Photo manipulation is the art of digitally combining simple images with digital effects and/or textures in order to create a feeling, convey a message or just have fun. Photo manipulation is used extensively in advertising and produces stunning visual results and feelings, my preferred campaign is Lavazza's "espress yourself" campaign. Or photo manipulation is just used as a means of artistic expression for artists and designers alike.

Why do I like it so much? Because it is eye-catching, rich in textures and colors, complex in composition and visually interesting.

Here are 12 extraordinary images from 12 outstanding artists. Enjoy!

Guitar Splash | Gest0ert

So You Think You Can Splash | Stefanos Michaelides

Colorful Nature Sounds | Cimoetz

CD Cover 7 | Marcus Lorenzet 

Crescendo | Jesar One

Feel My Greatest Temptation | Fatkur Rokhim

Digital Skin | Benjamin Delacour

Woman Souvenir | Alberto Seveso

Nanopao | Thomas Kim and Benjamin Delacour

EVE | Aryaz

Breakdancer | Wael.Hamdan

Camera Con Vista | Alberto Seveso

By now you have realized that although I am not a furniture designer I can't help but loving it. From all the furniture around me I particularly like chairs, armchairs and sofas.

And here is my new find. Designed by Marchel Wanders for Capellini the Tulip Armchair was presented at the Salone Internationale del Mobile that took place in Milan, Italy from April 14 to 19.

Made of hard and soft polyurethane and covered with fabric, leather or alcantara the Tulip Armchair is stunning in its simplicity, elegance and organic form.

Marcel Wanders is a Dutch designer that designs for the biggest European contemporary design manufacturers like B&B Italia, Bisazza, Poliform, Moroso, Flos, Boffi, Cappellini, Droog Design and Moooi. He graduated from the School of the Arts in Arnhem, Holland in 1988 and became famous with his iconic Knotted Chair, which he produced for Droog Design in 1996.

He lives and works in Amsterdam. For Marchel Wander's bio click here.

And don't forget, there is also the Tulip Chair designed by the Finish architect and product designer Eero Saarinen in 1955

It was designed as part of his revolutionary one piece, one material furniture philosophy and it is produced and enjoyed by many. Still today!

“I believe that any form of art is reciprocated from nature... therefore it can also be translated into design. The earliest literary arts were about the most basic beings in nature. the Moon, the Stars, the Sun, Man and Woman. Everything follows the form, structure and flow of what is around you and our perception of it within. Whether it be a design for my next collection or a beautiful poem. Everything...”

–Kenneth Cobonpue

Color is one of the most important forms of non-verbal communication and a tool to create a mood or rapidly convey a message. In fact color is one of the most important arsenals in marketing and design in order to attract the consumer's eye, create an impression, convey a message and ultimately make a sale. At the minimum create enough interest about a product or service.

Humans react to color in an unconscious way as color stimulates our senses and sends messages to our brain suggesting specific feelings. The power of color is visible around us in logos, advertising, signage, billboards, packaging, websites, blogs even cell phones and MP3 players.

Statistics demonstrate the importance and power of color. Humans spend approximately .03 seconds looking at a package while walking in the aisles of a store. At that time a product must attract our eye, make clear what the product is about while at the same time appeal to our aesthetics and create the curiosity to look at it closely.

To show the importance of color here is a list of human responses just for RED:

Bright Red: Exciting, Energizing, Hot, Dynamic, Stimulating, Provocative, Aggressive, Powerful

Bright Pink: Exciting, Happy, Hot, Energetic, Youthful, Spirited, Fun, Trendy, Wild

Light Pink: Romantic, Soft, Sweet, Tender, Cute, Babies, Delicate

Dusty Pink: Soft, Cozy, Subtle

Mauve: Soft, Subdued, Quiet, Sentimental

Burgundy: Rich, Elegant, Refined, Tasty, Expensive, Mature

Fuchsia: Bright, Exciting, Fun, Hot, High Energy

Brick Red: Earthy, Strong, Warm Country

Terra-cotta: Earth, Warm, Wholesome, Country, Welcoming

And you? How do you use color to help your business grow? Next time you will have a promotional material designed or a logo redesign or a new website think about color and discuss it with your designer.

Invest in the well being of your own business. Trust a professional designer.

Tired of the same image galleries? Here are some outside the box image galleries for beautiful portfolio sites.

Piecemaker XML Gallery

Demo | Download

Piecemaker is an open source 3D Flash image rotator gallery.

Supersized

Demo | Download

Supersized is a fullscreen slidehow jQuery plugin. It supports image preloading with image cycling with transitioning effect.

When I view the world, I don't think of my own work. I think of my hope that, through art, people can get a sense of the type of invisible fabric that holds us all together, that holds the world together.

– Jeff Koons

Great Wordpress Themes For Artists, Photographers And Creatives. Enjoy!

Vector Flower

Features | Demo | Download

City Journal

Features | Demo | Download

Craftworks

Features | Demo | Download

Joyous Childhood

Features | Demo | Download

Artwork

Features | Demo | Download

Wp Blue Print

Features | Demo | Download

Personalised

Features | Demo | Download

Vivee

Features | Demo | Download

Inuit Types

Features | Demo | Download

Thrilling Theme

Features | Demo | Download

Workoholic

Features | Demo | Download

Fullscreen

Features | Demo | Download

Modularity

Features | Demo | Download

Highdef

Features | Demo | Download

Early Morning

Features | Demo | Download

Isotherm News

Features | Demo | Download

Rask

Features | Demo | Download

Igloo

Features | Demo | Download

Tree House

Features | Demo | Download

Old School

Features | Demo | Download

There are many reasons to hire a professional web designer and here are my personal 5 most important.

YOU ARE PROFESSIONAL BUT DO YOU LOOK PROFESSIONAL?

You do your best, you are a great professional but do you look professional on the web? A professional designer will create a professional image for your business which will efficiently convey your business message to your target audience. A professional designer will make decisions about the appropriate imagery, colors, typefaces, to name but a few, to reach your audience and generate interest about who you are and what you do.

YOU WANT TO STAND OUT IN THE CROWD, DON'T YOU?

Did you know that you only have a few seconds to keep someone in your site? How many times did YOU exit web sites just because they looked so crammed, overwhelming, busy, common and generic? A professional designer will design an aesthetically appealing and visually interesting site for your business. A designer will prioritize your information and will give visual clues to make it easier to find by your prospects and clients. A professional designer will help you stand out in the crowd and grasp the attention of your potential clients.

YOU HAVE A WEB SITE BUT DO SEARCH ENGINES KNOW IT?

You did it! You have a web site but do search engines know that you are there? Today, more than ever it is not enough to just have a web site. You must have a web site that search engines will find and index easily and efficiently. A professional web designer will design and program your web site in a search engine optimized manner to keep bringing search engines to you and improve your rankings.

HOW FLEXIBLE ARE YOU?

A professionally designed web site is flexible, it grows with you and changes in the direction you and your business change. Web sites based on generic templates have limitations and cannot be altered to accommodate your needs. Their design is set and instead of them adapting to your needs you will have to adapt to them or change them all together.

Which brings us to the last but not least reason to hire a professional web designer.

SAVE TIME & MONEY

You decided that you want to save money and that you will do it on your own. After all, there are so many affordable, even free, services offered on line, it must be easy. Well... it's not that easy, it can be time consuming and very frustrating. Most of my clients that started their web adventure on their own became frustrated at some point and the results were disappointing. They ultimately turned to a professional to improve their image or just re-started everything from scratch.

The time you spend trying to be a designer is time you take away from what you do best, your business. Therefore not only do you loose time but also money from business that you don't do.

Invest in the well being of your own business. Trust a professional designer.