October 28th, 2009 → 7:54 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Windows 7 – finally! Here’s my first post from Windows 7 . . . and with quite some programs still missing, especially Adobe Photoshop and all my pictures! So I have to get some magic out of NextGenGallery!
Windows 7 is all geared for Multi Media and needs a lot of punch; that’s where the imminent future is and as Web Designers, Internet Marketers and anyone involved in Online Communication and Social Media Publishing we’ve got to prepare for it now. I just did a clean and painless Windows 7 installation on a new 500 GB harddrive and I invested in a good Media efficient Graphics Card! I spent most of the day downloading and installing all the programs we need, be in SmartFTP, PSpad Editor or Mozilla Firefox… and then I looked at Security! Ha!
Following Yorgo Nestoridis’ wise instructions on Windows 7 Security sounded good and the right thing to do: to download Microsoft Security Essentials after investing in Microsoft’s Windows 7… (. . . following the costly Vista experience that is :)
But while it seems that the money is good never mind where it comes from, some countries are just treated differently than others, even in the “global village” of the Internet… – and in South Africa we just get this encouraging message:
You appear to be in a country or region where Microsoft Security Essentials is not available. Thank you for your interest in Microsoft Security Essentials.”
BANG!
Here’s for my South African friends: I’m back with an AV program I have always been very happy with – and I tested many of them over the years: I stick with Avast! for Online Security.
Free for Home users… and a decent price for Business Accounts… and most importantly: they are GOOD and AVAILABLE… even at the end of the world… as if that mattered online :)
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 25th, 2009 → 10:35 am @ Bianca Gubalke
“Cup of Gold” is an interesting search term with a whopping 37,3 million returns on Google. . . but what I found was not exactly what I was looking for, at least not within the very concise context I was planning for my article to feature my Cup of Gold Image.
“Cup of Gold” as to Wikipedia is John Steinbeck’s first novel… some historical fiction which was more or less based on “… the privateer Henry Morgan’s life and death. It centres on Morgan’s assault and sacking of the city of Panama, sometimes referred to as the ‘Cup of Gold’, and the woman fairer than the sun reputed to be found there.”
Reminds me that it’s a while since I read Steinbeck…
“Cup of Gold” is described by Susan F. Beegel as follows: “. . . From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanis Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja and to conquer Panama, the “cup of gold.” Steinbeck’s first novel and sole work of historical fiction, Cup of Gold is edgy and adventurous, brash and distrustful of society, and sure to add new dimensions to readers’ perceptions of this all-American writer.”
Finding what you are not looking for and not knowledgeable about is always an exciting source for new ideas… at least for me :)
I will remember this when I write about “Obsession”. . . which of course brings me to fragrances… perfumes… and flowers in my garden! My preferred topic!
In fact, what I was looking for was at the bottom of that Goolge Top 10 page: “Cup of Gold Plant”. . . as “Cup of Gold” is the common name for Solandra Maxima!
Solandra Maxima! What an amazing flower! What an amazing fragrance… and yes, don’t eat this poison…
I’m happiest when discovering my magic garden, especially in the early morning hours when the first golden rays glide over the mountain tops and unveil the secrets of the new-born day, accompanied by the busy buzz of bees and birds and the beguiling fragrances of a softly rustling breeze.
Solandra Maxima – with 3,710.000 returns on Google – is a tropical plant that originated in Mexico, was brought as an ornamental to Hawai where it possibly got its common name “Cup fo Gold”… and somehow this stunning vine with its large, leathery creamy-gold flowers marked by dark purple veins and exuding a strong scent between coconut and chamomile (my personal description), found its way to South Africa. I first saw it in the Company Gardens in Cape Town when I was a little girl… and then I planted it in my own garden!
The surprise of seeing it suddenly in full bloom in my secret jungle was yesterday’s gift – immediately shared in the Ycademy Seminar October 2009!
No Ycademy Seminar without “Secret Garden”; no Ycademy Seminar without flowers from my garden – as such “Cup of Gold” was presented live at the Ycademy Seminar October 2009… and it’s not over yet!
This month’s Ycademy Seminar focuses also on Media: how to firstly create a higher quality of original images for our Blogs and Websites using Digital Photography (mainly Author Blogs and NewsCast on Semiomantics Scripts) and how to obtain a higher visibility on Google and Social Networks through improved Editing and Publishing of the digital images.
Enjoy my gorgeous “Cup of Gold” for YOU!
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 20th, 2009 → 6:27 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
[ hide ]
Website themes and templates that allow us to create a visually appealing look are what we are looking for when we want to brand ourselves in a professional way on the Internet.
With our own product – the Google efficient Semiomantics XO Scripts – we already get a spiffy SEO optimized technical setup that we then configure according to our needs and preferences ourselves… if we have the complex knowledge and skill. The alternative is to outsource to a professional Graphic Designer.
It’s an important choice and a clear Business decision.
Website useability in general is a crucial consideration in Website Design.
What it means is that Website Themes need to be customer-friendly and reader-oriented in various ways and on different levels for diverse needs.
It starts with the simple fact that not everybody online sees the same; we all have different screens, different resolutions, different settings and different programs alltogether. Not to mention different browsers…
While I find this very disturbing as a graphic designer, I have to accept it and find the best way to offer my content, pictures, media… brief everything I show on my website in an optimal way to a maximum of readers, visitors and existing as well as potential customers.
As I now have a 23 inch screen, I know what I missed before… but also the constraints for everything I am doing in terms of Web Design.
While I personally love a highly aesthetic website design that leaves room for discovery – as I did on yesterday’s ‘beaming’ website theme – I am aware that while the web design is perfect for a photo blog, it’s not ideal when offering good web content – meaning that the ease of reading in that case was only possible through scrolling. It’s a little detail, however, it may cost a reader.
Therefore, minus points in terms of mere Web Design.
Just as the website navigation system should allow for easy and intuitive navigation between the different sections of a site, the typography should allow for fast reading in terms of color and fonts… and having almost black fonts on black, even if only partially, is in my view extremely sexy – yeah, it’s artistic and Dali would love it – but not appreciated in the fast & easy my brain got lost in the gym environment.
Bearing the above in mind, I created a new website theme that solves the above issues while being elegant and totally in sync with my Brand – up to the subtle floral background based on a picture from my garden that I prepared in Photoshop.
Just the Bee missing, but be assured I’ll get to that one too :)
Even the Bianca Gubalke Logo had to be slightly adapted in its nuances for maximum harmony with the delicate color scheme. Again, it’s always a matter of details and lots of work and testing until the desired result is achieved. And at the end it looks soooo easy. . . so obvious!
Simplicity so often if not always has a hidden history of lots of learning and doing it over and over again… until! Practice and Experience leads to Mastery…
As a next step I will have to think of Social Networks and adapt my Twitter account… no boredom ever – guaranteed!
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 19th, 2009 → 7:08 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
[ hide ]
Branding your Website sounds like the grand finale of something elaborated over time… and yes it is! However. . .
Branding your Website is a prerequisite for building your online business, any business in fact.
As such, it is also a beginning, meaning the start of ‘YOU’ as you wish to present yourself to the online community, to people you know and people you don’t know, reflecting who you are and what you wish to express – brief: your presence on the Internet.
Once there, forever there – it cannot be erased !
Branding on Social Networks means that you give yourself the same image wherever you go so people start recognizing you or your brand. On most Social Networks you are given ample opportunity and space to express and present yourself… so you wish to align everything you do in order to be easily recognized – and you can go retro, fun, classy, grunge, jazzy or wild… whatever you want, as long as it reflects a professional image. Your online fingerprint
While I still have work to do in terms of Media, my Author Blog is branded… and if you follow through the various posts and web graphics you see how my preferred colors were always interwoven with what I did and you’ll recognize a personal style that’s independent of colors and fonts.
It is simply terrific to see the laborious route we’ve taken on the “Path to Profitability” in our sophisticated daily Trainings and exclusive Ycademy Seminars month after month, year after year…. up to a point now where – like any major Corporate Company – we are building our own image online. The Internet levels out the playground between the Davids and the Goliaths and for all those who have been following, learning, applying and implementing with courage and consistency what was taught over the years the image and presence of the business concerned will be built solid and aligned with a longterm vision for success and fulfillment… and this within a fascinating environment: cyber space!
Here’s my Brand look on Twitter. . . although I am not happy with the quality of the screenshots; the red just bleeds…
Branding your Online Newspaper… where in fact this mysterious journey into the ‘Secret World of Code’ started – in my case Touch Vision Talk on a Semiomantics NewsCast Script – will be part of the Ycademy October Seminar to be held this coming weekend. Not everybody was ready for even thinking of Branding… thus we now have a second chance to bring everything we do online in line. Including our Online Newspaper.
In the planned Workshop, we will get hands-on expert guidance on following through with the complex Coding and applying our Branding touch in terms of Web Design and Web Graphics to our Online Newspaper.
Another exciting weekend not to be missed – absolutely not!
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 18th, 2009 → 7:03 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/wegobiz-media-marketing/.
[ hide ]
“Wegobiz Media Marketing” is the next website I neglected over the past years; time to get it up and running. . . of course on on Semiomantics XO, what else!
Wegobiz Media Marketing will be focusing on topics like Media, Publishing and Marketing – everything that makes us tick on the Internet plus many exciting excursions into Web Design and Graphic Images and everything the future holds for us in terms of Media. Having just installed Windows 7 with its many media-related features will allow us to explore lots of interesting new aspects that will find their reflection on this new old website!
In Wegobiz Media Marketing I will stick to my favorite color scheme since decades: white, black, silver and a hot passionate shot of REAL red!
As most customers prefer a more colorful palette when it comes to Web Design, I will also continue experimenting with other color combinations and fonts depending on the topic or expectations of my clients. However, as was the case with my book and catalogue designs in the offline world in the past, I will always endeavour to ensure that the style is recognizable in the virtual world.
I like this stunningly beautiful Grunge Font within the rather sober context; it just adds that bit of feminine flair that I need… like the fluff of a red exquisite accessoire on a simple yet elegantly cut black and white outfit or dress… remember Coco Chanel, she set an example I always admired.
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 17th, 2009 → 9:40 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/wegowell-publishing/.
[ hide ]
Wegowell Publishing was lost and no longer seen… but it will hopefully be completely regained as Neil Dimanond sings… in other words: it was rediscovered, totally cleaned out, upgraded to 2.8.4 on Semiomantics and brought onto a new path to Google Top 10 today!
While wegowell.com was initially planned for quite another purpose, our plans have changed and the new “Wegowell Publishing” will be focusing on Media, Communication and Design – all topics I have been writing about, with an emphasis on Web Design and Web Graphics as part of Design.
To relax a bit from the boring clean-out, I started experimenting and designed a picture that could well be the start of a sexy Wegowell Publishing Logo.
What interested me here was firstly the background design with its original color array; I hope it’s not only my new screen that gives me such sparkling colors :) You may have guessed right: I created it from an original picture I took in my garden.
Secondly, I wanted to achieve an interesting tension between two sets of fonts, of which one should be in the initials in big – WP for Wegotop Publishing – and in transparent fonts.
Transparent Fonts are achieved when playing with the many effects in the Layer Style Options of Photoshop.
I am not aware whether transparent fonts are available otherwise, but here practice makes perfect and the more we know our tools and exercise with the diverse options, the better the results achieved.
I never really focused on transparent fonts this consciously before, so I had to find my way through the jungle of fine effects and nuances of light and shadow. . . and there’s room for improvement.
What is fascinating is always what we find along the way when actually looking for something else… and so Photoshop never stops to surprise and amaze me; it has its price, but it’s simply a magnificent program!
I will come up with some other variations for Wegowell Publishing soon!
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 17th, 2009 → 8:57 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/guinea-marketing-2/.
Guinea Marketing was just an example to demonstrate the route that needs to be taken when looking for a name to brand.
Once a domain name is found and a blog or web site setup, the prime objective is visibility on Google – focus Google Top 10.
What count here is the Domain name (but not necessarily), an efficient Script – Semiomantics ideally as in my case here -, smart Editing and spiffy Publishing.
Guinea Marketing on Google – the proof within less than 24 hours and on 13,6 million search returns:
Whatever we do on the Internet and at whatever level we may consider ourselves to be, we have to continue learning and improving in all sorts of areas – this will never stop. And it’s exciting as it constantly keeps us on our toes, offers new challenges and has our little neurons dancing!
Editing Skills will be the focus in the Ycademy October Seminar; so if you wish to refine your knowledge and skills, make sure you get a ticket in time HERE.
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 16th, 2009 → 6:38 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/guinea-marketing/.
“Guinea Marketing” – what is that?
Did you ever hear of a thing like that? Plus a noisy guinea fowl – you sure can’t miss hearing that one – with or without sound!
I beat this caught your attention!?! So what’s Guinea Marketing all about?
Guerilla MarketingHaving used the picturesque and typically African guinea fowls as a background in both picture and sound in Audios and Presentations on Auctiontalk LIVE, it was just natural to sooner or later think of “Guinea Marketing” as a possible Marketing Brand – a creative thought process stimulated by a picture of a guinea fowl in the rain in my garden.
I immediately felt the probably quite marketing efficient proximity to “Guerilla Marketing”.
Therefore, before getting too excited… and as a normal and essential next step when choosing a name – any name -, I had to check what else there was on the market, whether the name was taken, and by whom… and of course, I had to refresh my memory on the concept of Guerilla Marketing.
The quickest way to find out is to look at wikipedia, which explains is as “… an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing textbooks.
Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such asintercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. More innovative approaches to Guerrilla marketing now utilize cutting edge mobile digital technologies to really engage the consumer and create a memorable brand experience.”
I like this. . . it’s spontaneous, it’s imaginative, it’s modern… and if you’ve ever seen one guinea fowl create a BUZZZZZ you know what I mean… and you’d agree it’s a funny and very apt presentation!
But of course, “Guinea Marketing” was already taken… and while I immediately thought “guinea fowl” there’s the state Guinea… and Guinea Marketing has 12.7 million returns on Google – so that was that.
My point here is that in real life as in Digital Advertising – whenever we create or choose a name that we want to brand and build -, we need to first do some thorough research and based on the results make an informed decision.
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 15th, 2009 → 7:20 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/online-communication/landscapes-photography/.
Landscapes Photography is certainly something everybody with a digital camera is interested in, the proof being over 41 million search returns on Google with some absolutely awesome landscape photos and luscious landscapes by amateurs and professional photographers alike, both in black and white and in color.
Interestingly, “Landscapes Photography” beats “Nature Photography” by about 10 million search entries, who would have thought so?
Which shows that one would never know without looking it up – which is a basic rule and revelatory lesson when it comes to anything we do, research or get involved with on the Internet, big or small. In fact, it should be a natural reflex… and it will be in the near future.
Landscapes Photography is a phenomenal if not THE source of inspiration when it comes to Web Design and, of course, Graphic Design.
For the purpose of this post and as you may have seen on many of my articles, I often base my Web Graphics on my own pictures and photos taken with my digital camera and post-edited in Photoshop – however not always. I always attempt to make pictures that need no additional editing, although there are also the quick snapshots with a clear purpose – for instance a fascinating pattern that I can transform into a texture for a background.
I encourage all web designers to improve this skill of self expression as not only is it rewarding on a personal level, it enhances your websites and blogs dramatically… which is important if not essential in a virtual world that feeds on images.
“Landscapes Closeups” sounds like a contradiction in itself, however, I love the magic of the delicate, secret and almost invisible worlds within the world.
Like in my example here, it’s sometimes a tiny detail that attracts me and – once enlarged on my screen – I discover a magic and drama I was totally unaware of when taking the picture… although I wonder what attracted me in the first place? But that may be an idea for another post. . .
From a technical viewpoint and without going into the many lenses and zooms for which there are great professional tutorials, I prefer to frame my picture as close as possible, meaning also to have the parts nearest to the camera in focus and let the background and parts furthest from the camera go out of focus . . . the famous ‘blur’ effect.
Happy Photoshooting!
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 13th, 2009 → 11:37 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/semiomantics/psychic-readings-by-delia-oriordan/.
[ hide ]
“Psychic Readings” by Delia O’Riordan is an exciting new category on TouchVisionTalk and promises to be an interesting one when it comes to Search Engine Optimization: the keyword combination “psychic readings” has just 2.130 million returns, however… there’s fierce competition and tons of advertising, page after page!
Which obviously presents just the right challenge to proove the efficiency of our Semiomantics XO Scripts!
Pictures from my Garden by Bianca Gubalke
When I drove into Cape Town yesterday, I discovered a “Google Top 10″ advertisement on the rear window of a big 4×4, offering to get websites to Google Top 10 for a monthly fee. . . followed by a gmail address :)
Offering and doing and fullfilling the promise are two different pairs of shoes as we know… and the brand-new online appearance of Delia O’Riordan going for a very popular keyword combination is just the right challenge to once again practice and show the power of our Semiomantics Scripts and the unbeatable YORGOO Publishing Network.
While the name combinations show high Google Top 10 visibility all over, sometimes as high as 9 out of 10 on page 1 (… that’s become pretty normal), we made it to an amazing position 5 on “Psychic Readings” on Google Top 10 within less than an hour… Of course, the Master himself was at work here, however, a totally mind-blowing result! And we just got started. . . watch out for more!
What does Delia O’Riordan base her Psychic Readings on?
Here are some extra-sensory disciplines within the realm of Parapsychology she will include:
Tarot
Numerology
Jungian Psychology
Near-death-experiences
Life-after-death-research
Life after Death research interests me particularly, especially in combination with the extraordinary global findings when it comes to “Near-death-experiences”, which I studied at the time with the late Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross.
I went into this theme a while ago when writing a Book Review, and am always looking forward to learning more around this fascinating theme – which obviously has many sceptics especially amongst the scientific fundamentalists… however, don’t forget that the bigger part of the world believes in Reincarnation… and personally I never had a doubt about this myself, never.
Time will show. . . and things may come together again and show that it’s all ONE … perhaps with the help of the famous research scientist Professor Dr. Gary Schwartz, author of “The Afterlife Experiments. Subtitled Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death”. Having been highly sceptical about the subject of mediumship initially, Schwartz, who received his doctorate from Harvard University and served as a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University before moving to Arizona, gradually came to accept the reality of mediumship:
“I can no longer ignore the data and dismiss the words. . . They are as real as the sun, the trees, and our television sets, which seem to pull pictures out of the air. (. . .) I think it is ultimately the research mediums, like Allison DuBois, as they become visible and public, who will awaken the public to the science, and then the people can go to the science and reach their own conclusions.”
Lots of interesting and thought-provoking material to come from “Psychic Readings” by Delia O’Riordan.
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 13th, 2009 → 11:37 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/semiomantics/psychic-readings-by-delia-oriordan/.
[ hide ]
“Psychic Readings” by Delia O’Riordan is an exciting new category on TouchVisionTalk and promises to be an interesting one when it comes to Search Engine Optimization: the keyword combination “psychic readings” has just 2.130 million returns, however… there’s fierce competition and tons of advertising, page after page!
Which obviously presents just the right challenge to proove the efficiency of our Semiomantics XO Scripts!
Pictures from my Garden by Bianca Gubalke
When I drove into Cape Town yesterday, I discovered a “Google Top 10″ advertisement on the rear window of a big 4×4, offering to get websites to Google Top 10 for a monthly fee. . . followed by a gmail address :)
Offering and doing and fullfilling the promise are two different pairs of shoes as we know… and the brand-new online appearance of Delia O’Riordan going for a very popular keyword combination is just the right challenge to once again practice and show the power of our Semiomantics Scripts and the unbeatable YORGOO Publishing Network.
While the name combinations show high Google Top 10 visibility all over, sometimes as high as 9 out of 10 on page 1 (… that’s become pretty normal), we made it to an amazing position 5 on “Psychic Readings” on Google Top 10 within less than an hour… Of course, the Master himself was at work here, however, a totally mind-blowing result! And we just got started. . . watch out for more!
What does Delia O’Riordan base her Psychic Readings on?
Here are some extra-sensory disciplines within the realm of Parapsychology she will include:
Tarot
Numerology
Jungian Psychology
Near-death-experiences
Life-after-death-research
Life after Death research interests me particularly, especially in combination with the extraordinary global findings when it comes to “Near-death-experiences”, which I studied at the time with the late Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross.
I went into this theme a while ago when writing a Book Review, and am always looking forward to learning more around this fascinating theme – which obviously has many sceptics especially amongst the scientific fundamentalists… however, don’t forget that the bigger part of the world believes in Reincarnation… and personally I never had a doubt about this myself, never.
Time will show. . . and things may come together again and show that it’s all ONE … perhaps with the help of the famous research scientist Professor Dr. Gary Schwartz, author of “The Afterlife Experiments. Subtitled Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death”. Having been highly sceptical about the subject of mediumship initially, Schwartz, who received his doctorate from Harvard University and served as a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University before moving to Arizona, gradually came to accept the reality of mediumship:
“I can no longer ignore the data and dismiss the words. . . They are as real as the sun, the trees, and our television sets, which seem to pull pictures out of the air. (. . .) I think it is ultimately the research mediums, like Allison DuBois, as they become visible and public, who will awaken the public to the science, and then the people can go to the science and reach their own conclusions.”
Lots of interesting and thought-provoking material to come from “Psychic Readings” by Delia O’Riordan.
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 13th, 2009 → 8:26 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/friends/delia-oriordan-friends/psychic-readings-psychic-readings/.
[ hide ]
“Psychic Readings” by Delia O’Riordan has finally been introduced as a new category in the online publication Touch Vision Talk, which focuses on the five senses – namely Touch, Vision, Smell, Taste and Hearing – and now Psycho, standing for the 6th Sense.
While Psychic Readings – or let’s call them Psychic Consultations – by specially gifted and intuitive people like mediums, clairvoyants and astrologers have been consulted since ancient times – be it by kings, head of states, stars, business profiles or just simple ordinary people who needed advice when having to make important choices or when being in doubt or at crossroads in matters pertaining to career, family, romance, state of health etc – there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there… and simply pointing to the Daily Horoscope has really nothing to do with it.
Professional Psychic Readings can be amazingly accurate and detailed, and while for skeptics the ‘how’ may still reside in the sphere where there is “…more between heaven and earth…” than we see and know – which doesn’t proove its absence -, the fact is that certain people sense more than others, see more than others – thus the 6th Sense. Actually, we all have or had access to it, but as we never used it or as it was drilled and educated out of us, it’s just dormant. Sadly so. . .
In fact, the reality of “psychic readings” has been proven in an extremely solid way by scientists in Texas, USA.
Good psychic professionals give astonighing clues and helpful answers in their personal readings, which in my view can also be regarded as a mirror for deep thought finding processes.
This is why I am very excited to introduce Delia O’Riordan, whose professional psychic readings have been successfully used by private as well as government institutions especially in the United States, Canada and South Africa to find answers and clues in very distressing cases.
Besides being very sensitive, lucid and consequent, Delia O’Riordan disposes of a wealth of knowledge and experience that will flow into her articles, bringing “psychic readings” and their usefulness closer to our understanding, and this in an interesting, informative and entertaining way.
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 11th, 2009 → 9:38 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/new-web-design-for-auctiontalk-live-2/.
Blue is definitively not the same blue on various computers even if you think code is code… that’s yet another experience I made today when checking my new Web Design for Auctiontalk Live on a friend’s Apple Mac.
On the other hand, my relatively new Web Design Blog came with a sharpness and lightness in all its artistic details that was just mind blowing – whereas these details were missing on other blogs, eg. where I worked fine vertical lines into a grey degrade background like HERE. They were simply gulped up – gone!
Also, unless you sit in a relatively dark room without reflections on your screen… it’s not an easy one to get all those fine color nuances right… and who wants to shut out the sun once it has finally made its long overdue appearance … and this on a Sunday?
Besides, what looks just perfect on one screen doesn’t mean someone else sees it in the same light and resolution… not to mention color blindness… and there goes that special finesse you’ve spent so much time and effort on!
However, the more one tries the closer the optimal result – there is no other way… and experience makes master.
So I continued exploring more color variations for the background of the New Web Design for Auctiontalk Live – which was quite a tricky one as while I wanted to eliminate a tick of red I did not want to lose the luminous wiry design and still have a blue that worked as a good background to my gold to red font colors, which I did not change.
So above you see the slightly different version.
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 11th, 2009 → 11:58 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/new-web-design-for-auctiontalk-live/.
[ hide ]
Following our various Workshops and Ycademy Seminars and as creating and then experimenting with Opaque as well as Transparent Backgrounds and combining them with exciting Fonts, I was inspired to attack my ‘oldest’ yet ‘goldest’ Blog, namely AuctiontalkLive.
AuctiontalkLive is getting a new Design by Bianca Gubalke
Auctiontalk Live runs on a Semiomantics XO Script and has a history of success on Google Top 10 since its inception.
In my eyes… and as Media Marketing oriented, this Blog deserves the color blue in combination with gold to red. I decided not to squeeze in any other color – like green for instance, to keep to the symbolic RGB … or grey, which always brings in an additional touch of elegance – I kept it to 3 colours and am quite happy with the result so far.
I did struggle a bit with the font burner and put it into the deleted folder until I am back from my appointment later this afternoon… so I will pick it up from there and work on adding fonts for the headers. By then my eyes and my memory may have come back to reveal the secret of where on earth we uploaded the additional fonts on the server.
Any helpful comments would be appreciated :)
I took off AdSense as well and will see how I can adapt the transparency of the background and the color of the Google Ads Fonts. They must integrate – or they must go!
To be continued. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
This page is wiki editable click here to edit this page.
October 10th, 2009 → 7:25 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/semiomantics/transparent-fonts-3/.
My Transparent Fonts are well on their way up on Google Top 10 – thanks to the Semiomantics XO Script performance!
Transparent Fonts integrated in an African Seascape I created from scratch.
In this variation I researched Transparencies in different ways – water, water ways, distant horizons… brief: space and time.
And the experiments with transparent fonts and transparent backgrounds continue. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 9th, 2009 → 6:42 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/semiomantics/transparent-fonts-2/.
Transparent Fonts are easily achieved by creating a stroke around the font itself (Edit > Stroke) and then varying the opacity of the typography layer itself by playing with the percentages – just as I showed in my previous post.
All layer-based graphic programs – like Photoshop – allow us endless possiblities to play with varying opacities.
While President Barack Obama was just awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. . . whoever discovered the ‘layer principle’ and made it available to all of us deserves a Genius Prize… I thank that person daily!
'Circle Experiments' with Nostalgia and Grunge !
This picture here is just another variation of my basic simple “Circle Experiment” – where I started off with a single circle and just added more and more until I ended up with an interesting Graphic Design – this time a mixture between Nostalgia and Grunge sealed in HOT RED and dripping all over :)
I played with filters, transparencies, colours and light adjustments to create more variations… and then I went into extracts and details.
Transparency follows Imagination… and I love being surprised and astonished by it!
“Transparent Fonts” as a keyword on Google has a whopping 57,3 million returns – and my article from a few hours ago today is on Google Top 10. . . just after Auctiontalklive and Yorgo Nestoridis!
Amazing. . . but not good enough as I cannot take a good screenshot with everything visible at the top plus my post at the bottom of page one, I’m just too far down! Or I need another screen. . . a vertical one HA!!!
The alternative?
Let’s see if we can move up a little and show, once again, the power of Semiomantics XO!
Let me post quickly and you keep your fingers crossed :)
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 9th, 2009 → 9:57 am @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/transparent-fonts/.
Following my experiments with transparent backgrounds, I continued to research more lightness by playing with Transparent Fonts.
In this example I created Transparent Fonts for my Header Graphic.
I was interested to see how the transparency of the font would impact on the Grunge Font I am using here… and whether this would add to the sense of visual flow within the overall ‘liquid theme’ I created in this Blog. I added a gradient as well to achieve that effect.
In the following example, I increased the opacity of the red gradient to 80%.
It’s all about details… and experimenting until the desired effect or result is achieved.
Above here, I took off the stroke around the transparent fonts… however with the red at the bottom, the typography is perhaps a little heavy, like sinking downwards… and I want it to flow harmoniously along.
The only way to see is to try a different version… so here I turned the transparency gradient around:
WOW! Interesting “Design in the Mist” … so to give it a bit more stability without being too harsh, I re-activated the Stroke Effect, however with only around 50%.
I’m quite happy with this version although I could continue endlessly with the “Transparent Fonts” theme, especially as I love everything around Transparency, Luminosity, Transition, Transformation and the rest of that incredible lightness of Being . . .
So I’m never finished… !
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 7th, 2009 → 7:35 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Copyright © 2009 Bianca Gubalke. Visit the original article at http://biancagubalke.com/bianca-gubalke/transparent-backgrounds/.
Transparent backgrounds are no common feature in Blogs or Websites and there is a reason for it: they can become too dominant and therefore distract the attention from what we wish to focus our readers on: our Content.
And of course not everybody has the brilliant Semiomantics XO Scripts as well as the Training Crash Courses by Yorgo Nestoridis to play chess on CSS stylesheets :)
The first rule for creating a transparent background is therefore to design something attractive yet discrete, meaning it integrates harmoniously with our theme, colour scheme, fonts and the overall purpose of the Blog.
In my ‘Design Sandbox Blog” experiment here I basically recall the theme I already used in my Header Graphic.
This black and white header graphic was based on a detail of an artistic interpretation of a photo I took on Noordhoek Beach – you can recall it HERE. I agree, it’s hard to imagine how I got from one to the other, right? It’s still all I did and how I work in general: creating my own pictures and working with them in an intuitive and imaginative way.
Although I always try to keep it simple and sober for maximum focus on what counts most: the Author’s message, content or whatever he wants to bring across, I find the transparent background very pleasant if compared with the sort of solid version I added above for you to see and compare – what do you think?
The other aspect we need to bear in mind is that our page opens fast… especially as everything on the Internet is about Speed and Usability. We may have the most beautiful photo or picture that even suits perfectly as a background for our Blog… however, it’s heavy and takes ages to open.
This is why our Ycademy Training yesterday was so important as it taught all participants how to decrease the weight of background pictures to a maximum.
Transparent Backgrounds or not. . . the same rules apply.
With my example here I made a whole series of tests in Photoshop to find what suits me best. Especially, I decreased the opacity in 20% increments until I reached 20%. The current value is 34.36K and 13 seconds – not bad!
The header graphic is heavier… however, here the enphasis is on high quality as this is what jumps in the eyes first. So it’s always a weighing and compromising a little here or there, however, the better we are in control of our tools the easier it becomes and the better the results – both for the Visitor and for Google.
Happy Experimenting. . . with Semiomantics XO Scripts, what else !
. . .
| Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
October 6th, 2009 → 6:07 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Experimenting with Circles – just circles as a basic geometric form repeating itself ad infinitum all through the Universe fascinates me – and anything related to this. I even included aspects of it in my award-winning movie screenplay “Die Emscher Schlange” back in the early nineties when still living in Europe.
But I’m no mathematician. . . so when it came to Computer Art I watched and admired the beauty of Fractals rather from afar. . . especially those created by a wildly talented and generous scientist in Australia!
However, being without my PC and all that I had in store to work with, I was forced to fire up my laptop which I only used for Artwork, Graphic Design and learning experiments. And then I must have been bitten by a spider yesterday as I just started off with a circle in Photoshop – no special fractal software -, just a first circle… that repeated itself… and so on following an inner rhythm. Playing, learning… and observing my own first steps into the magic world of circular infinity.
Here are my first humble and purely ‘manual’ examples… the originals are obviously huge and I will come back with extracts and details, most probably in the Photo Gallery. The fact is that once one has gone through the hard labour of creating something reasonably satisfactory one has an enormous scope to do additional Circle Experiments and beyond – as I did here. . .!
Clearly, this is the opposite of ‘Grunge’. . . but just as imaginative and. . . surprising!
‘Circle Experiments’ are certainly something I will spend more time on . . . just a little step in learning more about the language of the Universe:
“Philosophy is written in this grand book – I mean universe – which stands continuously open to our gaze, but which cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles and other geometric figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it; without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth.”
Galileo Galilei (1623)
October 4th, 2009 → 8:45 pm @ Bianca Gubalke
Creating your own Signature in your preferred Font is probably something you want to do sooner or later once you’ve experimented with the many stunning, easily recognizable and freely downloadable Fonts out there.
It all looks so simple doesn’t it… and those Fonts are indeed so easy to use and we take them for granted… However, there’s a lot of work that goes into creating any form of balanced and attractive Typography, in fact, it’s an Art for top designers and master calligraphers.
If you don’t believe me, just try to get your name – meaning your signature – out there. Just as I do it for my Artwork . . . the rest I definitely leave to the pro’s.
Palm Prisms by Bianca Gubalke
How would you do this?
Create a new document in Photoshop or Gimp, make sure you start with a transparent layer and then work in layers above that one. Probably you have your chosen Font already, but it’s good to experiment and why not take the pen or brush tool and simply write your name yourself as you normally would on paper. While you may get quite excited doing this eye-opening exercise, you will soon observe where the difficulties are, especially as concerns a confined space like 500×80 pixels as may be the case for your header… and this without being a Graphic Designer and even less a Calligrapher.
When does one’s Signature look right?
While I studied Typography decades ago and the basic principles of good Typography like those of good Architecture never change… and poor letter spacing and kerning can still drive me up the wall… from there to doing something that looks good and dynamic within a short period of time and without killing the History or Undo button is a totally different story…
I know. I did it … and definitely, using a Wacom tablet is not the same as designing on paper… even if having quite a steady hand and tons of self-imposed Patience! The result? Nothing I’d be proud of… not within a couple of hours and without being properly equipped! But do I have a respect and admiration for the guys out there who know what they are doing!
So what’s the answer if you still want to give it a go?
Font Editing Software is a must if you are determined to create your own Fonts… but as there is quite a price attached to this, shop around first, look at what others do and possibly start with the TypeTool first, see whether Font creation is really for you – and once you know this is it… then dig into your wallet and upgrade to something like FontLab.
Alternatively, outsource to a professional. Having your own look in terms of typography as a business is a worthwhile investment. Just browse through all the mega brands – Coca Cola, McDonalds, Microsoft, Coco Chanel – and it jumps into one’s eyes – it’s a must and it needs to be professionally done. No matter what!
![](#<a href="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_white2.jpg" ><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2584" title="Bianca Gubalke Logo" src="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_white2.jpg" alt="Bianca Gubalke Logo" width="340" height="200" /></a>Website Themes’>1.1 <a href="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_white2.jpg" ><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2584" title="Bianca Gubalke Logo" src="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_white2.jpg" alt="Bianca Gubalke Logo" width="340" height="200" /></a>Website Themes</a></li>
<li class=){kind=link}
![](#<a href="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_red.jpg" ><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2563" title="Bianca Gubalke Images" src="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_red.jpg" alt="Bianca Gubalke Images" width="340" height="200" /></a>‘>1.1 <a href="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_red.jpg" ><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2563" title="Bianca Gubalke Images" src="http://biancagubalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/340bianca_logo_red.jpg" alt="Bianca Gubalke Images" width="340" height="200" /></a></a></li>
<li class=){kind=link}