Decline of Design – Reader feedback requested.
Mar 19th
As you may know, I’m on the job hunt. For the past year or so, I’ve been looking for a full time gig somewhere. Needless to say it’s a bit frustrating. Just the other day, I found a post for a job where they wanted someone who can design, update the website, write marketing material, photograph at events, and do the social media and SEO for their website. Oh, also, they wanted you to have a Masters….all for the low low price of $38,000 a year! Pretty disgusting.
So I ask you a question. What are some things you’ve done to beat this decline in our industry, and why is our industry particularly susceptible to this drought in the economy verses other industries?
Do you think that websites like 99 designs and other competition based websites are part of the reason for the constant “lowering of the bar” for our freelance industry? Are we cannibalizing ourselves by allowing sites like this to exist or is this just survival of the fittest? I want to know what you think.
Great Article On Swiss Style!
Feb 23rd
In college, I had a project where I had to research Josef Muller Brockman’s style, and then create a project in that style. I hadn’t ever heard of “Swiss Style” before then, but was enlightened during the process. Today, I found an absolutely amazing article on the Swiss Style’s origin, examples, and more. A great read!
We Jumped On The Band Wagon!
Feb 14th
After being pressured into doing it, I’ve started a twitter account. So you’ll now know when I eat breakfast, what I’m watching on television, or any other mundane detail of my life that doesn’t need to be shared. How’s that for a sales pitch. So follow me, and maybe I’ll return the favor.
Any tips on how to use twitter to it’s full potential would be greatly appreciated. I almost just wrote a post that said “I’m thinking about what to twitter.” I know that’s not right….oh man, I’m so lost.
Breaking Knees
Feb 14th
It’s happened to all of us at some point, we’ve done work for someone we REALLY don’t know all that well, and they disappear. So what are your options if your client won’t pay? There are a couple of things you can do to help ensure payment or partial payment. It won’t ALWAYS work, but it’s worth a shot. More >
Rule 2: Never Barter With A Used Car Salesman
Feb 13th
Now, I’ve done design work for all sorts of things, and have had some success from it. But, every once in a while, I’ll get some completely crazy person come to me and offer something with ZERO value. That’s what we have below. More >
Rule 1: Scratch Your Own Damn Back
Feb 9th
Rule 1: The First rule of Craigstlist is you don’t talk about Craigslist….oh wait, wrong list.
Rule 1: Favors…if someone is asking you to work for cheap, don’t do it. You’re setting a precedent that you are willing to do work for cheap, and it’s hard, almost impossible to get out of that pigeon hole. You wouldn’t go to a restaurant and tell the cook this. More >
How Do You Quote A Project?
Feb 4th
Over the years, I have experimented with a bunch of different quote types. I’ve done the detailed quote where I go through the entire project and outline exactly what I will do, I’ve done the super basic thing where I just hit the big things, and I’ve done the “I’ll do X for Y”. All of them seem to have their place, but I wanted to go over my 3 primary quoting techniques, and see what works for you.
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 >
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