After more than a month away, I am finally getting back to blogging. Thanks for your patience and for sticking with me, readers! While even the best bloggers have their slow months, I do apologize for my prolonged absence. What my time away means for you, though, is a whole lot of fresh posts coming your way!

I may not have been posting lately, but I have been brainstorming and putting together some great new content for you. I have been looking in new places for inspiration and ideas to share with you, not to mention some really helpful Tips & Tricks. To catch up on what’s new with GetCreative, check out our Facebook and Twitter pages. Welcome back- stay tuned for fresh new content in the very near future.

Like a kid with a new toy, I can’t wait to tell you about some new additions to my home office. The space in general hasn’t changed much from the photo above, but there are some new subtle (and important) details. I have some new hardware and updated software to tell you about below.

First, meet my new monitor! This beauty is the Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23″ Monitor, found here. While my previous monitor was great, there are a few factors that really make this Dell stand out. Let’s start with the obvious, which is size. At 23″ and 1920 x 1080 pixels, my monitor is as tall as some are wide. This extra wide view let’s me work with two programs side by side, which is ideal for updating and previewing websites (see example screenshot below).

Another feature that sold me on this monitor is the option of portrait or landscape orientation, plus the spectacular viewing angles. The viewing angles allow the screen to be seen clearly from the top and bottom, and both sides. The portrait view may be less obviously useful, but as a designer I look forward to using it on occasion. One such use for a tall skinny view is capturing screenshots of my designs. A portrait view will allow me to view the entire page without scrolling, making portfolio building that much easier.

Next up on my list of upgrades is a new 64-bit operating system. When it comes to computer tech my husband is the nerd of the house, so suffice it to say that my machine is running better than ever and my designs have never looked so good. If you want to learn more about 64-bit vs. 32-bit operating systems, I recommend this Wikipedia entry.

During the system upgrade, I decided it was as good a time as ever to invest in the new Lightroom 3 software. I upgraded from Lightroom 2, which I loved, and am pleased to say that so far the newer version is great. I have edited a professional portrait session and had some non-work related fun with the program so far. I still have a lot to learn about the new version of Lightroom, but so far I am enjoying the additional presets, better import system and, of course, 64-bit compatibility. I’ll report back with more details if I find the software worthy of a full review.

So there you have it, all the new items and upgrades that have been going on around here lately. Do you have any new toys to brag about? Are you starting the summer off with new software? Let me know, I’d love to hear about it!

As promised a few weeks ago, we have been busy making some changes and updates to the GetCreative website. The newest change is the structure of our web design portfolio. We work hard to ensure that each website portrays the needs and desires of our clients, and we wanted our portfolio to reflect this. There is still plenty of eye-candy, and some additional information about each project to give some insight into our design process.

Previously our online portfolio consisted of two columns of website screenshots and a link to each page. Now, each item in the portfolio contains the client name as well as a brief description of services provided by GetCreative. On the right of each description is a screenshot of the design, with a link to the live site. This new look offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at each project in our portfolio, describing each website from conception to execution. Take a look around the new portfolio and let us know what you think!

I’m excited to show off some changes here on the GetCreative Web Design site. ‘The cobbler’s children go barefoot’ no more…or however that saying goes. It can be so easy to put off work on our own businesses when we put the client first. It pays off, though, to dedicate some time to our own projects; this helps ensure that we continue to gather new clients for the future.

We have made a few changes to the layout- the most noticeable here being the expanded width of each page and blog post. Changes will continue gradually (in between all that client work), so please be patient as we get all the kinks worked out. In the mean time check out our modified ‘About’ page, with a new section on what GetCreative is doing to give back to our community. Stay tuned for more updates!

GetCreative Web Design is now a Better Business Bureau Accredited Business.  We know how important your website is to you and your business, which is why we make it a priority to be a reliable company that you can trust. To reassure you that we are a dependable resource for your graphic and website needs, we proudly display this BBB seal.

Companies accredited by the Better Business Bureau must meet their Standards for Trust:

First, thanks to Google’s new font directory, I have added some new fonts to the GetCreative website. (I’ll be posting more about web fonts this later this week, stay tuned!) You will notice the headings and navigation buttons on pages and blog posts are now a more decorative sans-serif called Yanone Kaffeesatz instead of the former Arial. In newer browsers that support CSS3, there is also a slight shadow to the headings and navigation buttons, creating a more dynamic look. The body font remains the standard Arial for readability purposes.

In addition to the aesthetic changes, GetCreative is now accepting credit card payments on our website. We have set up credit card processing through PayPal for the convenience of our clients. You can now pay deposits and invoices securely online with just a few clicks. This payment option can be found on our Contact page.

We welcome your feedback and would love to know what you think of these changes. Check back soon for upcoming posts on web fonts, logo designs and a fabulous Friday Finds website. That’s all the news we have for now, thanks for reading!

Last but not least- subscribe! By subscribing with your favorite RSS reader you can stay updated on blog posts without having to check the website all the time. Click the link below to subscribe, and thanks for reading!

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UPDATE: As one of my loyal readers pointed out, I have completely neglected them in this post! So a big THANK YOU to those of you who are already subscribers! I am grateful for all of my faithful readers.

Some benefits of WordPress software include full editing capabilities with access to all CSS and PHP files via FTP uploader or their own functional text Editor, among other technical goodies for the geek in all of us. The blog is also now incorporated into the GetCreative web site, so no more linking externally to read the blog. Thank goodness!

There were two main goals for the new blog design: style and function. The new header says far more about our company than the generic Blogger header that we had previously, and the links, borders, and colors are now on track with the rest of the site. One feature that we’ve added for convenient readability is the “Read the rest of this entry” link. This gives you an overview of the last ten posts on the blog homepage, without having to scroll through entire articles if you don’t feel like reading them. (Although of course that isn’t an issue here on our blog, as such articles do not exist.)

So- click around, read a bit, view some images and let me know what you think! Feedback, both positive praise and constructive criticism, is always welcome and (usually) appreciated.