After I got my iPad, I realized that finger drawing wasn’t for me. I’m still working on it, and maybe I’ll get the hang of it eventually, but there was no way around it: I needed a stylus.

And so the search began.

Pogo Sketch

I started with the Pogo Sketch by Ten One Design. The Pogo Sketch is probably one of the most popular choices for iPad users. It’s small, aluminum, and comes in a variety of colors. It comes with a price tag of $14.95, which is midrange for the styluses I’ve researched.

I liked this stylus because it felt good in my hand and it worked well with the iPad. It wasn’t perfect though. I felt like I had to push harder than I wanted to create a mark. And, because the tip is made of something similar to the sponge you would use to wash pots, I felt that with enough scrubbing, I may start to damage my iPad screen. To be clear, the Pogo Sketch NEVER left a mark on my screen — I just felt uncomfortable with the pressure I was using to draw. I was also hoping for a finer, more structured tip. The tip would bend independently of the pen — almost as if I was dragging a brush, not writing with a pen. When attempting to draw with detail, the Pogo’s tip left me wishing for a sharpened pencil tip rather than a rounded nub.

The Good: Lightweight, feels good in my hand, nice variety of colors
The Bad: Needs pressure to work, soft rounded tip less than ideal for detail

Mi-Stylus

I finally came across an iPad stylus with a tapered edge. The Mi-Stylus by Milano seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. The tip was tapered, which I thought would provide the ability to draw a finer line, and the tip appeared to be more structured so that it would maintain its shape as I drew. The price was great, under $10.00. I emailed the company to double-check that the sturdier tip wouldn’t damage my iPad, and they were exceptionally responsive assuring me that the stylus was safe for drawing. I ordered two.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The Mi-Stylus is good for selecting things, pointing at things, and typing. It is a traditional Palm-style stylus. I found it almost impossible to draw with. I had to press very hard to get a line, and the iPad didn’t respond to the thin tapered edge at all. I had to use the flat portion for the iPad to recognize the stylus. It is obviously well made, and feels great in my hand. But, this high-quality stylus just doesn’t cut it when it comes to drawing, sketching, or painting on the iPad. It was back to the Pogo Stylus for me.

The Good: High quality, great price
The Bad: Unresponsive for drawing, tapered edge doesn’t work on iPad

Capacitive Styra

Finally, I came across the Capacitive Styra by BoxWave. It got good reviews, but I was expecting the worst. The tip seemed large and rounded like the Pogo Stylus, and looked tough and unresponsive like the Mi-Stylus. I paid a seemingly ridiculous $26.95 and waited for the mail.

The Styra was worth every penny. I’ve finally found a stylus to keep me satisified until someone comes out with something pressure-sensitive. They styra is slightly bigger than my past styluses, a benefit, I think, when drawing for long spans of time. The version I ordered also has an old-school pen on one end, which I think will come in handy since I don’t carry a pen and paper anymore. What I really love about the Styra, though, is the way it works with my iPad. The tip is very soft, so I don’t worry about damage to my screen, but it’s structured enough that it doesn’t move around as I draw. It’s the only stylus I’ve used that is as responsive as my finger on the iPad screen. I am able to draw using a light touch, and I never feel as if I’m scrubbing my screen to paint or sketch. And, even though the tip is still rounded, I feel as if I’m able to draw with detail and accuracy just because I don’t have to press hard to make a mark. The Styra is a joy — and I’m done stylus shopping for a while.

The Good: Extremely responsive, the best stylus I’ve tested for drawing
The Bad: More expensive than competitors (worth the cost, in my opinion)

So, in conclusion:

If you are looking for a stylus for drawing on your iPad, purchase the Capacitive Styra by BoxWave. You won’t be disappointed.

Of course, I’ll continue to test styluses and update this page as I do, but I’m not seeing anything currently on the market that will force my new Styra out of my iPad case and into a drawer. If you have suggestions for a better iPad stylus, please share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear your opinions!

After one year, I’m not the slightest bit tired of blogging. I’ve heard that after three months, it tends to get stale and the ideas start to run dry, but that hasn’t been the case for me. I’m eager to write posts, and my little notebook of blog ideas contains at least six months worth of post ideas that I haven’t yet used. I love everything about it, almost to the point of addiction. I look forward to the end of my work day, when I get to sit down and start working on blog posts.

The problem is, this blog is EXTREMELY time consuming. There is so much more that goes into blogging than most people realize. I laugh to myself every time I read a blog post talking about “lazy” design bloggers that create round-ups of 50 blue websites or 50 logos featuring animals. I don’t know about those other bloggers, but round-up posts take me three times longer to create than my standard advice post. Sometimes I spend months bookmarking sites to fill up a round-up post. But, readers seem to like them, so I put in the hours and try to keep the subjects of my round-ups useful.

Even a regular text-only post takes around three hours to write, proof, and post. Add a couple of hours searching for stock photos that work with the content, add an hour of time submitting links throughout the internet to promote the post, and you’re looking at six hours for the easiest, shortest post you’ll ever see published on Creative Opera, and that’s not counting research time.

Of course, it’s not just all about posting content. I spend time reading and replying to comments, and reading and replying to emails. Let me be clear, it is your comments and your emails that keep me blogging. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes after staying up until 3am to create a new post to get an email thanking me for helping with a problem, or a comment about how much the post was enjoyed. I love the interaction. I love the discussion. L-O-V-E it. But, it does take hours from my days. Every day.

I’ve found myself with a conundrum. I love blogging, I truly enjoy interacting with my readers, and I really love the fact that I am able to give back to the design community and help new designers. But, I seem to have lost everything else in my life somewhere along the way. A typical day for me consists of working an 8-10 hour day for my clients, eating dinner, and then sitting back down in my office to blog until sometimes midnight, sometimes 3am. And, for all of that work, and all of that time, I’m still only able to post 2-3 times a week, and gather enough traffic to be turned down by BuySell Ads (and deservedly so).

So, I’ve come to a hard decision. I need to re-prioritize. I want to spend more time with my husband and family, get out and go running with my friends again, and get back to horseback riding and taking my dogs for walks. My company website has been begging for a redesign for years, and my poor guitar has been gathering dust for a month. Who knows, maybe I could even pull out my old sketchbook and have a relaxing draw every now and again.

I have to give it up to guys like Jacob Gube and Chris Coyier. I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know how they blog consistently amazing content, manage to work as full-time freelances, AND write books and speak at conferences. Perhaps they’re secretly robots who don’t need to sleep at night? I am in awe of them, and will continue to enjoy their, and the many other, blogs out there that I love so much.

Does this mean that I’m quitting the blogging game entirely? Does this mean I’m selling Creative Opera? No, not at all. I love it too much. I will continue to post to this blog, but only as I have time, and as I have ideas. And, when I do post, I won’t worry about promoting my articles or watching my stats. I’ll continue to answer emails and respond to comments, but in a leisurely fashion. I’m just coming to terms with the fact that Creative Opera will probably never be popular enough to make enough money to make it a viable resource of income. It’s always just going to be something I do because I love it and want to help other designers. So, it’s just going to move down a bit on my priority list.

I hope that you’ll leave me in your RSS reader and continue to pop in from time to time to see if there is anything new on Creative Opera, and I hope you’ll forgive me for (in a way) giving in. I’ll still be on Twitter every day, I’ll continue to add to my Tumblr posts, and I’ve been thinking of doing more guest posts on bigger blogs. And, who knows, if I miss it enough, or find a way to sleep less hours each night, I may even pick it up again full-force. But, for a while, I need to revisit my life away from the computer.

Thank you all for being Creative Opera readers and for all of your lovely emails and comments. It’s been a great year!!

Manda

1. There is no standard pricing system

When you go to purchase a house, you have SOME idea of what you’ll be paying upfront. You know that in a particular neighborhood, homes with so many bedrooms and so many bathrooms are going for a certain price. When you go to purchase a car, you understand the differences in price ranges depending on whether you plan to buy a Mercedes or a Ford, a compact car or an SUV.

But, with design —and especially with web design — there is no set pricing system. Potential clients have NO IDEA what to expect when they are asking for an estimate. Because they don’t know what to expect, almost any price is a shock, no matter if it’s $5,000.00 or $500.00. It’s only natural that that initial shock would turn into a “Let’s Make a Deal” situation.

2. Our prices aren’t posted upfront

Look around the webisphere, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a designer posting their prices upfront. It makes sense — there are so many variables that it’s really just not possible to quote a job without speaking with the client first. Not only that, but designers with different knowledge sets and different experience levels will have different rates. It would be almost impossible to post flat rates for every type of project, and because of that, clients have no idea what to expect when they email asking for a quote. Perhaps if they had some idea upfront what type of price range they were looking at, potential clients would be more prepared when they see their project estimate for the first time. Until then, designers will have to deal with clients begging and pleading (sometimes yelling) for reduced rates.

3. The design firms who ARE posting their prices upfront are cheap-o crowd-sourcing sites or cheese-ball do-it-yourself template sites

Although most respectable designers aren’t able to post flat-rate prices upfront because of the difficulty involved in pricing out jobs on an individual basis, large crowd-sourcing or out-sourcing sites are more than willing to blast their prices all over their homepage. “Websites starting at $100!” Factory assembly-line design firms that crank out site after site from the same template are equally cheap, and proud of it. Clients looking for a website don’t know the difference between one of those sites and custom design from an experienced designer. All they know is that they saw websites advertised starting at $100, and that’s the price they are expecting from you. If you give into this rationale, you’re guaranteed to get screwed.

4. People REALLY don’t understand what we do

It’s hard to justify the price of something that someone doesn’t understand. It’s a very abstract purchase. How do you explain to someone what really goes into a website design? People think they are just paying for you to put pictures and text on the web. But, really, there is so much more to it than that. A good web designer will work with the client to evaluate their goals for the site, and then keeping those goals in mind, reorganize the content into a structure that promotes a user-friendly environment for the end-user and encourages the user to take action, find information, or make a purchase. As designers, this is meaningful to us (and at this point in the description, we haven’t even made it to the wireframing stage, much less started designing or coding!!), but to a client, this is just a bunch of gibberish that they’d rather not pay for. Arguing that all of these steps will give them a better result can, unfortunately, be a tough argument when you are dealing with a person who is only concerned with saving money.

5. People don’t understand the time and talent involved in what we do

It’s one of the great Graphic Design Myths of our time: design is easy. Anyone can do it. Clients only see the end result. Once it’s on their screen or printed on paper, it’s all so obvious. “Well, I could do that. I could draw that logo,” or “The computer does all of the work.” Because so much of what we do is abstract and behind the scenes: creative thinking, generating ideas, sketching, research, etc., it is hard for those outside of the design field to appreciate the work that goes into a professional logo or a website coded with valid XHTML and CSS. They don’t understand all of the steps in between a blank sheet of paper and a finished product, and because of that, they have a hard time understanding why they have to pay for what they can’t see.

6. Every client is different, making it almost impossible to estimate accurately

Clients rarely understand this, but as designers we know that for the most part, it is the client who drives the pace of a project. I’ve worked with some clients who look at the three comps I send them, they pick one, and we’re done. I have other clients that want to change the background color 15 times before going back to the first option. Some clients insist on more revisions, some suck up your time with lengthy phone calls, and some ask more questions than most design students. Once you’ve dealt with any of these clients once, you can estimate accordingly. I know that one of my favorite clients is very easy to work with and very rarely has any revisions. I always quote his projects lower because I know they won’t take long. I have other clients for whom I automatically tack on extra hours for extra revisions, because they are notorious for multiple changes to every detail of every page.

But, when you get a brand new client, how do you estimate? High? Low? You have no idea what type of person you are dealing with. Even the craziest person can sound normal in an introductory email conversation. Often, you’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and price the project in the normal range. And, then, when your new client turns out to be “Revisionzilla” from the land of “Let’s schedule another call to discuss that,” you’ll soon realize that you have gone way beyond your estimated hours, and find yourself screwed once again.

7. The details aren’t clear in the initial estimate

Designers often screw themselves by not being clear in the initial project estimate. How is the client supposed to know that they only get so many revisions if you don’t tell them? How will they know how many comps to expect? It is up to us as designers to make it crystal clear that the client only gets x amount of revisions. Any additional revisions are extra. They only get x number of comps to choose from. Any additional comps are going to cost more money. We need to let clients know what is and isn’t included throughout the entire project. Are you going to provide support for their new website? Will you charge for phone calls or shipping or stock photography? Make yourself clear!! Or, risk losing money on your project.

8. As freelancers, we don’t have any back up

When I was a full-time designer, it was easy to argue with clients over price. I worked for a decent-sized company and we had set prices. There was no haggling, and if someone wanted to give me a hard time, I only had to hand the phone over to the owner. I don’t have that advantage as a freelancer. It’s just me. And people know it. Potential clients expect to pay less because I am on my own. They understand paying a lot to a large company with overhead and employees and insurance, but feel that I as one person should not be charging as much. And, without a boss to back me up, the arguments can become exhausting.

9. Creative people don’t always have the best business sense

I don’t mean to offend anyone; it’s just a simple fact. Most people who are naturally inclined toward business, finance, and accounting are not naturally creatively talented. On the other hand, we creative types tend not to be money people or numbers people. I don’t know about you, but my nightmare job would be to spend all day every day working in Excel. It actually makes my stomach turn. Because so many of us aren’t naturally brimming with business-related skills, we sometimes get taken advantage of by clients who ARE professional business people.

10. Designers are just too nice

Let’s face it. We designers can be wimps. I’ve given into more than one sob story about someone who lost their job and is trying to make ends meet by selling this or that out of their house: “I’ve scraped together all of the money I have just for this website. Can’t you do it for $X?” And, what about the, “Oh, while you’re designing my site, feel free to tweak my logo.” Ugh! What’s worse? Designing a website around a hideous eye-sore of a logo, or designing a new one for free as part of the web design job? We are suckers! We’re just too nice! The funny thing is that, 99% of the time, I feel completely blessed to be in a field where my colleagues are so darned nice. We help each other, recommend one another, post advice for free on our blogs, support each other…it’s great! But, when it comes to getting paid what we deserve, our niceness oftentimes comes back to bite us in the behind.

So, it’s easy to see why designers get screwed. What can we do about it? Look for a post next week outlining steps we can take as freelance designers to start getting paid what we deserve for the work we do.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you! Why do you think designers get screwed? Do you have any stories to share?

2. Allstate Insurance Company

3. AT&T

4. Best Buy

5. Bob Evans Farms, Inc.

6. Borders Direct, LLC.

7. Cabela’s Inc.

8. Caterpillar Inc.

9. Chevron Corporation

10. Circuit City

11. Clinique Laboratories, LLC.

12. The Clorox Company

13. Coach, Inc.

14. The Coca-Cola Company

15. Cottonelle

16. Craftsman

17. Crayola LLC.

18. Dick’s Sporting Goods

19. Marc Ecko Enterprises

20. ESPN Internet Ventures

21. Exxon Mobil Corporation

22. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

23. Ford Motor Company

24. Frito-Lay North America, Inc.

25. Hasbro

26. Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

27. JCP Media L.P.

28. JetBlue Airways

29. Limited Brands

30. Lowe’s

31. Macy’s, Inc.

32. McDonald’s

33. Motorola, Inc.

34. Nike, Inc.

35. Nintendo

36. Office Depot, Inc.

37. PepsiCo, Inc.

38. PetSmart Store Group, Inc.

39. Pixar

40. Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc.

41. Snapple Beverage Corp.

42. Starbucks Corporation

43. Steelcase, Inc.

44. Target Brands, Inc.

45. Time Warner Global Media Group

46. Geoffrey, LLC., Toys “R” Us

47. Under Armour

48. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

49. Whole Foods Market IP, L.P.

50. Yum! Brands

I’d love to know, which corporate Twitter page is your favorite?

The Senior Media Strategist at the Usman Group was generous enough to answer these questions for the Creative Opera readers:

1. What types of design positions do you have in your company?

We are a hybrid of creative here. Our crew is a careful collective of creative strategists, designers, writers and thinkers (bordering on obsessive compulsive). We form like Voltron to do our best and make it lean and mean like the A-Team.

2. What are the minimum requirements for an entry-level position with your company?

We are very selective yet welcoming in our approach to new minds on our team. We seek those individuals who have a creative spark in their work and their confidence. We want someone who brings something new to the table, whether it be personality, strategic designs, or a different approach to looking at and seeing things.

3. Does an applicant have to have a college degree to apply for a job with your company, or do you hire self-taught creatives?

I do believe a college degree is important but not necessary. There is something about being self-taught that showcases determination and diligence that we welcome. If you have the chops to create compelling work, have a solid focus, and compose yourself in a genuine manner, we want to talk to you.

4. What kind of position would an entry-level designer be able to have with your company? What types of responsibilities would they have?

When you join our team, you become a part of a network of trust and teamwork. While tasks and responsibilities may waiver, we’re a team and move forward with projects in a timely manner.

Some roles an entry-level designer may have would consist of:

Client research – study heat-mapping, analysis of current website to find out what’s working and what’s not

Competitor research – what can we do differently to push this client to the top of their brand expertise?

Layout comprehensive wireframes – bringing findings down to the basic bare routes to drive forward design

Keyword Analysis – what are the best words to organically make this site visible in search engines?

Design Brainstorming – combining color, communication, imagery?

5. What are the top 5 things you look for in a potential design hire?

1. A thought process – show me how you think

2. Uniqueness – show me what you can bring to the table that I don’t already have

3. Confidence – walk proudly and speak concisely

4. Passion – don’t do this for the paycheck or you’ll be miserable

5. Drive – be self-motivated and have a sense of determination to meet deadlines in a timely manner. We don’t micromanage – we take your word and expect the best. Be aware of deadlines, be oganized and ready.

6. What expectations do you have for a design portfolio? How would an ideal portfolio be presented?

Creatively. Have pieces that showcase your skills, that show your thought process, and that have clear and strategic messaging. Then present them proudly. If it’s a face-to-face meeting, speak confidently in your designs. If you’re crafting a personal website to house your work, make it crisp and clean. Share your thought process and/or challenges turned solutions.

7. Do you expect to see a printed portfolio anymore? Is an online portfolio enough?

With print becoming obsolete many think web is all there is and that’s not true. There is something still personable with an organized and put together printed portfolio that shows what you’re all about.

8. What are the top 3 things a potential hire can do to get an interview when they are responding to an ad for a job opening? What are you looking for as you’re sifting through responses?

I look for a creative personality and being genuine in your responses. Show that you’ve done some research — if we’ve landed a new client, congratulate us, if you’ve come across a Microsite we created, share your thoughts on our direction. Be involved — but not creepy stalker-like.

9. What is the most common desirable quality or skill that you find missing from most applicants?

In our field of work, the face-to-face communication can be distant and hidden behind a computer screen. Come out of your shell and share who you are. Your work is fantastic — but do you have an approachable personality that I want to surround myself with?

10. What advice do you have for those new to the design industry, or those thinking of entering the design industry?

Don’t be cocky — it’s an ugly quality. Rather present yourself with an approachable confident demeanor and just create mind boggling strategic s%#t.

I would like to thank the Usman Group for these extremely helpful pieces of advice. I hope that all of you looking for a new design position will find this information useful, and will use this advice to your advantage in your next interview.

A note from Creative Opera: Please do not contact the featured companies in Advice from the Real World posts unless they are actively hiring (open positions have been posted on their website or on a job site). Those who participate are being extremely generous with their time, and have agreed to be interviewed in order to help better the careers of our readers. Please do not bombard them with calls or emails. Thank you!

Do you have design- or career-related questions or topics that you would like to see covered in future Advice from the Real World posts? Please post them in the comments area below. I’ll include the best questions in my next round of interviews!

Are you a design professional with advice that you would like to share with the Creative Opera readers? Please email Creative Opera with some information about your company or profession and an overview of the type of information that you would like to share. I will do my best to respond to everyone in a timely manner, and will work with the chosen companies to create a custom Advice from the Real World post to feature your company and your advice to the design community.