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This is a guest article by Ana Paula Rodrigues* recounting her attendance at the Chip Kidd / Milton Glaser lecture recently held in NYC.
The Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York hosted a lecture between design royalty Milton Glaser and writer/graphic designer Chip Kidd on March 2. The event, titled “Chip Kidd + Milton Glaser,” was held at the Target National Design Education Center and coincided with the “Design USA: Contemporary Innovation” exhibit running through April 4 at the Cooper-Hewitt.
The lecture was held a week after Glaser was awarded the 2009 National Medal of Arts from President Obama at the White House. Glaser is the first graphic designer honored with the nation’s highest medal for his contribution and achievements in the arts.
The agenda for the evening was Glaser’s, “work, ideas and loving New York,” and it stayed the course with Kidd in the driver’s seat. Kidd’s wit and humorous insight set the stage for the journey into the career of a graphic design icon.
The conversation started with Glaser discussing book covers he designed through the years for the distinguished American author Philip Roth. Glaser went beyond dissecting the actual designs and focused on the relationship between a designer and a client. He mentioned that his design partnership with Roth began many years ago through a chance meeting at a softball game in Woodstock, New York. Glaser expressed how he enjoyed working with Roth and that he couldn’t work with someone he didn’t like. When Kidd joked, “I’m not there yet,” Glaser acknowledged it might be difficult to turn away clients.
Glaser also reflected on the different ways authors approach the design process for their book covers. He explained that some authors come with preset concepts and imagery and it’s his job is to set color and type, while others leave the entire process up to him. He mentioned how resistance to his work, for example a marketing department not approving a cover design, has actually served him well. Glaser’s process has been to work through the resistance and design new concepts. He feels that the end result has always been more successful than the original design.
Kidd also shared his experience with working with authors. He said that he has dealt with writers who seem to have, “no problem, no problem and then there’s a problem.” Kidd added that it could get tricky when dealing with authors.
Glaser revealed his design process, he said he starts with a drawing done by hand, scans the image and transfers it into a computer where he modifies it electronically. “I love the computer. I hate stupid work done on the computer,” he also said, “Graphic designers shouldn’t use a computer until they’re 40-45 [years old].”
Kidd asked how Glaser sees New York now, since his ‘70s iconographic logo “I heart New York” helped bring the city out from the shadow of its problems. Glaser responded that it was hard to tell, because in the ‘70s, everyone was moving out, but today something was keeping despair at bay. He mentioned that the liveliness of the city hasn’t dimensioned and pointed out that the “I heart New York” campaign was commissioned by the state to help restore tourism in New York City. When an audience member asked Glaser how he felt about people modifying his work like the “I heart New York” he responded, “I think it’s wonderful, and grateful that it’s become useful,” and he wondered when it was going to go away.
At the age of 81 Glaser has had an illustrious career. He has designed buildings, logos (see below), posters, rugs, magazines, advertisements, direct mail pieces, book jackets, etc., and co-founded Push Pin Studios and New York magazine. “I like the visual world and all manifestations of it,” he said. When asked if he wants to retire, Glaser remarked, “Retirement is death. Retirement is a fraud. I love waking up and having some place to go and learn something new.” In response to a question about the variety of his work, “Curiosity and boredom,” and, “a strange set of opportunities,” was the explanation he gave for the variation. Glaser also mentioned how he loved that Picasso would master something and then abandon it — which is not how Glaser works.
One of the most interesting parts of the evening was Glaser explaining his theory of art, “Art is fundamentally a survival device for the species.” He proclaimed art appears in every culture and helps us survive because it makes us pay attention, “Every work of art we love makes us attentive, if it doesn’t, it’s not art.” Kidd delved deeper into Glaser’s theory by exploring one of his teaching assignments. The exercise consists of his students keeping a precise record of what they’ve eaten in a week. The lists are then collected, mixed and returned to students, but not their own. The assignment then requires each student to create a portrait and write a description of the anonymous person based on the list. Glaser revealed that the results are astonishing. The exercise exposes minute and personal details of a stranger’s life, done solely by the act of reading their dietary list. “Fundamentally everything is connected,” Glaser remarked, “Thought is energy [and] energy is transmittal.” He explained that the point of the assignment is to pay attention, “teaching makes people aware of what they are already doing.”
The audience got a glimpse of the personal side of Glaser and Kidd when they fielded questions from the audience. Bach, Mozart and Ray Charles are some of Glaser’s musical influences and he admitted that, “I like a lot of music.” Kidd expressed his joy in listening to New Order, but prefers classical and jazz when he is working. Both are avid art collectors but focus on different genres. Glaser described his collection as random. It includes lithographs, paintings and African masks, while Kidd described his collection as, “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” due in part to his vast collection of comic book art.
The event ended with rousing applause from the audience, who seemed to be celebrating Glaser’s extraordinary career and his generosity in sharing his time and knowledge. The lecture will be available later this month at video.cooperhewitt.org.
More Interviews
- Chip Kidd Interviews Milton Glaser (2003)
- Logo Design Tips & A Not-So-Ordinary Interview with Logo Designer, Jeff Fisher
- 50 Interviews With Popular Designers, Developers & Founders on InstantShift
- Designer In The Spotlight category – All interviews held on Just Creative Design
- Logo Designer Interviews - All logo designer interviews held on Logo Designer Blog
*Ana Paula Rodrigues is an award-winning designer who is currently employed at Nielsen Business Media as an Art Director. Rodrigues can be reached by at ana AT anapaularodrigues DOT com.
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Alex Mather’s new ebook ‘10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives‘ has just been released and it’s definitely worth checking out. I’m not here to ‘sell’ the book to you but seeing though it’s one of the most common question areas that I get asked about, I thought it was worth sharing.
An overview of what’s included in the book:
- How to establish a unique selling point, and become an outstanding, credible brand.
- How to build, promote and maintain the perfect online presence.
- How to set up, maintain and promote a niche blog.
- Setting up an effective mailing list.
- Setting up properly on various social media sites.
- Building large and relevant networks on social networking sites.
- Driving traffic to your sites in over 18 ways.
- Directly advertising your work for little or no money.
- Making use of online creative communities for promotion.
- Ideas on collaboration and joint ventures.
- Huge resource list aimed specifically at creative professionals.
- Maintenance.
- Much more.
The book is on sale for $27 for just three days (sale ends March 13th) and will then jump back up to $39 after the initial release. There is a 12 month money back guarantee too.
Anyway, you can make up your own mind by reading the official sales page*.
For those that do buy it, I’d love to hear your feedback.
*Affiliate
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I recently came across this series of short video clips taken from Saul Bass‘ documentary and this one really stood out for me: Making Money VS Quality Work. I highly recommend watching this short video.
The fact of the matter is, I want everything we do, that I do personally, that our office does, to be beautiful. I don’t give a damn whether the client understands that that’s worth anything, or that the client thinks it’s worth anything, or whether it is worth anything. It’s worth it to me. It’s the way I want to live my life. I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares. —Saul Bass
Hear hear — if only it was that easy.
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I recently got hold of Alex Mather’s new eBook ‘10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives*’ (review copy) and although I didn’t have time to read it front to back, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through each of the chapters and from what I saw, it was definitely worth sharing.
Update March 9th: Now on sale!
Alex describes his book as “an in depth guide to effective marketing, winning regular clients and making sales using the Internet” and it has already received some great reviews from notable figures in the creative industry, some of the testimonials are listed below:
Mathers’ online book, “10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for
Creatives” is all you’ll ever need to become an expert yourself. He dispels
the outdated “filthy lucre” myth to which artists have long clung & replaces
it with the tools to give you confidence in your ability to promote yourself with integrity.I’ve never encountered a more valuable or thorough guide to promotion.
Jerelle Kraus, Former New York Times Art Director and Author
Alex Mathers has mastered the methods for effective self-promotion in the creative world. As we all know, most creative talent goes unnoticed. In ‘10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives’, Alex provides invaluable insights that are practical and illuminate the path to getting the respect you deserve.
Scott Belsky, Founder of Behance, The 99%, and Author of ‘Making Ideas Happen’
…what truly makes ‘10 Steps’ a gem is the tremendous amount of common sense within this book, which further makes it a reliable and powerful reminder that gets you thinking…
Alex Goh, Founder and Director at Design Taxi
Get Your Discount
Although I can’t say much more about the book, I do highly recommend registering your email* on their website so you can decide later if the book is for you. By registering, you will also get a rather large discount once the book is launched on March 10th. It will be on sale for $39 to the regular public and $27 for those early buyers. Quite a small price for the valuable information inside.
An Interview with the author: Alex Mathers
Rather than just posting about the book, I thought a quick interview would give you a behind-the-scenes look at who and what Alex Mathers is all about.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a freelance illustrator and designer based in London, UK and write two blogs. One is Ape on the Moon, which focuses on contemporary illustration styles and techniques, and the other is Red Lemon Club, a blog with discussions and interviews covering online self promotion methods for creatives. I have a background in geography at university, but decided to return to my interest in design when I finished the course. You’ll probably see my interest in physical geography coming through many of my illustrations.
2. Why did you decide to set up Red Lemon Club?
I put the site together after a year of freelancing with the idea of using the blog to share the knowledge I had accrued in learning about online self promotion methods. I knew there was little information available at the time aimed specifically at creative professionals in marketing themselves, and wanted to help the community as well as focusing my own efforts in promoting myself
3. What do you think the biggest difficulty that creative professionals face in promoting themselves?
I think there are two main issues. Firstly, in the face of increasing competition, creatives need to work more on making themselves unique and on building credibility as experts in their fields so that clients find them and take notice. Secondly, creatives lack the more technical know-how of using the most powerful tool available to them, which is the internet. They need a system to be able to use the web in such a way as to market themselves and their work in the most effective way possible.
4. Tell us some more about the book you have just finished.
The book is called ‘10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives*’ and has been six months in the making, based on a lot of previous research. The 223-page book is a no-fluff step by step guide detailing exactly how creative freelancers, but also professionals from all fields, can effectively use the internet to make big strides in their promotional efforts. This includes greatly increasing your chances of getting hired regularly by high caliber clients and making more sales. The book has received a lot of interest so far, and I’m very excited about it.
For a further insight into Mathers and his new upcoming book, check out his Q&A session over on his blog or register now to get your discount*.
Other Books I Recommend
- The Unlimited Freelancer* – I wrote a review of this book here.
- Digging Into Wordpress* – An extremely extensive guide to everything Wordpress.
- Recommended Design Books: Part 1, Part 2
- Recommended Logo Design Books
Recently Bought Books
- Logo Design Love Book by David Airey
- Box, Bottle, Bag by The DieLine
- MyOwnBusinessCard Vol 1. by Design & Design (my card appears in this one)
- Typeface: Classic Typography for Contemporary Design
- Smashing Book by Vitaly Friedman.
Does a book such as this interest you? How do you go about promoting yourself?
*Affiliate
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This post was written for the Carrot Creative blog and has been edited for display on Just Creative Design.
The New York Snowpocalypse couldn’t stop me getting to Boston to talk at the PRSSA “PR Advanced: Brand Yourself” conference at Boston University this weekend… a canceled bus just meant I had to get the train, a minor inconvenience for what was to turn out to be a great event.
Speakers at the PR Advanced event included representatives from JetBlue, Boston Red Sox, Dunkin’ Brands, Wholefoods and then myself representing Carrot Creative and Just Creative Design.
The talk I did was titled “The Art of Online Self Promotion: Branding, Blogging & Social Media” and it gave insight on how to create a strong personal brand identity, how to set up a blog & run it as a self promotional tool and how to build relationships across social media platforms… and then some.
It all turned out to be a huge success, considering the fact that all the Carrot Creative business cards & stickers had evaporated by the end of the talk, as well as my own. Student and teacher feedback was also another great indicator, as well as a few more offers to talk elsewhere, including an offer for regular weekly lectures.
A few attendees of the conference wrote up about what they learned from me and the conference as a whole. A select few are linked below:
- Branding Yourself ‘PR Advanced’ Wrap Up by Ginny Rose
- ‘PR Advanced’ Conference Wrap Up by Emily Forrest
- Branding Myself by Ellie Botelho
- Takeaways from PR Advanced 2010 by Emilie Toole
- The organiser of the PR Advanced Conference shares her experiences – Rachel Sprung
There are a few pictures up of the PR Advanced event here and 200 odd more here.
The #PRAdvanced hashtag turned into a trending topic on Twitter, which was made possible by the Q&A that was set up via Tweetdeck (such a great idea). There are a lot of great tips to pick up from that stream, so be sure to check it out.
Overall it was an extremely pleasurable experience, supported by awesome event co-ordination (Great job Chelsea and friends!), a plethora of talented speakers and most importantly, the extremely passionate students & teachers that gave a Saturday up to attend. Carrot Creative and myself thank you all for the support.
Also, thanks once again for my shiny thank you certificate. Similarly, thank you to those who provided public speaking tips on my last article, always appreciated.
Snow heart photo by kimberleyfaye.
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Public speaking is a daunting thought for the vast majority of us, so in the light of my upcoming presentations (more info at end of post) I thought I’d brush up on my public speaking skills, especially considering the talent of the other speakers. Below I’ve gathered some public speaking / presentation tips from some of today’s most experienced talkers.
In Cameron Moll’s article 20 tips for better public speaking, he states that:
“The art of speaking is roughly 51% entertainment, 49% meaty content.”
Your primary responsibility is to entertain a room full of people. This doesn’t necessarily equate to jokes and magic tricks, but it does mean that the content of your presentation, and the delivery of that content, should be compelling and engaging. Keeping the audience eyes’ on you rather than their laptops benefits both you and the audience.
Moll then continues on quoting other high profile speakers, such as Jeffrey Zeldman:
“Attendees will apologise for not understanding a talk, but will want an apology for a talk that’s too basic.”
Edward Tufte argues the same, as paraphrased by Phillip Kerman:
Match your presentation to the level of The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Audiences don’t suddenly become dumber when they sit down to hear you speak — no reason to “dumb down” anything!
Master the 4 P’s of Presentations:
Similarly, in Ben Yoskovitz’s article 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation he suggests that we should master the 4 P’s of Presentations:
- Prepare.
You might not need a word-for-word script, but prepare something. Make sure your story is compelling, entertaining and worth listening to. - Practice.
You need to practice. Even veteran presenters practice. Make sure you at least read it out loud a few times to develop a good rhythm. - Pronunciate.
You need to speak clearly. There’s no room for mumbling in a presentation. Let me toss another P in there – Project. Speak clearly and firmly to get your point across. - Participate.
You should always try to engage your audience. The sooner they feel like they’re part of what you’re doing, the better.
Use a Framework of Some Kind
Chris Brogan, in his article ‘The Anatomy of Good Speech‘ suggests that we should use a framework of some kind:
I absolutely loathe the “I’m going to tell you this; I am telling you this; I told you this” method of presentations. We don’t watch movies that way. Only some books have a table of contents up front (fiction doesn’t do that often). It’s just not fun seeing the “Title, Agenda, About Me” method. We’re too used to it.
Instead, how about a framework like this (for example)?
- Ask your audience a question that frames the speech.
- Tell your audience how you’ll try and answer that question.
- Start with a personal or investigatory story.
- Drill down into the details of how the story applies to your presentation.
- Offer some takeaways or next-actions for this.
- Tell another personal or informational story.
- Repeat the drill down points, the takeaways, etc.
- Finish with a solid set of steps people can use to take action based on your presentation.
- Thread questions in earlier than the end.
This is one storytelling frame. You can do all kinds of other variations on the theme. For instance, what if you did something like this:
- Start with a question about a famous figure.
- Explain that your audience is there to help you figure out if that figure embodies the subject matter you’re covering.
- Ask them to consider the figure at every step in the presentation.
- And present…
Whichever framework you choose, make sure that you check in, frequently with your audience. Be sure they’re moving along with your presentation. If you see eyes glazing, react (either by livening up your speaking tone, or by noting where people start to glaze and fixing it in a subsequent effort). If you see enthusiasm, look at that person for inspiration. But always check in. Often.
Expert Presentation Tips
Continuing on from Brogan’s suggestions was this great list of presentation tips from Edward R. Tuftes, as summarised below:
- Never apologise
- Always provide a handout
- Audiences are precious: respect them
- Humour—make sure it’s on point, not nasty or gratuitous
- Do not use masculine pronouns—use plurals
- For complex information use: Particular, General, Particular
- Treat questions carefully
- Show your enthusiasm!
- Finish early
- Work hard
- Innovate
- Drink enormous amounts of water
Public Speaking / Presentation Tips & Resources
Below are some further resources to help improve your next presentation.
- The Anatomy of Good Speech – Chris Brogan shares his tips & resources.
- 10 Kick Ass Presentation Tips
- Deliver A Speech Like Steve Jobs – A look at how ‘the man’ delivers his speeches.
- Edward R. Tufte’s Presentation Tips – As summarised above.
- Public Speaking Do’s & Don’ts – Great tips from LifeHacker.
- 10 Fail Proof Tips For Delivering A Powerful Speech – Very to the point tips.
- 20 Tips for Better Presentations – by Cameron Moll
- Training The Butterflies – An interview with Scott Berkun
- How NOT to use Powerpoint – A humorous, yet useful look at how NOT to use Powerpoint.
- Note & Point - A great gallery of high quality slide show presentations.
- Presentation Zen – A blog on public presentations.
- TED – See other speakers in action.
My Speaking Engagements
As mentioned at the beginning, the reasoning behind this post was in light of my two upcoming presentations, as outlined below.
PR Advanced: Brand Yourself - Saturday 27th February 2010
The first presentation, coming up this weekend is for the PR Advanced Brand Yourself conference, being held at Boston University. I’ve titled my talk “The Art of Online Self Promotion: Branding, Blogging & Social Media“. The other speakers include those from Boston Red Sox, JetBlue Airways, Dunkin’ Brands, Wholefoods and many more… just one of the reasons I needed to up my game. I am some what nervously looking forward to the experience.
Update 1/3/2010: The conference was a success!
You can read the wrap-up of the conference here.
NYC College Of Technology - Thursday March 4th
The second presentation, will be the following week and will be a bit less formal and is being held at the NYC College of Technology. The talk will be quite similar, with some Q&A at the end.
Update: March 8th
You can see some photos from my talk over on Facebook. A video will soon follow.
If you are interested in me doing a talk at your next event, please do get in contact.
Have you got any speech / presentation tips to share?
Sheep Wolf photo by Ajq82.
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I think this is a good question to ask yourself from time to time:
“Are you living virtually or virtually living?”
I’ve made it into a poster that you can download for free below. I’ve released the poster under a Creative Commons 2.5 license which means you CAN copy, print, distribute, edit, display, and use this work for any purpose under the conditions that you give me credit for the work and that you do not make money from it. It is free to edit for non commercial purposes such as creating wallpaper, home printing, etc.
>> Download A3 ‘Living Virtually’ Poster (700Kb)
You may also be interested in my free Logo Copyright Poster.
‘Living Virtually’ Flickr Group
There are many other ways to design such a phrase and I would love to see what you can come up with. Feel free to add your own ‘Living Virtually’ themed designs to the Living Virtually Flickr Group. Tag your creations with ‘Living Virtually’ and get creative!
$50 Printing Credit Promotional Giveaway
In the spirit of freebies, Next Day Flyers is also giving away a $50 printing credit that can be used towards any of the products they offer.
Next Day Flyers is one of the major players in the offset printing market and you will find they offer a slew of products including things you’d expect like business cards and postcards, but also things such as door hangers and greeting cards. They have two high end offset printing presses that crank out the work 24 hours a day which allows them to provide super quick turnaround time.
Simply join the Just Creative Design Facebook Fanpage and we will announce the winner there next week! For those already in the group, you’re automatically in the draw! The competition closes on the 3rd of March and you must be at least 18 years old. G’luck!
March 3rd Update: Contest Ended
Congratulations to Alex Bergin!
PS. Many people have asked how I set up a custom Facebook Fanpage landing page so just follow the tutorial linked.
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I have been researching different laptop covers, in particular, one for my Macbook Pro 17″. I sent out a tweet (follow me) asking for people’s recommendations and got inundated with replies. I thought I would share some of the most notable below. Excuse the pun.
Twelve South Book Book – $79.99
Speck Clear SeeThru Cover – $49.95 (the one I got)
BooqBags Taipan Sneak XS – $24.95
HardGraft Sling + Extras – €125
BooqBags Viper XL2 – $54.95
ColcaSac – $30
Compushell Ultra Rugged Aluminium Case – $269.95
Stealth Laptop Bag – £16.99
Rainer Spehl – €120-€260
Gelaskin Sticker – $29.95
Iron Man Decal – $20
Although not a case I thought this Iron Man decal was worth sharing. There are many more Macbook decals over on Etsy.
Laptop / Macbook Accessory Stores
Before you go about buying a sleeve or cover for your laptop, I recommend shopping around. I had a look through all of these places before making a decision:
- RadTech
- HardGraft
- Speck
- Golla
- Booqbags
- Incipio
- ColcaSac
- MyIncipio
- eBay
- FoofBag
- Tucano
- SFBags
- Gela Skins (Stickers)
- Etsy (Decals)
For even more check out this post: 80 creative ways to customise your Macbook.
Have your own favourite laptop case or cover? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you to those who recommended the above macbook covers: laurentrisler, jenniferwilke, tomlewek, angela_vaughn, welshstew, jusuzuki, daxalexander, paper_leaf, inklestales, pxls2prnt, krzys, Mat Dolphin, Snow, Daniel.
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Improve your skills and workflow by exploring these five oft-overlooked aspects of Illustrator and typography; the differences between optical and metric kerning, how to use the Glyphs panel, the use of Roman hanging punctuation, the correct use of dashes and how to edit the preferences to display large font previews… all tips worth knowing about.
1. Optical vs Metric Kerning
Throughout the Adobe CS, by using the Character panel, you can automatically kern type using metric kerning or optical kerning. Knowing which one to use and when is usually based on what font you are using and how many built-in kerning pairs it has within the font. For text, metric or auto kerning is usually recommended though if you are combining different fonts or type sizes, you might consider Optical settings as Illustrator will adjust the letter fit for you. Optical settings can often yield better results for display type.
2. Glyph Panel
The Glyphs panel, found in Illustrator and InDesign allows you to access a font’s full character set. You can find the Glyphs panel by going to Window > Type > Glyphs. Once open, create a text field and then double click on the glyph you wish to use. Another tip here is to explore the full family of a particular font as you will find that some glyphs only appear in Italics. Three families with beautiful glyphs include Minion Pro, Burgues Script and Bickham Script Pro.
You may also be interested in a tutorial I wrote for Layers Magazine: How to use the glyphs panel in Illustrator to create a font monster.
3. Roman Hanging Punctuation
Roman hanging punctuation is an oft-overlooked area of typography, though, in more cases than not, applying it will give the edge of your body copy a much cleaner line. By default this option is turned off, however, you can turn it on in the Paragraph tool panel. In the Paragraph tool panel, click the small arrow facing downwards (see pic below) to find the extra options and then click Roman Hanging Punctuation. You will find other extra options here, all worth exploring.
5. Large Font Previews
Choosing the right typeface for your particular project is not always going to be an easy task so why not make it a bit easier on yourself and bump up the sizing of your font previews. To do this, go to Edit > Preferences > Font Preview > Large. While you’re here you may want to explore the other options available in the preferences panel, something many designers overlook. It may just improve your workflow.
Hyphens Are Not Dashes
There are three types of dashes and they should be used for their appropriate purposes (admittedly I am pretty lazy with this). Below are the definitions and the ASCII codes needed to use each dash, along with examples.
The Hyphen – (-)
A hyphen is used to separate the words in a compound adjective, verb, or adverb.
eg. “Re-read the subhead above.”
The En Dash – (–)
The En Dash is used to express a range of values or a distance.
eg. “My guess is 5–20 people will actually listen to this advice.”
The Em Dash — (—)
The Em Dash is used to give a sudden break in thought.
eg. “I was thinking about writing—what issue did you say this was being published in?
Update: 18.2.2010
“The MAC shortcut for an en dash is Alt + – and the shortcut for an em dash is Alt + Shift + -. For the PC it seems there aren’t any but some people set up ctrl + – for en and ctrl + shift + – for em in the required program. I find it has made my converting of dashes much easier and worth doing.” Thanks for the tip Mitchell Harris.
Computer Arts
This article was originally written for Computer Arts Magazine (Issue 170). Below are a few snap shots of the article in print.
More Typography Tips & Resources
- 30 Fonts That All Designers Must Know & Should Own
- The Top 100 Best Fonts Of All Time
- 27 Classic & Elegant Fonts
- 10 Commerical Fonts Every Print Designer Should Own
- Top 7 Fonts Used By Professionals In Design
- 20 Typefaces To Start A Designer’s Career
- Free 27 Page Type Classification eBook
- Designer’s Favourite Fonts & Why
- Top 5 Typography Resources
Have any more Illustrator / typography tips to share?
Passion Illustration by MaximusBill
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After two weeks voting on the Top 12 Logo Designs of 2009 the voting has now closed and we are pleased to announce the 2009 Logo Of The Year.
2009 Logo Of The Year: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson commemorative logo – from a short video clip shown on MTV.
Winner: Logo Of The Month September 2009
Credits: Agency; bbdo.de Executor; s-farm.de
2nd Place: Coffee
“Logo for coffee house Coffee CUP where high quality coffee is served. Notice that logo of coffee cup is made of letters “CUP”.” See it in use here.
Winner: Logo Of The Month May 2009
Designer: Jan Zabransky
3rd Place: Lochness
Loch Ness Partnership logo.
Winner: Logo Of The Month June 2009
Designer: Navy Blue Design Group (David Needham)
Poll Results
Thank you everyone for your votes! Also, please feel free to suggest a logo for your chance to win a Logo Of The Day (or maybe even the Logo Of The Year?) award.
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With the launch of Google Buzz I thought it would be a good time to let you know of all the ways you can connect with me and the resources I share.
- Google Buzz – Do you use Gmail? Add me here to join discussions in live time & to follow my articles and twitter updates.
- Twitter – Follow me here to receive many design related resources & links. By far the most active place I am on the web. Updated multiple times a day.
- Facebook – Join me here to stay connected & receive links I share. The second most active place I am on the web. Updated multiple times a day.
- Just Creative Design Facebook Fanpage – Join the fan club to get updates via Facebook on new articles I post on Just Creative Design.
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Social Media Articles
- HOW TO: Get more brand exposure, traffic and sales using Facebook
- How To Get Clients Using LinkedIn
- Twitter Tips, Interview & The Benefits Of Using Twitter
- 10 Tips For Using Twitter To Grow Your Freelance Business
- How to get onto Digg’s FRONT page in 8 steps
- A Comprehensive guide to StumbleUpon: How to build massive traffic to your site
Stay tuned this month (or early March) for Just Creative Design’s total new redesign!
© Bee photo by Aitor Escauriaza.
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As a designer it’s not always easy to stand up for yourself… clients often have demanding requests, tight budgets and due to one reason or another, designers will succumb to taking on labour heavy jobs at heavily discounted rates. This does not have to be.
In this article I will show you how I personally ’stand up’ for my rates and how I ’sell’ the value of my design services, which in the end, means a better result for the client and a much more pleasant overall experience for the designer. Below you will find the original transcripts of a conversation between a recent client and myself. By providing this transcript, I hope to provide an example of just one way to stand up & sell yourself as a designer.
It’s also interesting (for me at least) to see how others run their business and seeing an email conversation between a client & designer is a rare insight.
Client:
Jacob,
I hope you are well. I appreciate you responding to me post vacation for you.
I was actually all set and had contracted two separate entities to create a logo, letterhead, etc. for the new direction of the business, at the start of the New Year. However, I have been disappointed and have decided not to use the designs.Therefore, I am looking for a design team – but now have a limited budget after paying these past two firms.
Are you able to do a logo design, with the end result of my business having 4 total variations to use? Also looking for letterhead and business card design. I like things super simple, classic. Clean. Nothing too graphicy or colorful. I am looking at a price at $X,XXX range.
Are you willing to take me on?
Thank you again for getting back to me.
Designer:
Hello XX,
Sorry to hear about your misfortune with the other agencies though unfortunately my price range will be above your budget of $XXXX (more in the range of $XXXX) for the logo design and stationery. I also have other client commitments for the next 2-3 weeks so unfortunately I won’t be able to start until then if you decide to go with me.
If you were having any hesitations about hiring myself as a designer here are some things to put you at peace of mind ensuring your investment goes into the right hands…
- My clients come from all different backgrounds – if you notice my portfolio, nearly every logo design is from a different industry… this shows that I adapt my skills, research and process around the client’s needs and industry in a successful and effective manner. I adapt any design brief and ask questions until the real need of the business is discovered.
- Understanding my clients background and and business is part of my thorough research process. You can read my design process in full here. This underlying process, as linked, ensures that every client gets what their business needs.
- I have had plenty of positive feedback from a large array of clients showing how I adjust and adapt my skills for each project. Read some of my many testimonials here.
- I have received numerous awards for my work in logo design and my work appears in design related books world wide. You can read more on my awards on my about page.
- If for some reason you are unsatisfied with my work you may still leave without paying the final 50% of the project.
As mentioned before, if you have any further questions, please do ask. I guarantee you will not be disappointed with my work.
Thanks, I hope I have the pleasure of working for you and XX, it sounds like an exciting project!
Hear from you soon.
Client:
Jacob,
I have no hesitation on working with you. You were my first choice. I love your website, I love your designs. There is no questioning that. I have just spent all of my budget on this already. It was hard to free up an additional $XXXX. I can try for $XXXX but it will be hard. If I can get my accountant to free up $XXXX, are you able to work with this?
You going on vacation, killed me! Haha. But I understand. This has been a nightmare process for me. I have business cards and letterhead that is about to be thrown away – very frustrating.
Let me know your thoughts.
Designer:
Hello XX,
Thanks for your kind words and good to hear you wish to work with me. I do understand your situation with your prior designers, and can feel for you there, however unfortunately as I do not lower the quality of my work, I can not lower my prices, even for situations such as yours.
As much as I would like to work on your project, I can only justify the prices as specified previously. If you wish to go ahead with the work, let me know and I will put together a formal proposal and send over my agreement. Let me know XX. Thanks for your time.
Client:
Jacob,
Thanks for speaking me about this. I am going to get with my people and see if they will free up the cash for this. You are definitely the man for the job.
Client: (2 Hours Later)
Jacob,
I wanted to write and let you know that I understand and respect your firm price with $XXXX. Quality of work is important as is price value. I hope to have this cleared by this week and or look at alternative methods to secure you.
It was really funny. I was just chatting with my cousin, who is a web developer in LA and I was chatting about you. I was showing him your stuff and we stopped at the Vero logo. XX, my cousin, pulled up an article that you had written. He had remembered that logo and that piece you wrote. He is a fan of your work and said that I really need to make this work. I am pretty excited and doing everything I can with the finances to make it work.
Thank you for your correspondence. My business is so important to me and the new brand direction may identify my group initially, but I hope it helps define my quality in work over the following years. Thanks again.
To cut the story short, in the end the client did work out some more funds (the original “budget” was literally doubled) and eventually signed on for the project. I had stood up for my rates and it had paid off.
Although there are many ways to handle low client “budgets”, I’ve found being upfront and honest to yourself and your client is the best way to deal with it. You may not get the job in all cases but I can guarantee you that in the long term, you will definitely come out on top. You will have higher morale, have longer to work on projects, thus producing higher quality work and overall, have a much steadier income to work with. What do you think? Do you or would you have handled things differently?
Further resources on how to work with clients
- How to get your clients to say ‘yes’ to your designs
- How to talk to non tech savvy clients
- How to design for men and women
Red Light District Photo by Alex Piechta.
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These are the top 12 logo designs of 2009 as voted by you (the awards that won Logo Of The Month) on my other site Logo Of The Day.
What logo do you believe should win the 2009 Logo Of The Year? Cast your vote at the bottom of this post. Voting closes February 12th.
And just so you know, we are now accepting new logo submissions, so go & suggest a logo for a chance to win a Logo Of The Day award.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson commemorative logo – from a short video clip shown on MTV.
Winner: Logo Of The Month September 2009
Credits: Agency; bbdo.de Executor; s-farm.de
Lochness
Loch Ness Partnership logo.
Winner: Logo Of The Month June 2009
Designer: Navy Blue Design Group (David Needham)
Talkmore
Talkmore uses symbology in the form of quotation marks to replace the letters A and E, creating a clever image that gives a graphical representation of the words and meaning of the brand. The touch of color enhances this effect making the logo stand out.
Winner: Logo Of The Month Nov 2008
(used this month as no posts were made during December 2009)
Designer: Nido
Coffee
“Logo for coffee house Coffee CUP where high quality coffee is served. Notice that logo of coffee cup is made of letters “CUP”.” See it in use here.
Winner: Logo Of The Month May 2009
Designer: Jan Zabransky
Butterfly
This is a logo for women’s underwear company. Student work.
Winner: Logo Of The Month November 2009
Credits: Sertac Aydogdu
Friedman Psychology
Logo design for Friedman Psychology Group.
Winner: Logo Of The Month February 2009
Designer: Mugar Mihai
Swan Songs
A “non-profit that fulfills musical wishes at the end of life”
Winner: Logo Of The Month July 2009
Credits: Macnab Design
Figure 9
“Figure Nine, Inc. is a small bookkeeping/accounting firm in the Indianapolis area. The logo will be used as the company mark on all marketing materials. The logo was to be clean-looking yet bold, and I wanted to convey Figure Nine’s association with number-crunching without being too blatant. Using a “9? as the g worked out well, and offsetting it in a bolder red makes it stand out so the viewer has to look twice.”
Winner: Logo Of The Month October 2009
Credits: Christian Elden
Arbeitskreis Vernetzung
The Logo is for a group (an organization) called “Arbeitskreis Vernetzung”, formed of 4 different social services in Germany and last had been used for an Event called “Tag der sozialen Dienste” (Day of social services). The logo shows 4 people looked at from above, forming a circle (or holding their hands) in an very reduced way. It stands for the 4 organizations the “Arbeitskreis” (Working-Circle (Workgroup)) is formed of. It shows the unity of these 4 organizations and the “Teamspirit”, just like a football-team sticking together their hands, ready to achieve something. The perspective from above, stands for the fact, that the Group has a vantage point frome above when looking at problems to solve them.” ~ Dominic Rödel
Winner: Logo Of The Month April 2009
Designer: Dominic Rödel
Youth Forum
“This logo is made for Youth Forum, under the name “Forum of the future”. This forum will be held once or twice a year where the top notch people (including prince & princesses) will be hearing the problems of youth and then following it up to solve them.
Basically as per symbol: it is consists of speech balloons coming from four sides (problems or opinion from all sides). different colors : Different problems/opinions. Making shape and the focus is in the middle : means solution (not just useless discussion but with a shape.”
Designer: Sajjad Haider Syed
Jasmine Star Photography
Logo for use on the Jasmine Star Photography website.
Winner: Logo Of The Month for January 2009.
Designer: Nate Sees
Tap Project New Orleans
“Tap Project required that we align ourselves with the existing brand and create a logo for New Orleans Tap Project. This logo is a juxtaposition of the Fleur De Li, a symbol of New Orleans, and water droplets that allow children to have drinking water.”
Winner: Logo Of The Month August 2009
Credits: Zohrab Gevorkian
Cast Your Vote! [Voting Closed]
Thank you for your votes! Voting is now closed.
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Some of you may have noticed this website and my other websites being down the past two weeks. Simply put, my old hosts did a runner on me… all of my websites and email stopped working and there was no one to contact for support, my hosts simply vanished. Luckily enough, I had a full back up from just before I left for my trip around the states which meant I had nearly all of articles and comments, bar from a few that I have now salvaged from Google’s cache.
It wasn’t easy restoring the websites as the databases were quite large and had to be uploaded using some crazy back end language that I had no idea how to use. I really owe everything to Kyle McDonald, a workmate from Carrot Creative, for restoring my websites so a HUGE thank you goes out to him! We’re now with the hosts Media Temple though we may have to upgrade our plan soon (just got an email this morning). There are still a few kinks we are working out but I presume everything will be back to normal on all three sites by Thursday this week.
Emails Not Received 11-22nd January
If you have sent an email to me anytime between the 11th and the 22nd of January, I have NOT received it so feel free to resend your email. My apologies for this, it has been outside of my control.
I <3 NY
Some of you may know I’ve just moved from Sydney to New York to start working full time for Carrot Creative, a new media marketing agency specialising in media strategy, design & development. To put simply, the past two weeks have been crazy amazingly great, bar from my hosts vanishing.
From the work (if you can call it that) we do during the day right through to the nightlife there really isn’t much time to sleep and for someone like myself, who doesn’t watch TV, this is awesome. From the bars, to the parties, to the gallery openings, movie premiers, concerts and so fourth, New York really does live up to its name of ‘the city that never sleeps’. I do <3 NY.
I <3 Carrot Creative
I also love where I work… The team that makes up Carrot, as seen above at my welcome party, are not just your work team but your weekend buddies too, which makes Carrot a very comfortable & fun place to work. Add that in with the opportunity to work with the world’s most vaunted brands and I must say, I consider myself very fortunate and am not taking it for granted.
Aside from the social aspects, I’ve also enjoyed learning how an agency works and some of the nifty programs / apps that keep it running smoothly (Jing, Basecamp, Adium, Cyberduck, Google Docs & Gmail) … though there is a lot more to learn.
On another note, this Thursday is Digital Dumbo #12 One Year Anniversary (unfortunately it’s already at capacity) which I am very much looking forward to:
Digital DUMBO was created to bring together the digital minds of DUMBO and the greater NYC area to network, showcase local talent, educate, and facilitate idea exchange. New to Digital DUMBO? Check out our Facebook page for past news coverage, photos and information! You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.
Getting Back To Blogging
The good news now is that after nearly three months of no blogging, I’m refreshed and ready to go. I’m also in talks with a partner to help me run the site which if all works out, will mean more posts for you! And when the time allows, a site redesign! More info on that later.
Getting Back To Design
I’m also getting back to designing and have got some new clients lined up… I am currently (or soon to be) working on a packaging design for a natural energy drink, an identity design for a fitness company, a logo design for an internet faxing company, a logo design for a high frequency sound device that saves animals lives and a truck wrap design for enviro-friendly air cleansing system. It’s good to be back!
Computer Arts Articles
Keep an eye out for Issue 171 of Computer Arts magazine as I’ve written one (or two) typography related article(s) that will be appearing in there. It’s on sale now.
SYA Website Now Online
Late last year I posted some of my recently completed work and amongst some of the work posted was the website for Sikh Youth Australia, which is my largest web project to date. At the time it hadn’t been coded but just last week it was launched. Some of the content still needs to be added, along with some other tweaks but in the most part, it’s completed. You can check out the site by clicking the image above. The coding was done by kiidesign.
Thank you!
Also, I wanted to thank the subscribers and visitors who have stuck around for the past 3 months, I appreciate it! If you haven’t already:
- Join the Just Creative Design Fanpage (keep up to date with my posts)
- Join the Just Creative Design Group (promote your own stuff)
- Follow me on Twitter (get design links tweeted daily)
- Befriend me on Facebook (stay connected)
I Heart NY Photo © Jesse Jacobs.
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It’s been a great break… I loved traveling across the USA, it truly is a remarkable country. I’ll be posting some photos when I get a chance to go through the 1400+ pics.
Today (5th Jan) I will be flying out from Australia to begin my new life (story here) in New York, where I plan to stay for 1 to 3 years, while working for Carrot Creative. I will still be blogging & freelancing on the side.
I’ve found a great spacious apartment to live in, with 4 other creatives (and a dog) who are currently attending Pratt Institute - we had a webcam meeting just yesterday and I consider myself very lucky to have found such a great place to live (and just in time). The apartment is right near by Pratt, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn so if your in the neighbourhood just give us a yell, I’m always keen to meet new people!
I’m still busy going through the two months of backlogged emails and comments so please be patient while I slowly get through them over the next few weeks. After this is completed I will get back to regular blogging.
I was also asked by Carrot Creative to put together a short ‘n’ quick video for their blog, telling people a bit about myself and some of the reasons why I chose to work for Carrot Creative. I thought I’d share the video with you guys here as well… just try not to fall asleep zZZ, you’ve been warned.
Click here to view the video if you can not see it above.
Hope you guys had a great holiday break and I wish you all the best for the New Year!
Brooklyn Bridge Fireworks Image courtesy of look@j.
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It’s been a great break… I loved traveling across the USA, it truly is a remarkable country. I’ll be posting some photos when I get a chance to go through the 1400+ pics.
Today (5th Jan) I will be flying out from Australia to begin my new life (story here) in New York, where I plan to stay for 1 to 3 years, while working for Carrot Creative. I will still be blogging & freelancing on the side.
I’ve found a great spacious apartment to live in, with 4 other creatives (and a dog) who are currently attending Pratt Institute – we had a webcam meeting just yesterday and I consider myself very lucky to have found such a great place to live (and just in time). The apartment is right near by Pratt, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn so if your in the neighbourhood just give us a yell, I’m always keen to meet new people!
I’m still busy going through the two months of backlogged emails and comments so please be patient while I slowly get through them over the next few weeks. After this is completed I will get back to regular blogging.
I was also asked by Carrot Creative to put together a short ‘n’ quick video for their blog, telling people a bit about myself and some of the reasons why I chose to work for Carrot Creative. I thought I’d share the video with you guys here as well… just try not to fall asleep zZZ, you’ve been warned.
Click here to view the video if you can not see it above.
Hope you guys had a great holiday break and I wish you all the best for the New Year!
Brooklyn Bridge Fireworks Image courtesy of look@j.
Comments
This article was originally published on January 5th 2009, however due to our hosts doing a runner on us we lost a number of posts and comments. I’ve salvaged what I could from Google cache. Below you can find the original comments.
- Design Informer (@designinformer) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Congrats on the new position at Carrot Creative Jacob! That’s amazing, you already got to travel across the USA. I haven’t done that yet, I live in California, but maybe someday.
- Allen P. (@brickfieldmanor) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Exciting! I hope to watch the video – when I’m not working too hard! Have a safe trip.
- Kiren on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Again, congratulations on the new job and the big move. I hope one day I can work for a similar studio like Carrot Creative. You’ll be amazed on how time flies when your having fun, who knows what the future holds, maybe they’ll make a movie about you?:) Good luck and don’t lose the accent!!
- Stella Mayfair (@stella_mayfair) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Wish you the best in this new adventure!
Hope you have some time to upload all the pics
- rupam (@xhobdo) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Hi Jacob
just visit your blog and waiting for more design tips,works…love & regards
Rupam - Lasitha (@crazylasi) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Good to hear from you after sometime Jacob.
I was following your blog for sometime now. and this is my first comment.
Actually most of your posts almost all helped me a lot to think differently as a designer. logo designer. think creatively, so after reading few blog posts of you…(What makes a good logo?, How to design a logo, Logo design process, etc)thought of creating a LOGO for me and a logo for freelance that i am planing to do later… I got really good positive feedback for those logos that i have done. Those posts helped me a lot. Its Pleasure to hear that you are moving to a place that seems you likes a lot “Carrot Creative” (strange name though).
Wish you all the best.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
P.S. I will add my new logos to your “logo of the day” site. will see whether you will accept it or not.
- B. Jones on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- I’m really enjoying your site. Easy read. Your mobile site is pretty cool. Like your work.
- Mike (@thatdeadpixel) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Good luck in NY! What’s with the 1-3 year timeframe you are giving yourself?
- Tyler on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Good to hear your moving state side. Good luck on your new job. Killing it as usual.Cheers!
- Lu (@Mitouch) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Glad you enjoyed the US and i hope you get to see much more while living here, there’s tons of great stuff here. Hope the climate change isn’t too bad, just be sure to dress warm.Best of luck! ^_^
- margishi on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Hey,Jacob…!
happy new year!!
love your wb-site..Really njoy!! nice work done..very creative.. : )
Waiting for other graphics tips….
And good wishes for ur big moove…. have safe trip!!Love n regards
Margishi - Emily Cavalier (@EmilysPearl) on Jan 5, 2010 said:
- Hi there, Jacob! Welcome to Brooklyn. You’re moving to my neighborhood – the best one here. So excited for you to work with CC. I think they’re a great crew. Give a yell on Twitter. Be happy to share some spots for you to check out locally.
- JayPee on Jan 6, 2010 said:
- Good Luck Jacob…
If you can make it There – you can make it Anywhere! (Wish I said that)
Thought I would send you some Sydney fireworks pix – to go with your Brooklyn Bridge ones.
Enjoy the Big Apple - Julien (@juxyfr) on Jan 6, 2010 said:
- Have fun in big Apple!
- Mario (@ocondesign) on Jan 6, 2010 said:
- Best of luck Jacob! Congrats on the new Carrot Creative gig.
- Craig Scott on Jan 6, 2010 said:
- That’s awesome man – well done!
- Jacob Cass (@justcreative) on Jan 6, 2010 said:
Thank you all for your kind words. I’m sitting here in Beijing waiting for my connecting flight to NY (still 4 hours to go). It’s bloody -15?c outside and even inside my hands are freezing! Annoying that Facebook and Twitter are blocked.
Kiren,
Haha, “Designer Down Under”… if that ever happens I know that’s the end of film!B. Jones,
Check out mobify.com to grab your own mobile site. It’s quite easy!Mike,
My Visa runs out in August 2011 though I can extend it 2 years more if need be. Those dates are not set in concrete, but just a rough idea. I hear many stories of people who don’t come back!Emily,
Always up for advice, totally new to the area so I’m all ears! Always keen to meet new people too. Will give you a Twitter when I can (it’s banned in China, where I am atm).JayPee,
The pic isn’t actually mine (see copyright info at bottom of post). I’ve seen quite a few Sydney fireworks pics (my bro and mother were in the city), saw on news as well – looks like it went off as usual! - Kamila – Darc Vanilla Design (@darcvanilla) on Jan 7, 2010 said:
- Congratulations Jacob in your new life in USA :> Gosh, I envy you Well done!!
- Melody (@sexidesign) on Jan 7, 2010 said:
- Wow, pratt institute…I got accepted there for architecture some time ago–wish I took the opportunity but the costs are 45k per year..very cool though, congrats on everything–to continued success for 2010!
- MieHanz (@MieHan) on Jan 7, 2010 said:
- congrats on your new job in NY & happy new year!
- Michael Martin (@problogdesign) on Jan 8, 2010 said:
- Congrats on finally getting there Jacob! Hope you have a great time over the next few years!
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This is a guest article by Ana Paula Rodrigues*.
In difficult times people get creative — and creative people must find new ways to use resources wisely. Whether you work as an in-house designer at a large company, own your own design firm, or work as a freelancer, the recession has no doubt affected you or someone you know. Thus, creating a need to think outside the box in order to make, and ultimately save, more money .
Here are a variety of ideas to help you through this economic downturn.
1. Create a magazine club
Magazines are a great source of information and inspiration, but they cost money. One way that you can maximize a magazine subscription is to create a magazine club. You can start by contacting designers you know and invite them to meet once a month to exchange magazines and discuss articles. You can eventually grow the club to include other designers, making this an opportunity to network as well.
2. Add new skills for free
When you add a new skill to your toolbox you are opening doors to new opportunities. So why not learn it for free? If you search the Internet you can find many web sites, such as tv.adobe.com, where you can actually stream video and learn techniques directly from the experts! Another thing you can do is subscribe to podcasts like Pixel Perfect. The podcast hosted by digital artist Bert Monroy, offers fifteen minutes of professional and detailed advice on Photoshop and Illustrator tools, and the best part – it’s free.
You should also take advantage of free talks offered from design organizations like the American Institute of Graphic Arts or TED and tap into your local library to see what classes they offer. They may not offer a class on InDesign, but they may offer classes in Excel or Word, and if you’re not familiar with these programs this is a wonderful opportunity to learn.
Another way to learn new techniques is to get a part-time job working for a printer, photographer or another designer whose strength or focus is different than yours. The great thing about going this route is you are learning directly from a professional and getting paid.
3. Teach, tutor, type or talk.
If you can close your eyes and you’re able to recite all the short cuts in Photoshop, odds are you’re an expert. You should take your knowledge and become a, Photoshop “Profit” by teaching or tutoring. Shop your knowledge about particular design programs to local computer training centers, libraries, community colleges and organizations, or create a tutoring program from your own studio. You can also offer to create classes through your company, but check with human resources first. The advantage to tutoring or teaching is you’re helping people attain knowledge and you’re getting paid.
If you’ve been in the design business for a few years, you’ve probably experienced some fun and exciting, or aggravating and nerving, clients, employees, printers, illustrators, photographers etc., so why not write about it? The way you handled a particular situation can be an excellent opportunity for another designer to read and learn from your experience. You can write your article and shop it around to design magazines or design blogs , and if the article gets published you’ll get great exposure and possibly a paycheck!
You can also translate your experiences or expertise into a gig as a guest speaker. Create an informative and entertaining presentation and contact conferences , schools or design organizations to see if the content fits their needs. And don’t forget to check out magazines, organizations or conferences outside of the design world, since graphic design is incorporated into all types of business.
4. Advertise for $0 – Priceless
MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn are free networking vehicles to increase your visibility. Even though some of these sites cater more towards youthful socializing, you can still create a page with a portfolio and a list of skills and services you provide. Also, take time once a week and invite people to become “friends” and update them on any new projects you may be working on.
The hot “new” free tool for networking, marketing or micro-blogging is Twitter. (Twitter Tips here) You are able to write current updates on your profile page and have people follow your entries or “tweets”. You can use Twitter to market yourself by writing about current projects, design awards or a new promotion. The marketing opportunities are limitless with Twitter, except you’ll need to get to the point faster Twitter limits the word count to 140 words.
You can also create a video of your portfolio and upload it to YouTube or be a little more innovative like Kyle T. Webster who took viral marketing to another level by creating an original video called, “Original Design Gangsta ” which is very creative, not to mention very funny. The video ends with his Web site address, which helps drive traffic to his website.
Another way to promote yourself or your business for free is sending out a press release. While there are many sites that charge, there are also a number of them that offer the service at no charge. If you recently won a design award or landed a new account you should create a press release, and post it on your Web site. Also, send it to design magazines and send it to free PR sites like pr.com . Even though these sites offer premium services, they still offer free postings that are often picked up by Google News.
Additionally, when you do pro-bono work it’s usually a win-win situation for you, as well as the non-profit organization you are serving. Besides being a tax write off, it can also be a great way to advertise your design services to others. You can ask to include your Web site address on the materials you created, and have a link on their Web site.
Being published in a design book is another way you can garner recognition and exposure. Publishing houses such as Rockport Publications (www.rockpub.com) or Crescent Hill Books (www.crescenhillbooks.com) are always looking for material to include in their latest book. The wonderful thing about their “Call for Entries” is they’re usually free. You should check their Web sites regularly and enter your work.
5. Sell Yourself
Go through all your design books , equipment and chachkas to pick out things you no longer want or need. If the pile includes working or valuable items, then sell them on eBay. Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
If you photograph , illustrate or paint in your free time, then turn your hobby into an additional revenue stream. Sell your work in galleries or on your Web site, and upload your images to stock houses like iStock to reap the financial rewards of a popular image. Another way to profit from your creativity is to upload your images onto Web sites like cafepress.com that sell and print images on t-shirts, mugs, hats etc.
Taking Inventory: If you take the time to evaluate how every aspect of your business is run, you will find there are hundreds, if not thousands of additional ways to save and make money. From lowering the heat and wearing an extra sweater, to using ceramic mugs instead of purchasing disposable cups, all of these little steps can help make a bad situation just a little bit better. If you would like to share your tips on saving or making money during this recession please leave them in the comments below.
*About the author: Ana Paula Rodrigues is an award winning designer who has been working in New York City for over 13 years. Ana has worked extensively in publishing, advertising and marketing.
This article was originally published on Talent Zoo and has been republished on JCD with permission.
Comments
This article was originally published on November 29th 2009, however due to our hosts doing a runner on us we lost a number of posts and comments. I’ve salvaged what I could from Google cache. Below you can find the original comments.
- Vitezslav Valka on Jan 20, 2010 said:
Hello sir, I’m just curious, but are you online? Preparing new articles? Thank you and good luck!
- Callum Chapman on Jan 20, 2010 said:
Great article Ana!
- Jacob Cass on Jan 20, 2010 said:
Yes I’m back, trying to get things all up and running again. Was left high and dry about 2 weeks ago (hosts disappeared).
- Erik Shultz on Jan 20, 2010 said:
Advertise for $0 – Great advice to self promote.
- stephanie on Jan 20, 2010 said:
that’s really good advice! thx for sharing.
- Vadim on Jan 20, 2010 said:
American Institute of Graphic Arts link is broken
- Jeremy Bolton on Jan 20, 2010 said:
Great article. The economic times eventually effects us all. I know I have started feeling it. I think the suggestion about gaining new skills is a great way to use this time. I also suggest doing a search on iTunes for design podcasts. Many of them feature great design tutorials and all for free.
- Mark Brand on Jan 21, 2010 said:
Faced with no luck, many of my fellow classmates have returned to school for their master’s degree. Sounds like a good use of time to me.
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With over 300+ million members worldwide, Facebook is 2nd most trafficked site in the world, sitting only behind Google. With stats like these, it’s no wonder businesses are turning to Facebook for marketing.
With the right set up, you can effectively use Facebook to gain more brand exposure, traffic and sales and in this article I’ll guide you through how I personally use Facebook to do this, along with some other alternatives.
See First Hand Examples
Before going on you may want to see some examples first hand of how you can use Facebook as a promotional tool. Below you will find my pages.
- Add me as a friend on Facebook.
- Join the Just Creative Design Facebook Group – you can promote your own services, links and design work in this group.
- Join the Just Creative Design Fan Page to keep up to date whenever a new article is published.
Set Up Your Profile
Let’s start at the basics, you’re going to need a Facebook profile. I’ve personally got two profiles, one for business and one for private life. The choice here is yours but you must realise that your followers are going to see photos from you on the weekend, along with other personal details. For this reason, I keep both private and business lives seperate, though I do make my business profile a bit personal too.
You could also split your one profile into two by utilising Facebook’s lists and privacy settings. How to do this is explained in the article How to use facebook for professional networking.
After setting your profile up, ensure you get a vanity URL which is a personalised address. ie. http://facebook.com/justcreative
To read more about the basics of Facebook you can read this guide and also this great article on how to build your personal brand on Facebook.
Fill Out Your Profile + Add Links
This may sound like common sense but not everyone does it. Fill out all of the fields that Facebook provides, taking special note of the sections that get the most visiblity (as highlighted in the picture above). You can see on the left side of my profile I’ve linked to my three websites, along with my other social networking profiles (Twitter & LinkedIn).
As for your own profile picture, ensure that it is the same picture you use on the rest of your profiles. As you can see the picture I use for Facebook is the same I use for my website and other social accounts.
You could also get creative with your Facebook profile picture and also be sure to check out this article on how to optimise your facebook presense.
Set Up A Fan Page
After you have set up your profile you will want to set up a “fan page” (see mine here) for your business. A fanpage is essentially the way your client base can keep in touch with your business – basically a Facebook version of your online presence. As quoted in Mashable’s Facebook Fan Page Guide, a fan page provides a place to provide:
- An overview of your company
- Website and contact info
- Press releases
- Videos
- Blog RSS
- Twitter updates
- Company news and status
- Customer interaction
To set up your fan page, log in to Facebook, scroll to the bottom and click on Advertising. Then click Pages and Create a Page. Select the type of business you own and start filling in all the details. The more info you add, the better your page will be and remember: Google thinks highly of Facebook in its search engine results. Ensure you set up a vanity url for your fan page.
For some examples of great branded Facebook pages, have a look at these 5 inspiring case studies and this article on the elements of successful Facebook Fan Pages.
Below you can see an example of how users have interacted with a blog post that was posted to my Fan Page.
Set Up A Group
You may be wondering, why do you need both a fan page and a group? In short, they both engage with users in different ways. The group allows users to interact on a more personal level where as the fan page is more focused on your business & brand. For further clarification, read this article on what’s the difference between Facebook Pages & Facebook Groups?
Anyway, you can set up a Facebook Group here. As an example you can see the Just Creative Design group here. Notice how users have added photos of their work, linked to their profiles and other news? Just another way users can interact with your brand.
Automise Your Twitter & Facebook Promotion
After you have set up your profile, fan page and group, you will want to automise as much of your marketing as possible to save time and hassle.
Feed your blog to Twitter & Facebook: Whenever I write a new blog article, I’ve set it up so an automatic tweet goes out to all my Twitter & Facebook followers. I’ve done this via the use of the Twitter Feed service though there are many other options.
Send your tweets to Facebook: This may not suit everyone however the way I use Twitter is basically to share quality links with others, which in turn brings more followers, thus maximising the visiblity and exposure of my brand.
Whenever I send a tweet, I’ve got it set up (short tutorial for set up here) for all my tweets to go to Facebook as well. This allows interaction on both platforms. For example, see a recent tweet that went to Facebook below.
There is also a Selective Twitter Status Facebook App that allows you to choose which tweets get sent to Facebook.
Something else worth mentioning is the tool called TweetLater which allows you to pre schedule Twitter posts in advance. Very handy for promotion while your away. For more Twitter tips, visit this Ultimate Twitter Guide.
Promote Your Facebook Pages
In short, getting traffic and exposure from Facebook is relative to how you use it, how you promote your profiles and how you go about integrating Facebook with your other marketing efforts.
I always keep this in mind: do to others as you would like done to you because what goes around, comes around.
I also recommend reading this article: 9 rules of facebook promotion for small business.
More ways to promote using Facebook
There are many other ways to implement Facebook into your online marketing. Although I have not yet ventured into these areas, they are defintly something to consider.
- Paid Facebook Advertising
- Get Facebook Widgets / Badges for your site or blog
- Integrate Facebook into your site using Facebook Connect
- Build Facebook-enabled iPhone apps
- Create an application that runs inside Facebook
For even more Facebook resources see this massive list of 100 Facebook tools and tips.
Conclusion
Your Facebook promotional efforts will be ongoing, so plan to dedicate a few hours each week to getting new fans and updating content. You’ll quickly appreciate the instant ability to connect with customers and future customers through this valuable social media tool!
Think of your Facebook profile as a digital asset and grow the equity in that asset over the rest of your life. Also be sure to monitor your brand’s reputation.
If you have any further Facebook promotional tips, questions or comments please leave them in the comments below.
Comments
This article was originally published on November 2009, however due to our hosts doing a runner on us we lost a number of posts and comments. I’ve salvaged what I could from Google cache. Below you can find the original comments.
- Shurandy Thode (@shurandythode) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Great post! Nice tips, I’m definitely going to have a look at some of them on my facebook account.
- Geeee (@geeee) on Nov 25, 2009 said:very detailed and informative post as usual but I think that setting up your twitter to post to your FB account is not necessary anymore because most of the desktop applications can post separately to multiple account either fan page or personal account like TweetDeck & Seesmic. Thanks again for the good effort; you keep adding more value to our career
- Preston Lee (@prestondlee) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Great post, Jacob. Thanks for sharing! Branding in general is something we all need to worry about whether via facebook or other means.Perhaps your readers would also be interested in this post:
“Three brand awareness tips from the pros”
Cheers!
- Ricky Salsberry (@rickyaustin) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Wew hoo – I made it in a screenshot!Nice post.
- David Korona (@DKRM) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Lots of great pointers here, definitely a reference when I publish a Fan Page. Thanks for the post.
- Mike Hallaron (@mh1webdsign) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Good stuff Jacob and timely. Just launched our FB business page and still learning new ways to make the page more useful. I agree with your point that it’s best not to overplay the promotions while seeking fan count. Our plan is to continue to add content and attract more fans. It’s more about a pull strategy than a push strategy. As fans grow we’ll gently begin periodic fan emails. Thanks!
- Abounding (@abounding) on Nov 25, 2009 said:I love the tips, especially about automation. That is a really important point for people who are producing content for multiple sites/accounts. Busy people need to maximize efforts and publish as widely as possible.
- Kamila – Darc Vanilla Design (@darcvanilla) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Very good post. I was about to write similar I’ve just launched my Darc Vanilla Design fan page and I’m still learning how to make it more attractive to potential readers.
Facebook is indeed a great tool to quickly increase traffic on the website. Who of you designers don’t have facebook fan page integrated with your blog – I suggest to do it right away. - Dave Sparks (@dsparks83) on Nov 25, 2009 said:Hi Jacob, another informative post although managing two accounts it is actually against Facebook user policy – no matter what the usage of the account is.
http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=721Facebook recommend setting up a page for your business and encouraging users to follow that which is what my company has done http://www.facebook.com/armitageonlinesolutions. It’s not quite the same but it does the job and stops you falling foul of facebook’s user policies.
- Ann Edwards (@annedwards) on Nov 26, 2009 said:I already spent over 30 minutes on Facebook because of the 2nd section. Lol.Great post, as always.
- Kiren on Nov 26, 2009 said:I like your Facebook page because you blend business with your personal stuff, which I think is the right way to go. So many people just post random links to articles with no social interaction.
- Aaron (@photoshopcandy) on Nov 26, 2009 said:Great article. Thanks for sharing.
- frankzhu on Nov 26, 2009 said:nice article for me ,thank you very much
- The Pro Designer (@theprodesginer) on Nov 26, 2009 said:Hey Jacob, this is a really great post, another area which people do not take advantage of enough is adding a landing page on facebook. So when someone lands on my facebook page, they go here: -Landing Page – http://www.facebook.com/thepro…..7146470109
Free Web Graphics Page – http://www.facebook.com/thepro…..4949752878
Hope you find it useful!
- Naomi on Nov 27, 2009 said:Great post, great information. Thanks.
- Michael Martin (@problogdesign) on Nov 27, 2009 said:Nice post! I’ve set up a Fan Page for Pro Blog Design and so far, it’s gone down pretty well! Haven’t quite made the jump to a personal profile as well. For now, I’m keeping that to just people I’ve met. Not sure how I’d keep up with it all otherwise (And I won’t even imagine how you do both plus a group!)
- Cort on Nov 28, 2009 said:Ive been thinking alot about this topic lately.
Thanks for the suggestions! - Rebecca Wong (@rwsdesign) on Nov 29, 2009 said:Great Article! So much to learn and so much to do! Thanks for the tips!
- Autonomy (@autonomydesign) on Nov 30, 2009 said:Thanks for the tips Jacob, great post!
- Bradley Pearce (@bradleypearce) on Dec 1, 2009 said:Ha, just noticed we have the same birthday. Great article and advice as always
- Laurent JOUVIN (@migratedesign) on Dec 1, 2009 said:Thanks for this post Jacob. I have been using Facebook as well for my business for the past 6 months (http://www.facebook.com/MigrateDesign). It has definitely helped my main site (http://www.migratedesign.com) and increased traffic. The result is a better ranking within search engines.
- Tyler Maynard on Dec 2, 2009 said:Great info Jacob. Social-Networking sites are great for exposing your business. Big or small, there is nothing like free media outlets!
- logo design (@bruceslogos) on Dec 2, 2009 said:Thank you for sharing and that was a useful tips and most of us is using facebook as form internet marketing promotion
- Mindy (@mindysteen) on Dec 3, 2009 said:Hi Jacob, excellent post. I will definitely be referring back to this one.Any idea if there’s a way to make the automatic Twitter posts update the fan page, but not your personal page? I’ve tried this so many times, but I haven’t been successful. I tend to use Twitter just for professional stuff, and don’t want those tweets on my personal facebook (my non-design friends don’t care about the CSS link I posted).
Thanks, as always. Excellent stuff.
- A Design Student (@rmdesignstudent) on Dec 3, 2009 said:I think this is a really great post! Really helpful, and just goes to show what you can actually do with social networking sites. Thanks Jacob. Please read my blog and follow me on twitter.
rmdesignstudent@me.com - Benjamin Rama on Dec 4, 2009 said:yeh FB is gonna be big with brands as GV and From the couch had th e forsight to see
- Hesham @ FamousBloggers (@FamousBloggers) on Dec 7, 2009 said:I have some difficulties on changing my photo at Facebook for branding reasons, but I think it’s better to do it now before more time pass and there will be no return back! thanks Jacob for this awesome post!
- Goji on Dec 8, 2009 said:Great post, great information!
Thank you. - Jeromy on Dec 10, 2009 said:Thanks for the tips, especially about protecting your brands reputation.
- Facebook Application Developers (@facebokguru) on Dec 11, 2009 said:Well don Jacob, you don very well. I have also try to explain this process by slides. If visitors like to see this too.
http://www.slideshare.net/face…..a-facebook - Facebokguru (@facebokguru) on Dec 11, 2009 said:This article is great, however some new things are added in the following slide.
http://www.slideshare.net/face…..a-facebook - Stephen Emlund (@stemlund) on Dec 11, 2009 said:This post is a great resource for how to successfully get yourself or business on Facebook.One thing I might suggest to anyone wanting to customize their Facebook fan page even more: Install the Facebook app called ‘Static FBML’. It allows you to add multiple tabs to your page where you can place custom HTML. I’ve not implemented it yet, but you can find more info on Static FBML is here – http://www.facebook.com/note.p…..9520642788
Has anyone used Static FBML?
- Chotrul Web Design on Dec 13, 2009 said:Yeah, as mentioned in several comments, thus far I’ve kept my professional life well clear of Facebook, which is strictly for social activity. It’ll be interesting moving the former into the latter, so that my web design and seo work doesn’t suffer from whatever quirkiness there is in my private life .. much food for thought in your article … many thanks for that!
- Marja Bonn (@bonweb_tweets) on Dec 15, 2009 said:Great article, once again!
- Dan on Dec 17, 2009 said:Great Stuff! I’ve debated on whether or not to Twitter but the automation helps.
- viettel adsl on Dec 18, 2009 said:Great info Jacob. Social-Networking sites are great for exposing your business. Big or small, there is nothing like free media outlets!
- Azterik Media (@Azterik) on Dec 18, 2009 said:Excellent article. This information is really helpful, I have to say I was slow to warm up to using Facebook for business but it really is a traffic driver. With the correct cross promotion of Facebook, Twitter and your main website it can be a real boon to overall business. Thanks for posting these tips!
- Benjamin Rama on Dec 18, 2009 said:yeh twitter only has 11 million users which is really nothing compared with 200 million – i had a fan page but cant find it anywhere so ill make new one – its just a new way to communicate with your readers and with people whic is really important – there arent too many ways to do this apart from comments its very faceless, happy holidays anway
- High Internet Savings Account on Dec 18, 2009 said:Great articles, It is right that facebook is the most popular site and its traffic is very high.
- Eko Setiawan (@camp26team) on Dec 19, 2009 said:This information is very useful for us, we just make a fan page, and try to give the best for the customer.
- Amna on Dec 28, 2009 said:Great Post! very comprehensive. Thankyou!
- Bob on Jan 1, 2010 said:Great article.
- Anime (@anassin) on Jan 2, 2010 said:Thanks a lot! I am going to use this!
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After two strong years of blogging, I’ve decided to take two months off to go traveling. I will be monitoring my three sites throughout this time, but there will be very limited (if any) posts throughout this time.
I am off for a road trip across 22 states of USA for 6 weeks then back to Australia for a 2 week family holiday / Christmas. I then fly back to New York to start full time work at Carrot Creative of which, I hope to continue to blog on a fortnightly basis. I also plan to keep running Logo Of The Day and to a lesser extent, Logo Designer Blog.
Birthday, Graduation & Moving Out
I’ll also be turning 22 years old during my time away, graduating from University, moving out of home (and country) and making the switch from PC to Mac, so it’s all happening!
Judging Roles
I’ve also just been selected to be a part of the judging panel for the 2010 Annual Design Awards along side David Carson, Matthew Walker (ESPN Art Director) and more. More info on that next year.
Update Jan 24th: I’ve chosen to pull out of this judging role due to conflicts of interest.
I’ve also been chosen to be on the judging panel for the 2nd year running for the Project Never competition, a competition that judges the “best rejected designs”. I am also judging “the best websites of the world” over on The CSS Awards and continue to judge logos for my other site, Logo Of The Day.
Computer Arts Articles
Also, keep an eye out for Issue 171 of Computer Arts magazine as I’ve written two typography related articles that will be appearing in there.
Interview
I’ve also had the pleasure of being interviewed for the website Your Hidden Potential, a website that showcases entrepreneurs under 27 years of age. You can read the interview here.
Happy Festive Season!
I’ll take this time to wish you all a great festive holiday season and a Happy New Year!
The Value Of Taking Time Off
I’ll leave you with this video by Stefan Sagmeister about the value of taking time off. Make sure you check out the last minute for a good laugh.
Thanks for your continued support and Bon Voyage!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Comments
This article was originally published on November 15th 2009, however due to our hosts doing a runner on us we lost a number of posts and comments. I’ve salvaged what I could from Google cache. Below you can find the original comments.
- Marco (@marcofolio) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Totally understand it man, you go enjoy your vacation! Just make sure come back after these 2 months and start writing awesome articles once again
.And don’t forget to take pictures along the way! - Ebi Atawodi (@ebiatawodi) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Yay! Of all the things I’ve always wanted to say to you “Get a Mac” so so happy about that of everything you’ve said! All sounds great! Love Sagmeister, time off is crucial I think to stay sane and give your brain a juggle!Have fun Jacob!
- designfollow (@designfollow) on Nov 15, 2009 said:very usefulthanks
- NBK (@nguyenbk) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Bon Voyage Mr. Cass! You’re truly an inspiration, and I wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors. Have lots of fun on your Vaca across the States. And remember, it’s just the beginning. Go wherever instinct takes you, and embrace every moment, NOW.
- Devlin (@devlindonnelly) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Have a great trip! If you itenary deviates and you make to Seattle let me know & we can show you the city.
- Mario (@ocondesign) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Good luck with your trip to the US and with your new job. I’m glad to hear you are making the switch to a Mac.
- Design Informer (@designinformer) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Glad to hear about all the great things you are doing Jacob. Very impressive that you are able to do so many great things at such a young age.By the way, let me know when you get here in LA and maybe we can get coffee or something.
Are you doing the entire trip by yourself?
- Chris Gabriel (@trampish) on Nov 15, 2009 said:Drop me a line if you’re in NYC and would like to grab a drink. We’ll call it a business meeting and write off the bill
- Sharon dowdy (@crimsontweets/prior crave2create) on Nov 16, 2009 said:Okay, Im exhausted just reading this article. No wonder you need a break! I wouldnt mind a break like that myself. Im glad to hear that you are moving into MAC land. Hopefully your travels will be bringing you to Tennessee. It’s called “God’s country” if you havent heard. I think you would love it. Be careful and have FUN!
- matthijs on Nov 16, 2009 said:Great overview, and definitely a nice list of all the things you managed to do. I would say a nice holiday is fully deserved. Enjoy it!
- Katrin Eiermann (@keiermann) on Nov 16, 2009 said:Thanks for your awesome blog and have a fantastic trip. I did that trip though the US (by car and with the let´s go budget guide) years ago, it´s worth it! Take care!
- Jessica on Nov 16, 2009 said:Congratulations! You are extremely talented and I can’t wait to read more about your design journey in the future. Jessica-Seattle
- daphne (@dainen) on Nov 16, 2009 said:Have fun Jacob! Looking forward to your return and can be predicted that you’ll have much up your sleeve from the months off.Hope you have a great getaway
- Callum Chapman (@callumchapman) on Nov 16, 2009 said:Haha it’s all happening at once! Hope you have an awesome time! I think you have too much money if you can go travelling for 6 weeks, move out, AND get a mac! I’ll be following what you’re up to! Take care!
- Carlos on Nov 17, 2009 said:Good luck Jacob!I’m a similar situation, while you’re moving to USA in January, I’ll be moving from Peru to Australia.
- Nadia on Nov 17, 2009 said:Congratulations! Have a nice trip! Hope you will enjoy the United States.
- Briana on Nov 17, 2009 said:Hope you enjoy my hometown of Albuquerque! It looks like an organized trip, but feel free to email me if you’d like ideas for things to do. Have fun, Jacob!
- Kiren on Nov 17, 2009 said:Have a great trip and don’t forget about the little people:) I love this site, it’s become so addictive, what am I going to do for two months?
- Raja Sandhu (@rajasandhu) on Nov 17, 2009 said:Thanks for all you do, and all that you will do brother, enjoy the time off!
- mariadelsol on Nov 17, 2009 said:buena suerte!!
i would love see these pics it will be a wonderful travel …… thansk for all by now im learning here…..gook luck enjoy byeeee - Cort on Nov 18, 2009 said:In case I don’t see you when you pass through…WELCOME TO UTAH!
- intext pools on Nov 18, 2009 said:have a nice and safe trip! (wow! two strong years of blogging )
- Taz on Nov 19, 2009 said:Welcome to the U.S.! Hope Chicago is on your list of places to visit!
- Damon on Nov 20, 2009 said:Too bad you won’t be coming to Ohio, I’d show you around.. too bad there is nothing to see here!!!Good luck man, you deserve it!
- Laurent JOUVIN (@migratedesign) on Nov 24, 2009 said:Have fun and come check us out if you’re in LA!
- w3planting on Nov 25, 2009 said:what can be most exciting thing then visiting the new places around the world!!! cool man , have a nice trip
- Andrea on Nov 25, 2009 said:Congratulations! Have the best of time! I´m your fan I admire you and I get really inspired of knowing all the thigns that u achief every day, I´m studing design too and about a year ago this was the first design blog I´ve ever visited and based in this one I have known so much more blogs, and webs, and all the best design world on the internet.
Love your blog, your posts and your love to design and as the others say don´t forget about us!
Take pictures!!LAQODESIGN?
- Gavin (@gwipDesign) on Dec 3, 2009 said:Sounds like a great trip, looks like you’ll be passing by my neck of the woods. Hope you have fun!
- Sam Logan (@sjlwebdesign) on Dec 13, 2009 said:Hi Jacob,I hope the travelling is going well, I’m insanely jealous of your itinerary. Good luck with the new job when you get back too.
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I’ve been pretty busy of late so I thought I should show you what I have been up to. Here a small showcase of my most recent work along with a brief description of each.
Sikh Youth Australia Website
This is my largest and most recent website to date. It has been built from scratch and is currently in coding by Kiidesign (Now completed: Sikh Youth Australia), using Expression Engine as the CMS. It will feature a rotating article slide show, an article accordion (similar to the left side bar of this site) and a nice drop down CSS Menu along with loads of other user interactivity. The right side bar & footer will be on every page of the site.
Oke Rum Liquouer
This was a full branding job for a Jamaican rum liquouer / cocktail that has been in development for several months now. Work included the identity design, bottle design and a 3D render mockup. The bottle is soon to be manufactured.
Scott Barnes Digipack Album
This is an album cover for Scott Barnes, an musician from just outside Washington DC. The album art plays on the themes of fire and revolution. It is to be printed in January after his EP has been mastered.
Logo Copyright Poster
This is a personal project that I have been working on. The poster features the (reversed) logos of the top 100 top global brands of 2009 as ranked by Interbrand, formed into the shape of the copyright symbol. The bottom right text says: “Good artists copy, great artists steal” ~ Pablo Picasso.
The idea behind the poster was to question the blurring lines between art, design and copyright. Can one just take a whole series of others work, put it into a new shape and call it art? Or is it design? I think Picasso’s quote also draws on similar thoughts… what’s the difference between copying and stealing? What is the secret to creativity?
Anyway, you can interpret as you wish. You can download this free as a PDF here.
Keep Calm and Stay Safe Letterpress Poster
This poster was part of a campaign that was running at Newcastle University raising awareness of student safety. I utilised the use of letterpress to create a poster inspired by a British motivational poster from 1939, titled “Keep Calm and Carry On”.
In the bottom left photo, you can see how I have cut away at lino for hours on end to create the letter forms. Blood, sweat and tears went into this one… well maybe not tears, but certainly blood.
Learnworks Identity Design
This is the rest of the identity design for the Learnworks logo that I posted about a few weeks ago. Learnworks provides on-site training, books and e-learning courses. I also had the fun job of designing their Word and Powerpoint templates.
MEGS Identity Design
MEGS is a program being developed by the NSW Department of Education and Training, TAFE and the University of Newcastle. It aims to bring students to Universities across the State. MEGS stands for “Making Educational Goals Sustainable”. The concept behind this piece was to show the cross roads of life and also to show the concept of bringing students into University… plus X does mark the spot.
Love Christ, Love Life
This was a recent piece of work completed for University for an advertising campaign promoting the life of Jesus. The use of the heart and Christ symbols create a powerful message.
Beolchi Rangel
The identity design for Beolchi Rangel, a business management consulting business based in Brazil. I wrote up a process of how I made this logotype over on Logo Designer Blog.
Morning Fog Album
This was an experimental piece for a fictional client. I was experimenting with mark making, ink, paper and sponges and I really liked how some of the marks came out, so I decided to make it into an album cover.
Experimentation
This was another experimentation with many different mediums – chalk, crayon, pencil, oil pastel, biro, soft pastel, charcoal and digital manipulation. Thought it came out pretty cool, could see it on a club flyer or album cover.
Dr. Reg Edward Logo Design
Dr. Reg Edward is a British doctor who uses innovative targeted regional anesthetic techniques to target pain rather than putting patients on highly potent drugs. The concept is based on targeting the pain, hence the crosshair, however there is also a hidden + symbol inside the negative space.
Opus Grex Logo Design
This is the logo design for a new website that is soon to launch. All I can say is that the site will be a place for people to go to “collaborate on problem solving”. Opus Grex is latin for “the work of the crowd”.
Alexandre Mantacheff Identity Design
This is the logo design for a high end art & antique gallery established in New York who is operating under it’s Parisian endorser’s name of Alexandre Mantacheff. The shape you see in the middle is actually an oil tower from back in the 1880’s, as per the client’s request.
Ford Logo Redesign
This was a personal project, my take on redesigning the current Ford logo.
Biotechnology Logo
This is the new identity design for the Undergraduate Biotechnology Program at The University of Newcastle.
Business Organiser Logo
This is a logo design for a business coach / consultant that organises other people’s businesses via the use of better systems, layouts & management. A minimalist, near zen-like approach was taken here with emphasis on O for organisation. The rest of their identity is still in the works.
Comments, constructive criticism and questions are welcome, as always.
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