TheWizDesign.com 3.0 Is Now Live!

Developed with HTML5 and it utilizes responsive Web design. See it on your laptop. See it on your iPad. See it on your iPhone. See it in Internet Explorer 7 and 8! It will work. Check out my work including the design and development for ppgpro.com (coming soon), a website for PPG Architectural Coatings’ painting professionals and Pro.Olympic.com, a website for painting professionals from Olympic Paints and Stains.

Visit it now!

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September 17th, 2011 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

Eat Pittsburgh!

Eat Pittsburgh Business Cards

Hello! It’s been a while.

The girls over at Eat Pittsburgh just got some new business cards created with the logo I designed for them. I think they turned out great!

If you’re looking for some great Pittsburgh restaurant reviews, check out their blog. They do a great job.

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June 24th, 2011 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

Remember When Wireless Video Game Controllers Were a Luxury?

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October 27th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

Holmes on Homes Meet Mike in New York City Sweepstakes

Meet Mike Holmes in New York City Sweepstakes

The Holmes on Homes Meet Mike in New York City Sweepstakes sponsored by Olympic Stains officially launched on Friday thanks to the PPG Architectural Coatings Web department. We are featuring a sweepstakes on the homepage of Olympic.com to win a trip to New York City to meet HGTV home improvement superstar and tv personality Mike Holmes as he goes on tour promoting his new magazine. In addition to a homepage takeover and registration page, we also put together a Facebook tab and social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook, are running Facebook and Google ads and are sending out email blasts promoting the sweepstakes. Since Friday, we have already seen our Facebook likes double since launching and anticipate receiving a lot more traffic to Facebook and Olympic.com.

Olympic Stain is sold in Lowe’s as well as other home improvement stores.

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October 18th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

Using the Right Dashes

In honor of National Punctuation Day, here are the correct uses of using the variations in dashes.

I recently attended a Photoshop seminar, and oddly enough, there was a portion dedicated to the correct use of dashes. Most of the following content is from the material that was provided, with my own two cents.

In professional typography there are three different dashes, although the average person generally uses one for everything—the hyphen.

HYPHEN: There is basically only one time you ever use a hyphen, and that’s to hyphenate words like step-by-step or when a word is too long to fit on a line.

EN DASH: This is a longer dash, and you get this dash in Adobe products by pressing Option-Dash (Mac) or Alt-Dash (PC), or with HTML –. You use this dash to primarily to indicate a length of time, like “12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.” or “for 7 – 10 year olds only.” Notice that longer dash?

Below are two examples, the first being the incorrect hyphen and the second, the proper En dash.

12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M.

12:00 P.M – 1:00 P.M.

See how much longer the “en” dash is than a hyphen? Although the proper use technically doesn’t have a space on either side of the en dash, the most common use is with a single space on either side. Yes, using the En dash is subtle, but these things add up, and when you have enough “right” things on the page, it changes the page in a not so subtle way.

EM DASH: This is primarily used within a sentence to separate a thought or indicate a change in thought without using a comma, colon or a period. Something like this: The new backpacks are now in stock—they’re gorgeous! The most proper use of the em dash is right up against the word on either side of it, with no space between. However this is something you’ll hear me and some type-heads argue, and many large newspapers use it with a space on either side.

January — February

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September 24th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

Legit Free Food and Great Deals Around Pittsburgh and more!

Free Food

I love free things! Who doesn’t? And I really love taking advantage of discounts and specials when they become available, whether it be from Groupon, an Email Marketing special or something from Twitter. Below is a list of some deals I have come across in the Pittsburgh area that I want to share with you. Yes, you.

Free Bagel at Bruegger’s

Subscribe to Brueger’s mailing list and they’ll instantly email you a coupon for a free bagel with cream cheese! While you are there, try their Pumpkin Spice Coffee. It’s delicious!

Subscribe on their website here!

Three Free Breakfasts from IHOP

Subscribe to IHOP’s mailing list and they’ll give you three free breakfasts – one immediately, one on your birthday and one on the one year anniversary of signing up!

Sign up on Facebook

Free Appetizer From Longhorn Steak House

Sign up for Longhorn’s mailing list and they’ll send you a voucher for a free appetizer!

Sign up on Facebook

Free Kashi Granola Bar

Kashi thinks that their granola bars are so much better than the snacks you normally eat, they’re willing to mail you one of their granola bars to get you to try theirs.

Just fill out this quick survey and a Kashi snack will be on its way.

Free Burrito at Mad Mex

Simply sign up for Mad Mex’s mailing list with your birthday and they’ll send you a free burrito coupon around your birthday! I’ve been receiving one for several years. They also send other great coupons in the mail and via email.

Sign up for Mad Mex’s Birthday Lista here!

Free Meal from Big Burrito Group

Owners of Mad Mex, but also possessing many other great restaurants in the Pittsburgh area (including Eleven, one of my all-time favorites), Big Burrito will also mail you a separate birthday coupon for signing up for their email list.

Sin up for Big Burrito Group’s Email List

Free Coffee at Dunkin Donuts

Text your email address to 386546 (dunkin) and they’ll send you a free drink coupon in the mail. It takes a few weeks, but it works.

Also, every time you make a purchase at Dunkin Donuts, on your receipt they’ll ask you to take a survey online and you’ll get a free doughnut at your next visit.

Save 10% at Guitar Center

Subscribe to Guitar Center’s Email Newsletter on this special page and you’ll receive a coupon with 10% off your next purchase. Instant gratification.

Do it here!

Free Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins

Probably one of the best ice creams money can buy, sign up for their email list and you’ll get free ice cream on your birthday!

Sign up here!

Great Deals from Pizza Sola

Although they don’t have anything immediately free or discounted that I am aware of, Pizza Sola really takes advantage of social media with Twitter and Facebook and is constantly running promotions to keep me interested! Plus their pizza is amazing.

Follow Pizza Sola on Twitter

Like Pizza Sola on Facebook

$2 Hot Dogs at Franktuary

Eating at Frankuary is delicious, but their gourmet franks are not cheap! But thanks to $2 Tuesdays, I can afford to eat there!

Follow Franktuary on Twitter too for some other great specials!

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September 16th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

My Review of Yo Rita’s Tacos

Check out my guest post on http://eatpgh.blogspot.com for my review of Yo Rita’s tacos.

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September 4th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

A Brief Recap of My Past Six Months Working for PPG

Since March of 2010, I have worked as a Web developer and designer in the Architectural Coatings Department of PPG. I have had a lot of fun designing and developing the recently-launched Olympic.com, as well as working on other PPG Paints-related websites, email marketing and a little bit of print and social media work to promote our online efforts. I have formed a lot of great relationships with my coworkers Rob, Sandeep, Mandy and Erica, as well as my bosses Matt and Angie. Below is a recap of some of the work I have done over the past six months including posters, postcards and a microsite for an event that my department hosted that featured Penske Racing, a real NASCAR and Sam Hornish Jr., as well as a page from the new Olympic website.

Sam Hornish Jr./Penske Racing/Olympic Design Work

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September 1st, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | 1 Comment »

Top 10 Overall Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh and their Websites

These are posted because they have great food, not necessarily great websites. Not everything is about Web design with me. I also love to eat really good food. Sadly however, Eleven and Casbah are the only restaurants I have eat at.

As voted upon by over 19,000 people who eat food and voted on Round Table, here are the top 10 overall best restaurants in Pittsburgh:

  1. Monterey Bay Fish Grotto – Pittsburgh (I do think they have a really nice website. Kudos Zoltun!)
  2. Jimmy Wan’s Taipei
  3. Capital Grille
  4. Monterey Bay Fish Grotto – Monroeville (Yes, they are on here again)
  5. Ruth’s Chris Steak House – Pittsburgh
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March 30th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »

36 Beautifully Designed Brewery Websites

I used to be a beer snob. I don’t really drink anymore though, for various reason. I have however turned my elite outlook and arrogance from the beers I used to consume to the something a little more different – Web design. I like to think I have pretty good tastes in websites.

While researching for a brewery website design I will potentially be working on, I archived some of the best designs I stumbled across. Let me know if I missed anything that you think belongs here. Hopefully I will be adding one of my own sites to this list in the next couple of months.

Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Oregon - Pioneers of America's Original Hefeweizen

Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Oregon

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

The Pike Brewing Company

The Pike Brewing Company

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

San Diego Brewing Company

San Diego Brewing Company

Samuel Adams – America's World Class Beer

Samuel Adams – America's World Class Beer

Red Hook

Red Hook

Pyramid Breweries

Pyramid Breweries

PERONI CHIOSCO

PERONI CHIOSCO

Pearl Street Brewery | La Crosse, Wisconsin

Pearl Street Brewery | La Crosse, Wisconsin

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon

O'Hanlon's Brewery - Master Crafted Beers

O'Hanlon's Brewery - Master Crafted Beers

New Belgium

New Belgium

Mother Earth Brewing

Mother Earth Brewing

Mayflower Brewing Company - Craft Beer Microbrewery

Mayflower Brewing Company - Craft Beer Microbrewery

Magic Hat Brewing Company

Magic Hat Brewing Company

MacTarnahan's Brewing Company

MacTarnahan's Brewing Company

Long Trail Brewing Co. - A Taste of Vermont

Long Trail Brewing Co. - A Taste of Vermont

Left Hand Brewing

Left Hand Brewing

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn Brewery

Land Shark Lager

Land Shark Lager

James Squire

James Squire

Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

Guinness

Guinness

French Broad Brewery - World Beer Asheville

French Broad Brewery - World Beer Asheville

Fish Brewing Company, Olympia, WA

Fish Brewing Company, Olympia, WA

Duvel

Duvel

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

Budweiser

Budweiser

BridgePort Brewing Co.

BridgePort Brewing Co.

Bluetongue Brewery

Bluetongue Brewery

Blue Moon Brewing Company

Blue Moon Brewing Company

Beck's Beer

Beck's Beer

Asahi Beer

Asahi Beer

Alnwick Rum

Alnwick Rum

Pilsner-Urquell

Pilsner-Urquell

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February 19th, 2010 by Jesse Wisinski | No Comments »