Amber Leigh Turner

New Moderator for ReviewMyDesign.net

2009-05-12T12:56:00.002-05:00

Not only do I enjoy working on my own designs and customizing designs for my clients, I also like to help other designers to become better at what they do too! So you can imagine my excitement when I heard about the new site ReviewMyDesign.net. After a few days on the site, I was asked to become a moderator of the site! I accepted ecstatically and now help designers every day improve their designs. Not only do I get to help people, I also can get advise on how to improve my own designs as well.

I hope you take a few minutes to check out the site!

Official Launch: Signature Finishes

2009-04-22T18:59:00.001-05:00

The new Signature Finishes website is officially live! Signature Finishes specializes in decorative painting and faux finishes. The finishes are absolutely stunning and the portfolio pieces are amazing! The slick and modern design of the site helps to bring out the main star of the site--the work.

The site features two slide shows, each filled with outstanding pieces of work. The slide shows are powered using a feed, allowing Signature Finishes to update the slide shows immediately. Along with the slide shows is information about Signature Finishes, and to contact them.

I encourage everyone to visit the site to see the wonderful work displayed on the site. Click the image above to be redirected to Signature Finishes.

AMBERTURNER.com Featured on CSSZone.org

2009-03-27T15:05:00.008-05:00

Barely a month old, my new website design has been recently featured on CSSZone.org!

According to CSSZone.org:

"CSSZone is a[n] online showcase of inspiring and creative CSS based websites."

My website was posted as an addition to their portfolio gallery of their site on March 24, 2009.

Click here to visit the posting and to rate my website!

The Wait is Now Over

2009-03-09T17:48:00.004-05:00

The wait is finally over. The new AMBERTURNER.COM has been launched! Long overdue, the new site was completely revamped with new features and new information.

Go ahead and look around. My focus for the redesign of the site is my freelance business. The importance of a new website design will help potential clients and current clients to get the information they need in a clear and concise manner.

I would love to hear your feedback on the new site!

So Where is the New Website???

2009-01-19T11:57:00.003-06:00

So by now you are probably wondering, when is this new website coming? What happened to it being launched at the first of the year?

Not to fear, the new website is still on its way to a computer screen near you very soon. The entire reason for a new website is to easily provide information to my clients and potential clients in a very clear and easy format. I also wanted to focus on a slew of new features. So, in that regard, I have made some changes and additions to the new site that were not in the previous plan. With these changes, came more time to do them, thus resulting in the delay.

I have changed the design of the site, and have found a few new features I would like to add for my clients. Even though once the site is up and running, new things will constantly be added to improve the experience.

For you that have been so patient awaiting the arrival of the new site, I appreciate it, and will not disappoint!

Current Project: Wilson & Moss Insurance Agency

2008-12-15T11:37:00.003-06:00

What has been keeping me busy?? I have been working on a website design for Wilson & Moss Insurance Agency in Nashville, Tennessee. The goal of the website is to provide information to current and future clients, while giving clients a place to contact the agency, among other things. The design is straightforward, clean, and sophisticated while still serving the function of providing information.

To see the website in its construction stage, click on the picture above. Please keep in mind that this project is still in the coding and construction page, so some things my appear off or are not working.

Thanks to Wilson & Moss Insurance Agency for the opportunity to help create a web presence for your agency!

It has snowed at amberturner.com!!

2008-12-04T14:14:00.001-06:00

Keeping up with the seasons, I have changed the site to reflect the new season! You will see all snow pictures throughout the website, those of which I have taken in my own backyard!

I hope you enjoy!!

Congratulations President-Elect Barack Obama

2008-11-06T21:11:00.001-06:00

Congratulations President-Elect Barack Obama

It's Election Day: GO VOTE!

2008-11-04T11:52:00.002-06:00

That's right! Today is the big election to choose the next president of the United States of America! No matter who you choose to vote for, please go out and vote today! If you get in line, stay in line no matter what! Every voice needs to be heard this election day!

Fall Has Arrived!

2008-10-18T20:59:00.002-05:00

You will now notice that my website has gone from spring to fall overnight! It's now fall and we no longer see the flowers of spring that we did in April, so thus it was time for change. When I designed my site, I designed it so that it would be easy to change the background images to whatever theme was appropriate. As you can see above, pumpkins have taken over the home page, where on all the other pages, you will see various fall leaves.

I hope you enjoy!

Recent Project: Build A Christmas Basket

2008-10-13T19:41:00.005-05:00

So what has been keeping me busy recently? I have been working to put together this website for my new baskets endeavor. Ever since last year when I made four baskets for Christmas gifts, my dad has given me the idea of making them and selling them. So after alot of hard work and alot of time, I have officially launched the Build-A-Christmas Basket website: baskets.amberturner.com.

When you go to the website, you will see that you can pick a basket, fill it with all kinds of items, then I will package it up nicely and send it to you close to Christmas. What makes this site different from other Christmas gift basket sites is that you can completely design the basket yourself, and you are in complete control over how much the basket is! You already know how much everything is, so you can mix and match to get the right basket at the right price.

I hope that this develops into a pretty good endeavor and I would love for you to see it! Click the image above to be redirected to the site!

As a little side note, I designed the site by hand using HTML, CSS, Flash Slideshow, and form scripts.

Recent Project: Hickman County Education Association

2008-08-04T21:21:00.004-05:00

Recently I have been working with Steven Lassan in helping build a website for the Hickman County Education Association. My role was mainly visual enhancements, however the most of the work was completed by Steven Lassan.

You can click the image above to be redirected to the live site.

Thank you to Mrs. Ella Lassan and the Hickman County Education Association for allowing me the opportunity to work on this site.

Announcement In Paper: July 22, 2008

2008-08-03T22:00:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to quickly share with you a recent announcement in the paper. I don't like to brag, but this is fourth time I have achieved Dean's List honors at Austin Peay State University and I have maintained Dean's List honors my entire time at APSU with a 4.0 GPA.

This announcement was published in the Fairview Observer on July 22, 2008.

Current Project: Signature Finishes Website

2008-06-17T19:40:00.003-05:00

My most recent one is Signature Finishes website. It features HTML and CSS coding, with two flash slide show galleries. The website will focus on providing information about the different faux finishing, mural, and decorative painting techniques that they offer. One gallery will display rooms in which a technique was used, and the other gallery will give you examples of finishes that they offer.

This very sleek and elegant site design is very much appropriate to the business and the industry in which they are in. Giving that very contemporary feeling with the black and grey, with pops of color helps shift focus from the background, to the artwork that is centrally located. A plus to this design is that it will not easily nor quickly go out of date.

You can click the image above to be redirected to the test drive of the site in action. Please keep in mind that this site is still being built and tweeked so if something is not working or displaying properly, it will be fixed.

I also want to again thank Signature Finishes for giving me the wonderful opportunity to help construct and develop a powerful marketing tool for her business. I hope that it will become an asset to her business, and allow for growth and coverage in her industry.

So Why Hire A Graphic Designer?

2008-05-17T21:39:00.004-05:00

So why is it important to hire a graphic designer to help you get your ideas on paper?

I work at Executive Printing, INC where I constantly work with files that clients give that already have their logos that they made or already created their brochure in a program such as Microsoft Word or Publisher. These files that clients make on their computers are fine when they are wanting to print them on their printer or use them in limited web applications, however, they do not work when needed in any other format.

Whether you hire a designer at a printing company or hire them freelance, you are hiring them to make your ideas and the files that you have already to where if you wanted them printed on business cards, or anything else, they come out with the highest, professional quality that you intended for your ideas. Graphic designers and web designers alike know how to take your ideas and your files, and make them ready for either commercial printing or web design. Typically a graphic designer will know a little about web design, or a web designer will know a little about graphic design, or you can get lucky and find a designer that knows the ends and outs of both, which is always best when trying to come up with an identity that you want in print and web form.

So why hire a designer to professionally render your files? Graphic designers have software that they use to create your artwork in vectors--a mathematical line or path that allows for accurate sizing and scaling of artwork, so that the artwork does not loose it's crispness (for more on vectors, please read this)--allowing for better graphics, especially in printing. If you don't take the time to hire and pay a designer to go ahead and do it right the first time, you could have alot of time invested in your brochure, and find out that when it gets printed, its either going to look like crud, or you will have to pay alot more than you intended to get it fixed.

Web designers will know the best quality of image to put on the web. You would hate to have your beautiful picture you tool look pixelated once it goes live. Web designers know how a computer screen works and how to set up images on your site to look the best, and use the less amount of server space.

Even though this is a little bias, it is typically in the best interest to find a graphic designer that does web design as well, so you can find a nice cohesiveness to your projects. Even though it might look good on the screen, it might not look all that good when you take it to print.

Current Project: Signature Finishes

2008-05-10T13:10:00.004-05:00

Part of the reason that I decided to start a blog on my website is to have a place for news and events. I also want it to be a place where you can see what I am currently working on.

I am in the works of creating a simple Identity for Signature Finishes. As you can see above, we have successfully completed the logo stage of the identity. A website and stationary system will add to the Identity.

I also want to take the time to thank Signature Finishes for giving me the wonderful opportunity to help create an identity for her, and I hope once the process is completed that it will bring her a lot of business and will help grow her business.

Ta Da!

2008-04-22T23:35:00.002-05:00

My new website has arrived!

Alot of time, energy, days, sleepless nights, bad words, headaches, and tempers and it's finally completed!

I know what you are thinking, "It's kinda girly." So flowers are girly. But the reasoning behind the flowers is to bring an awareness to nature's beauty and the wonderful gifts it gives us, like flowers. It's kind of like a subliminal message to viewers to help slow down global warming.

I hope that this website will serve as a vessel to help expand my professional portfolio. I work long and hard on it to impress people, and I hope to do just that!

Enjoy!

It's Almost Ready!

2008-04-18T17:38:00.003-05:00

Well, It's almost that time! The launch of my new website is almost ready! My new website will be launched (hopefully) Wednesday, April 23, 2008. You can check out the preview by clicking the image above!

Check back on April 23 to see the website in all its glory!

My First Blog

2008-04-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

So I have never had one of these things (except on Myspace, but I don't use it much) and I seen on alot of other designer websites that they have blogs so that you can read up on their dreams and ambitions.

What I would want to use a blog for is just to let people know what I am doing to further advance my graphic design career. For instance, in my APSU Web Design class, we are creating portfolio sites to display work. This project I plan for it to replace my current design of my website. I feel like when a client comes to look to hire a designer, they should be impressed from the get go. So I am trying to make sure my website is impressive and demonstrates the skills and creativity that I continue to grow on. See... that was some enlightening insight that this blog can be used for!

So as I learn a cool new trick, finish reading a graphic design book, get a great new opportunity, or decide to redesign my website for the tenth time, you can read all about it here. Graphic designers have a personable side to them as well!