Aibrean's Studio Blog

Why do they hire me?

2010-02-26T12:16:00.005-05:00

Recently I've been working with some clients that have several revisions. They give me mockups of changes they would like to see, things thing would like added to the design. It is turning into a mess. Chances are they will not read this because I don't think they have ever been to my website.

At times I wonder, why do they hire me? I've got nearly 7 years of experience, a degree, design awards...yet they think they know what will look the best.

If you are one of those clients (or think you are) please consider what I've said. I get frustrated with you. I am trying to make you look good. I'm even giving you discounts! I don't want my name on something I am not 100% satisfied with. If I tell you it would look better implemented in another way, PLEASE take my advice (thank you to those that do)! I use your mockups as a guide, not for copying.

I have to rant somewhere and I'd rather it be indirect.

I thank you to those clients who understand me. Most of those actually looked at my work, read my FAQ, etc. Those clients hired me because they saw something unique in me and my designs and knew I could do the job. They didn't hire me solely because someone they knew said I did design.

I hope they realize that I charge hourly and the more revisions they ask of me, the more expensive it's going to get for them.

That's so 2001!

2010-01-15T18:35:00.003-05:00

How long have you kept your cell phone if you have one? 10 years maybe? Remember when Nokia was all the rage? It's old isn't it? It doesn't work as well as the newer phones. It doesn't have as much functionality as the newer phones.

What about your computer ten years ago? Do you still have it now? Doesn't work as good as today's computers and probably with less functionality. Do you still have a floppy drive?

What is my point?

Internet Explorer 6 was released in August, 2001. This year would be its 10th year anniversary. It is time to put it to rest. It's old. It doesn't work as well as newer browsers and it doesn't offer as much functionality, especially with CSS. There are hundreds of security flaws. Internet Explorer 8 is available now. It's time to keep up with the times, especially when it's free.

That's why I don't support IE 6 when coding. If you want it, be prepared for additional costs because yes it will cost you. If you don't want to support IE 6 and want others to get on the wagon for a better usability and viewing experience, I can add a conditional comment for those viewing on IE 6 and earlier to update.

GoDaddy's previewDNS - A Thorn in my side

2010-01-14T21:35:00.005-05:00

This is for anyone who has had issue with the Mootools (popups) not working in Joomla and using GoDaddy's previewDNS option which basically lets you preview a site in development if the domain is pointed to another host. It would be like yourdomain.previewdns.com.

So I'm working on getting Joomla set up for a client. I have it on my server and I get it to a point where I really need to get it on their end for additional development. I install on their site. I copy over my database and all files using a backup extension for Joomla. It looks fine.

Then I notice the popups for preview and the menu select article not working. I think perhaps it's because of my loading the backup. So I delete it and do a fresh install. Still not working. So I delete it and download Joomla again thinking one of my files got corrupt. Still not working.

So I call GoDaddy. Apparently they've never had anyone call about Joomla that had been using previewDNS. They suppose that is the root of the problem. The guy does tell me they don't really offer support for any of their applications. So I have to get the client to buy another domain to test with (something they can use in addition to their current domains for additional SEO).

It works.

2 days later! In 2 days the site could have been DONE.

You know the great thing about my host, 1and1? It comes with a testing domain already so you don't have to use some complicated mask.

Making money with YouTube

2009-12-30T08:28:00.003-05:00

If you produce video content for YouTube and you have an AdSense account and you haven't signed up to their partner program, you are missing out on advertising revenue.

http://www.youtube.com/partners

The minimum qualifications are simple

You create original videos suitable for online streaming.
You own or have express permission to use and monetize all audio and video content that you upload -- no exceptions.
You regularly upload videos that are viewed by thousands of YouTube users.

You get the benefit of branded channel options, analytics tools, plus with the funds you make from the AdSense ads, you can make your own ads.

Apparently my eye graphic is too "corporate"

2009-11-12T08:18:00.005-05:00

So there is a Ning site for my high school. I saw it linked on Facebook. I thought, hey another way to get connected with alumni so I joined. I had everything set to default - the icon is the eye (from my website) that I have on all my other ning sites as well as a lot of forums. It's an illustration I did and I'm proud of it.

I figured I'd also link my design blog on there since it has some useful information as well as freebies.

Well I got an email from the administrator

I'd like you to change your profile pict to something more real and less corporate logo and move the RSS feed to the side bar and put your profile questions back in the center column.

Now the reason why the RSS feed is in the center is because the profile questions are short and the blog is longer. I didn't want people to scroll (assuming they even visited my profile). I have my RSS on every ning I'm on and in fact the Dayton Marketing Community has it in their blog roll list because it's helpful, not because I'm advertising myself.

So I left. If they want to be so persnickety then there is no reason for me to be there. The content was ONLY on my own profile page. I wasn't posting anything about my company in the community.

A response to spec

2009-11-12T07:10:00.001-05:00

Someone on LinkedIn posted a design contest and got a lot of heat about it from people including me. They had written me back

Actually, people do it all the time at http://99designs.com/ and http://www.designcontest.net/

My reply was this

People sell marijuana and crack on the street, that doesn't make it right. The only difference is that these contest sites can get away with it because it's not illegal in itself although there is illegal activity going on. It's still damaging to those around including the clients (if you would check out SpecWatch, many logo winners designs make use of copyrighted imagery they have no claim to, clients then have to have the design redone because they can't use what was included in the design).

People who don't value themselves or the industry are the ones entertaining the contests. Any successful person can't work that way./blockquote>

My Breaking Point

2009-11-10T08:36:00.003-05:00

There are very few things that I can't do that are design related. One is making a photo manipulated collage (i.e. bits and pieces of things cut out that look really neat together).

Stuff like this:

http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=28099

http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=27805

Why? Because I think either abstractly or realistically. I can't meet in the middle. If I try to do it, I think it doesn't look natural. It bothers me. It's like I try to hard. So I don't. I like clean lines. I don't want things to look placed.

Another issue I have is making cartoons (because I can't think that way). Even in college I had to have the illustration teacher help me.

So if you ask me to do any of the above I will say no. I would rather say no and be confident I can't do it than try it and make it look bad.

We all have our limitations. We shouldn't be afraid of them. We should accept them. What are yours?

What you "googled"

2009-10-27T12:31:00.002-04:00

So in my Analytics I track what people are looking for in order to get to my site. In this blog post I'm going to address some of them.

First off is

copyright law displaying client work

Now in all reality copyright gives you the power to display (and only the copyright holder). There are exclusions to these but not for client work (generally it's educational use only - the technical term for legal display and use is "fair use").

In detail they can be found in Section 107 of the copyright code which also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

Now personally I think if you display work on your website it's with the idea you will get more work from it which would make it of a commercial nature (and therefore, not fair use).

I have a clause in my contract which allows me to display client works, copyrighted to them or not, on my site.

Now to another keyword

cost to give clients original design files

I don't ever give my clients original design files unless they purchase the copyright from me (+100% of design cost). If they wanted original files (assuming they would want to edit it and make more versions which is less business for me) they can just buy the copyright from me. I do give flattened artwork and in the case of web design - editable support files such as headers or templates for photos (like a border).

logo design copyright transfer contracts

This is another one that comes up a lot. My transfer form is very basic.

FOR GOOD AND VALUABLE CONSIDERATION, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged April Sadowski ("Assignor"), located at ______________, hereby irrevocably transfers and assigns to ____________ ("Assignee), located at ___________________ its successors and assigns, in perpetuity, all right (whether now known or hereinafter invented), title, and interest, throughout the world, including any copyrights and renewals or extensions thereto, in _______________ (“Design”). Assignor is permitted to display Design as specified in contract (self promotional/portfolio display).

IN WITNESS THEREOF, Assignor has duly executed this Agreement.

April M. Sadowski

By:_______________________

Title:____________________

Date: ____________________

It's pretty basic.

That's all folks. Stay tuned for more later!

My Live Chat

2009-10-26T20:10:00.002-04:00

Need to ask a question quickly? Don't want to call? That's fine! I've added a live chat system on my website. You can see it via my front page or above the contact form at projects.aibrean.com. It will be green when I'm on and red when I'm away. Hopefully I'll remember to put up an away message if I am out (but I can still see your chats as they are logged in the system).

I'm using Mibew Messenger (http://mibew.org/) and it's a completely free open-source install to your web space.

You can customize the skins (I might attempt later) as well as every single string of text. Pretty nifty :)

New Logo Design for Jim Crotty

2009-10-16T18:50:00.007-04:00

I was contacted by Jim last week about doing a logo design. I had first found his work online while I was looking for local photographers in the area several years ago. I had already a good idea of the style he needed and after a brief phone conversation I knew which direction to go with. Even though he wanted just a type treatment I always like to explore graphical icons/representations. I had two concepts, one of the text by itself, and another with the camera icon (and if you notice, the camera form the initials J and C) with a sans serif font below. Jim had asked me to attempt to merge the two after being drawn to the typeface (which had been manipulated) and this is the final result.

Check out his website as he's a very talented photographer and he does hold workshops.

http://www.jimcrotty.com/index.html

Free social media icons

2009-09-29T12:16:00.006-04:00

I am in the sharing mood.

I am working on a little bit of tweaking to my website design (most looks the same) and I wanted to add a social bookmark bar to the bottom. Instead of using someone else's icons, I decided to make my own. Then I realized it would be nice to offer them to others so I added a few more.

Enjoy :)

Because I'm really nice, I'm sharing the Illustrator file :) Tweak to your hearts content! I only ask that you don't redistribute.

http://studio.aibrean.com/freebies/glossysocial_aibrean_8.zip

P.S. The latest edit includes Technorati. I needed it for my blog.

Busy Bee

2009-08-28T10:41:00.002-04:00

I posted a couple of new sites recently on my site.

The first one is Mom-Talent. They provide businesses and organizations with moms who are ready to get back into their career fields.

The approach of this site was to give a design that was fresh and straightforward, easy to navigate and edit.

The site validates XHTML and CSS. Thanks to my partner Edge Webware and Jerold Hass for assistance (CSS tweaks/Programming).

mom-talent.com

The second site I just completed was for the Centerville High School Class of 1980. As you might know, I live near Centerville. The irony of the situation is that the person heading up this is the business partner for Mom-Talent (based in Georgia). It's a small world isn't it?

The group needed a website that they could update on their own but also one that allowed other alumni to converse with each other.

I used CMS to allow for a message board, user registration, and a secure area for viewing submitted alumni information.

This site validates W3C CSS.

chsclassof1980.net

Design Prostitution

2009-08-11T12:50:00.003-04:00

I'm talking about "The act or an instance of offering or devoting one's talent to an unworthy use or cause" here. Recently I got involved in an ethics discussion over at the Designers Talk LinkedIn group. There was a blog post referenced at Freelance Switch regarding Ethical Freelancing.

I really think that there are too many design prostitutes out there. Whether it is accepting a client that preys on people with an addiction, or doing a design for under market value on a spec contest site, the designer is still going about it for the same reason - just to make a buck. If they had any kind of moral compass they would take the high ground. Money is not everything in this world.

One designer had said in this discussion that she never says "no" and if she doesn't want to work on it, she'll outsource. I said:

Personally, I was contacted by someone in the adult entertainment business who wanted to profit off of the addictions of people by running an email campaign with lists from a porn website and I told them no. I didn't care that he was going to pay me a bunch of money. I also wouldn't want others to think it's something worth working on. By allowing others access to the client you are essentially condoning the nature of the project.

Word-of-mouth travels fast and soon it isn't just one person who needs work done on something you are morally opposed to if you allow them a foothold, then it becomes an addiction to you because of the money.

So...that's why my contract has this clause:

The Designer reserves the right to not take on design work based on the content of work being created such as those which are pro-violence, obscene, or of an illegal nature.If Client withholds information of this content until after this contract is signed in the hope of being in a contractual agreement to nullify the Designer's moral reservation, the contract is thus considered void and the Client must pay a $100 inconvenience fee plus any applicable fees leading up to the design.

My reputation is on the line. I also adapted my contract so I don't get caught up in something that I originally had thought was perfectly fine and innocent.

So wondering why I don't do spec-work? Simply put, it's not fair to the client or designer. In a typical designer-client relationship the designer will really get to know a lot about the client's business. That will help with the design process and bring forth more targeted and appropriate design materials leading to the overall success of the client. The designer has no guarantee of payment in a spec situation and typically will also get paid very little (especially in contest situations). I wish people who ran spec contest sites had a moral compass. I feel bad for the people who spent hours working on something and won't see anything come out of it (published or payment).

Really it doesn't matter the industry you are in, ethics is important. Can you imagine the world we'd live in if everyone had a good conscience?

NOTE: About 5 hours after writing this blog post and publishing it, I turned down a client because what they were selling is illegal in my state.

Sometimes, bridges must be burnt

2009-07-09T12:20:00.005-04:00

I occassionally troll the DeviantART job offers forum, not really looking for a job because 90% of them are way under market value. Someone had written, "If you see a cheap job, stay way from it, its clearly not for us, and dont cheapen our profession by picking at a client for their own mistakes". Well the reason why I approach the client and tell them they are offering much too low ($35 for a logo in this case) is because I actually care about the success of the person. How any designer can effectively understand market, audience, association, etc with just $35 is beyond me. The software to make design is expensive. We have to keep everything up to date. Professionals have overhead and have to adjust their prices accordingly in order to make a profit. Those who don't are selling themselves short and are undermining the industry and really I don't see how someone can do a $35 logo and call themselves a professional as they can in no way make a living from it. Not only that, but the people who do a $35 logo are 99% of the time making it in a proprietary format, only delivering a jpg, and working with no contract (which means the client would have no say for copyright use). Then the client will probably have to hire another designer to fix the mistakes. I made a little list of helping curb the waste when getting design work done in my blog. You can check it out here: http://blog.studio.aibrean.com/2008/04/diet-and-exercise.html

You have to realize most of the people on DeviantART are kids and untrained. It hurts me to see someone hire a kid because they don't know how to properly brainstorm and design. There was a survey that pretty much speaks for itself on DA.

I do have a tendency to be blunt and rash and I apologize, it's my nature (inherited from my dad). There is a good heart behind it.

No, I couldn't do a logo for $85 because this is what you get when you hire me

2009-07-01T12:21:00.005-04:00

I recently read a post on DeviantART where someone offered "up to $85" for the creation of a logo design for his business. I had written back that $85 is not a lot and "you get what you pay for". The poster said that he was trying to concentrate on the packaging and just wanted a "decent" logo. I had informed the poster of the following:

The problem is that the logo is probably the MOST important aspect of your business. When you are branding, you are using your logo and your company to produce a positive impact on the audience's perception. If your logo doesn't work, everything else is going to fall apart. Re-branding is an expensive process and is not always successful (Tropicana recently had to revert to their old packaging after thousands of complaints and a 20% downfall in profit) so what you choose needs to able to hold itself up for the long-term. When it comes to advertising, people will judge a "book" by its "cover".

Get a loan, see if someone would be able to trade product for service, or do a payment plan. There are options out there.

Then the poster admitted that he was 16. There is a major issue here. As a 16 year old you can't enter into a contract and having it be legally binding on its own. You would need a guardian (adult) to "co-sign" as a responsible party. Any business that this minor does, he could easily drop out of. When I posted this another designer (albeight one 2 years my senior) implied I wasn't taking the poster seriously. How could I? The designer said she thought that $85 was very generous. I'm sorry but a professional designer does not do a couple quick designs on the computer and say "here you go that's it."

This is what you get with me: Someone who has over 6 years of professional experience plus a degree in design, the logo in color/bw, 3-6 concepts, ability for revision, final artwork, copyright transfer, EPS, TIFF, JPG, and transparent PNG. I also offer additional services such as a branding (style) guideline, stationary kits, applying the logo to other materials, etc at an additional cost.

I don't know what clients this designer had been working with but obviously that didn't take care in making sure they got something that wouldn't need refinement or fixing in the future. I've done work with several design firms/printers and this is my full-time job. I do design for life. It's not a hobby. I take it seriously which is why I want to inform people of the hazards involved. When you don't have proper training or experience then you can easily fall into traps caused by naivety. The world is cut-throat. You have to watch who you deal with. If people aren't sure of me there are plenty of references I can give. Don't fall victim to what might seem an easy penny. It could be laced with poison.

On a side note, the designer condemned someone for offering to design a logo for $12-30. I had to be a smart butt and say "I would think that would be right in your range if you think that $85 is generous."

Taking critiques to heart

2009-06-29T10:53:00.002-04:00

I noticed a posting on the DDN site where someone had mentioned a headline that was deceiving. The headline in question was "Local chef wins first-ever Chef Quest Challenge". The poster wrote

Headline is deceiving. It’s a local chef winning a LOCAL competition. While great and everything, if it were a competition outside the Miami Valley it might be more deserving of the “local chef wins”. That’s like saying “local man buys house” …in the area. Your point? There isn’t even a mention of where the other contestants are from to make being “local” more impressive.

There was another comment that reinforced that comment and then another that defended the article. The reinforcing comment was deleted. If you are reading comments that might be negative, perhaps you should take them to heart instead of deleting them. They are probably there for a good reason.

Radio ads - watch your scripts!

2009-06-29T08:59:00.002-04:00

I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a public awareness "ad" on. It was a bit upsetting to say the least. There were sounds of laughter and cheering like in a basketball game and then a buzzer saying "time out, Amber Alert". The idea was that people could get amber alerts on their cell phones. What I didn't like about it was that it sounded as though it was a game (laughing and cheering) which was entirely NOT appropriate. If they want to grab attention, why don't they do police/ambulance sirens? An Amber Alert is not a laughing or cheering matter. Be aware of your subject matter when writing scripts!

Adventures in Proofing

2009-06-22T14:32:00.003-04:00

I was reading an article on the Indiana International Wine Competition and went to the competition website. I checked out the page labeled "2009 Wine Awards By Class" and noticed at the bottom of the page a major spelling error. In the footer it reads "2009 Indy International Wine Competition - Commeical Press Report".

Not very comical. It's also on EVERY page.

Why Twitter can be integral to your business

2009-06-05T14:37:00.004-04:00

Let's say you are using some web-based software and it's not running right, you know the company that develops it has a twitter account so you tweet the issue using their name (with the @ so they see it in their twitter page). Within minutes you get a reply and within hours the issue is fixed. This is one of the reasons I love CurdBee (billing) so much, they actually list their twitter in customer support.

I noticed a bunch of people laughing at the Dayton Daily News for saying the Newport Aquarium was an attraction in Cincinnati. I figured I'd twitter that using both @daytondailynews and @newportaquarium. Sure enough, I get a reply two hours later from DDN thanking me for the catch and noting they will correct it shortly. I think it slightly comical however, that Newport has in their twitter the location listed as "Newport, Kentucky (Cincinnati)"

Just being on twitter to connect to clients or customers can be integral to your success. You can get instant feedback.

Can you imagine...

2009-06-05T13:07:00.005-04:00

...illustrating something that is as famous as the twitter bird and selling it on istock and then finding it on something like twitter?

I have found the original twitter bird illustration! http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-3412146-eco-sing-song.php after a hint from @aigacharlotte. Apparently Simon Oxley (a British designer living in Japan...he actually went to Japan to find a wife - which he did) also created the istockphoto character (and he says the logo but I'm not sold on that).

You can catch his interview here: http://reubenmiller.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/exclusive-inter.html

By the way, since it's actually still a royalty-free image, you can have the twitter bird too.

The Value of Quality

2009-05-30T18:39:00.005-04:00

There was an article in the local paper about Congressman Mike Turner getting heat from the Wall Street Journal over a digital camera purchase he wrote off which was $1,435. Some people might think that sum quite ridiculous - but probably no one that is serious in photography. The camera purchase was for corporate use (not personal). Being in the market to buy a camera myself, I just can't afford something over $1,000 only on the front that I don't have it solely for my business (I'm not a photographer...I need a good enough quality camera for product shots for clients or for work at Think TV since their camera is only 5 MP and going on 8 years old and they can't afford a better one). There lenses that cost over $12,000 and camera's over $7,000. For the price Mike Turner had paid for a camera, he's probably getting a very low end professional camera. I am looking into the Rebel XSI (12 MP) and it's $700 with a lens. My first camera cost $400 (Olympus Stylus 800 - 8MP) but it can't take anything near the quality or size of the XSI. If Mike Turner wants professional photos (which he should) and he doesn't want to hire a photographer, then that is the best route to go.

Apparently the Wall Street Journal only sees numbers and not the value of quality behind them.

Security Goes South

2009-05-29T08:43:00.002-04:00

There are two kinds of security risks...those that are personal (feeling secure) and those that are defensive (like locked in a vault). I've got two interesting stories today about each.

First is the Jitterbug. It is pretty much geared towards seniors by their advertising because the cell phone is free of all the unnecessary add-ons one my age might wish in a phone. It's purely the basics one would need. Now given probably most of the users might get this for emergencies, the Jitterbug has one flaw (it has been recalled) - they failed to connect to 911. Now personally, that's one of the main reasons I have my phone with me in the car - if there is an emergency. The personal security is out the window for the owners of those faulty phones.

The second is that of defensive security and this one goes out to the government. They had wanted to get some money off of old hard drives so they had a brilliant notion to sell them on eBay. They just forgot one thing - to wipe off the old data. Now there is a ton of sensitive military data floating around. From a Daily Mail article (UK):

British researchers found the data while studying more than 300 hard disks bought at computer auctions, computer fairs and eBay.
The experts also uncovered other sensitive information including bank account details, medical records, confidential business plans, financial company data, personal id numbers, and job descriptions.
The drives were bought from the UK, America, Germany, France and Australia by BT's Security Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Glamorgan in Wales, Edith Cowan University in Australia and Longwood University in the US.
A spokesman for BT said they found 34 per cent of the hard disks scrutinised contained 'information of either personal data that could be identified to an individual or commercial data identifying a company or organisation.'

It makes you wonder if we should use the word security anymore since it's so easy to lose it.

Toggling Time

2009-05-27T10:48:00.006-04:00

I recently discovered a new time tracking tool called Toggl (you can visit at toggl.com). I needed something that I could use that was web-based since I do work from two locations (at my full-time job if I have down-time and at home). The nice thing about this is that the free version really doesn't have too many limitations (you can even have up to 20 users). It integrates with Basecamp for the paid version and also you can have billable hour rates in there and planned tasks. For me it's perfect. They also have widgets for Mac/PC plus a gadget for gmail (http://www.toggl.com/toggl-gadget.xml). I have mine synced to my Google account so I can login without typing anything in.

It also has a desktop version if you need to work without the internet (you need internet access to import your settings and then when you want to update it to the internet).

Promotional ideas.

2009-05-23T06:55:00.003-04:00

Twitter can be used as a great promotional tool (even to run a contest). EVGA is holding a contest to twitter followers. You can enter the promotion here. It's a great idea to build up your followers by offering a prize. Perhaps it's something your business could consider.

Your newsletter could also be used as a promotional tool for clients. I was thinking that I usually end up cross-marketing people I know. I thought it would be a good opportunity to add a "featured client/vendor" on my newsletter I send out typically about once a month. The client/vendor would be able to do a write-up for their company. If any of my clients are reading this (because I know I linked this blog on the latest newsletter), let me know what you think about this idea. I send out to about 20 people across the Americas.

More new fonts!

2009-05-22T09:04:00.002-04:00

Modal

Download here: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/184816

MoxBox

Download here: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/184787

Squirls

Download here: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/fontstructions/show/183960

These are available free for non-commercial use. Commercial use is $10.