Xara Xtreme Tutorials and Examples - Articles - Zimbio

Chinese Character Logo in Xara Xtreme

Tue, 2 Jan 2008 23:11:00 GMT

posted by jdegerstrom
I recently created a logo design that included Chinese characters for a new client in Orlando, Florida, whose core business is services to restaurants, especially Chinese restaurants. The client furnished a handwritten version of the characters for their logo which I then recreated in Xara Xtreme.

Their printed marketing materials will be in English. The top view shown above is the handwritten scanned version they provided, and below that is my finished version that was integrated into their logo for the benefit of clients who read Chinese. The phrase has meaning for the majority of their customers without being dominant, while the look is decorative rather than literal for the other restaurants.

Duplicating an existing design or sketch into a finished logo is just one of the services that I provide for custom small business artwork for print or online. This client confirmed the rendering was perfect and easy to read, so with some imagination and Xara Xtreme vector graphics software, graphic designers can achieve professional results.

TAGS: graphic artwork logo design logos small business services Xara Xtreme

About the Author: Jim Degerstrom offers small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including President or General Manager of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center which includes his SBRC Blog from Kissimmee FL USA.

PDF SEO Reports for Website Promotion

Fri, 20 Oct 2007 09:03:00 GMT

posted by jdegerstrom
Here's an update on my PDF SEO reports that document free methods for do-it-yourself website promotion for small business owners. If you have not downloaded these search engine optimization reports, what I teach are free methods and the downloads are free. You do not have to register or reveal your email address. The only investment to implement these SEO techniques is your time.

While tracking statistics I check to see the search phrase visitors entered that brought them to my website. It's been 8 months since my first report entitled "Google Page One in Just 9 Months", so here's an update with many new results for my site as of October 20, 2007. Earlier today I confirmed the following 35 page one results for my website and discovered 7 at #1 on Google page one, 12 at the #2 or #3 position on page one, and another 16 listed on page one anywhere from #4 to #10.

Number One on Page One (7 results)
2 color ad - #1
art work for business cards - #1
artwork for small business - #1 and #2
custom blogger designs - #1
custom business card artwork - #1
example of full color print ad - #1
print advertisement layout tutorial - #1

Number Two or Three on Page One (12 results)
business card artwork - #2
custom blogger - #2
custom graphics small business - #2
custom website price list - #2 and #3
orlando small business graphics - #3
price list for custom website - #2 and #3
small business advice blogs - #3
small business web design advice - #3 and #4
small business website design advice - #2 and #3
website promotion pdf download - #3 (however #1 and #2 are links to my SEO reports)
who invented XHTML? - #2
xara xtreme free templates - #3

Between Number Four and Ten on Page One (16 results)
blogger create custom designs
brochure design tutorial
business advice blog
business card design advice
commercial web site design
design commercial websites
domain registration tutorial
free door advertising templates
free seo report for website
graphic design business resources
list of best commercial website designers
pricing custom artwork
print advertisement layout
published business article
small business article directory
top 4 companies in usa offer custom website for small business

That last one was amusing, and I rather enjoyed "who invented XHTML?" and "list of best commercial website designers", too. The real lesson is learning that these search optimization methods work. More importantly, the key is still adding fresh, original, quality content to your small business website often. Always design your site for your human visitors first, and never use deceptive methods to attempt to gain advantage.

TAGS: small business advice seo search engine optimization seo reports free pdf

About the Author: Jim Degerstrom offers small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including President or General Manager of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center which includes his SBRC Blog from Kissimmee FL USA.

Xara Xtreme Digital Design Tip

Tue, 18 Jul 2007 03:09:00 GMT

posted by jdegerstrom
The artwork in this custom door tag photo edit tutorial was created using Xara Xtreme, and illustrates how combining techniques allows designers to get some interesting special effects for printed marketing materials.

For this client a plain photograph of their truck and trailer was received after I designed their custom logo, and before the new logo was added to their fleet.

The vehicle is typical for their business which is lawn service, power washing, and landscaping. They were anxious to order a custom door tag immediately, and I suggested using this photo and letting me add the logo digitally.

Here's how the finished photo for the ad was designed with the final look displayed in the photo of the last step.

Step 1 - Original photo received from the client. A duplicate clone was created so I had two copies in Xara Xtreme.

Step 2 - Using one copy of the photo I precisely traced the truck and trailer to create a clipping mask, and removed all the background leaving the truck/trailer only.

Step 3 - Using the second original photo I applied a 20% blur so it would fade into the background when the clipped truck and trailer were added later.

Step 4 - Next, the logo vector art was imported and placed on the clipped art along with the phone number in several areas, and then the Xara handles were used to warp the perspective to match the photo for a more realistic look.

Step 5 - A 55 pixel wide portion of the entire left side of the blurred version of the photograph was removed to create an illusion and add a 3D effect when the final step was completed.

Step 6 - The clipped truck and trailer were placed precisely over the blurred version of the truck/trailer in the photo so the truck front protruded off the photo to the left and appears to be driving out of the photograph and onto the page.

The effect was a success and used immediately for the printed custom door tag, and will be incorporated into the custom website design next for a consistent look in print and online. Designing with Xara vector graphics software makes creating professional results so easy that I've been using their programs for almost 4 years.

Novice designers looking for a cost effective alternative to the $500 to $1000 software packages will appreciate the price of Xara Xtreme starting at just under $100USD. Download and try Xara Xtreme free for 30 days, and you're welcome to send me samples of your work, too!

You may want to view the complete custom door tag here to see how the photo was integrated into the advertising piece.

TAGS: artwork tutorial photo edits door tag design xara xtreme

About the Author: Jim Degerstrom offers small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including President or General Manager of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center which includes his SBRC Blog from Kissimmee FL USA.

Xara Xtreme Large Door Tag Template

Tue, 11 Jul 2007 07:47:00 GMT

posted by jdegerstrom
Graphic artists are welcome to download this custom door tag template created in Xara Xtreme (4Kb zip folder, right click and save target as). This is another in the series and it's the large standard half page size of 4.25 inch by 11.0 inch. No registration, email capture, or signup required. This download is another in my series of free resources to help individuals or small business owners with do-it-yourself custom artwork.

Short tutorial: The template is color coded to identify the safe area for text, the bleed area, and margins. Standard guidelines are in place for easier layout. You may use the entire area for the background, but limit text within the green safe area.

The red box in the template is the doorknob hole section and nothing significant like text or important photos should be placed here because they will be hidden once the door tag is placed on the customer's door knob. The dotted outline is the centered placement of the die cut for the hole, and most printers will slit the tag at a 45 degree angle to the edge.

Once you understand the safe area for text and other limitations you may want to remove all the reference colored blocks from the template to begin your design. Email me with any questions or requests for any special templates.

The above illustration is a reduced size low resolution version of a 2-sided full color door hanger artwork done for a landscaping, lawn care, and pressure washing service company in Orlando. The large blank area near the top is to accommodate the die cut 1.5 inch hole for the door knob and the 45 degree angle slit after printing.

The portion lost in the die cut explains why the flowers on the back side are faded with transparency. One third will be cut out, but I chose to include the flowers to add color in what will be left in the finished door hanger.

TAGS: xara templates door tag door hanger free download xara xtreme

About the Author: Jim Degerstrom offers small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including President or General Manager of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center which includes his SBRC Blog from Kissimmee FL USA.

Xara Xtreme v3.2 Software Review

Thu, 15 Jun 2007 06:30:00 GMT

posted by jdegerstrom
Small business owners interested in do-it-yourself graphic design would do well to consider a free trial download of Xara Xtreme v3.2. My choice for vector graphics software has evolved from Xara X to Xara X1 to Xara Xtreme, and the recent release of Xara Xtreme v3.2 is loaded with fantastic enhancements with many new features added based on user feedback.

The first time I downloaded a 30 day trial of Xara software, I made my purchase within 48 hours!

Unlike some larger or otherwise arrogant software companies, the team at Xara Group Ltd encourages and acts on feedback from designers. The latest upgrade to Xara Xtreme proves their commitment to enhancing the end user's experience. Much of my day is spent designing custom graphic artwork and then hand coding websites in XTHML code in a word processor. You do NOT need more expensive software to create professional results.

Xara Xtreme, starting at $79USD, is what I use for all the professional design examples displayed throughout my main site. The limousine business card design and photo tutorial was done entirely in Xara Xtreme and shows the steps used to create a stunning effect.

The ability to integrate my photo editor to launch, edit, and save changes to photos from within my Xara drawings is one of the great new options, and a real time saver. If you're like me and detest flash animations on websites because of the large file size, you should be impressed with the new flash option added by Xara.

I created a 720px by 140px banner with a beach background and a huge jet flying into the frame from the left, across the banner, and then disappearing to the right. I was completely shocked that the animation was just over 200kb when I expected the file to be 10x that size.

Pros: price, performance, ease of use, professional results, and excellent tutorials
Cons: none (the great help files and demo movies shorten the learning curve for new users)

View the full list of features for Xara Xtreme v3.2 here to help you decide. Unlike some download trial software, and because of many years using Xara products, I purchased the upgrade first before downloading and installing it. After just 2 days using the new features, I have no regrets.

TAGS: advice review software review xara xtreme

About the Author: Jim Degerstrom offers small business advice based on 30 years in management, sales, and marketing, including President or General Manager of small companies in 5 states. He is proficient in website and graphic art design, and runs his online Small Business Resource Center which includes his SBRC Blog from Kissimmee FL USA.