OK, so this is my second attempt to post this review of the Creative Freelancer Conference; my first, done just after the event wrapped earlier today, ended badly when the hotel internet connection kicked me off and lost my work. Ah, technology.

Regardless, it was a terrific event, and the first of what I'm sure will be an ongoing gathering of solo creative types.

The thing that stood out today was Lee Silber's personal slideshow, which he created as a vision of his ideal life. It was made up of his own photos, found images, key words meaningful to him and a soundtrack; Lee keeps it on his iPhone and on his desktop computer as a regular reminder of what he's really working for (and toward). Lee's time-management seminar was great.

The ever-generous Jeff Fisher wound things up with an overview of his experiences and advice on running a well-balanced freelance gig, gleaned from his 30 years on his own. I like to think that Jeff was freelancing when freelancing wasn't cool.

If you are a freelancer, stay tuned to CreativeFreelancerConference.com and its companion blog, which we expect to become a community for people like you. The connections that were developed here in Chicago are too valuable to be lost, so we'll create a meeting spot online.

Graphic Design Interns
Fossil Inc.

Fossil Graphic Design Internships - at Fossil's award-winning design studio! Fossil, a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of fashion watches, apparel, leather goods and eyewear has opportunities for full-time and/or part-time graphic design internships for the fall semester in our headquarters in NE Richardson, Texas USA. You must be currently working on, or have a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts or related field. Our paid internship program will offer you hands-on experience in a fast paced, in-house environment. Our design studio of over 100+ creative people will provide you an enriched internship experience.

Posted by Megan

I love the moment at an event like the Creative Freelancers Conference, when the people in the room look around and suddenly realize they're not alone. (It happened, too, at the In-HOWse Designer Conference, when all those corporate creatives, people who often are the only right brains in the room.) You recognize that there are lots and lots of people who have the same joys and challenges that you encounter in running your business. Cool.

Today's agenda carries on the introductory lesson from last night, with a whole notebook full of nuts-and-bolts strategies and tactics on client relationships and marketing. Following the eagerly attended breakfast roundtable discussions this morning, Joan Gladstone kicked off with a conversation about how to make clients love you. She started by talking about why clients leave (they're frustrated by a lack of follow-through, communication, enthusiasm or chemistry with their creative-service firm). And then she offered 12 tips on keeping that flame burning brightly. Some of it sounds simple enough (i.e., under-promise and over-deliver). But when you think about what those old rules mean (i.e., don't agree, out of desperation or eagerness, to deadlines you can't meet), you realize how NOT simple it is.

This morning's second session featured Colleen Wainright (my new idol) and Ilise Benun talking about how to build a marketing machine. They boiled this nebulous and intimidating concept (marketing) down to five must-have tools: a marketing-savvy website, e-mail marketing, networking, research calls (we don't call them cold calls anymore) and printed materials. They gave everyone a homework assignment: Come up with your 10-word blurb. Fill in the blanks:

I work with ___________ and I help them ___________ .

The key is starting this phrase with the market or group you're targeting. As the speakers noted, marketing is all about your prospects, not about you.

More later ...

Senior Design Manager, Flickr
Yahoo! Inc.

Flickr revolutionized photo-sharing with its launch in 2004. Today, it is the largest and fastest growing photo sharing community in the world. Our vision is to be the eyes of the world (blog link) and we are looking for an individual who can share and drive forward our goal by helping the team execute, execute, and execute.

Specifically, we are looking for someone who can help beat out a rhythm so that some of the most talented people in the world can not only work together in harmony, but actually find resonance to achieve world changing results.

If you have a serious addiction to getting things done and you love working with brilliant, interesting, loving, crazy people, we want to talk to you.

Posted by Megan

During the opening Creative Freelancer Conference session on Wednesday afternoon, I noted that when Peleg Top, Ilise Benun, HOW conference director Sara Dumford and I met one year ago to discuss an event for freelancers, we thought we were on to something.

Yesterday, I KNEW we were on to something. The 225+ people in the room were so eager for information, so energized by making connections, so encouraged that they aren't alone in their business joys and challenges. It's a great group.

Our conference co-hosts started off with a session that spotlighted the myths and realities of being a successful (emphasis on that) solopreneur. They went through 8 essential elements of a freelance business, from client relationships to business policies to work/life balance, and offered one key takeaway for each. The session was essentially a preview of the marketing, pricing, client relationship and time-management sessions to come.

Then, Dyana Valentine led a terrific workshop about creative collaboration. Collaboration? At a conference for freelancers? Of course: You may not have office-mates, but you certainly have collaborative efforts, with vendors, clients -- and, most important (as this conference is hammering home) with the myriad other freelance creatives with whom you can connect.

HOW's brand-new Creative Freelancer Conference is just a few minutes from kicking off, and I'm almost giddy about this first-ever event! The opening keynote is at 4:00 ET; unfortunately since the hotel doesn't have wifi in the meeting rooms (boo!), my plans to live-blog the event won't be so "live" after all. But I'll post a few notes from the opening session later this evening, and chime in as I can in between tomorrow's jam-packed day of sessions.

The creatives in Minneapolis/St. Paul are finding unique ways to respond to the upcoming Republican National Convention. To capture all the events, art works and happenings, The Walker Art Center is sponsoring a site called The UnConvention. One of the projects featured there, "Make an Effort," was designed by Campbell Mithun.

Campbell Mithun’s newly developed “Make an Effort” campaign, designed to welcome the Republican National Convention and its supporters, makes light of the typical stereotypes that have hovered over the party for years, reminding everyone, especially their predominantly Democratic hosts, that The Republicans are Coming.

Posted by Megan

Creative Group Manager, Fashion & Home
Target

This is a unique position for someone with extraordinary creative taste and vision. Someone with the uncommon ability to spot and nurture great thinking - and effectively sell it through all levels of the corporation. Finding ways to motivate creative people, guiding them, inspiring them, and defending their ideas. Bringing great creative to life without being the "hands on" art director. You'd be responsible for all things style: design, designers, fashion, home, and beauty as it relates to everything the guest sees and touches (advertising, packaging, in store). Here's where your Vogue obsession, that "people person" point on your resume, and that finger you so tightly hold on the pulse, culminates into an actual job. We hope you have creative director experience (or senior account management experience with a secret knack for identifying and fostering creative).

Posted by Megan

LogóLogos is a blog about . . . wait for it . . . logos! I'm cursing my bad Spanish because I can only make out parts of the text, but the idea seems to be to take existing logos and other images and show how they can be transformed into other logos through judicious subtraction, multiplication and division. A lot of the brands seem to be South American, but there are international brands represented.

Posted by Megan

Art Director - Online
Rodale Inc.

Rodale Inc. is currently seeking an Online/Integrated Art Director for Rodale Marketing Solutions Department, located in New York City.

Responsibilities include:
*Develop and create visual design of integrated marketing programs from initial presentation and comps to execution of program elements including microsites, online ads and banners, email blasts, in-book advertorials and high-impact units, direct mail, etc.
*Developing strategically sound creative to meet client objectives and creative excellence
*Design sales materials including sales presentations and proposals, invitations, corporate brochures, to trade ads
*Participate in concept development/brainstorming sessions with marketing and sales team
*Interact with all Rodale marketing and art departments -- individual brands, events, books, custom publishing as appropriate
*Manage freelance design staff and venders to insure best pricing and production results
*Help build reliable freelance creative resources
*Work within established budget and maintain cost efficiencies
*Collaborate with RMS marketing and sales teams to support overall business initiatives and goals
*Position reports directly to the Executive Director, Rodale Marketing Solutions

Posted by Megan

I can't stop looking at the illustrations and comics of Jen Tong. Are they fairy tales? Dreams? I don't want to wake up.

Posted by Megan

Is type taking over home decor? Here's a lovely shelf from Pottery Barn Kids that celebrate letters from A to Z.



via Smissmiss

Posted by Megan

Tomorrow, I'm off to Chicago's Hyatt Regency hotel for HOW's first-ever Creative Freelancer Conference, where I'll be mingling with 225+ independent-minded creative types.

For the first time, I'll feel like an attendee at one of our conferences, as this one is geared not just toward designers but also to people like me: writers (and also illustrators, photographers and other creative pros). Like most creatives, I've had opportunity to do some freelancing, either between "real" jobs or on the side. So I'm quite interested in what the speakers have to say, and keen to network with other "solopreneurs."

Assuming my schedule and internet access go as planned, I intend to do some live blogging from the event, so stay tuned Wednesday through Friday.

If you're joining us for this conference, you'll find me here:

Graphic Designer, Business Marketing
Google Inc.

As a Graphic Designer with an egalitarian approach toward all programs, you are able to transform statistics, text and abstract concepts into persuasive and elegant informational presentations. A requirement of this job is that you have the ability to create polished presentations – often with little advance notice. Additionally, you'll assist sales teams in the field, as well as less-experienced designers, with their design projects. This is a fast-paced, high-pressure, often unpredictable – but thoroughly enjoyable – environment in which you'll work closely with Sales teams to create other collateral such as pitch books, posters, signage, brochures, direct-mail pieces, logos, Web graphics and other customer print projects for use around the world.

Posted by Megan

A smattering of news this week from around the design industry:

• CTI Paper has released a digital version of its Aspire Petallics Pearl paper, suitable for printing on an HP Indigo digital press.

• Smith Micro has launched a free PoserFusion Lightwave plug-in that allows registered Lightwave users to incorporate figures created in Poser Pro into their animations.

• Digital imaging software developers Vertus and Imagenomic are bundling their photo-editing products Fluid Mask3, Noiseware Pro, Portraiture and RealGrain. The package offers a 20% savings and is available now through September 30.

• Toon Boom Animation announced an update to its Emmy award-winning software; Toon Boom Studio 4.5 now includes more export options (for iTunes and YouTube), and the new Flash importer lets users bring animation work directly into Adobe Flash.

• Extensis released its server-based font management system Universal Type Server for Macintosh and Windows clients.

• Pentagram partner Abbott Miller chose a very rare pine (previously thought to be extinct) as the subject of his new promotion for Mohawk Fine Papers' Options brand. Williamson Printing produced the piece. The mill also announced a 100% postconsumer-waste version of its Options paper that is formulated for printing on the HP Indigo system.

We're fond of illustrator Christoph Niemann, whose work manages to mix wit and deep concept in a really engaging way. Niemann recently moved his family from New York City to Berlin, and on NYTimes.com today (he's a regular OpEd contributor), he recounts a tale of redecorating the bathrooms in his home with interesting mosaic tiles. Among the projects, a bath for his subway-obsessed sons.

Director, Creative
Starbucks

This job contributes to Starbucks success by developing and evolving the visual look, feel, and tone of the Starbucks brand globally. Supports the marketing organization in the development and communication of visual strategy to achieve Starbucks financial and business objectives. Models and acts in accordance with Starbucks guiding principles.

Posted by Megan

This just in from FOH (that's friend of HOW) Justin Ahrens: He and his crew at Chicago-area design studio Rule29 have created a cool poster designed to encourage people to vote in this fall's election. Justin, Kerri Liu, Tim Damitz, Kara Merrick, Dan Hassenplug and Sarah Ahrens did the printing themselves as part of a mill tour at Appleton Coated; Appleton also donated the paper. They've posted a Flickr stream with pictures of the work in progress.

The Rule29 team identified 29 (natch) issues they felt were important for voters to learn about and consider during this election cycle, covering both sides of the political spectrum. They translated those issues into an illustrated U.S.map.

Rule29 is making the first 100 posters available for free to anyone who "pinkie-swears" to send a photo of the poster displayed somewhere in return. The rest of the run will be sold for $15 a pop. The firm has also created a website, 29 Reasons to Vote, where they're collecting the photos, and where you can request a poster.