Just Creative Design

An Ink Spot of One’s Own

In this guest article Kristine Sheehan* talks us through her experiences of setting up and running an online based business with some tips on the way.

Taking on an entrepreneurial spirit and making an online design business a reality is a challenge to say the least. With so many design professionals out there, competition is paramount. But once you choose to forge ahead and create an ‘ink spot’ of your own it is not as difficult as it first appears. Here are some tips that I learned while starting my business, ‘The Merry Bird…pen, ink and design’.

Get out there

Utilising the web was the first step at bringing my online business to fruition. Blogging, building a website, and most importantly, offering customised ink works was how I really got my business going.

Become an expert in the field

Read, read and read some more… keep up to date on what’s going on in the technical arena as well as industry trends. Socialise with other businesses and swap idea’s. Borrow and buy books. Attend local work shops and shows. Read Just Creative Design.

Fly around the world wide web

Regular social networking is easy and fun to do. I fly into social networks such as Myspace, LinkedIn, Ryze, and other online venues to gain exposure for my business. It is here that networking with entrepreneurs and others got the word out about The Merry Bird.

Find your target market

Customers are everywhere, but the ones that are drawn to The Merry Bird are those that like something “real”, nostalgic or customised - ie. Mothers to be, Brides, and women between the ages of 25-50. Finding a target market is crucial to the success of your business and after you find out your target market you should find out their needs.

Ask for referrals…

Once business is in flight, I always ask my clients to give referrals. This definitely opens up opportunities to gain new clients and get more business.

The Merry Bird…pen, ink and design has been an online business for two years and I can officially say I have an ink spot of my own! How about you?

*Kristine lives in Connecticut, married with two children and has Studied Art History, Studio Photography and Graphics in the late 80’s and early 90’s. She is bringing her studies of art back into her life full time with The Merry Bird, after it being on hold for a few years.

A Passion For Paper

In this guest article, Alex Charchar from RetinArt discusses the benefits and his true passion of paper. It is a very well written article providing many reasons to make you stop and think next time you start a design. If you don’t have time now, print it out for the weekend or the ride home… I guarantee after reading this you will see a new light on paper and design.

The idea of paper facing it’s demise is one of the dumbest ever. As is the idea of digital ink being used as a substitute for the real thing and the magazine, novel and all other published matters becoming objects of the past, pushed aside to make room for their digital counter-parts.

Why? Because paper is perfect. Paper has a feel, a smell, a look and a vibe that cannot be reproduced, no matter how many pixels you cram into a display. It has attributes that cannot be bestowed upon any other medium. It is something that enriches our lives and minds in ways most of us don’t even realise or notice. Paper is beautiful.

Paper can be Warm & Soft

Paper can be warm. Paper can be cold. If the paper you choose is of good quality and you make it work for your project, it can help set a mood and feeling in your audience before a single word is read or a fraction of an image absorbed. A good example of a high quality publication using paper in a beautiful way is Dumbo Feather, Pass It On. If you have the chance to, it is well worth picking it up as it shows how warm paper can be. It is a beautiful little publication that has developed a loving following, which I’m sure is helped by the feel of the magazine as you make your way through the pages. The beauty of Dumbo Feather begins the second you hold it in your hands. The heavy, soft, recycled stock of the front cover makes you feel comfortable. It helps set the mood for the rest of the document—you just know that what you’re about to digest was crafted by love, with the audience firmly in mind. The stock that makes the pages is also a recycled one – a beautiful uncoated paper, with soy inks used to help round off the mood. It feels like a warm blanket for the stories it tells, like a gentle embrace. It just feels good, feel right.

Paper can be Cold & Sharp

Just as strong is the power paper can have when it’s cold and sharp. This is what should be avoided if you care about your content. Think of the trashy gossip mags the plague the shelves of newsagents and supermarkets. The cold, glossy, thin stock is like the popular group in high school. On the surface it’s awfully pretty and gets attention easily, but spend more than five minutes near this overly superficial gang and you want to blow your brains out. There is no substance to be found and you feel kind of dirty if you hang around it too much. There are of course beautiful glossy papers, mostly semi-gloss stocks with a slight weight to them. These feel like the kind of papers that are that soft mix of good looks and intelligence that are often used by publications, in which a high density and depth of colour is needed, such as art publications and, back to them, those gossip magazines that need to be saturated with colour in order to be noticed.

Paper Is Perfect

Paper is, above all, one of the closest-to-perfect surfaces on which to place your design. As graphic designers, we still look at the design of posters and magazines from 30, 40, 50 years ago in awe as their beauty and elegance bounce off the page. Paper is afforded this quality by not being a platform that is engaged in a constant evolution like that of computers, televisions and all other multimedia platforms. Of course, this is probably exactly why a lot of multimedia designers love their digital mediums – they can make things move and dance. Plus, there is always something new around the corner to wow us.

Digital Lack of Control

But for me, it’s the quietness of paper in its self that makes it special. It lets your words and your images live. It gives them a home, a couch upon which to sit, rather than a cage which is forever changing shape to be jailed within. A cage of glass, metal and plastic that it cannot escape. Digitally housed design is almost never going to work the same for the entire audience. Different monitors sizes, resolutions, internet connections, home-theater setups insure that the design process is a little more complicated when the whole audience is considered thoroughly. It is harder to give this entire audience the same experience—to view the content the same. Unless you’ve got the biggest screen in town, there is always someone experiencing what you are looking at better, which isn’t the way creative outputs should be experienced. It is the creator, the designer, who should be in control of how their work is seen, so the audience can give it it’s own life, instead of worrying about having the biggest monitor or loudest sound system. You shouldn’t have to do everything you can to squeeze the quality out of the work, especially with gadgets you have to fork out large sums of money for. With paper, we’re all on a level playing field.

The Difference of Paper

Print a magazine, it is always seen the same. Typeset a book, it’ll always be read the same. Read, study or flick through a publication in your favorite chair, on the toilet, on the train, at your desk, at the gym or at the library and, yup, you guessed it, it’ll be the same. This is an amazing insurance when you’re a designer. It means you know exactly how your work will be seen and you can control the way it is absorbed and processed by the audience to a much higher degree. Just because you can browse the internet on your iPhone doesn’t mean it’s going to be as enjoyable as reading the paper. Think about your audience and how they read. It is an awfully satisfying thing to crack the glue that binds a hardcover book or to crease the spine on a softcover novel. To get to the end of the newspaper and have it split by several cross-hatching folds. Paper remembers what it has been through, it leaves tracks that almost make you proud to see on your bookshelf, desk or bed-side table, rather than having hit up the same site on the 13th, 14th, 19th, 21st and 28th of March, as your internet history will tell you.

What you put on a page, stays on a page

An argument against our precious paper is that the elements that you put on a page, stay on a page. They don’t move, they don’t animate and they don’t make sounds—they aren’t interactive. Well yeah, of course that’s true. But most of the time, we turn off the audio and block the ads. And TV? The television does all our thinking for us. A good book that gets us to think is far more valuable to our minds than a box emitting light and sounds that tell us how to think, when to laugh, when to cry. Paper doesn’t need a source of power to do what it does. Once the pigments hit the fibers it is complete. Nothing more needs to be done. No power cables, no recharging, no monitors or keyboards. All you need is a little light and you got yourself all you need to enjoy your experience. And really, who says paper isn’t interactive? You pick it up, move it, fold it, smell it and, if something worth while is printed on it, it moves your mind around.

Remember

I do hope that you understand I’m being a little over the top here. Of course paper isn’t the be all and end all of delivering information and design. This is why radio, TV, the computer and the internet are what they are. They do things that could never be possible with paper. They give us continuously updated content at break-neck speeds, which is an even bigger step forward in our culture than that which Gutenberg gave us. But sometimes it’s nice to go a little slower. To spend a few hours here and there, enjoying the printed word over a couple of days, weeks or months. We can take our time with paper. If it’s on paper, it means someone thought it was worth designing, printing and shipping, which means it just might be worth looking at, might be worth spending a bit of time with. Not always, not even most of the time, but a nice portion of what is printed and designed with care, that ends up on paper, is something special in its own right. Remember that the next time you commit something to paper that it should be worth reading, worth taking note of and worth keeping. Otherwise you’re just creating more junk. Pick the right stock and don’t just use what your printer has in bulk. Pick something special. Something welcoming. Something perfect. Don’t cover it in inks, varnishes and cellos. Just pick a paper that already sings the tune you’re after and let those special inks be a rose in the pocket and nothing more.

How To Spot and Work with Graphic Engineers

In this truly EXCELLENT guest article Prescott Perez-Fox* goes through the inner workings of the obsessive creative designer and shows how to effectively spot and get the most out of one. A extraordinary and must read article - trust me.

It is an unfortunate truth that in our society, engineers are underrated. Compared to the scientists, architects, and politicians they work with, the engineers remain relatively unknown and are just those behind-the-scenes ‘elves’ who hold the ship together.

Are engineers disrespected, under-appreciated, overworked? Is their role in society valued and rewarded? This debate is ancient, and it comes back into the light whenever something big goes terribly wrong. NASA scientists landed men on the moon, NASA engineers mixed up feet and meters resulting in the loss of an expensive satellite. You see my point.

What is A Graphic Engineer?

The design profession has it’s engineers too, and they are just as underrated as their sciencey counterparts. Their arena isn’t space tech or tall buildings, but rather packaging die lines and website code. I’m not talking solely about the production people, proofreaders, mechanical artists, programmers, etc., but rather those individuals who dedicate themselves to becoming Graphic Engineers. The Graphic Engineer (GE) is not identified by his job title or his skill with software, but rathey by his mindset, his personality, and his work habits. He is someone who views the world differently and approaches every problem from a slightly steeper angle of incident.

The GE is a valuable member of any successful design team, and a good engineer can make everyone’s job easier, but they’re not always easy to manage or to work with. Here’s how you might identify, and then accomodate your GE, to get the most out of him, and your team overall.

How to spot a Graphic Engineer

The Graphic Engineer:

Is obsessed with Details.

Not just the obligatory ‘detail-oriented’ that every job description in the world includes, these people go above and beyond what most folks would consider ‘a closer look’. Spotting a misused Em Dash from 30 meters is just the beginning. Editor: One of the 15 signs you’re a bad graphic designer.

Values the methodology, sometimes over the results or the time frame.

Embodying the philosophy that “anything worth doing is worth doing right,” the GE will go out of his way to ensure that any process is done to the letter, including documentation and feedback, which often go overlooked. He’s the one most likely to create immaculate CSS style sheets, even if it’s just for an internal login page. Table styles in InDesign, layer comps in Photoshop? Most likely put together by a GE. Best practices, after all.

Never accepts good enough.

Along with his obsessive nature, the GE has an overdeveloped sense of duty, and never leaves a job unfinished. For that matter, he re-defines the word ‘finished’, and will take those extra precautions to ensure quality. After all, it’s his butt on the line when something goes wrong. Just like NASA.

Lives in a world that always needs fixing.

Rather than simply striving to make the world more enjoyable or more beautiful, the GE strives to solve problems, correct errors, and iron out all manner of wrinkles in the day-to-day of our profession. It’s a very blue collar approach to graphics but show me where the leak is.

How to get the most from your Graphic Engineer

Now that you’ve identified your groups GE (raise your hand if it’s you! - Editor: You got me spot on!) , you have to understand a few things about how he works. Because GEs are unlike regular employees, a bit of tact is required to get the most out of your engineer.

Give him space.

This is both physical and metaphorical. Clearly, all GEs work better with a larger desk, larger monitor, more sunlight and square footage, and an ergonomic chair, but at the same time, I’ve never met a GE who worked better with bosses hovering and peering over his shoulder. In fact, that’s probably the easiest way to get shoddy work when you need it most. (Editor: Amen)

Ask his opinion.

Personalities aside, GEs always have opinions. And those opinions are often based on independent research, industry knowledge, trial-and-error, prior experience, and good old fashioned gut instincts. In other words, those opinions are valuable and ignoring them simply isn’t smart. GEs want to improve their general situation (they live to fix leaks, remember?), so their advice is usually constructive. Also, ignoring those opinions can lead to bitterness, depleted productivity, and the wording of those same precious opinions and ideas.

Let him rant.

Since engineers are often under tremendous pressure, they may need to let off some steam. (pardon the metaphors) So let them. Do whatever you can to get the most out of your GEs, even if that means shaking things up in your studio. Ranting often brings to light feelings and thoughts shared by many members of the team but why not let your hardest thinker explain why the current situation has gone pear-shaped.

Learn from him.

The engineer is naturally a teacher. By providing knowledge, he helps elevate everyone around him and thus feels less aliented. Also, this makes his job easier because the rest of the crew is meeting him half way (or at least part way). Considering GEs are often well versed on the latest trends, languages, software techniques, and professional happenings, you might actually learn something when he pulls out the “well, actually” during a meeting.

If you’ve never spared a thought for the Graphic Engineer, now’s the time. Next you need him to tidy up a messy style sheet, extend a poorly cropped photo, or a revive hand-me-down Mac, show a bit of appreciation and understanding. Graphic Engineers are the glue that hold together the gears of the creative industry. Imagine your life without them.

*Prescott Perez-Fox is a brand developer and designer in New York City. He blogs about design and branding at his site, Perez-Fox . He also happens to have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics with a concentration in Aerospace, but that’s hardly relevant.

A Guide On How Freelancers Can Compete Against Large Design Studios

In this guest article, Jeffrey Way* talks us through the problems associated with being a lone freelancer when competing against the big brick and mortar design companies. He then shows us that we can actually compete against these large design studios by providing the best customer experience possible.

Let’s face it, being a freelancer is just plain tough. In what other arena is one person responsible for answering the phones, balancing the books, paying the bills, designing the website, creating the graphics, and working with the customers throughout the entire process? Yet, despite our amazing ability to juggle all of these duties, we still face one large barrier. We don’t have that glowing brick building that somehow screams, “We are a successful company!” As a result, it can be difficult to “capture” large clients.

We Have To Beat the Big Guys

Today, freelancers are becoming more and more prevalent. Why not? It is a fantastic job. We set our own hours, we take on only the jobs that we desire, we have artistic freedom, etc. But, the biggest gripe I hear repeated time and time again is the fact that the main client pool consists of people with tiny budgets. You also may want some tips on how to get your first job.

We’ve all done the local work for far less than we would normally charge. We’ve all received the email from the guy that needs an E-Commerce website for $200.” We’ve all had the regrettable experience of taking a job against our better judgment. When our stomachs are screaming, “Don’t accept this job!”, we ignore it and must ultimately deal with the repercussions: the man with the $150 budget for business cards that expects you to work around the clock; the person who promised he would pay you only to suddenly change his mind a week later. Do you know how much the average graphic designer earns?

Quite simply, the small jobs don’t pay the bills. In order to succeed, we have to beat the big guys. Who are the big guys, you ask? I’m talking about the established design firms in those “brick buildings” that do exquisite work. But, how do you stand out when you’re the shortest guy in the room?

What can we offer that they can not?

To truly be content and financially secure as a freelancer, we must be able to grab the large clients. But bottom line, why would a financially stable company go with a freelancer when they can easily choose a more reputable firm? To answer these questions we must look at our strengths.

What can we offer that they can’t? There are a few constants. First, we most likely won’t be able to out-perform a team of designers as far as “chops” are concerned. I believe we can equal that level of quality, but won’t be able to stand out in this respect. Second, we can out-price them, but cost typically isn’t as big an issue with large corporations. So, how do we beat the design firms?

Customer Service

Think to yourself: What is my main gripe, as a consumer, with large companies? My first thought goes to my bank. I called them recently to remove an erroneous error only to be put on hold for thirty minutes. When I finally did speak with a human being, he most likely lived in another country and had little, if any, interest in my situation. They, like many large companies, have terrible customer service! We can use this to our advantage.

Nine times out of ten, a prospective client doesn’t know exactly what he wants. He doesn’t know the jargon or even how to communicate a semblance of what his company desires. This is where we can rise above the larger design firms.

Act As a Guide

It may require a bit more work, but it ultimately gets us the contract. New clients are weary about the entire process. It is foreign to them. If we act as a guide, we can take their hand from beginning to end and provide them with the comfort of knowing that someone is looking out for them every step of the way.

If they have a question, they can directly call us - no receptionists, no programmer that doesn’t know the full details, just one person. In my experience, this has been vital to my success.

I’m a firm believer that customer service is what has gotten me every single big client that I have. There will always be an individual or company that can do the job better. As much as this agitates me, I accept it. To stand out, we must focus on our unique “freelancer” strengths.

Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

What you’ll find, if you haven’t already, is that deadlines are a very real issue with corporate clients. They must have a job completed by a certain date, no questions asked. The only problem is that they very rarely have all their ducks in a row.

They have sudden changes that come from corporate which require immediate revisions. Who is going to make these changes in the middle of the night in time for that presentation Monday morning? They know that the successful Firm X designers won’t be at work until Monday morning. But, Freelancer Y is a single ring away and will be happy to fix it at midnight. Yes, I’m talking about you, fellow freelancers!

How do I personally get big clients?

How do I personally “reel” in a big fish? First, I will work on weekends when the bigger firms are closed. Second, I will give a client my personal number and tell them to call me immediately if they think that they might have a question. Third, I’ll pick up the phone on the first ring - whether that is at two in the afternoon or four in the morning. When a client knows that he can rely on you no matter what, you begin to stand out in a big way! Editors note: First ring is pretty freaky!

I will close with a portion of an email that, just a few weeks ago, secured a very large client’s business.

“I truly hope you’ll consider me. If you have not already heard from other divisions in your organization, I will be personally available to you 24/7. If you need a quick change to the site at 10:00 at night, it’ll be taken care of. If you need me to communicate with your print designer in the very early morning, it will be taken care of. Relieving you of as much stress as possible is my goal - and I always achieve it.” Please don’t hesitate to call me personally if you have any questions. I’ll hope to work with you soon.

The client called me later (without ever being put on hold, I might add) that day and said, “Let’s do it!” Was it my “web chops” that got me the job? Nah, any developer can code a site. My “customer service chops” got me the job.

*Jeffrey Way runs DetachedDesigns, and has had clients ranging from Nashville Music Publishers to Harvard University.

The Innovative One Page Resume & Portfolio

In this guest article Jacob Share* goes through an innovative new way to display your work and CV - all on one page.

Many companies and recruiters prefer the simplicity and speed of one page resumes. As a designer, how can you have maximum impact with only a single sheet of paper? The answer…

The one page printed résumé and portfolio.

The one page resume portfolio is a 6-panel pamphlet that shows your resume when folded and your design portfolio when unfolded. You can click on the image above to view it in full.

How does it work?

The above image is an example of the one page printed resume and portfolio from a French Graphic Designer. It shows 3 different views and below is a description. From left to right;

1. Front view of the resume portfolio, slightly open.
   You can see the designer’s logo and contact information. Notice the vertical bar on the right side of the inner panel, where the text reads “curriculum vitae” with a right arrow and “portfolio” with a left arrow pointing inside.
2. Partially-open view of the portfolio.
   If you followed the left arrow and continued unfolding, this is what you’d see before you’re done. The panel with the arrow bar folds outwards, meaning that there’s actually more room for portfolio highlights inside.
3. Resume details.
   Following the right arrow will have you flip over the pamphlet, leading to the actual resume content.

Is it right for you?

Cons

• Somewhat complicated design is time-consuming to update or customise
• Uneven folding looks sloppy if done incorrectly and ruins the impact
• Usually requires costly colour laser-printing on thick paper for full effect

Pros

• More space to communicate and brand yourself
• Very memorable, especially when done well
• Design pun: lets you describe your skills while demonstrating them

Best Practices

• Have a history of school, volunteering or work projects before you use this design. Substituting with content that isn’t yours but that you’re “capable of creating” defeats the purpose and looks amateurish.
• The one page resume portfolio works best live when people can hold it and unfold it, like in interviews or at professional gatherings.
• The front panel should contain your logo and contact information at a glance.
• The front panel should be particularly eye-catching to make people want to pick it up and open it.
• An attractive image that continues off one panel will encourage the reader to unfold until they can see the entire image. Above, the French designer used that effect to lure the reader to see both resume-related panels together.
• The 2 configurations that work best are the pictured 4:2 portfolio to resume panel ratio with arrow bar and the 3:3 “resume-outside portfolio-inside” ratio.
• Use the resume portfolio to complement your “full” design portfolio whether physical or digital. For the former, you might consider a sentence about what else not pictured is in your portfolio. For the latter, give all pertinent links.

Want more resume and portfolio tips?

• The Graphic Design Resume Guide
• How and Where To Get Paid Design Work For Students
• The One Page Graphic Design Portfolio Guide - Online
• Resume-Writing Dos and Don’ts
• The 7 Deadly Sins of Resume Design
• Design Resume Style Guide

Conclusion

Great design is the best combination of trade-offs for a certain context. If you use it wisely, the one page resume portfolio could be a valuable tool in your hunt for new design jobs. What are your thoughts?

*Jacob Share created the award-winning JobMob to rally job seekers and jobfinders in getting jobs in Israel and all over the world. The blog is filled with straight-talking real world advice, lots of humour and design inspiration such as 36 Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work. Subscribe for a week via RSS, it’s free.