from http://www.flickr.com/photos/chloegrayson/3740326825/

So, I had a whole long-winded post about what I have been up to the past 2 months and projects completed and working on etc. And then I deleted it, started fresh and new. So the cam notes (aka cliff notes of life) of the last 2 months are:

• I moved into a new place. Left Hipster City for Yuppie-ville. And I’m OK with that.
• Random Order Media Group took the summer off to regroup, re-evaluate and reup on what EXACTLY it is we do and do well. K.I.S.S.
• Redefining Mookie Design and understanding what I do best.
• I have been reading a lot about Information Architecture, User Experience, and Content Strategy. This is also known as understanding what I was already doing and being able to explain it better.
• Heading out to Finland/Sweden at the end of the year to teach dance, go to a wedding, and freeze my ass off.
• Helping folks when I can, one at a time.
• And finally, plotting my next 12 months.

Aw the winds of change….

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Our colorful cast of character are Joel the Jew, Ty-One, and Reign aka 2 tha hardway. A unlikely crime-fighting unit that projects Williamsburg, Brooklyn from corporate developer trying to kick out the residents! lol. Fun times, fun times.

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Hey, hey! what it do? Well i would like to announce the formal launch of thecoolaid.com! Ran by the very talented writer Andrea Boston, The Cool Aid is a refreshing drink of knowledge and intelligence a world oversaturated by nonsense. I really enjoyed this project and like out it came out. I think the design “feels” cool an appropriate. The project went slightly over the deadline but allowed the client to be a little more prepared to deliver her interesting and complelling content. So give it a look see and tell me what you think. 1 down and 2 more projects to go!

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Over at the Go Media blog, they have a cool disccusion on whether or not designers should show their pricing. From the post:

Go Media chooses not to advertise our rates on our site. Mostly because we don’t want to appear too “selly” on our site. Another reason, is our rates are generally higher than a lot of freelance competitors (we know we’re worth the price, but a client sometimes just goes by price alone and might talk himself out of even contacting us if he sees that Joe “Freelance” Designer has a much lower price).

When I first started out I, I too showed my prices. It was easier and alot quicker than answering prices and the such. The downside was it pigeoned holed me in the lower tier of designers, I thought. A ala carte’ style of design. This is ain’t McDonalds! (Not even Burger King, “have it your way! Nope, more have it my way to make you look good. Wait did I say that aloud?) It also didn’t reflect my constant improvement either. A site I did 1 year (shoot, 6  months) ago is already my worse site. Cause I’m constantly getting better, so my prices should reflect that.   

That brings us to the here and now. Usually, I have a “budget estimate” that kind of implies the level that I am working at. This helps weeds out the tire kickers  and set a minimum I will work at. No more “Hey man, I need a full site and I got like $300″ which NOW is insulting! Waste of time (and money) to hear and deal with that. lol. Of course, I have an internal document that I use to base each project but by not showing it it helps fashion each quote to the client. Hopefully, my work is the real marker for pricing and getting of the work. Instead of “Websites for $150 plus business cards AND a logo. Hurry now!” type of campaigning. So I think you SHOULD show your pricing if you aren’t getting better and you WANT to stay at those prices and the level of clients you are at. If not, keep it to yourself, and let your skills dictate your price. or maybe I am wrong?

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1. from @swissmiss pt1:The changing face of every day design: http://tinyurl.com/ouv5u4 (from @swissmiss)
2. @swissmiss pt2: Creative Mornings asked “What can you teach me?‘ and is answered in a really cool flickr roundup.Gonna definitely hit the next one up!
3. Mike Norton inked by Bill Sienkiewicz?? yup and it looks dope!
4. Star Wars: Old Republic – Better than ALL 3 of the trilogies. redics!
5. Nathan Rice- I have learned more about custom fields in wp on his site than the last 6 months!
6. Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page.
7. Five Ways To Market Yourself During A Recession
8. Even though i have a FT job now, I still visited 3/4 of these sites: 30 Sites Every Freelancer Should Visit and Utilize
9. Andy Rutlege  on Of brands and Commodities (MUST read)
10. Finally, good friend, Dela Longfish’s launch of the new game he helped develop The Sceret of Monkey Island (yup, THAT monkey island game form the 90s!)
     

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• Cam’s Links of the Week 04/24

Well well well, lookee here! Cam is an artist! I had a real fun time at our figure drawing meetup held at Dangermarc Studios. Wonderful group of artists and would recommend the meet up to all artists in the NYC area. Enjoy! Gettin that drawing bug back.

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1. Blogging Weekly - Well, besides the first week, I actually made this one and posted something every week (3/4 aint bad!).
2. My Own Stuff – Sorta, I completed to business card designs that were outside my normal workload. So that’s kinda my own. Been writing and drawing but no finished peices (bane of my art existence, “finished”)
3. Learning – Got a lot better w/ drupal and about to take a theme from 5 to 6. Read up on iPhone apps to learn I would need to REALLY step my coding game up if I wanted to make my own. Instead I will make a mobile ready website for housedancer.com as a baby step. Also continuing my IA training and presentation.

June 2009

Re-branding

I have been mulling over re-branding mookiedesign.com or more expanding  ”mookie” the brand and add things under an overall umbrella. I will have some time, so want to do it right and think this through thouroghly. SO it will be one main company with 3 supporting ones under it including art+design, print publishing, and illustration (a collabo w/ Pope). This month I am going to nail down the brands identity and flesh out the main functions. the domains are bought and the brands on starting to take shape

 Freelance Projects Wrap up

I have about 3 projects lingering around that i want to wrap up this month so July and August I can solely work on my own things. Also, not take on any new projects unless they are REALLY interesting. If all goes as planned, it will be the first time in a year and a half i am only working on things for me!

Drawing and Painting

Left over from last month. I can draw and paint, I swear! Signed up for figure drawing drop-in next week and am fleshing out more of my characters. So, this months you should see at least 2 posts of art work! Two is a good number to start with right?

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So it has been 2 months at LATINA and I am finally settled in. Things are moving quickly and I got a lot of work ahead of me. That being said, I still been working/finishing up lingering projects. Above are the latest designs for Hanna Herbertson’s business cards (wow it’s been a year already!) that follow in the same vein as her recent flyers. Simple, fun, and clean. I forgot that dancers/musicians/performers need their image on the card for visual reference. Then remembered that’s why we have our images on the RO cards! lol

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Working on the Housedancer.com branding, media kit, and promotions. We are really gearing up for July’s main house dance event in nyc. Should be really fun and a great time to market ourselves to all the visitors coming in. Dancer business cards are always have the persons pictures on them. I am not a fan so i really had to find a sweet spot between industry standard and something cool. Performers DO need their pics on the cards to market themselves, so hopelfully it came out cool.

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