Introducing…Apex Creative Hi all! To my loyal followers and fans, thank you for all of your continued support, and for your interest in what I’ve been up to. As you may be wondering, why the heck would I change my business name now? Especially as my brand equity has grown and organic search results are up. All I can say it, it’s been a long time coming. Ever since I started freelancing, I’ve struggled with…
Clients turn us down all the time. Aren’t we ever allowed to return the favor? I say, heck yes! Sometimes, for one reason or another, we get that feeling in our gut that something just isn’t quite right. And it’s always best to heed rather than ignore those red flags. But let’s say you’re in the middle of your meeting with a potential client, and then you realize you should turn down the project? Do…
I just walked away from an $8,000 project. “What, are you crazy?!” Is probably what you’re thinking right now. Yes, I am crazy. Crazy enough to put my sanity and happiness before profits. The reason I want to share this with you is to encourage all other designers out there that it’s okay to say “no” sometimes. In fact, the ability to say “no” is an important part of what we do. But if you’re…
Last week we talked about the importance of avoiding the things which only serve to deepen your creativity rut. This week, I’d like to introduce some ideas which should increase your creativity by giving it a nice little boost. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, feel free to substitute activities for others which sound more appealing. Have fun! 1. Laugh Go to a comedy club Take an improv class Go see…
If you need to be creative, avoid doing these 7 deadly sins Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” While being creative can certainly be fun, it can also be hard to find those new connections sometimes. Whether you’re a fellow graphic designer, a student, an engineer or a manager, I’m sure you have run into the problem of trying to solve a problem creatively. And if you’re like most people, you’ve probably…
After being around the design block for a few years, I’ve come across some really great resources, usually in the form of books. And after years of reading, collecting, buying, and even returning some, I think I have a pretty solid collection now, of which there are 15 that I consider share-worthy. These 15 books are the crème de la crème of design reads; whether they are the most useful, the most inspirational, or most…
Qualifying clients isn’t easy… But luckily I just recently revamped my process for selecting clients. Revamp as in, actually having one instead of winging it or hoping that the phone doesn’t ring. My problem was, that when it came to dealing with established clients, I was fine. But when someone emailed me or called me out of the blue, asking about my services, I had no idea what I was doing. I froze up. Finally…
Run, don’t walk from cheap logo design. I got a phone call not so long ago from a prospective client asking about having a logo designed. Great, I thought, that’s what I do! Unfortunately they found out that I was way outside of their budget. Now, I get it…even the starting price of what I charge for logos isn’t exactly cheap, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a professionally designed logo for much less than…
I’ll give you a hint: saving money’s involved. Hiring any kind of professional to do work for you can be a big investment of time, energy, and of course, money. So it follows that you would want to make the best possible decision when choosing someone to design your new logo or business card. Many people are understandably anxious about hiring a freelance Graphic Designer over a design agency, but the odds are definitely in…
