Another article on red flags to watch out for with clients? I know what you’re thinking: man, she must really hate clients. But that’s not true. At all. Most of my clients I truly enjoy working with, and we have great relationships. Some I even meet for drinks! But the reason I do love the vast majority of my clients is because I try to be selective about whom I work with. Unfortunately, there are…
Great news, everyone! As many of you know, I don’t often (if ever) toot my own horn, but I thought this required a special tooting!
Unfortunately for me and my fellow designers, graphic design just happens to be one of those things that are starting to be considered a commodity. Which would be fine, but of course, it isn’t actually a commodity.
Now that we’ve spent some time talking about why good design matters, let’s talk about how you can implement elements of good design in your business. The first step in thinking about good design is to remember that the big picture feeling is what you’re working towards. Before you begin developing or updating your design, make sure you’re taking the time to identify the core elements of your message. First things first An easy…
Have you ever gone to a website or picked up a business card from a new company only to find yourself dissatisfied or uninterested? Me too. Which got me thinking… there’s a lot of talk about what you need to do to create a killer website, or a great logo. But why does good design even matter? Why do you need it? I’ll tell you why. There’s an intangible value to good graphic design. It’s more than getting…
Last week we talked about the dangers of design contests for designers, which are usually pretty obvious. But for the clients that actually get work done from them, the dangers can be a little more elusive. If you are the owner of a start-up, or simply don’t know where to turn to find a decent design, I’m sure the allure of design contests sound pretty sweet. Heck, they sure market them enough to push anyone’s…
Whether you’re a designer or a client, I’m sure you’ve heard of these things called design contests. Also called crowdsourcing or spec work, websites like 99designs, CrowdSpring, among dozens of others, dot our graphic design landscape. And they’re here to stay, unfortunately. And I’m sure, either as a designer or a client, that they’ve had a certain pull or power over you. Or at the very least, you’ve been curious about them. If you’re a…
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…
A lot of people always wonder if they should rebrand. Some companies who have had the same brand, colors, and typography since the 80’s (and it shows) probably could use a facelift; other companies seem to churn out new identities every few years. Obviously there is a balance somewhere in between, but how do you tell? I’ll give you six easy ways to know whether or not a company rebrand should be in your immediate…
Many people, and rightfully so, aren’t aware of the sheer amount of time and effort that goes into creating a strong brand identity—aka, a logo. Understandably, many potential clients are stunned when I tell them my logo design prices (let’s just say a logo should cost you more than a nice dinner.) In fact, most professional designers would agree: a logo takes a lot of time, thought, skill, and effort. All of this amounts to…
