Saturday, 19 December 2009

The Dummy's Guide to Common Graphic Design Terms

Every industry has its own set of jargon. The world of graphic design is no exception. Graphic designers use industry terms that may sound familiar, but these terms are hard to define if you don't work in graphic design. Here are some of the most common terms that you will hear in graphic design. Some of these refer to typefaces, methods, different design roles, schools of aesthetic, and many more. You can use this article as a handy glossary of the most common terms you will hear from your peers.

1) The initials A.A.
These initials stand for "author's alterations." These initials refer to any alteration made in the text or design matter. Designers often use these initials to indicate that there has not been a printer's error.

2) The Account Executive
This is the title of a person who is responsible to speaking with clients, starting new accounts, and acting as a bridge between the agency and the client. If you work as a graphic designer in advertising, you will become familiar with your Account Executive as you work on a project.

3) Art.
Of course, we all know what art is, more or less. But with graphic design, the meaning shifts slightly. When we use this phrase in graphic design, it refers to all original copy. This copy can include any design element prepared by camera, the artist, or another type of machine.

4) The baseline.
You will recognize the term, the baseline, as a beginning graphic designer. The base plan is a horizontal line upon which all the characters in a line stand.

5) Black letter.
This term is used to indicate Gothic. It refers to a popular style of handwriting that dates back to the fifteenth century.

6) Body matter.
The body matter may be referred to as the body copy. This is the text, the regular reading matter that is contrasted with display lines.

7) A broadside.
A broadside is generally a large printed sheet folded for mailing. The broadside gained popularity as an illustrated way to share and pass along poetry.

8) Camera-ready art.
This refers to copy that designers have assembled to ready it for photography through a process camera with a minimum amount of steps.

9) Continuous-tone copy.
This graphic design term refers to any image that ranges in tones from white to black.

10) The dummy.
This term refers to the preliminary layout of a soon-to-be published printed piece. The dummy (also sometimes called a "mockup") shows how various elements of the layout will be arranged in relation to one another.

11) First proofs.
This refers to proofs that were submitted for checking by the proofreaders or copy editors.

12) The galley proof.
Also, sometimes referred to as the proper approval. The galley proof is an impression of type. It is usually not spaced out or assembled completely, thus allowing the typographer and the client to see if the job has been set properly.

13) Kerning.
Kerning is the process of adjusting the space between different letters so that part of one letter will extend over to the body of the next.

14) The layout.
The layout is the blueprint of the design. It shows the basic elements of a design, and how different elements will look in their proper positions.

15) The masthead.
This refers to the design or logo used to identify a magazine, newspaper or other regularly printed publication.

16) P.E. – Printer's error.

17) Pica.
This can be commonly seen written or heard spoken around hard-core graphic designers. Pica is basically just a typographical unit of measurement.

18) Proofs.
Proofs are trial prints, or a sheet of printed material that the designer checks against the original manuscript.

How to Build Your First Graphic Design Studio

Setting up a small graphic design studio is one of the greatest joys of any graphic design artist who wants to excel at the profession. A graphic design studio is an easy and natural outgrowth from working as a freelance graphic design. You can establish your own graphic design studio with minimal requirements.

1) Setting up your graphic design studio.

What are the minimal requirements to establish a physical graphic design studio? They are quite minimal -- you need a computer, copy machine, telephone, fax, flat files, desk, and ergonomic chair. These are all you really need to setup your office. Of course, you will also need the talent, drive and experience to make your graphic design studio work.

2) Finding the right title for your graphic design studio.

To transform your graphic design studio into a professional one, you will need to come up with a title for your studio. You can brainstorm several different angles. You can choose a proper name, such as your own name, or a combination of your name and your partner's name. You can choose a clever and quirky name that will clamor for attention. You can also choose a corporate-sounding name that can give an immediate impression of professionalism. Or you can choose an enigmatic name, the kind that leaves people wondering what the genesis of the name is. Whatever you decide, try to make the name easy to spell, short and memorable.

3) Are you ready to set up your own small design studio?

Creating your own graphic design studio can seem like a natural outgrowth from freelance graphic design, and this is the line of thinking that leads many individuals to consider establishing their own graphic design studio. If you are doing well in freelance design, you may feel eager to expand and hire a staff. But consider how you will deal with these transitions between freelance work and steady studio work. Are you financially solvent enough to make the leap? Are you professionally prepared to take on new design projects? Are you prepared to make the leap between working from home and having your own business where just about anyone can drop in and make significant demands on your time?

4) How can you go about finding those all-important first clients?

One of the biggest hurdles of starting your own independent graphic design studio is building your client base. Here are some ways to generate those important first gigs. First, you should mine your existing clients for work. You can also tap into a vast amount of referrals. Remember, you receive many of your graphic design projects through word of mouth. Most of your potential clients will probably lack a budget for design work; therefore, you will need these potential clients to be referred to you. Make sure you have a strong web presence so potential clients can find you easily. Always do the best work possible so that current clients are willing and ready to recommend you.

5) Learn to advertise your new graphic design studio.

Putting together a promotional kit is one of the most important marketing strategies you can do for your new graphic design studio. A promotional kit and your advertisements should feature samples of your past work. This should be your first line of attack to make contact with potential and future clients. You can send regular mailings to existing clients to make sure they remember you for their next project. You should also strive to enter as many annual design competitions to stay in the public's eye.

Why Do I Have Sore Muscles?

Sore muscles can be an expected part of a healthy exercise program. However, severely sore muscles may be a sign of more extensive muscle injury that might require medical treatment.

Let's look at the major reasons for muscle soreness and how this affects your body.

Lactic Acid Burn

You have likely experienced times during exercise that your muscles seemed to burn. Lactic acid is formed when insufficient oxygen is available to carry out the energy conversion process (metabolism). Your blood, flowing through your muscle cells removes lactic acid and waste products and supplies your cells with oxygen and nutrients. If the muscles are exercised vigorously enough, the blood flow will not be adequate to remove lactic acid at a rate equal to its production. For that reason it accumulates and the lactic acid irritates your muscles and produces the burning. The means to get rid of the lactic acid burn is to slow down or rest until sufficient oxygen can get to your muscles and the acid can be removed.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

A day after intense or energetic workouts your muscles may become sore. This was caused while you were exercising your muscles beyond the their comfort zone. This creates micro tears and bleeding in and around the z-band filaments holding your muscles together while you exercise. When enough of your muscles and filaments become injured in this way your muscles will feel sore.

The repair process gets underway as satellite cells are attracted to the muscle fibers. In addition, white blood cells and other fluids and nutrients accumulate by the injured fibers. As a result the area adjacent to the damage swells. Some of the satellite cells fuse to the muscle fibers, strengthening them. The muscle cells grow in thickness and in number. The swelling causes the muscle soreness. It takes 8 to 24 hours for this process to fully get going. The result is delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. But, this soreness is a sign that the muscles are being repaired and are growing stronger.

Some people say that a light massage, ice packs or warm compresses will help reduce the soreness. Some studies have shown some relief with these treatments while other studies show little if any relief. But, the swelling is an aspect of the repair process and will last two to three days while the repairs are completed.

Vigorous exercises or resistance training can lead to muscles burn because of the increase in lactic acid. Athletes training for improvement often do a number of sets of exercises trying for the burn in each set. After several sets of such intense or strenuous exercise the muscles begin to feel stiff. When this occurs you should discontinue exercising. Athletes then perform milder or complementary exercises for several days while the DOMS soreness vanishes. For example, runners may run fast only two times a week. Most weightlifters fully apply themselves only one time in two weeks. After the DOMS soreness is gone they train forcefully again for a day to continue the improvement in their muscle structure.

Muscle Strains

Sometimes while exercising you will experience rapid soreness in a muscle. The ache will continue even while resting. When you attempt to use or stretch the muscle there will be pain. You will note definite weakness in the muscle, if you can use it at all. These symptoms are a sign of a more severe tear of the muscle. If the pain is accompanied by a popping sound or the pain is severe, you should go for emergency treatment.

Moderate tenderness can often be dealt with at home. Reducing soreness at home involves the PRICE technique. Here you "Protect" the muscle from added injury and "Rest" the muscle. Apply "Ice" to the painful area. Use moderate "Compression" with elastic bandages. And "Elevate" the sore area to help prevent unnecessary swelling. If this home treatment does not reduce soreness in a couple of days you ought to go to see your doctor.

The best way to avoid muscle strains is to exercise within realistic limits and start with easygoing exercises and stretching to get your muscles ready for more strenuous exercise. You should also note that if you are transitioning from one sport to another you could be using different muscles; you need to build these muscles up at a sensible pace to perform well without injury.

Overall, minor muscle soreness is your friend. It indicates you are enhancing your muscle structure and are remaining healthy. As a swimming coach once said, "Swimmers love pain." So, you will love pain as well, realizing that it is producing a healthful body.

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

Are You Lucky?

Do you want to get lucky? Do you REALLY want to get lucky this weekend? Do you want to go out and hook up with the greatest-looking stranger?

Do you want to have incredible stranger sex? And then wake up the next morning and do it all over again? And then send them off into the afternoon without having a clue about how that ever happened?

How the hell did YOU get lucky?

What is the definition of luck?

Here it is: luck is being in the right place at the right time. The only way to “get lucky” is to prepare yourself for the opportunities that will present themselves. To prepare yourself to take advantage when the time is right.

If you’re going to spend your life waiting for luck to show up, you might as well stop working and just play the lottery.

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in making things happen. I believe in preparing for things to happen.

The reason why I have such great relationships and great friends in my life is because I’ve worked my ass off to get them! I’ve worked really hard at cultivating the life I have. I’ve cultivated my friendships, I’ve cultivated my business, and I’ve cultivated my relationships with my lovers.

I have never relied on luck. I didn’t just walk into a supermarket and hope that I would trip into HER. I walked into the market knowing how to connect with every person in there, so that I could create my own future.

Too many of you just sit back on luck. How many times have Rey and I heard, “I really want to do a bootcamp, but I’m going to do it next year!”

Do you know why you are going to do it next year? Because you’re hoping that between now and then, your luck is going to change.

Many people tell me that they want to buy my products – next month. In the meantime, they want to see if their luck will change.

Your luck is never going to change! You need to create your own luck. You need to make things happen for yourself.

I’m tired of the excuses that people come up with. I get so tired of hearing them. “If you answer this one question, David, my entire life is going to change!” No, if I answer this one question, the answer will probably lead to ten other questions! And your life is not going to change just with my answer.

I don’t have the power to change your life with one email. I might be able to give you a great explanation of why something happens, I might be able to open your eyes just a little bit wider, but I’m not going to be able to change your entire life just by answering one email.

The only way you are going to change your life is to take control of it. You have to be proactive and do things to change your life. I don’t have the power – and neither does the President of the United States – to change everything in an instant.

We have an election coming up tomorrow, and you’re going to have a choice to make: are you going to vote for Old Man John or the young guy, Obama?

And you know what? Whoever wins the presidency Tuesday is not really going to change things that much. It is going to take a lot of time (and a lot of effort) to get this country back to the way it is supposed to be. A lot of decisions need to be made.

So for those of you that think that one of these men is going to be the answer to everything that is wrong about our country, you’re 100% incorrect. The only thing that creates change is hard work, every single day – hard work from the new president to make up for what went wrong in the last administration, and hard work from you.

You’re basically your own country. If you’re not willing to put the work in every single day, then nothing is ever going to change. No person will ever be able to change your life – except for you.

So take control of your life. It’s time to stop waiting for Lady Luck to come and take over

Utah Ski Resort Real Estate And Lodging Snow Basin And Powder

One of the advantages of being a Realtor is that you get to meet the rich and famous. Conversely, one of the advantages of being rich and famous is that you can afford to pick any piece of Snow Basin Real Estate or the Powder Mountain Real Estate! Yes, it is important to have your own house or apartment but to the wise investor, the location of the property is more important. You can buy a house or an apartment to live in or you can buy one as an investment option. After all, there is no other commodity in the world today which appreciates as fast as real estate – Ogden Valley Utah Real Estate is certainly no different!


Have you ever tried to figure out why Snow basin Real Estate and Powder Mountain Real Estate is so different from the rest of the country? What does it have in common with Ogden Valley Utah Real Estate? What is it that attracts people to Ogden Utah Lodging in droves? Isn’t this something that deserves a closer look? We need to know why a certain place is considered so attractive that many of them want to buy property there!


Getting to own a piece of Snow basin Real Estate or Powder Mountain Real Estate is like owning a property in a holiday resort! Yes, you have wonderful skiing facilities at Snow Basin, Powder Mountain. If you are seriously into skiing
, you will rub your hands in glee hearing names like the Wolf Creek Utah Ski Resort. And that’s not all; there are water sports at Pine View Lake or the Causey reservoir too. You can do anything you like to spend your time – boating, kayaking and swimming are just a few of the things to consider here!


Now, what if you are not interested in any of these? Then, consider this! You have other options like fishing, biking, hiking and horse riding. And you get all this in Odgen valley! Now, does this give you a reason to invest in Snow Basin Real Estate or Powder Mountain Real Estate? Still not convinced? There here are more reasons why you must invest here. There is an 18-hole golf course in Snow Basin Real Estate or Powder Mountain Real Estate. Some of the restaurants like Harley and Bucks, Double Diamond and Carlos and Harleys are popular eating joints here. You need to visit at least one of these restaurants to know what you are missing! Most importantly, the folks in this place are friendly and helpful! What more do you want?

You can also consider picking up a piece of the snow basin real estate or powder mountain real estate because the Salt Lake City is very close. Also the Salt Lake City airport is connected by direct flights to major destinations worldwide.

Cash Advance Direct- Urgent Cash For All Your Problems

Sometimes it becomes really hard to solve all your financial problems. You wait desperately for your payday to make all your payments. If you are facing any financial trouble then you should apply for a Cash advance direct. These are short term loans that are designed to help borrowers solve their urgent requirements. These loans are quickly approved so that all the borrowers can get rid of their financial troubles in few hours time.

The fewer formalities make these loans so quick and allow you to solve all your problems in few hours time. The lender is not interested in your papers and documents so he never ask you to fax any of your documents. Cash advance direct is issued to the borrowers according to their current income so it becomes really easy for the borrowers to prove their power to payback. You need to show your employment proof or your bank statements. Along with that you also need to show your age proof and your residential proof.

If you are running on bad credits and are doubtful about your eligibility for the loan then you should apply for the loan without any worry. Your loan application is judged on the bases of your current income soothe lender doesn’t consider your previous records. You can easily borrow money with a bad credit score.

These loans are easily available on the internet so you can apply for the loan online in few minutes. If your loan is approved you can easily avail the money through your account and can make all your payments instantly. You can get the money for a period of 15 – 30 days and the amount you can easily borrow money up to $1500. So if you are looking for a short term loan then these loans can help you easily.

Ukrainian women and Russian women are seeking foreign husbands? Is it for real?

Thousands of Ukrainian women and Russian women are seeking a foreign husband for a very simple reason: they cannot find a suitable partner in their homeland. Since she was a young girl, a typical Russian or Ukrainian woman was though by her mother how to become a beautiful bride and a good wife. Every year, men from around the world decide to make one of the Russian and Ukrainian sexy brides their beautiful wives.

How many women from Ukraine and Russia are actually seeking a husband outside their country and why are they doing so?

1. According to the 2002 census, women from Ukraine and Russia outnumber men by approx. 10 Millions.

2. By tradition, Ukraine women and Russian women are very family oriented and seek to form a strong family.

3. Because they cannot find a suitable partner in their own country, many decide to look for a foreign husband.
4. Not for economics or any other reason; simply because they wish to fulfill their dream: become a beautiful Russian wife.

What about Ukrainian scam artists, Russian scammers and dating scams? Are all these international dating websites honest? Are these Russian brides for real?

Unfortunately, there are many Ukrainian scam artists, Russian scammers and dating scams on the internet. Among the hundreds of international dating websites offering to introduce Ukrainian and Russian women, not all are honest. But the fact that many women of former USSR seek a foreign husband remains, so one simply have to be careful in choosing an honest and reliable international dating website. Once this choice made, any serious and decent man can find his Russian bride.


What matchmaking service is best? Free dating websites or one that works with Ukrainian and Russian marriage agencies?

Without a doubt, Ukrainian and Russian marriage agencies offer the best matchmaking services. Unlike free dating websites, they meet every Ukrainian and Russian woman and verify their identity with passport. They interview them to make sure they are serious at seeking a foreign husband and willing to relocate in his country.

On a free dating website, there is no such matchmaking service and anyone if free to sign-up without any identity proof, thus opening the door to scammers and dating scams.

So many terms: mail order brides, sexy Russian girls, hot Ukrainian ladies. Why so many expressions?

As we all know; mail order brides refer to an era when a woman would travel the ocean to join a man with who she only exchanged a few snail letters. Of course this era is far behind but for some reason the mail order brides remains. These Ukrainian women and Russian women are modern and educated women not brides who can be ordered by mail or internet.

Sexy Russian girls and hot Ukrainian girls are commonly used terms in Russian and the Ukraine. Unlike other parts of the world, it doesn抰 necessary mean a young woman or anything bad. A 35 year old Russian woman can be referred to as a sexy Russian girl and it can be a compliment.

So all these terms mean the same and are simply about Russian women and Ukraine women.


Ukrainian women and Russian women are family oriented and make excellent wives. If you are serious about finding your future bride in Eastern Europe, no doubt you will find your Russian wife.