TexasDesign.com

Casey McGarr of McGarr Creative is an exceptional graphic designer (his work has appeared in Communication Arts, HOW and other leading graphic design magazines). Additionally he is past president of the DSVC, the largest independent graphic design club in the USA. One of Casey’s passions is printing using any one of several letterpress machines. Today we are discussing the aspects of letter press with Casey McGarr of InkyPipsPress.com

TDc: Let’s move on to Letterpress. Let’s talk a little bit about Inky Lips Press.

Casey McGarr: Okay. Inky Lips. I was with – when I was with Fossil, we did a couple of annual reports. Actually, maybe - I think it was 1 or 2 annual reports with Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee. And the manager there, Jim Sherraden. So we called him up and he did a little bit of work for us. And the next year we called him back, and we did some tin designs with Hatch Show Print, and those tins are in his book. John Dorcus and I worked on those tins, and it was a lot of fun.

And then I brought Jim up for DSVC to speak to the first DSVC meeting. This is back in like ’96 or ’97, and I just kind of remained friends with him.

I love the letterpress, the tactile feel, using your hands. But I didn’t know much about it then. And so when I lost my job in 2001, I got onto one of the auction sites and bought a small letterpress; a little 3×5 Kelsey. And I found out real quick, I love the machine and I have it on my table. But it didn’t do what I wanted to do on it.

And I really didn’t know that much about letterpress anyway, so I was open to everything. I then purchased a 6×9 Kelsey that is a little bit larger; it’s hand operated. And it still didn’t do what I was hoping it would. I just wanted to do larger pieces. So I bought a poster press, a Challenge MP15. And then the following year, I bought a Vandercook #4. And then I did some trade with some companies here in town. And the trade was a platen press, a Klugy. And some type cabinets, some cabinets for type.

And then I bought a larger poster press, Vandercook 3228. And I sold the Klugy, and now I have a Heidelberg Windmill. So, I operate 4 presses and I have 8 cabinets of type and just a regular – a good hobby business.

Follow this link to Read more

By 2007, 77% of Internet users over the age of 13 — about 131.3 million people — will shop online. This video-based CD-Rom tutorial from Lynda.com, helps give you the tools to harness this market effectively.

Using an in-depth case study and other varied examples, Lawrence from Lynda.com, demonstrates how to seamlessly create and incorporate a shopping cart and back end to support online customers. Building an Online Shopping Cart covers everything from the general concepts of e-commerce to the nitty-gritty of setting up and customizing credit card and order processing features. The training also covers security, customer privacy, building a store, and developing and integrating customer service and policies.

To see some free excerpts from the video-based CD go to Lynda.com

Contributed by Chuck Lustig, of ExcitingWriting Communications

Writing is all about choices: idea choices, word choices, sentence structure choices, punctuation choices, choices about the feelings you wish to convey, etc. You can improve your writing by making better choices. This month’s ExcitingWriting Advisory asks you to choose which of two similar sentences is better. After you decide, read my analysis below and tell me if you don’t agree. Better yet, tell me if you do.

Decide Which is Better, Sentence A or Sentence B?
1.
Sentence A: As the new executive vice president, I was put to the test.
Sentence B: I was put to the test as the new executive vice president.

Answer: I can imagine a context where either would be superior BUT, in general, you should never bury the “payload” of a sentence. As with a rocket’s payload, the payload of a sentence is the reason why you’re writing it in the first place. Clearly, the payload of the sentence is, “I was put to the test.” Sentence A buries the payload by putting it at the end. Sentence B is superior because it puts the payload at the beginning.

2.
Sentence A. Currently, the company’s IP and experience are superior enough to differentiate it in Dallas and across the country.
Sentence B. Currently, the company’s IP and experience are so superior, they differentiate the company in Dallas and across the country.

Answer: Avoid “so” sentence structures. They are so-so! Sentence A is simpler and better.

3.
Sentence A. When the number of bids for a product exceeds a threshold that is predetermined, a flag goes up.
Sentence B. When the number of bids for a product exceeds a predetermined threshold, a flag goes up.

Answer: Whenever you can turn phrases like “a threshold that’s predetermined” into phrases like, “a predetermined threshold,” your writing will be more professional. Sentence B is the better choice.

Read more

Site Name: UX Magazine
Site URL: http://www.uxmag.com/
Why it is cool: Never has so much information been displayed so well

San Antonio Addys Call For Entries

Better pull together your best work in a hurry and enter the San Antonio Advertising Federation’s 2006 Addys- the deadline is December 1, 2006
Go to the San Antonio Ad Fed site for more information.

The 10th Annual SXSW Web Awards uncover the best new websites and celebrate those who are building and implementing tomorrow’s online trends. TexasDesign was a finalist in the 1998 SXSW competition (gee, has it really been that long ago?). Focusing primarily on sites that launched or were completely redesigned in 2006, this international competition is your premier opportunity to showcase your latest work to the web industry and win big.

Hurry! Final deadline for entries is midnight on Friday, December 15.

· Find out more on the competition and read the rules and information for 2007

· Explore this year’s list of categories

Here is a link to last year’s winners: 2005 SXSW Web Award Winners