I am eyeball-deep in the biggest editing project of my life right now, preparing a local theologian’s dissertative work on Christ’s parables for print. Seriously, this thing is a ream of paper thick, and I’m only a third of the way through. So, no heaps of lovely little bloggy words today. Instead, please enjoy this lovely little comic from my and my husband’s twisted minds. It’s our way of celebrating spring.
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Q: Where should my newsletter signup box go? I was just at a Constant Contact class and they said I should move my email signup to the upper left corner of my website because that is how the eye reads the page. – Phoebe of Phoebe’s Pure Food
A: Yes, the eye does start reading the page in the upper left corner. But do you really want your newsletter signup to be the first thing visitors to your website see? No. You want them to see your branding, to see what this site is all about, to see YOU.
Think about it in the context of meeting someone for the first time. You don’t shove your signup sheet in their face before you introduce yourself. Instead, you tell them who you are, you ask about them, you build their trust. And then you mention that you have this awesome thing that they should totally sign up for.
I’d put your newsletter signup somewhere on the site where it can easily be seen, like the top of the sidebar or via a HelloBar at the top or bottom. Feel free to give it some color or make it stand out, but I wouldn’t make it the FIRST thing people notice.
Got a question about web design, graphic design, or ebooks? Email me and I’ll answer your question in a future post! (Oooh, the future…)
April has been busy here at The Department of Crazy. Many gluten free cookies were consumed, ebooks were launched, and logos were hammered out. Our local Dunkin’ kept Mondays bearable with free iced coffees (bless them), and my little family of two celebrated both its members’ birthdays with bonfires and moonbouncing. I rocked out to Evanescence, Bach, Apocalyptica, and Halestorm.
What did I say about logos? Yes, there have been a few.
The first is for To The Four Corners, a two-woman company that creates lovely frames that hold carefully selected and stylized scripture verses. These gals are font fiends! Seriously, I think Cathy is more passionate about fonts than I, and that’s saying something. We spent several months searching font libraries and mixing and matching before we found the perfect combo. Which I love.
Exhibit A: To The Four Corners
Next up is Shelly Leer of ModHomeEc, with whom it was an absolute joy to work. We began by focusing on her first ebook, Intro to Sewing & Upholstery, which you should go check out right now. This spunky lady will have you reupholstering fabulous furniture in no time! I also created a logo for the Digital Apprentice series and reworked Shelly’s main logo.
Exhibit B: ModHomeEc
Exhibit C: Digital Apprentice
I also did quite a bit of work over at Scoutie Girl and helped my dear friend Donna of Spotted Hill Farm prep for her morel hunt fundraiser for MS research.
And for May? Well, a pastor, a rabbi, and a metalsmith all walked into a bar…
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I'm Carrie Keplinger and I love art, semicolons, and intelligently creative people. I use my digital media skills to help you thrive. read more...
