The Stairwell

What more needs to be said about this giant in American 20th century art? His contributions to the art world are well documented.

We love him, like everybody else, because he's first and foremost honest in his beliefs and in his art. But we also love the way his faith infused each and every one of the 14,000 pieces of art he created from the age of 45 until his death two years ago.

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Our latest launch of the markshale.com online store included some design and shopping cart upgrades that promise to enhance customer experience and improve the store's online sales.

When developing a strategy for the e-commerce site's upgrade, we consulted the latest publications on online shopping and customer expectations. The most important study that ultimately influenced the decisions we made came from a survey conducted by theCambridge, MA-based Allurent, Inc. and reprinted in Direct Magazine.

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Though it happens with less frequency, we are sometimes challenged by a prospect to explain exactly what they are getting when they pay good money for 'design'. "I need online sales," they say, "so I'm willing to pay for a sophisticated shopping cart, search engine optimization programs, even advertising. But I think I can get away with discount design."

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If you watched cartoons in the 1980's you know the Smurfs. Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo, was a Belgian comics artist that created and introduced Smurfs in 1958 in the Johan and Peewit comic. I wanted to take a minute to recognize his creativity and vision with a link to our medieval little friends.

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Over the past few decades, as Billups Design's lead copywriter, I have experienced many forms of copy strategy for web sites on the part of our clients. Some include too much copy for their audience which ultimately leads to reduced prospects. Others emphasize promotional over informational copy and fail to generate the trust necessary with their online customers to close a sale.

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A notable development out of Asia:

"Maxthon is a browser that reportedly has 30% of the browser market in its home country of China"

The Maxthon browser is found here.

Just in time for their new fundraising campaign, Investing in Justice, The Chicago Bar Foundation has launched its new web site. It is everyone's hope that, in its own way, the new site makes possible more money raised and more awareness for the importance of providing legal counsel to all communities and classes in our society so that there is equal access to justic for all.

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