Continuing with the Doug Bartow “29 Tips for Young Designers” article in How’s January 2011 issue is tip 5: be yourself. I’ve tweaked it a tad bit to “know thy self” and am not in full agreement with Bartow on his spill on personal style vs. personal approach to design or creativity. Doug Bartow makes the argument that you need to have confidence in yourself as a creative type (designer, photographer, writer, creative personal in general).

That, I definitely agree with. Art and creativity are based upon how free and willing to share you are. Believe it or not, if you aren’t sure of yourself then that lack of confidence and authority over the subject matter will show in your work. I’ve come across many designers who lack confidence. The result is a piece that looks more like a mosaic of experiments and trials than a finished, coherent idea being played out. When creativity is a hobby and you are developing your craft, it’s ok not to be sure of yourself and to experiment a bit. When design and creativity are a means of your livelihood and financial support, you sure as heck better know what you’re doing. Clients and your employers aren’t paying you to experiment or find your way; they are paying you for work that will generate a profit and money and you can’t accomplish that through uncertainty.

This though is where I’m in disagreement with Bartow a bit. He writes, “Don’t work in a particular personal style …. Your commissioned work should never be about you, but it can certainly reveal your hand as the designer.” As a young creative (I can still call myself that at 26, right?) I’ve found that in most cases, this is the complete opposite in many situations. Most of the work I’ve picked up on a freelance basis has been based on my personal style rather than me just being a designer. Sure, some of that work and the work I do for my employer may be based on the style or work of someone or something that’s been established before I’ve come along but my clients and past and present employers expect to see my trademark style elements worked into my design pieces.

The biggest mistake I think any young creative could make is to become a chameleon creative type. Rather than having a style that will make someone snap their fingers and exclaim, “That’s (Fill in the Blak)’s work!” they try to copy and imitate what they view as cool or in style rather than putting in the time to work or develop his or her own style. Why should you have a personal style? You will enjoy your work more because you will have a more intimate connection with the work you create. Rather than your work being just another job, you will be able to look at it years from now and have it conjure up an emotional reaction. Don’t be afraid to insert yourself in your work – whether it’s for personal use or commissioned by another. Just be sure when the client or employer asks why you made a design/creative decision in the work you present that you have a better reason than, “I just like it” or “It looks cool.”

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Continuing on with the commentary about How magazine’s recent 29 Tips for Young Designers article by Doug Bartow, we’re on to the fourth tip: define your audience. I’ve worked with a lot of designers; I’ve worked within a company setting and as a freelancer; I’ve looked online and have been the recipient of design and I can easily say one mistake many designers or creative types make, me included, is not always being considerate of the audience who you are designing for. This is a double-edged sword and isn’t as clear cut an issue as one may believe.

Different audiences respond differently to various messages. In my opinion, successful designers are those who don’t really see themselves as artists or designers; they see themselves as marketers. Those in the advertising field will tell you that coming up with any successful campaign involves lots of research. You probably got into your chosen creative field so that you didn’t have to do research! Sorry buds, but graphic design is like any other professional line of work – it takes research, it takes knowing your audience, it takes time and some trial and error.

When I first started out as a graphic designer, I often designed things that I liked. If it looked good to me, I deemed it good design and called it a day, shut the door on it. That’s why when I look back on some of my early work, I cringe. It feels dated, a tad juvenile. Nowadays, I am constantly looking at other people’s work for inspiration; I usually start each design task with the question of, “Who do you think you’re talking to?” meaning if my audience is 56-70 something year old women into gardening, I had better not design something that a college freshman would jump on. Sometimes, I often will do something of a “red pill vs. blue pill” approach to design to present to the client: one is tame and in line with what is expected and has been done before to appeal to a certain group; the other is usually a bit more out there and pushes the standard. In the end, it’s rarely an either/or situation but a compromise of the two.

When you set out to do your creative work – look back at what’s been done before and see what you can do to “remix” it. Yes, take the approach of a DJ would to a song and take something people already like and make it a tad bit better. Don’t go too far out and lose sight of what made the original thing appealing to begin with but don’t always play it safe and deliver what’s been done time after time. This seems a bit paradoxical but I’ve found this approach has helped me produce some good work that all audiences have responded to. Keep in mind that whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, web designer or writer you’re first and foremost a communicator. Don’t just create eye candy but create a piece of work that has a purpose and connects to a specific audience. Only by doing this will you create something that has a lasting impact and impression.

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Have you ever been asked, “What’s your type?” If so, it’s probably been in reference to the type of guy or girl you’re into and not in reference to typography. One of Dough Bartow’s 29 tips for young designers in the latest issue of How magazine was not to fear type but to master it. I decided to add my two cents to this cornerstone in being a good graphic designer.

When people think of graphic design, they usually think of graphics – pictures, colors, composition, images, visual. A major part of being a good graphic designer is having a good grasp on typography. Now, you may be taught some of this in a class but it’s one of those things that you often need to pursue on your own and get a grip on earlier rather than later in your career. Typography can make a break a design piece. If you work with publications, fonts and type will be even more important than the images you may use or create. Think of good graphic design like a burlesque show – you go to a show like this with the intentions of seeing a woman do her thing but everything has to come together for you to actually enjoy the show including her looks, her outfit, her dancing, how well she interacts and connects with the crowd and so on. Graphic design is much like flirting or being a tease in that the images and design have to be alluring enough to get you to examine a piece more closely to get the main message. You can’t go about doing that with bad type as it’ll quickly turn your audience off.

What makes good typography? Too many factors to get into on here. Know the difference between Sans Serif and Serif fonts; one will work well in small, tiny print in a publication while the other will be easier on the eyes for a short online piece. Be wary of using free online fonts. I know, you probably gasped and clutched your pearls at that. There are some good ones out there; there are a ton of really bad ones. The problem with many is usually within the fine details; the lack of a built in bold or italic version of that font, the spacing between the characters being too lax and far off and fonts that are simply too hard to read for both young and older audiences.

Know all the little terms such as kerning, leading and tracking – these little terms help make typography and type heavy pieces easier to read and more professional looking. For example, tracking that goes below -30 would squeeze the characters together too much and make it extremely hard for the reader’s eyes to differentiate between the characters; aim for your leading to be 3 points sizes more than the font size for a large body of text; the usual minimum threshold for readability is 7 points so try your hardest not to make the size of your font smaller than that. Also, learn about the license restrictions of your fonts. This is something they don’t talk about in most classes and yet it’s important to know when, where and how you can use certain fonts because if the creator of that font were to find you used it in a manner that goes beyond the terms of use, they could sue you and win. See, suddenly that question of “What’s your type?” doesn’t seem all that easy to answer, does it?

Typography may not be the funnest or most thrilling part of graphic design or being a creative guru but mastering it will set you apart from those who don’t take their craft as seriously as you do. If you want a good go-to source on typography consider referring to the books The Elements of Typographic Design by Robert Bringhurst, Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton or Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann.

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A couple days ago I mentioned the article by Doug Bartow in the January 2011 issue of How magazine on tips for young designers. While the article may have been geared toward those in the graphic design field I believe his tips are ones that apply to people in all sorts of creative career paths including (but not limited to) writers, video and audio, film, painting, etc.

The second tip following “sweat the details” (which I posted about last week) was to play nice. Now, this sounds like something we all learned back in elementary school and have been told by our parents as we were growing up. You would be surprised by how we forget this savvy business rule as we get older. Working, especially in today’s economy, gets stressful. Our first reaction rarely is to ” let it go” and  in all fairness, it’s hard to just let something go when it really gets to you. So what do we do? We pick at it, we think about it non-stop, we complain to our friends, co-workers, family about it and usually we let those little things build up and seep into our professional careers and work. We’ll belittle a client who doesn’t have the slightest idea what a person with your creative talents really does; we’ll refuse to go beyond our definition of our given profession because we think or say we’ll never be compensated for our hard work; we’ll get online or go out in public and completely tear down somebody or a group of people because we think it’ll make us feel better to vent and let it all out.

Be careful of the bridges you burn in your career. Let’s get honest and real – we all have bad days, we encounter people in our careers who really seem to defy logic and reason and in some cases we are undervalued and mistreated. That being said, there is no reason for us to completely burn bridges in our professional careers that will leave us up the creek. You can’t anticipate the future or what’s to come. Say you’re laid off (which I have been) and all of a sudden you need references or help with leads on a new job. If you’ve played dirty and have had a reputation for not being a team player, you may find it a tad bit hard to find someone willing to help you out in your time of need.

The same goes for what you do online. We’ve heard countless stories of how seemingly nice people at work suddenly turn to the darkside online. They’ll go on Facebook and will rip a certain co-worker, they will complain about how much they hate their job, they will rant on and on about things related to their career giving you the impression that perhaps this person is in the wrong line of work. Don’t be that person. I’ve personally adopted a policy of not talking about work outside of the confines at work, and complaining while you’re at work seems like a waste of time. If you have nothing but complains and negative things to say about your job, you should probably be seeking new employment elsewhere.

So people, play nice. It’s harder than it sounds and takes more effort than simply ranting and raving about the downside of being a professional in today’s economy, but it’s worth the effort.

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I’ve been going through the January issue of How magazine and came across a great article where Doug Bartow, the principal and design director at id29 in Troy, NY, offered 29 tips for young designers. I graduated back in May of 2006 and nearly four years, nine months later I’ve come to rather big conclusion about my college design education experience – it really feels worthless. Don’t get me wrong, I learned some things while attending college and it has been nice having a journalism background as a graphic designer but when I’ve zeroed in on my design courses in particular I’ve realized I really graduated having been told or taught little to prepare me for real world design.

Young designers really have it bad these days. Most probably have a background similar to mine – they grew up loving art, enjoying drawing and making things and then showing them off to the world to marvel at. I went through that phase most artists go through with thinking I could never make a living off of being an artist … until I found out about graphic design. Being a graphic designer, or graphic artists as I’d like to think of myself, has kept me employed from May of 2006 through the present. It’s gotten me internships, freelance work and all around it’s been enjoyable. A lot of what’s made me a good designer though isn’t what I learned through a class but lessons I learned outside of college and on my own while trying to stay afloat and relevant. That’s why I liked Bartow’s article and would like to harp on his 29 tips for young designers. I’m still young(ish) at 26 and know I’m still learning but I’d like to put my perspective and thoughts to some of his points over the course of the next month.

Bartow’s first tip was to sweat the details. My college degree doesn’t say anything about graphic design or even art. My official degree title or track was visual communication. Designers are communicators first and foremost. When you create a poster for a concert, it can’t just be pretty but it has to clearly communicate the information and ideas pertinent to the event. If it does not get the point across, no matter how pretty it is, it’s a bad design. Something I’ve noticed with young people in general is that they have absolutely no concept of communicating like professionals. Everything is communicated with acronyms. LOL! IDK WTH these PPL are thinkn!

Communication is important to success. The sentence above looks ridiculous and I hardly take people serious when they choose to communicate with me in such a manner. I have clients who are years or even decades older to me who will send me an E-mail typed in all lowercase letters or one that’s decorated with profanities and obscenities. Really? This is your idea of professionalism and at times your idea of how to make a first impression? People, keep it professional.

I believe all graphic designers or creative types in general need to learn how to communicate in professional manners. That means in a way, you need to think of yourself less as a designer and more so as an editor or journalist. Edit everything you do to death. While Bartow recommends having a Chicago Manual of Style by your side at all times, I recommend going with AP Style as it’s the guide used by most publications and in other professional writings. Never write in shorthand. Get into the habit of communicating in sentences – start off with a capital letter, end with punctuation and have proper spelling and grammar running throughout. People seemed surprised that even on Twitter I write complete sentences and use punctuation and hardly shorthand anything. Sure, it may make me look or seem like a geek or an ancient old man but I have rarely encountered an issue of not getting a point across due to it.

When you are looking for a job, employers will be looking at how you communicate your ideas. They will notice grammatical errors on your resume, in your cover letter, even glaring issues that may be present on your design pieces. Anything you publish – whether it be online or in print, for work or for pleasure, to family or a friend, on a blog or for Facebook – should be edited, reviewed and easy to understand. It sounds a bit much or a bit of a pain but believe me, being a great communicator will take you far in your career.

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Well, it has been quite a while since my last post. What gives? The answer is that since my last post, I’ve landed a new job. Does that mean I’m not posting anymore? Not at all! Between interviewing, Thanksgiving, starting the job and getting re-adjusted, I’ve simply been a tad bit busy.

I’ve spoken to many designers or people in general about the seemingly lack of jobs for us creative types out there. Many of you have expressed the same concerns that I have over the last few years or so – the opportunities for print designers seem to be few and far in between; people hiring don’t seem to know exactly what they really want or need; you interview but for whatever reason aren’t landing the job you think you’re fit for. My advice? Don’t sweat it. I know, when you’re unemployed and living on your savings or unemployment, that’s hard to do. I was unemployed from the first week of August of this year until the last week in November and now am back to work designing magazines as I’ve been doing for the past four years. Yes, a three-month unemployment period really isn’t all that bad but it’s taught me more than a few lessons that I thought I’d pass on to you all. If you’re an unemployed graphic designer or creative type in general, I believe you’ll find my insight helpful and useful. Our professions aren’t like others – where others may easily be able to neatly sum up their professions and experience in a resume, creative types need to actually show and demonstrate that they are creative. If you don’t do that in your outlook and resume and other material, you’re dead in the water and won’t be finding much in terms of employment. So here are a few tips to help you land a great job:

1. Breathe. The moment you’re facing being unemployed, your life seems to go from relaxed to super stressful and hectic. You think of all the bills you need to pay, you watch the news and fret over the continuous reports of how people are unemployed for not just weeks but for months if not years. Relax. Seriously, just breathe and take it all in. Take a day or two to get your thoughts together but immediately jump in on the job search. It may seem daunting but don’t put it off for days or weeks. Not more than 24 hours after being laid off, I was back on the job hunt.

2. Don’t think of yourself as unemployed. Do you remember that old saying, “You are what you eat?” Well, you also are what you think. If you accept and think of yourself as jobless, unemployed and whatever other negative adjectives associated with being out of a job, that’s exactly what you will be and will remain until you think otherwise. Yes, I knew I was without a job but I also knew I didn’t have the time or ability to accept being unemployed. I couldn’t live off of unemployment benefits for long; I needed and wanted to be able to support myself again and like most men, didn’t want to have to rely on others. I had down days when it felt like I’d never find that breakthrough and I had weeks when there really weren’t any good opportunities presenting themselves. I took days off of my job search to veg out and watch television, listen to music or just get out. I needed days to recoup and regenerate because searching for a new job is a full-time job within itself. There are days when I did nothing but search and look through job postings, follow-up, tweak the resume and send out the portfolio. So take a day off now and then but dedicate yourself to find a job by a certain date. Didn’t meet your goal? Push it back by another two weeks or so.

3. No one can help you but yourself. This goes against what most will tell you. They say that you have to network, that most jobs aren’t posted online, that there will be hundreds of people applying to the few jobs posted online. Guess what – they’re right. They are also wrong. Too often when you’re unemployed, you go on to think that you can’t do things on your own. That first week or two you’re really motivated then that motivation turns to doubt and dread as the weeks and months tick by. You think that the problem is “you” and and look to others to rescue you. Stop looking to others to find you a job. Even if they’re family, they don’t know you like you know yourself. They can’t fix your situation, describe your skills or help you find what’s going to make you happy. Only you can do that.

4. Get outside opinions. One of the most useful things I did during my unemployment period was to speak to a recruiting scout. The recruiter was able to help me put together my resume, give advice on how to spruce it up and clearly examine my qualifications and give me an idea of what I should be looking for in terms of employment and salary. You don’t even have to pay to get this done. There are many recruiting agencies out there for designers and creatives including The Select Group and some local agencies. Check out their website and they usually have job listings. Ask to speak to them about a job they are recruiting for and use that opportunity to have them look over your resume, portfolio and give you an idea of how to make yourself more presentable. Do this at the start of your job search – this will help you to know when to really pursue an opportunity or pass on one that’s not beneficial to you.

5. Be realistic. Fear turns into your biggest motivator when you’re unemployed and searching for a job. It will make you do some crazy things like spend money on services that promise to help you when they don’t or will have you thinking you need to go to school because you’re useless otherwise. Sit down and look at your situation, both financially and in terms of what you want out of your work. You don’t always need to go back to school full-time; look into taking an online course in something related to your field. You can’t always afford to move so don’t waste time looking at jobs in another state. Maybe you’ve just been laid off and you hated the job you’ve been doing … so why look for a job that’ll be so similar? Sit down and sketch out your situation and use that as a map for your job searching.

6. Work on your resume and portfolio. This is a given, which is why it comes so late in the list. Your resume and portfolio are probably outdated. Ideally you should constantly be updating it and keeping it fresh, even if you are happily employed and have no plans to look for a job anytime soon. That rarely happens, however. Before you go around submitting your resume to potential employers, spend a few days really working on what you have. Do you list your responsibilities on your resume? Then you need to re-write it when action verbs and instead of listing your responsibilities, describe in an exciting manner your biggest accomplishments in each job. Think of it as writing an action movie rather than a boring resume. You want people to stay interested and your resume to be short and to the point so that you’ll have somewhere to go during an interview. Oh, and are you a designer? Then figure out a way to make your resume, even in word format, look professional and clean but not like the standard resume. I’ll do a blog post about resume tips in the near future.

As for the portfolio, it should be clean and have elements of your website. Yes, you should have a website and web presence. A lot of the time an employer will ask for a link to your online portfolio. Your website should basically be an easy-to-use interactive version of your print portfolio. Have a lot of the same pieces that will be in your print version but toss in some new ones that will be exclusively online only. Why? Most will be reviewing your portfolio and work more so than your resume and credentials if you’re a designer or creative type. If you get an interview, you’ll want to be able to show everyone in the interview something unexpected and that they haven’t already seen online. It’s a nice, subtle thing that sets you apart and makes your presentations memorable. Oh, and limit your portfolio pieces to 9 or 10 pieces. Think of this as your greatest hits – not as “this is your life.”

7. Blog! This is a tip I haven’t heard much at all but one that I found was truly helpful in my job search. Even before being unemployed I was blogging. I like blogging because it gives you a way to network and reach out to new clients, designers and creative types in general from the comfort of your own home. When I was searching for a job, I used the blog as a means of distraction and way of reminding people that I was still around and relevant though I was holed up in my apartment most days searching for work. During, and after, interviews, one of the things that seemed to make a great impression was this blog and my tutorials, advice and things that went outside and beyond myself. Blogging, when done right, could help sell you and show your personality before you even walk into the room to interview. Show off your skills through writing tutorials and it can also prove that you’re indeed an expert in your field without leaving them wondering what you’re capable of.

These are just a few tips that I hope those looking for work will find helpful. Overall, take comfort in knowing that nothing last forever. Your job may have been cut or you have just graduated from college which proves that statement to be true. You also will find that though it’s hard to believe, being unemployed doesn’t last forever either.

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Logo design. It’s probably the most lucrative design services a designer can offer and can also be the most costly. Whenever I’m approached to do a logo design for someone, I have to admit – I cringe. Not because I hate doing logos because they can offer a design challenge worth taking on but because no one really knows what a good logo costs.

For clients, a logo is just another design task. Often logos come into play when someone has a great idea for a business and wants to be an entrepreneur and set off on their own. That’s great! If you have a great product or service, by all means, set off and start your own business and pursue it. With any new business comes the marketing and identity. The first thing most people seek is a logo. Even before they’ve truly thought things out, it seems natural for many to at least have a logo to show off when you’re trying to get your business off the ground. There are other situations when a logo design comes up. Sometimes people look for a new identity after years in the business and want to ditch their old logo. For others, perhaps there’s a special event or a new website that needs a better logo than the one you have or have been using.

Here comes the problem – how much does a logo cost? Depending on who you ask, you’ll get different responses. The client will say that $100 for a logo is pushing it. A designer may not even consider doing a logo for less than $200, and that’s on the low end of the scale. Some clients will even say that $25 or $75 is a reasonable amount for a logo. Who’s right?

Here’s my opinion – the right price is dependent on the quality of the design you want. You know that old saying of “you are what you eat?” It applies to design as well because you get what you pay for. Cheap design isn’t effective. It’s just that – cheap, quick, dirty and not well thought out. Good design costs money and has great value. A good designer knows that an effective logo is one that works well when blown up to fit on an 8×11 sheet of paper and one that works just as well when it’s the size of your thumbnail. Seriously. A good designer will use a font that’s readable and clean, that knows an overly-complicated logo makes for a messy design all together.

Designing a logo also takes time. Rarely is a good logo developed overnight. There’s the conceptual stage; the design stage; revisions; testing it out on your potential audience and tweaking and refining the logo until it’s really as good as it can possibly be. Therefore, a good logo doesn’t cost you $10 – it’ll probably cost a couple hundred of dollars if you are working with a good designer.

Non-designers will probably roll their eyes at this. A couple hundred dollars JUST for a logo?! Outrageous! But not so fast. Think about the value of your logo – it’s usually your visual introduction to your clients and audience. A logo visually speaks volumes about your company or product, it’s sometimes the first impression a person has of you and your business and it’s something that you aren’t just going to use once. Your logo will be all over the place including online, on paper, in print, on the top of letters, stitched into clothing and in many more places and different platforms. So, how would you feel if you’re trying to sell your product and are representing it with a $10 logo? You’d probably feel a bit embarrassed to admit that you’re asking someone to pay tons of money for your product when you can’t even bring yourself to pay for a decent logo.

And trust me, cheap logos look cheap. Some people may shake their heads in disagreements but someone with an eye for design can spot a cheap, quick and dirty design. Your customers aren’t stupid, either. If they’re looking at your logo and stacking it up against other well-known brands, they’ll notice a striking difference and will go for the company who’s logo looks the best.

Why do logos cost so much? First, copyright issues. A designer is creating a piece of work that you plan on taking and making money from. For weeks after you get the logo. For months afterward. Years! Decades! A good logo will help sell your business and product and isn’t something you want to change every season or much at all. That’s why you’re spending money upfront to basically ensure that the logo you purchase and have designed best suits your business and represents you well. Second, think of company’s like Nike or McDonalds. These established brands have had the same logo for decades. Someone had to design that logo and they made a decent profit from it. The reason logo design is a bit pricey because the artist is releasing to you a valuable design that he or she is agreeing to sign over and give to you to use as you please. Part of a logo design’s price is the ownership being transferred over to the client and business.

Designers – the price of a logo ultimate comes down to you. You can design a logo for any price you feel is suitable based on the amount of time and effort you’re going to put into it and with the fair warning that you never know what will happen with a business you’re designing for. They could just as easily succeed and grow into a nation-wide known company. They could just as easily never take off beyond the development stage, meaning your work and logo never will make an impact or be noticed. It’s very much a “choose your own adventure” type of situation that’s all up to you. But choose wisely – a wrong decision could end up costing you as much money as you’re charging for the design.

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I’m still engrossed in my search for a new job. It’s an interesting experience considering I started working at my last gig weeks after graduating from university and didn’t spend much time at all having to search for a job. Four years later I’m back on the job market and it’s taking considerably longer and is more stressful finding anything along the lines of graphic design.

A few weeks ago it came to me upon much dread that perhaps this was a sign that I needed to expand upon my skill set. As I look at job postings, I’m not seeing much at all for print design but there seems to be a slew of job listings for web designers. Any graphic designer will tell you that designing for the Web is an entirely different beast. Any web designer will tell you the same about designing for print. Both have some elements in common such as composition, color theory and needing to know how and where to use Jpg, Gif or PNG files.

In my quest to expand my skill set and perhaps make myself more marketable in today’s tough economy, I finally broke down and decided to take a course through a local community college that would help me expand my knowledge of web design. One reason I’ve been so resistant toward jumping onto the web design bandwagon is because in some ways I feel web design is more limiting. With print design, you can go crazy. There’s really no limit to the size, the colors, the possibilities of what you can do. With web design, you’re usually tackling a website that of course can only be but so big, images that may look awesome huge and in your face that now need to be minimized and may not work as well and you suddenly have to program and code everything on top of producing captivating visuals.

Or do you?

As I get deeper into this course in XHTML and CSS suddenly I’m presented with another curious question: are web designers also web developers?

I looked online for an answer and was presented with conflicting messages. Web designers often think of themselves as graphic designers who simply design graphics for the web rather than for print. Yet the jobs and employers looking for web designers also expect the web designer to be a developer. Many of the job listings that I see for web designers or web masters ask them to know Adobe Creative Suite, HTML, CSS, SEO, Java, Drupal and the list goes on and on. This goes back to my argument that many employers seem to be looking for the one-in-all designer: the one person who can basically do what an entire team should be doing. Is it entirely unreasonable to ask a web designer to know how to code? I don’t think so. The profession “graphic designer” is an umbrella term for many artists and designers: a graphic designer can be an illustrator, a logo designer, they can design business collateral, advertisements, marketing pieces but they don’t necessarily know how to do everything – and that’s ok, at least in my opinion.

Next week in addition to the course I’m taking in XHTML and CSS I will be starting a 6-week course in Java Programming. Many of you may go “Huh? What does that have do with design?” Well, perhaps nothing but if you look at what employers are asking from web designers, you’d think otherwise. I believe we’re moving toward a point where a web designer and a graphic designer are all the same thing and the designer will need to know how to design for both print and web. The designer will also need to know a bit about coding and web development, know about CSS and the design/creative team will be replaced by just one or two people being responsible for all the design needs for a company.

Out of curiosity I googled “what do web designers need to know” and came across “Do Web Designers Need To Know Web Development” by Intervals. This article goes in depth and really covers the question well. At the end they recommend web designers at least know these things about web development:

1. Pixel Resolution: Web designers should know that the optimal pixel resolution for web images is 72 ppi. Also, websites should fit 800×600, 1024×768ppi. You want your websites to be viewable but not too large nor too small.

2. Image Formats: At the very least a web designer needs to know when using a JPG, GIF or PNG is appropriate. Each displays color a bit differently and can vary in size. You don’t want a JPG that’s a couple MBs in size because it’ll take longer to load and for web users, the longer it takes something to load, the more likely they are to bail and leave the page entirely before taking in your website and its content.

3. Basic HTML: You should know the general markup language. In my last job, I was hired to oversee the print design of a magazine. Months into my employment I had webmaster duties dropped in my lap with the explanation being that graphic designers and web designers pretty much did the same thing. Yes, I was actually told that and you can laugh at that load of baloney. Still, I needed to know everything from how to format text (start/end paragraphs, bold fonts, italicize text) to the proper tags and code necessary for displaying images. There are tons of sites online that cover basic HTML and I think every designer should start becoming acquainted with HTML because at some point, you’ll be dealing with it whether you like it or not. Learning XHTML and CSS is a bit of a step up from the basics but that’s where a lot of web development/coding is going so knowing either will set you apart.

4. CSS: Cascading style sheets are basically documents used to style entire websites. If you have a site with dozens or hundreds of pages but the overall style and design of each page has to remain consistent and the same, you’ll want to create and know how to change and edit a website’s CSS. It sounds intimidating but again, you don’t have to be a total expert but just know the basics.

I’ll add to Interval’s list by suggesting a few additional things web designers should know to put them ahead of the game:

1. Google Analytics: When I was having to serve as webmaster, even though I’d been hired to be a print designer, I was suddenly asked a lot of questions such as “how many unique visitors came to our site this month?”, “How many hits does this and that page get every month?”, “How are people finding us online?” Now to a graphic designer these questions probably sound like they deserve a “How the heck would I know?” response but your employers expect you to be able to spit out stats and figures about your site. An easy tool to use is Google Analytics which is easy to setup and then spits out tons of helpful facts and figures about your site. As a web designer, why would you be interested in things like unique visitors and bounce rates? Because often it speaks volumes about your site’s design and the organization of the data. If people are coming to your site and leaving after 10 seconds and the bounce rate is above 50%, something is wrong with your design.

2. SEO: You’ll hear this word tossed around all the time – SEO (or search engine optimization). When designing for the web, you have a lot of competition. Businesses and individuals want their websites and content at the top of search pages (especially Google) and are usually distraught when this doesn’t happen. In many cases a website that isn’t ranked high on Google or other search engines and one that gets few views is considered a bad site, and that is usually equated to bad design. Here’s a few tips (95 to be exact) for good SEO that will at least give you a starting point in discussing it with your clients so that they are aware of how to get their sites ranked higher and visited more frequently.

3. Learn, learn, learn. As I’ve found out, there’s never a point where you can say you know all there is to know about designing for the Web. If you’re a designer, take courses in programming and development. Dreamweaver, Java, Flash, PHP, MySQL are all in high demand so knowing how to program and design will not kill you but give you prolonged life in today’s tough job market. If you’re a developer, take a few courses in design and learn your way around Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. A lot of jobs are looking for the rare one-in-all person who can do it all. While you need to be upfront and play up your strengths, don’t let your weaknesses and lack of knowledge kill your job security or prospects.

What do you all think? Do web designers need to be web developers and vice versa? What issues are you encountering with this situation in today’s job market? Leave your comments and tips in the discussion/comments area of this post.

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As I look at all the ridiculous Craigslist job postings in the art/media/design section something’s become very clear to me: most people have no respect for designers or the creative types anymore. That’s the only way I can rationalize why a professional would think a designer or creative, especially one with a degree, is deserving of $9 or $10 an hour with no benefits, no vacation time and yet a ton of responsibilities and duties.

I came to another realization recently: perhaps designers and creative types are at the bottom of the totem pole because no one really gets what we do. People equate design and art with fun and leisure while a job dealing with accounting, finances or working heavy machinery is “real” work. Really, while it’d be ideal to design a PR campaign educating the general masses what a graphic designer does and why a designer or creative type shouldn’t be treated like a fast food service, face it, that’d take more time and patience than any of us have to offer.

Here’s something we can do – we can start convincing people that in some way, shape or form, everyone is a designer. You probably blinked or re-read that statement but it’s true – everybody’s a designer. I recently attended the 125th anniversary of the UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education. The keynote speaker, Phil Schlechty, made an interesting point during his address: everybody is a designer. Now why would someone in education make such a statement when designers hardly get any recognition or respect? Perhaps that’s because those in the education field would also “get it” or understand or situation.

What makes everyone a designer? According to Schlechty, it’s all about how we set about doing our jobs. Everybody, regardless of professions, has to design in order to accomplish their work. He outlined three general goals of design and how these definitions can fit anyone and any job:

1. Design begins with goals. When you set out to design something, planning is key. Whether it’s a teacher making plans for his or her classroom, a web designer considering the UI before designing a web page or a photographer coming up with a concept for a photo shoot, we all have to start off with a plan. If we don’t take the time to plan and think of all the different aspects of our design such as the intent, audience, motive and goal, we’ll be left with an ineffective design that reaches no one and has no impact.

2. Good design keeps incentives in mind. When you design something, you aren’t designing without purpose. You often times aren’t designing for yourself but for others. Therefore, good design keeps your audience at the forefront. What motivates your audience? A good design of any kind has incentives in mind. Figuring out why people do what they do is going to drive any design towards success.

3. Design is expressive and embraces values. Great designers tell great stories. Think of your favorite teachers in school and the subject or lessons they taught that had the most impact on you. Those great lessons contained both of the previous points – they were well designed plans, they had the audience (students) in mind and took into consideration how to capture the student’s attention and, lastly, they were told in nan expressive manner. Whether you’re a teacher, a writer or designer at large, whatever you design needs to tell a story.

These three key points turns everyone into a designer. Aren’t we all presented with a problem in our work or profession? Don’t we all go about designing a plan with a goal in mind? Yes. In the end, our design or solution is only successful when our target audience truly feels it. Schlechty brought up some other points about design that applies to everyone’s profession: designers of any kind should collaborate – you need interaction to spur creativity and can’t expect to produce anything of real value working alone in isolation. You can’t design things for yourself – design is about the audience and their needs, likes and dislikes. Designers are leaders – they are the ones who take scattered ideas and focus them into effective messages for consumption.

The next time you hear someone downing designers or someone asks you why you chose to be a designer as if it’s a bad thing, point out to them that they’re probably a designer. The moment we start expanding the definition and community of designers to include people of many different backgrounds and professions is the moment we’ll once again be taken seriously and be seen as equals.

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Everybody regardless of their creative area of expertise should be engaged in social media. If you’re a designer, a copywriter, creative agency or advertiser, you can’t afford not to have a social media presence. Wisely, many are finally warming to the idea of making the move to Twitter and Facebook and are promoting their businesses and themselves through “social media”. Some are even hiring “social media” experts to help them Tweet, blog, post Facebook updates all in the hopes of keeping up with the competition. The problem? Few people understand what social media really is and thus all that time spent in updating a Facebook fan page or the time spent Tweeting is wasted. What gives?

I post a lot about design and thought it’d be interesting to step away from the design of printed stuff to the design of an effective social media marketing effort. As a freelancer, I rely on various online tools and platforms to promote my business. So do a lot of you out there for your freelancing or business needs. Yet, few actually get social media. When you hear someone utter the phrase “social media” you automatically think of Twitter or Facebook. That’s where many people start and stop and why their social media marketing efforts fail. It’ll take a few posts to describe what a functional, profitable social media campaign looks like but like any form of design, it starts with the mindset. Before you leap onto Twitter and Facebook you should ask yourself an important question: What isn’t social media? Figure out what doesn’t qualify as social media will help you approach and design a social media campaign that looks great and functions better than anything you can imagine.

1. Social media isn’t limited to Facebook and Twitter. How many times have you heard a company boast that they have a social media component of their business and all they have to show for it is a Facebook fan page that’s generic and not customized or a Twitter account that’s rarely updated and contains trivial information? The biggest misconception most people have is that social media is defined as being on Twitter and Facebook. It’s not. Social media is an extended conversation that takes place across multiple mediums and platforms over an extended period of time. Meaning one Tweet, a few status updates on Twitter and not even a random video posted on YouTube qualifies as social media. It’s a full-time job and responsibility. If you aren’t working on it a little each day and keeping things current, you aren’t engaged in social media. Sorry to burst your bubble.

2. Social media is not a fad. Some people think social media is a waste of time. These are the same people who refuse to accept the fact that you can no longer rely on print ads or cold calls to generate leads and interest in your business or product. Social media is here to stay and inventions like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (just to name a few) have changed how we communicate, receive our news and interact with others. If you aren’t engaged in social media then you’re already setting yourself up for an uphill battle.

3. Social media is a new way of marketing services and individuals. In the old days marketing experts were all about figuring out the unique selling proposition (USP) of their product. This was a very singular, one-size-fits-all approach to advertising. They created a message to target a specific group and would either create a print ad or commercial spot for radio or television. Fast forward to the present time. Audiences no longer respond to this singular monologue type of marketing. Thanks to the Internet, people expect and look for a dialogue. You have websites devoted to product reviews; discussions about products and advertising taking place on Facebook and Twitter 24/7; the power of print and radio waning tremendously. Social media is all about engaging your audience in a dialogue, being transparent, continuously being present and available to them and in their face. You can’t accomplish that through old ways of promotion or advertising but social media makes that constant presence very easy.

4. Social media is for all ages, races, orientations and genders. People have this silly idea that social media is for the young. They scoff at it being an integral part of any marketing, promotion, design or business because they often hear stories of people posting ridiculously personal or unflattering things online and getting caught doing so on Facebook or Twitter on a regular basis. That does happen, but that doesn’t mean all social media is like that. Effective social media stands as a way to easily reach out to your audience, or even prospects, and connect with them quickly at any time of the day. One study reported that the dominating demographic on Twitter is those aged 35-49 years. The fastest growing group on Facebook? Women who are older than 55! Both of those groups contains people who’d be willing to spend money on products or services. Want to reach them with ease? Build up a social media presence including a Facebook fan page, blog, Twitter account, Flickr, YouTube channel and LinkedIn page (for starters).

5. Social media isn’t limited to the computer. There are those who seem afraid of Twitter and other social media platforms; then there are those who completely embrace it and online marketing … but forget that integral “social” part of the media. Social is what you need to keep in mind when designing your social media efforts. You want to keep people talking and discussing your product and your work both on and offline. Word-of-mouth still is a powerful marketing technique. If you aren’t making people talk or discuss you or your work, then you’ll be left on the sidelines and often times overlooked. Effective social media takes place online and carries over into face-to-face discussions and offline lives. If you’re designing the perfect social media campaign then remember to plan for and develop your efforts to target people’s lives all day, at all times, on and off the computer or smartphone.

6. Social media isn’t something you shouldn’t be measuring. Why are you on Twitter? What’s the point of your Facebook fan page? Are you a photographer? Then why are you on Flickr or sharing your photos online? A designer? Then why are you posting to Craigslist everyday to promote your services? The answer to all of these questions, whether we like it or not, is that we’re all trying to make money. Social media is often about helping the bottom line and making a profit. Businesses don’t produce dozens of videos online for personal amusement. Companies are flocking to Twitter to tell their customers what little Johnny did at school the other day. If you’re trying to make money through social media, you can’t proclaim yourself an expert or that a campaign is successful without measuring results. How do you measure? You can note how much profit you’ve made through online promotions, the number of hits to your website, unique visitor counts, bounce rates to a website, leads generated, number of followers on Twitter, fans on Facebook, whether online discussions of your product are mostly positive or negative. What’s a good design without a bit of criticism and feedback? Start taking note of some of your stats and changes you notice since implementing a social media plan and report your findings on a continuous basis to your colleagues, clients or boss on a regular basis.

Now that you know what social media is not, you can start designing an effective social media campaign based upon what it’s really all about. Come back in the days to come for additional tips on creating your own social media marketing campaign.

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Here are some Facebook vectors/icons for you to download and use however you’d like. I created these icons for NuVision Marketers, a group that also goes by Hype Media (both are based out of Miami, FL). They failed to pay for this work and so I’m letting anyone who wants to download and use these icons do so.

Download (via MediaFire). [You will need Adobe Illustrator to open and manipulate the vectors]

This free download also comes with a short lesson in freelancing and choosing who to (and not to) work with.

I was contacted by NuVision Marketers’ “CEO”. Over the phone he told me his on-staff graphic designer was out for the summer and that there was an immediate need in his company for icons to be designed and created for a website, www.addfans.net (notice they’re offering to build you a Facebook fan page. Did you know you can do that on your own AND customize it on your own for free? I posted a tutorial on how to do just that here). He was looking for something a bit more polished than what the site had at the time and wanted the icons/banners to be on par with his competitors sites. My job? To create these icons/banners. He asked could I do that? Sure, why not? It’s a simple job and would call for a bit of illustration, something I tend to enjoy. He also inquired about a few other design needs, asking about prices and if I could handle these tasks. Sure, I said. Again, a little freelancing is a good thing. So I thought …

He needed a quick turnaround. As in, same day. That’s not usually something I do but I wanted to accommodate him and his needs since there would be other design jobs in the pipeline (so I thought or was told). Then the discussion of money came up. I seemed to have a hard time communicating that my quote, that hovered close to $100, was more than reasonable. He was hesitant and so I wavered – $50. I know, many of you seasoned professionals are slapping your foreheads at this horrible move on my part. We all know what happens from this point on. I rushed to get the job done: I did the revisions, I sent the updates, I kept asking about payment being sent and requested a check since it was such a small amount and PayPal would eat away at it with its service fee if I collected through their site. Finally, the job was done, the product had been delivered. What didn’t come through was the check. I did the work back on August 18th and now we’re closing out September. Yeah, I got screwed while he profited from my work.

I decided to post this because in today’s economy, service is important. Just because I served him with my design work doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have been served the courtesy of common business in paying a small fee. I made multiple attempts at contacting him. Once I got through – “Oh, you never got the check? …. {silence} I sent that before I went on vacation. I’ll check with my bank and will have another one sent out.” Nothing. I sent E-mails; no response. When I asked him for his contact information at the start of the job all he provided was a phone number. No mailing address, no real information, just an E-mail with an address. Funny thing is that after sending him the files – that he did indeed use – he “friended” me on Facebook and LinkedIn! So as I spend my valuable time trying to collect $50, I’m able to see him posting numerous updates to his Facebook account everyday. That’s just great business practice right there.

Designers and freelancers in general: learn from my little moment of insanity. There are a few things you should do to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation:

1. Always, I mean always, have a contract. I know that designers or freelancers and creative types in general really dislike feeling like they’re having to play lawyer or accountants when all they want to do is be creative and practice their craft but really – get over it. When there’s money involved and you’re using your skills to support yourself, you’re in business. Every job you do, even if it’s with someone you know, work with, a friend, a dog – whatever – should be put down in writing, outlined with all the terms in print and agreed upon. Put down what work you’re doing, what amount is agreed upon and when and how you’re going to get paid. This is a must.

2. Don’t fall for the “there’s a lot more work coming!” trick. It’s a worn out move that’s become very popular in today’s economy. Basically, this is said to psyche you out. A potential client says this HOPING you’ll cut them a break. Don’t fall for it. You need to be tough and shouldn’t sell yourself short. You are well aware of the amount of time and effort that’s going to go into doing the work you’re being contracted to do – charge appropriately and don’t do yourself the disservice of undercharging.

3. Ask for a down-payment before any work is even started. I’ve started to do this and whenever I’ve asked for a down payment, it’s weeded out those who are either unprofessional or not serious about the work they’re asking you to do. A lot of the times I’ll request at least $25 for small projects – half down for larger ones. This creates an understanding between you and the client that this is really a business transaction and you, as a designer/creative, are serious about the work you’re about to do and expect them to extend a similar courtesy to you.

4. Hold the final files ransom until final payment is received. I’m sorry but gone are the days when we can trust anyone to really follow through at the end and not leave you empty handed as they run away with your work and use it without a care in the world. Don’t give anything away for free! If you’re a designer and are sending out proofs and revisions, stick a big watermark “PROOF” in red over the file so that it’d be hard for them to use the file. In the end, get payment and then release all of the final files to them. If you’ve had a great relationship with the client throughout the design process or have worked with them before, then ok, release the files but be sure to mention that you need payment ASAP.

5. Had a bad experience with a company or individual? Warn others! Think about it – if someone hires you to do a job and you’re horrible at it or do something terrible, what are they going to do? They’re certainly not going to recommend you to others. They aren’t going to want to work with you ever again and aren’t going to be much help at getting you more work. The same happens with employees or freelancers. Had a bad experience? Then do others the service of warning them so that they don’t make the same mistakes that you did and are aware of what they’re getting into. Consumers can report bad service to the Better Business Bureau or post a horrible review on a website – I think freelancers or employees in general should be able to do the same to make this working climate a bit better.

What are some lessons you’ve learned through freelancing? Share your tips and advice in the comments section.

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Like many creative types, I have to rely on freelancing to supplement or at times support me financially. That means I have to market myself. I’ve become more comfortable with marketing and promoting myself over the years. Each year I learn a bit more and feel I’m making great headway. However, I’m young and I’m bound to make mistakes and was reminded of so over the weekend.

I attended an event at a local university. It was definitely an event that was outside my profession but I had the bright idea that perhaps this was a great opportunity to network. I knew I’d possibly find myself in a situation where I’d be ask what I do and felt comfortable talking about how I am a designer and how I blog, sort of the best of both worlds when it comes to my degree which happens to be in journalism. I planned on passing my business card on to those that I spoke to and that I felt I’d connected with on some degree. There was an older woman, very eccentric, who responded well to finding out that not only was I a graphic designer but a journalist (of sorts). “Oh, you could help me make PowerPoint presentations look good!” she exclaimed in her Southern accent that’d remind you of Blanche from ‘The Golden Girls’. Sweet, I’d potentially made a connection! Then came ‘the moment’. I handed her my business card and she gladly took it and examined it.

And she frowned.

I have to admit, in a way, I was devastated. It’s taken me years to settle on a business card that I feel properly promotes and shows off my style as a graphic designer. I’m really into illustration – I know what sets me apart from other designers is my illustration style, my use of vibrant colors and my edgy, no-holds barge attitude. I designed my business card (which you can see here) to be pop-ish, bright and packed with attitude. Do you know what I forgot to do? Consider all of my audience. The card goes well with a younger crowd – younger people tend to want to work with designers and other creative types who aren’t dull, boring and stiff. They want someone they can relate to, someone who’s going to give them a product that stands out and looks unique – you know, design and creativity that goes with being young and wanting to show off your own style. My business card and the illustration on it landed me a freelance gig that was a couple hundred dollars – that right there tells me that it’s an effective design and that it works. It’s an illustration and style that I carried over into my website and whenever I’m approached by someone via my website, they usually remark that I’m obviously very creative and they want me to make them stand out like my work.

But, there’s a flip side. Older people really aren’t interested in bright colors, attitude, standing out and being unique. Often times they want design and creative workers who can work within a very confined, limited, familiar style. Yes, it’s a tad bit boring but it’s just how it goes. I’ve found that when designing for an older audience you have to rein in all that pent up energy, attitude and ambition to create something totally new and outlandish or else they equate all of these things as being a bit unrefined, unprofessional and not worth spending money on. My business card, as witnessed first hand and told by older people (like my usually inebriated uncle or very frank grandmother and the older Southern belle at this event over the weekend) doesn’t work for them. It’s plain and simple. They expected professionalism, sleek design, almost no real presence or personal touch. Which brings me to the whole topic of this post:

“One Size Fits All” design (or marketing) doesn’t work. Here’s why -

Too often as designers we approach a problem and come up with a solution (our design, photo, written piece, etc.) and call it a day. Do we take into consideration the entire audience who’ll consume our work? Probably not. I’ve been on both sides of this issue. When designing a publication, it’s usually thought that you should design it to always imitate what’s expected by your average reader. Here’s the problem – what if your average reader is, say, in his or her 50s? Or 60s or older? There’s nothing wrong with being these ages but this group isn’t going to be interested in the same design or creative elements as, say, someone in their 20s or 30s. And why should you “preach to the choir” when you’re leaving an entire group of people out? If you’re a publication and your average reader is near or over 60, isn’t there value in trying to appeal to a younger base who’ll potentially stick around with you for decades to come?

As designers and marketers, how do we get around this issue? Here are a few of my ideas:

1. Two-Pronged Attack: For a freelancer or someone marketing their business, I think the best method of getting around the “one size fits all” mentality is to actually market to both young and old, women and men, gay and straight, etc. You see, our society is very diverse. Old school marketing has always been very one-sided: we targeted the group with the most money or the group with the most dominance. A lot of the times, we’re leaving someone out. And that someone could very easily turn into a loyal client and associate. With this digital age, it’s not really hard to market to many groups at once. Sure, it’ll take a bit more time but I think it’d be worth it. I haven’t ditched or chucked my business cards. I have seen they are effective – just not with older people. So I’ve developed an entirely different design geared toward the older crowd. It’s polished, refined, reserved but still very stylish. I think Grandma would approve.

2. Design for the ‘little people’: There’s always a group that ends up being left out. If you’re into marketing and want a diverse client base, then instead of thinking about the audience you already have, look at the audience you don’t have. For example, take men’s fitness magazines. There are tons on the market – Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, so on and so forth. What do all of these magazines do? They target men – often straight men, with articles that go beyond fitness – they talk about sex, relationships, marriage. The problem? They never ever ever mention gay males, who we all know both exist and love health & fitness. What gives? The point is not to ignore untapped sources of profit. Whether you’re a designer, writer or photographer, look outside your comfort zone or usual suspects and start hitting those that aren’t usually on your radar. They’re out there and they’re more than willing to spend a little money on great service and creativity – if you’re willing to spend the time to market to them and include them in your business.

3. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done, but guess what – your job is really never done. Too often when it comes to marketing or self-promotion, we all tend to spend very little time doing it. For some it’s a once a year occasion. Others do it once a season and center things around holiday themes or big events. You should be marketing and reaching out to new and old clients every week, month, all year and every year. Just because you’ve actually done a marketing or self-promotion campaign doesn’t mean you’re done and should be congratulated and take time off. Start looking at the feedback and measurable results. Did you get new clients? Did your website get more hits than usual? Are you making more in profit? If you can’t tell a difference in how your promotion efforts have helped you then it probably means it didn’t work. That’s ok, it’s all trial and error. Keep trying until you find something that does work and then work hard to perfect it.

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With graphic designers, photographers and other creative professionals facing layoffs and cuts in today’s job market, one has to ask or wonder – what gives? Some will say that technology and the digital age is rendering certain workers extinct. Then there is the usual spill: creative professionals aren’t … ready for it … creative enough; they aren’t skilled enough; they aren’t working hard enough; they aren’t bringing in enough business or revenue like the sales people. This got me thinking – why is it in today’s job market we automatically assume the employee or creative team member is at fault? Why aren’t we looking at the managers, bosses, leaders and evaluating them on a higher standard and level?

I think television tends to be a decent enough reflection of how society views certain groups of people. Think about leaders or boss-type figures. In the old days, the boss in a show or sitcom was hands on. He or she was a part of the regular cast; they contributed to the team; they were always present, always adding something to the pot. They were intrusive, nosy, and their interest in their employee at times went beyond the confines of the office. I think about Darren on Bewitched who worked in a creative ad agency. Remember his boss Larry Tate? Larry was forever present, hands on, always in Darren and Samantha’s business. Though this presented many stressful occasions for Darren Stevens, he never really seemed to mind. Larry was a good boss, one that was demanding yet friendly. Consider other television bosses of the past: Lou Grant of Mary Tyler Moore; Colonel Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie; Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women; Leon on Roseanne. These were bosses that yes, at times were nosy, demanding, over-the-top but in the end, they weren’t bad guys. They were pretty good and likable.

Now, consider the role of bosses in today’s television. They’re usually aloof, bad, imposing, demanding, hated figures. What happened? I believe to a great extent it’s because unlike in the past where the workplace was all about team building, we’ve come to expect a lot less from the office. Especially in terms of creative teams, we’ve gone from the collaborative environment where everyone contributes to the overall product to an environment where everyone works in isolation, in his or her own office, in his or her own space. The boss figures aren’t really a part of the team experience since the team itself is a bit ambiguous and loose. Now the boss is more of an overseer and often times the point person who communicates with clients or another boss figure. Kinda sad isn’t it? Perhaps the creative workplace is in distress because bosses, managers and leaders are choosing to keep their distance from employees. Before we shift blame to employees and wag a disapproving finger at them as not pulling their weight, let’s take a look at the bosses, leaders. Here are some of the boss types I’ve seen in the workplace:

1. “Charlie” – Like Charlie on Charlie’s Angels, this type of boss is hardly seen but can be heard dishing out orders and making requests of their employees only in times of need or distress. This presents a problem of course because this type of boss has no real connection with his or her employees. They can come off as imposing, daunting, uncaring and disconnected. In a creative environment, the “Charlie” is a creativity killer. They are known as handing out orders and making demands, not for collaborating or taking part in the design or creative process.

2. “The Swiss” – This boss, like Switzerland, chooses to stay neutral. They want to be liked, they fear and run from conflict. This boss is usually well received but can come off as indifferent, too nice or indecisive in their attempt to please all parties. You don’t want a “Swiss” as a boss if you need to be creative – the Swiss may have a hard time giving you feedback and criticism that will push you to be a better designer, photographer, writer or whatever your creative field is. Sure, they may agree with you in an argument or question imposed on them but are they really on your side or are they attempting to keep the peace by making you and everyone else happy?

3. “The Susan Lucci” – This person has been around forever. They’re viewed as a company staple, an integral part of the business but not so much for their contributions or measurable success but the fact that they’ve stuck around through thick and thin. This boss can be many unpleasant things and described with many colorful adjectives that can’t be listed on this blog. What drives a Lucci? His or her quest for recognition that they feel they’ve earned and have not been rightly given, mostly. In their quest to prove themselves to the company and perhaps their superiors, they are the types to make your worklife nearly unbearable. Your contributions will suddenly become his/her ideas and you’ll be left to fend for yourself.

4. “The Ewing” – Money is everything to this type of boss. Your life, happiness, issues matter little to a Ewing because his/her eyes are always on the bottom line. You have his or her ear when you’re talking money or a way to make them look good. Try as you might, you’ll never feel like an equal in the eyes of an Ewing. Similar to a Charlie, you’ll hear from this boss when something is going wrong or when they have a job for you. Unlike Charlie, an Ewing loves to be seen and will make him or herself very present and visible if only to remind you who’s the boss. Don’t be surprised when you get the boot or tons of work dumped on you and impossible expectations imposed on you by an Ewing – he or she will sit back and spend money lavishly at the expense of your time, effort and stress.

These four boss types are humorous but unfortunately very real in today’s workplace. We need to return to the days where we worked as an ensemble or team. Sure, an effective creative manager, boss, team leader or supervisor can’t ever be a real equal but the level of how far removed he or she is from the team is really up to the individual. Want to be a good leader or boss? Lead, mentor, foster trust amongst your team and not only will you be viewed as an authority figure but as a good leader, boss and dare I say it – friend to your employees.

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Are you afraid of money?

It probably sounds like a really silly question. Afraid of money? Heck no! We love money, we love spending money, we love having money. Still, I find that many creative professionals – graphic designers, artists, photographers, writers and similar careers and jobs involving creativity – are really afraid of money!

There’s that old idea of artists “starving” and eating nothing but ramen noodles because they can’t possibly make as much as an accountant or lawyer. If that was really the case then artists – like dinosaurs, dodo birds and fanny packs – simply wouldn’t exist today. There’s something about being a creative professional that’s enabled artists and those involved in creative lines of work to endure the times. Simply put – the old “starving artist” no longer exists. Even in the digital age a creative professional can make a decent living, if not make more, than a doctor, lawyer or accountant.

What, though, sets a successful creative professional apart from a “starving artist”? Easy – money. A successful creative artist, writer, photographer or graphic designer is bold. They are willing to take what some may view as a hobby and flip it into a profitable career. They know how to self promote, how to market their services and skills to others and they know how manage their money. There used to be a stigma attached to being a creative profession because many work for themselves – and that’s still true today. Freelancers are hardly any different than someone working in a corporate office.

Creative professionals, however, are terribly afraid of money. For some it’s the logistics. Some are afraid of making too much money and having the IRS or government come after them. Taxes shouldn’t scare you away from doing your job – even if that job is what others would consider fun and “creative”. Simply keep track of the money you’re making and save a portion of what you make for taxes.

Money also scares creatives because money often equates responsibility. The joy of working for someone or a business is that you can simply sit back, relax and do your job and there’s someone else in the office who’s concerned with the money. If you want to make money, you have to work for that money. Creative professionals have to switch gears and focus – no longer are you doing something for fun such as writing or painting for the heck of it – you’re doing it to make a living, for your livelihood, to support yourself. That comes with a ton of responsibilities, expectations and can be daunting.

I could go on and list all of the ways money intimidates a creative professional but instead, I’d rather focus on why you shouldn’t be afraid of money.

1. Be your own boss. Money puts you in charge of your life, business and career. In this day in age, I see the need for creative professionals to have the capability of being their own boss. Face it – not everyone “gets” or understands a creative type. To some, no matter how talented you are, you’ll be viewed as expendable . If you’re making money on your own, finding your own clients, capable of running your own show – you’ll be powerful. You’ll have a backup source of income for the occasion when a full-time job suddenly disappears.

2. Become responsible for your career. You can’t afford to sit back and let someone else worry about the money. Creative professionals – whether you’re working full-time, on contract, as a freelancer or temporary – you should have a good understanding or grasp on your income. How much of it is going toward retirement? Do you really have the best health care plan (sometimes it’s cheaper to get one on your own than to go with whatever is handed to you)? Is your income or compensation truly fair and competitive? Don’t be afraid of these questions and others concerning your money.

3. You need to make more money. Never have I heard of anyone ever saying they make too much money. I always hear people complaining that they aren’t making enough. Things happen – medical expenses, car maintenance, impromptu trips – shouldn’t you make enough where these things aren’t going to put you back or cause you debt? Even if you have a full-time job, my advice is that creative professionals should freelance. You should have a client or two that you’re working for on your down time, that gives you a little more money to work with each month. Again, track your money, save some out for taxes, but don’t be afraid to make more money!

4. Money is power. I don’t mean that in the greed way but more so in the confidence it provides you. If you’re afraid of money, you’re bound to carry that fear into other aspects of your life. People really underestimate the influence money has on your life in general. It’s not just materialized. If you’re afraid of money and it leads you to make poor and unwise decisions with your life and finances, you’ll forever be stuck in insecurity and fear mode. If you’re always worrying about your debts, your lack of money, where your next paycheck is coming from then that fear will become your new job. You’ll work non-stop at trying to work yourself around this fear and unhealthy relationship you have with money and that will in turn leave you very little time, room or resources on being creative. If you want to be a better creative professional and at the top of your game, make sure that money isn’t a concern you have.

Believe it or not, being a successful creative professional also means being great with money. The joy of being a graphic designer, artist, photographer, writer, editor, web designer, web programmer or anything else requiring you to be creative or a bit artsy is that you really have a recession-proof job! You don’t necessarily have to work in an office to do your work. Believe it or not, as some companies begin to cut out their creative employees they’re in turn looking to hire someone like you to step in and do the work without having to employ you full-time. What does that mean? Well, it means you could easily have more opportunities to work than you can imagine. It also means you may have to take on more jobs than one to supplement your financial needs. Watch Suze Orman’s show; read up on freelancing and taxes; talk to successful creative professionals out there and ask them how they manage themselves. It’s really not the time to be afraid of money – it’s a time to wisen up and be brave.

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Do you freelance? Do your friends, family or colleagues call upon you to use your creative skill set to help them? Should you give away your work or talent for free? Read this article and ask yourself “What would J.R. Ewing do?”

If you’re talented at something, it’s bound to happen – people are going to start asking you to use your talents to help them in their personal and professional life. Graphic designers, artists, writers, photographers – if you’re a creative type and you’re good at what you do, you shouldn’t be surprised to be approached to take on a project for someone you know. What you also shouldn’t be surprised about is the tricky tightrope you’ll be walking: is the service you’re providing to your family and friends (or friends of friends) pro bono (for free, no money is made) or do you expect to get paid for the work you’ll do?

This can be a frustrating position to be put into. Let’s face it – we all want freebies. Your family and yes, even your friends, expect you to help them – for little or no profit. Yet, as a creative type, should you be giving away your talents for free? This is your special skill; this is your time you’ll be spending on their needs when you could be spending it on making more money. For many people in the creative line of work, your talent is your money, it’s your business, it’s your livelihood!

Here’s my feeling about pro bono work: choose wisely. Call me hardcore or a stickler but I don’t believe in giving away your talents, and time, for free. When it comes to family, expect to give it away for free – you just aren’t going to feel comfortable, and they aren’t going to react well, to you charging them on your usual per hour rate or some high fee. That’s ok – family, if you maintain a good relationship with them and they’re proud of the work you do – will hype your business at a drop of a hat and make you look better than anyone else out there. Doing something for no charge for a family member isn’t bad – usually, a family member (at least immediate ones) have done many things for you for free and would never think about doing something you’ve asked of them and then presenting you with a bill afterward.

Friends and colleagues, however, are another story. Don’t get me wrong – friends are great but they sometimes forget that you’re a professional. If you’re a photographer, they’ll want you to shoot their wedding … for free, or snap photos of their newly born kids and be the on-call photographer for any special event. Suddenly, there’s no need for Sears or Glamor Shots – they’ve got you! If you’re a graphic designer, they’ll suddenly lay a huge design task at your doorstep and will go from being a friend to a pain-in-the-behind client. What makes you think your friend won’t act like your clients? Just because you’re doing something for free doesn’t mean your friend(s) will remain cool and laidback. Often times they’ll eat up your valuable time, make tons of demands, nag and set unrealistic time constraints on you. Worst of all – you’ll feel guilty and obligated to do everything they ask of you – for free – for the sake of your friendship!

How do you get around this? I do think some pro bono work is good for every designer. I like the idea of choosing a legit non-profit, a cause, an event you believe in or someone you know who’s really down on their luck and needs a helping hand (maybe you’ll build a website at no charge for someone who’s in search of a job; you’ll create a dazzling graphic display of a friends work so they’ll get more clients; you’ll proofread and give tips for how to improve someone’s resume). You can choose one or two charity/good will cases a year, even go so far as to put it out there that you’re offering free design, photography, whatever you desire for a month, week, year (whatever you choose) and have businesses and individuals submit a proposal as to why they think they deserve or would do with your services. Why do this? Well, in a hippie way, it’s good karma. Ever heard of the phrase “pay it forward”? Sure, you may not make big bucks on this pro bono work but you’ll be helping a cause and doing something valuable with your talents and time that goes beyond you. Also, it’ll be free publicity. Have your pro bono clients refer you to others and you could easily expand your network and pool of paying clients.

Now, we already said it – for family, just expect to lend your talents for free and expect nothing but praise and perhaps some referrals in return. Friends and colleagues? That’s the tricky situation. How do you help them but protect yourself from being taken advantage of at the same time?

First, if your friend or colleague wants you to help them out by utilizing your talent – thank them. It’s just good practice to thank people for thinking of you rather than running to someone else they know or think could help them. It means they trust you, know you’re good at what they’re asking and expecting of you and trust you with their work. Next, bring up money – politely. Money is always a subject that I feel many designers and other creative types either don’t think enough about or don’t feel confident enough to bring up. Why not? I usually have a general idea of how much time will be involved in a task. A logo design is never just a logo – it’s a process that starts with brainstorming, involves some research and then can produce two or three completely different designs. It takes time. And time is money. This is true of any creative task whether it’s writing, photography, web design – it takes a lot of time and you’ll be working on this project usually when you could have been working on something else and getting paid for it. Bringing up money in the beginning, perhaps with a polite, “So, what’s your budget?” or “How much are you looking to spend on this?” will set the tone. Suddenly, you’ve switched from friend mode to business mode and that’s okay too – work is work and you need to keep friendship separated from business.

Next, don’t jump right in. Even though you’re working with a friend or colleague, this is still a creative process and business. I’d advise you not give a big “Ok! I’ll do this for you” until you’ve truly thought about it and outlined it. Ask you friend/colleague to give you some time – perhaps a day or two, to come up with a plan of attack. Use this time to write down all the steps in the process – create a timeline and set milestones of what you, as the principal designer/creative type, see as happening. Actually take the time to write out a brief description beside each time. You’ll want to give your friend a clear picture of what’s involved in the task they’ve asked of you. At the bottom of this timeline, mention money. Now, depending on how friendly you are towards this person, you can cut them a deal. Be fair – to both them and yourself, and don’t sell yourself short on what you’re doing for them. Present this to them in person, or by E-mail. Give them the time to read it over and become informed of your process and the task they’ve asked of you. Many disagreements between friends who work together happen because we all assume that our friends “get” us. Surely they must understand our time is valuable, that our talent is what makes us money, that we have bills to pay … right? Not necessarily. When you’re working, you’re working. Treat your friends like a new client and add some formality into it.

The issue of money will undoubtedly arise. Be bold and in your proposal you give to your friend or colleague, give a price you feel comfortable with. The idea is what with an outline of how you’ll perform the requested task, they’ll see all the steps involved and so the price you’ve asked for will seem a bit more justified. Still, you may find that though the price you’ve named seems low to you, it’ll seem outrageously high to a friend – who expected you to work for free. Don’t back down. Calmly express to them that just to take on their task, you’re having to turn down paying work. Express that you’re more than happy to help but you can’t afford to work for free at the moment. I don’t feel you need to say more than that. With today’s job market and economy, saying this will be no lie. Time is money and helping a friend can be costly to you. Plus, take into account that once you start and provide your services to a friend, they’re going to transform before your eyes into a client. They could either be the best client you could ever ask for and may call on you in the future for bigger and better jobs or they can drain you dry and have you pulling your hair out after being driven to the brink of madness.

Next, discuss a schedule of payment. Again, some of you may think I’m being entirely hardcore but I’ve had this happen to me in basic freelancing and know it’s a situation you could wind up in when working with friends. If you don’t discuss when you expect payment, don’t be surprised when you’re waiting weeks, months or years for your friend or freelance client to step up and pay you for the service or work you’ve provided. If they dance around the subject, perhaps you should reconsider helping them. Pull a Jan Brady and create your own imaginary client/George Glass and tell them something more pressing has suddenly come up and you really aren’t in a position to help at this time. If your friend tries to guilt you into doing this for free, then really the ball is in your court – you can accept it and do their job for free or turn them down. Don’t complain when things become unbearable because you didn’t outline any terms or talk about money upfront!

Again, how can you protect yourself? Just treat your work like a business and as something truly expensive and valuable. Don’t give it away for free or cheapen it and learn to defend yourself as a professional and justify your prices. Don’t agree to anything without thinking it through. Outline the design/creative process, put your requested price down and if you negotiate or deviate away from that price, rewrite it and have your client (whether it’s a friend, colleague or complete stranger) sign and date it. Yes, it’s all very business like but freelancing or working for anyone using your time and talents is business and you should be making money from it.

For those reading this after the fact – what can you do? You’ve already jumped into a project that you’re finding isn’t all you thought it would be considering you were approached by someone you know or consider a friend or close colleague. You missed your chance to define this relationship between you and your friend/colleague as one of business (meaning you’re making a profit) and one of friendship (doing it without having an issue of giving away your talents or time for free). Well, lucky for you, the above “business” approach to freelancing or working with friends and colleagues still applies to you. Perhaps what was supposed to be a simple, one or two hour task has morphed into a day or week(s) long job that you realize is eating up your time and costing you money. What can you do? You already agreed to do this for your friend or colleague for free. Well, no contract was signed, in most cases you provided them with a good amount of free work. At some point, you need to put your foot down. Yes, it’ll be a bit nasty and hard to do but you’ll need to free yourself of the friend or colleague who’s become a monster client and get back to your business and life. You could always bring up money – politely – by mentioning that you’ve done a great deal of work on what was described as an easy, quick task and you can’t devote much more time to it if you aren’t going to make money. You’ve got bills, you’ve got a life, you’ve got things to do – and a friend or colleague should be aware or understand. If not, then again, walk away and leave your friend/colleague with the work you did for them. How about the friend/colleague or freelance client that won’t discuss money? Keep bringing it up and find a way to put a big, expansive watermark over the work you’ve provided for them. When they ask if you can remove it, tell them sure, when they pay. I’ve found this guerrilla method works pretty well in showing you’re no sap and they’re going to have to pay for the work you’ve done.

Really, think of yourself like some of television’s most hard-nosed business-driven characters – ‘Dallas’ had J.R. Ewing, ‘Dynasty’ had Blake and Alexis; ‘Melrose Place’ had Amanda Woodward. Would any of these characters, who were very business-driven and always had their mind on money, give away their talents for free? Heck no, they knew how valuable their businesses, corporations and products were and had no problem making sure they were always getting paid for their hard work (or scheming) – and that’s how you should act if you want to be a successful creative type who’s rolling in the money rather than begging for it.

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I have to say it and it may be unpopular or a faux pas but since the economy in the U.S. has tanked, so has the cordial relationship between graphic designers and their clients. I came onto the scene a year or two before things started to go downhill and remember the somewhat ‘good ole’ days’. Graphic designers seemed to be recognized for their special skill sets and knowledge; clients were well aware, or willing to acknowledge, the quality of the designer’s work. There was friendly banter and attitudes between the designer and the client. Nowadays, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

As a graphic designer who occasionally freelances, I’ve witnessed some pretty unsavory behavior mostly coming from the side of the clients looking for graphic design talent. Huh? Isn’t that unfair and wrong of me to say? Well, having dealt with tons of potential clients, I’m coming down hard on those who are continually looking for graphic designers to do work. Some of the problem is a lack of communication. Graphic designers are often so fixated on the computer and keyboard that taking the time to be a customer service rep is almost panic attack-inducing. When we’re approached by a client over the phone or via E-mail, we don’t always communicate or hype our own talents and business. Freelancing, if you’re a serious graphic designer (or even writer or whatever you freelance in) is just that – a business. Imagine if a corporation like Apple never responded to an E-mail or communicate with their audience and clients what their skills and business has to offer?

That’s where I think a lot of graphic designers go wrong- we try to take on too much. Not every graphic designer is capable of doing everything. Not every graphic designer is good at illustration; good at designing an advertisement; good at programming and designing a functioning Web site. Yet, what happens? We put out there that we’re a graphic designer, or a writer, and then we receive inquiries asking us to do something outside of our realm of expertise. The result? Often, the freelancer takes on the work because of the promise of money but the end product is far from great and the client has wasted his or her money. The true end result? That client takes that one experience and uses it as precedent for all future designers they work with.

This will sound ludicrous considering today’s job market but when it comes to freelancing, I actually turn work down. Over the past two years, I’ve come to understand that with a full-time gig, freelancing is more like a part-time position and if I let it get out of hand, I’ll burn out quickly. I am an at-large graphic designer; I’ve designed advertisements, brochures, entire magazines, posters, t-shirts and more. Yet, what am I good at? I’m a graphic designer whose talents and emphasis are in illustration. It’s a very minute and limited market, but it’s what I do. So when freelance work comes up, I do choose to take on projects that’ll expand and test my skills as an illustrator because in the future I’d like to see more come from my illustration side.

I don’t feel bad about turning down work. It’s giving work to someone else who probably needs it more. I think it’s polite to other designers to pass on the work if you know someone in need, or simply informing a client that while you appreciate the inquiry, your specialty is _______ and therefore you wouldn’t be the best fit or match for their particular need. It’s simple communication and honesty and there’s nothing wrong with that. Here are a few more things graphic designers should keep in mind when dealing with clients:

1. Have an idea what your prices are. Some designers like hourly rates, which is fine, but in my experience it makes some clients (especially in today’s money-strapped economy) very uneasy because it gives them the impression you’re going to drag your heels and hand them an outlandish bill. So if you do charge by the hour, look back on the projects you’ve done and give a quote that includes the average of the final total. State that it’s an estimate but that it’s the average final price for that project. I think clients will be more inclined to work with you having a better idea what they could be paying you in the end.
2. Document everything. When dealing with a client, save every piece of communication from them that comes your way. You never want to lose track of a client or have them refer to something they E-mailed you and for you to embarrassingly realize you’ve lost or have deleted. Plus if there’s ever a conflict or disagreement, you’ll be able to whip out an E-mail or refer to a conversation and feel confident that you know what you’re talking about, even if they don’t.
3. Never do any work before you have a signed contract and part of the money upfront. Different designers work differently but for me, if I’m dealing with a new client, I don’t even start a sketch or design without having received a signed contract that states the price, has outlined terms (including something about copyright, right of ownership, expected payment schedule) and is returned. This lets your client know they aren’t dealing with a friend or buddy, you’re a business and need to be treated as such. If you do work without any terms written down and agreed upon, I’m sorry, but you’re setting yourself up for a disaster because nothing but a word or handshake is obligating the client to honor your business arrangement. Here’s the contract/new project form I provide to the client with a quote: Click Here To View.
4. Always get the contact information. Get the name, name of the business (if applicable), mailing address, office address, E-mail address and phone number for each project. There will be times when you’re unfortunately going to have to put aside that designer cap and put on the customer rep one. And there are times when you’re going to have to go from being nice and pleasant to being the annoying bill collector.
5. Above all, communicate and be able to describe your business! Have a business plan and model. I’ve encountered few designers who can do it all. If a client is asking you to do something you know you’re not capable of pulling off without it looking elementary or like a class project, pass on it and politely provide a reason why. If the client tells you they only plan on paying X amount for a job and you find that a bit low, politely explain why. There’s nothing worse than selling yourself short as a designer. Did you go to school and get a degree in design or whatever you’re freelancing in? How much did that cost you? Are you still paying the student loan back for that? Thought so. Short selling yourself isn’t doing anyone any favors.

Now, a few things for clients to consider:
1. Treat designers like professionals and not short order cooks. Nothing is more offensive and off-putting than a client who approaches a freelancer with a list of conditions and demands and wants everything done in a short turnaround (we’re talking 48 hours or less) and say they only want to pay an amount that’s double digits. Yes. I’ve had it happen on more than one occasion since the economy’s decline so it’s worth mentioning. More clients today seem to think graphic designers are on the same level as Burger King or McDonald’s staff: you want fast-food design; cheap and quick. Sorry, graphic designers are professionals and this is a business. Don’t be surprised if your inquiry isn’t responded to if you do this.
2. Have a budget but understand that the designer also has a budget. As a designer, I’m well aware of the economy and that people are hurting in the money department. BUT you’re asking a designer to help you do something that’s going to profit and help promote your business. So why are you going to devalue the work the designer is doing by asking them to do something you’re incapable of doing on your own at dirt-cheap prices? Be willing to work with the designer on a price that you both are happy with.
3. The promise of future work is no excuse to underpay. I’ve heard it all before. “I only have $30 to budget but that’s because I have 20 or 30 more projects like this for the RIGHT designer to do so you could make a lot in the future!” Sorry pal, unless you’re willing you sign on a dotted line and pay half of that future project cost upfront, you’re better off paying fairly for one project than flaking out and having not intention of following through.
4. Be mindful of your time needs and be mindful of the designer’s schedule. I’ve encountered more and more clients who apparently all of a sudden need something done the same day, within a few hours, by the end of the week. Sorry to sound like your mother but wisen up and plan ahead. There’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with a client who needs something done immediately but then has a dozen revisions and wants quality, flawless work. You wouldn’t want someone rushing you to do your job so don’t rush a designer to do his or her best work on your behalf.
5. Know what you want and what type of need you have. It amazes me that so many people will rush toward a graphic designer with a list of needs, a time schedule but really have no idea what they’re asking for. Not all designers are created equal: not every graphic designer is a web designer; not every great web designer can provide you with a graphically stunning website; every graphic designer is not a great artist. Don’t be surprised if your design needs call for more than one designer and don’t be surprised if you’re asking a designer to do the job of 2-3 people that their prices are going to be higher.

Above all, for both designers (or at-large freelancers) and clients: respect one another. Most designers have busy schedules and are pressed for time; they have projects on their list, full-time jobs, family obligations and a life. The same goes for clients. Both need to come to the table willing to negotiate, compromise and work with one another. If we can get back to treating one another like business professionals rather than online acquaintances, we’ll truly be able to make beautiful work and designs together.

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As I search for a new full-time design gig I spend a lot of each day looking at job descriptions. I’ve noticed how the role “graphic designer” has become very ambiguous or undefined lately. It used to be that a graphic designer’s job description and expectation was very straight forward: we designed things that audiences and consumers read. We were in charge of the visual communication part of editorials and with knowledge of basic design principles, a good grasp of color and use of art or photography, we made words jump off the page with stunning design and layout skills. Not so much these days.

Each year that ticks by, the role and job of a graphic designer changes. Technology over the past few years has taken design from printed matter to an interactive world and created a bit of a panic with the design industry. To be a graphic designer in today’s world is a bit like taking a photo of a sunset – as time moves forward, the image can change dramatically and quickly. If you earned your degree in graphic design back in the 1990s, you may find yourself overwhelmed by how much design and moved away from the basic art theory and hands-on approach and more into the computer realm. If your design career was born in the early 2000s, you may feel a bit depressed that even though you’re considered entry-level, technology and where design is today has rendered you something of an artifact. What gives?

I look at job descriptions for a graphic designer and scoff at times. One that I came across wanted the designer to have a basic understanding and knowledge of the standard programs (Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop), have 1-2 years of experience under their belt, be knowledgeable in Dreamweaver and while you were at it they wanted you to have customer service experience, management experience and all for a wage of around $10-$14 an hour. A week later they changed the job description a bit – they suddenly were calling the graphic designer a “visual communicator” and added to the list of things you needed to know that you also needed to have skills in web design, video editing and be comfortable carrying a camera and video taping and later editing that for display on the Web. Oh, and still for just $10-$14 an hour, full time.

There’s a lot of, what I feel, are ridiculous, unrealistic takes on what a graphic designer is or should know how to do. The idea that all graphic designers are suddenly supposed to be great Web designers, web programmers, and now they also need to be comfortable and experienced in making and editing video seems outlandish. All graphic designers are not created equal, and employers and those looking to work with or hire a graphic designer need to accept that. Graphic designers, like any other profession, come in all different shapes and sizes with different accessories and skill sets. There are some graphic designers who excel in designing and programming websites. That’s great! But I consider them to be web designers or web developers, not so much graphic designers because graphic designers generally have been expected to be good at having layout or composition skills. Some really great graphic designers are really bad at Web design, and that’s ok! Some photographers have very basic Photoshop skills and that’s wonderful and expected of them. Knowing how to use Photoshop, however, doesn’t automatically make you a great graphic designer. There are some designers who can do wonders with fonts and typography but are weak at illustration; some that are great artists who need to hone their understanding of fonts and composition; some designers who can produce motion graphics and do things in Flash who are completely intimidated by having to design for print which is all still and less about interaction. The point? Each graphic designer has a strength and a weakness and instead of us trying to excel to be great at everything, we need to accept that we’re just one person and there are some areas of the design world we’ll never be experts at. And that’s Ok.

It disturbs me that with the economy tanking and jobs being cut, businesses are so quick to look at the designer as being expendable if he or she isn’t capable of being an all-in-one designer. More jobs seem to be posted with the expectation that the “graphic designer” is now a “visual communicator” and is now responsible for doing the work and jobs that in the past two or three would have been hired to do. I know money is tight, budgets have to be cut, but why not at least consider hiring experts on a contract or freelance basis? Do you really need an on-site web designer when your site isn’t even updated but every four or so weeks? Do you need an on-staff photographer when you really have little need for one? I’m not advocating anyone lose their jobs, but there seems to be a lot of foolish decisions being made in trying to package three or more different areas of design into one person. I’d rather businesses start hiring (on a freelance or contract basis) creative professionals who are truly knowledgeable experts in whatever area of the design process than to put it all on the shoulders of one person. You’ll not only have a better product in the end but you’ll create a creative/marketing/design team rather than being disappointed when one person can’t do it all.

That being said, what’s a designer to do? I say be adventurous and learn as much as you can. If you have access to a program, why not learn it? You don’t necessarily have to spend thousands of dollars on a degree to learn about a new program or how to work one better that you have. Tutorials online are a great free source for any designer to go to. Also, designers shouldn’t be afraid to collaborate more and expanding their networks. I’ve seen the industry become a bit more competitive with designers feeling that they need to defend their turf out of fear of losing out to another designer on the scene. Don’t be. Again, we’re all experts of a certain type of design and can learn from others that are better than us in the areas we’re weak in.

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I’m really not a fan of Photoshop.

That statement probably sounds like blasphemy coming from someone who calls himself a graphic designer, but it’s the truth. People really go crazy over this program. It can do anything and everything – it can make a color photo black & white with one click; it can help you turn a cloudy sky into one filled with sun rays and blue skies; it can make a photo look as if it were painted. And that, among a list of other features, is why I really dislike Photoshop: it sucks the creativity right out of design.

People tend to think that technology is advancing design. A decade ago, who’d have thought every designer could have access to a host of programs that could turn them each into their own little art studio? Sure, Photoshop makes the life of a designer or a designer-wannabe very easy but it’s made “design” more of a technical process than it is an artistic one. Remember when graphic artists and designers had to actually posses some artistic skills? They had to be comfortable with using these archaic instruments known as pencils, erasers, pens, paint brushes and more to actually create their work? Nowadays, graphic designers really aren’t anything more than IT experts of Creative Suite. Ask a designer if he or she knows how to paint; sure, they’ll answer, as they point out the proper commands to press in Corel or Photoshop. Ask them to draw a line; their first instinct is probably to open up a computer program to do so rather than to take a pen to paper. When did designers lose sight in creativity?

I came across an article in How Design discussing lasting design. Is anything that we create these days truly lasting? Some may argue the point that most things designed aren’t meant to have a long-lasting shelf life. We designers are given the task of creating something to help promote an event coming up; we’re told that effective design will drive an audience to an event or business, that design helps sell the product. Sure, that’s all true, but why aren’t we striving to create and design things that have lasting value? It feels like the more technically-inclined we become, the less impact our design has. Think about that President Obama poster/art created by Shepard Fairey. What made it have lasting impact? It looked crafted, handmade, personalized. Sure, there’s now a Photoshop tutorial on how to do the same to any photo but when that piece of design work first came out, people took notice because of how man-made it was. It looked like someone actually took time out of their lives to put it together, choose the colors, consider all of the elements of what makes a good artistic composition.

I feel that Ric Grefe, executive director of AIGA, hit the nail on the head in a 2007 issue of How Magazine when he described what he feels makes a design have lasting value:

“I guess lasting to me is design that is able to continue to do three things. No. 1: It’s true attribute is clarity. Even today it communicates something clearly. Secondly, design can also be emotional – it can trigger an emotional response. The third is context. It captures the moment. Any of those three elements can make a lasting impact and still feel intriguing.”

I think we need to stop worrying about designing for the moment and become more concerned with designing something that’s going to tell a story and have life years, if not decades, from now. Why waste your time stressing over creating something if you have no desire to see it live on past its usefulness? Imagine creating an ad that clearly promotes an event or product but is timeless and will have people continuously revisiting it for years to come? Why not consider what emotional impact and reaction a piece of work will have as you would consider the colors, composition and other basic elements of good art?

I think we all need to step away from the computer. We need to stop relying on programs like Photoshop to do all of the creative work for us and instead take creativity and the design into our own hands. Sure, we all design for a living and do other creative work that we get paid for at the end of the day but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and produce work that we’re proud of, feel an emotional connection to and work that goes beyond the original intent and aim.

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I recently picked up How magazine’s latest issue that’s all about self-promotion. I was looking forward to some inspiration because self promotion is an area of interest of mine and if you’re in a creative field including (but not limited to) graphic design, art, photography and even writing, it should be among your interests as well. Here’s the heart of the issue: self promotion isn’t about boasting, it’s about pushing yourself to the front of the line of your field and keeping yourself relevant and known. Creative professionals have a lot of competition from others in their fields. What sets them apart isn’t so much talent but how well one promotes his or her talents and skills over the next person.

Here’s another big problem with self-promotion: no one really knows how to do it properly. First, we aren’t taught much about the necessity of promoting our talents in school. Second, we’re often made to feel guilty about boasting about how great they are at design, photography, web design or whatever their talent may be. And last, some people do promote themselves but they fail to do it properly or frequently enough. Self promotion is something you should be doing on a regular basis, every year, almost every month.

I turn to sources like How magazine, an industry standard for designers, for ideas on how I can switch up my promotion efforts. The problem with the self-promotion ideas in How is that a lot of what they seem to consider “good” promotion seems to also be costly promotion. Sure, you have to spend money to make money but I just have a hard time believing the only way a creative professional can properly promote their talents and work is to spends hundreds of dollars and hours of their time. A lot of the designs featured in How or other websites seem to feature one-shot promotions: after they’re out there, they have no life or usefulness. So, how can a creative professional remedy this?

Let’s face the hard facts: everyone is a bit tight on the money thanks to this economy and recession. Even those who have the money don’t want to (and rightfully so) spend it all on self-promotion. Here’s a secret: self-promotion doesn’t have to be expensive. If you approach it wisely, a little investment can quickly turn into a load of money in your pocket from an increase is business or freelance opportunities. So, are you ready to start promoting yourself on a budget while not breaking the bank? Here’s some ideas:

1. Create Your Own Website: I know, for some it’s very “duh” and seems like a no-brainer but you’d be shocked by how many creative professionals are without a website. A website is like a store in a crowded block: it’s your space and sure you have a lot of competition but if what’s inside is worth seeing and worth someone’s time, you’ll make a return on your investment quick.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs a website. You should strive to have a site that carries your name in the domain (check out mine at www.antoinereid.com). It should be your goal to promote the heck out of your site. Why? You want it to become popular. You want it to climb up Google and eventually if someone looks you up, they find your website. What should you put on your website? Treat it like your portfolio: you want 9-10 samples of your BEST work. This is your one shot to make a great impression. If someone is looking for an awesome illustrator, you need to have what you consider to be your best drawings on display for them to view in an easy, quick 10-30 second manner. Are you a writer or copywriter? Websites could be valuable for you as well. Put up a few writing samples, description of you and your area of interest, who you’ve written for or have edited for.

There are tons of web hosts out there but I’ve found that Yahoo! Small Business to be the best option. You can expect to pay about $130 if not lower based on the plan you buy. You’ll get your domain name, everything is easy to access, you’ll have FTP access. If you aren’t a web designer, that’s okay! Team up with a web designer and let them know what you need. Web designers, in return, you should have your own website promoting your skills along with a list of the best sites you’ve designed. Presentation is everything – stop just E-mailing out a long list of sites to potential clients and make a great first impression.

My website is my main form of on-going self promotion. I update it regularly with new work and pieces that I feel show off my talents better. Already the work I’ve done and have gotten due to my website has basically paid for the site fees so it’s been well worth the investment this year especially (yes, even in a recession!).

2. Create and Pass Out Your Own Business Card: In the digital age, it seems like business cards have been pushed to the side and replaced by E-mail addresses jotted down on scrap pieces of paper or Twitter accounts. A business card is a valuable piece of self promotion. There are tons of printers now that can print 500 or so cards for UNDER $100 (my favorite being 4over4.com). A lot of printers now offer full-color printing on business cards. Some even go so far as to offer full color, both sides printing. So what should you do?

If you’re a photographer or artist, choose your best piece of work and stick it on one side of the card. On the other side, include your contact information. I’m wary of putting your full address but all in favor of including your name, what you do (photographer, graphic designer, writer, etc.) phone/cell number, E-mail address, website url and if you have a Twitter account that wouldn’t be embarrassing for a professional type you don’t know to read, stick that on there.

The thing about business cards is that they’re like mini billboards: they can show off your talents quickly and they can travel and reach people that you can’t. Give them out to your friends, family, co-workers; have some on hand when you’re traveling or going to network. You’d be surprised how your little card can land in the hands of someone you don’t know who’d be interested in having you use your talents to help them.

3. Create A Postcard: In the age of digital, print is even more powerful and effective. Think about your own life: can you count how many E-mails you’ve received in the past 24 hours? Now, can you recall what you gotten via snail mail? Even if it was junk mail, you probably can. Why? Because the stuff you get in snail mail was something you had to flip through, peruse, quickly read. It’s more effective and personal than E-mail, Tweets and your opportunity to show off your talents and reach a new audience.

Here’s what you do. Promote your talents. It’s that easy. If you’re a painter, you create a painting that’s just for this postcard- something truly amazing, eye-catching, breathtaking. On the other side you include your contact information and a call to action. Write, “let’s work together – contact me today about my services” or something more attention grabbing (just keep it appropriate and non-creepy). This idea can be used for anyone in any creative field. Copywriter? On the face of the card include some text where you’ve marked through, corrected, written in the margins and when they flip it over to the address side just create a funny, memorable message like “I can make you look good.” and circle that in read. Just put below it that you’re a copywriter, editor, whatever. You see, postcards don’t have to be dull and like business cards can travel and generate business. Unlike E-mail or Tweets, you’re creating something that can easily be saved for later reference. Oh, and just note that postcard stamps are currently just 28 cents – not much of an investment.

4. Create your own holiday cards: Want to stay at the forefront of people’s minds (them and potential clients, that is)? Then create your own holiday-themed cards by creating your own artwork and sending them out to potential clients or past associations to remind them of your talents. Not an artist? Team up and collaborate with a graphic designer or artist! It could be fun and an easy way for both of you to benefit from the same project. Imagine an illustrated Santa riding a sleigh made out of a large serif ‘a’: the perfect clash of the design world and the copywriter, editor or writer worlds. And please, even if you come up with a generic message inside the card for everyone, personalize each with a hand written message.

5. Offer Your Talents As A Gift: Need an easy way to self-promote your talents while helping others? Give your talents away to friends and family as a gift. People get married, they need announcement cards and other stuff designed. Offer to design it for them (I’m thinking for a reduced price if not for free). There are tons of other opportunities that come up with your friends and family or people they know that could call for your help and talents. Sometimes people need their reports proofread: perfect chance for a copywriter or editor to step in. People are always throwing parties or gatherings: step in and design the invite cards for them. Non-profits and charities often are in need of creative professionals who are willing to work for nearly nothing – it’s your chance to show off your social awareness You may think that giving your talents away for a cheap price or for free has no value to it. Imagine all of the different people, professionals, industry insiders your work will spread to. Be sure to, in some way, note in the design that you were the artist. Or have your friends ready to refer any inquiring business your way.

6. Get Friends, Family and Colleagues To Refer You: It’s really simple. You need to communicate to your friends and those you work with or know what exactly it is you do. Tell them about your career, what you want out of it, your interest in freelancing or adding new things to your portfolio. Then simply ask, “Hey, if you know of anyone, can you refer them to me?” It usually just takes asking and your friends can turn into a new way of promoting your services.

These are just a few ideas you can try to self promote yourself. I didn’t mention some obvious ones like Tweeting about your work, creating a blog where you display your work (and Tweeting links to it to drive traffic to your blog or website), creating a Facebook fan page. I also didn’t mention other ideas that could work like creating your own swag (pens, notepads, t-shirts with your logo, an image, your name on it) because that can go beyond the “cheap” realm, but could still be quite profitable. The overall point? Promote yourself and your talents. In today’s job market and economy, everyone needs to be able to not only promote what they do proudly and easily but they need to be able to see results. If you do something to promote yourself and get no feedback – it’s ok. You need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to either improve it or have another plan on deck to implement.

What are some of your favorite self-promotion ideas (done cheaply)? Leave a comment and let others know!

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You hear it a lot these days with the economy being in a continual state of suckage – you need to be prepared for a layoff, for your business to shut down, for pay cuts or even just to quit when a better opportunity comes up. This is especially true for designers and creative types. Unfortunately, we’re usually the first management look at as expendable because they think we’re easily replaceable or that they can outsource design and creative work to a freelancer for half the cost they may pay a full-time person. The question is, are you prepared for the worse case scenario?

Let’s face it – no one wants to really dwell on bad situations. Like the Beyonce song, we’d like to think we’re irreplaceable. Things happen – the economy happens – you could very well find yourself going from a high paying job in a nice firm with a plush office chair and financial security to your couch watching Regis & Kelly wondering where your next paycheck is going to come from. That’s why you need to prepare for the inevitable end of your job. Few jobs last forever these days. A better opportunity will arise with better pay and benefits; you could be laid off; your business could be bought out and your department downsized. The doomsday scenarios and varied but the bottom line is all the same – are you prepared?

I’ve found that designers and creative professionals often are not as well equipped for a lay-off or the end of a job than most. We’re a very focused bunch and sometimes get in such a groove with our work that stopping to work on things like our resumes, portfolios and networking all seem like distractions rather than necessities. Here are a few things you need to do now, even if you are happily employed, to prepare for the next best thing to come to you employment wise:

1. Never let your resume get out of date: When you have a job, all is well. When you’re suddenly out of work, the first thing you say you need to do is update your resume. Designers and creative professionals should regularly be updating their resume based on their latest experiences. A great resume tells a potential employer what you’ve been doing, not just what you were responsible for or expected to do. Scrap the idea of the old days of listing out all of your duties – no one cares about that. Use action verbs to describe your actions! Use words with a bit of a zing and impact to accent that resume, not just passive phrases. Here’s an example:

[Boring] Responsible for the design and layout of marketing material for a concert.
[Interesting] Entrusted with the complex task of designing the promotional pieces for a high profile concert artist and overseeing the pricing, ordering and arrival of the final pieces.

The boring way of handling your resume will just be a list of responsibilities and duties someone gave you. Many designers and creative types have long lists of duties they carried out – and that’s good, but save it for the interview. Your resume could be the first and only thing an employer looks at before he or she gives you an interview. Keep them interested by turning your resume into a action-packed recap of your working life. Here’s a great list of action verbs to use on resume to give it that extra boost of interesting.

2. Put yourself on display: If you’re a creative professional, you shouldn’t be shy about showing off your talents and what makes you stand apart from the crowd. If you’re a designer, then why would you send out a dull resume that’s formatted and designed as if you’ve just graduated from college? Why not play (within reason) with the style a little? Doing so would make you quickly stand out from the crowd as someone who truly is interested in design and visual communication. Are you a photographer? Then why not show off your work via a nice web gallery, or create a postcard with some of your images? In the world of exercise, this would be called cross-training: rather than just doing the same exercise day in and day out, you workout more muscle by doing a variety of workouts that hit different body groups. Photographers should think like graphic designers sometimes and advertise themselves through postcards or a nice page layout or even a poster of their best photos; graphic designers comfortable with print should consider showing off their work online in some way. Never rely on just one means of promoting and showcasing your talents.

3. The Write Stuff: Artists, designers, photographers and creative types aren’t always the best writers. When it comes time to apply for a new job, that can kill your chances of getting that dream position. Just because your job involves the arts doesn’t give you the excuse not to be a good writer. Go through job listings and look at their requirements and pre-requisites: how would you respond to those bullet points? I suggest everyone take a little time out of each week to perform a writing exercise. Even if you have no intentions of leaving your job, just prepare for the future by honing your writing skills. This will even help you in your current position. Learn to respond to each of the job criteria: use your own experiences to come up with a response that’s no longer than a paragraph long and see how you’d describe yourself. This helps tremendously when someone comes along to ask you to describe yourself, your experiences and qualifications. People are often caught off guard because they haven’t given it much thought due to the fact of being in a comfortable working position. However, as said, that could easily change. Best to be prepared for the event of being unemployed than live in ignorance and bliss.

4. Network!: When things are good, creatives can easily get lost in their work. When you find yourself out of a job or at the end of a contracted position, oh my, how things change. The Internet makes it so easy for people to network and keep in touch with their friends and colleagues so use it! Get on LinkedIn, connect with your co-workers and mentors and regularly drop them a note just to say hello. One thing that tends to happen is that we rarely use our network of friends and colleagues until something bad happens. Then we feel a bit guilty about coming to them with our problems or asking them for referrals. Through LinkedIn or even basic E-mail and an address book, make it a necessity to contact a few people each week just to let them know what you’re working on and ask them how they are doing. Why? This creates a collaborative environment and you never know what will come out of just talking to people. Plus, if you do need a new job due to whatever reason, your job search will be easier if you already have a network of friends and support ready to help you get back on your feet.

5. Have a back-up plan: Are you working? What would you do if the job you spend the most time at suddenly wasn’t there? It’s a simple, yet scary, question that you need to have a response for. If you’re in the creative field you’re actually lucky: your skills could easily translate into freelance work. Creative professionals should all consider doing freelance, even if you are working full-time. Creating some business and line of revenue outside of your usual 9-to-5 could be fun and offer you a much needed outlet from whatever it is you do full-time. It will also help you network, show off your talents and give you pieces you can add to your portfolio. If you aren’t hip to the idea of moonlighting on the side, you still need a back-up plan. Creative types sometimes rely on just one job to keep them afloat. If that job suddenly wasn’t there, how would you support yourself? Don’t let a lay off or unemployment answer that question for you. Already have something else waiting in the wings to takeover if one job falls through.

These are just five very basic ways for creative professionals (photographers, graphic designers, artists, copywriters, etc.) to keep themselves working through the worse case scenarios. If the past few years have taught us anything it’s that jobs come and go. You’re in a great profession if you’re a creative type: you have skills and the ability to keep yourself working in a recession or when the economy is booming. Still, it’s a great idea to keep your resume ready for disbursement, promote your talents on a regular basis, work on your writing skills, network with other professionals and to have a back-up plan ready just in case there’s a change in your employment.

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Perhaps you remember the Queen in Shakespeare’s Macbeth saying, “More substance less art.” When it comes to being a graphic designer or even a Web designer, the opposite is true. I’ve noticed something over the past few years out in the field of being a professional graphic designer: we really are losing ground. Like Rodney Dangerfield would say, “No respect, no respect at all!” There was a time when being a graphic designer earned you gasps and excited questions of how you did it. Graphic designers  were these heavyweights who created the things we relied so much on like books, movie posters and magazines. Fast forward from the 20th to the 21st century and you’ll see how the graphic designer in today’s society has taken quite a tumble: people really have no idea what graphic designers are, what we do and why we’re still important.

I blame, like any child of the 2oth century, technology. The more advanced technology is and more accessible it is to the general public, the less special something like graphic design feels to the everyday man. I mean, look at it: in the olden days, graphic designer set type by hands – now that seems archaic and laughable because all a person has to do is scroll through the font menu and slap something down without much consideration at all. In the past, people had to actually draw things because manipulating a photo was damn near impossible. Now with few simple commands and flicks of a button or brush in Photoshop, a photo can go from ordinary to looking as if it was (poorly) drawn out to look cartoonish or sketched by pencil. No wonder graphic designers have to spend so much of their time justifying why we’re worthy of full-time positions with competitive salaries!

Some will say the only way one can become a good graphic designer in today’s job market would be to learn how to become good at web design. Huh? I’ve never understood that because as someone who’s had to switch back and forth between being a “graphic” designer and being a “web” designer, I know that these two fields are two different beasts. Telling a good graphic designer that he or she needs to be, or is expected to be, an exceptionally good web designer is like telling a police officer that he or she needs to be a good firefighter – sure, both professions concern saving people from peril but c’mon, you’re talking about two very different professions with different requirements.

I don’t think graphic designers should be pressured into “peer” pressure and give up the design part of their jobs to become good Web programmers and coders. I don’t think Web designers are all capable of being effective graphic designers. What I do think both could benefit from is becoming more artistic. Let me explain:

Old school graphic design called for a special skill set more akin to being a good artist: composition, color theory, the ability to sketch out ideas clearly, perspective and being able to do a lot of design tasks by hand. Nowadays, I see more designers flooding the career field who have a horrible sense of color and have no idea how to use it effective, who slap together a layout without much consideration for communication and composition and designers who’d scoff at the idea of drawing anything by hand. Yet, they think, and their employers believe, that just because they know a little HTML and are willing to do a billion tasks that have nothing to do with design and more to do with computer science and programming, they’re “decent” graphic designers. Give me a break.

Do you want to be a good graphic designer? Do you want to be a great photographer or good Web designer? Start perfecting your artistic skills. Yes, knowing how to maneuver yourself around some CSS, XHTML, PHP and Java will get you employed but having an artistic background will truly make you an exceptional designer of any sort. You can’t be a great photographer if you have no sense of composition and don’t know how to frame your subject in the composition. You are going to be a lame designer if you have no idea what emotional responses certain colors will spark in the viewer or if you’re simply afraid to use color (which many designers are). If you’re a Web designer, you need to be able to sketch out the ideas and layout for your Web page or be able to use a grid to figure out how to vary-up the design of your page so that it stands out from the crowd.

Graphic designers and creatives of the past were valued more because they did something the common person couldn’t: they really designed, as in, they used their artistic skills to create something no one else could. We’ve become far too reliant on technology and think that being a graphic designer means you know how to use Photoshop. That’s not the case – anyone can use Photoshop. There was an old title for designers that’s become nearly extinct thanks to technological advances: graphic artists. We need more people to rise to the challenge and become graphic artists rather than designers. Graphic artists are the ones that aren’t afraid of using handmade art in design work meant for mass consumption; they aren’t afraid to sketch or draw, even when they aren’t the best artists; they boldly use colors and they create something that goes beyond the simple special effects palette in Photoshop. Being a graphic artist is far more exciting than being your basic graphic designer – everyday you’re setting out to create something new and a piece of artwork worth holding onto. I’ve found that with a lot of “graphic design” today it’s mostly working within limits, doing template designs, following the rules or prerequisites set by others for you. That’s no fun. And shouldn’t design of any sort always be fun?

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You’ve heard the lecture and spill – you need to network, you need to be connected, so on, so forth. If you’re in the creative field, meaning a graphic designer, an artist, freelancer or simply a professional who is always chained to a computer, you probably aren’t networking as you should be. Networking in today’s economy is crucial: whether you’re trying to moonlight as a freelancer, grow your business, build your professional network or keep in touch with colleagues and clients, there are some sites out there to help you. Here are 10 sites I think you should be on and how you can use them to your advantage:

1. SlideShare: Let’s say you have a presentation you’re working on or an important document you need to share with a group of people. The old school way of sharing would be to create a PDF and E-mail it out to everyone. Well, it’s time you step up your game when it comes to presentation. SlideShare is a great site that allows you to upload your documents and share them via a slick flash presentation. If you’re familiar with PowerPoint, it’s basically a fancier version of it where you can upload a word, pdf and list of other document types and SlideShare will automatically convert it into a flash presentation that you share via E-mail with a personalized link.
How to Use It: Presentation is everything in today’s work force. Using SlideShare is easy and painless and creates an impressive presentation. Are you a graphic designer trying to show off your portfolio online to potential employers or future clients? Simply create a PDF of samples of your work and it can be presented like this. Even if you’re not a creative type, you can upload other things such as your resume and it’ll convert it into a flash presentation that you can share via a web link, by embedding on your website or sharing on Twitter and Facebook. What would impress a hiring manager more – the typical E-mail resume or this? Thought so. Best part? SlideShare also allows for the viewer to download what they’re looking at.

2. Box.net: Ever heard of a drop box? Box.net basically gives you a free digital drop box to host important files.
How to Use It: Think of those documents that you’re always in need of but sometimes can’t always carry with you.  Box.net is your solution. Upload your files (word documents, excel files, pdfs) to your account and not only does it host your file but it enables you and others to download them with ease. Stick your resume, design portfolio or important contact excel document on here and you’ll be able to access it anytime for anywhere.

3. Yelp: This site enables everyday people to review anything. If you freelance, own your own design agency, provide any type of service, build up your credibility by getting your customers, friends and family to rate your business or service.
How to Use It: If you haven’t yet learned the value of a glowing recommendation, get hip to it quick. In the digital age, people are likely to Google you or your business before they even approach you to do anything work for them. A glowing review from a list of people on a site like Yelp associated with your name or your business/service will bring in new business and give you major bonus points in the eyes of prospective clients.

4. LinkedIn: Do you have a professional network in place? Do you have the contact information for people you’ve worked with in the past, or recommendations collected from past clients in one place on display for all to see? If not, get on LinkedIn. In today’s world, having a resume simply isn’t enough. Many employers are interested in seeing your digital presence and want to be able to find out what kind of person you are before they even decide to call you for an interview.
How to Use It: Get on LinkedIn and start connecting with friends and colleagues. You’ll find LinkedIn invaluable if you’re ever searching for a new job, want to keep up with people you’ve worked with in the past or need a recommendation. Not only do you need to get on LinkedIn but you need to optimize your profile: make connections; write recommendations for people and ask for recommendations in return; link your SlideShare and Box.net accounts so that you’re able to display your resume, portfolio and other important information directly on your profile. As future employers review your LinkedIn profile, they’ll be able to get a better picture of what sort of professional you are and will be more inclined to work with you or hire you for that new job you’ve been waiting for.

5. Talent Zoo: If you’re in any creative field whether it be advertising, marketing, design or interactive, you should be familiar with Talent Zoo. This site attracts an impressive list of creative companies, agencies and businesses who are looking to hire creative talent. These are companies that aren’t likely to post on other job sites so you could easily find out about a new opportunity that isn’t highly publicized.
How to Use It: Talent Zoo offers a free e-newsletter that you absolutely need to join and receive. The e-newsletter comes equipped with useful, helpful articles about braving the current economy and job market if you’re a creative type. It also gives you a mini list of some of the jobs offered. Stop relying on Craigslist for the scoop on the latest job offerings and aim higher with Talent Zoo’s impressive selection.

6. Google Analytics: Do you have your own website? If not, you should definitely look into investing in one. Going on the assumption that you do, how are you keeping up with how successful your Web site is? If someone were to ask you about the unique visitors your site attracted during a set time frame, or what parts of your site attracted the most visitors, or they wanted to know how much time people were spending on your site, could you confidently tell them any of this? For most, the answer is no. Google Analytics, in that case, is your best friend. It’s FREE and it helps you track the traffic and how people are coming to, spending time on, and leaving your site.
How to Use It: You don’t need to know a thing about Web design or programming to use Google Analytics. This is something everyone in every field should be aware of. You can easily become the “It” Guy or Girl by becoming savvy on how effective your web presence is. Advertisers especially want to know how many unique visitors come to the site and how much time they’re spending on it and what pages are the most popular. Sign up your site and start tracking its progress. This service will help you fine-tune your site and its advertising efforts.

7. WordPress: What are you good at? What’s your area of expertise? What industry are you trying to break into? Whatever your response is, blogging is the key to success. There are a host of blogs out there but few professionals are savvy enough to turn blogging into another part of the job. Show off to new clients, colleagues and your boss that you’re truly interested in your field by starting a professional blog centered around your profession or the job you wish you had.
How to Use It: Into photography? Take a picture a day and post it to your blog with some thoughts – or highlight photographers you admire. Do you like mentoring people but feel like you don’t have the time to physically do it? Create a blog that teaches people how to do something – offer Adobe Creative Suite tutorials, Web design tips, copywriting guidelines. Blogging is a chance for you to show off your expertise and is a great way to improve your communication skills. Just remember – keep it business like and professional if you’re blogging to gain credibility, clients and business (or a job). WordPress is the most popular blogging platform but there are of course other options for you to choose from as well.

8. Facebook “Fan Page”: Too often people rely on Facebook to just post pictures, goof around and interact with past acquaintances you barely know. Did you know you can actually make Facebook work for you and use it as a professional tool? Create a fan page. If you are a creative and are wary about investing in a full-fledged website, start off with your own “fan page” that promotes your area of interest. Invite your friends and Facebook associations to join the group.
How to Use It: This is your professional sanctuary on Facebook – use this area to promote your creative side, show off your work, connect with other creative types and build a bigger network. Also, personalize your page. You can create a “fan” page that looks like any other profile or you can turn it into a professional, shock and awe presentation by creating a personalized welcome landing page and making tabs that better fit your goals. The key to learn about FBML (facebook markup language) which allows you to customize your page. Check out my page – it wasn’t hard at all to do and cost absolutely no money to make it look like it does.

9. Twitter: It goes without saying – Twitter is the place to be when it comes to networking and chatting online these days. It’s free, it’s easy to use and for creatives it can be an easy way to market yourself to a huge market and audience for absolutely free.
How to Use It: I think all businesses should be on Twitter. It’s just become expected. We’re slowly getting away from the era of E-mail and entering into the era of the Tweet. Some think Twitter is mundane – who wants to hear about Aunt Sally baking cookies or that the weird guy down the hall from you is geeking out over the latest Star Wars role playing game being released? Use Twitter to promote your business, your service, your blog, even to help spread your resume! My advice though is to know your audience. Do you want to stay anonymous and know you’ll post ridiculous things that could get you in trouble? Then create an account just to interact with your friends, family, etc. that doesn’t bare your name. Then, create an account with your name so that people can easily find you, follow you and won’t gasp in shock and horror at what you post. Yes, I’m advocating people have two Twitter accounts – one for fun, one for business. One little mis-tweet could easily hurt your professional credibility. (Shameless plug – follow me @antoinereid).

10. Skype: The digital age is changing how we communicate and even how we work. More people are working from home; some only work part of the day; others are working with people in different states or different countries. In the olden days, people would gather together in a stuffy room and for hours on end would listen to one or two people drone on about the company and this or that issue affecting it. Well, meeting in one place isn’t always possible and hanging on the telephone for two or three hours for a conference call isn’t all that reasonable. The solution? Video conferencing! Skype is free and all you need is a computer with a built-in microphone, webcam and an Internet connection.
How to Use It: Need to meet with a client whose in San Diego but you’re in Miami? Easy – you both will need a Skype account (again, it’s free) and both will need to be online at the same time (that’s a given) and presto, you can chat in real time without having to physically be in the same room. Skype also allows you to transfer files, have a video conference between three people at once, share screens and instant message. For creative types trying to run their own business, this could be an invaluable tool and add credibility to those who feel E-mails are too impersonal or that face time is more valuable than playing phone tag. Also, if you simply want to chat with your mom, family, friends or significant other and are miles away, then hey, do it via video rather than just hearing their voice!

Is there a web service that you use that you feel is invaluable and want others to get hip to? Leave a comment and share your favorite site or service that we all should be using!

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There’s a huge debate among many freelancers: how you go about figuring out the price of your services and then how to go about translating that price to your potential clients. There’s one group who feels the best way to charge is by the hour. Basically, you figure out how much you need to make and how much work you expect to do and break down that large price into a per hour rate. Then, there are some who come up with an overall total price and will present that to the client. So really, which is best? In my opinion, a combination of both. Each has its pros and cons and it comes down to you and your business model.

Charging an hourly rate
This is probably the popular, old standard of freelancing. Many designers will tell you that their hourly rate is something like $30 and whenever someone approaches them about starting a new project and inquires about the price, rather than telling them what the total charge will be, they will tell them their hourly rate. The good thing about having or knowing your hourly rate is that it means you’ve gone through the process of assessing your own business and money needs and know the absolute minimum you will need to charge to make ends meat. The problem? In today’s economy, an hourly rate can seem a bit disarming. Imagine someone outside of the design industry (or whatever your industry is) calling a professional to help them solve a problem and asking the golden question, “How much will I be charged?” Then imagine your reaction if he or she responded, “Well, I charge $50 per hour.” It doesn’t really seem like an adequate response.

Many today are put off by the hourly rate because it feels a bit ambiguous. If they have not dealt with you in the past then certain concerns will come to mind: 1) Is this person going to drag his/her heels so that I’m charged out the wazoo? 2) What is a per hour rate? Why can’t they tell me exactly what it will cost? 3) This hourly rate seems really expensive. I think I’ll look elsewhere …

When I first started freelancing, I saw that the standard was an hourly rate. I calculated what I’d need to charge per hour and whenever I was approached to do work, I’d give out the hourly rate. What happened? I didn’t get much business and the business I did get wasn’t very profitable. In my opinion, hourly rates can cheat the freelancer out of well-earned money. It’s an easy way of telling your clients that you feel your work is only worth whatever your rate is or that you have no idea of the value of your work and self. Yes, everyone should have an hourly rate but not to give out – keep it as a guideline. You need to know how much you need to make to survive so when you’re approached to do a freelance job, simply divide that quoted amount or estimate by your hourly rate to figure out how many hours of work you’re agreeing to do. Is that sum the amount of hours you’d reasonably expect to put into the work? If you know it’ll take more hours than what you’re agreeing to, that’s when you negotiate with the client. If you know it’ll take fewer hours then hey, that’s when you’re making a real profit!

Charging based on Pre-established Prices
Take a stroll on Craigslist.com and stop by the art/media/design area of the job postings. Look through some of those ads and you’ll find what many people expect to pay you for your design services these days. Don’t gawk at the $10/$14 per hour expectation – often times this number comes from people just having no sense of what a real graphic design expert is. The economy we’re in today has sent our profession into a bit of a tumble. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, people did not question the worth of a design. We were known for having the capabilities to do things that no one else could, thus, we were paid fairly. Nowadays as technology grows and takes over various areas of our lives, we’re faced with people thinking that graphic designers are nothing really special. Why pay someone tons of money when you’re little nephew is learning how to use Photoshop in his 6th grade computer class?

Get tough, become more confident, and know you’re worth. When I found that charging by an hourly rate wasn’t getting me anywhere, I sat down and made a list of all of the things I’m willing to design as a freelancer. This is the first key – like any business, figure out ahead of time what you’re services and offerings will be. You’re a freelancer and unless you work with a team of people, you can only do so much so stop trying to do it all. Figure out what you’re good at, what you can profit from and then go about figuring out what to charge for each of those things. Having spent a few years as an intern designing and a year in the real work force, I had a good idea how long it would take to complete certain tasks. This is when your hourly rate comes into play. Simply multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you figure it will take you to complete a task and that’s the price to present to someone if they ask about your charges and prices.

This, of course, is not perfect: some design tasks will take longer than others. Your price is, overall, an estimate so be prepared to be off by an hour or two. You also want to make sure you aren’t setting your prices so high that you aren’t going to be taken seriously. For most of my clients, they seem wary of the overall total price I present to them for a project but I’m quick to follow up the quote with an outline of the project: I tell them how long I expect to the project to last, how I will communicate with them, the final file formats, discuss the style/expectations from them. Once you communicate and learn to back up your prices with a true sense of business, that total price won’t seem so daunting. Also, be prepared for some clients to walk away.  For some, they have it in their minds that graphic design, in this economy, is no more than a digital form of fast food. They want it done quickly, they want to be able to pick and choose who they work with and they want it done cheaply. They don’t understand that the services you’re offering them is of a great value and something that you spent time going to school for – just as they spent time earning (and paying for) a degree for whatever it is they’re trying to get you to help them promote and look good. If you encounter a client who wants to only pay you $50 for a logo that’ll promote their business for life, or $10 for a media kit that will in turn bring in ten times that amount of advertising and business, WALK. Don’t look back, don’t regret it.

Stay the Course
Forget what you hear – there’s money to be made in freelancing, even in today’s economy. With businesses cutting their full-time designers and creative departments, they are in search of temporary solutions and for those of us willing to moonlight and freelance, we’ll be the ones to profit. Freelancing is not a hobby – it’s a business. You’re setting out to make money, to build your brand and to create a base of clients that view you as a valuable asset and ally that they can come to, spend their money on, and will give them what they want. Know your worth – if you have no idea what to charge for your services, do some research and figure it out. Have a business plan in place and be tough when you’re approached to do freelance work.

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“If you only knew what the future holds – after the hurricane comes a rainbow. Maybe the reason why all the doors are closed so you could you open one that leads you to the perfect road.” — Katy Perry, “Firework”

A couple days ago I posted on how I, like many others these days, received my pink slip/walking papers from my now former place of employment after putting in a good four years, two months worth of service. And I’ve received some nice comments and feedback from people I’ve encountered, gone to school with, have worked with over the years and complete strangers. I’m currently seeking a full-time graphic design position in the Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill area of North Carolina and any leads or recommendations you may have, please send them my way! I would greatly appreciate any help as well as general feedback from others similar to me who’ve gotten the axe but have made it through all right.

People seem curious on how I’m remaining calm and collected during this ordeal. The thing is that I was laid off due to the economy like so many others. I didn’t get fired; my design work and contributions to my post and job only continued to increase and improve over the years. I’m glad to have been able to say that I left my position and the work I was doing on a high note. I looked back at the last issue I designed [I worked for a magazine as an art director] and really did feel confident and dare I say proud of the work I did. So really, what is there to be sad or upset over? There were a few things that had been on my mind over the past year or two, including how I’d really gone as far as I could with the job and position I was in, how my salary wasn’t moving but decreasing (a very bad thing indeed), and how I just wasn’t feeling fulfilled with what I was doing. I want to be challenged and am looking forward to a new full-time position that will present new challenges and learning experiences. In other words, I’m keeping my head up and am already hard at work looking for my next opportunity.

I’ve taken this current bad situation and have definitely used it as a chance to improve and recharge. While I’m asking around and searching for a new job, I’ve done a few freelance projects, I’ve given my freelance Facebook page (check out Antoine Reid Designs) a much needed design upgrade, I’ve re-designed my resume, have been going back through my past work and putting it on display and just have kept myself busy, period. For those going through being laid off or finding themselves without work, I encourage you to see it as an opportunity. You’ve been given a great chance to re-invent yourself and take on something new. I have to say, even though I hate not having the financial security that a full-time job brings with it, I do like the promise and expectations of something new and exciting to deal with. I think change is good. With all of the work I’ve done, from building up my social network to simple things like updating my Website and doing some self promotion, I realized that I’d really become too complacent and comfortable. Always be on the lookout for a new opportunity, adventure and take a chance.

Follow me on Twitter @antoinereid
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinedreid
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Visit my Web site www.antoinereid.com/contact.html