Today's bookmark as seen to the left cannot be downloaded easily as it's actually a double-sided promotional piece that I created for a client. Regardless of whether or not your client is an author, they may still be able to reach an interesting crowd with a bookmark that doubles as a promotional item. In terms of size it offers roughly double that of a traditional business card, giving you  more room to explain your services and options. If you go double-sided, you have actually created 4 times the space! But how do you design a promotional bookmark effectively for your client? The answer is easier than you think! Much like traditional business card design, don't limit yourself to the boundaries! Think outside the box and create something that will be remembered but don't forget to include all the necessary contact information!

Guest post  by Author Barbara Howell. Howell is the author of Splinters: The Pain, The Passion, The Point published by Paige1Publishing in Tulsa, OK. Howell is a member of the Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc., Tulsa Night Writers, and RHEMA Writer's Bloc. Recently, Howell's book, was chosen to appear in an upcoming release from Harper Collins Publishing, "The NEW Big Book of Layouts" honoring the best of the best in book design.

Before I began marketing my book, "Splinters: The Pain, The Passion, The Point" I was under the impression as most writers are, that the WRITING was the most important part of my book. And while, I'm not saying that the writing isn't important, a lesson that I learned early on as an author was the importance of the book cover and design itself.

Cut. When creativity fails, I turn to the custom shapes in Photoshop. Sounds lame, but I've been pretty pleased with the results. Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I’m on board! I tried to decide what type of design I’d want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable file that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

We've talked about how great a well designed bookmark can be for author promotion in the past, but tonight I wanted to share a recent bookmark I have designed for a client. Enjoy! You can visit his site here.

Coming to you from the big 'ol state of Texas. =P Download it here. Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I’m on board! I tried to decide what type of design I’d want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable file that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

Today's show is brought to you by the letter "P".  Enjoy! Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I’m on board! I tried to decide what type of design I’d want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable file that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

I have been encouraged to continue talking about the techniques used in each design as I add them. So don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about the techniques, etc. On this one, I started off with 3 grunge textures that I had in my collection of assets. With these textures I made approximately 6 layers as I muliplied and adjusted the opacity of them adding and substracting with the eraser tool and various brushes to get the desired effect. Then I applied a brown overlay and began layering on the musical notes. Each one a different shade of teal and brown. Building up from the bottom up. With different shapes and sizes, I adjusted the opacity and blending modes until I got the look I was looking for. This bookmark is available for you to download here. Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I'm on board! I tried to decide what type of design I'd want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable PDF that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

Tonight's bookmark is a guest post by @lydizzle an up and coming designer and student. Follow her on Twitter! Her bookmark design is fun and fanciful as paint splatter and dripped all over the card. Enjoy! You can download it here: Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I’m on board! I tried to decide what type of design I’d want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable file that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

If you travel as much as I do and you're as committed to keeping up with your work as I am, then you might be interested in some of the self sufficiency tips and toys I've acquired over the years. Internet Access. As a Web designer it's not possible for me to go TOO long without an internet connection. To make sure I have what I need on business trips and traveling adventures I use a broadband aircard. The card I have is from Verizon, but it's my understanding that there are more companies that carry them today than when I purchased a few years ago.  The aircard works much like a cell phone, generally requiring a 2 year contract and a monthly connection fee. But for me, it has been well-worth it. Case in point. Tonight I'm blogging form the back seat of my mom's Jetta as we are taking a road trip down to Dallas, TX for the week. Vehicle Power Supply. Car, truck, van or SUV I can always plug in. I use an AD/DC adapter that I plug my Mac power cord into for continual power streaming to my machine from any available power outlet or cigarette lighter. These  adapters normally run about $35 and can be found at most hardware or electronic stores. External Mac Battery. Power outage? No problem. I recently added a Hyper Mac external battery to my "on the road" arsenal. With it, I have an additional 12 hours of 'no-plug" time. The best part is, I don't have to ever sit and seeth about wasting my time anymore. Because no matter where I am or what I'm doing, I can be fully connected to EVERYTHING in a matter of minutes.

I've got to admit that I'm really enjoying these daily design challenges. I hope my readers don't mind the addition of these small designs to the blog each day. Don't worry I'll still bring you solid content as I run across it and news and updates from the design world as it unfolds. Tonight's design is reflective of the "blizzard" conditions we are experiencing tonight. That being the case, this bookmark was created solely in Photoshop, using snow brushes from Brusheezy and then just simple shapes. I used blending modes and layer effects to add shadows and highlights to the pole, snow drifts and the location side.  If you like this bookmark, you can download it here. Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I'm on board! I tried to decide what type of design I'd want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable PDF that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.