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 Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Money Talk for Freelancers
On the Creative Freelancer Blog, I posted this week a brief Q&A with freelancer Steve Gordon, author of the newly published "100 Habits of Highly Successful Freelance Designers." Our topic? A tough one: money.
Steve noted that creative freelancers have so much trouble dealing with the financial end of their business because their personal and professional fortunes are so intertwined.
If you, too, have trouble talking about money with your clients, check out tonight's Creative Freelancer Webinar (7 p.m. ET), where Ilise Benun, one of our partners on the Creative Freelancer Conference, will help clear away the butterflies in your stomach that arise any time you talk about your fees. Register now--it'll be worth your investment, trust me.
Design Resources | Events
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6:53:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Good Business
We've had a number of e-mails recently about how creatives are making wise use of project resources and otherwise strategically staying ahead in this rough-but-improving economy. Here's some smart business thinking:
Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Willms, CEO of Suburbia Advertising and FunctionFox in Vancouver, BC, shared a few insights on how creative firms can improve their bottom lines right now, including:
1) Fire the bad clients--the ones that cost you money. Just do it.
2) Don’t sell yourself cheap--By low-balling a budget just to win a new client, your company will forever be branded as a cheap supplier. Even now, the more you cost, the more clients will value you.
3) Never work for free, even for a good cause--Bellamy-Willms suggests that you ask to get paid your full rate and donate back the profit--15-20%--at the end of the year. Get more business resources from the company here.
Larry Melnick of Hunter Business Development (who's speaking at this year's Mind Your Own Business Conference) tells us that B2B marketers expect their budget crunches to end later this year and into 2010. Which means work will start flowing again. What can design firms do to position themselves for this uptick in business? Larry advises:
* Reach out consistently to engage the right new prospects in a quality way
* Articulate your value through powerful case histories
* Regularly share your knowledge so you become a trusted advisor
* Cultivate relationships by staying in front of prospects
Finally, a recent survey of 300 creative professionals by Shutterstock found that, not surprisingly, designers are dealing with tighter project budgets right now. According to the report:
* 40% of art directors polled cite budget decreases vs. a year ago
* 22% are doing more work for less profit vs. a year ago
* two-thirds are doing more in-house production as a cost-saving measure
* 51% are using online royalty-free stock and 21% are using stock-image subscription services--all with the aim of saving money
Industry News
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 2:42:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Call For Entries: Good Design
Designer and writer Christopher Simmons is working on a new book for HOW and he's looking for projects to feature:
We’re looking for the best examples of design work that engages and
addresses critical causes. This can include paid or pro bono work for
non-profits, political causes, social justice, the arts, education as
well as self-initiated projects that support the greater good. Work can be in any medium — posters, logos, brochures, campaigns, naming/branding, etc. For more information on the range of work we’re looking for, download the Questionnaire/Permission Form above, or check out the Book section. There’s no cost to submit work, and you can submit as many pieces as you want. Just fill out this simple form and send them in. Deadline for consideration is August 1, 2009.
Posted by Megan
Call for Entries | HOW Books
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 12:58:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Alphabeasties
I'm looking forward to Alphabeasties, a new children's book from Chronicle that's illustrated with animals made out of letters.
From an alligator made of aaa's to a zebra made of zzz's, the
alphabeasties in this book are ingeniously built out of multiple
typefaces. Adults and children will be engaged and delighted with the
flaps, which lift to reveal "beasties" for each letter of the alphabet.
Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss are
graphic designers at the two-person design studio Werner Design Werks,
Inc. in St
Paul, Minnesota, which has garnered many graphic design awards, as well
as a place in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress,
Musée De La Poste, Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée des Arts
Decoratifs, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum.
via Notcot.orgPosted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:18:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Job Of The Day
Director of Visual Design/Senior Creative Director
Fluid, San Francisco
Fluid is searching for an interactive visionary to lead our
super-talented team of artists, designers, art directors and creative
directors.
Our ideal candidate has a formidable brain that fires
on both right and left cylinders: the talent and passion to truly
innovate + the experience and sensibilities to expertly manage a
stellar team to greatness and profitability. We are looking for a
concept-driven visual problem solver with expert design chops and a
desire to define the next generation of consumer shopping experiences
for digital retail.
At Fluid you will lead an award-winning
creative team with a portfolio of innovation for global consumer brands
such as The North Face, Vans, JanSport, Calvin Klein, Lucky Brand,
Craftsman, and Kenmore.
As Director of Visual Design / Sr.
Creative Director based in our San Francisco headquarters, you will
directly manage the visual design group, reporting to our Chief
Experience Officer. You will be simultaneously hands-on and high-level,
leading select accounts from concept-to-launch as well as mentoring,
managing and directing your team of designers and artists through to
pixel-perfect work. You will work closely with key client accounts
developing strong relationships and cultivating new business. Your
proven ability to balance a range of responsibilities across sales and
delivery will be critical in Fluid’s fast paced environment. Lastly,
though you will be based in San Francisco, your responsibilities will
include growing, developing and leading the creative group in Fluid’s
New York office.Posted by Megan
Industry News
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 1:01:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Power Hungry
Design writer Michelle Taute just posted a link to a New York Times article about the massive amount of power that server farms use. The Internet may seem green because it's paperless, but it's consuming more and more electricity as it expands.
Data centers worldwide now consume more energy annually than Sweden.
And the amount of energy required is growing, says Jonathan Koomey, a
scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. From 2000 to 2005,
the aggregate electricity use by data centers doubled. The cloud, he
calculates, consumes 1 to 2 percent of the world’s electricity.
Posted by Megan
Industry News | Thought Provoking
Monday, June 15, 2009 6:49:54 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Job Of The Day
Visual Designer
Tivo Inc., Alviso, CA
Help us develop the product that is revolutionizing Television! TiVo is
the Emmy award-winning experience that continues to enhance and expand
how consumers watch and access home entertainment and personal media.
We are looking for a visual designer to help develop the look of our
next generation products.
Description
Designing TiVo's
user experience presents unique challenges from making a depth of
content and functionality remarkably easy to use, to designing for a
platform that combines television with the broadband capabilities of
mobile devices and traditional computers.
Our goal is to create
an interface that presents itself as extremely straightforward,
consistent, and simple to use for the wide market of family, in-home
use. We work very closely with Customer Support, Product Marketing, and
Research teams to gather information on our products. We have a
collaborative, team-oriented, consensus building approach to design,
and believe in taking input and feedback from a wide variety of sources.Posted by Megan
Industry News
Monday, June 15, 2009 1:01:16 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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