Varaz Gharakhanian, Marketing Manager, 4over.com joins host Scott Sheppard from his booth at this year’s Graphics of the Americas conference to explain how designers can benefit from working with their high-volume print services. Varaz explains they recently launched a large format service and also have business affiliate programs available to designers so you can make money by reselling their print services along with creative design. For more information visit: http://www.4over.com.

Sara Cowley, Designer, Cowley Design joins hosts Scott Sheppard & Gene Gable for an in-depth look at her work which includes packaging and surface design. Her unique designs and focus present creative challenges as often her designs, unlike an ad or a logo, are often the final saleable product. Sara describes her journey from graduating art school to learning the ropes of running a business and ultimately starting her own firm. Sara shares some tips on selectively growing your client base and possible pitfalls to avoid when first starting out as an independent.

Sara explores some of the inspiration and creative process involved in her surface design work which includes bookmarks, wine tags, bookplates, mousepads, and more. Unlike other client work, this type of design involves creating the products first and then pitching the final concepts to clients for fulfillment and retail.

Sara also teaches typography at the Creative Circus, a portfolio school in Atlanta.

Find out more about her work, or read her blog at: http://cowleydesign.com/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay joins us this week to discuss some upcoming design focused “Road Shows” which are exciting events that can help you get up to speed on your favorite applications. Jay’s list includes offerings by Mogo Media, Rocky Mountain School of Photography, Adobe Events, Apple Store Events, Noble Desktop,

Jay maintains a special industry calendar with more details, dates, locations, and links at: http://www.design-tools.com/events/

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Dr. Yao-Hui Huang, CEO & Joey Kilrain, Creative Director, Gigapixel Creative join hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable to share their backgrounds - Yao was in pharmaceuticals and Joey a fine artist - and the overall vision behind their unique New York based web agency. Their background in technology, art, and business has allowed them not only to offer award-winning creative direction but they also provide their clients; strategy consulting, marketing, development, and technology support services.

Yao and Joey explain their approach in consulting with client’s business needs first. Once they have a full understanding of their direction and goals they are then able to prepare a comprehensive Web 2.0 strategy that combines design elements with the latest web platforms and technologies. Their clients include Time Warner, General Mills, Pfizer, Chase, and many others. They also offer affordable turn-key solutions through their Baby Gigs group.

In addition to working closely with top agencies, also founded an incubator for innovative technologies through The Hatchery. Yao and Joey discuss how they partner with key venture capital firms, media companies and technologists to identify, fund, and support new ideas and business concepts. Each month, 3 companies are selected to participate in The Gauntlet, picture an “American Idol” for tech startup companies, where they can present ideas to an elite forum and gain feedback on their concepts.

To find out more visit: http://www.gigapixelcreative.com/ or The Hatchery at: http://www.hatchedby.us/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week to share the latest news including that Quark XPress is now supporting InDesign and InCopy. Jay is one of the industry’s definitive source of Quark news and as a Quark insider, he explains some of the benefits of their latest announcement. Jay also share some tips about a cost effective web design program, Freeway 5 from SoftPress who offer upgrades from GoLive and other options.

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com