Announcing: Redesign of www.BeavertonArts.org

City of Beaverton Press Release, September, 2010

Beaverton Arts Commission Unveils New Website with Tools for Beaverton Arts Community 

New tools have been developed for artists, sponsors, and organizations to more effectively bring arts to the community.

Beaverton; September 1, 2010 – The Beaverton Arts Commission rolls out their new website and new brand identity this month. The inspiration for the design of the identity and website were multi-faceted, but mainly anchored in the BAC mission to connect the community through the arts. The flow of the site was designed to facilitate and organize the presentation of activities and resources of the arts community—which is highly dynamic and diverse.

Features of the new website include: at-a-glance and in-depth looks at what's happening in Beaverton's art scene, calendar of activities, featured artists, Blog, Public Art Tour, and a visual archive of artist and commission images, video and audio. The site offers resources, information and opportunities to young and emerging artists, local artists, business owners and the general public. Plus, recognition of sponsors and partners provides higher visibility for their outstanding contributions to the arts community.

www.beavertonarts.org

The City of Beaverton serves a population that speaks 90 different languages. Art is the vehicle for community expression, cohesiveness, and relationships. “The Arts Commission set out to design a website that would provide space for our artists to show their work and connect with their friends and family. The site provides everyone an opportunity to connect with and experience that cultural diversity which we so value here in Beaverton,” said Carol Cartier, Principal of CATATILLA Design, LLC.

About the BAC

The Beaverton Arts Commission (BAC) strives to make the arts accessible to the residents of Beaverton. In 2009 they created a public art plan to create a more colorful and vibrant downtown. In 2009 the BAC funded two, outdoor murals and a new performing arts event called “10 Tiny Dances.” The Commission’s two, signature events are Visual Arts Showcase held in February and Beaverton Last Tuesday series held June, July and August. For more information, contact the Beaverton Arts Commission at www.beavertonarts.org or call (503) 526-2288.

Professor Designer: Image Resolution

By Tracey Ullom, Designer, CATATILLA Design LLC

Have you ever wondered why an image that you downloaded from a web site looked poor and pixilated when you printed on paper? The reason is rooted in the resolution of the image. 

Resolution refers to the amount of information present in a particular raster image. The information is expressed in pixels—those tiny dots or squares that make up a photographic image. Each pixel is comprised of one color. The amount of pixel information is commonly defined as the number of pixels per square unit of dimension, such as pixels per inch, or ppi. The more pixels present in the inch, the more information the photo has; therefore yielding a higher resolution image.

Tips for Applying This to Everyday Use…

Back to the original question: why are images from the web not appropriate for printing on paper? We illustrate this by looking at two photos from common sources:


Photo #1, an image I photographed using an everyday digital camera on the highest quality setting. (vertical photo)
Photo #2, an image I found online. (horizontal photo)

Caution! Be aware of the owner’s Content License Agreement—unauthorized use may result in fines and penalties.


Original pixel dimensions for each:

Photo #1—Camera Photo: 2304 pixels wide x 3072 pixels tall
Photo #2—Online Photo: 1280 pixels wide x 800 pixels tall

Question: How large can I print these images without sacrificing quality?
Answer: Pixel Width ÷ 300 by Pixel Height ÷ 300 = Your Largest Quality Print Size in inches.

We apply this rule to the two photos:

Camera Photo: 2304 ÷ 300 = 7.68 by 3072 ÷ 300 = 10.24
I can print this photo at 7.68 inches by 10.24 inches—an 8x10 inch print.

Web Photo: 1280 ÷ 300 = 4.27 by 800 ÷ 300 = 2.67
This can be printed as 4 inches by 2.5 inches, roughly. Notice—this is not even a 3x5 inch print!

How to find an image’s pixel dimensions…
Windows – Right Click on image and select “Properties”. The image’s resolution should appear.
Mac – Right click on image and select “Get Info” and the image dimensions should be listed under the “More Info” portion.

How does all this affect design?
The industry standards are:

• WEB = 72 ppi
• PRINT = 300 ppi

The most important thing to understand is that a printed photographic image has very different requirements than an image meant for online viewing. Each requires different color modes, file types, and different levels of image resolution. The best rule of thumb you can follow with images related to your marketing material is to set your camera to the highest possible quality setting and save a copy of the original un-edited image. 

Announcing: Launch of BusinessBeaverton.com

By Tracey Ullom, Designer, CATATILLA Design LLC

CATATILA has been working with the City of Beaverton’s Economic Development to develop a variety of marketing tools. The most dynamic change to their visual identity is through the design and launch of their new website in July of 2010.

www.BusinessBeaverton.com

Purpose
The purpose of the site was to promote unique business development programs and resources available by the City of Beaverton. Online viewers can learn about the business environment, programs, and information about free services to the business community in and around Beaverton. One of its newest programs is Economic Gardening—implemented by Rob Pochert, Economic Development Program Manager. “Our focus is to provide tools and resources to existing businesses so they can grow, while promoting the vibrant community for those looking to relocate and develop right here in Beaverton.”

Who benefits from this site?
Business Start-Up & Entrepreneurs

• Explore the Business Start-Up Guide.
• Review General Tax Information, City, County and State Business Regulations.
• Meet Business Development’s Partners.

Existing Business Owners

• Learn about opportunities to improve your downtown storefront.
• Make connections and get business leads with Economic Gardening Program.
• Consider financing opportunities available.

Site Selection Consultants or Businesses Interested in Relocating to Beaverton

• Review the community profile data, such as Area Employers and Workforce Education.
• Learn about what makes Beaverton stand out, such as The Arts, the Beaverton School District, and Sports, Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District.

Site Features
CATATILLA worked with Rob and his team to redesign and expand the website to include descriptions about the programs available. New and improved functionality is now available through an interactive Site Guide—a decision tree comprised of carefully developed questions and results to guide the user to the information that would be most helpful.

A Blog provides City staff the ability to post the latest information on new programs and events connected to the new Calendar of Events. Subscribers can be kept up to date through the new RSS Feed, announcing site updates. An internal Search box provides viewers with a targeted search tool to quickly find information about the City’s business programs.

Behind the Scenes
What the average user does not see is the custom built CMS—a web content and design management system that was created to facilitate this project. The system, named LEXA™ (Lightweight Extensible XML & AJAX), allows the Economic Development team to update and add content to the site—without worrying about the design.

Each piece of new content is automatically formatted to fit their brand identity. The CMS manages consistency of the look and feel of the site. With a variety of automatic features and built in controls, LEXA™ is suitable for non-developers to administer a site of this size.

Other features included are data upload, large data table management, image/file management, automatic system back-up, and more.

In-depth documentation has been provided to support the administrators of the site. The Standards and Guidelines provide design specifications, hosting environment, LEXA™ instructions, and content creation and management recommendations.

For more information on LEXA™ and/or our web design services contact us.