2008-11-18T14:47:35Z Matt R Copyright 2008, Matt R SPHPBLOG threadless.com.. it's a great site.
sign up, and once your a member (no fee), you can upload designs, vote on designs, and purchase a number of limited print t-shirts.
It's simple and brilliant all in one, you vote on designs or slogans, and the designs printed are the ones that have the most votes. There are some really nice designs available... I just bought Pexe, by Rodrigo William Rimes Rezende...


I guess it's time to start work on a t-shirt design now, so more to come once that's ready...

Matt]]> http://www.47marketing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070619-120259 2007-06-19T00:00:00Z 2007-06-19T00:00:00Z Recent Outbreaks of COSTCO SYNDOME rampant...
I've noticed something recently which I find odd and disturbing.
Disturbing, not just because this strange behavior occurs so frequently, and seems to effect people of all ages, genders, and races, but mainly because I am fully aware of it, and yet still fall victim to it as well.

the COSTCO SYNDROME - [verb...kind of] - the act of waiting in long lines for long periods of time, for small, and often unappetizing portions of food.
• symptoms include, but are not limited to - huddling, pushing, visible irritation of others, neglect of children, drooling and other manifestations of poor manners.

so, why does this occur?

If I were at a friends house and they were to say, “Matt, would you like to wait in a crowd of strangers for 5 minutes for a bite-sized, quiche?”... I would generally reply “No.” and that would be the end of it.

However, for some reason, put me in an overcrowded wholesale food warehouse, and ask me the same question, and next thing you know I’m waiting impatiently in a group of strange faces for a half-handful of trail mix, or perchance a small slice of corn dog.

Be aware this occurrence is not limited to COSTCO, but can be witnessed at Trader Joe’s, your local supper market, farmer’s markets and frankly anywhere small portions of food are offered.

It’s ridiculous, offensive (if you really think about it) and can strike anyone (in the vicinity of a major market or wholesale food outlet). The best cure for this, is to step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself "how badly do I want that mini, breaded chicken tender?".

that's all for now,

Matt Rudin

]]> http://www.47marketing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070601-114437 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z I think it is a great way to gain exposure, yet I am still concerned with two important issues...quality control and possible loss of rights.

When considering signing up for any of these sites, and subsequently releasing any of your artwork, it is important to find out what the quality of the prints will be and how the company will be allowed to use your artwork... or more importantly, how YOU will be allowed to use your artwork.
One company I signed up with a year ago was art.com. For a $50 a year membership, they allowed me to upload 50 prints to their site, all of which would be available for sale.

Things seemed to be going fine,I was getting a lot of visits to my online gallery and selling a number of prints. However, earlier this year, things started to go down hill a little. Art.com is in the process of changing their format and they moved all of my art over to artistrising.com. I still have art up at art.com, but I understand eventually they want to move all original art over to a site called Sistino.com for sales.
The new format was confusing at first, and I had a lot of questions. My sales had dropped down and to make matters worse I am very particular about how my art is show. I got a little spooked but stuck with it.

As of now, I only have photography on the web. I don't like the idea of allowing a company I know little about to have rights to using my art, without having any say in how it is used. I know to gain exposure, it is necessary to take a chance and as long as my name is showing up on my photos, I guess I shouldn't get to concerned with who is making money on it, or where it is being shown on the web.

A few months have gone by since the change and my sales are up again. However, my membership is almost expired and I am looking into new venues for my art.
My friend Teri Hitt has some of her work up at imagekind.com and she says it has worked out well for her so far, however, she is not doing large sized prints yet.

I am preparing some of my original paintings and in a month or two, I will make my first attempt at selling prints of my paintings on the web. I just want to make sure the quality is high enough, by running a test run first. I also, want to re-read the fine print in the contract. I need to make sure they are not limiting where or how I can sell my artwork. I think being seen "exclusively" anywhere on the web, is just a bad idea. So, I want to make sure I am not violating their contract if I become a member at a number of different websites.

I will write again more on this subject once I have more information on the high resolution prints of fine art. For now, you can order some of my photography and the above mentioned sites and I will continue to upload new images in the near future.

That's all for now,

Matt Rudin
]]> http://www.47marketing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070426-114930 2007-04-26T00:00:00Z 2007-04-26T00:00:00Z Do you like what you do?".
It is an easy question to answer, when even on a bad day, I can give the response "Yes". An answer which at times and understandably will surprise the person asking. It can be hard to see past the long hours, tight deadlines, and frequent requests to produce something brilliant with little or no resources at all, but none of these things can take away from the most important part of the job. Creating something new.

As a graphic designer, and as someone who has been fascinated with artist since long before high school, I have an inherent love for creating something tangible. Developing something that can be seen or tasted, or felt... something visual or audible. It is the satisfaction I get from seeing a well designed printed piece come off the press... wether it is a t-shirt, poster, brochure, or direct mail piece, that keeps me up at night and keeps me moving forward. I have tried other professions, out of college and trying to find my place in the world, and nothing could compare with the feeling I get from coming up with an idea, working through the idea, finding out the best possible way to make the vision a reality and then actually producing what was at one time merely a thought. Seeing something through from idea, to finished product is a great feeling and the knowledge that at the end of one project, another one is ready to begin, that is what keeps me moving forward.

I began 47 Marketing and Design, with a few simple print jobs and have since moved successfully into Web design and production. I have been fortunate to work with some amazing clients, such as Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Prana Pilates, Backstage Creations, Delixus, Kor Electronics, Bagack.com, River Maverick Publishing, AVE for Your Music and Justin Vineyards, to name a few. I also make it a point to hand pick the most talented team for each job, looking for artist, designs, programmers, that have the skills which will be of the greatest benefit to each individual project. I look forward to bringing my clients the service and creativity they deserve and I will continue to develop new relationships in the future to help keep 47 Marketing’s reputation as a creative boutique advertising and design agency, which offers incredible rates on innovative designs while still offering a high ROI for advertising dollars.

A passion for learning and a passion for creating exciting new designs has translated to amazing projects completed. I work with an incredibly talented group of people and we all look forward to bringing our strong sense of design and an eye for detail to all of 47 Marketing and Design's clients. It is these things which enable me to begin each day by saying “I Love what I do, and I can’t wait to get started!”

Matt Rudin
Creative Director/CEO
47 Marketing and Design]]> http://www.47marketing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070423-084942 2007-04-23T00:00:00Z 2007-04-23T00:00:00Z