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today! All content ©2011-2018 Canzani Graphics

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!
All content ©2017 Canzani Graphics

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!

All content ©2017 Canzani Graphics

Expanding fonts choices in Google Docs

Online typography is evolving at a rapid pace as more content providers get into the mix. Live type- text that can be copied and pasted, and more importantly, searched by web bots- is crucial to search engine optimization of a website. But designers such as myself are not satisfied with the (very) limited choices available- those fonts that are installed on every machine and device, such as Verdana, Arial and Times.

Enter Adobe, where, if you are a Creative Cloud member, you can use Typekit to choose web fonts you may not have locally (on your device) and Google Fonts which offers a great selection of fonts for free. Adding a line of code (supplied) to the head section of your web page calls up fonts from an online storage database to display text in that font. They don't have every font, but they have quite a selection to expand previously available choices.

I've written about this in the past, and that isn't what prompted today's post. In a busy schedule, I don't always want to open InDesign to type up an invoice, save it out as a pdf, and email it; that's why I made a blank invoice template in Google Docs. Here again, I thought my font choices were limited to the default few, but today I discovered you can use any of the google web fonts in your google docs! At the very bottom of the dropdown fonts menu, you'll see a small "F+ More fonts…" where you can add a selection of other fonts to the font menu in Google docs. Using a cloud based platform no longer means you have to be bland or boring!


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All content ©2011-2015 Canzani Graphics

The science behind fonts

I was immediately drawn in by the title of the article “The science behind fonts (and how they make you feel) by Mikael Cho on thenextweb.com. As a designer, I am always looking for the perfect font to display the content I am showcasing. Fonts have feeling, and they evoke an emotional response to the content even before the viewer reads the words. In the article, Cho echoes this sentiment and refers viewers to the work of psychologist Dr. Kevin Larson of Microsoft and Dr. Rosalind W. Picard of the MIT Media Laboratory examining the effects of good typography on mood and comprehension. Design is intrinsic in everything we see, though most people are largely unaware of its presence. Bad design is obvious because it makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and strain to understand what’s being presented. Thinking that design is a disposable expense is an enormous mistake many companies make when trying to cut costs, because they don’t see its economic value, but there is no sense in spending any amount of money or resources in producing something with bad or mediocre design, because you miss out on its positive impact and potential to influence buyers. Only the company that makes unique machine parts can afford to skimp on design considerations.

So when considering the information you want to convey, also consider the way you plan to convey it and remember that presentation is an integral component of the message.

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All content ©2014 Canzani Graphics

Think you have ANY privacy?

I just had a horrifying experience and it's a wake-up call for anyone who still believes we have any privacy. My brother tried to refill his TMobile minutes with their automated phone system, but apparently the system kicks out random charges for "verification." He was unaware of this, but was getting alerts saying he was still running out of minutes, so he knew something must be wrong.

This morning, I spent an hour trying to sort it out with the bank and TMobile, and finally got the information I needed, but he had to call them back to 'verify his credit card.' OF COURSE, his phone ran out of minutes mid-call, so only way to solve the problem was for me to call and use my credit card so they could speak to the card holder (me) since they now had no way to reach him. Here's the scariest part—remember, I don't have an account with TMobile and never have— they asked me a series of questions using information from "publicly available sources." The questions included the last 4 digits of my Social Security number, the town in which a street I lived on (they named the street) was located in (from a list of towns they named), the state I lived in between 19xx and 19xx, AND THE YEAR I WAS BORN. And they knew all this… I feel sick…
#TMobile #publiclyavailableinfo #NOPRIVACY

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

what will a website cost?

Business owners always ask what a website will cost. Anytime a business owner is considering an idea they are not knowledgeable about, they look for parameters and information that will guide them in making a sounds business decision. It’s cost vs. value — will the value of the service outweigh the initial expense?

Answering the cost question is not simple. When I buy a widget, I am purchasing a specific, defined product, but a client rarely knows exactly what their website will encompass. They usually have a general idea and may even have a well-thought-out plan, but revisions and additions often surface and will affect the final price. Outlining the set-up costs, such as domain registration and web hosting, I then give clients a price range for design and coding. When/if I reach the upper limit of that range, I consult with them before proceeding, giving the client the option of moving forward or limiting their expense. (See also http://websitewisdom.blogspot.com/2011/04/websites-what-about.html)

Today I found an online calculator buyers can use as a guideline. According to the calculator, the website I just completed, a 5 page custom e-commerce site, was worth up to $7,500. (They break cost down into providers charging the most to the least—Professional Firm, Freelancer or Offshore Provider. I found it a bit offensive that this implies that freelancers and offshore providers are not professional!) I charged less than half that amount, in part because the design and images were provided by another designer and needed only minor tweaking. Granted, I have lower overhead than a “Professional Firm,” but I am always walking the fine line between providing a service at a cost my clients can afford and under-pricing my services, since that sometimes leads to prospective clients undervaluing them.

Website design can be template-based or customized, and most clients start out just wanting to have a site at the lowest possible price point. Their ideas change once they get involved, as they see the site’s potential and want the site to reflect the same level of care and expertise they take with their product or service. A slapdash site reflects a slapdash attitude towards your business and that’s not going to attract quality clients. As long as there are tv ads for ‘free’ websites and domain names for 99¢, business owners are going to think charging anything more than that is an attempt to rip them off. It’s anything but; our work as designers is to enhance users/customers perception of your product or service, thereby resulting in more business for our clients.

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All content ©2013Canzani Graphics

the pros and cons of instant news

I have been musing today about the pros and cons of today’s “instant” news cycle. When news can travel as fast as a tweet, often little attention is paid to accuracy in the effort to beat other news outlets to the scoop. But reporters are not just parrots; they do research, take measurements, talk to sources and generally provide the most accurate understanding they can for their readers. This takes time, and it is the difference between journalists and eyewitness tweeters, reposters, and outlets just looking for whatever content they can find to fill space, regardless of veracity. It puts tremendous pressure on news sites to get that job done as quickly as possible, or to post what they have immediately and follow-up with the larger story later one. I personally heard so many conflicting versions of what happened in Sandy Hook Elementary that I turned the news off until the following day.

I found Twitter invaluable during Superstorm Sandy when all I had was my cell phone for news and updates, but have also seen rumor and innuendo passed on as fact in a flash due to less than scrupulous vetting. This story “Going Viral For Something You Didn't Do” is a prime example. Just as we are all warned not to post private information since ‘it lives forever online,’ google will forever be associating Forbes blogger Andy Ellwood with the drunken passenger on a flight Andy wasn’t even on.

What’s occurrring is a mashup of the game of telephone and a feeding frenzy, with some truly awful, if unintended, consequences. Sometimes I think there should be a time delay on what we post/tweet; fifteen minutes in which we can cancel or edit our input before it goes out to the world. There are too many itchy texting fingers out there. So please the next time you are compelled to use your digits to holler, make sure you engage your brain and pause to think about it first.

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today! All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

Please indulge my venting for a moment. I disagree with the practice of making people sign up or login just to view a website. I want to be able to see what I am signing up for before I 'join.' I've noticed this trend a lot on fashion and home goods websites– they post a teaser image in an ad, but when you click on it, you can't view the site without logging in. Perhaps it's done to make the site seem more exclusive, but the only thing it does for me is drive me away. How about you?

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Content ©2012 Canzani Graphics

Syncing with iCloud

The greatest benefit of iCloud is keeping all your devices in sync. Add, edit or remove a contact on one device and it will automatically update on your other devices. But be aware, your master file is on icloud.com, so if you find you have duplicates, sign into iCloud and make your changes there.

For syncing photos, you must have iPhoto 9 ($14.99 in the App store) to automatically upload your Photo Stream to iCloud. To activate:

On your iOS devices, go to Settings > iCloud > Photo Stream, and turn on Photo Stream (or My Photo Stream).

On your Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud and check the box for Photo Stream.

Photos are uploaded only when you are connected via Wi-FI, not over cell connections. Once there, they will be stored for 30 days to give all your devices time to sync. Your last 1,000 photos will be stored in Photo Stream on your devices- to keep them permanently, move them into another folder. (Click the + at the top of the window, use "edit' to add photos.) Photos sent to Photo Stream on your Mac will remain without the need to send them to other folders.

You can see which photos are in your album by choosing the Photo Stream tab- at the top of the Photos window on my iPad 1, which runs iOS 5, and at the bottom of the window on my iPhone, running iOS 6. Read  more about using Photo Stream with iCloud here.

Learn more about iCloud here with specifics here.

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

How to delete an app

This may seem basic to some, but I’ve been asked “How do I get rid of this app?” If you want to delete an app from your iPhone or iPad, hold your finger on it until it begins to shake. At that point, a red "x" will appear in the upper lefthand corner; touching the "x" will remove the app from your phone. If you have a folder with only one app in it, you need to choose the app and delete it, and the folder will automatically disappear. You still own apps you remove from the phone, and they can be reinstalled in iTunes.

You use the same method to move an app icon from one screen to another- when the icon is shaking, you can hold and drag it to another screen on your device. You can also perform either of these actions in the Apps screen of iTunes, where rearranging icons is easier. In that case, unchecking the box next to the icon in the apps list will remove it from your phone when you apply your changes. You can also sort apps by several methods in this screen- by kind, name, category, date and size. Sorting by size is especially helpful if your device is running short of room.

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

Camera +

Are you happy with the default Camera app on the iPhone? Check out Camera+, now available for iPhone and iPad for 99¢— I highly recommend it. (And no, I don’t have any financial investment in it!) It’s difficult to be sure your iPhone is parallel to your subject, and Camera+ has guides that help you line things up, as well as a visual zoom bar and a host of other features. You can read more on their website: http://campl.us

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

Passbook

And here's more about Passbook, which I was looking forward to using:

When you open Passbook, you quickly discover you can't really do anything except hit the "Connect to iTunes Store" button. All day it returned a "Cannot connect to iTunes Store" message, which I thought at first might be due to busy servers. When I looked it up on Apple Support, I was very disappointed to discover NOTHING. NO helpful info at all. (Really, Apple?)

But a quick Google search found the answer in Apple Support Communities- so bizarre I had to share:

Go to Settings> General> Date and Time> Set Automatically> Off. Then set the date one year ahead. (Which brings up an amusing alert telling you you haven't backed up to Cloud in 52 weeks!) 

Passbook will now connect (you can then go back and turn auto time back on) and show you the paltry few companies that are signed on to sync with Passbook. My airline was not among them, but I will keep trying now and then to see who is rolling out the service. In the meantime, I'm staying with CardStar.

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All content ©2011-2012 Canzani Graphics

How to set up "Do Not Disturb"

Having trouble figuring out some of the new features in iOS6? Me, too!

Here's how to set up "Do Not Disturb," with info direct from Apple:

You can use the "Do Not Disturb" setting while your iOS device is locked to silence calls, alerts, and notifications.

• To enable, tap Settings > Do Not Disturb. When Do Not Disturb is on, a "moon" icon will appear in the status bar. 
• To make changes to your Do Not Disturb settings, tap Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb. Optional settings for Do Not Disturb: 
• Scheduled: Automatically enable Do Not Disturb between the hours you specify. 
• Allow Calls From: Allow calls from everyone, no one, your favorites, or specific contact groups. 
• Repeated Calls: If someone calls you twice within three minutes, the call will not be silenced.

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All content ©2011-2012 Canzani Graphics

Phishing Scheme?

I just came across a clever little phishing scheme, at least I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I have The Weather Channel app on my iPhone, and was looking for the radar when I noticed a blinking globe icon at the top, with a red "1" on it, similar to the 'Alert' number. It had the same color scheme, so I didn't realize at first that it was a banner ad; it was designed to look like part of the app and had opened at the same time. (The ads change and had there been a different one before that one, I'd have been reminded that the top space is for ads.) The next screen told me I had been selected for a survey and would get an iPad 2, an iPhone or a ($500) Best Buy gift certificate if I completed it. As soon as I saw the "Thank You" 'gifts,' my suspicions were raised, but I clicked through to see where it led. There were only three questions, all innocuous, and at the end, you chose your 'gift.' They even went to the trouble of saying there were only a few left of each, just to hurry me into doing something rash. When they asked for my email (I mean, how else are they going to deliver my gift?) I backed out. Very clever, very thorough, and, I'm fairly sure, crooked as a Shepherd's hook. No one pays you $500 to know whether you're Male or Female and how often you watch videos online or share them. Come on, people, if it sounds too good to be true, IT PROBABLY IS.

I've filled out a contact form for The Weather Channel iPhone app and will let you know if there are further developments.

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All content ©2012Canzani Graphics

iPhone/iPad tips and tricks

iPhone ©Apple Inc.

Did you know you can take a screen shot of your iPhone or iPad screen? This little tip comes in handy; I used it to take a photo of the bottom of the "About" screen with the Serial Number on it. You must hold down the home button and the on/off button together- do it quickly in sync and release, and you'll hear the familiar shutter sound. The photo is automatically saved to your Camera Roll. (Did you know?: The Camera Roll stores photos permanently, the Photo Stream holds only your most recent 1000 pictures.)

The same key combination reboots your device when it's behaving badly. To use it to reboot, hold the keys down until you see the "slide to power off" at the top of the screen. Then release the keys and swipe across the message. Your device will shut down, showing a white 'pinwheel.' Powering it back up won't do anything instantly, but when it's ready, you'll see the white Apple icon and it will restart, all fresh and ready for use.

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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

when you can't wake your mac

I loved the old mac days when you could go into the system files and customize/tinker with them. As iPods, iPhones and iPads became more commonplace, more people moved to using all Macs (yay!) and Apple thought it advisable to hide some of the system folders to keep new users from inadvertently - or incorrectly - changing them. That’s great for families and casual users, but for pros, it meant giving up some control.

I work off a MacBook Pro connected to a Cinema display and this morning I couldn’t wake it from sleep. I had been advised to leave my laptop plugged in when using the Cinema display, but always working from direct power isn’t good for the battery, so my compromise has been to unplug my MacBook when I’m not working and it’s asleep. When I couldn’t wake it this morning, I carted it off to the Genius Bar to see if they could help me, and that’s exactly what they did- something I don’t think I could have done from home.

One of the new features of Lion is that your mac will start up every program you had open when you shut it down- a nifty feature if you tend to se the same programs every day. Your mac will start up and bring you back to just where you left off the previous session. But the more programs & windows you have open when you put it to sleep, the more your mac must remember each time. The only way to clear out all these remembered items is to actually turn the mac off and restart it, and if you never turn your mac off, eventually the space allotted for remembering items will fill up and your mac won’t wake up at all. The folder for this sleep data bank is hidden, so most users will need to bring their laptops to the Genius Bar to have the folder emptied. To avoid this eventuality, just remember to shut down your laptop sometimes and restart it, instead of always putting it to sleep.

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today! All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

You should know these numbers

I listen to CBS Newsradio 880 in the morning, and I usually catch the Small Business Report when it airs. One morning I heard an interview with Google VP and former congresswoman Susan Molinari with some stats that really struck me. She stated the 97% of people look online before the shop. 97%!! Yet 53% of NYC businesses have NO web presence; that’s slightly better than the national average of 60% of business without a web presence, but still quite a disparity between those looking for products and services and those selling them. Molinari  stated that if you put two businesses side by side, selling the same product(s), the business with a website will be twice as successful, hiring twice the number of workers and making twice the money.

The numbers in this article by WebVisible are slightly lower, but they are still startling.

“Though 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a website and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online, according to research from Webvisible and Nielsen.…This disparity, according to Webvisible, clearly illustrates the reasons why consumers have difficulty finding small business information. Many consumers report that they have struggled to recall the name of a business in their area or wish to quickly check the website for store hours, directions or a phone number, Webvisible said. However, when using a search engine to find a business they know exists, only 19% of survey respondents report never or rarely encountering trouble locating that business online and 39% say they routinely have difficulty.”

With so many people now using smart phones, meaning they can search on the go, not having your company represented online is like actively turning business away. It’s not necessary to spend thousands on a website, either; a simple one page site with basic information and a contact number can be inexpensive and will pay for itself in increased sales.

If this entry has you thinking about creating a web presence for your business, or upgrading your current efforts, contact me @ Canzani Graphics and I’ll give you a free one hour consultation.

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!
All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

How social media has changed everything

Today I want to address something that's been weighing on my mind of late–how social media has changed, well,  everything, and not all for the better. It's true that the emergence of social media has given businesses a way to connect to customers, and of promoting a dialog with them, but it has also placed an additional burden on already-stretched budgets and staff. Because social media exists, there is an expectation to use it, and that takes time and manpower. Someone has to sit and think of something to tweet several times a day, or to write the blog, and to address post commenters. While this has given rise to new jobs for young grads, is it really translating into increased sales? Or is it just straining resources even further? I believe this is why Facebook and google+ are popular—it doesn't take long to post a sentence or two or pass on a pertinent article, but it might take the better part of an hour to write a blog post. Certain industries are profiting more than others through social media– photographers and authors do well. But while it may be popular, posting on Facebook may increase exposure, but not always lead to more sales.

What do you think? Has social media advanced or hampered your business?


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All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

How to clean your mouse

mouse©Apple Computer

This may seem like a silly little tip, but I use it all the time. I have an Apple Mouse- the kind with a small scroll ball in the top of it. I find that sometimes it won't scroll in one direction or it's jumpy. I wish I could remember where I read this tip, so I could give the writer credit, but their answer was to turn it upside down and rub it on a piece of clean white paper. I know Apple wants you to use iKlear, but this works just as well and it's a lot faster!

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All content ©2011-2012 Canzani Graphics