<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Maine Design Blog</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.mainesignassociation.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org</link>
	<description>Maine Sign Association</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:52:31 +0000</pubDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1</generator>
	<language>en</language>
			<item>
		<title>E-Commerce Web Design</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/e-commerce-web-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/e-commerce-web-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:52:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=13</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well we know that in today&#8217;s fast growing business world an excellent website is essential things to a successful business and internet sales have increased extremely in the last few years. So it is very important to give your business the boost it needs with a professional website and internet is now the most important [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well we know that in today&#8217;s fast growing business world an excellent website is essential things to a successful business and internet sales have increased extremely in the last few years. So it is very important to give your business the boost it needs with a professional website and internet is now the most important way of promoting a business. The days of expensive, complicated, technical websites are over!  Yes. You absolutely need a professional-looking website in order to compete online today. Check edirethost.com now to <a href="http://www.edirecthost.com/main/home">Create Your Own Website</a>. They will helps you do just that. They provide website hosting services via an online website builder that let’s you make your own website. </p>
<p>Edirecthost.com supports both informational sites as well as eCommerce sites. They offer <a href="http://www.edirecthost.com/main/ecommerce">Ecommerce Web Design</a> and a number of features for you to create your own website with their easy website builder there&#8217;s nothing to download, nothing to learn, just point and click to make a website faster and easier than you ever thought possible. Completely customizable with our own choice of colors and images. Plus with our easy online <a href="http://www.edirecthost.com/main/home">website builder</a> you get a logo maker and flash builder at no additional cost. Their Ecommerce shopping carts offer SSL security and make selling practically anything trouble-free. They offer a free 10 day trial so there is no need to enter personal credit card information </p>
<p>Edirecthost.com has made building your own website simple and affordable and they are one the best Website Builder.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/e-commerce-web-design/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Web Hosting UK</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/web-hosting-uk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/web-hosting-uk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:40:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=12</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you ever have a website then as a webmaster we had bad days when we have choose wring host of our website because we are using one of the worst Webhost for website and we might lost our business. We know that web hosting service is a key part of our site and if [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you ever have a website then as a webmaster we had bad days when we have choose wring host of our website because we are using one of the worst Webhost for website and we might lost our business. We know that web hosting service is a key part of our site and if your host doesn’t provide a reliable service and have more downtime then it will not be best for you. Like me if you are running a good website and if it is visited by many customers then we need our sites to be active otherwise we lose our customers. For that we need some quality web hosting services which make sure that our sites are always active. At VelnetWeb.co.uk, all your web hosting needs are fulfilled. Velnetweb web hosting offers high quality low cost <a href="http://www.velnetweb.co.uk/">web hosting UK</a> services.</p>
<p>Velnetweb web hosting offers quality cPanel Web Hosting on Linux and Windows server. Their hosting packages come with easy to use control panel such as cPanel or Plesk. Most packages come with MySQL database and email address at your domain name. Velnetweb also offers free site builder, web design template and installation of application such as Word Press blogging software, Joomla CMS and other opesources application.Velnetweb will install Joomla or Mambo Content Management System for you free of charge on any website hosting package that come with PHP and MySQL. You can also use any of their free Joomla templates. They install Word Press free of charge for bloggers, choose from various WordPress templates for you blogs.</p>
<p>Why you use cPanel Web Hosting of Velnetweb?</p>
<ul>
<li>Simply there four key points which need for your website and those are:</li>
<li>Fast and reliable servers</li>
<li>Real 24/7 technical support</li>
<li>cPanel/WHM &amp; Fantastico</li>
<li>Same Day Setup</li>
</ul>
<p>They also provide <a href="http://www.velnetweb.co.uk/e-commerce/">eCommerce shopping cart</a> development service which comes with Velnet E-commerce hosting with Boss Cart installed. Some key features of this package are:</p>
<ul>
<li>
This package is designed with a small to medium size business organisation in mind.</li>
<li>The price is affordable and easy to use</li>
<li>It runs on their latest Boss Cart which is an Ecommerce shopping cart</li>
<li>It comes with 1st year Free Web hosting</li>
<li>Webalizer to help you monitor visitors to your site</li>
</ul>
<p>If you have hosting and looking for a <a href="http://www.velnetweb.co.uk/domain-names/">Domain Name Registration</a> service then VelnetWeb is a place for you. You will find detailed information about domain name registration services. VelnetWeb domain name registration service is one of the cheapest domain name web address registration prices in the UK.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/web-hosting-uk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shopping Cart For Web Designers</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/shopping-cart-for-web-designers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/shopping-cart-for-web-designers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:54:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well online business is going bigger and bigger and now it is very safe one too where you can earn big profit from it. For that we need to create online shop to globalize and spread your entrepreneurship online to get benefits from big online market. The aspiring businesses need a website which is functional, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well online business is going bigger and bigger and now it is very safe one too where you can earn big profit from it. For that we need to create online shop to globalize and spread your entrepreneurship online to get benefits from big online market. The aspiring businesses need a website which is functional, easy to use and accessible to attract the good number of the visitors around the world. There are many products which you must be keen to sell to your customers on your site but for that you need an efficient and secure <a href="http://www.bosscart.co.uk/">ecommerce shopping cart</a> where customers can buy products whenever they want to. As a result, the choice of the good kind of ecommerce shopping cart which adapts to the need for your customer is very important to raise your business online. </p>
<p>There are many shopping cart software available on the Internet with various features and price. Among them some are really good and some are bad. But if you want reliable and affordable ecommerce shopping cart then Boss Cart shopping software is the best option. It is one of best shopping cart around the world which come with great features and security option. You will find all information about it at BossCart.com. They are specialising in eCommerce shopping basket system development for small to medium sized enterprises. They also develop shopping cart system targeted at individual website owners, looking to add eCommerce functionality to an existing website. If you are a web designer and regularly get requests from your customers to design an ecommerce <a href="http://www.bosscart.co.uk/products/webdesigners.php">shopping cart for web designers</a> then this site will be best place for you. You will get all information about it. They have solution which called Boss Cart Premium. Boss Cart Premium and cut down on your development time and create their shopping basket quickly using out tried and tested platform.</p>
<p>Boss Cart® Premium is a friendly ecommerce software package, it comes with a built-in catalogue manager that makes it easy even for those with little experience of using computers to design, built and manage an online ecommerce store. This <a href="http://www.bosscart.co.uk/products/bosscart.php">Premium Shopping Cart</a> is sensibly priced, making it a perfect low cost ecommerce solution for small businesses and sole traders. Its flexibility and versatility makes setting up and running a web store less demanding. Boss Cart Premium for web designers contains all the features of Boss Cart Premium but sold to web designers at half the retail price.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/09/shopping-cart-for-web-designers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Superwarehouse.com - Computer Store</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/superwarehousecom-computer-store/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/superwarehousecom-computer-store/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:51:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=10</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well we know that Computer is an important part of our life and now it is much needed things for us. If we have Laptops or Desktops, we can access all information around the world which we needed. Now a day you can buy Desktops from online stores and if you want to buy Desktops [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well we know that Computer is an important part of our life and now it is much needed things for us. If we have Laptops or Desktops, we can access all information around the world which we needed. Now a day you can buy <a href="http://www.superwarehouse.com/Desktops/c2b/1916">Desktops</a> from online stores and if you want to buy Desktops or Laptops from reputed online computer Stores then I would suggest visiting to SupeeWarehouse.com for it. Super Warehouse is our business&#8217;s best technology partner. Super Warehouse believes quality is more important than quantity. Their business model places customers at the forefront of importance based on their philosophy of business, the quality of people and service at Super Warehouse.</p>
<p>They have collection of branded company’s desktops and laptops like Toshiba Laptops and others. If you buy <a href="http://www.superwarehouse.com/Toshiba_Laptops/b2/269/c/14">Toshiba Laptops</a> from them then also offer free shipping for you means no extra costs for you. Even you can find best deal of world’s leading band <a href="http://www.superwarehouse.com/Sony_Laptops/b2/250/c/14">Sony Laptops</a> from them. You will get wide range of models which you never find on other online stores with such a quality service. You can shop it from their because they will provide guarantee that every transaction we make at Super Warehouse will be 100% safe.</p>
<p>So if you are looking to buy it then do make your visit to SupeeWarehouse.com</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/superwarehousecom-computer-store/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Free hosting Vs Paid hosting</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/free-hosting-vs-paid-hosting/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/free-hosting-vs-paid-hosting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Hosting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=9</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Well as a website owner we know that having a proper hosting service is good for our website. It needs dedicated customer Service, 99.9% uptime and reasonable price. I am sure many of people asking why we pay money to host while we have an option for free hosting. You should understand the differences between [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignright" style="right;" src="http://www.mckremie.com/images/logo.png" alt="" width="344" height="86" /></p>
<p>Well as a website owner we know that having a proper hosting service is good for our website. It needs dedicated customer Service, 99.9% uptime and reasonable price. I am sure many of people asking why we pay money to host while we have an option for free hosting. You should understand the differences between the two hosting service. So let’s talk about <a href="http://www.mckremie.com/free_hosting_vs_paid_hosting.php">free hosting Vs paid hosting</a>. If you using paid hosting then you can get some really good packages that include the databases, 24 hour support, design tools, statistic reports, more storage space and more bandwidth while Free hosting service provide limited access. One of the big problem with Free hosting is you don’t have backup option and also you will get advertisements on your WebPages.</p>
<p>Paid hosting is simply good for making a business and professional website because it allows you to do changes and have 100% uptime with cheap price. You will get 24 hours supports for your website. You have unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage space. Before you pay for the host, look around at what others think of the host&#8217;s services. You can do this by looking at forums, reading reviews and looking for customer testimonials. You want to really pay attention to how much downtime people are experiencing, this will cause you a lot of frustration and you don&#8217;t want to have to change hosts a few months down the road, which is a lot of work. I would suggest using Mckremie hosting service which provide you quality services likes:</p>
<ul>
<li>24/7 Support</li>
<li>CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP</li>
<li>MySQL</li>
<li>SSH Access (Secure Shell)</li>
<li>Fantastico</li>
<li>POP3 Email Accounts</li>
<li>Nightly Backups</li>
</ul>
<p>They have a team of dedicated professionals which offer customers US-based technical support 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and 365 days a year. Their servers are up and ready for your visitors and offer 99.9% uptime and monitor each server 24/7 for issues. They have extremely flexible and affordable web hosting plans.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/free-hosting-vs-paid-hosting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Screensavers</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/screensavers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/screensavers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:25:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Screensavers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=8</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We knows that a screensaver is use to prevent &#8220;Phosphor burn-in&#8221; on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use and saves power too. Today, screensavers are also used for entertainment or security purposes and I am sure most [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We knows that a screensaver is use to prevent &#8220;Phosphor burn-in&#8221; on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use and saves power too. Today, <a href="http://www.myscreensavers.net">screensavers</a> are also used for entertainment or security purposes and I am sure most of us like it so if you are looking for Free Screensavers for your personal computer or laptop then I would suggest visiting Myscreensavers.net. Myscreensavers.net is a Website of freeware screensavers. All screensavers are tested for quality and you will find only the best and &#8216;clean&#8217; freeware screensavers on their website. One of the good thing about the website is you don’t need to pay anything or do anything. It is free to download.</p>
<p>For me it is one of the best site to download screensavers and I like it because they have good collection of <a href="http://www.myscreensavers.net/Fish-Screensavers.html">Aquarium Screensavers</a>. You can also find other screensavers like:</p>
<li>3-D</li>
<li>Funny</li>
<li>Sports</li>
<li>Halloween</li>
<li>Fantasy</li>
<li>Animated</li>
<li>Celebrities</li>
<li>Nature</li>
<li>Birds</li>
<li>Animals</li>
<li>Christmas</li>
<li>Airplanes</li>
<li>Movies</li>
<li>Fish</li>
<p>So make your visit now to get all screensavers.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/08/screensavers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Web Design—Who Needs It</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/web-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/web-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:54:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=7</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Web design is heard about every day on the Internet, on message boards, in forums and in chat rooms and this is because for any owner of a website it consumes them. Having a well designed website is not only to please the site owner, it is to attract visitors to the website and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span> </span>Web design is heard about every day on the Internet, on message boards, in forums and in chat rooms and this is because for any owner of a website it consumes them. Having a well designed website is not only to please the site owner, it is to attract visitors to the website and keep them there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is important to keep visitors at a website long enough to purchase whatever is being sold on the site and if the site is not pleasing to the eye then potential customers will not stay long enough to purchase anything being sold. This is where the <a href="http://www.visualorange.net">web design company</a> comes in because they are professionals that understand what is needed to make a website appealing, to make it easy to read and to navigate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many website owners try on their own to make their website appealing to their visitors without success. This is often because they miss things that attract visitors to stay on their website such as something as simple as the color of the background, because some backgrounds make it difficult on the eyes when trying to read. It can also be something as simple as the size of the font, while it may look the right size it is not always the right size or font that makes it easy to read for others. The design company professional will know these factors and while it will have a background that is appealing it will also be one that visitors will not have problems viewing.<span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is one fact that experienced website owners know and that is if the site is not attracting visitors who stay then there is a problem and if it is not a problem that can be seen immediately it can take months of trying to figure it out. The design company can also take care of the <a href="http://www.seo-watch.com/">SEO</a> part of the website and will be able to see problems right away because this is what they have trained to do and they also have results that show they are professionals. This can save a website owner not only time but also money because the site owner is now free to pursue other parts of their business.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is an old saying that it “it takes money to make money” and this still holds true when it comes to websites, spending money having the website company build or change a website it will come back to the owner. Money spent on websites means that it will be what the potential customer wants to see when they visit the site, where everything is clear and is easy on the eyes at the same time.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/web-design/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Creating a Custom Brush in Photoshop</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/creating-a-custom-brush-in-photoshop/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/creating-a-custom-brush-in-photoshop/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=6</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the most used tools in Photoshop is the brush tool. The best thing about this tool is that it comes in a variety of different shapes and can be any size or colour. However many people don’t use this tool to its full potential. Almost any image can become a custom brush. 

First [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="Times New Roman;">One of the most used tools in Photoshop is the brush tool. The best thing about this tool is that it comes in a variety of different shapes and can be any size or colour. However many people don’t use this tool to its full potential. Almost any image can become a custom brush. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="small;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="Times New Roman;">First of all chose an image you wish to become a brush. Patterns and shapes are the best to use for this but other, more detailed images can be used as well. You don’t have to but I recommend decreasing the colour depth of the image to two colours so that it is easier to edit. After doing this you need to select the background colour of the two colours, this will usually be white, and use the eraser tool to delete it so that the background is transparent. </span><span style="small;"><span style="Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="Times New Roman;">You now have an image that can become a custom brush. You can use the eraser tool to rub out some unwanted areas if you wish. Finally you are ready to make the image a brush by going to Edit and then Define Brush Preset. You will then need to name your brush. Sometimes the image may be too large so you might have to resize it before doing this. Simply go to image and then resize and pick the correct size (usually about 500 pixels). </span></p>
<p><span style="AR-SA;">You’re custom brush can now be accessed in the brush tab in the tool menu bar. It is customisable just like the preset brushes. You can alter the colour of your brush by simply click on the desired colour at the side. You can also alter the hardness of your brush and the opacity. You can also rotate your brush using the tool options. This can be very useful for creating patterns.<span style="yes;">  </span></span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/creating-a-custom-brush-in-photoshop/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Square in Graphic Design</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/the-square-in-graphic-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/the-square-in-graphic-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:28:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=5</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In graphics one of the most over looked patterns is the checked pattern. The checked pattern or similarly the grid is a necessity for us to make sense of the complicated things around us. In graphics grids are used to gain perspective and measurements.
Josef Albers famously experimented with checks and squares in his series “Homage [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In graphics one of the most over looked patterns is the checked pattern. The checked pattern or similarly the grid is a necessity for us to make sense of the complicated things around us. In graphics grids are used to gain perspective and measurements.</p>
<p>Josef Albers famously experimented with checks and squares in his series “Homage to the Square”. He explored form, texture and colour. As well as being an artist Albers was a mathematician as well. Many of his painting are a precise configuration of squares overlapping each other in diminishing scale.</p>
<p>His work looked at the experience of colour from a subjective point of view. As well as the effects adjacent colours have on each other. He discovered that one colour in between two colours would take on the same hue as those colours. He called this the interaction of colour. This would give the illusion that the painting was receding or advancing towards you. The op art movement frequently used this technique.</p>
<p>Albers chose the square as his subject for exploring colour because of it’s neutral properties. The square has a plainness about it that enables it to show an idea without being the subject. If Albers had used circles instead of a square it would have become about the pattern the circles created rather than the idea. The square has been called a tool of abstraction. This is largely due to it’s usage by masters such as Picasso or Braque during the cubist movement. The cubists wanted to explore the form and volume of their subjects, the square (or cube) allowed them to do this without it becoming about the squares. The subjects were still subjects in their own right.</p>
<p>The square is logical and serves it purpose. From cubism to modernism it was used as a tool for expression rather than a subject of expression. As mundane as the square is it is essential in any graphical work. It represents structure and organisation. It is a language that everyone can understand.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is this notion of squares being like a universal language that has made them so versatile. Many people would associate Burberry with Britain. It is recognised all over the world as a symbol of something, a symbol of a certain culture. It can communicate so much and yet it derived from something as simple as the square. The classic Burberry colours are all of a similar hue, as in Albers work.</p>
<p>In graphics we often try to jump ahead of ourselves, or over complicate things. If we design something we do our best not to make it “boxy”. It must look smooth and rounded to be complete. We are neglecting squares in design. What is wrong with right angles? What is wrong with something having an edge to it? Almost everything I see in design now, from cars to phones, to furniture, feels it cannot have any harsh corners. Everything must flow; everything must be smooth and chic.</p>
<p>I reject this ideal. An idea starts with a square.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/the-square-in-graphic-design/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Google Icon Designs</title>
		<link>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/new-google-icon-designs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/new-google-icon-designs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:48:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin01</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mainesignassociation.org/?p=4</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
For the first time in over eight years Google have updated their icon design. This small icon can be seen in your browser next to the URL. Its technical name is a favicon.
Google have spoken openly about this new design, which is unusual because Google tends to keep quiet about most of its other technology [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
For the first time in over eight years Google have updated their icon design. This small icon can be seen in your browser next to the URL. Its technical name is a favicon.</p>
<p>Google have spoken openly about this new design, which is unusual because Google tends to keep quiet about most of its other technology changes.</p>
<p>The reasoning behind the new lowercase ‘g’ is due to Google wanting the icon to scale better on mobile devices such as Apple’s iPhone and other similar platforms.</p>
<p>Michael Lopez a web designer at Google revealed that a whole new set of logos has been designed. Over three hundred different designs were tried and tested. In what was described as a “rigorous” design process.</p>
<p>Google needed a symbol that means Google. Currently they only have a logo which is the word “Google” spelt using different colours for each letter.</p>
<p>Lopez stated ““We wanted something distinctive and noticeable”. They were after something more noticeable than just a block shape. Another important criteria is that the design at to be timeless.</p>
<p>The current ‘g’ design is not confirmed as the final design that Google will use. They are currently calling for other doodles that optimise the brand for mobile devices.</p>
<p>“By no means is the one you&#8217;re seeing our favicon final; it was a first step to a more unified set of icons,” Lopez said.</p>
<p>“We really value feedback from users and want to hear your ideas that we may have missed. If you have your own notions about the Google favicon, please send them to use. We&#8217;ll do our best to work them in, and maybe your idea will be the one that people see billions of times per day.”</p>
<p>The general view is that the new design is bland and boring. A simple lowercase g design may be clear and simple but is graphically boring. It is understandable though that due to the logo being used at a very small scale they needed to be clear. A busy design would have been unreadable at such a small size.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.mainesignassociation.org/2008/06/new-google-icon-designs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
