Realtor Dusty Meads has turned her obsession with the Internet into a full-time job, but not for selling real estate. Meads wants to create an online business in which she can serve Realtors for free. She's got a good start with her web site Realestateclipart.com. The site provides over 100 original button, sign and graphic clips, as well as franchise logos and Realtor designations.

When Meads began her real estate web site four years ago, she found no graphics that she felt were suitable for a real estate Web site. So, she decided to learn how to make her own.

" A lot of people gave me encouragement," says Meads. "I wanted to do graphics and there was no place to put them so I developed this site."

Meads enjoys drawing and finds that she has the most success with a Wacom art tablet so that she can draw on the computer screen with a "pen" instead of a mouse. Her favorite art program is Photoshop, but she also recommends Paintshop Pro, which can be downloaded inexpensively on the Internet.

All the designs on Realestateclipart.com are Meads' so far; but, she encourages agents who have clip art that they like to share it with her, and she will post it to the site. "I want people to learn how to do their own graphics," says Meads. "Some will learn to do their own graphics and I hope that they will donate their graphics to the site."

For agents who would like to get started quickly and easily using graphics and buttons on their web sites, Meads suggests downloading her graphics and using an art program like Paintshop Pro to populate the text on the blank buttons, signs and other graphics. If Realtors are interested in doing their own graphics, she suggests using the same tools she uses - the Wacom art tablet. Agents are also welcomed to email Dusty at dmeads@joplinrealestate.com for additional help.

Meads also provides some guidelines that will make the sites more attractive and user friendly.

• Don't use too many graphics on any single page, about two or three is plenty.
• Use graphics only for emphasis. Graphics can be distracting; they slow the download of the page.
• A few graphics is better than none. If you have no graphics people can get easily bored.
• Go easy with animated graphics. Animation catches the eye, but it also distracts from the message. Animated graphics should be used sparingly.
• Use navigation graphics, as long as they are small and are quick downloads. The best way to do it is to time the download. A real estate page should take no longer than a minute to download.

"The trick to good design is to use the right graphics in the right place and the right amount," says Meads, "to produce the right effect."

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Published: November 2, 1999

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