Seasons of Graphic Design

Here in the Midwest, the seasons are changing. A welcoming chill in the air is creeping across the fields and the anticipation of the leaves changing is at an all-time high. We’ve had a particularly unbearable summer so folks around here are excited to see the summer sun secede to the brisk feel of fall. This got me thinking. What is the most creative season to be a graphic designer? This is of course a matter of opinion among designers. For me, it’s obviously fall. The colors are inspiring and the drop in temperatures make it more possible to enjoy the weather and draw inspiration from it. Nature is a fantastic source of inspiration for designers. Taking a moment to get away from the computer and enjoying a popular hobby of creatives, like going on a walk or bike ride, is a great way to recharge your creative juices. For me, the falling red and orange leaves during the autumn season make it the best time to draw inspiration from nature. It also probably doesn’t hurt that I love Halloween.

Your turn!

What season do you find yourself the most creative? Whether you enjoy the muted color palette of winter, or the freshness of spring I believe that every designer has a season where they find themselves the most creative.

Losing Big Freelance Graphic Design Clients

I recently wrote about not putting all your freelance eggs in one basket as well as working a part-time job while freelancing, and now I feel like it’s time to for me to come clean. Don’t worry, I’m not on lamb and there’s not warrant out for my arrest, but I am guilty of putting all of my freelance eggs in one basket. Michelle Goodman wrote in her fantastic book, My So Called Freelance Life, about how it is dangerous relying on one big client for all of your work and income, because there will come a day when that client will fold, disappear or not need your services anymore. This happened to me a week ago, and in my defense, I knew it was coming. I saw the signs. This particular client had a few freelance writers and photographers (one of them being me) on staff working and had recently started cutting the creative staff due to monetary reasons. My safety was clearly in jeopardy, but I soldiered on hoping for the best because I liked the work I was doing, it was steady and allowed me to work with other smaller clients without putting me in the poor house. Bad thing was this client had a lot they wanted done and took up a lot of my time, even though I was able to set my own hours. This gig had more or less turned into a demanding part-time job. While I’ve been freelancing for a little over a year, I’ve had various clients come and go, but this client had consistently stuck around and had continually fed me work. As I said before, I knew this gig would probably be coming to an end soon so I’d been busting my butt marketing my services and had started focusing more on networking. When the axe dropped last week, I wasn’t terribly surprised, but I was still a little bummed.

Conclusion

If most of your work is coming from one main client, this will probably happen to you at some point in your freelancing career. Clients like this are great to help you get your freelancing legs but nothing is ever definite in the freelance world, always be looking for new clients and maintaining healthy client relationships. Now that I’m no longer with the aforementioned client, I’ve managed to pull in two new clients and two potential clients over the past week. I’m also marketing myself more actively and feel much more productive and creative. I’m not discounting my professional relationship with this company, but maybe it was the right time to start taking larger strides to better my freelancing graphic design business.

This has happened to the best of us, but never fear, there are always more client fish in the sea. Continue to market yourself, maintain a positive client relationship with the lost client (you never know if they’ll want to use your services again, maybe just not on such an exclusive basis) and keep your chin up. For me, I think this was the kick in the pants I needed to really get myself out there and start promoting my business like crazy. I’m looking at the situation from a positive perspective, and I’m hopefully for the future.

The Hobbies of Creatives

We graphic designers, web developers, writers and other creatives can’t work all the time (contrary to popular belief). Whether we work in a cubicle of in our home office, sometimes we need a break. Hobbies create an escape from our day to day work activities and allow us to recharge our creative minds. I recently asked what hobbies creatives enjoy, and I received a few interesting answers!

PixieGirl Designs enjoys yoga and says, “I recently started doing yoga to bring a little balance to my life. I love reading and watching movies! Also love to cook!” I agree with PixieGirl that yoga is a great way to bring balance back into our lives. Graphic designers (and other creatives) are often immersed in their careers 24/7, especially if they freelance on the side or full-time. I love my work and talking shop but doing an activity not design related, like yoga or cooking is a perfect way to center yourself and create a healthy work-life balance.

Michelle Kunk (@jetetaquine) likes to craft in her spare time and says half jokingly, “I hot glue fridge magnets to beer caps!” While Michelle is not a creative professional, she has always enjoyed being creative in her spare time and her unique crafting hobby show this. I know Michelle personally, and I have seen the fruits of her beer caps crafting labor. I’ve often helped her collect the materials for this project.

Personally, I love to play guitar in my free time. This activity gets me away from my computer and helps to clear my mind when it is cluttered with my to-do list and work related activities for the day. It also helps me to stay creative. When I take a break from working to noodle on my guitar, I find that I’m 10 times more productive when I begin working again or revisit a project I may had been struggling with before I took a guitar break.

Conclusion

I find it interesting that PixieGirl Design and I enjoy hobbies that take us away from out creative careers and elements, and Michelle, who is not a creative professional, loves to immerse herself into a creative activity by crafting. No matter what hobby you enjoy, it is important to make time for yourself away from your work. This will help your creative mind stay fresh and will help keep you sane.

Missing Missy: A Graphic Designers Responsibility

Graphic designers are often thought of a resilient hard working individuals that at the drop of a hat can switch gears and work on multiple projects at one time. For the most part this is true, and we are happy to accommodate our clients needs, unless the project is completely ridiculous. A good friend, also in a creative field, forwarded me this e-mail exchange between a graphic designer and his coworker regarding a poor lost cat. Clearly this would take first priority over all other work related projects. I dare you to hold back the tears while reading about the tragic tale of Missing Missy.

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.

From:David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news.
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster
yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
I never said I don’t like cats. Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster
yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww
Dear Shannon,
I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww
Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says “I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?” you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww
Fine. That will have to do.

Is Working a Part-Time Job While Freelancing Worth It?

Going straight from the cubicle to freelancing with no clients and no income is scary. It’s always best to have a decent sized client base and savings when making the switch but with increasing layoffs that seem to always plague people in the creative industry (especially over the past few years) having the luxury of building a sizable client base isn’t always an option. If running back to the cubicle just isn’t an option for you, there are ways to make freelancing work if you’re a fish fresh out of the corporate water. One of the most obvious is starting a freelance business and getting a part-time job to pay the bills while you find your freelancing legs. I’ve been working with a client over a year that more or less started out as a nice work at home gig for me to make extra money while I was at my full-time job. I was doing photo editing, blogging and some graphic design work. Eventually I was making more at this gig and quit my full-time job to pursue my freelance career. I’m still working with this client and I feel as though this gig has evolved into more of an ongoing project based job that gets me through the rough times. I’m able to set my own hours and work as much as I want, when I want. If you’re able to find something like this, great! A part-time job that allows you to work at home is ideal when building your freelance business, but not always an option. Considering establishing a relationship with a temp agency, creative or otherwise, is always a good idea in a pinch. Many freelancers rely on temp agencies to get them through the tough times and working at various businesses is a great opportunity to generate business for yourself! If getting a retail or food service job at a local shop or restaurant is more your speed, this is also a great way to generate extra income and meet potential clients. Who knows, one of your new coworkers might know someone looking to have a website or brochure designed. Always take advantage of unique networking opportunities that will help your business grow.

There are of course cons to working a part-time job while building a freelance business. It’s difficult to be accessible while at work and missing client calls and not being responsive to client e-mails is a slippery slope. Clients often times think freelancers are chained to their desks at all hours of the day and won’t accept missed calls or late replies to e-mails. Missing deadlines is why many freelancers fail. Missing an important deadline set by a client can result in losing that client and all of the referrals you might have received if the project had been completed on time. Being able to balance the work of your part-time job and freelance projects is imperative.

Conclusion

A part-time job is a great way to help get your freelancing career off the ground by offering an income while you get your business going. However, meeting deadlines and being accessible to clients is important and finding a balance between your part-time work and freelance work is a must. Perseverance and passion is what it takes to run a freelance business and if getting a part-time job is a viable option to get your business of the ground, go for it.

Blogging and Finding Your Voice

Being a young graphic designer, it’s easy to compare yourself to the titans of design. We do it consciously and unconsciously and if you have a blog, I’m sure getting hung up on how many readers you have compared to the big guys can really get you down. This is just a quick post to say, blog for yourself. Make it personal. If you want to attract more clients through a blog (who doesn’t?) keep that in mind but never try to copy or imitate those big design blogs out there. You know the ones. They’re awesome, but there are enough out there to sustain the design community. I’m more interested in genuine thoughts and original posts rather than a round up for 500 unimpressive Photoshop Brushes. These blogs didn’t spring up over night and it took a lot of time, effort and resources to get them to the top of Google. The large design blogs have a number of contributors writing for them, and if that’s something you’re interested in creating, go for it. Just realize that that kind of online presence takes awhile to cultivate.

The blogs I really enjoy the most are ones where I can really hear the voice of the person talking to me through their blog. I like a blog a entry to feel like a conversation. If it’s too technical or uptight, I move on, and I bet you do too.

Designing for Family and Friends

Our family and friends are a source of support, love, and when you’re first starting out on your freelancing journey, our first clients. Family and friends are naturally the first people we look for work because we already have an established relationship with them and there’s a level of trust that already exists, or so we think.

Family members, in particular, can be challenging to work with even before the design process begins. Here’s a scenario outlining 4 issues that might arise with working with your family and friends:

Price

Your Uncle Bob needs a website for his lawn care business. It’s going to be a pretty extensive e-commerce website where clients can come and schedule lawn care appointments and pay for said appointments all within a few clicks. A shopping cart will be required as well as video integration. This project could easily be priced in the thousands, you relay this information to your uncle in the form of a formal estimate via e-mail. You’re professional and mean business and you want your Uncle Bob to know this, after all, he’s a business owner too! Uncle Bob’s not having it. You’re estimate is far to high and since he’s family he feels he’s entitled to a discount. Uncle Bob drives a Mercedes, he’s got more lawn care equipment than a Home Depot and his home, where you’ve enjoyed so many family holiday get-togethers, is bigger than your whole apartment building. Long story short, Uncle Bob’s got the dough to fund this website project no matter what you charge. Unfortunately when you’re backed into a corner regarding bringing down your rates by a family member it’s much harder to stick to your guns and justify why you’re charging what you’re charging, and much easier to cave. You end up caving and bring down your cost, and halfheartedly start the project on a sour note…and without a contract.

Revisions

Uncle Bob has signed off on the wireframes, you’ve designed the Photoshop mockup and sent off the proof to him. Uncle Bob loves it but wants a few small changes. You complete these, send it back, he wants more revisions. You complete these once again, and of course he wants more changes but this time he wants major design changes done. You’re contract, which you waived for good old Uncle Bob, clearly states after 2 rounds of changes your hourly rate of X will be charged. You explain this to Uncle Bob, but of course he doesn’t want to pay extra and since he didn’t sign your contact, he’s not obligated to. Here begins the endless cycle of changes and the down fall of your mental health.

Payment

After months of developing the site and waiting on Uncle Bob hand and foot, the site is launched and it’s time to collect your well deserved payment. You invoice Uncle Bob, giving him a solid 30 days to pay you for your design. Day 31 rolls around and you’re Paypal account is empty. In your contract, it states that a fee will be charged to all late payments beyond 30 days of when the invoice was sent. Again, since you didn’t have Uncle Bob sign a contract, he’s not obligated to pay this fee. You inform Uncle Bob that you’re still awaiting payment, and he assures you the checks in the mail. Three months later you finally get handed a check at a family reunion.

Conclusion

The fictitious scenario I described above is an extremely negative case of working with a family member. I’ve been lucky enough to have positive experiences working with friends and family, but the potential for disaster in these cases are high. I’ve heard horror stories of people working with family that resulted in a huge dispute over the design work, severing the relationship. Treating a family member like any other client is difficult, but usually the best course of action. Stick to your guns regarding your rates and if you do discount your rates for a family member, make sure to include a note in the estimate or invoice letting them know that they’re getting a significant discount and that next time you’ll be charging full price. Have them sign something, whether it be your contract or an edited down version highlighting only the most important points.

Never hesitate to working with you family and friends, but know the risks involved! If the process goes south, there will be many cold shoulders and icy glares at your next family get-together.

Why Logo Design Contests Don’t Work

When I see the words “logo design contest” I literally cringe. Logo design contests are a great way for students and those designers new to the field of graphic design to build up a portfolio, but in the grand scheme of things, these contests ultimately devalue our industry even more than it already is. The idea of a logo contest looks like a win win in the eyes of a client. What’s wrong with keeping ones options open and having the pick of the litter when in the market for a logo? What’s wrong with this thinking is that most professional graphic designers may have participated in design contests of this nature in the past, but are sensible enough now to see that these contests rarely work out in favor of the designer or the client. Since seasoned, professional designers don’t participate in these contests, the client is not getting the best design possible. Clients inevitably pay for a bad design and will probably seek the services of a professional graphic designer to redesign the contest logo.

Logo design process is taken way too lightly. A logo is the face of a company and should not be designed in 5 minutes in the hopes of “winning” a $100. Logos take time to cultivate and grow into the vision a client has. Why not pay a qualified graphic designer x amount of dollars to create 2 or 3 solid logo concepts to choose from, rather than 30 mediocre designs, not one of which the client will even end up using but still end up having to shell out a chunk of money for? The logic of these contests is what I have a real issue with. There’s no room to revise and craft a logo into a design the client (and designer) will be happy with.

In Conclusion

Logo design contests aren’t going anywhere soon because there are always going to be graphic designers willing to participate in them. As a graphic designer who is very much opposed to these contests, I feel like it’s my duty to speak out against them because they are never in the best interest of the designer or client. I’ve received requests from (what I thought) were legit clients looking for one designer for the job, asking me to participate in these contests. I generally just decline the offer, thanking them for their time, but recently I’ve been e-mailing these clients back trying to make a solid case against these contests. I urge you to do the same when faced with the option of participating in a logo design contest. Logo design contests fall into the same realm as spec work, and that’s just unfair to you and your clients. I encourage graphic designers to find clients that will hire them based on their portfolio, not how cheaply and quickly they can churn out an inferior design that they might be paid for.

Is Freelancing A Dirty Word?

When first striking out on your own as an independent contractor, probably the first word you use to describe yourself is freelancer. This is still how I refer to myself but I am aware that some independent designers believe that identifying yourself as a freelancer can negatively impact your business. Whether you call yourself an independent contractor, small business owner or freelancer, we all pretty much do the same thing in a general sense which is running our own business. However the word ‘freelance’ can inspire negative thoughts in the minds of our loved ones and unfortunately in the minds of the apprehensive potential client.

In my experience, here are the misconceptions (by family, fiends and clients) of calling yourself a freelance graphic designer.

The Misconceptions:

•  Freelancers don’t pay attention to personal hygiene (I shower at least once a day).

•  Freelancers work in their underwear (I personally have never done this).

•  Freelancers only work 2 hours a day and watch tv the rest of the time (I recently canceled my cable because I haven’t watched it in weeks).

•  Freelancers are just unemployed creative types too lazy to get a real job.

•  Freelancers are snooty (aka won’t create a logo for $50 or better yet, for free).

•  Freelancers are always free for lunch, impromptu meetings or mid afternoon gossip sessions (many, if not most freelancers try to maintain “regular” business hours)

•  Freelance designers can churn out a design within a moments notice (cramming in a new project at the last minute isn’t an option for many freelancers with a full work load).

•  Freelancers are obligated to design for free for family members (been there, done that).

The Reality:

While some of these freelancing misconceptions might be true, a vast majority of freelancers are very professional individuals who run their businesses in the same way that a large agency might. Customer service, hard work and bathing are the foundations of a successful freelance graphic design business (bathing might be negotiable). In order to survive as freelancers, we have to be more skilled at running a business as opposed to a large agency because freelancers are in charge of everything regarding their business. I doubt a web developer at the top ad agency down the street has to write code in addition to invoicing clients, generating leads and accounting all while working on his or her assigned projects.

In Conclusion:

I write this post with a hint of sarcasm because there are misconceptions about every job. Keeping these misconceptions at bay and informing our family, friends and potential clients about our practices is vital to our success as freelancers and our state of mind. We’re a professional, talented bunch and we should be treated as such and the only way for this to happen is to inform friends, family and clients about our work practices (in a nice, cheery way of course) no matter if you call yourself an independent contractor, small business owner or freelancer.

Taking Advantage of Unique Networking Opportunities

Networking is an affective way for freelancers to drum up quality leads and snag new clients, but what events and situations facilitate networking? Any and all events you attend of course! Industry events, local non-profit groups, your local chamber of commerce and events you yourself find interesting. I recently began attending events held by my local chapter of Girls Pint Out, a group for women passionate about informing and enjoying craft beer. I’m a woman, I like beer, and really love good beer so this group was an obvious fit for me and my friends. I joined the group initially because I had a general interest in what Girls Pint Out was about and many of the events they put on are free (major bonus!), but not with the intention of using this as a networking opportunity.

Since attending a handful of GPO events, Tamre Mullins (the founder of GPO) and I have chatted briefly about some graphic design work she would like to have done for Girls Pint Out. It’s always nice to meld your personal interests with your work, these opportunities create the best graphic design. Working on a project that is honestly interesting to a designer is always the best possible scenario. Taking part in events and joining you are interested in and inspired by is a step in the right direction to work on graphic design projects you will truly enjoy.

In Conclusion:

There’s a stereotype that all freelancers work in the dark corners of their offices and rarely venture outside their homes to mingle with society. For the most part, this is untrue. We creative types are a social bunch, we like to go out and see what’s happening in our community and if that means integrating our interests with our business then that is a huge bonus. Seek out these opportunities, get out, have fun and network!

For more information on Girls Pint Out (groups in Indianapolis and Arizona) visit their website at: http://girlspintout.wordpress.com/