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Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

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Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
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Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Welcome to the 21st Century and your new Digital Signature/Identity.

The QR Code


Still hand lettering your name to the bottom of that painted sign?

Still handing out business cards, letterheads, and brochures with your name, location, contact, and website address on it?

If you answered yes to those questions...then have I got an update for you.

Remove all that contact clutter and replace it with a QR Code.

What the heck is a QR Code you ask?

Why it's the "Quick Response" Code. Read the insert below or go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code for the whole story.

QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark name for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds ("modes") of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or by supported extensions virtually any kind of data.

Invented by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, the QR Code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. It was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR usage is growing Their use was formerly mostly confined to industry, but in recent years consumers have grown used to seeing them in consumer advertising and packaging, because the dissemination of smartphones "has put a barcode reader in everyone's pocket" for the first time.


Imagine placing this image all over the place, and not just on your signs! Print a few of these out on self adhesive vinyl and let the Shenanigans/Gorilla Marketing begin! For starters you could plaster these inside the menus of those swank restaurants you go to. You know, the ones where the movers and shakers hangout. The places where tycoons and the captains of industry abide. A few of those folks might possibly be the ones that make the companies sign purchasing decisions. They will see your clandestine QR Code thinking it to be a menu special. They will whip out their smartphones, scan the QR Code and be whisked away to your Awesome Hand lettering and or glass gilding website. What will they think? Impressive! That's what they'll think! They will then save the information on their smartphone or email the lieutenants back at corporate all the juicy details of a newly discovered Sign Artist! That Sign Artist being you!

To be able to use a QR code you need to go on the internet and locate a QR Code Generator. There are plenty of them online, which is where you will be inputting your contact information; name, address, phone, website, email, etc.
*Note, that's the trade-off. They get your data (information) to use or sell for advertising purposes somewhere down the road. You get a FREE QR Code.

The QR Code Generator will then generate your QR Code image, that you can then download to your computer, smartphone, iPad, or whatever.

I downloaded mine and then turned it from a bitmap into a vector image, using CorelDraw. You can use whatever vector drawing program you want to do the vector conversion.

What's the drawback you ask? It can only be read by a "smartphone" with a QR Code Reader App.

You personally can't read it...which is why I include some human readable information along with the QR Code.

See example below:
Dont Fear the Code!.jpg
Dont Fear the Code!.jpg (112.54 KiB) Viewed 12470 times
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
joe cieslowski
Posts: 338
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Location: east canaan ct
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by joe cieslowski »

Lookie here at the stats on my great website.....(NOT!)

http://www.showsiteinfo.org/sites/ctwoodcarvers.com

Just thought I'd show an example of what doesn't work for me as well as a fine example of what not to do.

Hmmmmmmmm, I think I should start paying attention........as soon as I get all this pesky work outa the shop.

Joe
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Joe, ya do go work. But your web presence needs a make over.

You my friend are going to be this forums test subject!

And Larry White...well he'll be the control part of this experiment. Why pick on Larry?...why not!

Larry thinks he's doing fine with his high end, fancy looking, one of a kind, out-of-this world looking art glass website....with no traffic.

So Joe, first things first. We got to start "linking" you. Not Liking...LINKING!
I have noticed that you and Larry do not have links from this forum to your websites.

Joe, when you login on theletteheads.com website.

I want you to go to the menu bar at the top of the page.

I then want you to click on the "User Control Panel" menu button.

You will then see the "Options" menu dialog box in the left column.

Click on the word "Profile", to bring up the "Edit Profile" dialog box.

You will see a white rectangular entry area just to the right of the word "website".

This is where you will type in or paste in your website URL address.

Once you have done that, hit the submit button at the bottom of that dialog box.

You have just linked your website to this forum. Congratulations!

Now fellow forum members will be able to go to your site after viewing any of your postings.

Next, we will fix those dead links you have on your site. But first you have to fix your missing site link.

And Larry, don't you dare mess up this experiment by fixing your missing site link.
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
Mike Jackson
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Mike Jackson »

Robare,
Just curious... I'd think the swank restaurant would frown on you "plastering" your digital "card" all over the place? I could imagine them scanning one, seeing all of your information and then calling you, demanding that you come back and remove all of them. Wouldn't you be liable for possible damage and residue from labels?

The idea of QR cards is very interesting, but I'd think people would want to be discrete on how and when to use them? I wonder if the scanner could read one if etched in the corner of a piece of glass? Besides the old school signature or imprint the general public would see, having the QR code in the glass would let people know a lot more about who did the job.

Have you experimented on how contrasty the QR code has to be to work? Are they always a standard size?

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
vance galliher
Posts: 321
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by vance galliher »

Robare,
I'm not sure I'll go as far as the QR info, but I do appreciate this information on web presence. I'm in the process of redoing my site for a better .. Thank you for your efforts.
Last edited by vance galliher on Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
vance
dimensional and glass art signs
http://www.vancegallihersigns.com
joe cieslowski
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Location: east canaan ct
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by joe cieslowski »

Done :)

Hope the rest of this is that easy!

Joe,
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
Larry White
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Larry White »

That's funny....I never recall saying I was doing fine....hmm.

So far all I've heard out of you is talk! I can get all the talk I
need and more from those Dead Man friends of mine.

Don't count me in on that QR code thing...

When do we start? Oh wise one.

Improvement makes straight roads, but crooked roads without
improvement, are roads of genius.

Does 19,000 views count as "no traffic" in the cyber world? ...I'm really not sure...

:D

I just noticed...my signature has been dropped. It used to be there. It read:

That's enough for now, it's gettin' late.
www.walljewelry.com

....don't know what happened to it.... ? ...
.
Mike Jackson
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Mike Jackson »

You can read a lot about . "Search Engine Optimization" on the Internet. Most of it relates to helping with Google searches since it has pretty much taken over web searches.

Besides the initial solid LINK Robare is talking about, having your URL link on each post you make adds slightly to your . ranking. Your name and your URL start being associated with your site. Part of the ranking scores are based on how many external links on the Interent point back to your site. That includes all of the Facebook posts and Likes, plus other Social Media sites like LinkedIn.

Getting your name and your business name high in a search page or results is really not that hard if you put a little time and effort into it. What is much harder is getting your name near the top on a search in the general category is much harder. For example, searching for Golden Era Studios brings me up top of the list. Same for Teton Images. But if someone were to do a search for "clip art", I might not show up as Golden Era Studios until page three or four and if they searched for "wildlife photography", I might also show up on about page 12. There are so many companies for each. Some of the people you see at the top of the list on such a generic search pay extra money to Google to get there, along with a dedicated amount of time and energy building their . for those products.

Try a search for Glass Signs, Gold Leaf Signs, Reverse Glass Signs and so forth. That's your target!

For Danny Baronian, he can get to the top of the list with a fairly unique name without much trouble. But, if you search for Glass Chipping Tool or Glass Chipper, no telling if he would show up at all. It depends on how well he tagged his pages and how many people ever link back to his site to his glass chipping tool. If he, or other people on this site and places like Facebook were mentioning and linking to his site, he'd start moving towards the top of those searches.

I won a contest in Cowboys and Indians magazine photo contest for a photo of two running horses. All the magazine listed was my name and the name of the print. I immediately added the name of the photo on my site and with my name already plastered all over my site and in the metadata of every photo on my site, people were able to find me and my site. Sales from that photo couldn't have happened if my site wasn't already set up and all of my search engine links ready to help them find me.

So, here goes another link: If you'd like to see Mike Jackson's photo of Prairie Warriors at http://www.tetonimages.com, click this link: http://tetonimages.photoshelter.com/gal ... Y5W_hwmM9Q Teton Images specializes in Artistic Photography. If you do go to the site, you can see the keywords at the bottom that help people find me. Personally, I don't like the keywords showing up on the page, but Photoshelter says it helps with the ., so I do it. I'd prefer to be able to assign black to the keywords so they are actually on the page, but invisible to the viewer. I need to check on that someday.

Okay, that just added Google points for Mike Jackson, Prairie Warriors, my url, and Teton Images. That's part of the success of Dave Smith. He's all over the Internet, not to mention he does great work and lots of people are talking about him.

As Robare is stating, some of this is not much more work than going back to your profile and adding a few links to start building your web presence.

Gotta get back to work!
Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Mike Jackson »

Okay, maybe I should nip this in the bud! (as one of the administrators).

Larry, Robare seems to have chosen you as an example whether you wanted to be used as an example or not. Possibly it stems from your post "Gettin' with the times...." . I have a feeling that post was supposed to be taken as "tongue in cheek", but without knowing, it might have easily been taken literally.

I think Robare is trying to help all of the readers here, but maybe we have to be careful when making examples of anyone else during the process unless they give us the green light to do so.

On the flip side, I'd encourage anyone to discuss any efforts that are doing, or have done and include the benefits or pitfalls along the way.

I just spoke with Tom at Signcraft. He said he had an advertiser pull his print ads and went entirely with Internet ads. When he got his first bill from the big company, it had gobbled up his entire advertising budget and just about broke the bank. Worst yet, he reported he only got two small jobs from the investment. So, if all of it was true, the takeaway is the possible high expense and minimal return on his advertising experiment online trying to get better web presence with paid ads.

Mike Jackson - co-administrator
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Tony Segale
Posts: 702
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:20 am

Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Tony Segale »

Marketing is what this is all about in the end, isn't it?
I mean what do I know about marketing anyway, huh?

The easiest way to get your mind around this internet marketing that I know of,
is to buy this book for $25, lot of money, but if you follow it like you would follow
the Gold Leaf Techniques book to create beautiful glass, everything would be muy bueno.
The book I'd Rather Be in the Studio can be purchased at this site,
http://artbizcoach.com/index.htm.

Of course, one would be crazy to invest all his efforts into internet marketing while neglecting
the regular clients and community that supported him in the first place, they're just as important.

Zuckerman and his boys think they're all warm and cozy sittin up there in that corporate office
with the world of images we provide. That's why from now on, I will be uploading creatively cropped images
as teasers to entice my friends or fans to my blog or website.

That's enough for now, come on in, it's gettin late.

http://www.tonysegale.wordpress.com
and he took that golden hair and made a sweater for baby bear.
http://www.tonysegale.com
http://www.tonysegale.wordpress.com
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Hey Vance, That Spencers Door Gilding you did is SWEET! Would love to see some close ups of that posted on the forum as a new topic. You're website looks great, easy to navigate, no useless clutter. Nice Gallery. Simple and Direct, makes me wanna pick up the phone and call you for a sign....or email you.

We should start critiquing our forum members websites like we do the sign images that they post here.
Everyone could benefit from it. Remember, A rising tide raises all ships.
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Mike, I have been in constant contact with Larry about all this. I have explained to him why I choose him.

And that reason being is that Larry is further along in his web presence. Joe is not.

And Joe, you will not make any progress unless you update your forum profile with your website.

If I am to understand "DONE" as being you have completed the task I asked of you...then why do I not see your website listed at the bottom of your posts? Look at the other Forum members and you can see the ones that have posted their link and the ones that have not.

The site was offline last night for a few hours....I think I may have caused that. I tried to copy and paste the user control panel button in my instruction posting...and then things got weird...and then the site went down...sorry. :oops:

Or maybe Joe caused that when he tried to update. :lol:
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
Tony Segale
Posts: 702
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:20 am

Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Tony Segale »

hey, hey, Robare, look at that!

Your right, Vance has a nice looking website, easy to navigate.
Great way to show off excellent work, clean, simple.

Adding URL's to every signature, here and your email is crucial!

Just remember...
You can't stop the clouds with the building of a ship.
and he took that golden hair and made a sweater for baby bear.
http://www.tonysegale.com
http://www.tonysegale.wordpress.com
Robare M. Novou
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Mike,

Maybe the Swanky Restaurant example of where to place a QR code maybe wrong. But at least it's a starting point for all you creative minds out there to start developing your ideas on how to use this new form of self identification.

I have indeed experimented with the contrast on several QR codes. Contrast is a big factor. Most QR codes are Black on a White background. I have tried a White code on a Black background with zero results. I have tried a Black code on several colored backgrounds from light to dark. The lighter the background, the better the results. So yes, have plenty of contrast if you are going to use these codes. You will notice that most codes, be they QR or Bar, are contained in white backgrounds, with the coding elements always in black.

Etching it on glass, not so sure that would work.
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
joe cieslowski
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by joe cieslowski »

Robarge,

I did wht you told me and it then shoed up when you click on "profile" at the bottom of my posts.

What I did now was the same thing but I edited my "signature" and it now shows up with my name at the bottom of my posts.

Thanks, I'm getting there slowly.

Joe
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
Robare M. Novou
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Yeah, ya see, we are both learning. I didn't know about that glitch either. About the fact that you had to put some sort of tag line signature in order for your website link to show up. See, sometimes the student can teach the teacher. We all learn when we all participate.

Now that grasshopper has completed his first task. I want you to figure something out before we move on. And that is Joe...what are you branding yourself as? Joe Cieslowski: Wood Carver, or Joe Cieslowski: Wood Carving? Or is there something else you think will get you noticed as a wood carver. Maybe Joe Cieslowski: Creative Wood Carver or even Joe Cieslowski: Creative Wood Carving.

Figure that out and we will proceed.

Joe, I see that you use the following image on your website's home page. Maybe this should be your "Brand" name.
Attachments
Joe Cieslowski - Wood Carver.jpg
Joe Cieslowski - Wood Carver.jpg (40.54 KiB) Viewed 12275 times
Last edited by Robare M. Novou on Sat Mar 10, 2012 3:44 am, edited 4 times in total.
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

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Mike Jackson
Site Admin
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Mike Jackson »

Robare,
Thanks for letting me know you and Larry are on good grounds. His post from last night sounded a little testy. I'd hate to see anyone get riled up while trying to advance this thread.

And, thanks for the update on the bar codes. I like the concept. Maybe a "bug" in the lower corner of a window or somewhere around the lettering on a truck would be a great way to let people know more about he person doing the signs, assuming the customer would let you put one on it.

Carry on!

I think we should let people "ask" to have their web site critiqued before going to random sites and ripping away.

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
Contact:

Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Mike, I try not to step on toes or upset the balance of nature...which is what I may be doing in Web Presence 104.
We will definitely have a lively conversation on that posting.

But for now I need to answer some questions that you and some others have asked, and that I have overlooked.

1. QR Codes come in many sizes, what's the preferred size? I'm not sure. I made the one on my test card around the 1" x 1' size. I may have seen them smaller, I don't remember. I have also seen them larger. Now that you are aware of them, you can take note and keep a mental picture of their apparent size and use. When I started to see them, I thought that they were some new type of pricing UPC bar code. Because I don't own a smart phone, I was not "In" at the beginning of it's newly found application for business and consumer marketing. Hey, better late to the party than not at all.

2. No, I don't plan on picking apart forum member websites. (unless they got it coming to 'em :wink: Note* Rare moment of sarcasm.) Which brings me to comment on your website for Teton Images. That is one nice Gallery Display, the way the smaller pictures stay at the bottom and are not covered up by the larger image. You can also see by the highlighting of the small lower images, where you are in the slide show presentation. No being redirected, No covering up of surrounding page elements. In other words...Perfect Image Viewer. *Note to self, steal some code.

Plus, Your Photos are Incredible! If I was into wildlife, I would definitely snatch up some of your images. Forget about the books, get into printing large size images, and Posters. You have probably all ready checked on that, if so, please relate to us your thoughts on that. What I really wanna know is...what keeps you from getting eaten by some of those animals? Especially Momma Bear! If you were to tell me you are a mile away when you snap the shutter, I would not believe you.

When I drive through Yellow Stone, I keep the windows up, you know what I'm saying?!

3. Mike, I did not include instructions to "edit signature", simply because I was only instructing Joe on how to add his website in "edit profile". Your input is appreciated, but it's the wrong image for that which I instructed on.

You will probably have to remove that inserted image of the "edit signature" dialog box and replace it with an image of the "edit profile" dialog box. I could do it, but I don't have my screen capture utility enabled at the moment.
Last edited by Robare M. Novou on Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What's On Your Book Shelf ?

http://www.milwaukeesignworks.com
joe cieslowski
Posts: 338
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2004 6:15 pm
Location: east canaan ct
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Re: Your New Digital Signature/Identity: Web Presence 103

Post by joe cieslowski »

Robare,

Although I'm willing, (but probably not able), to take advantage of your guidance in this project.

Here's my story and why........

My website was designed and made for me as a gift....... a surprise gift from my daughter-in-law who lives on the west coast.
They came for a visit and she snuck around and took pictures of the few items that were hanging in the studio and my house. This was done after my biggest show of the year..........the items that were hanging were mostly product that I don't make anymore and didn't currently showcase my current line. When I "received" my Xmas present. I was happy but didn't say anything about the wrong content. ( I actually wasn't interested in having a site at that time anyway......so nothing lost)

Now, five or six years later, my biz is mostly carved and gilded home and property markers.......a lot less "Art".

Sooooooooo, what I really need is a completely new website. It isn't about me as a carving artist anymore. The Connecticut Woodcarvers' Gallery is mostly a small sign shop now. To tinker with my old site would be a waste of your time and mine

I need to establish a new site and name that describes what I'm up to now.
I'm working on how I want to present myself and to come up with a new name and link that will do the job.
I have a long way to go as I am a computer cripple and will in all likelyhood hire someone to actually design the site for me.

I do appreciate your efforts on my behalf.

Thanks,

Joe
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
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