Choosing a Color for Your Business Brand

Are you searching for a color for your business brand? If so, you are not alone. Small business owners everywhere are thinking about what colors should be representative of their particular business brand. When it comes to business brands, color is extremely important. This is because certain hues can increase positive feelings, whereas other shades can cause a consumer to feel overwhelmed. Read on to find the perfect color for your business brand.

Allow the following color chart to help you decide what shade to choose for your business brand:

– Red — This bold hue increases heart rate and respirations. If you want your business logo/materials to grab customers’ attention, try red.

– Blue — Did you know that “cool blue is perceived as trustworthy, dependable, fiscally responsible and secure”? If you want your business to feel highly professional, opt for blue.

– Green — Do you want to cause your customers to feel relaxed? If so, choose light green. To increase feelings of serenity and health, go for a darker green.

– Pink – Pink is becoming an increasingly popular business brand color. Hot pink is fun and exciting, and may bring a feeling of youthfulness to customers. Light pink is romantic, and “dusty pinks appear sentimental.”

Many small business owners opt for more than one color for a business brand. Here are a few color combinations that are both professional and lovely:

– Tan, brown and light blue

– Cream, black and gold

– Mocha and sage

Business owners often incorporate the color of a brand into their offices/headquarters. This makes the color they choose even more important, since their employees and customers will be seeing it regularly. Some work atmospheres will need to be soothing, whereas others should be more exhilarating. Cool colors, such as blues and greens, are notorious for relaxing the mind and body. Conversely, bold colors, such as red, may have the capacity to energize employees and customers.

What color is your business brand? Why did you choose that particular color? Share with Segmation by commenting on this blog post today.

Sources:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/175428

http://www.ehow.com/way_5163092_business-decorating-ideas.html

If you liked this Segmation blog post, you will enjoy:

– Office Paint Colors and Effective Employees

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/office-paint-colors-and-effective-employees/

– Fabulous Floral Designs with Painted Counterparts Makes Art Alive

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/fabulous-floral-designs-with-painted-counterparts-makes-art-alive/

– Frans Hals — Dutch Portrait Painter

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/frans-hals-dutch-portrait-painter/

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Decorate Your Home Office to Inspire Creativity

The past few years have been tough on the economy as well as on individual incomes. Because of the unstable job market, more and more people these days are turning to self-employment. Being your own boss and setting your own hours are not the only perks that come with being self-employed — having and decorating a home office is equally fun and rewarding. Your home office should inspire peace and tranquility, but should also be a place where creativity abounds. Does your home office need a makeover?

Did you know that you can decorate your home office to inspire creativity? It’s true. Consider the following color chart to decide what shades to paint and accessorize your office with:

Cools – If your job requires a great deal of mental clarity, try painting your office walls a cool shade. Blue should especially foster concentration. Sage is cool in hue as well as trendy, and would be a great choice for someone who desires a fashionable haven of clarity.

Earth tones – Do you need a sense of calm in your home office? How about an increased sense of organization? Consider an earth tone. Examples include white, deep grey, and hot chocolate. Earth-toned walls lend themselves perfectly to bright and cheery accessories (pillows, chairs, pictures, etc.).

Upbeat shades — Does your job require you to be constantly upbeat and in a good mood? If yes, an energizing shade would be best for your home office. Red is the definitive bold color that is known for getting blood pumping. You might also want to consider unusual color combinations, such as raspberry and turquoise or lemon and robin’s egg blue. 

It’s amazing the impact color can have on a room, and the effect a well-decorated home office can have on a person’s creativity and efficiency. If you’ve had trouble coming up with fresh ideas and innovations, consider making over your home office. You never know what impressive results will follow.

How is your home office decorated? Has it inspired creative ideas in you? Share with us by commenting on this Segmation blog post.

Sources:

http://www.latimes.com/custompublishing/decorating-advice/chishop-picking-a-home-office-wall-color-20120323,0,3881708.story

http://colorchats.benjaminmoore.com/2012/04/the-best-colors-for-a-home-office/

If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, you are sure to love:

– Use Color to Change Employees’ Job Performance

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/use-color-to-change-employees-job-performance/

– Frans Hals — Dutch Portrait Painter 

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/frans-hals-dutch-portrait-painter/

– Gerard ter Borch’s Art Elevated Him to Nobility 

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/gerard-ter-borchs-art-elevated-him-to-nobility/

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Segmation - A Digital Way To Paint

Reblogged from Country & Victorian Times:

I have to say I was most impressed by a site I recently stumbled upon and thought I would tell you more about it. I tried the free version and knew I was hooked. Now mind you I am a grown man and have an ability to draw portraiture in almost exact likeness (or so I am told) but I found myself stuck there doodling along.

Read more… 503 more words

Thank you Country & Victorian Times! You are awesome!

Camille Pissarro – Father of Impressionism

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was a French Impressionist painter who painted scenes of urban and rural landscapes. He frequently used peasants and laborers as subject matters in his works.

Pissarro is most known for works to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism art. Pissarro studied with the famous master artists which include Gustave Courbet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. In his later years, he worked alongside Georges Seurat and Paul Signac achieving a Neo-Impressionist style at the age of 54.

He is considered the father of impressionism mostly because of his mentoring relationships with Cézanne, Gauguin, Degas, and other impressionist artists of the times. Our SegPlayPC collection of 27 patterns contains a wide sampling of his art style.

Segmation SegPlayPC includes many recognizable Camille Pissarro works including Harvest at Montfoucault, Peasant Girl with a Straw Hat, Red Roofs, Apple Picking at Eragny-sur-Epte, Haymakers Resting, Boulevard Montmartre (afternoon sunshine and at night), The Shepherdess, Woman with Green Scarf, and Self-Portrait.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Pissarro

http://mishigamaa.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/the-liquor-store/

Camille Pissarro

If you liked this Segmation blog post, we know you’ll enjoy:

– Color Can Help You Understand Personality Types

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/color-can-help-you-understand-personality-types/

– Make Artist Famous with Hole-Punch Portraits

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/make-artist-famous-with-hole-punch-portraits/

Have fun and relax with beautiful online painting art. So fun and easy to use with no mess but just a mouse!

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Camille Pissarro from Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on Facebook

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

Inspiring Digital Art

I am a mother, educator, and neophyte artist; dabbling in mixed media and collage. My artistic journeys find me immersed in imagery and design constantly and I have had the pleasure of discovering so many fresh and contemporary artists and image makers along the way. I am writing to introduce you and other favorite artists of mine, to an impressive new digital art program; Segmation (www.segmation.com). It is my hope and genuine desire to see a happy partnership evolve.

Segmation digital color by number is a relatively new program and is a small, upstart family business. They call this “the art of peaceful imaging” and it truly is a Zen experience for all ages. I initially purchased the affordable program this last fall and use it daily. I enjoy it to unwind after a busy day with work and family pressures. My five year old just loves it! Recently, I have begun to take it into preschool with me several times a week and my three and four years olds are growing more proficient with number recognition (and taking turns) every day. The privilege of my laptop in the classroom is also advancing their technology and fine motor skills. The program is also available for your iPad or iPhone, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/segplay-mobile/id395127581, and, thus, convenient for the kids on road trips and waiting rooms.

There are so many great features in the Segmation program! Different setting allow you to switch modes and play one number at a time or without any numbers at all in case one would like to choose where to place color. You can reset each picture to begin again, so the children tend not to fight if the one they wanted has been taken over by a classmate or sibling. My favorite feature, though, is the direct link that takes you to a shop with a fairly abundant selection of art to please any palette. The Classics are available, such as Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo, Albrecht Durer, Rubens, and Manet. More modern works are offered, like Paul Klee or Gustav Klimt.

There are fun holiday packs and gorgeous scenic photography offered, too. I feel that all I am missing, as a customer, is the availability of fun and funky illustrations more representative of today’s art movements and attractive to a broader range of youth and young adult tastes.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce to you Beth Feldman (beth@segmation.com) and Segmation, http://www.segmation.com. I hope you will give consideration to many wonderful future collaborations with this excellent educational company!

Sincerely:

Jill, Lansing, MI

If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, you will also like:

– The Expressive Vincent van Gogh
http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-expressive-vincent-van-gogh-2/

– Colors Change What is Beautiful
http://segmation.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/colors-change-what-is-beautiful/

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

Join us on Facebook

www.segmation.com

Office Paint Colors and Effective Employees

Much thought goes into choosing the right interior wall color for a home. Often times, the paint color reflects individual preferences, décor choices, and whatever mood the homeowner wants to incite. This is an important decision; after all, a person spends a lot of time at his or her home.

However, in one week, the same person may spend an equal amount of time at an office – and sometimes more. Therefore, shouldn’t office paint colors be chosen with the same consideration?

Rather than simply going with drab gray or off white, office paint colors ought to be chosen to compliment company culture, office décor, and the business brand. When trying to create a productive ambiance, picking the right wall color is of high importance.

Wall color not only compliments the company identity, it has an effect on employees. Office paint colors have been known to raise energy levels, encourage positive attitudes, lift moods, and influence work behavior.

Below are three color options and combinations that are known to have a positive effect on a workplace.

Green and Blue

What do you think of when you walk into an office or home that is painted with green and blue colors? Often, people respond that this color combination helps them feel peaceful. Shades of green and blue are often seen as tranquil and can rid an environment of excess stress. Also, green is known to be easy on the eyes, and may even lessen the amount of eyestrain employees are exposed to from working on computers.

Yellow and Orange

When working in a high energy environment, yellow and orange wall paint colors are known to “stimulate and energize employees.” For obvious reasons, these boisterous colors promote a unique zest for life and business. A greater benefit of painting an office yellow could be its effect on memory; yellow is said to help employees remain mentally sharp with memory recall.

Red and Pink

Similar to yellow, walls painted with the color red may also stimulate memories, as well as “increase brain wave activities, heart rates, and respiration.” While these characteristics may not be conducive in all company cultures, it can have a significant impact of high energy firms. Pink, on the other hand, is a unique office wall paint color to consider because it has an opposite effect in evoking feelings of relaxation.

Is your office (or home away from home) painted with colors that affect you and your coworkers in positive ways? Have you walked into an office and immediately felt “at home”? What wall colors do you think work well in office environments?

Coming Soon: 

Choosing the color for your brand is a very big decision for all small business owners. The right color can lead to business success. The wrong color can cause headaches.

If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, you will also like:

– The Many Different Hues of Blue

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/the-many-different-hues-of-blue/

– Company Uses Color to Create a Sense of Identity

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/company-uses-color-create-sense-identity/

– What are your Summer Colors?

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/what-are-your-summer-colors/

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Fabulous floral designs with painted counterparts makes art alive

If you’ve never been to the San Diego Museum of Art for their yearly event, Art Alive, this is the year you should participate. The San Diego Museum of Art challenges floral designers to make the artistic masterpieces housed in their museum come alive through their floral interpretations. This three day event, began April 26 and ending on April 28, will fill the museum with thousands of flowers and, hopefully, thousands of visitors. The pictures in this blog post are examples of what you can expect to see at Art Alive.

Upon entering the museum is an awesome floral display from famous Marc Chagall’s granddaughter, Bella Meyer. A great color display focusing on creation of floral arrangements much the way that artists paints. Floral designers of all levels, from amateur to professional, gather at the museum to create floral sculptures that mimic famous pieces of art. The sculptures of flower arrangements depict images painted on canvas, from portraits to landscapes. Throughout the festivities, these living floral arrangements will be placed beside the famous pieces of art they are interpreting.

The museum’s masterpieces truly come alive as they are interpreted by these creative floral designers. You will be surprised and delighted to see how imagination comes alive when flowers meet with paint. The floral designers make use of light, color, and structural ingenuity to make these canvas paintings take on a new dimension. Art Alive celebrates artistic masterpieces of all types.

The three day-long event will be packed with art and colorful activities. The event began with an opening celebration on April 26 and ended today Sunday April 28. The Art Alive exhibition will also included fun events for children and families. These events will be geared towards the idea that art is alive.

Flowers After Hours is another nighttime event in which guests can peruse the floral art exhibit while sampling tasty hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Behind the scenes, these floral designers are competing hard to create their own artistic masterpieces inspired by the famous works located at the San Diego Museum of Art.

If you plan on visiting the Art Alive exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art, be prepared to pay an entry fee. Rest assured that this fee is going to a good cause–Art Alive is one of the museum’s greatest fundraising events. The proceeds will go towards special exhibitions, educational outreach programs, and art conservation projects.

Can you imagine a more perfect way to usher in Spring?

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)
If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, you are sure to love:

– Use Color to Change Employees’ Job Performance

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/use-color-to-change-employees-job-performance/

– Frans Hals — Dutch Portrait Painter

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/frans-hals-dutch-portrait-painter/

– Gerard ter Borch’s Art Elevated Him to Nobility

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/gerard-ter-borchs-art-elevated-him-to-nobility/
Segmation

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Use Color to Change Employees’ Job Performance

Color can affect emotions.  

Color is a powerful thing. In fact, it has the ability to affect individuals’ emotions. Certain colors encourage specific types of behavior in people — nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than in the workplace. What color have you chosen to decorate your office in? The hue that you surround your employees with may be affecting their job performance more than you know.

What colors enhance job performance?

Here are just a few examples of workplace paint shades that have powerful effects upon employees:

– Red – Most people know that red is a stimulating, empowering color that can increase workplace excitement. This is because the color red “can increase brain wave activities, as well as raise heart rates and respiration.” It would be best to accent a workplace with red, as an entirely red office space might be overwhelming to employees. If your workers need a boost of invigoration, red would be an ideal shade to utilize.

– Orange and Yellow – Did you know that orange is capable of increasing enthusiasm? It’s true. Yellow, another warm hue, can actually “stimulate memories” and make individuals feel a sense of welcome. These colors are best used as accents. Why? Because yellow has the potential to bring out frustration and anger, and orange may increase a person’s appetite.

– Blue and Green – Do your employees need a boost of hope and encouragement? If so, green or blue would be the perfect shades to implement in your office space. For high-stress environments, blue should be used because of its amazing ability to lower heart rates, respiration, and blood pressure. Green, which has been known to reduce anxiety, is another great choice for stress-provoking places of employment.

Color can help your employees in a number of ways. 

It’s clear that color can be helpful to individuals on many levels. Whether your employees would benefit from an atmosphere of peace, hope, inspiration, or determination, you can help them get their emotional needs met simply by investing in a new paint job for your office. Color truly is amazing!

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/wall-color-effect-employees-17469.html

Coming soon: Do you work from home? If yes, learn to decorate your home office to foster personal inspiration by reading our next post.

If you enjoyed this Segmation blog post, you will also like:

– Color Can Help You Understand Personality Types

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/color-can-help-you-understand-personality-types/

– The Expressive Vincent van Gogh

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/the-expressive-vincent-van-gogh-2/

– Welcome Spring with a Freshly Painted Front Door

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/welcome-spring-with-a-freshly-painted-front-door/

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Joseph Mallord William Turner – Great Painter of Light

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851) was a controversial English landscape painter. Joseph Mallord William Turner, better known as J.M.W. Turner, was born on April 23, 1775, in Covent Garden, London, England. His eccentric style matched his subjects – shipwrecks, fires, natural catastrophes, as well as natural phenomena such as sunlight, storms, rain, and fog.

Although renowned for his oil paintings, Turner is also one of the greatest masters of British watercolour landscape painting. He is commonly known as “the painter of light” and his work is regarded as a Romantic preface to Impressionism. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting.

The significance of light to Turner resembled God’s spirit. In his later paintings he concentrated on the play of light on water and the radiances of skies and fires, almost to an Impressionistic style. Segmation’s collection of Joseph Mallord William Turner patterns includes many examples of his style including The Fighting Temeraire, The Shipwreck of the Minotaur, Snow Storm, The Grand Canal, Peace – Burial at Sea, and Rain, Steam and Speed.

This Segmation set contains 25 paintable patterns.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner

If you liked this Segmation blog post, we know you’ll enjoy:

– Color Can Help You Understand Personality Types

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/color-can-help-you-understand-personality-types/

– Make Artist Famous with Hole-Punch Portraits

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/make-artist-famous-with-hole-punch-portraits/

Have fun and relax with beautiful online painting art. So fun and easy to use with no mess but just a mouse!

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Joseph Mallord William Turner from Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on Facebook

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

Segmation Pattern Set for SegPlay® PC released (see more details here)

Was Gerard ter Borch an excellent artist in his own right?

Segmation SegPlay PC Gerad ter Borch Patterns released (see more details here)

Gerard’s father, Gerard ter Borch the Elder, was an excellent artist in his own right. Seeing that his son shared his talent and affinity for art, Ter Borch the Elder took it upon himself to mentor his son as an artist. (Art was a family affair. Gerard’s sister was also a painter.) In 1632 the young Ter Borch was sent to Amsterdam to receive instruction from Pieter Codde or Willem Cornelisz.

Gerard ter Borch was chosen to be Pieter de Molyn’s apprentice while in Haarlem in 1634. During this time the burgeoning artist was influenced by Frans Hals. Just one year later, at the age of eighteen, Ter Borch was accepted into the Haarlem St. Lukas Guild. This fact alone hints at the enormity of his talent, even as a young man.

During the early years of Gerard’s career, he tended to paint subjects from everyday life, as well as entertainers and soldiers. His painting The Knifegrinder’s Family is an example of the type of work he produced during the 1630s-50s.

Travel was a major part of Gerard ter Borch’s life. In an age where travel did not come cheap or easy, Ter Borch managed to visit several countries and expand his mind, artistic skill, and worldview. England, Italy, Spain, and France were some of the countries he called home for short periods of time. While living in England Ter Borch’s artistic style was impacted by Van Dyck.

Gerard ter Borch’s technique blossomed during his visit to Italy. It was in Rome that the young man painted Jan Six and A Young Lady (these portraits were painted on copper). In 1648 he traveled to Münster, Germany, when the Spaniards and the Dutch were establishing a peace treaty. The meeting of congress that facilitated the peace treaty was the subject of Gerard’s much loved oil on copper painting, The Treaty of Westphalia.

Gerard ter Borch’s next destination would afford him the honor of a lifetime: Knighthood. While in Madrid, Gerard was knighted by Philip IV. He was also given the opportunity to paint Phillip IV. Diego Velasquez, a Spanish artist, influenced Ter Borch’s artistic growth while the Dutch painter lived in Spain. Despite the incredible favor that was shown to him, Ter Borch chose to leave Madrid for the Netherlands due to the “consequence of an intrigue.”

The revered artist finally planted roots in Deventer in 1654. Ter Borch was an influential man in his new city, serving on the city council and continuing to create art. While living in Deventer he drastically changed the subjects of his artwork from common, everyday individuals to wealthy families. The Concert, Glass of Lemonade, and The Fatherly Admonition are perfect examples of Ter Borch’s later works. They are “marked with restraint lyricism.”

1681, the year of Gerard ter Borch’s death, was a sad time for the art world. Ter Borch not only managed to create a pristine career, but he was also set apart as nobility as a result of his talent and excellence. Thus, humanity lost a treasure the day it lost Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch.

Even though there are near 80 works of art in Gerard ter Borch’s collection, the number of paintings available to his fans today is considered small. His exclusive paintings are scattered across the world, housed at prestigious art galleries, including the Berlin Museum, the Dresden Museum, the Hermitage, the Louvre, the Getty Center, and the Wallace Collection. This is how individuals from all walks of life still enjoy Ter Borch’s talent and legacy.

Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Sources:

http://www.abcgallery.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_ter_Borch/

Segmation wants to know if you have any famous painters that you enjoy that may be Dutch?

If you liked this Segmation blog post, we know you’ll enjoy:

– Frans Hals – Dutch Portrait Painter

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/frans-hals-dutch-portrait-painter/

– Color Can Help You Understand Personality Types

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/color-can-help-you-understand-personality-types/

– Make Artist Famous with Hole-Punch Portraits

http://segmation.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/make-artist-famous-with-hole-punch-portraits/

Have fun and relax with beautiful online painting art. So fun and easy to use with no mess but just a mouse!
Segmation

SegPlay PC released (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on Facebook

SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com