Tag Archives: Building

GraphicDesign.com Examines Building an Online Portfolio

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Dallas, TX (PRWEB) July 18, 2012

A brand new feature article on GraphicDesign.com emphasized, “Needing a professional, well-designed online portfolio is a must for graphic designers.” The piece, written by Marywood University Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Christine Medley, examines ways graphic designers can build and host online portfolios.

There are many content management systems (CMS) graphic designers can utilize for a simple or complex online portfolio. From WordPress to Tumblr to Behance to Squarespace, sites specializing in CMS exist in abundance and each has pros and cons. As long as a graphic designer has a little bit of technical know-how, Medley asserts, “WordPress is by far the most common platform to host various types of websites, including portfolio sites, with or without a blog.”

Medley includes screen shots of WordPress, Tumblr, and Behance to allow prospective portfolio builders to see the ins and outs of each.

She also outlined the benefits of Behance, saying it’s perfect for graphic designers: “The Behance Network site is very popular with the creative community, as it’s a network specifically for artists showcasing creative projects as part of a larger portfolio. It’s free, easy to build, and a good place to start getting your art seen, as you can follow and network with others and post seamlessly with Facebook and Twitter.”

Medley emphasized the importance of having a basic understanding of CSS and HTML, noting, “Graphic designers, especially ones just entering the job market, need to be able to understand basic HTML and CSS and build sites themselves through programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Muse.” Both pieces of software allow users to create websites from scratch, as opposed to using a CMS option.

What should graphic designers pay attention to when creating an online portfolio? According to Medley’s piece on GraphicDesign.com, content, functionality, and a simple design are three major factors to take into consideration. Overall, her editorial argues, “You can make the best looking site, but if your work isn’t good, then there’s no point in posting it. Pick the best, keep it fresh, and update often.” Content is king.

Three poll questions follow Medley’s article and allow readers of GraphicDesign.com to share their experiences with the community. The editors of GraphicDesign.com constantly seek to engage the site’s readership, so this week, readers are asked:

Which site do you use for your online portfolio?

Do you think a graphic designer should design and build a portfolio site from scratch using a program like Dreamweaver?

Do you have more than one online portfolio?

The poll will remain open until July 29. Visit GraphicDesign.com and weigh in today. The poll article can be found HERE.

ABOUT GRAPHICDESIGN.COM

GraphicDesign.com is a product of Terran Marketing and a leading source of news and information devoted entirely to the graphic design industry. Employers, students, and freelancers come to GraphicDesign.com to read and discuss current news, information, and events in the graphic design industry.

CONTACT:

Julia Wild

Terran Marketing

892 East Steger Town Road, Suite #206

Rockwall, TX 75032

Phone: (540) 908-2195

E-Mail: julia(at)graphicdesign(dot)com







More Graphic Design Press Releases

Ramtech Joins Hensel Phelps to Add New 4-Story Modular Building Barracks at Fort Sam Houston

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Mansfield, TX (PRWEB) July 09, 2012

Ramtech Building Systems of Mansfield, Texas has announced that the company has secured a $ 9.7 million contract to provide the modular buildings for the fifth and final phase for the MILCON Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (UEPH) Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Barracks to be used by the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The permanent modular construction project is part of a multiple task order under an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to the Southwest Division of Hensel Phelps Construction Co. in Austin, Texas. The Jacobs Engineering Group is under contract for architectural and engineering services for the project, while Ramtech will act as a strategic subcontractor by fabricating and installing the 152 individual modular floor sections that will be assembled to create the four-story, 272 room structure. Totaling 116,480 square feet, the manufacturing phase is slated to begin in September with a scheduled completion of December 2013.

Faced with the challenge of acquiring permanent facilities faster, better, cheaper, and greener, in 2005 the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on a master planning program to change the way it executed MILCON and BCA programs. Frustrated at not getting quality facilities in the timeframe it needed them, the Corps established a continuous building program that emphasized the standardization of facilities and processes while expanding the use of prefabricated buildings through the use of permanent modular construction. Ramtech has worked as a subcontractor to Hensel Phelps on several previous high-profile projects, including the construction and fabrication of 24 single and two-story administrative modules for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas and the manufacturing and construction of temporary modular barracks facilities for the Army’s 4th infantry division at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. According to Gary White, Ramtech’s vice president sales and estimating, “we have built a great working relationship with Hensel Phelps from our previous projects together, and they recognize our ability to generate the speed and cost savings that modular construction can provide on a project of this size.”

Because the AIT barracks facility houses U.S. combat troops, the structure will be built to meet the Armys rigid Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (AT/FP) construction standards and progressive collapse requirements for buildings three stories and above. All of the modular floor sections are designed and built as a six-sided unitized box acting as a rigid cube when stacked together with the other sections. The permanent modular building will also meet the requirements of LEED Silver Certification by including waterless urinals, energy star roofing material, recycling of waste materials to achieve a 50% diversion of waste normally sent to land-fills, and utilization of construction materials with a 20% recycled content. Heating and cooling will be provided through a chilled water assist hydronic heat pump system with each unit serving one dorm room. Ramtech will be responsible for the plumbing and electrical connections as well as some of the interior finish-out including the ceramic tile installation. In addition to the sleeping areas, the building will also house a computer learning center, training area, and laundry facilities.

About Ramtech Building Systems

Since 1982 Mansfield, Texas-based Ramtech Building Systems has been providing innovative permanent modular buildings for government agencies, healthcare providers, Fortune 500 companies, and educational institutions throughout the Southern United States. As a design-build construction company, Ramtech offers full in-house design, a manufacturer direct product, and complete site construction services all within a single-source solution. By emphasizing a value engineering approach, Ramtech has successfully completed over 3,000 prefabricated buildings for diverse projects of all sizes. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.ramtechgroup.com.







List Building Methods Revealed in Special Report, Says DigitalMarketer.com Article

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Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 10, 2012

The list building methods in Digital Marketers new Special Report will blow the minds of marketers across the Internet landscape, said the companys latest online article. Marketers and entrepreneurs will be shocked once they see the results of the opt-ins, squeeze pages, and subscription forms that the online marketing wizards have come up with.

Double Your List: How to Double Your Subscribers without Doubling Your Traffic is the source of DMs innovative wisdom. The article said it is showing businesses the up-to-date methods behind multiplying mailing list subscribers.

The techniques shared in the Special Report are the product of several years worth of list-building tests. The tests used real web traffic with varied styles and formats and resulted in the ten best practices provided in Double Your List.

Some marketers frown upon squeeze pages and opt-in forms that can seem pushy and demanding, said the article. No business would ever want to pressure their customers, they would argue.

Luckily, the article said none of the suggested strategies in Double Your List fall into that unethical category. They merely use scientifically proven techniques to boost conversions without coming across as too aggressive.

Digital Marketer guarantees the best practices are less expensive and more effective than increasing traffic, said the article. Double Your List shows how to create a mailing list that is guaranteed to lead to profits.

The Special Report stresses the value in funneling interested and engaged visitors on a website into a subscription program. That way they have instant, personalized access to the content and products a business provides. Theres no better way to build a customer base than to present them with enticing opportunities, said the article. Thats what an email list is all about.

Until marketing techniques have maximized opt-ins, the article said theres no use in paying for more traffic to a website. Its cheaper and easier to make adjustments to a marketing approach, and ultimately more profitable. When the time and opportunity to boost more traffic does arrive, the article said subscription-grabbing techniques will already be in place.

Digital Marketer releases Special Reports to help businesses and entrepreneurs gain insight and information on the trends, data, and strategies that can take them to the top of their industry. Through their training courses, strategic plans, blogs, newsletters, site reviews, and Special Reports like this one, Digital Marketer supercharges every single marketing campaign it touches. For more information, visit DigitalMarketer.com.

Businesses who know they need to design and create subscription lists will immediately realize the value in Double Your List, said the article. The Special Report shares list building methods that beat out any other technique, and the article said theyre guaranteed to produce improved conversion rates.







Fortressing Against the Upcoming Hurricane Season: Building a Modular Home on Cape Cod

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Westport, MA (PRWEB) June 18, 2012

During hurricane season, vacation homes along the shore can take a terrible beating from wind and waves. In recent years, the government agency FEMA has determined how we must engineer our homes in each area of the country to ensure quality standards. FEMA has also divided the U.S. shore regions into zones that include especially stringent requirements for home construction. FEMA regulations always supersede local zoning.

But one particular new home, whose construction was initiated this spring, is in whats called the North Zone, the worst wind zone in the Northeast. This area blankets the entire lower arm of Cape Cod because storms here can be very severe with wind loads of 120mph, or more. The Perfect Storm is a perfect example, but not the only example of the battering these stretches of beach have endured. The law requires that structural framing of shore house in this zone must be engineered to resist winds of this magnitude. The owner of this particular property, a doctor with a family including several young children, chose to go with a Modular Architect just to be sure his home was as strong as possible. Modular designs are thought to be stronger than traditionally built homes because modular construction has redundancy in the framing where the sections fit together. One of these fits is called the marriage wall, which is a sheer wall that inherently resists sideways forces of wind.

The chosen architect, Douglas Cutler A.I.A., founder of Modular Architecture in Wilton, CT, also engineered and designed this vacation home with impact resistant windows to keep the residents safe from shattering glass in the event that they were unable to evacuate before a storm. If the home is, hopefully, unoccupied, these windows will also protect the furnishings from wind and water damage.

Waves and Flooding

The government, in an effort to gain support for the new construction rules, has studied paths of hurricanes and determined minimum floor levels above high tide lines. They also determined how strong foundations must be in order resist wave action. When the doctor of the Cape Cod Modular decided to replace the existing bungalow on his property, the replacement floor had to be built 10 feet higher than the previous floor. The higher the floor, the less waves can chew away at it.

The foundation, too, is literally a pillar of strength. Douglas Cutler designed a series of 18 concrete piers, each one 12 feet high that come vertically out of the ground. The pillars are about 18 inches square, poured with 500 lb. reinforced concrete and adhered to the grade beam horizontal which lies 3.6 feet below the finished grade. The home is then placed above these pillars. This is code for the pillar depth and height in this area and even though there may be local regulations limiting the height of home. Once again, FEMA regulations always supersede local zoning for safety purposes.

Calm Weather Advantages of Modular

The doctors family wanted a vacation home with spectacular views. Douglas Cutler designed them a modular home that turns tradition on its head sleeping rooms on the bottom, living area on the top so that the family can take advantage of the breathtaking views from about 30 feet off the ground. On a clear day they will be able to see Marthas Vineyard and Cuttyhunk.

This Cape Cod home, set earlier this Spring, should be completed by midsummer 2012 right in time for hurricane season. The furniture will be moved in and the lobsters will be served, dripping with butter on one of the beautiful decks. There are carports beneath the piers, 4 bedrooms with 3 baths, decks and an open floor plan on the top. The lot is small, 1/4 acre or less which makes it ideal for building a modular home.

The differences between building a modular home and traditional stick-built construction can be confusing, but just remember that custom modular is simply a hybrid form of construction, says Douglas Cutler. The foundation is built conventionally but the rest is built in a factory except for the detailing In order to meet code and get the safest home available, designed to resist the main natural forces that exist, the architect must always lead in the planning. When is comes to strength, beauty and the latest amenities, home buyers and builders will have a super advantage if they call their modular architect first.

Learn more about Douglas Cutler Architects and their award winning modular designs at http://www.modulararchitecture.com