In just over a week the opening show for the 26 Blocks project will debut. The unveiling of the show will be May 7th at the After Hours Gallery downtown as part of the First Friday art walk. It has been a fun project to be a part of, and exciting to see it all come together. We hope to see you there!

PHOENIX, Ariz. (April 27, 2010) - Prepare to be amazed. The riveting 26 Blocks project is complete and ready for its debut at the premier May 7, 2010 at After Hours Gallery. This unique project was a collaboration of 52 of metropolitan Phoenix's most talented writers and photographers and one sculptor/painter working together to promote downtown Phoenix.

"The unveiling of this project comes at a perfect time," said Joey Robert Parks, 26 Blocks founder. "Phoenix is at the center of a lot of controversy right now. With the forefront of social media chatter focused on talk about boycotting Arizona, we're thrilled to promote Phoenix in a highly positive way that encourages everyone to look at their city from very different perspectives."

The endeavor, 26 Blocks, is an art project - an intriguing union of ideas, civic perspectives and artists - featuring 26 blocks of the downtown Phoenix area; each block photographed and written about in a way that captures the most intriguing aspects of the culture and/or past, present or imagined future of each block.

This is an ingenious idea. It could be fun with an image put in the mix too along with the solid colors. You can change the wall to fit your mood, the time of day, or spell out a message. Found [Via]

Change It! Wall Concept

Amirkhan Abdurakhmanov’s Change It! wall concept; allows you to configure walls in any color/design of your choice. The wall is constructed with three sided colored pixels that can be rotated between black, white, or a more colorful side.

A standard framed photo hung on the wall is what most people choose for their home. If you’re looking for something new and creative, consider displaying your images in custom shapes or capture images to create your own unique photo alphabet. With our ability to print direct to different substrates, there are countless ways to show them off.

Hearts, circles, leaves, or stars...you can collage your photographs, or choose one photo and apply an artistic silhouette. It is an easy and inexpensive way to create a striking focal point for any room. We can print direct to plexiglas, brushed metal, or a sleek black plastic.  The custom shape is easy to apply in Illustrator and cut out on our digital router. Perfect for displaying above a couch, bed, or mantel.

Create a custom personalized piece by grabbing your camera and taking alphabet photography. Pick the word you want to spell out and hit the streets looking for themes that will form your letters. Look for silhouettes, letters on printed signs, shapes found in nature and architecture. Compile the 'letters' together and print out as one piece or print each letter separate to be hung in a variety of arrangements. You can even print on to tiles that can be installed in to a back splash. This composite created by Janelle Bradshaw spells out her last name.

With a little imagination these projects can make a one of a kind accent for any room in your house or as a custom-made gift.

There are many products on the market inspired by Pantone's color matching system. These items would make a color perfect addition to your home, as a fashion accessory, or gift for any designer or color fanatic. Some are produced by Pantone themselves, like these birch veneer stools. The first twenty orders of  their limited edition series will even be signed by Pantone founder Lawrence Herbert. These eyeglasses come with a set of interchangeable color stems to suit your mood. Pantone paints are available in over 3,000 colors, make picking colors to remodeling your house as reliable as flipping through a Pantone swatch book.

Other Pantone inspired products include these aluminum folding chairs designed by Selab for Seletti. They have padded seats and come in 672 C pastel pink, 186 C ruby red, 377 C macaw green, 14-0848 mimosa, 268 C royal purple and Cool Gray. My Cuppa mugs come in tea and coffee styles that have Pantone chips inside the mug to represent different degrees of brew and cream levels.  So making your perfect cup of joe is color coded.

If you want to find your own personal color you can check out Pantone's Colorstrology and look up the Pantone color associated with your birthday. Then design your own Pantone product specific to your personality. We would, of course, be happy to help you print your color matched design.

Our Zund G3 digital router can do some amazing things. It is able to cut through a variety of materials, from BioBoard to even leather. Of course, the best results are achieved when the print and cut files are set up correctly. It does take a little knowledge of Illustrator to do it right. This step by step guide shows the best way to set up a file for printing and cutting.

First create a new document in Illustrator. Make sure the document size is large enough to fit the graphic plus registration marks outside of the image. (Registration marks are required for the camera guide on the digital router to line up the artwork and cut file properly.)

Next create three layers in the new document. One for the RegMarks (Registration Marks), one for the ThroughCut (or KissCut if that is what is called for in the project), and one for the graphic or Artwork. Each layer should be named appropriately.

Place your graphic in the Artwork layer. Make sure the artwork is inside the document's bounding box.

On your cut layer create lines and shapes that will go around the artwork. Be sure that proper bleed is built in your graphic and the cut lines are inset at least 1/4" from the outside of your artwork. Create a new swatch named ThroughCut set to Spot Color CMYK and 100% magenta - We recommend making the fill or stroke of the line .5 pt in thickness

For the Registration Marks layer create .25" black circles. Place reg marks outside the graphic, but inside the bounding box of the document.

Be sure to check for any stray points or lines in the file that would effect your final cut.

When you are ready to save, save two versions of the file. To create the print file, turn off the Cut Path layer and leave the Artwork and Registration Marks layers turned on. Save this file as a pdf or eps. To create the cut file, turn off the Artwork layer and make sure the Registration Marks and Cut Path layers are turned on. Save this file as a native Illustrator ai file.

Master these steps, and you will be able to add custom cut elements to your design projects.

If you’ve ever priced out a commercial channel letter sign, then you  know how expensive they can be.  There are a couple main factors that drive up the price. First there are local zoning and permit laws that are required to install one. Second they are also made to last for up to 20 years.

However, the average customer often does not need their sign to last for that long.  By using a vinyl banner instead, you are investing in a sign that can last up to 3 years outside. With our great digital printing technologies, you can still get a very attractive product.  Banners can be hung from the side of a building, or wrapped around a sheet of plywood for a more finished look. Either way, for a fraction of the cost you get a sign that will last for years.

Signs for construction, buildings for sale or rent, and grand opening of a business are all candidates. Perhaps you have promotion you would like to advertise that would be visible from the street. It is also a great option to advertise your business while waiting for your permanent sign to be completed. Another advantage for using a banner is that many zoning ordinances allow them to be used on a temporary basis, whereas you need to go through the permitting process to install a commercial sign.

Even if you don't have a professional digital SLR most point-and-shoot cameras have the capability to take some beautiful images, if you know what you're doing. Point-and-shoot cameras are also more convenient in many situations than carrying around a digital SLR with multiple lenses.

Jason Fitzpatrick for Lifehacker has some tips on how to use your digital point-and-shoot camera to its fullest potential. He also covers some basic photography lessons, like using the rule of thirds to compose your shot to add interest to the photograph. The best advise is to simply start shooting - "No amount of reading tips or tricks will make you a better photographer or fill up your memory card with great shots, but practice and experimenting will. Scribble down a few tips you want to try out from our guide, grab your camera, and start shooting. If you try a new technique, whether you ditch the flash, shoot from a new angle, or try out the priority modes on your camera"

Get the Most from your Point-and-Shoot Camera

Just because you've got a relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot camera and not a $1500+ DSLR rig doesn't mean you can't take awesome photos. Here's a look at how you can elevate your regular old point-and-shoot shots to greatness.

...Since a point-and-shoot is the camera most likely to be with you, even if you own a DSLR, squeezing the most photo-taking-greatness out of your point and shoot is a worthwhile endeavor. The following guide covers several key areas for moving beyond basic snap shots and moving towards taking photos you'd want to do more than update your Facebook status with.

Local Phoenix writer Joey Robert Parks posed the question 'What would happen if you asked 26 of the best photographers and writers to capture the essence of a single city block?'. The endeavor to answer this question is the creation of the 26 Blocks project. The project pairs 52 local writers and photographers given the task to focus on a selected city block in downtown Phoenix. Continuing with the theme of building blocks, since there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there are 26 city blocks selected for the project.  The blocks chosen completely at random, and the writers and photographers paired together were organized alphabetically, to ensure no bias or predisposition to their assigned area.

This week each pair's city block was revealed. The artists are encouraged to learn more about the history and vibe of that block, and out of what they discover to express their perspective through one key image and/or story. The conclusion of the project will debut at the After Hours Gallery on May 7th, then go on a 6 month tour.

A very interesting concept that collaborates a group of talented creative people and immerses them in their community. Everyone here is excited to see the results. Artisan Colour is happy to play a part in this unique project by printing the photographic images for the show. To keep up with 26 Blocks, you can check out their Twitter or Facebook pages. We will also post more here as the project progresses.

On line stock image agencies are a great resource for designers when creating large format signage, advertisements, and displays. Getting the right image can be as easy as the click of a button. Finding an image that is appropriate for large format output can be more challenging.

There are several sites that have 'large' or even 'xx-large' files. Corbis offers high-resolution files at a premium. Getty Images, a giant in the stock photo industry, also has several subsidiary companies that are narrowed down in to specific genres. WireImage focuses on music, celebrity, and fashion photography, while Contour specializing in the licensing and syndication of high-end celebrity portraiture. iStockphoto, also a subsidiary of Getty, has gained enormous popularity by supplying a variety of subject matter and file sizes. Veer is another source of high resolution commercial imagery. Each site has their own pay structure, depending on file size and usage, via either photo credits or subscriptions.

The most important thing to keep in mind when searching images for large format use is the file size, or pixel ratio of the file. Depending on the final output size, even if you are purchasing the largest version of the file, it still may need to be ran through Genuine Fractals or a similar resizing software to get the best result. A great alternative, if your design allows, is to use vector files because they can be transformed in to whatever size you would like without any image loss. Most sites allow you to specify the type of file you are looking for in the search options.

There are many more websites that offer Royalty Free or Rights Managed stock imagery for your design needs. Stock.xchng is a great place to find free images. Blue Vertigo has a very comprehensive list of sites broken down in to category by use and price, as well as other great references for designers.

With the myriad of sites available, easy search features, and pay options, finding the right image for your large format design became a little less challenging.

On line stock image agencies are a great resource for designers when creating large format signage, advertisements, and displays. Getting the right image can be as easy as the click of a button. Finding an image that is appropriate for large format output can be more challenging.

There are several sites that have 'large' or even 'xx-large' files. Corbis offers high-resolution files at a premium. Getty Images, a giant in the stock photo industry, also has several subsidiary companies that are narrowed down in to specific genres. WireImage focuses on music, celebrity, and fashion photography, while Contour specializing in the licensing and syndication of high-end celebrity portraiture. iStockphoto, also a subsidiary of Getty, has gained enormous popularity by supplying a variety of subject matter and file sizes. Veer is another source of high resolution commercial imagery. Each site has their own pay structure, depending on file size and usage, via either photo credits or subscriptions.

The most important thing to keep in mind when searching images for large format use is the file size, or pixel ratio of the file. Depending on the final output size, even if you are purchasing the largest version of the file, it still may need to be ran through Genuine Fractals or a similar resizing software to get the best result. A great alternative, if your design allows, is to use vector files because they can be transformed in to whatever size you would like without any image loss. Most sites allow you to specify the type of file you are looking for in the search options.

There are many more websites that offer Royalty Free or Rights Managed stock imagery for your design needs. Stock.xchng is a great place to find free images. Blue Vertigo has a very comprehensive list of sites broken down in to category by use and price, as well as other great references for designers.

With the myriad of sites available, easy search features, and pay options, finding the right image for your large format design became a little less challenging.