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Who Owns the Rights to Your Design Work?

August 27, 2014SheilaBusiness Tips, Freelancing, Random69 Commentsclient, copyright, files, freelancing, graphic design, InDesign, ownership, rights

So you’ve just gotten a killer brochure designed. You can’t wait to print it and start using it. But you’re also thinking long term…what if, in a few months, some of the information needs to be changed? So you decide to ask the designer for the native or source files (i.e. the program that the file was originally built in, and is editable). And they happily say…no. Wait, what??

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How to Give Your Graphic Designer Feedback in 11 Easy Steps

July 21, 2014SheilaBusiness Tips, Graphic Design19 Commentsaudience, business, business goals, client, design, feedback, goals, graphic design, logo

A couple weeks ago, we were talking about how your designer is not an order taker. I made a pretty convincing case as to why, as the client, you should refrain from telling your graphic designer how to do their job. But of course we’re now all wondering, when and how should you offer feedback? If at all? Rest assured, I think it’s perfectly fine and healthy for a client to provide constructive feedback in…

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Good, Fast, Cheap: Yes, You Can Only Pick Two.

April 12, 2014SheilaBusiness Tips, Graphic Design12 Commentsbad logos, cheap design, client, design, fast, good, logo

Time=Money Every once in a while I run into a client who truly doesn’t seem to grasp this concept. It’s a pretty simple one. Time=money. Cheap things are cheap because they aren’t made well or didn’t take too long to make. Expensive things are expensive because they are higher quality and/or take considerable time to create. Design is no different.

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The Disastrous Results of Using Cheap Web Design

January 13, 2014SheilaBusiness Tips, Graphic Design, Marketing4 Commentsbranding, business, cheap design, client, competition, Groupon, marketing, mill, niche, template, website

So I’ve looking into getting back into martial arts. And I found a great Groupon for a Tae Kwon Do school that was right down the street from me. While I was at it, I started researching some other schools that offered Krav Maga, a type of street self-defense, as well. Then I ran into a website that looked just like the one where I bought the Groupon from. I was excited. “Ooo,” I thought,…

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What to do When Logos Look Alike

October 16, 2013SheilaBusiness Tips, Logo Design, Random7 Commentsbranding, business, client, logo, Logo Design, similarities, unique

Panic! Okay, maybe not quite yet. I’ve run into this a couple of times, mostly after I’d designed a new logo for a client. Once or twice they’ve come back to me, worried that their logo looked like another logo floating around out there.

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7 Things Game of Thrones Taught Me About Branding and Marketing

August 23, 2013SheilaBranding, Geeky Stuff, Marketing, Random8 Commentsbranding, client, customer, Game of Thrones, graphic design, logo, loyalty, marketing, reputation, spoiler, tagline

As a graphic designer who dabbles in marketing and branding, I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration. I never thought I’d find it watching GoT, but the more I studied the plot and characters, the more I realized that it had more in common with solid marketing principles than I had previously thought.   *spoiler alert The following assumes you are a fan of Game of Thrones, and have at least watched through Season…

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Branding, Logos, and Identity: Step 1, Branding

June 17, 2012SheilaBranding, Business Tips, Logo Design6 Commentsassociations, brand building, brand signal, branding, client, competition, differentiated, emotion, experience, identity, Logo Design, marketing, perception, relevant, simple

You’ve heard the terms thrown around a lot. Branding. Logos. Identity. What do they all mean? How do they differ? Does their order matter? And if so, which came first, the chicken or the egg? In this 3 part miniseries, I will detail each of these “steps” and explain their differences, their importance, and meaning of each. This week, allow me to introduce Step 1: Branding.   Step 1) Branding: the emotional perception or idea…

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Case Study: Design Concepts

August 21, 2011SheilaCase Studies5 Commentsbranding, case study, client, competition, custom, drywall, Logo Design, niche, outside the box, process, simple, sketches, unique

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Logo design used to be my least favorite thing in the world. Used to be. Now it’s starting to grow on me. Sure, I love a good logo. Who doesn’t? But designing them…for some reason that’s the Holy Grail of good design. But for me that’s always been an area where I’ve lacked real confidence. Why? Probably because of the amount of weight that one little symbol…

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3 (Good) Reasons to Hire a Freelancer

July 13, 2011SheilaBusiness Tips, Freelancing, Graphic Designclient, custom, freelance, investment, money, personal, process, project, schedule, trustworthy

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…

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Case Study: Life by John

May 14, 2011SheilaCase Studiesbranding, case study, client, concepts, husband, identity, life coach, Logo Design, process, professional, sketches

Who makes the best client? Your husband, of course. The Spring and Summer of 2011 has been filled with multiple new branding and identity opportunities. In this article I will detail the processes and journey behind one of these logo’s developments. Today I will be talking about the logo I designed for my husband John. Now him being my husband and all doesn’t negate the professionalism and work involved; every logo I design goes through…

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