Archive for January, 2010
Stop Whoring Yourself
Jan 28th
It’s tough out there! I know that. But the design community has recently been cannibalizing itself. We set the fair market price for design work, and we are somewhat responsible for “lowering” the standards for design.
There are a number of websites out there that have cause the design community to force us to become sharks. Websites like 99designs and elance make a mockery of good design.
If you’re not familiar with 99designs here is how it works. A client posts a project on the website. The client posts the needs for the project as well as their budget. Designers are able to posts their designs on the site, and the client chooses which logo or design they like best. The winning designer gets the money, and the rest don’t. More >
Tennessee News Bandit
Jan 28th
This client is not only bad for your business but bad for your emotional well being.
I will not name names or the business, but simply say it is a woman who runs a newspaper in East Tennessee, a very small paper in a town of misfits and criminals. I lived in Knoxville, so she could not find anyone in her town to do the work, she drove 40 miles to Knoxville and placed an ad in the Metropulse magazine to find her victims.
My Own Worst Enemy
Jan 26th
aaaarrrrrgggghhh.
Where to begin? My absolute hands down worst of all time client was a woman who wanted a complete identity system for her new company, a consultancy. I had known her for a long time, so I didn’t think a formal contract was needed, and felt that since we had known each other, communication would be a snap. More >
Are Internships Really Worth It? Well, It Depends.
Jan 21st
Internships used to mean that a student would work alongside a seasoned senior design professional or an art director in a design studio or advertising agency for a proscribed period of time. The intern would learn the ropes from someone who understood the demands of the real world. This was (and still is) an extremely valuable experience for both the intern as well as for the Art Director. In the good old days, this used to be called an “apprenticeship.” What better way is there to learn that which can’t be taught in a school environment. It’s also a great way to see if someone is a good fit for an organization. In some cases, I consider internships to be the equivalent of another year of school. Three months at MTV can go a long way! More >
Working with Musicians
Jan 21st
I consider myself very artistic. I have a very creative/imaginative mind that allows me to look at things from multiple perspectives. I’m a good photographer, a good painter, and I dabble in a couple of other areas of art. But nowhere is my creative talents is any semblance to musical ability. In fact, in college, my roommate was a guitar teacher, and he told me to just give it up. More >
Design: Giving Back
Jan 20th
I was wanting to write a post about this at some point, and I figured now was a great time. I was surfing the internet tonight, and came across a post on Reddit.com about a guy that had a photo of his dad right before he passed away.
Establish a Professional Manner from the beginning
Jan 19th
There is no question that clients can be quite a challenge and managing them is as much a part of being a designer as coming up with a great concept. If there is a client that wants something “yesterday” a big red flag should go off in your head. My advice is to smile and say, “I’d love to work with you, but before I do anything, we need to have a strategy meeting. After the strategy meeting, I’ll work up a quote for you and we can talk about your concerns.”
Yo-Yo-Yoga
Jan 19th
I’ve been a designer for a few years now, and have dealt with a fair share of crazy people. I got involved with a friend’s Yoga Studio. I did get paid to do some work, and then those willing people left the “co-op” yoga studio ownership program. So I worked out a deal with the remaining members including my original friend, that I would build them a website in exchange for my personal studio time. So I built a website. It looked really nice, just needed some input from the co-op on final touches/verbage. etc. Well after several attempts at getting the information, I gave up. They were going to have to stay with what they had. I had to move on. The group was too disorganized. At one point I tried to show my friend how to built and maintain the website, how to make changes, FTP etc. He himself was wanting to become a designer and taking on projects with clients. More >
“MAD”gazine
Jan 19th
I just graduated design school and I was looking for work. A guy posted an ad on craigslist saying he’s starting a new magazine and he needs a designer. I sent him a replay and he called me in for an interview. He told me he would pay me $10 per page I design. I was thinking that’s a little low but I needed money and the experience so I agreed to it. He promised he’s going to pay me the full amount once the magazine is finished. He would call me at least 10 times a day wanting designs. He would talk to someone about advertising their business in his magazine and tell them he would have their ad right away. Then calling me and wanting me to design it right there on the spot as he was waiting. After two months of this passed by I finally finished designing the whole magazine. He wrote me a check for $1000. I deposited it. The next day the bank told me the check bounced. This guy ran out of business, never had the magazine published and now works as a car salesman. He paid me $200 cash and told me he’s going to pay me back everything he owes me. Never did heard back from him. The worst client ever!
LESSON LEARNED
You have the option to take on project or not. It’s better to pass on a bad project, even if you need the money. A bad project can hurt other work. It will eat up your time, keep you up at night, and just bring you down altogether.
My advice is if you think something isn’t worth the time, it’s not.
The Con-Man!
Jan 18th
On 8/8/07 we received a tip from a company we trade work with. They told me that they had an investment company contact them about a website that they weren’t going to be able to do quickly enough. I said I could handle the project. I contact the guy, who told me his name was Mark Bell, and his company was Apple Capital Inc. Mr. Bell told me that they would buy foreclosed houses and turn around and sell them. The money that was made there would go into electric gambling machines. He said that he needed the website up on Friday. I told him, not possible, and Monday would be the soonest. We had him sign a contract, and we began working on the site. On Monday, the site was active, and everything seemed normal.
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