About.com Graphic Design

Do Your Clients Think Freelancers are Free?
9/7/2010

A recent article in Crain's stated that 42% of New York's independent workers had difficulties getting paid last year, and that 14% were never paid at all. According to the article, this added up to $4.7 billion in lost wages.

I'm sure many (if not all) of you have had trouble collecting from a client at some point. Getting clients to pay can take anything from a nudge to legal action, but it's all part of being a freelancer (and the job of accountant that goes along with that). Do you have clients that don't pay? How have you collected? Please share in the comments and answer the poll below.

Do Your Clients Think Freelancers are Free? originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 00:26:47.

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Interview with Tracey Halvorsen - Part 2
9/7/2010

Last week, I posted part 1 of an interview with Tracey Halvorsen. Tracey is a blogger, painter, author, speaker and Principal and Creative Director at Fastspot, a Baltimore, Maryland-based interactive agency. In the second part of my interview with her, we cover building a portfolio (without existing clients), tips on project pricing, dealing with client requests, the importance of failure and more.

• On Pricing: "Budgets are complicated, especially when you are getting started. The value something has in dollars may be outweighed by the value a project presents in terms of your portfolio, connections, future work, etc. I recommend doing a pros / cons list for every prospective project and ask yourself the following questions, before you think about budget..." Read more
  
  
• On Portfolios: "Feeling uninspired? Do a search for local non-profits. Believe me, there are hundreds of organizations that are dying for some website assistance. You just have to reach out to them. Don't be disappointed if you don't hear back, because people working at these non-profits are incredibly busy and wearing multiple hats..." Read more
  
  
• On a Happy Studio: "Yes, great design is the goal, and profits, and stability and health benefits and all that good stuff. But NONE of the good stuff matters if people aren't happy. Being a creative person means you need to be challenged, and you need to feel you are constantly evolving. This is important to fostering the happiness within a creative agency. Seek work and clients that will allow you to do those things, and to remain happy, and the profits and stability and good stuff will follow. So don't forget about the fact that you are running a business full of people, who create things for other people..." Read more
  
  
• Miss last week's Q&A? Want to bookmark or share the full interview? Go Here

Interview with Tracey Halvorsen - Part 2 originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 09:00:13.

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The Tablets Face-Off
9/7/2010

Computerworld has a clever article that compares two tablets: The 2010 Apple iPad and the company's 1979 Graphics Tablet. The 70's tablet was built for use with the Apple II as an input device rather than a stand-alone device. The article covers everything from packaging to drawing, with some classic images to go along with it.

Courtesy of Apple

The Tablets Face-Off originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 15:04:54.

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Freelance Design Business Advice from Fastspot's Tracey Halvorsen
9/7/2010

Fastspot is an interactive agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, that creates beautiful websites, applications and brands along with offering a wide selection of technology and marketing services. I recently had a chance to speak with Tracey Halvorsen, Fastspot's Principal and Creative Director. Tracey is also a painter, author, speaker and of course, a designer. She shared some great advice for freelancers and designers, including effective ways to use social networking, important things to remember when starting a freelance business and skills aside from design a designer should work on.

Below are a few of the questions from the interview, which I'll be sharing over the next couple of weeks.

• How has social media changed the way you communicate and do business?
  
  "Not only is Twitter useful to broadcast and interact, it's also incredibly useful to research prospective clients, learn more about potential employees and watch what your competition is up to." Read Full Answer

• What advice would you give to someone considering leaving a full-time job to start a freelance business? When is the "right time" or does that not exist?

  "Get back to people, follow up, always put the ball back in their court. I call it client service hot potato - if I'm holding it, I'm getting burned." Read Full Answer
  

• If you could pick a few things designers should improve on or learn about, that have nothing to do with the creative side of our work, what would they be?
  
  "Remember your prospective clients are busy, so don't waste their time, and don't make them work hard to understand what you are selling or why they should hire you." Read Full Answer

Jumbalaya iPad app by Fastspot (Image Used Courtesy of Fastspot)

Freelance Design Business Advice from Fastspot's Tracey Halvorsen originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 00:28:40.

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The Creative Characters Archives
9/7/2010

I always enjoy reading the monthly newsletter from myfonts.com that highlights a type designer, called Creative Characters. Issues have featured Richard Lipton, who has worked with Adobe and Bitstream to Jos Buivenga, creator of Museo (which I seem to see on every other website these days). Since I generally get to the articles right from my email, I only recently found the Creative Characters archives, which has all of the newsletters and of course a sign up form to get them yourself. I recommend reading them, and along the way perhaps you'll find the next typeface for that project you've been losing sleep over.

The Creative Characters Archives originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 00:09:41.

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Beautiful Illustrations by Ugur Derinogullu
9/7/2010

I recently came across the work of  Uğur Derinoğullu, first seeing the illustrator's cover art that circulated on Twitter. These beautiful illustrations show Derinoğullu's ability to bring a completely unique approach to design, shown further in other pieces on Cargo Collective.

Image courtesy Uğur Derinoğullu

Beautiful Illustrations by Ugur Derinogullu originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 17:21:24.

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Essential Fonts
9/7/2010

With so many fonts out there, sometimes our collections can get out of control. This can get overwhelming when searching for that perfect typeface for a project. When this happens, sometimes it's best to focus on the classics. Here's a list of essential fonts for a graphic designer, including some of the most popular and commonly used typefaces. While many of these fonts come installed with your computer, the list includes links to purchase the full font families on Linotype.com.

Please share your favorite classic fonts in the comments.

Essential Fonts originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 08:35:55.

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Working Late with the New York Nightowls
9/7/2010

The New York Times technology section recently featured the New York Nightowls, a group of designers and web developers that get together every Tuesday for a different kind of work day; one that starts at 10 PM. Sometimes working as late as 4 AM, the group gets a nice solid block of time uninterrupted by the usual daytime distractions.

I know I often go back to work on a design around 11 PM, and many creatives do the same, but it's been a while since I've seen a sunrise while working on something. When do you do your best work? Early in the morning or in the middle of the night? Answer our poll below and share in the comments.

Working Late with the New York Nightowls originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 at 08:36:51.

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The Many Faces Of...
9/7/2010

"The Many Faces Of..." is a website that looks at, well, the many faces of various characters. So far, they have featured the cast of the 80's classic The Goonies, John Cusack and Alan Rickman. Each feature is an example of excellent, modern web design with great illustration and comedy mixed in. The site was created by the studio Paravel, whose design work is also worth checking out. Have a look at The Many Faces or follow them on Twitter to be notified of new features.

The Many Faces Of... originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 21:01:36.

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The Work of Jared Nickerson
9/7/2010

Digital Art Empire has a nice feature on the character design and illustration of Jared Nickerson. His work includes beautiful iPod cases, digital art, graphics for Computer Arts Projects magazine and amazing compilations of images for use as wallpapers, sneakers and more. See some of Nickerson's favorite pieces in the article or view his portfolio.

The Work of Jared Nickerson originally appeared on About.com Graphic Design on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 21:07:33.

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