June 18th, 2009
We as designers, writers, programmers (the list goes on), will always be plagued with the “block” from time to time. In this article, I’ll talk about listening to certain types of music to help remove the block or enhance your creativity . I’ll explain what works for me and what could possibly work for you.
I found my inspiration through classical, instrumental, and electronic music. It’s helped me to “get into the zone” or break free from a creative blockage. This is my theory on why it’s worked so well for me and others that I have introduced it to.
Lyrics are instructional, which verbally paint a picture for you. If you listen to music without lyrics, you’re able to see a self-narrated vision through what you hear not who you’re hearing. Nobody is telling you what’s happening, the instruments and sounds show you something that is unique to you. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Audio, Block, Imagination
Posted in Audio, Challenge | No Comments »
April 26th, 2009
A great thing you can do for your online portfolio is to make live, original versions of your websites. An easy and sufficient way to do this is to create a subdomain for that website on your own portfolio and make it near identical to the actual website.
Example, http://clientswebsite.myportfolio.com.
Make sure all contact information such as emails and phone numbers are disabled. Always have a back button going to your portfolio site, which also acts as a reminder to viewers that this is your original version of the website. It’s crucial to also include a current version link somewhere on your portfolio site so that viewers know the difference between the versions. See my working example as a reference.
Having this on your online portfolio is beneficial for two (very important) reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Portfolio
Posted in Business, Portfolio | No Comments »
April 10th, 2009
In the previous article “How Much? The Last Question Asked First,” I discussed the importance of being prepared for that question. Your next step is to show the client just how much it’s going to be.
This is the most sensitive phase in the relationship. I know you want to get paid but you need to win the job first, so you might be flustering yourself in thinking about a fair price for the job. There’s a method to make this process go as smoothly as possible without short-cutting yourself or your client.
After you acquire all the project assets and prepare to part ways, let them know that you’re going to need about a day to write up the quote. Some of you reading this might have just freaked out. As mentioned, this phase is very sensitive and needs a lot of attention. So yes, tell the client about a day to be safe because that’s how long you’re going to need. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Business, Quote
Posted in Business | No Comments »
April 3rd, 2009
Certain clients tend to ask “How much?” within 5 minutes of the meeting. It can catch us off guard and sometimes put the client in an uncomfortable spot when we don’t give them a quote right off the bat. When this happens, simply let them know that every project is different, therefore the quote will vary.
If you must, ask the client that if they wanted to construct a building, they need to let the contractors know how big it is, how tall, what types of windows they want, how many people will be using the facility, and so on.
Bottom line, custom services require custom quotes. There are even future elements involved in the project that the client nor the designer can foresee right away, which could also fluctuate the quote.
Usually, the clients that are asking “How much?” off the bat are the ones that are trying to find the least expensive quote. You have a decision not to move forward with the project but it’s rare that you’ll be able to change their decision about pricing. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Business
Posted in Business | No Comments »
March 30th, 2009
I have worked on Macs and know my way around it but I prefer a PC. The most memorable moment (before knowing about these battling computers) was when I was introduced to a new hire at an old company. I was repairing my modem and appeared from the cable-littered floor to greet her.
We made our small talk and after glancing at my computer, she said, “So you must be the IT guy.” A little confused, I answered, “Actually, I do the web design.”
For the longest time, this girl could not understand why the lead designer of the company was working on a PC. And for the longest time I didn’t understand why she didn’t understand that I did. I gradually went from the “IT guy” to the “coder” but it was apparent that I did more than just code. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Mac, Software, Windows
Posted in Mac, Software, Windows | 3 Comments »
March 16th, 2009
If you own a real-life, physical store, then wouldn’t you want to spend good money to create the best atmosphere possible? I have seen one-too-many online stores that do not give their eCommerce site this same treatment.
The most confusing fact is that running an online store is hundreds of times less expensive than running a real store so why not take advantage of that and invest more than you’re willing to with the online store.
In terms of maintaining your customer’s loyalty, there is no difference between the physical store front and the online store. Let’s look at a few comparisons and see how they relate to one another. We’ll use an online shoe store called “E-Shoes” and a physical store called “Shoe Emporium” as examples. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Business, eCommerce, Money
Posted in Business, eCommerce | 1 Comment »
March 14th, 2009
The highest paying point in my career was the lowest one. I interviewed with a company that had a huge financial backbone and their profit margin was incredible. I won’t talk about the specifics of their service but what they did was ingeniously simple and I was not a big fan of it. However, they offered me $10,000 more (salary) than what was originally listed and I thought to myself, “It can’t be that bad.”
My job duties were to create animated Flash banners for all sorts of sites including MySpace. That doesn’t seem so bad does it? If you have a MySpace profile then I’m sure you have seen those “Click here to see who has a crush on you!” banners. That’s what I did. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Business, Design, Money, Work
Posted in Business, Design, Jobs | 3 Comments »
March 12th, 2009
I know all of us have seen women walking around with brand name handbags dangling from their arms. Have you every wondered why so many of them buy the handbags with the Louis Vuitton logo, tiled all over it? Women love to stand out so it baffles me when the owner of these bags bought such similar ones. I started to dive deeper into this phenomena and I have a theory.
A designer at one of these companies thought about a way to capitalize on the brand, literally. Instead of making complex handbags that range from $2000 into the $10,000’s (which obviously isn’t for everyone), they wanted to go into big production with more simple bags that were around $300. Since they are Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, or whom ever, they couldn’t make bags for $50, that would just shame the name.
So how can they make handbags that were $300 and get people who couldn’t necessarily afford them to really desire them? The answer was right in front of their face. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Brand, Design, Handbags, Logo
Posted in Brand, Business, Fashion, Psychology | 3 Comments »
March 9th, 2009
Anybody with a portfolio website in the creative field has gone through this and most likely will continue to go through this, including myself. The curse of the designer is that we are never 100% happy with our portfolio. In turn, we’ll change it drastically almost every year or more.
Why is that? Look at the very industry that we’re in. Every new project that we work on is different in terms of challenges, skill set, and even right-down to the emotion that we put into it. It’s great that our tasks are rarely predictable, which makes work exciting. So when it’s time to show off what we do and how we present ourselves, it will be just as ever-changing as the field we’re involved in.
Beyond our fluctuating projects, there are always new trends being set and we are bombarded with all types of new visual styles. If you’re tired of spending endless hours to show the design community your “new and updated” portfolio every year then here are a couple of pointers on how to be content with your website. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Curse, Design, Portfolio
Posted in Challenge, Design, Portfolio, Psychology | 7 Comments »
