jpeg artifacts distort the image after each save

jpegs are a final product for the web, not to be reworked

If the photographer sends non compressed tiffs or photoshop files that is good because you can resize copies and make jpegs from those. Jpegs are the final image made for the web and should not be resized or altered in any way as you will suffer from the dreaded image degradation. Be sure to read a Jpegs and Jargon to get an idea of file size for printing.

I was asked to create a facebook page for one of my best clients. I assumed I would need their log in and didn’t feel comfortable with that. When he told me the web hosting organization would do it and maintain it for a fee I looked in to it. It looks like you can create the page and then assign someone to build and maintain it. Sounds like another hat for ScotStyle. Rather than recreate the wheel I will link to a mashable article that takes you through the process.

http://mashable.com/2011/05/22/how-to-facebook-page/

Section 8 in the article tells you how to set up an admin to administer the page.

While inches and millimeters are appropriate measurements in the real world the density of computer screens and printing methods call for a different measurement.

Digital images are measured in pixels.

4″ x 6″ inch file for the web that measures 400 pixels by 600 pixels

4″ x 6″ file for printing that measures 1200 pixels by 1800 pixels

The following chart shows us that pixel dimensions are the key measuring system for digital images. The more pixels = more information = larger file size and better quality image

1000kb = 1mb

kb, kilobytes and mb mega bytes is how much information is contained in the file. For a high resolution file suitable for printing its gonna be 5 or 6 mb but for the web it would be around 100 kb.

We try to keep the file size lower for the web so it doesn’t take too long for the image to load on your computer screen. One way the web developer does this is by using jpeg format.

Jpeg is a compressed format. It shrinks the final file size while maintaining the number of pixels. It’s like a painter who is in a hurry and says oh the sky is blue so he pulls out a large brush and paints in a blue sky. The jpeg formatting fudges some of the pixels making for a smaller file which can be emailed or downloaded but destroying the subtleties in the image.

It is ok to save a copy of a file as jpeg if it has been sized correctly for its final place on the web, however if you send a jpeg to a site for display and they decide they want it a bit larger or smaller it is like making a recording of a recording the quality deteriorates drastically.

For printing we use a non compressed file such as a tiff or pict file. The file size is usually 300ppi so looking at the chart 4″ 6′ inch image for a printed book should be 1,200 pixels by 1,800 pixels. That is the key measurement in this scenario, how many pixels across, how many down, however printers request stuff in different ways so we can use the chart or let the software do the work.

The success of a blog re-design is more heavily influenced by a proper planning process than it is by the design skills of the person creating it. A blog can get a fancy new design that looks great, but if it doesn’t help to make the site more user-friendly and it doesn’t do an effective job of achieving the blog’s purpose, the impressive look ultimately has very little impact.

via 7 Keys to Effective Blog Re-Designs | Vandelay Design Blog.

Check out this article from  Marc Schiller, founder and CEO of digital agency Bond Strategy and Influence (formerly known as ElectricArtists).

here is an excerpt which pretty much sums up the social networking value for small business.

For small businesses that can’t afford to do traditional advertising, could they do all of their marketing solely through social channels?

More and more, the answer is yes. I think they need a good product and they need commitment and passion. Money cannot buy passion, and that’s the most powerful marketing tool. As a marketer, I want to create the environment for passion to happen, and then amplify that passion. Small businesses are more committed to their product and their customers than any, and I think that the more they reflect their core values and their culture, the more people will respond and become part of that.

We need to tell stories, as marketers. If we document our journey and people come along for that journey, the commitment that they make is huge. The key is to create a narrative and let people be part of it. Let them actually affect the narrative. And that is what social media marketing is. Creating a narrative that somebody can join. Like any great narrative, there are twists and turns and unexpected things, and if you do that well, your audience will come along for the ride and become extremely vested in your success.

Art heals. Two examples of this are part of the ScotStyle web design family. Lisa Holsberg’s Race for The Sky and The Call at The Songs of Karen Benedetto.

Race for the Sky is a music peace project commemorating the spontaneous acts of expression on the New York City streets after September 11, 2001. In the hours after the attacks, New Yorkers instinctively began to gather in the streets and transform them with artistic expressions and improvised rituals. Through music and song, Race for the Sky lifts in memory this remarkable event and offers it on the web as a gift for the future.

Lisa will join a panel discussion of the legacy of the spontaneous, ephemeral memorials created all over New York in the weeks after the attack. Panelists include: Martha Cooper, renowned documentary photographer; Dr. Harriet F. Senie, Museum Studies Dir., City College; Kay Turner, Folk Arts Dir., Brooklyn Arts Council; and Steve Zeitlin, City Lore Dir. Followed by a book signing for the launch of Martha Cooper’s Remembering 9/11 (Mark Betty Publishing, 2011). More information: http://www.brooklynartscouncil.org/documents/1715.

Return, Remember: Ephemeral Memorials in the Legacy of September 11th
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 • 6–8PM
The Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Dumbo

Karen’s songs are regular features at a number of events this time of year and throughout the year with Holiday and special occasion songs.

Tues., September 6, 2011, 11:00 AM CDST
Paulette Pipe
will include “The Call”
in her segment ‘Touching the Stillness’
as part of her UnityFM.com program
streamed live.
Karen will be reading two prayers for peace
during the show as well.
www.unity.fm/program/TouchingTheStillness

Thurs., September 8, 2011, 6:30 PM PDST
“The Call”
will be included in the
World Day of Prayer Service at
Christ Unity Church of Sacramento, CA
Streamed Live at: www.ChristUnity.com

Sun., September 11, 2011, 10:00 -11:30 AM PDST
Unity Temple of Santa Cruz, CA
“The Call”
will be performed by
Sheila Gautreaux-Lee
www.unitysantacruz.org

Sun., September 11, 2011, 10:30 AM EDST
Unity Church of Venice, FL
will include
“The Call”
featured background anthem of
’9/11′ Video Produced by C.J. Hatter
www.VeniceUnity.com

Sun., September 11, 2011, 3:00 PM EDST
South Jersey WILL REMEMBER
at ‘Bridge of Faith’, an interfaith
Fellowship of Christians, Jews and Muslims
Dr. Beverly Vaughn
will perform “The Call”
at Beth El Synagogue
5090 N. Jerome Ave., Margate, NJ 08402
“The Call” is also heard on their website:
www.9-11MemorialSouthJersey.org

Sunday, September 11, 2011, 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDST
“The Call” will be a part of
‘A Night of Remembrance’at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
E. 47th Street, New York, NY 10017 (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.)
Sponsored by
Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaze and
Turtle Bay Assn. in cooperation with NYC Parks & Recreation
For info: 212-826-8980
www.HammarskjoldPlaza.org
www.TurtleBay-NYC.org

ab·strac·tion (with addendum)
by EAGEAGEAG on Feb 24, 2011 1:35 PM
Has abstract art ever escaped the myth of essences? If one believes that abstract art focuses on what is intrinsic about the individual artist who makes it and/or the world said artist lives in, then one must believe that there is a way of entirely escaping the material world using the intrinsically physical process of making art. If we define essence as a portion of our interiority that we value above all others or that is closer to some notion of truth than our more banal mental processes are, we must then ask, when isn’t art about essences?

Who decides what an essence is and how do we know when an abstraction is true to this essence? If defining our essence is an entirely subjective process, how can we then say that abstract art is communicative in any way? If abstract art purports to have a special connection to our interior world, why does it depend on the physical world and/or materials and objects, just like representational and narrative art does? Also, why would abstract works of art have a privileged relationship to our essence? Certainly it is not due to a superior communicative ability. Abstract art that purports to be about the formal qualities of the art making process, the limitations and strengths of the surfaces and materials the artist works with, is a fetishization of the physical. It is like saying that the materials artists use have more value than anything an artist might try to convey. Hence the plethora of boring uninspired art we are currently plagued with in the galleries.

Ambiguity can be just as intellectually bankrupt as uninspired realism or cliché narrative art. There is no form of art that is entirely mental. Even the most conceptual works of art, in any medium, exist in the context of the physical world and require some object or material, including people, to convey their meaning. So then we must agree that abstract art is always “about” objects in some way, and therefore, always has an element of representation and narrative to it, especially in the mind of the viewer. A person does not stand before or view online a work of abstract art without conjuring forth associations and parallels with specific memories, of other works of art, or anything else the visual machinery of the brain can manifest.

As long as an abstract work of art avoids being nailed down as a representation of one specific thing, is it a success? Does an abstraction fail if most people who see it say it looks like X and nothing else? Does abstract art want to avoid consensus? Abstract art has never gone beyond the overdone modernist aesthetic of ambiguity. If vagueness or fragmentation is a virtue, who besides people immersed in visual culture can get inspired by or excited about this stuff? Typically abstract art stood in opposition to pretty art, but who can say this is the case any longer? How does complexity enter the picture without the trappings of written language taking over and surpassing the experience of seeing the art itself?

Representational and abstract art have been equally co-opted by commercial artists, graphic designers, and interior decorators. Narrative art has fallen out of favor, when compared to these other modes of image making. Abstract art does not hold a superior position in terms of inherent aesthetic value. Usually we say that representational art is bad if it is poorly crafted or ingenuous. The wedding of abstract and representational imagery has resulted in many different styles, but usually this genre settles into the category of representation. Representational and abstract art can both claim to be about human essences. So is all art representational or abstract? When it comes to abstract art that is all about formal qualities, texture of materials and surfaces, tension and/or relationships between line, shape, color, picture plane, etc., and the juxtaposition of different materials, do we pretend there is no content, even though it is impossible for a viewer to experience things in this way? If the main intention of an artist who makes abstract art is to make content beside the point, then how are we to contemplate these objects, after we are done describing them? Is abstract art nothing more than a catalyst for pretentious analysis?

Addendum: My guess is that very few artists who exhibit in galleries would feel comfortable saying that their art is strictly abstract or representational. However, I think this is the case for the wrong reasons. I think there is a certain level of gullibility and much lax thinking that exists in the art world that is responsible for this false assumption that abstract art is more “real” or, by default, imbued with a spirituality that can’t be accounted for by the art itself, but entirely relies upon text to be communicated to viewers. If we are really happy with art that looks cool, or is fun, or is entertaining like mass media products, then someone should tell the academics, gallery owners and critics, because they are still busy making up stupid shit to justify their existence and to prop up art that is mostly bad. For abstract artists, making good art is no easier than it is for artists who work in a realistic vein. But unlike art that is primarily representational and/or narrative, abstract art relies on a premise that I think is false or entirely rhetorical. The small segment of the world that is aware of contemporary art and art history was alienated by and finally deified abstract art. I do not think that people view, digest, contemplate, etc., abstract art in the right way. This is because their thinking process has been tainted by years and years of reading horrible art writing, instead of living with the art, seeing where and if it takes them anywhere, and then recording their experiences in a novel and substantial and intellectually vigorous and analytical way. Of course seeing an exhibition, looking at art for a short amount of time and then having to write about the experience leads to the overuse of cliches and lazy formulations.

There are conservative people out there who dismiss abstract art. There is no doubt about that. But I think that any learned person would be hesitant to dismiss abstract art because they simply feel that it is poorly made and ill conceived. The claims of obtuseness and technical inability is not entirely wrong, and I think that the literature made within and for the art world, press releases, catalog and exhibition essays, art journalism, scholarly tomes, all make things too easy for abstract artists. I do not think that we should assume that abstract imagery is some sort of fast track to a world of essences.

The difference between a successful site and the others is all in how close we can come to representing what we want the user to experience. To that end a little background work is necessary.

Remember this site is for the user.

Who is the user?

Personas

It is helpful to clarify as much as possible who will be using the site, the user persona. it is also helpful to create a site persona. In the case of artists websites thats easy, its you.

Who is the person you want to visit your site? Possibly there are a few different people, give them names. Try to come up with 4. You can even find pictures of them on the web. Don’t forget to create your own persona.

? Name
? Profile type
? Age
? Gender
? Occupation
? Character
? Description
? Site usage – How will they use the site? buy? research? refer?.
? Web confidence and context – this will help us clarify how fancy we wanna be
? Brands they identify with – this is the fun part. We know people and love to define them

Mood Boards

A mood board is basically a collection of graphical elements that set the tone for your design. Typically these include examples of:
• Typography
• Imagery
• Colour
• Layout
• Style

If you can, collect the images from the web and paste them in to a photoshop document. Colors, textures, fonts, scenes. If you cant do photoshop or paste them in to a text document try putting them in an email or cut them out of magazines and make 4 sheets

• The initial gut reaction.
• Another which looks almost like a website
• A crazy loose one
• another which is way over the edge, daring and inappropriate

Once you have all 4 you can pick and choose the elements of each one which can represent your persona while appealing to the persona of your users.

It’s never to late to play with this stuff. As much as you love your site as is are you getting the results you expected? It doesn’t cost anything to cut some pictures out of magazines and will help you in other aspects of your professional life to clarify your clients and yourself.