Posts by Susan Sullivan
Discovering our clients
When we start a website we work with our clients to find out as much as we can to get the most information available so we can create a website that our clients love and that targets their audience. Doing this is often a process of helping the client discover themselves. This isn’t always easy…
Read MoreHow to get quality direct marketing lists
Buying direct marketing email lists is always tricky, and often hard to tell if you are dealing with a reputable distributor. Here are some questions you can ask that will help weed out problems and help guide you to a quality list that targets your direct audience: How often do you refresh your email…
Read MoreDress-up your website with Google Fonts
There are occasions when normal, boring serifs and san serifs just won’t do because something bolder and more decorative is needed to fit the bill. If you find your blog or website in need of a little sprucing up, then take a look at these Google fonts and see is one is right for you. Google…
Read MoreCome see me at WordCamp DFW
WordCamp DFW is this Saturday, September 24th, so if you haven’t already you should get your tickets and get ready to learn. Sumy Designs is primarily a two-person design and development team, and I suspect we aren’t the only WordPress designers out there who operate with less than a handful of employees. We’ve learned a…
Read MoreBlogging to increase traffic
Share your ideas Great blog posts should ignite the sharing of ideas. If your business has a blog, then you have a great way to market your business because you know more about your business than the rest of the world. Write posts about your business that will make your clients want to come back…
Read MoreMake a color palette with your phone photos
A few months ago I discovered a wonderful phone app called Color Viewfinder. If you have a favorite photo or favorite place and want to create a palette based on the color then this is the app for you. This app will turn your photos into fabulous color palettes, just take a look at the…
Read MoreSmall Agency Advantages
Faster Turn Around Time Many big businesses have a large number of people working on each project, which can result in long turnaround times. Since small agencies are working with fewer people and fewer employees, the jobs are turned faster. Client Focused Every client receives full attention because they aren’t juggling hundreds of clients or…
Read MoreCan Yelp networking help your business?
Yelp has been around since 2004, and unless you’ve been living in the dark ages, you know that Yelp is a social networking site and app that publishes customer-based reviews about local businesses. According to Yelp Metrics, as of June 2016, Yelp has 142 million monthly users. Despite the number of users, there are mixed…
Read MoreGraphic Design Trend: Illustrative Typography
Sometimes you need a normal or polite font, like a simple serif or handsome sans serif and then there are times when you need something that will make more of a statement. Illustrative fonts will fit that bill. Illustrative fonts are hot right now and there are plenty of great ones out there to choose…
Read MoreFashionable Web Design
A lot of cool things have been happening in the design world so far in 2016, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to talk about the ones that are sweeping the stage and spreading like wildfire. I’d consider these design trends more like statements than trends because they are pushing web design into…
Read MoreSmall business blogging tips for beginners
Inspire your audience Fantastic blog posts should ignite the sharing of thoughts. If your small business has a blog, then you have the best marketing weapon available to you because no one knows more about what your small business is about than you. The posts you write about should inspire your audience and make them want to…
Read MoreWorking with color for both print and web designs
When a client wants more than a website it is important to know the basics of print design and web design and to know how they work together. If you know the basics, you can make a complete and coordinated branding package utilizing with web and print designs. Working with CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and…
Read MoreFinding color inspiration for your website
Color palette choices are crucial to the effectiveness of your website’s success. Subtle shifts in shades and tints within a palette can drastically alter the personality of your design and selecting just the right palette is no easy task; for many of my clients, choosing the right colors is the most challenging part of the…
Read MoreTitle and size images for better SEO
Images can help your site rank better, but it’s essential to save your images with file names search engines can discern so that search engines can categorize them. Let’s say you have an image like this one of a red typewriter that you want to upload and post to your WordPress site: Rather than naming…
Read MoreThe qualities of good branding
Branding your business is the process of marking your identity to your clients. Every small business has something to offer which is unique. Branding builds trust because it creates consistency and businesses that are solely based online often don’t take the time to properly brand their products and style. Having a strong visual identity is…
Read MoreFont classifications for non-designers
There are probably millions of fonts available to designers today. The large selection is good, because of the variety, but bad because it makes choosing the perfect font difficult. Maybe you are looking for a certain font, but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you just want to tell your designer what style of font…
Read More3 things you need to know before starting a website
Know your competition Competition is what makes us keeps us on our toes. Keep an eye out on your competitors and what they are doing with their business and their website. If you are aware of what the competition is doing then your business will have the opportunity to be one step ahead, be unique and be the…
Read MoreIncrease your following
Design matters The power of a good design should be not underestimated. When your viewers land on your blog or website the first thing they notice is the design. Your site should be uncluttered and easy to navigate and your design should be focused to cater to your target audience. Stay away from pop-up advertising and make sure…
Read MoreMake your design pop with 3D fonts
Are you looking to try something different in your next design? Three-dimensional designs can make an ordinary design pop, so why not add a few 3D fonts to your next design project. Here are a few fonts that can help your next project look like it is jumping off the page: Download Link Dowload Link Download…
Read MoreTimesaving Photoshop plugins
Photoshop is my main creative tool for web design. I’ve been using Photoshop for nearly 20 years and I love it when I find reliable plugins that save me time. Time is money and when I can save my clients’ money, my clients are happy, and happy clients are return clients. Here are a few…
Read MoreRaster and Vector explained
When we create logos our clients receive a lot of files, including raster and vector graphics. Raster graphics are images made of hundreds, thousands or millions of tiny square dots of color information, these dots are referred to as pixels. The most common type of raster image would be a photograph. Popular raster file format extensions are jpg,…
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