Due to demand Clare Arts Office is happy to announce a repeat of Web Design Training Programme facilitated by Niall Flaherty that we are running again in partnership with Visual Artists Ireland.

The programme takes place over four sessions as follows:
Dates
Thurs 11Nov (09.30 – 16.30)
Thurs 18 Nov
Thurs 25 Nov
Thurs 2 Dec

Format & Content
See below details of the format for the programme and what each session will involve.

Cost
As before the programme is being made available to artists based in County Clare at 50euros for the entire programme and 150euros for artists from outside County Clare. Priority will be given to artists who have previously expressed interest in this training however places are available.

Venue
Glor, Ennis

Booking
All bookings and enquiries are to be made directly with Visual Artists Ireland:
Monica Flynn / Education Officer
Visual Artists Ireland
37 Nth, Great George’s St, Dublin 1
Tel: +353 (0)1 872 2296
Email: monica@visualartists.ie
Please make contact with Visual Artists Ireland directly in order to book places and make payment for the programme.

For full details of our current Professional Development Training for Visual Artists see: http://visualartists.ie/education/autumn-winter-2010/
To keep up to date with training opportunities join the Visual Artists Ireland Professional Development group on facebook

Visual Artists Ireland is funded by the Arts Council /An Chomhairle Ealaíon and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Visual Artists Ireland is the trading name of the Sculptors’ Society of Ireland Ltd. Registered Charity No. CHY9629

Website Design & Promotion for Artists and Craftspeople
by Niall Flaherty 2010

Teaching and Learning Methods:

Tutor led with Lectures and Demonstrations

Over four sessions the learners will learn to:

1. Identify, acquire and manage a quality website hosting account

2. Construct a visually appealing feature-rich website with own blog

3. Prepare images for display online and create image galleries

4. Sell products online via e-commerce and promote your work via Social Media and SEO

Sessions includes the following learning outcomes:

- how to register or transfer a domain name

- getting the right web hosting plan

- issuing email addresses and managing your hosting control panel (cpanel)

- setting up a content management system (wordpress)

- creating a website with using wordpress

- extending your site with themes, plug-ins and widgets

- customising your site with stylesheets

- preparing and uploading images, audio and video for your site

- opening, rotating, cropping and saving of images in photoshop

- cleaning and colour correction images

- resizing and optimising images for the web

- uploading images and creating galleries in wordpress

- setting up an online merchant account (paypal)

- adding products for sale online

- managing your online shop

- adding your social networking tools to your site (facebook / twitter)

- how to promote your site via social networking and online services

- how to search engine optimise your site (google)

Running concurrent with these Sessions, four Clinics will provide each learner a one-to-one tutorial with the tutor.

Learner requirements:

- competency with computers and browsing the internet is essential

- a body of art, craft or design work for display on the internet

- learners will require their own laptop with wifi internet and either photoshop or photoshop elements installed

Niall Flaherty
Niall has worked extensively in online and networked media, and has a Masters Degree in Fine Art - Media from NCAD and a Project Management Certificate in New Media from ArtHouse and The Institute of Commercial Management. He has worked for 5 years as audio/video and new media technician for NCAD as well as software trainer for the 'Exercises In Folkatronica', multimedia residencies for VAI. Since 2005 Niall has been lecturing in fine art, new media and digital photography in both DIT and NCAD in their fine art and continuing education programmes. In 2005 he started the Blackletter website as a means for Irish artists to publish together on the web. A well as Niall has produced websites for a number of artists and arts organisations and is currently building the website for the Artists Studio Network Ireland, which can be seen online at http://www.asni.info.

The artists' who join in the sessions will at the end of the sessions have a completed website online, which will feature gallery, news, biography and contact pages and can be further updated fully by the artists themselves at no cost and with very little effort. Niall will also provide examples of how to embed different types of media in the website, including slideshows, audio tracks and video footage allowing almost any combination of content to be added to the site at any time. Website promotion, search engine optimisation and e-commerce will all be covered. In addition the artists will be in possession of a website which meets accessibility guidelines, and is capable of publishing a syndicated news feed as well as being compatible with hundreds of additional free add-ons, themes, templates and tools.

Websites designed by Niall Flaherty
for groups:
http://www.altents.ie
http://www.blackletter.ie
http://www.asni.info
http://www.commonplace.ie
for individuals:
http://www.niallflaherty.com
http://www.heatherfinn.com
http://www.paulinecummins.com