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Visit Source.

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Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Visit Source.

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Visit Source.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

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Visit Source.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

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Visit Source.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Visit Source.

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Visit Source.

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Download the entire set (12.6 MB zip file)

About the Author:

Callum Chapman is a freelance graphic designer & illustrator based in Cambridge (UK) trading under the name Circlebox Creative. He also runs a design blog offering articles, tutorials and high-res textures at Circlebox Blog.

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For more on typography see:

• Typography Inspiration Showcase
• Top 30 Sources of Typography Inspiration
• Typography Toolbox
• 50+ Fonts for Big, Bold Headlines

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Uptown

Cowbra

Typeface

Shy Child

Mary and Andy

Push the Bottle

Cafe Click

Iron Duck

Threesome

Pain

White Crimson

Sushi

Wine Kingdom

Strategical Office Solutions

Natuur 2000

Shocked

Broken Goggles

Steers Restaurant

American Culinary Foundation

Egg

Eco-Cities

Families

Fenz-it

Plated

Rentzilla

Miskeeto

Doghouse Brewing Company

Exitive

Forkwire

Mind Over Math

Catalyst Construction

Umbrellar

Modani

Wiesinger Music

Playground

Elephant Talk

African Film Club

Twins

DJ Loop

Oil

Shelter

Shift Creative

Look

Killed

Swing Studios

Unpugged

Mr. Cutts

Peace Rebels

Shirt Pepper

Bar Code

For more logo inspiration please see:

• Top 10 Sources of Logo Design Inspiration
• Logo Design Toolbox: 60+ Resources for Logo Design
• Showcase of Logos with Folds
• 35 Green, Leafy Logos

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Setting Up the File:

Create a new file in Photoshop that is 1600 pixels wide and 950 pixels high.

Step 1: The Background:

Set the foreground color to #545454 and use the paint bucket tool to fill the background layer with this gray color.

Next, change the foreground color to #5f120a and add a new layer (Layer – New). Set a horizontal guide (View – New Guide) at 65 pixels and use the rectangular marquee tool to select everything above this guide. Then use the paint bucket tool to fill the selected area with the foreground color.

Double click on the new layer in the layers palette to bring up the layer styles options. Check the box for drop shadow and set it to 50% opacity and and angle of 90 degrees. Leave the distance and size at 5 and uncheck the box for “Use Global Light.”

Set the foreground color to #9c2f23 and add a new layer. Select the pencil tool and choose a square brush with a diameter of 1 pixel. Use the pencil tool to add a one-pixel border to the bottom of the header area. The image below is shown at 600% for better visibility.

Add a new layer and set a horizontal guide at 465 pixels. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select everything above that guide. Set the foreground color to #333333 and the background color to #000000. Select the gradient tool and make sure the radial gradient is active and using the gradient that fades from the foreground color to the background color.

Start the radial gradient by click in the middle of the canvas horizontally and about 100 pixels above the top of the canvas. Hold shift to keep a straight line and drag the mouse below the guide, to about the 600 pixel mark.

That should give you a result that looks like this.

Next, we’re going to add some texture on top of that gradient by using an image from Design Shard’s grunge texture pack. The specific image can be found in the Flickr set from Design Shard. Here is a look at the image.

Save the image or copy it in to Photoshop. Desaturate it by going to Image – Adjustments – Desaturate. I’ve cropped the texture to be 1600 pixels wide and 465 pixels high so it will exactly fit in the area of the gradient. Copy the desaturated image and paste it in above the gradient layer. Double click on the texture layer in the layers palette and set the blend mode to Soft Light at 100%.

Now move the gradient and texture layers behind the header and header border layers.

This completes the background that we will be using for the design.

Step 2: The Header

For the title/logo we’re going to use the ChunkFive font, which can be downloaded for free. Set a vertical guide at 320 pixels to help line up the left edge of the text. I’m using 30pt ChunkFive in #dfd9d9.

Set the background color to #dfd9d9 and the foreground color to #bebcbc, a slightly darker shade. Double click on the text layer in the layers palette and select “gradient overlay.” Choose the gradient that fades from the foreground color to the background color. Then click on “drop shadow” and set it to 50% opacity with distance and size at 3. Set the angle to 120 degrees and make sure the box is unchecked for “Use Global Light.”

Next, we’ll add a navigation menu to the right side of the header using 14pt Arial in #dfd9d9. Set a vertical guide at 1280 pixels to align the right edge of the text.

Step Three: The Featured Area

On top of the gradient and the texture we will be displaying some screenshots of templates on the right side of the screen, and some text and two buttons on the left side. To start with we are going to need three screenshots, so I am just using images from other Photoshop layout tutorials that I have published here on DesignM.ag. Of course, you can use images from any of your own sites or templates here.

Once you have the images that you will be using, resize them all to a width of 400 pixels. We’re going to use guides to help us line up the screenshots, so set vertical guides at 700, 790, and 880 pixels, and horizontal guides at 115, 190, and 265 pixels.

Copy the first screenshot that you want to sit in the back and paste it in to your canvas. Then use the free transform (Edit – Free Transform) to align it as shown in the image below.

Then, paste in your second screenshot and line it up with the guides as shown.

Then, do the same with the third screenshot, which will sit in front of the other two.

Add a drop shadow to each of the screenshot layers by double clicking on the layer in the layers palette and selecting “drop shadow.” Set the opacity at 50% and the angle at -120 degrees (”Use Global Light” should be checked). Set the distance and size to 3 pixels.

Add a new layer and set the foreground color to #545454. Select the area below the 465 pixel mark and fill it by using the paint bucket tool. This will hide the bottom portions of the screenshots under our content area.

Next, we’re going to simply add some text to the left of the screenshots, just below the logo. I am using 14pt italic Georgia in #dfd9d9, and the paragraph is centered.

We’re going to add two buttons below the text. The first button will promote the sale of individual templates and the second button will promote a club membership that gives access to all of the templates.

To mark off the area for the buttons I’m going to set vertical guides at 350 pixels and 640 pixels, and horizontal guides at 285, 345, 375, and 435 pixels. Set the foreground color to #6f1910 and the background color to #9c2f23, and select the rounded rectangle tool. Set the radius to 10 pixels. Use the guides to draw two buttons with the rounded rectangle tool.

Double click on the layer of the first shape in the layers palette and click on “gradient overlay.” Choose the gradient that fades from the foreground color to the background color and have the darker shade on the bottom. Then, click on “stroke” and set it to one pixel outside and #b34235 as the color. Repeat this to give the second button the same gradient overlay and stroke.

Now we’re going to add some text on top of the buttons. I’m using 18pt Arial in #230a0b for the first line of text and 14pt Arial in #dfd9d9 for the second line of text. Double click on the text layers in the layers palette and set a drop shadow of 75% opacity, 120 degree angle (”Use Global Light” not selected) and a distance and size of one.

To add a little bit of texture to the buttons I am going to use the splatter brushes from Bittbox. If you don’t already have those brushes you can download them for free. Before you do anything with the brushes, make sure you add a new layer over the buttons, but below the text, so you can experiment and get rid of the layer if you don’t like how it turns out. Select the area over one of the buttons, choose a color very similar to that of the buttons (I used #6f1910), and choose one of the splatter brushes. Resize the master diameter of the brush to make it small (I used between 400 – 600 pixels) and apply some splatter effects using the brushes. Try using a few different brushes to see what you like.

Then duplicate the layer (Layer – Duplicate) and use the free transform (Edit – Free Transform) to move it in place over the second button.

Step Four: The Horizontal Band

Add a new layer and set the foreground color to #5f120a. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select an area that is 40 pixels high and the entire width of the canvas, directly below the dark textured area. Use the paint bucket tool to fill it with color. Double click on the layer in the layers palette and give it a drop shadow with 50% opacity, 120 degrees (”Use Global Light” not checked), and a distance and size of 2 pixels.

Use the pencil tool to give this horizontal band a one-pixel top border of #9c2f23 and a one-pixel bottom border of #7c7b7b.

We’ll add some text for a promotional deal in this area using 18pt italic Georgia in #dfd9d9. The words “Limited Time Special:” is in #e57b70 and also in bold. “See the details” is also in #e57b70.

Here is a look at what we have so far.

Step 5: The Content Area

Our content area is going to have 3 columns. The left and center columns will be used to list features of the templates, along with icons, and the right column will contain some “About Us” information. We’re going to use guides to control the layout of the columns and to help us line up the icons properly. Clear any guides (View – Clear Guides) that are currently being used and set new vertical guides at 320, 368, 620, 650, 698, 950 and 980 pixels. And set horizontal guides at 550, 580, 628, 660, 708, 740, 788, 820, and 868 pixels. We’ll use these guides in a minute to line up the icons and the text.

First, here are the icons that we will be using. From the Function free icon set we’re using the computer icon, the folder icon, and the mail icon. From the Flavour Extended icon set from Smashing Magazine and Oliver Twardowski we are using the check icon, the clock icon, the security icon, and the tablet icon. From the Portfolio icon set from Vandelay Design and IconShock we will be using the palette icon. Download the icon packs and open the icons that we will be using. All of the icons from the Function pack and from the Flavour Extended pack are 48 x 48 pixels, so you can leave them at this size. Re-size the palette icon to be 48 x 48 pixels.

Let’s start by entering the text that will go at the top of the list of features. I’m using 18pt bold Arial in #5f120a. The left edge of the text should line up with the vertical guide at 320 pixels and it should sit above the horizontal guide at 550 pixels.

Now we can start adding the icons. Copy the check icon and use the rectangular marquee tool to select the area between the vertical guides at 320 pixels and 368 pixels, and between the horizontal guides at 580 pixels and 628 pixels. This will give us a selected area of 48 pixels by 48 pixels, the same size as the icon, so the icon will go right in place when we paste it.

With the area still selected, paste in the icon.

Then you can repeat this process of selecting the area and pasting in the icon for the other seven 48 x 48 spots.

Next, we’ll add the text to go next to the icons. Next to the check icon, enter a text box and use 14pt Arial in #dfd9d9. We’re highlighting part of the text by using #230a0b and bold.

Then repeat the process by adding text next to each icon (click the image below to see in full size).

In the right column enter a text box with a header in 18pt bold Arial, #5f120a. The rest of the text is 14pt Arial, #dfd9d9.

Step: The Footer

Add a new layer and set the foreground color to #424141. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the bottom area of the canvas and use the paint bucket tool to fill the selection. Change the foreground color to #7c7b7b and use the pencil tool to add a one-pixel border above the footer.

Then add some text in the footer in 14pt Arial in #dfd9d9.

That’s the end of our design, and here is the final result.

You can download the original PSD here. (4.7 MB zip file)

For more Photoshop layout tutorials see:

• Design a Blue Corporate Website in Photoshop
• Design a Clean Portfolio Site in Photoshop
• How to Design a One-Page Portfolio in Photoshop
• Design a Stylish Blue Blog Theme in Photoshop
• Design an E-Commerce Website in Photoshop
• Design a Website for a Non-Profit Organization in Photoshop

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

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The set includes two sizes of PNG files (512px and 256px) as well as the source files (Illustrator).

Download the icons (1.3 MB zip file)

Also, please see the e-commerce icon set that IconShock did for us last month.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

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A is for Ambulance Shotgun

B is for Broken Ghost

C is for CGF Offroad

D is for Decade

E is for Extraction BRK

F is for Fail

G is for Grunge Zinda Bad

H is for H2D2 Alvita

I is for Impacted

J is for Johnny Homicide

K is for Kreepy Krawly

L is for Lights Out BRK

M is for Mono Madness

N is for Nobby

O is for Overwork

P is for Pahuenga Cass

Q is for Quincy

R is for Rubbermaid

S is for Stoned Wash 6

T is for Tiza

U is for Uptown

V is for Viper Nora

W is for WC Appendum

X is for Xenophone

Y is for Younger Than Me

Z is for Zombilaria

About the Author:

Callum Chapman is a freelance graphic designer & illustrator based in Cambridge (UK) trading under the name Circlebox Creative. He also runs a design blog offering articles, tutorials and high-res textures at Circlebox Blog.

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

If you’re not familiar with UPrinting, they have been a printing leader for over 25 years and they offer a very wide variety of services, including business cards, brochures, calendars, menus, posters, postcards, envelopes, and more. UPrinting also has a blog that may interest you. They publish articles relevant to graphic designers and the printing industry.

UPrinting offers convenient ordering for business cards. Their site includes a pricing calculator that allows you to choose the size, stock, color, and quantity so you can see the price before even getting started. Shipping costs can also be calculated.

Giveaway Details:

Five readers will win 500 business cards each, plus free ground shipping courtesy of UPrinting. Free shipping is only provided to winners in the U.S. Those outside the U.S. are welcome to enter the contest but would have to pay for shipping and applicable taxes.

To enter the contest, please leave a comment on this post stating that you would like to enter, or tell us how you would use the business cards if you win. On Friday, October 30th I will select five random winners and this post will be updated at that time. The winners will be contacted by email (be sure to leave a valid email address with your comment).

Good luck!

UPrinting is also sponsoring an identical giveaway at Vandelay Design, so feel fee to leave a comment on this post to double your chances. You may enter once at each site.

UPDATE: The contest is now over. Thanks to everyone who participated! Here are the winners (you will be contacted by email shortly):

• Robert Murray
• Emily Smith
• Kim
• Laura B
• Brooke Rochon

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

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A Preview of the Final Result

Here is what we will be designing.

Preparing the File

Create a new file (File – New) that is 1400 pixels wide and 900 pixels high.

Step 1: The Background

Set the foreground color to #efefef and use the paint bucket tool to fill the background layer with this light gray color.

Add a new layer (Layer – New) and set a horizontal guide (View – New guide) at 50 pixels. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select everything above the guide.

Set the foreground color to #184e84 and use the paint bucket tool to fill the selected area.

Add a new layer and set a new horizontal guide at 398 pixels. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select everything between the two guides and change the foreground color to #d1e6f9. Then use the paint bucket tool to fill the selected are with the light blue.

Add a new layer and select the pencil tool with a square, one-pixel brush tip.

Set the foreground color to #002c5f, a shade of blue that is just a little bit darker than the header. Using the pencil tool, add a one-pixel border below the header. I like to increase the view to about 600% to do this. Start by clicking at one end of the border, then move to the other end and hold shift while click again (that will make a straight line between your first click and your second.

Change the foreground color to #bfd5e9. Now add a one-pixel border to the bottom of the light blue area. (The image below is shown at 600%).

Our background should now look like this.

Step 2: The Header

We will be using a simple header that includes a logo/title at the left and a navigation menu at the right.

For the logo of the site I will be using the font New Cicle. Set a vertical guide at 220 pixels (this will set the left edge of the content area) and use 30 pt New Cicle gordita in #efefef.

Set the foreground color to #efefef and the background color to #ffffff. Double click on the text layer in the layers palette to bring up the layer style options. Click on “gradient overlay” and select the gradient that fades from the foreground color to the background color.

Then select “drop shadow” and change the settings to 55% opacity with a distance and size of 1 pixel.

The logo should now look like this.

We will now be adding four links to create a navigation menu at the right side of the header. Set a new vertical guide (View – New Guide) at 1180 pixels to set the right edge of the layout. The end of our last link will be lining up with this edge. I’m using 14 pt Arial text in #efefef for the links.

Here is how it looks at this point.

And that completes our header.

Step 3: The Slider Area

Our homepage design is going to include an area that can be used with a jQuery slider. For the purposes of this tutorial the slider will include information about four different services that our offered by the company.

Set vertical guides at 220 pixels, 470 pixels and 1180 pixels. Set horizontal guides at 75 pixels and 378 pixels. The navigation that will allow visitors to select the service that they are interested in will sit to the left of the slider. The area that we are blocking off is 303 pixels in height, which will allow for a vertical navigation menu that includes four links that are are 75 pixels in height and one-pixel borders between the links.

Add a new layer and set the foreground color to #e0e0e0. Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the area to the left for the navigation menu, and fill it by using the paint bucket tool.

Add a new layer and change the foreground color to #d7d6d4. Select the top 75 pixels in the navigation menu and fill it with #d7d6d4 by using the paint bucket tool. This will be the active link on the slider, so we’ll give it a slightly darker background color.

Add a new layer and change the foreground color to #bdbdbd. Use the pencil tool to give a border to the navigation menu, and create horizontal lines every 75 pixels that will serve as the borders of the links.

Add text to make the links. I am using 14 pt Arial with #184e84 for the active link and #191919 for the other links.

Add a new layer and use the rectangular marquee tool to select the area for the slider.

Set the foreground color to #98cbfe and the background color to #1e61a4. Select the gradient tool and choose the radial gradient and choose the gradient that fades from the foreground color to the background color.

With the gradient tool active and the slider area selected, click at the top left corner of the selected area, hold down the mouse and drag to the bottom right corner and release the mouse.

And this is how it should look.

Add a new layer and use the pencil tool to add borders to the blue part of the slider area. #2a6ebb for the bottom and the right, and #68ace5 for the top and left.

Add a text box and enter a headline for the service that you are offering. I am using 24 pt italic Georgia in #efefef and applying a drop shadow with 55% opacity, and size and distance of 1.

Then add another text box with some additional copy. I’m using 14 pt Arial in #052648 for this text and centering it.

Now, below this text we will be using three columns so you can set vertical guides to control the edges of the columns. The vertical guides can be set at 500, 700, 725, 925, 950, and 1150 pixels. A horizontal guide can be set at 245 pixels

We’ll be using icons from the Function free icon set (LINK), so you can download that set if you don’t already have it. In this section of the design we will be using three icons: the pie chart, the magnifying glass, and the wrench. Open each of those icons and re-size them to 30 pixels by 30 pixels.

Paste the pie chart icon into the left column at the top. Then paste the magnifying glass in the middle column and the wrench in the right column.

Using 14 pt Georgia in #efefef, add text next to each icon. Set a drop shadow with 55% opacity and a distance and size of 1.

Next, add additional text to each column using 14 pt Arial, #052648. Use the guides to line up the text boxes.

Here is what we have at this point.

Step 4: The Content Area

Below the slider area we will be adding three columns of text. You can clear any guides that you are currently using (View – Clear Guides). Set new vertical guides at 220, 520, 550, 850, 880 and 1180 pixels, and a horizontal guide at 418 pixels (that is 40 pixels below the bottom of the slider).

In the content area we will be using three more icons from the Function icon set: the news icon, the mail icon, and the Twitter icon. Open each icon and increase the view to about 600%. Crop the icons so any of the extra height above and below the icon is removed.

Now, resize all three icons so that they have a height of 30 pixels. Paste the icons in each column – news on the left, mail in the center, and Twitter on the right.

Then add headers to each column with 18 pt Georgia, #184e84 in all caps.

In the left column we will add some filler text for a sample news item in 14 pt Arial, #191919 with a link in #184e84.

In the center column we’ll add some filler text, a company address and phone number, and a link to the contact page.

In the right column we’ll add filler text for 3 recent tweets.

Below the recent tweets we’ll add a “follow us” button that will link to the company’s Twitter profile. Add a new layer and use the rectangular marquee tool to select and area for the button. Use the paint bucket tool to fill it with #184e84 and use the pencil tool to give it a one-pixel border in #002c5f.

Add text to the button in 14 pt Arial, #efefef.

Step 5: The Footer

The last part of the design that needs to be completed is the footer.

Add a new layer and set the foreground color to #184e84. Leave 40 pixels of space below the end of the text and use the rectangular marquee tool to select the area for the footer. Then use the paint bucket tool to fill the selection.

Next, use the pencil tool to add a one-pixel border in #002c5f to the top of the footer. The image below is shown at 600%.

Using 14 pt Arial in #efefef add a copyright and links to the footer, and we’re done. Here is a look at what we have just designed.

You can download the PSD file here (702 KB zip file).

For more Photoshop layout tutorials see:

• Design a Clean Portfolio Site in Photoshop
• How to Design a One-Page Portfolio in Photoshop
• Design a Stylish Blue Blog Theme in Photoshop
• Design an E-Commerce Website in Photoshop
• Design a Website for a Non-Profit Organization in Photoshop

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

In this article we’ll take a detailed look at the topic of communicating with clients. Many of the tips that are mentioned can apply to communication in general, but the article comes specifically from the perspective of a designer/client relationship.

1. Start with a Solid Foundation

Communication is of critical importance during the early stages of the client process. At this time you will need to get to know the client’s business as well as possible. You’ll want to understand the products and services that they offer, their corporate culture, and what makes them unique to their customers. Additionally, you should get a solid understanding of their customers and what they will be looking for when they arrive at the website. It’s also important to understand the client’s specific goals for the website, what they wish to improve (if it’s a re-design) and what they need to get out of the site.

By taking the time up front to communicate with the client and to build this solid foundation for the project you can save time and avoid miscommunication later. It’s a good idea to have some sort of intake process that you go through with clients to get through this stage, it can help to make sure that you don’t miss out on any important points.

Some clients may be hesitant to dedicate much time before the project begins for this type of communication. When that is the case it can be helpful to explain that all of this is important in order for you to give them a website that will truly work for their business and for their customers. Emphasize that taking this time up front can help to make the process smoother and quicker, and to avoid costly mistakes.

2. Have a Method or a System

In the previous point I mentioned that it is a good idea to have a standard process for client intake. In addition, it’s also helpful to have a method or system for client communication beyond that point. If you are just responding to emails or phone calls as they come in with no records or organization, chances are you could benefit from putting a system in place.

If you’re working with several clients at one time it can be very challenging to remember exactly what was said by which client and what was done at different points. There is no right or wrong method, but you could consider using a resource that is intended for customer service (see our post 12 CRM Options for Freelancers), or you could develop your own system and processes to keep track of communication. At a very minimum you should have folders in your email to keep track of messages from and to specific clients.

Without a system you will probably find yourself scrambling to find out what was said about different aspects of the project. Having a record is always good because it will avoid the need to go back to the client when it’s not necessary and it will also help to protect you in case there is some type of dispute down the road.

3. Do More Listening Than Talking

The client’s website is all about them, their business, and their customers. For this reason it is important to emphasize the need to listen and let them provide you with the information that will help you to do the best job possible. Of course there will be plenty of times where the clients should be doing the listening, but especially during the initial stages when you are just getting to know about their business, be sure to place the most value in listening to what they have to say.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Misunderstandings will always lead to wasted time, so don’t be afraid to ask the client questions that will help you to get on the same page and to design something that will work for them. Your customers are busy, just like you are, so they may be in a hurry when you are talking to them, but don’t let that discourage you from getting the information that will help you to do your job for them.

Many clients won’t give a lot of information to you about their business or their customers unless you ask because they may not see the need for you to fully understand their business. Those clients who don’t have a good understanding of what is involved in creating a successful website will often think that a skilled designer can just pick up a new project and create something special without really taking the customer’s specific situation into consideration. In most cases they just don’t stop to think about all of the communication that is needed, so you may have to be proactive and ask a number of questions.

5. Be Patient with Your Explanations

The typical client does not have a great understanding of websites or design, and that is why they are hiring you. As you are explaining things to them throughout the process, be patient and remember that this is probably not an aspect of their business that they are very comfortable with. Clients appreciate designers who show patience and a willingness to explain things in a way that they can understand, without putting them down.

6. Explain Your Reasons and Thought Processes

As you give your opinions throughout the process it is important that you also explain to the client why you are giving that advice. Clients will often want you to do something that you don’t think is a good idea. When those situations arise, rather than just doing it the way they want or doing it your way with no explanation, take the time to demonstrate to them why you think it is important and what the potential impacts can be.

Clients will typically see things as they appear on the surface, but from your experience you may know that there is more to be considered in the situation. When this is the case you need to explain to the client the other factors that are involved and why you feel a certain way.

7. Give Advice When Needed

Designers really are consultants to clients as well. Clients (at least most of them) know that you have more expertise in the area than they do and they’ll trust that you are interested in doing what is best for them and their business. There will be situations where you will need to be willing to give them advice on a particular decision that needs to be made, or situations where you should add some of your own ideas for making the project better.

Some clients know what they want and as a designer it can be easy to get caught up in giving them what they want, without giving much thought to ways that it could be improved. Don’t be afraid to advise clients based on your professional experience. Most clients will respect your opinions and appreciate that you are looking out for their best interests.

8. Avoid Jargon

One of the biggest frustrations for clients is when designers talk to them with terms and phrases that they don’t understand. Although you are working online all the time and you probably communicate with other designers and developers a lot, keep in mind that your clients will not have the same experience, so you should avoid using terms that they are unlikely to understand (or at least explain what they mean).

As you work with clients you will get a better understanding for how tech savvy they are, and you can adjust your communication accordingly. Some clients will have a very good understanding and will be able to communicate without the need to explain everything, and others will have very little knowledge or experience related to the internet and web design.

9. Avoid Assumptions

Assuming that the client understands certain things or that they want something a particular way can lead to miscommuniation. If you’re unsure about something, take a minute and ask the client rather than assuming and causing a lot of work that needs to be re-done later.

10. Use Examples When Possible

One thing that can really help your communication, particularly when you are explaining things to clients or giving them choices, is to use real-world examples. Explaining options over the phone or through email can be challenging, and at times ineffective. By using examples to help, you can make things more clear for clients and get more accurate response and avoid misunderstanding.

An example of this would be if you are talking to a client about the type of navigation menu they would like to use on their site. Rather than trying to explain the differences you could provide them with URLs of a few sites with various styles so they could see it in a real-world situation.

11. Make Your Communication Count

Because your clients are busy, most of them will not want to be constantly receiving emails or phone calls about the project. One of the lessons I’ve learned from my experience is to make the communication count. Try to put your questions together in one email rather than sending 4 different emails in one morning with one question each. Additionally, make an effort to be as clear as possible when you communicate so there is no need to go back and forth several times just to understand the issue at hand.

Because clients value their own time, they will appreciate if you maximize the time that you have in communication and if it requires them to respond to less emails or take less phone calls. This also goes back to the need for good organization and having a system to keep tabs on the communication. If you forget what a client told you, you can either go back through your records to find out yourself or you can contact them to ask again. Of course, it’s preferable to not have to go back to the client when it’s not necessary.

12. Put it in Writing

One of the reasons that email communication is effective is because it gives you and the client a record of what has been said. There may be times where it is necessary for customer service or for legal purposes to have a record of what was said, by whom, and when. Aside from email, other types of CRM tools can also help for record keeping.

For situations where you are talking to clients on the phone, it’s a good practice to type notes after you get off the phone to summarize what was discussed, and of course you will want to include the date and the names of the specific people that you spoke to. While you may not be able to prove that what is in your notes was actually discussed, it is still better than not having record at all, and it can be just as effective when you need to go back through the records for your own purposes. Another option is to send a summary of the conversation to your clients by email. This may be overkill for short calls just to discuss one point, but it could be helpful with longer, more detailed calls, and it could also help clients to have an account of the conversation for themselves.

13. Keep it Professional

While you are communicating with clients, whether it be face-to-face, telephone, or email, always stay professional. Clients are paying for your services and they will expect you to conduct your business in a professional manner, so avoid things that could cause them to see you differently. That’s not to say that you can’t get to know your clients on a more personal level, but remember that what you say and write can impact you designer/client relationship.

What’s Your Advice?

What lessons have you learned in your experience with clients? What tips do you have for other designers?

For more business and freelancing-related content please see:

• 27 Places to Find Web Design Jobs
• Essential Qualities of a Home Office
• 17 Tips for Designers on Starting a Freelance Business
• 15 Tips for Breaking in as a Part-Time Freelancer
• 9 Ways to Get Your Design Portfolio Seen

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.

Google Custom Search

Google’s custom search engine is the most popular of the options presented here. It’s easy to set up (sign in with your Google account and follow the instructions – Pro Blog Design has a step-by-step tutorial here), effective for finding and ranking the content, and can even be monetized through a corresponding AdSense account.

Lijit

Lijit is an increasingly popular option that searches your site as well as your other online content, such as Twitter, Delicious, LinkedIn, Digg, and StumbleUpon. With Lijit you can brand your search, make money from text ads, and there are several other features.

Yahoo! Search BOSS

Yahoo! offers an open search web services platform called BOSS (Build Your Own Search Service). With BOSS you can build a custom search engine that utilizes Yahoo’s search index and ranking technology. This is a much more advanced solution than placing a widget on your site and is probably not a practical or appropriate choice for small to medium-sized sites. Tech Cruch uses BOSS for a custom search engine that includes results from their network of sites.

Bing Box

Bing offer’s a custom search that is similar to Google’s. You can set up your custom search engine, get the code from Bing, and paste it into your site. Search results can be shown on your site of on Bing.

Sikbox

Sikbox is a pretty nice-looking option that can be customized via CSS to match the look and feel of your site. No programming is required, they provide the code for you. Image search support is also available.

Rollyo

Rollyo allows you to create a custom search engine by specifying the URLs that you want to include. Of course, for a site-wide search you would include just your own URL, and then you can get the code to add the search box to your site.

Quintura

The Quintura site search widget can easily be added to your site to offer a site search and to montize your traffic. The widget uses a search cloud and you can display ads from your own inventory or sponsored ads.

Swicki from Eurekster

Swicki is a custom search portal that is based around the topic of your choice, as opposed to a more typical search feature that provides results only from your site. Swicki offers a way to monetize the traffic to your site.

SearchBlox

If the other options presented here aren’t what you’re looking for, SearchBlox is feature-rich software that can be purchased. There is also a fre version available the will index up to 1,000 documents, includes the SearchBlox logo on search results and does not include the XML feature that is a part of the full version.

Sphere

Sphere is not technically a site search, but it is another option for helping your visitors to find relevant content that they will appreciate. Sphere offers contextual widgets that will provide links to related content on your site as well as to content on various media outlets. There are currently over 200,000 sites using Sphere, including some major websites.

For more resources please see:

• 15 Resources for Setting Up an E-Commerce Site with WordPress
• Web Analytics Toolbox
• 25 jQuery Plugins for Navigation
• Top 10 Tutorials for Converting PSDs to HTML/CSS

Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?

Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.