It’s been 2 years since I released ATTITUDE. It was fun marketing the album and getting to know what people felt about soft rock in Naija, – So far, ATTITUDE has been a success for me in its own way – but I feel the time has come for my next work. It’s an acoustic album – I’m putting my 12 years as a guitarist into the entire work – and working with some nice acoustic dudes. I’m super excited at the way production is going. In less than 30 days the new album is gonna be out! ATTITUDE was cool and all, being a debut album – but you guys are going to love Elixir! Take it from me – and those who have listened to some songs from the album – this is something you don’t wanna miss.

I’m on my way out of the country in a couple of days – and I still got some more songs to go…

But the countdown begins.

Elixir… fine rock music…just like wine.

Have fun.

Zainab

Web design is changing constantly – with the advent of mobile media and what I call the ipad nightmare. For web designers, the need to step up is almost going to be overwhelming. Hopefully, this post will give you a little idea about what you need to step up to as a web designer in middle-earth!

HTML5: 

The current version of the HTML markup language was still in development in June 2011, but it is already being used as an all-encompassing update to HTML4, XHTML1, and JavaScript. It’s an effort to standardize markup language to avoid syntax errors in web documents. HTML5 also defines how invalid documents should be processed. This ensures that all browsers will treat syntactical errors the same way. If language in the real world was updated as often as HTML, maybe we would finally all just get along. As it is, we might as well sit in front of our computer monitors and rely on this standardized markup language to understand each other, even if we never end up leaving the house again.

Its the 21st century. Sooner or later technology is gonna leave you behind if you don’t get on the train soon.

Try something different with your marketing plan this year. You never know – it might work.

There are over one million users online. You have a totally new audience right at the tips of your fingertips.

Everything is online now – exams, driving license stuff, immigration and the rest. How long do you think it’ll take before everything becomes digitized?

It’s fun. Really.

Last week, I bought a book written by Robert Kiyosaki – the all time best-seller, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” It’s not like I’ve not come across the book before – but I guess all those times, I never really “looked” at it. It’s been less than 24 hours, and I’ve not been able to put the book now. Being a young entrepreneur myself, these were lessons that I had to share with you.

So for those of you who cannot imagine spending their precious time with their noses stuck in a 263 page book, let me share with you some financial tips I learnt and are now applying to my Web Design business.

As part of celebration for Pishon turning 5 years old on the 7^th of February 2011, we decided to launch our first ever web design Magazine. We are giving our clients a chance to place their adverts in this new phenomenon!

6 reasons to Advertise in the Overflow

Exposure: We have a huge database of clientele which matter to you – custom built to suit your needs. Your advert will be showcased on our online version of the magazine which means that your print ad doubles up as an online vehicle.

Readership: Readers are our top executive. A judicious blend of purchase decision makers – the people who matter most to your brand.

Style: Our magazine is printed in full color on customized Xerox ColorTeK paper from cover to cover. Professional graphic production is included free with your ad. At Pishon, we can create a response driven ad copy that draws the consumer and makes the sale.

Affordability: The overflow is committed to your success. We offer ad packages for every budget, and our staff will create a marketing plan with you that works.

Magazines go far & don’t go out of fashion: The top 25 magazines reaches more people than the top 25 programs. The average magazine reaches almost 2/3 of its audience within a mile. Print magazines don’t go out of fashion. As long as the Overflow exists, so will your ad. Consumers refer to magazines multiple times after purchase – hence the added recurrent exposure to your brand.

First of our Kind: The Overflow is the first of its kind in Nigeria. Your brand will be sitting alone and in perfect light and out there for the world to see.

Choose to be part of this new phenomenon and advertise today! Call 08086816356 or visit www.pishondesigns.org for details.

Graphics in web design is a very touchy subject, but it is compulsory for every “wanna-be” designer to have at least a 1/10 knowledge in any graphic software. Why? Because almost 99% of websites nowadays have images, photo galleries, portfolios and more; and if you don’t know how to implement graphics in your designs, not only will your web pages look stale and boring, you will be losing one of the factors that could have helped you be a kick-ass designer.

There is quite a number of graphic design software available, like Paint, (Available in Windows) CorelDraw, Photoshop, Illustrator and more, but for the purpose of this manual, I’m only going to concern myself with Corel Draw and Photoshop.

PHOTOSHOP

When it comes to Image editing or photo enhancement, Adobe Photoshop is usually the primary option to consider. However, the software package itself is a quite hard to learn — and extremely hard to master.

Display beautiful images is a potent element in web and graphic design, where there is less concern for readability and more potential for using images in an artistic manner. Photoshop is useful for both creating and editing images to be used in print or online. Not too easy to use, but full of high-quality features, Photoshop is the best choice for any image manipulation job.

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard tool for digital imaging, which makes Photoshop expertise a valuable commodity in the workplace. Learning Photoshop is also a good way to learn imaging concepts. Concepts you learn from working with Photoshop apply to other imaging tools as well (including Photoshop Elements, which has a very similar user interface and features).

CORELDRAW

CorelDraw is a professional vector graphics editor created by the Corel Corporation and is also the name of Corel’s suite of graphics editing software. It is unique in its positioning as a graphics suite, having the ability to adjust elements like contrast and color balance within the vector area.

CorelDraw Graphics Suite is an impressive collection of powerful design software that can tackle all sorts of design jobs. Included in the package are: CorelDraw, the main application for vector design and layout; Corel PHOTO-PAINT, for editing and retouching photos, Corel CAPTURE, for screen grabs; ConceptShare, a collaboration service; and the Bitstream Font Navigator. There are also a bevy of smaller utilities such as a bar-code wizard and an app for helping users optimize two-sided printouts.

With a suite that includes that many programs and features, it’s essential to have solid in-program help and CorelDraw is loaded with dynamic hints, video product tours, and hands-on project tutorials that will have you designing elements in no time. Expert advice from professional designers walks users through specific practices such as airbrushing logos and creating textile patterns.

The templates for professionals are diverse and presented in a nifty interface that provides all sorts of useful information. You can sort templates by type–such as brochures, posters/signs, business cards, and newsletters–or by industry, although that list was empty except for "Landscaping." The interface also includes a space for accessing your own saved CDT templates, which can be created easily through the File menu.

Whether the CorelDraw package is worth its price tag is up to each individual consumer, but a full-featured 15-day trial should give users plenty of time to get acquainted with the application. It’s necessary to register for a free Corel account to use the trial, and each program requires you to click a "Continue Trial" button before launching, but those small annoyances aren’t enough to prevent this bountiful design suite from earning a top rating.

Corel Draw Vs Photo Shop?

Corel Draw and Photoshop Which software is better Corel Draw or Adobe Photoshop?

We get this question often. In reality both programs are going to get you to the same place. When it comes to software people tend to go with what they know, so the real determining factor is you.

There are many questions to ask yourself when choosing a software, such as, what is my budget, what type of images do I intend to make, and of course, How difficult will it be to learn the feature set of the software. Other factors include your personal skill set, and what post-sales training the reseller will provide. Will you yourself be using the software or will you hire someone to do the design and production? Are you just starting out in the business or is this a shop growth decision?

Photoshop is a raster program, meaning it interprets data in pixels. Each pixel has a finite amount of information and can only be distorted so much. . This is called the DPI (dots per inch). Photoshop is great for just that, working with photos. It allows you to layer images and work with each layer independently. It is easy to design and manipulate images within the software. This program is very popular with artists and designers. To successfully work with vector images you will need to use Adobe Illustrator which is a sister program to Photoshop and uses the same tools.

Corel draw is a vector based program used to make vector art. This means that the artwork is created using mathematical equations. This allows you to enlarge or scale down an image without losing any integrity in the design. Most logos are created as vector formats so they can be scaled to be small like a business card or large like on a billboard with no pixilation.

Difference 1: You can make a vector art file as large as you want. A block of color is a block of color. You can take a 1 in by 1 in square and scale it to 1 ft by 1 ft and it will look exactly the same. In Photoshop if you create a 1 in by 1 in square and scale it to 1 ft by 1 ft you will get pixilation.

Difference 2: Corel does color separations in the print function of the program. When you choose this option it then sends ALL the plates to the rip software or printer of your choice at once. The program not only allows you to separate into CMYK but Pantone colors as well.

The biggest difference is artistic control. All the creative effects you see are done in Photoshop. Corel does not have effects. But when you combine the powers of both you can have a nice looking billboard with a huge logo.

Each program has its own suite to maximize what you can do with your artwork. If you have Photoshop the CS Suites also have Illustrator for vector Images. If you use Corel Draw the X3 and X4 suites come with Photo-paint to manipulate raster images. In the end it will be up to you to research the two and decide which seems to be a better fit for your needs.

In the end, the choice is yours.

This is the quarterly Pishon Newsletter… (June – October Edition)
In this issue:

- Updates from Pishon (Pishon Magazine, Pishon Seminar)
- Updates from zainabSULE
- Other related matters

Having just concluded her 2 month tour, ZainabSULE is back to business with a bang. Beginning with a rock night in July, we present…

One Night with zainabSULE
(Saturday, 16th July, 2011)

It’s a night of fun, laughter and pure ROCK music. It’s Zainab’s way of giving back, of saying thank you for the way you appreciate my music – thank you for loving soft rock.

Expect the best of rock music. Expect a night of intimacy. Come, spend just one night… with zainabSULE. ThreadStone. Cephas.
The idea is to come, relax, and have some fun – like you’ve never had before.

Venue: Kings Hall, Hotel Millennium, Zone 5, Abuja **
Date: July 16th 2011 Time: 6PM **
Gate fee: Singles, N1500 & Couples N2500.

Get your tickets at the following venues: [Abuja ONLY]
- ET Quake Multimedia, Suite A13, Bensima House, Maitama.
- Silverbird Lifestyle Stores, Silverbird Cinemas, Abuja.
- Salamander Cafe, Beside DSTV Office, Abuja
- Sigma Transactions, Karu Site, Abuja

…and anywhere you see the "Tickets here" Poster or call (234) 08086816356.

COME. LET’S ROCK…

Everywhere we go we meet people with different gifts and talents, and stuff they love doing. No matter what, everyone has something. I’ve met people who say without blinking an eye that they were born with not even a single talent and you know what I tell them? That’s not true.

Today’s post is basically about the works of our hands. Identifying it, using it, and investing it. I’m sure you’ll have a fun read.