You want to grow your business in multiple facets, from your bottom line to your overall reputation. This not only takes commitment and an intelligent approach to marketing, but it also requires you to be personal in your branding.

A humanized brand is a fan-friendly brand. Showing that there are actual people behind that page and in charge of your company will make you a lot more appealing to a lot more people. Here are some tips on how you can humanize your branding efforts.

1: Work on Engaging Material & Promote Discussion

Reaching out and engaging with your audience should be your goal if you want to come across as more personal. Influencing sharing, encouraging comments and feedback, asking people for their opinions – these are things that come across as fan-friendly, making people feel as if they’re a part of your brand. They get to know you.

2: Respond to People Directly

Folks want to engage with you, but you have to engage them back. When you respond to people directly, you’re treating them with respect and showing that your brand has a persona.

As Gary Vaynerchuk once said, “Answer every single email and every single comment on your blog for the rest of your freaking life.”

I also make an effort to reply to nearly all my emails, though as many of you know this can not always be a reality.

3: Be Visual

Take advantage of photos (see my sidebar & about page) and videos (see my TED talk) to show people a lot more about your brand. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of office life might seem boring to you, but they’re a window into the world of your business to outsiders. The same goes with different events and gatherings.

4: Show Transparency

Figuring out what it is that your brand represents and what your business does may be interesting to your audience. Remaining transparent allows people to actually know about your brand rather than knowing of it.

5: Add a Blog

Another great way you can show a very personal side is to create a blog and link it within your network. This can be a business-based blog, but the content on it can deal with a more personal side of your dealings, such as expansions, news about employees, updates, and anything else that gives people a peek through the curtain. 

6: Participate in the Experience

Facebook & LinkedIn have different groups, events and other social features that you should join to allow the human element to show through. It doesn’t mean that you have to be an active participant in the group (though this is recommended), you just have to show your willingness to network in a social atmosphere. Others will find you if are there, not so much if you’re not!

As an example I provide a Facebook fanpage, personal profile, a LinkedIn Group and subscribe to multiple pages and groups within these platforms. I don’t participate in all of them but they do show up on my profiles as be associated with them.

7: Have a Solid Identity

Speaking with one consistent voice is something that’s important for your social media marketing strategy. When you think about a personal, humanized brand, you should be thinking about the business coming across as if an actual person is operating it, not as if there’s a system back there just churning out material based on freshly mined data.

8: Move Past the Product

Your main goal as a business is obviously to move a product or service, but you cannot allow this to be your primary focus. Once people are actually in the funnel, you can worry about advertising and sinking the hook. For branding purposes, it’s about appealing to a niche, not about selling to one.

9: Add a Personal Touch

Believe it or not, it’s very easy to add a personal touch to your advertising. You can find a lot of personal data on sites like Facebook & LinkedIn, and you can target specific users. Taking the time to send someone a personal message, or even being personal with your fans in a group message, shows a lot of character. Using names helps a lot too.

Also, if you’re going to use Facebook ads considering using Facebook ad management tools, like Qwaya and know how to optimize your images for those ads.

10: Put the Effort In

If you’re using sites like Twitter and Facebook to post a lot of content, make sure that you’re actually putting the effort in to release quality content. Content that looks like it was spewed out of an automation machine is material that’s likely to be ignored or looked at unfavorably by fans.

A personal brand is a brand that’s able to keep people around longer. Earning loyalty and having those loyal fans share your material is essential, especially for smaller brands. Allowing people to see a human side of your business can be very rewarding,

Do you have any further personal branding tips to help improve your online presence?

Image credits: freeartist, nailiaschwarz, anikasalsera of 123RF Stock Photo and Shutterstock.

Advertising

Chip Shop Awards 2013 Nominations
Awards the cleverest, funniest, worst taste advertising & design ever seen.

Secrets to Facebook Advertising: Where Image Is Everything
A few tips on how to use imagery to its best advantage on Facebook.

Big Gas Savings
A follow up to the Ship My Pants KMart TV spot. Gotta watch.

“Shit’s on the horizon.”
A quote I illustrated from a meeting.

The Coca-Cola Sharing Can
A can that splits in two!

Web Design

Inspiring UX 6s Transitions and Animations
A gallery of Vine videos highlighting UX patterns.

Pick Sum Ipsum
Do you love movies as much as you love making cool websites? Then, boy – check out this lorem ipsum!

Designing for iOS
A very detailed guide on how to design for iOS. A must bookmark.

Upping Your Type Game
Some great advice in here from Jessica Hische. A favourite quote would be:

“Don’t have a favorite font. Do have a favorite type designer.”

On Demand Social Sharing
Social sharing buttons that are loaded on demand, allowing for faster page load. Three options here: Sharrre, SocialLiteJS, or SocialCount.

Cursors, Pointers and Arrow Icons
A handy group of icons that can be used for mockups. More icons here.

Travel

The new Google Maps
The all new and improved Google Maps. Really neat actually.

TripAdvisor Best 25 Destinations of 2013
I’m always looking out for great places to visit and it looks like I’ve got 9 more to go based on this list.

10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America
A lot of opinions here.

The 15 Countries With The Highest Quality Of Life
Stoked to see Australia in first place & blessed to have grown up there!

Other

Twitter Music adds new chart features
I’m always looking for new ways to discover and listen to music and this service is great for that. It even hooks up to Spotify or Rdio.

Newspaper Covers from Around the World
A directory of you guessed it, newspaper covers from around the world.

Books for Designers: May
A list of newly released books.

Any other cool links you have to share?

Do these identity / branding trends affect you or your process? Do you agree with these suggestions? Have you noticed any other trends?

• Logo Lounge:
  2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
• Discussion on Just Creative: 2011 | 2010 | 2009

2 Logos of Mine Featured in Logo Lounge Book 8

On a similar note, I just found out that two of my logos designed for Ruff Club and PharmSouth are going to be featured in the book Logo Lounge 8, which will be my 5th time featured in one of their inspirational books. Always an honour!

The 2013 Logo Design Trends

Without further ado, here are the logo design trends compiled by LogoLounge.com. You get more information on each trend on the original post.

The Here Logo Design Trend

The Crosses Logo Design Trend

The Wave Logo Design Trend

The Molecule Logo Design Trend

The Nature Marks Logo Design Trends

The Membrane Logo Design Trend

The Formula Logo Design Trend

The Bracketing Logo Design Trend

The Eyelet Trend

The Slash Logo Design Trend

The Written Logo Design Trend

The Line Craft Logo Design Trend

The Badges Logo Design Trend

The Banners Logo Design Trend

The Monograms Logo Design Trend

Do these identity / branding trends effect you or your process? Do you agree with these suggestions? Have you noticed any other trends?’

© Artwork shown is copyright of their respective owners. Designer’s names & clients can be found on the original posting linked above. Original compilation by Bill Gardner. Reprinted with permission from LogoLounge.

Quick, name a soft drink.

Maybe you said Coca-Cola; perhaps it was Dr. Pepper or 7Up. Either way, the soda that you picked obviously has a strong, memorable branding strategy.

We don’t have to preach to you about the importance of a strong brand (If we did, we wouldn’t be very good at our jobs). Analysts have spent their time, energy and countless kilowatts of brain power trying to create a measurable way to rank brands by how memorable they are.

If only they’d have thought to just ask people. Then, they might have stumbled on a little thing called top-of-mind awareness.

Where is ‘Top of Mind’?

Top-of-mind awareness (or TOMA), is a pretty simple concept with pretty major implications. When consumers are asked which products or brands come to mind first when a particular business sector is mentioned, the one they choose is at their “top of mind”.

Remember our soft drink question at the beginning of this article? The soda that you named has earned its way to the top of your mind. If we asked you to name a fast food chain, the best smartphone, or your favorite newspaper, the same theory would apply. The concept of being “top of mind” is as uncomplicated as that, and the best part is it’s completely measurable.

Coming up with a plan to get to the top of your customers’ minds, however, may prove to be a bit more complex. With so many options available, how can you be sure that your brand’s marketing strategy gives you a fighting chance to be “top of mind” in your particular sector?

First, you need your customers to love you. Then, you need them to think of you first when they’re in need of your product or service — no matter how far into the future that may be. That being said, you need a long-term plan of attack to not just get “top of mind”, but stay there.

The 5-Point Battle Plan for ‘Top of Mind’ Status

1. Get entrenched for the long term.

According to Chilton Research, 34% of major-purchase consumers waited at least seven months to complete their purchase. 27% more bought over a year later. If over 60% of your potential customers are waiting that long to make a final decision, it’s essential you stay fresh in their minds over that period. If not, you’ll have done nothing but create a lead for someone else to close.

2. Ensure you can be found.

If your three least-favorite letters of the alphabet are “SEO”, now’s the time to change your tune. After all, there’s no point wasting your company’s resources if no one knows you exist. Optimize your website, engage actively in link building, employ keyword strategies and utilize thought leadership opportunities to establish your credibility with strong content. Like it or not, if you don’t work on your SEO, you’re only going to hurt three other letters: ROI.

3. Nurture leads with content-rich marketing.

Over this period of time, you’ll have the opportunity to enhance your brand’s value and build credibility with your leads. Now’s not the time to be annoying or vapid with your content. If you’re going to employ a strategy like email marketing (or a physical newsletter), make sure the content is rich and valuable – to your customers.

Don’t fall into the trap of spinning content with yourself in mind. What you find interesting and valuable may be of no use to your audience. Whatever your “top of mind” plan is, make sure it includes content that bolsters your brand’s value.

4. Don’t be cute. Be informative.

This is not an age of naiveté; customers know you have something to sell, and you want to sell it to them. While your message doesn’t need to be overt, don’t insult your audience’s intelligence by pretending the eventual sale doesn’t exist. Instead, buy into what they want: information. If you have a product, tell them about it. If you provide a service, explain why it’s superior.

5. Stop competing.

It’s not as counterintuitive as you think. If your marketing content involves your competitors, doesn’t that just put them in your audience’s mind? Don’t waste time talking down your competition; instead, talk up yourself. Better yet, learn to talk less and listen more. Stop spending your time downplaying other brands and start collecting and analyzing data and feedback from your customers and leads.

‘Top of Mind’ Is Accessible to Everyone

Many people (wrongly) assume that “top of mind” status is reserved for the big boys with deep pockets and vast resources. Of course, this is often the case – Nike dominates the athletic shoe sector, McDonald’s has cornered fast food, and so on. But if you’re a small to medium-sized business (or even a one-man show), take heart: there’s more than one way to win the “top of mind” battle.

It’s how a corner coffee shop stays in business when the major chain moves in across town. As pervasive as the larger competition’s marketing may be, there is something to be said for personalized touch, community ties and the “look and feel” of home.

Whatever the size of your business, it’s vital to remember that brand awareness is ultimately as (or more) important that brand aesthetics. Employing a design firm with a firm understanding of you and your target customer is essential.

With the right strategy, content-rich marketing and a strong brand, you will find yourself first on your audience’s mind when they’re ready to make a purchase – no matter the size of your business.

How do you get to ‘top of mind’?

–

fatrabbit CREATIVE is a boutique branding and design firm from New Jersey. Find out more about them and see their work at fatrabbit CREATIVE. Photos by Thinkstock.

Time is money. This expression is not new to anyone. We all know how valuable our time is. But pointing out the obvious is sometimes more hurtful than helpful.

We are already stressed about how long it takes to write a quality blog post. Imagining each expensive minute tick by, without anything to show for it is terrifying.

You have come to this blog post hoping to find ways to make your writing even more effective and profitable. We won’t insult your intelligence (or waste your time) by mentioning obvious tips like “write first and edit later”.

Instead, we’ll give you some insight to five great tools that will make the writing process easier – and, therefore, faster.

Use Your Inactive Brain

None of us use our brain to its fullest capacity. We don’t take advantage of all it has to offer. So many times it is sitting there, perfectly willing to do the heavy lifting, but we just brush it off. Confused? Let us explain.

While doing menial tasks that require very little brain focus – like cooking dinner, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, taking a shower, exercising at the gym, sitting in a traffic jam – think about your blog post. Pre-write the post in your head. When you sit down to write, your post could very well be halfway finished.

Another prime opportunity to write your blog post is while you are sleeping. Before going to bed, spend a few minutes brainstorming a possible blog post idea. Let the idea percolate in your brain while you sleep.

Utilize A Desktop Application

It can be argued that your content management system’s WYSIWYG editor has everything you need to write a blog post. For the most part, that’s true. You can get by just fine with what WordPress or Joomla has to offer.

So why are we suggesting you spend your precious pennies on a desktop application? Because…

If you write your blog posts while online, there are just too many enticing things trying to lure you away. Your email inbox, social media accounts, and recent sports scores are just a click away.

If you don’t know where to begin shopping for a desktop application, consider one of these blog writing apps or a simple Text program will do too.

Zone In with Silence or Music

Many writers say they need silence to work at their peak performance. Sadly, silence is usually pretty hard to come by though investing in noise cancelling earphones can go a long way.

Another tip is to use music to drown out any distracting background noises. Plus, some soulful tunes can really get you in the zone. Create a playlist of wordless songs and give it a try.

Use A Timer / The Pomodoro Technique

Are you competitive? Want to transform your writing into a sport? Set a timer. Race the clock. See if you can write this post faster than the last.

Even if you aren’t competitive, a timer is a great writing tool. A timer will show you the stages of writing that take the longest. Once you have identified these inefficient steps, you can focus on how to make them shorter.

A simple stopwatch will do the trick. Resorting to the preprogrammed (or downloaded app) on your cell phone isn’t a great idea. You want to stay away from distractions, remember? You don’t want to be glancing at them every few seconds. Instead, try using The Pomodoro Technique / MyTomatoes. This 25 minute timer will help you track how long your writing takes.

Create An Outline

For shorter posts, an outline probably isn’t necessary. However, if you are writing a beastly long post, an outline is great. It will help you organize your thoughts, highlight the main points, focus your writing, and keep you on point.

The next time you feel under the gun to deliver quality content quickly, consider implementing these tools. If you know of any other writing tools we’ve left off the list, feel free to let us know.

—
About the author: Steve Aedy is an editor and content writing expert for FreshEssays.com, a company that provides custom essay writing service and help with academic research. As a writer, he specializes on the essays on history and modern literature. Follow Steve on Google+. Photo Credit: KatieKrueger via Compfight cc and mihtiander / 123RF Stock Photo.

Web Design Articles

Simplifying for the wrong reasons on Mengto’s blog
A great article looking at how some applications and websites are over simplifying. A nice site blog design too!

Three Exemplary Typefaces for User Interfaces on Typekit’s Blog
A look at three typefaces ideal for UI design.

Mobile Web Design for Content-Heavy Websites: 8 Clever Techniques from Golf Digest on Mobify
A in depth look at best practices for mobile web design.

Great Web Site Designs

The Milwaukee Police News Website
This is the best looking website for a police force that I’ve ever seen. via @RajaSandhu

The Milwaukee Police News Website.

Into The Artic by Greenpeace
Greenpeace pushing the boundaries of website design, and for a good cause too…  Something I witnessed first hand when I visited Iceland last year (the ice melting).

The Milwaukee Police News Website
This is the best looking website for a police force that I’ve ever seen. via @RajaSandhu

Pracownia Olszanksa artist’s website
Gotta say this is one unique & impressive website. The large load time is worth it but be warned there is music on it.

Web Design Resources

Flat Design Gallery
It’s all the rage… flat UI design. Here you have a gallery of flat UI.

SuperScrolloRama jQuery plugin
The jQuery plugin for super cool scroll animations.

SVG Patterns Gallery
An alternative to bitmap patterns.

So Niice! Visual Search Engine
An inspired visual search engine draws from Behance, Dribbble, and Designspiration.

A search on Niice for 'black and white lettering'.

Miscellaneous

Recently quoted in Wall Street Journal
I was recently in the Wall Street Journal (March 6th on page A24) for an article related to design, NYC and windows.

I was recently quoted in Wall Street Journal (March 6th).

Resize The Browser Window Here
A brilliant waste of 15 seconds!

16 Photos Tourists Need To Stop Taking on BuzzFeed
I’ve done one too many of these photos. What bout you?

Yahoo! launches a beautiful weather app
This is my new favourite weather application. It’s very sexy with its clean UI and Flickr photos. via @DJRFI5 

Yahoo!'s new beautiful weather app.

Sustainability: Five key visual trends by Getty Images
Getty identifies the key trends shaping our work today… “make, share, me, spirit, next”.

Facebook reveals new logo and icons on Design Taxi
Great to see Facebook starting to simplify their brand identity. Also check out their Facebook Home site which was brilliantly done.

Future Insights Live! Conference in Vegas
Future Insights 2013 is coming up very soon (April 29 to May 2) and it’s not too late to get tickets. You can get 10% off with the code ‘justcreative’.  See you there!

I also just heard this quote, do you agree?

Vayniacs near and far would all agree. Tacking a sticky-note of your favorite social media tips from Gary Vaynerchuk on your computer screen can help you crush it online — whatever your “it” may be.

For Vaynerchuk, the first “it” he crushed was wine.

From the wine, out poured a whole new passion for social media and what it can do to turn an all-consuming interest into a cash-generating online career. CEO and co-founder of his social media brand consulting firm, vaynermedia.com, Vaynerchuk first earned his online claim to fame as an outspoken, offbeat wine review and advice video blogger. Offline, he co-owned and directed operations of a retail wine business.

Currently a public speaker on all things wine AND social media, he authored the book, Crush It! Why NOW Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion. The book earned him a spot on both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

But as most Vayniacs know, it’s the Stellar Sticky-Note Status he’s earned from his now “lifelong friend connections” that really sticks with his followers over time. So what does Mr. Vino and his Vayniacs do with all their passion?

Here are seven all-time favorite sticky-note social media tips from Gary Vaynerchuk to help his Vayniacs crush it online:

1. Be Happily Flawed

“Be happy with who you are…. Be you… Be every flaw.”

Too many people start with a false idea that if they just do “this” thing… then “that” will make them happy. They need to start being happy… period.

If it takes courage to be happy, just for the sake of being happy, then take courage. If it takes courage to just “be you” without first making major improvements, then take courage and just be you. If it’s too scary or embarrassing for you to embrace ALL your flaws, then find a way to take courage, to discipline yourself to embrace every scary, embarrassing flaw.

Now, at any given moment, is all you ever have. History’s gone. Tomorrow’s not here yet. Now is it.

Be happy with who you are, be you, and be every flaw. This is Vaynerchuk’s leadership. This is how you lead yourself to being happy now. Lead yourself with this example until it sticks. In time, others will follow.

2. Create Content, Conversation & Cash

“It’s about putting up good content, creating conversation, and spending ten percent of your time working out how to make money.”

Getting caught up in shiny-object cycles, being distracted at every turn, letting your lack of knowledge in certain areas consume and displace your passion and expertise in what counts, counting money before it’s earned… can all turn a promising online career into a nightmarish black-cashless-hole.

If you focus ALL your efforts on putting up excellent content and creating honestly helpful and interesting conversations, you’ll soon have that 10% extra time to figure out how to monetize the good works you’ve created.

This will give you the following and momentum you need to propel your passion forward with increasingly less effort and stress. The point is… create content and conversation first, then monetize.

3. Create Connections

“Your job is to create a connection.”

You can talk, talk, talk all day long and never make one honest, real connection with another human soul. But you’ve only got one real job online… and your job is to “create” a connection. Your job is to find the connection between you and that “one” follower at a time, heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul.

If you focus on that one connection until it clicks and sticks, then others will watch, listen, and follow you, too. Your only real job is to find, create and nurture that one connection. Once connected, simply do it again… and again…

4. Continue Lifelong Conversations

“Induce conversation at every turn for the rest of your life.”

Once you create those connections, just keep starting conversations with your connections… again and again… for the rest of your life. No kidding. But if you’ve truly connected and clicked with your followers, you’re making friends… lifelong friends.

And the funny thing about lifelong friends who you share a passion with is that you can always pick up your conversation where you left off… no matter how long it’s been between conversations. Your job is to turn connections into friends with whom you’ll have lifelong conversations about something you’re both passionate about.

5. Listen Up & Pay Attention For Life

“Answer every single email and every single comment on your blog for the rest of your freaking life.”

There’s a saying about the best way to “pay a compliment” to someone you care about and that is to just “pay attention” to them. So another part of your job is to simply listen up and pay attention to those who reach out to you in emails and comments by responding to them in return. And, of course, responding to each and every email and comment sent to you for the rest of your life.

And as Gary so passionately expressed it, listen up and pay attention “for the rest of your freaking life.” In other words, just be the kind of friend you want to have… a freaking lifelong friend.

6. Concentrate on Your Strengths & Outsource Stress

“If you’re not good at monetizing, get a business partner that can do that. You do what you do and bring in others who can do the other stuff.”

Whatever causes you stress — including any monetization task — just outsource it. Creating and sharing your passion through great content, making lifelong connections, listening up and paying attention to your followers all should bring you joy, not stress.

The process of monetizing your business is an essential prime goal; however, if that is not your expertise, then outsource this task to someone who has a passion and talent for monetizing online businesses. That’s a priority lifetime connection worth your investing time, attention, and money.

7. Brrrand It!

And finally, while not a direct quote, a seventh takeaway could easily be added here on branding. From his Wine Library TV to his Daily Grape video channel to all his Vayniac followers, there’s no denying this blogger’s been a master at branding — faux pas, foibles, flaws and all.

So add a “Brand It” sticky-note to your list of social media tips from Gary Vaynerchuk… if there’s still room on your computer screen… then grab your passion and go crush “it” online, fellow Vayniac, whatever your “it” may be.

More Social Media Articles

• HOW TO: Get more brand exposure, traffic and sales using Facebook 
• Pinterest: What, Why, How and Who? + Tips & Pin Optimisation
• Twitter Tips & Interview
• How To Get Clients Using LinkedIn
• 3 Inspirational Pinterest Marketing Campaigns
• 10 Twitter Design Lists Worth Following
• 12 Ways Your Logo Impacts Social Media
• What is Dribbble and How To Use Dribbble

–

Guest post contributed by Tom Jones on behalf of make-a-web-site.com – Click here for more information on making a website. Tom is a freelance writer who enjoys writing for a range of sources. Image credits: shopify.com, boagworld.com.

While there could be many factors governing the cash flow, invoicing happens to be the most critical in the list. Therefore, it is important for a business to invoice effectively and avoid any dreaded late payments. So, here’s a brief guide on how freelancers & small businesses can invoice effectively to keep their cash flow healthy.

Require An Upfront Deposit

This is probably my best tip to best manage your cash flow. To start any work, you should get an initial deposit and a signed contract.  I usually require a 50% deposit or 30% for larger projects. See further business tips for designers here.

Get the Final Deposit Before Delivery of Files

To ensure you get paid, you can state in your contract that the full deposit must be made before delivery of final files. As long as the client is pleased with your work, this will ensure you will get paid. See tips on how to go about pricing your work here.

Make your Invoices Look Complete

Example Invoice

An invoice that looks complete is paid the fastest. Any invoice that you send, should clearly state that it’s an invoice, which should be written at the top. Other information may include company’s name, address, contact number, and business number if applicable. The name and the address of the client should also be there.

Your invoice should include the products/services provided, date of delivery, date of invoice, tax, interest charges, and the total amount charged.

There are some great invoicing tools out there such as Invoicera which you should check out. You can see other software & hardware I use here.

Send Invoices on Time

Clients are the main source of income for any company, however, clients don’t serve the purpose when they don’t pay on time. That is why it is advised to send a prompt invoice upon the delivery of a service, or a product. I often leave this until the client is happy with the end product / design so it doesn’t seem like you’re a money-hungry scrounge.

Don’t Let the Flow Lose its Path

Your clients may start-off with timely payments initially, however, in the long term they are more likely to drift away from the path and start delaying payments. You must keep an eye on this by levying late fee or interest charges, if a payment is delayed.

While this can also be tackled with a prompt payment invoice, you could also bring in a ‘promise to pay system’ within your contract, so that the client is bound to pay within a specified period.

Invoice in Parts

Invoicing in parts is a great technique to ensure timely payments and works in favor of both parties. Clients usually contemplate a lot before paying a lump sum amount however, they won’t have to think as much when asked for a partial payment. Like I mentioned before, I require a 50% or 30% deposit upfront. You, as a vendor would also be benefited with this technique as partial payments will keep your business running and cash flow smooth. Partial payments can also help when scope creeping comes up.

Agree on the Terms Before Work Begins

The key to this point is that negotiation or terms of any kind should be clearly understood by both the parties before engaging in any work. If a client tries to move away from the previously mentioned terms while in the process, there’s a need to react before any further business deal or delivery of files.

Give your Clients a Reason to Pay, not to Delay

Clients will often have excuses for an untimely payment. You could come across a number of excuses like, “I never received your email” or “I have sent a cheque, let me know if you don’t receive it within a couple of days”.

To avoid hearing excuses, you should send timely reminders, around 3 to 4 days before a payment is due. You can do this automatically with online invoicing services or another manual way is to use an email reminder service such as FollowUpThen.

Sending reminders gets the client to take immediate action. Another way to tackle this would be giving a discount on a timely payment encouraging them to skip excuses and pay on time.

How do you manage your cash flow and invoicing?

Photo Credits: Roger Smith, Alan Cleaver cc

Coworking has been in vogue for a few years now and is becoming increasingly popular amongst freelancers around the world. But what is it exactly and how can you make it work for you?

Mobilesuite Coworking Space

Well, in short coworking enables anyone who is working independently to work with others in a shared office space, without the hassle of having to sign a rental contract or pay utility bills. Typical coworkers may include freelance writers, web designers, entrepreneurs and small start-ups, especially those looking to collaborate.

Coworking spaces have sprung up in cities all over the world and can vary from tiny independent set-ups with a few desks, to large chains such as The Hub and Nextspace that cater for many people and also hold major events and workshops.

Flexibility & Progressive Work Culture

Each coworking space has a range of plans that allow for maximum flexibility, so you’re able to rent a space from a few hours to a few weeks, to more permanently depending on your work situation.

What sets coworking apart from simply renting a desk or sitting in a coffee shop to work, is the progressive work culture that has emerged from these spaces. As many coworking spaces are geared towards a particular type of industry such as the tech or creative industries, a kind of synergy is fostered between those sharing the space. Everyone may be working on their own independent projects yet they are still generally within one industry that encompasses them all.

Flexible Desk Mobilesuite Coworking Space

Advantages of Coworking

Access to Community & Networking

For freelancers coworking spaces have numerous benefits, perhaps the most significant of which is that they instantly provide a supportive community of fellow freelancers and like-minded people. There’s always plenty of scope for networking and collaboration on projects between coworkers, and it’s the kind which comes naturally – no forced networking or awkward approaches necessary.

Improves Your Skillset

Coworking can also give freelancers the option to update their knowledge and skillset. This idea-sharing, along with the option to bounce thoughts off those willing to give a fresh perspective, can in turn lead to a sometimes much needed confidence boost.

Increases Social Activity

As well as the possibility of collaboration, coworking spaces are a great way to alleviate the loneliness that sometimes goes hand in hand with freelancing. As much as home-working has a certain appeal, the social isolation that it entails can be detrimental to working well. Coworking offers all of the social aspects of an office without the stress of feeling obliged to interact with people as you would have to in a traditional office. Many coworking spaces also hold social events and workshops so the opportunity to get to know your fellow freelancers is even easier.

Auditorium Mobilesuite Coworking Space

Easier on the Pocket & Reduced Travel Time

Add to this of course, the financial benefit of coworking as opposed to renting your own office. There’s no need to worry about utility bills or buying equipment like photocopiers and printers as these are all usually included in the all-in-one price. Should a freelancer be meeting clients, many coworking spaces also have conference rooms available to be booked. Furthermore coworkers are able to choose a coworking space nearby to where they live and therefore reduce the cost, time and stress involved in commuting.

Easy to Join & Set Up Anywhere

Finally, for freelancers that travel a lot or have the urge to give working abroad a go, coworking spaces are an excellent way to instantly set yourself up in a new city, build a network and make friends. In a world where many are now seeking less location-dependent work and more flexibility, coworking is an innovative and progressive way of aiding in this.

Some of the Best Coworking spaces:

Mobilesuite – Berlin

Berlin has long been a creative hub but is now also currently one of the hotspots for the European start-up scene. As a result, a host of coworking spaces have sprung up in the city including this friendly and relaxed space which has been in existence since 2011 in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg in former east Berlin.

High Chairs Mobilesuite Coworking Space

Lounge Mobilesuite Coworking Space

TechHub – London

Based in two locations in London with plans for a third to open this year, TechHub is a coworking space designed for those working specifically in the tech industries to set up shop. Industry events, workshops and social events all take place frequently making it an excellent place to foster potential collaborations.

Grind – New York City

Grind is an invitation-only coworking space in the heart of Manhattan. Members are described by the founder of the space as “free radicals”, people who like to work outside the system and are constantly collaborating. This space is at the forefront of coworking technology with features such as automatic check-in when a member simply opens their laptop.

See here for more NYC coworking spaces.

Citizen Space – San Francisco

Located in the booming SOMA district, Citizen Space is a coworking space that thrives on the idea of openness and innovation. Home to numerous startups, web developers and writers amongst others, Citizen Space also plays host to a number of professional development events including startup meet-ups and launch parties.

The Thinking Hut – Amsterdam

“The Thinking Hut is a new and fresh creative co-working space in Amsterdam. These 270sqm once filled with horses have been renovated to re-open doors to a collaborative work environment where different people (entrepreneurs, freelancers, zzp-ers, designers, writers, web developers, marketing minds, account and project managers, …) can feel comfortable working on their own projects, while having the possibility of sharing, engaging and in essence, creating together with others.”

Do you work in a coworking space? Have any others to share?

–

*Jessie Brown is a Berlin-based freelance writer who regularly contributes to hungryhouse, the UK’s leading platform for takeaway food in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Future Insights Live

When:
Workshops: April 29
Conference days: April 30, May 1, May 2.

Where:
MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas

About:

Future Insights Live 2013 is a 4-day event, comprised of one optional workshop day followed by 5 tracks and our hands-on labs over 3-days. FILive will discuss the future technologies, platforms, and business models YOU should be using and implementing to launch the next big thing. No matter your level of ability, nor whether you are a designer, developer, product person or entrepreneur, this is THE event for inspiration, education, and networking that you don’t want to miss!

Info:

• Coverage of the hottest web & mobile development, design, and business topics.
• World-class speakers from across the globe.
• Packed schedule: full day workshops, multi-track conference & hands-on learning labs.
• Incredible atmosphere: hundreds of like-minded web folk descending on Vegas
• All levels accommodated, something for everyone.

10% off for Just Creative readers

Just Creative readers are able to grab 10% off tickets. Simply enter JustCreative on the registration page. Do remember to check out the handy Convince your Boss PDF for help getting your approval.

More Conferences

Below are a small handfull of other conferences around the world, as outlined on Smashing Magazine.

Snow*Mobile – A Mobile Development Conference
A community of people who recognize the explosion of mobile devices and see how they are affecting our interactions. Pulling together locals and some experts from around the country and have that conversation!

• When: Feb. 15-16, 2013
• Where: Madison, WI (Union South)

Toca Me 2013
“Next Stop Design!”

• When: Feb. 16, 2013
• Where: Munich, Germany

FITC Amsterdam 2013
“The latest and greatest in design, technology and cool shit from all around the world. Join fellow digital creators and renowned speakers at the Felix Meritas this February to learn about HTML5, CSS, virtual machines, design, creativity and much more!”

• When: Feb. 18-19, 2013
• Where: Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Felix Meritas)

An Event Apart Atlanta 2013
“An intensely educational learning session for passionate practitioners of standards-based Web design. If you care about code as well as content, usability as well as design, An Event Apart is the conference you’ve been waiting for.”

• When: Feb. 18-20, 2013
• Where: Atlanta, GA (InterContinental)

Mobile Trends Conference & Awards 2013
“This conference is dedicated to mobile technologies and techniques. Mobile Trends Conference is two days – various issues – two groups of customers!”

• When: Feb. 21-22, 2013
• Where: Krakow, Poland

The Story
“The Story is a one-day conference about stories and story-telling.”

• When: Feb. 22, 2013
• Where: London, UK (Conway Hall)

jQuery Europe 2013
“International speakers and Web pioneers show the newest trends and techniques for Web, apps and smart TV development with jQuery. Two days of conference with awesome sessions, one additional day of jQuery training and lots of opportunities to meet and greet with developers from all Europe.”

• When: Feb. 22-23, 2013
• Where: Palais Liechtenstein, Vienna

ConFoo Conference
“ConFoo is a non for profit, multi-technology conference. We bring the learning experience to a whole new level.”

• When: Feb. 25-Mar. 1, 2013
• Where: Montreal, Canada

SXSW Interactive 2013
“The 2013 SXSW® Interactive Festival will feature five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, the SXSW Trade Show and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.”

• When: Mar. 8-12, 2013
• Where: Austin, TX

HOW Design Live
Find your inspiration at HOW Design Live 2013—four amazing graphic design conferences in San Francisco, all under one roof. Rediscover your creative core as you acquire new skills, develop new ways to work smarter, and head home practically bursting with inspiration.

When: June 22-26, 2013
Where: San Francisco

Let me know if you’re attending any, or have any other upcoming 2013 conferences to share. Enjoy!

You can view the top logos of 2009 and 2010 and 2011 here.

The 2012 Logo Of The Year

Boss Hunting is a popular Facebook group that shares images of what it is to live the high life (or be ‘boss’). Images are mostly of luxurious locations, consumer goods, beautiful women, famous actors etc.

Credits: Misteree

Second Place: Organ Donation

Brief: “To design the corporate identity for an organ donation initiative. Since it was our only tool of communication, the design had to instantly convey the message of organ donation. Whatever we designed had to strike an emotional chord and subtly prompt people to open up to the idea.”

Credits: DDB

Third Place: Boundary

Boundary is the application performance monitoring solution designed for distributed application environments. Boundary addresses two critical challenges faced by DevOps professionals: the need to immediately see and understand the impact of a rapidly changing application together with a significantly higher degree of visibility. Process.

Credits: Stephen Boak

Fourth Place: Chair Entertainment

ChAIR Entertainment Group, founded in 2005, is a video game production company committed to creating blockbuster entertainment franchises through development of its original intellectual properties. ChAIR introduced the action, sword-fighting adventure for iOS. “Infinity Blade” raised the bar of handheld gaming and received numerous Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice Awards in 2010. The award-winning follow up to ChAIR’s groundbreaking iOS sword-fighting adventure, , “Infinity Blade II” combines addictive gameplay, breathtaking visuals and an engrossing story to deliver the definitive blockbuster experience exclusively on Apple’s world-class gaming platforms, and has gone on to win more than 20 Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice awards.

Credits: Aaron Walser

The Poll Results

Thank you everyone for your votes! Also, please feel free to suggest a logo for your chance to win a Logo Of The Day award, or maybe even Logo Of The Year.

Using custom fonts is a fantastic way to help create a unique look for your site. There are currently a number of different methods for embedding fonts onto a website several of which rely on paid third party services.

This tutorial details how to use the @font-face expression on a WordPress site to embed a font stored locally rather than by any premium solution such as Typekit or Google Webfonts.

To keep things simple I will be using a fresh WordPress install with the default twentyeleven theme, though this method is applicable for any theme. This is how the site looks before changes have been made.

BEFORE: WordPress TwentyEleven Theme

1. Select A Font

I will be using the free Carbon Block font. With any free or premium font it is worth checking the terms and conditions to see if it is eligible for use on your site.

Carbon Black Font

There is not currently a standardised file type for embeddable fonts across browsers with older versions of Internet Explorer using the proprietary .eot format and iPhones using .svg. Most modern browsers do support Web Open Font Format (WOFF) and TrueType (TTF) but to ensure that the widest possible variety of devices will display the font correctly, multiple formats need to be available.

2. Convert The Font to @Font-Face

It is possible to convert a font to all the needed formats yourself however it is far simpler to use Squirrels @font-face generator. This will convert your chosen font to all the formats needed and will generate the CSS code you will require.

Font Squirrel @font-face Generator

You will need your chosen font in .ttf or .otf format. After adding your font to the generator with the “Add Fonts” button select optimal and tick the agreement. You will be able to download a .zip file with the font formats required, a .css file and an .html test file where you can check the font is being rendered correctly. The .css file will look something like below.

Font Squirrel Generated CSS Code

This code is almost ready to use, font-family can be changed to whatever you would like the refer to the font as in the stylesheet, though leaving it as the font name can help avoid confusion if you start to use multiple custom fonts. The src is the location for the font which you may want to change, I will cover this later.

3. Upload Font Files To Your Site

The next step is uploading the font to your site, first make sure you backup the theme you will be to adding the font to. The four files you need to upload are the .eot, .svg, .woff, and .ttf formats from the downloaded .zip file. The fonts should be uploaded to the base directory of you chosen WordPress theme.

FileZilla File Upload

4. Edit Source Location

I have put the fonts in a folder named “fonts” folder to keep things neat, though this requires some changes to the @font-face code. “fonts/” has to be added to the beginning of each font location as in the example below.

Addition of fonts/ to the source.

5. Define Back-Up Fonts

The code can now be included in the beginning of the sites stylesheet and referenced as any standard font would be. It is important to include some additional fonts in case for some reason the browser is unable to display the local one.

CSS Header

Once included, the custom font should now display across a wide variety of browsers.

6. Custom Font Installation Complete

The Result: Custom Fonts

If you switch themes frequently but want to keep the font then you should upload the font files to the “/public_html” folder of your WordPress site. The new stylesheet will of course need to be updated with the @font-face code, with the difference being that the src uses an exact URL.

Do you have a preferred method for implementing custom fonts or know any other useful tools? Let us know in the comments.

–

This post was written by Matt Russell MD of WebHostingBuzz, who offer Shared, Reseller, and VPS web hosting services. You can follow them on Twitter @webhostingbuzz.

What logo do you believe should win the 2012 Logo Of The Year? Cast your vote below.

And just so you know, we are always accepting new logo submissions. Feel free to suggest a logo for a chance to win the Logo Of The Day award.

You can view the top logos of 2009 and 2010 and 2011 here.

January: Mammoth Resort

“We rebranded an entire mountain resort experience by bringing the authentic essence of Mammoth Mountain to life across all brand touchpoints with an iconic, modern expression.Come as you are!” is Mammoth’s mantra. It reflects the brand’s relaxed surf-on–the-snow California culture meets world-class destination resort, which we embodied in the new identity system and extended throughout guests’ mountain adventures. Bold, fun, and inclusive—discoverable visual elements in the logo pay homage to both the beloved “Woolly’s” tusks and to the mountain’s legendary deep powder.

Credits: Hornall Anderson

February: Chair Entertainment

ChAIR Entertainment Group, founded in 2005, is a video game production company committed to creating blockbuster entertainment franchises through development of its original intellectual properties. ChAIR introduced the action, sword-fighting adventure for iOS. “Infinity Blade” raised the bar of handheld gaming and received numerous Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice Awards in 2010. The award-winning follow up to ChAIR’s groundbreaking iOS sword-fighting adventure, , “Infinity Blade II” combines addictive gameplay, breathtaking visuals and an engrossing story to deliver the definitive blockbuster experience exclusively on Apple’s world-class gaming platforms, and has gone on to win more than 20 Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice awards.

Credits: Aaron Walser

March: Boundary

Boundary is the application performance monitoring solution designed for distributed application environments. Boundary addresses two critical challenges faced by DevOps professionals: the need to immediately see and understand the impact of a rapidly changing application together with a significantly higher degree of visibility. Process.

Credits: Stephen Boak

April: Pregg.Net

May: Shoot to Kill

Remi Luxford and Tony Gardiner started Shoot To Kill in 2010. Two passionate filmmakers who have grown up in the film industry. Both recognised the need to apply their experience with a new approach to today’s client expectations. This young team has extensive experience working across the industry: producing, shooting, editing and directing everything from big budget TVC’s to drama, shorts and documentaries in Cambodia. Shoot To Kill brings the discipline and resources of big TVC production combined with a bespoke approach to each project.

The idea behind this logo was to not only bring to life the name itself but to also make it relevant to the service offering of the company. Instead of a tradition gun scope a camera scope was used making sense to a relatively quirky name for a film production company.

The logo is designed to work on any background in fact the cards were printed on a transparent film making the scope actually function how it would in real life, you can check it out here http://www.behance.net/gallery/Shoot-to-Kill-Branding/3746527

Credits: Steve Hanzic

June: Swiss Football League

Swiss Football League

Credits: Inhouse

July: Fontsmith

Fontsmith font foundry.

Credits: Ian Whalley & Tom Crew.

August: Organ Donation

Brief: “To design the corporate identity for an organ donation initiative. Since it was our only tool of communication, the design had to instantly convey the message of organ donation. Whatever we designed had to strike an emotional chord and subtly prompt people to open up to the idea.”

Credits: DDB

September: Boss Hunting

Boss Hunting is a popular facebook group that shares images of what it is to live the high life (or be ‘boss’). Images are mostly of luxurious locations, consumer goods, beautiful women, famous actors etc.

Credits: Misteree

October: Inscripts

Headquartered in Mumbai – India, Inscripts has been involved in visualizing, developing and deploying cutting edge web applications and customized software solutions. Project guidelines: young, dynamic company, lively, full of color, professional, full of energy, modern.

Credits: Fuze Collection

November: Graphen

Graphen is a start up school.

Credits: Mik Tretyakov

December: Paintbrush Factory

Fabrica de Pensule / The Paintbrush Factory is a collective space for contemporary arts in Cluj, Romania.

Credits: Cosorean Eugen

So what logo do you think should win 2013 Logo of the Year? Vote below.

Voting Closed – Congratulations to Boss Hunting

Voting has closed and Boss Hunting has won the 2012 Logo of the Year!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, as I am extremely grateful. The feedback and sharing really fuels my passion & inspiration to keep doing what I’m doing. May you have a very happy holiday season and I’ll see you all in the New Year! Now, have fun exploring the most popular posts below.

© Big Stock - Dejan750

Most Popular Posts Posted in 2012

1. The Ultimate Web Design Workspace for Photoshop
2. Top 12 Logos of 2011 As Voted By You
3. 7 Facts and Myths of HTML5
4. 3 Great Ways To Attract Higher Quality Clients
5. Just Rebranding & Just Launched
6. 6 Simple But Important Tips for Design Students
7. My Latest Work Posts: January | July | December
8. The Art & Secrets of Personal Branding
9. 10 Must Know Tips for Creating Winning Visual Brand Identities
10. Top 10 Australian Logos of All Time

Most Popular Posts of 2012

1. How to Design a Logo
2. 99 Graphic Design Resources
3. 30 Best Fonts for Designers
4. Branding, Identity & Logo Design Explained
5. What Makes a Good Logo?
6. Why Logo Design Does Not Cost $5.00
7. The Top 100 Fonts of All Time
8. The Ultimate List of Logo Design Resources
9. Stylish Macbook Cases / Covers
10. Creative Advertisements

What’s your favorite post this year, from any blog? Let us know in the comments.

Ruff Club

Ruff Club is a dog-friendly social club and contemporary pet care hub based in East Village, New York City. I had the pleasure of branding this new business from the ground up, creating their logo, overall look & feel and web site design.

The positioning of the brand shies away from the “boutique hotel experience” and instead, true to the East Village, offers a laid-back environment where dogs and humans are treated with dignity and respect but never pampered or infantilized.

Ruff Club is built on the idea that people can channel the love and humility their dogs provide, into new relationships and collective community engagement.

Ruff Club will be opening their doors very soon. I’ll share more photos once they become available.

Ruff Club Logo

Ruff Club Logo Reversed

Ruff Club Website Home Page

Ruff Club Website FAQ Page

Ruff Club Letterhead (The logo & text are stamped on) & Business Card

Ruff Club pre launch at the NYC Halloween Dog Parade.

Outside of the Ruff Club store front, providing support for pets effected by Hurricane Sandy.

Ruff Club Stationery, Coffee Slips, Stickers, iPad Mini Case, Dog Food Lid.

Ruff Club Coffee Corner

Ruff Club In Store Signage & The Founders

Ruff Club Check In Room

Coffee Shop Restaurant, NYC

When Ammirati (the agency I work at) was asked to rebrand & refresh the iconic Coffee Shop restaurant in Union Square, our stomachs growled at the opportunity. We designed a sexy new website that visually reflected their 23 opening hours, both for the desktop and mobile.

Each of the 23 squares on their home page represents 1 hour of the day and a photo taken within that hour is randomly displayed each time the page is loaded. The website is scalable ensuring that screen sizes are used to their maximum potential. Viewing the menu and ordering online is just one click away too.

My role in this project was coming up with the 23 hour grid concept and the overall UX / UI design for the desktop and mobile versions of the site.

The Coffee Shop Website

The home page for the 'Coffee Shop' Union Square, NYC

The menu page for 'Coffee Shop' Union Square, NYC

Coffee Shop NYC Mobile Website

Au Natural In The Raw Facebook App

The Au Natural In The Raw app allows users to upload their own food photo, censor it, and then share their successful creation. Friends can then click on the shared photo and “reveal” the sweet creation via an interactive slider. Users can then share their own photo, view the Au Natural gallery and gain access to secret In The Raw recipes.

My role in this project was the interaction design for both the mobile & desktop versions of the Facebook application; including the overall architecture of the app, the user experience & user interface design. Designed & developed at Ammirati.

The mobile version can be seen here (must be viewed on a Mobile device):
https://www.hotintherawaction.com/mobile/

The desktop version can be seen here:
https://www.hotintherawaction.com/

In The Raw Mobile Facebook App

Vero Water

Vero Water is the industry leader for the finest still and sparkling water and is based in Miami, USA. I created this logo / brand identity / bottle design back in 2009 however they’ve just had a photo shoot and thought I would share some of the new shots.

Appex

Another client, Appex, that I designed the brand identity for in 2009 has been expanding very fast. Here are some snaps showing their identity in use, from yo-yos, to soccer jerseys, to 8-foot high signage. Great to see it all come alive!

Appex Front Desk with Yo-Yos and Balloons

Appex Lobby

Appex Welcome Chair

Installing The Appex Signage

8 Foot Appex Signage

Appex Newspaper Ad

Appex Football Team

Thoughts and comments are always welcome. Thanks again for looking!

As a heads up, the Just Creative blog may be a bit quiet over the December holiday break as I will be traveling. Happy Holidays all!

Charles and Ray Eames were the design power couple of the 20th century. Their Eames Lounge chair for Herman Miller, shown below, is one of the most lusted-after furniture designs in the world, and is only the best known example of their vast output.

Eames Lounge Chair

For over 35 years, Charles and Ray lived as husband and wife, but also as partners in a design practice that put forth such remarkably varied fruits as the Eames Case Study House, the film Powers of Ten, and the exhibition Mathematica, still on view today at the Boston Museum of Science.

Though slogan writing was not one of their advertised areas of expertise, Charles had a particular knack for the pithy, memorable quotation. I have drawn on some of them, published in the book 100 Quotes by Charles Eames, in order to suggest a handful of lessons we can learn from the Eames Office:

Ray & Charles Eames

1. “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.”

This quote from Charles Eames succinctly sums up the couple’s philosophical approach to design, and it explains the charm, detail, and accessibility that characterize so much of their work. The word “guest” is tossed around so much these days as a euphemism for “customer” that it’s easy to lose track of the original meaning of the word.

The Eameses, as global travelers and enthusiastic amateur anthropologists (indeed, they saw this as part of their role as designers) learned firsthand the value of hospitality, and the role of a designer in smoothing the way for people to live and work. This means not only making things more functional, though that’s of primary importance. It also means making them more pleasing. As Charles often admonished designers:

2. The more you do, the more you can do.

Perhaps the greatest secret to the success of the Eameses was that they refused to specialize. By taking commissions and launching new projects of their own for architecture, film, furniture, toys, games, museum exhibits, textiles, magazines, and more, they developed a comprehensive, even universal approach to their work. “We work because it’s a chain reaction, each subject leads to the next,” Charles said. A varied career has a way of cross-fertilizing from one domain to another.

The Eames House. Photo by Thomahalk1.

3. “Innovate as a last resort. More horrors are done in the name of innovation than any other.”

Great designers are voracious scavengers. In this age of sampling, mashups, and copyleft activism, we can look back and see that Charles and Ray were far ahead of their time in their collage-like approach to creativity. They disapproved of the cult of originality in their time, and saw that often the best solutions come from the ground up.

This should extend to your interactions with fellow designers. Being competitive is natural, but try to create a space for idea incubation, exchange, and riffing. After all, “Ideas are cheap. Always be passionate about ideas and communicating those ideas and discoveries to others in the things you make.”

4. A partnership is more than the sum of its parts.

While most of us are not married to our professional colleagues (and if we are, we know it certainly presents complications absent from our romantic daydreams), nevertheless this is true of even purely creative relationships. Think about how you can create this type of nonzero economy in your own interactions. When working with a client, don’t impose your own vision from outside, but consider what unique qualities you can draw out from them.

La Chaise Lounge Chair

With all their diverse accomplishments, the greatest example the Eameses left us is their dynamic, symbiotic life together. As Charles put it, “Any time one or more things are consciously put together in a way that they can accomplish something better than they could have accomplished individually, this is an act of design.”

For more Eames, this Tumblr has a nice visual overview. Do you have a favorite Eames piece?

–

*Aniya Wells is a freelance blogger. She also enjoys investigating trends in other niches, notably technology, traditional higher education, health, and small business. Aniya welcomes reader questions and comments.

• Pretty solid advice and tips from @teehanlax: 10 Years of Teehan + Lax http://bit.ly/Py3RRP
• Did you know you can save paths within JPGS? Here’s how. http://bit.ly/PGKs19
• Instagram gets profiles, here’s mine – http://bit.ly/RJOy6L
• A neat little stunt releasing the new Sony Xperia phone – http://bit.ly/WBR2Kq
• Appex, a client I designed the brand identity for has recently installed a rather massive sign on their building. http://bit.ly/RFh8q4 
• Hurricane Sandy is “likely the most digitally captured event in history”. 1.3 million photos were tagged with #Sandy. http://on.mash.to/Wr8Wzj
• Although Hurricane Sandy was bad, I certainly wouldn’t wanna come across a fire tornado! Damn! http://bit.ly/YyRmaQ
• ikonic 150 vector icon set by @rakeshdesign looks pretty neat http://bit.ly/VXHq6N  Free 25 too!
• A sneak preview of the new @ruffclubnyc website that I created the brand identity / website for. http://bit.ly/XP6q3L
• @NRL Rugby League launches new brand logo http://bit.ly/Rfz74f 
• A Year In Full Colour stop motion video – http://youtu.be/7Q9XvlMITrQ

Stay tuned for more.

Whether you’re a graphic design student or a young professional, getting your foot in the door is not as simple as it sounds. Taking the first step requires initiative, patience and some wisdom too.

Thankfully, there’s always a way to make it in and this article will provide seven different ways for you to get your foot in the door.

1. Network at Conferences & Events

Networking at design conferences and professional events can be a good way to get meet new people and build a professional stronghold. From conversing with other graphic designers to developers, copywriters, and business owners, exposure from these events can lead to great opportunities. With this said, walking into an event blindfolded may set you up for trouble as first impressions are everything. It’s imperative to keep a few things in mind when making your first impression – be admirable and memorable.

Be Admirable

• Plan ahead for networking opportunities by polishing up your portfolio & business cards.
• Be presentable for the occasion. Is it casual or formal?
• Ask questions and be interested (or act it) in every discussion.
• Don’t try to oversell your skills or services. Tell don’t sell.

Be Memorable

Small talk & elevator pitches are common within these arenas, so listen well, show courtesy and thank those you talk to for their time. Don’t be afraid to smile and lighten up the mood a bit. Offer your business card as you close the conversation and you’ll most likely get the other person’s card in return. Keep the card in case you want to follow up with this person in the near future.

2. Follow Up, Use LinkedIn & Other Social Sites

LinkedIn is a great tool for building networks and getting clients, however it’s also a very handy tool to follow up with those you have briefly conversed with. A quick search of their name should yield a number of results. Before you contact them, think of the best way to contact them? Would they prefer an email rather than a LinkedIn connection?

3. Seek a Mentor

Having a mentor is a great way to learn the ropes. You will learn things such as how much to charge for design, the pros and cons of freelancing, how to improve your creative process, recommended tools, how to present your work, and much more.

It’s important to understand the relationship between a mentor and mentee. Like a relationship between a couple, the mentor/mentee is also a two-way commitment that requires trust and honesty. Help them and they will help you. Ask for advice, seek out new opportunities & if you have to get the coffee, do it with a smile.

How do you find a mentor?

It all depends on the scenario however there are a few methods of finding a mentor;

In Person

Once you’ve connected with someone and got to know them and have established some trust, it wouldn’t hurt to ask if they have the time to show you more of the ropes. Let that person know you’re interested in learning from them and see what they have to say. Be flexible with them, as it’s them doing you a favor.

Online

If you’re breaking the ice online, take extra care in crafting your approach, as it can be very difficult to convey personality through written communication. Always let them know you appreciate their time. If the person doesn’t have the time available, then it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions. At the very least, seldom communication may lead to a slowly growing relationship. Get them on your radar, and keep them there without being a pest.

4. Take Up Pro-Bono Work

Taking up pro-bono work will not only help a special cause, but it will build up your portfolio which will help you land more projects & strengthen your credibility in the long term.

Before taking on pro bono work consider the following; Is there enough time to make the commitment? Are you financially capable of accepting a pro-bono project? What kinds of organisations would you do pro-bono work for? Make sure you are suited to take on pro-bono work before endorsing a false commitment.

5. Get Your Work or Portfolio Reviewed

Sharing your portfolio with seasoned professionals and asking for a review can help you gain new insights on the execution of your creative ideas. Constructive criticism is encouraged and you should always aim to take away new ideas and possibilities. Follow the motto; seek criticism, not praise.

Sharing your work will also allow other designers to observe your style, thought process, and results. This will allow others to lend you advice, which may lead into a steady stream of communication.

6. Start a Blog & Guest Author

Don’t overlook the benefits of starting a blog. In conjunction with social media sites, a blog can help establish your online presence, as well as be the frontier of your voice and portfolio.

While some authors write on their own blog, others will contribute their articles elsewhere as a guest author. Guest authoring is a great way to share your voice with audiences elsewhere and connect with others on an international scale.

While each one of these ways can help you gain more exposure, utilizing several, if not all, will maximize your chances significantly.

7. Take Action

As a last piece of advice, I want to recite a few words, courtesy of my mentor, Chase Talon, that inspired me to push myself through the doors.

“There is one thing and one thing alone that leads to success. That is action. Make a decision on what you want and begin moving forward with an unwavering, unrelenting, incessant vigor to see your goal to it’s end. Never letting fear guide you. It’s an illusion. All fear, and negativity are, is a test to prove how bad you want something.”

Wish it, want it, do it.

Have you got any other tips on how designers can get their foot in the door?

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*Jamie Wayne is a graphic designer for Ad Force Creative in Northwest Indiana, a webmaster & graphic designer for the Center for Innovation through Visualization & Simulation at Purdue University Calumet, and a member & writer of the Northwest Indiana Creative Professionals. Photos from BigStock.

I went with a company called Founders Excursions who organized a trip of 14 like-minded entrepreneurs from Iceland and USA, to travel through Iceland doing adventurous activities while networking at the same time.

Highlights of the Trip

• Canyoning (climbing and swimming up waterfalls, then floating back down)
• Super jeeping (4×4 driving through the Landmannalaugar mountains)
• Enjoying bonfires, beers and Icelandic BBQ
• Having tea & coffee at the US Embassy
• Driving through the back country & around the glaciers / volcanoes
• Viewing the Northern Lights
• Speed boating & exploring Vestmannaeyjar Islands
• Swimming at the Blue Lagoon (Geothermal spa), one of National Geographic’s Seven Wonders of the World
• Taking in the glorious Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon – where the lake’s glaciers go out to sea)
• Bathing in the natural geo thermal springs while the mountains surrounded us
• Participating in the steintökin (strong man competition). Needless to say, I am no Viking!
• Having my shoes stolen on the first day at a public pool (Yup!)
• Enjoying the “Bæjarins beztu pylsur” (best-in-town Icelandic hotdogs). Can’t say much about the Harðfiskur (wind dried fish). Also loved the Skyr (drinkable yogurt).
• Overall, just enjoying the beautiful, peaceful Icelandic scenery.

If interested in a similar experience get in contact with our awesome guide, Siggi from South Iceland Adventure or Matt Wilson from Founders Excursions. I’d highly recommend it!

Samsung SSD Drivers (Yours truly on the far right)

What is a SSD?

A solid-state drive is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store data. SSDs have the same purpose as traditional mechanical hard drives, but there is one major difference – they’re electronic devices and don’t have any mechanical parts. Unlike HDDs, SSDs don’t store data on spinning platters, but use flash memory instead.

Easy Installation

Samsung originally sent me a complimentary 256GB SSD however I decided that I wanted needed a 512GB so I sent the 256GB back to them and instead bought my own 512GB SSD to review.

After receiving the SSD, I watched a video from Samsung on how to install it on a Mac and after a quick stop at the hardware store for a new screwdriver, I was good to go. I copied 480GB of data from my previous HDD to the new SSD, which took about 7 hours overnight. After that was done, the physical installation / swapping of the drives took just 10 minutes.

Benefits of SSD vs HDD

There are a number of benefits of using a SSD vs a HDD, and I personally noticed a huge difference in the speed of my daily routines. Before I get into the differences, let me outline my current hardware & software I use as a designer.

I use a Macbook Pro 17″ (3.06 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB DDR Ram) attached to a 27″ display and at nearly all times I have these programs open; Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, InDesign, Mail, Tweetdeck, Chrome, Firefox, as well as Font Explorer, Spotify, TextMate, Bonjour, TextExplorer and Dropbox.

Increased Speed & Productivity

Within the first hour of using the new SSD I could visibly notice the speed difference in nearly every task performed. The most notable differences are listed below.

• Faster boot time (Even faster when I cleaned my computer with Onyx)
• All programs open much faster, especially the Creative Suite. The most notable speed difference is on startup as I have my programs set to auto start.
• Search is much faster, especially when combined with my productivity bud, Alfred.
• Moving between programs is much more responsive, eg. when changing from Photoshop, to Illustrator, to InDesign.
• Opening files and using Finder is way faster, as well as using program menus.
• The battery life seemed to last a bit longer too, only about 15-30 minutes but still noticeable.
• The only downfall I could think of would be the price (the 500GB was $608 after tax). The 256GB or 128GB gets you more bang for your buck, but you do get less space.

Anyway, I’d definitely consider getting an SSD for a much faster & more reliable computer experience.

What has your experience been like with SSDs?

Personal branding is by no means a new or light topic, but with the rise of social technologies, personal branding is as accessible as ever, meaning you have so much more opportunity, but also so much more competition.

For you to stand out amongst the noise, you must become a valued brand. That brand is ‘You’. Take a closer look at the (st)art of personal branding and see how you can use it to start building your own personal brand. Brand You™.

1. Set Goals, Plan & Define Your Brand

Before creating your brand, you must set specific goals and plan accordingly. You should take a look at where you are at now and where you want to be in the future.

Are you trying to become an authority in your niche? Why? Are you planning to get a new job position or become a stay-at-home freelancer? Are you trying to find more clients and / or increase your prices?

Figuring out why and where you want to be in the future will help you decide how to do it.

Re-read that. If you can do this, then you will become a master of your domain.

As an example of a ‘successful’ personal brand, Darren Rowse is the leader in the ‘how to make money blogging’ niche (among others) and although his site is not self-named, his personal brand has grown based how he communicates through his own brand, websites & social channels.

After you have figured out your goals, chosen your niche and set out a plan, you need to start creating your brand.

2. Know, Understand & Believe In Your Brand

Your personal brand needs to have a look and feel, as well as a way to communicate, but this goes much further than having a logo & social media accounts. You need to maintain a consistent ‘corporate image’ in all mediums and at all times. See the differences between branding & visual identity here.

The fundamental idea and core concept behind having this ‘corporate image’ is that everything you do, everything you own and everything you produce, should reflect the values and aims of your personal brand as a whole.

As an example, let’s look at the well-known IT company, Apple. Although they are not a personal brand, the branding concept remains the same; they have a consistent ‘corporate image’.

Apple projects a humanistic corporate culture and a strong corporate ethic, one, which is characterised by volunteerism, support of good causes & involvement in the community. These values of the business are evident throughout everything they do, from their innovative products and advertising, right through to their customer service. Apple is an emotionally humanist brand that really connects with people – when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, like a tribe even. It is this emotional connection that creates their brand – not purely their products and a bite sized logo.

If you can apply these same core principles to your own brand then it will be easier for others to see & know what you’re all about.

3. Create & Maintain Your Brand

After you have set your goals, outlined your target market & defined how you wish to be perceived, then you can start to form the foundation of your brand. Below are the essential building blocks that will help you do this.

A Unique Visual Identity

One of the easiest ways to differentiate your self from the competition is by having a unique visual identity. This visual identity should be consistent and reflective of your initial goals, yet flexible enough to work across all areas of your communication. Ensure, at minimum, that you have a business card, letterhead, an up-to-date CV, website and a variety of online social profiles.

Your Own Website, Domain Name & Email Address

Do you know what comes up when people type your name into Google? Hopefully your name and website, but if not, a quick way to climb to the top of search engines is by having your own domain such as JohnSmith.com.

On your website, you should have information about you, links to your other websites, your social profiles, as well as a blog and if applicable, a portfolio.

You should also set up a personally branded email address such as john@johnsmith.com as this looks much more professional than a free email service such as johnsmith@ymail.com.

Social Networks. (Engage & Communicate!)

It’s one thing to have Facebook or Twitter, but actually using it right for your personal brand is another thing. You should remember that everything you do, say and share is reflective of ‘Brand You’, both personally and professionally.

Ask yourself, what value are you providing to your friends and followers? Are you engaging and communicating with people, not just sharing what you had for breakfast? Have you filled out your online profiles to their fullest extent? Are you linking to your websites within each profile? What about your email signature?

There are many ways to help promote you and your brand, but the simplest way is by making it easy for people to find and communicate with you. When they do, be sure to engage & provide value.

Brand Maintenance, Security & Monitoring

Your brand is your business and your reputation. Why wouldn’t you monitor what people are saying about you?

Use Google Alerts, Twitter Search and the many other tools available to you so you know when you are mentioned somewhere on the web. This allows you to put out fires early, as well as network and thank people who are helping or linking to you.

The Secret To Personal Branding…

Remember, planning is the foundation of your personal brand and the execution builds the structure of that brand, but ultimately, it comes down to what people say about you, not what you say about yourself, thus the ultimate goal is to make your planned self-impression equal to how other people perceive you.

That is the secret to personal branding.

More branding & logo articles:

• Branding, Identity & Logo Design Explained
• A Comparative Study of Logo Design between the 70s and 90s.
• 10 Must Know Tips for Creating Winning Visual Brand Identities
• 12 Ways Your Logo Impacts Social Media Marketing
• Consumer Emotional Attachment to Brands and Logos

The most notable talk of the day for me, was by Simon Manchipp, the CD & co-founder of Someone. Simon’s talk was built around ten things to consider when creating a new visual brand identity.

Below are some of the notes I took from his talk. There are some loose ends, but there are still a number of key takeaways so enjoy.

10 things to consider when creating a new visual brand identity

1. Make it coherent, not consistent.

A new logo is born useless. The media demands an approach that is instantly useful. Make your new logo useful. Create landscapes that can change and adapt. Information can and should fuel the design and pattern.A brand should be adaptive & coherent, not just consistent.

2. Do more than a logo.

The logo is dying so ask yourself how can you brand without badging?

3. Brand without badging

A rubber stamped logo is not a brand. Remember…

4. The big idea is not the big idea.

The big idea is not the big idea, but rather hundreds of ideas that form the brand. These  ideas should be multi-channelled & multi-faceted.

5. Own moments

Find ownable moments that can be a spring point for the brand. eg. a color, season, taste, feature, etc.

6. Remove the fear

Branding is all fear & risk is attached to everything, but smart clients are those without the fear.

7. Weird works

Weird shit creates monopolies. Trust the risky weirdo called creativity.

8. Make it people-centric

We are not in design business but in the people business. Educated clients believe in coherent brand worlds. Winning companies are placing design at the heart of their business.

9. Create assets not costs

Design is often seen as a cost in the boardroom but it needs to be seen as an asset. The reason behind it being seen as a cost is that everyone considers themselves as a designer.

“No one trusts creativity because of the dolphin duvet.” (aka everyone is a designer, I chose this dolphin duvet cover for my home). The goal is to show that design is an asset.

10. Chase the opportunity.

Chase the opportunity, not the money. If you are doing interesting work and having fun, enough money will come.

Have you got any other branding tips to share?

What: Future of Web Design
When: Conference days: October 22 & 23. Workshop day: October 24
Where: New World Stages & Lighthouse International Conference Centre
Info:

You can read the case study of the logo I created for Menu Cover Depot here in image format (not in text format unfortunately).

You can purchase this book on Amazon for $29.50.

Logo Lounge Book 7 Side View

Logo Lounge Book 7 Front Cover

Levi's Case Study

Case study of my Menu Cover Depot logo.

My featured work: Eton Financial Logo

My featured work: Radar Logo

My featured work: Onyx Logo

My featured work: Yoga Tripper Logo

My featured work: Japan Tribute Logo

Logo Lounge 7 Back Cover

This makes a total of 29 logos of mine that have been published in Logo Lounge’s books, as outlined below. Quite humbling!

• Logo Lounge Vol. 6 (6 logos)
• LogoLounge Vol. 5 (2 logos)
• LogoLounge Master Library – Shapes & Symbols (9 logos)
• LogoLounge Master Library – Typography and Enclosures (6 logos)

If you’re interested in having your work considered for their next book, you can become a member of Logo Lounge ($99) & start uploading your work. I am not affiliated with Logo Lounge… JUST sharing the love. Good luck & thanks for looking.

Firstly, one must make sure that their website has good quality content. Here are some things mentioned on Google Web Master Central that they’re looking for when it comes to quality content.

Quality Content

• If an article is written, make sure that it was written by an expert or enthusiast on the subject.
• Ensure that you don’t have duplicate, or redundant content. (Google views this as being spammy, also make sure you don’t plagiarize other people’s content).
• Check your grammar, not only will people not take you seriously if you have improper grammar, but so will Google. Also make sure every thing on your website is factually true.
• Don’t have excessive ads on your page that will bog down a user’s experience.

Reliability & Speed

Since the update, Google has changed the way that they view web pages and now things like over optimization can be a problem for some people. Since Google has moved away from overly optimized content, you want to focus on making your site extremely user friendly. One big factor is reliability and speed. Improving your speed can be very easy by making some simple changes like combining your javascript and CSS files, and choosing a good company that can provide you with fast and reliable web hosting services & website hosting.

Google+

As most people have noticed by now, Google has introduced a social networking service. (Follow me). With this, they have also introduced +1 button for pages once you’ve signed up for it, like you can see on the bottom of this page. It’s a button that when users click on it, they notify their friends on Google plus that they like that website. Since Google Plus’ inception in June of 2011, it has accumulated over 250 million users.

Keeping this in mind, it is definitely something to consider, but don’t think that this means it’s a good idea to spam your page with thousands of +1 clicks a day. Google isn’t stupid, and can see when people are being manipulative and exploitative.

Quality Backlinks

Make sure that the backlinks that you have to your website, are good quality. In recent updates. Google de-indexed several pages that were spammy and used for black hat SEO tactics. Blog networks, and paid link allocators like “buildmyrank” were predicated on the idea of writing articles that were keyword rich, and blasting them all over the web for link juice.

Think of their tactics like trying to fill a bucket with water, one shot glass at a time. Except you’re using 1000 shot glasses. Their sole purpose was to have an aggregation of different articles for all different types of websites that had no relevance to one another to try and accumulate mass back links to whomever payed them. This type of black hat tactic used to work, but no longer. In fact it will severely hurt your website’s rankings, and you can be penalized for it. Stay away from websites that offer instant rankings, because SEO doesn’t work like that and you will only be hurting yourself.

De-Index Pages

As crazy as it may seem, it is now a good idea to de-index, and no follow superfluous pages on your own website, or even reviews of products you may sell. These pages are intended for the user, and typically wont have any content that has any relevance to Google. The important thing to note about doing this though, is that you will only ever want to de-index pages like this if you’re in the process of starting up a new web page. If you have an existing website, then just leave it alone. It’s better for Google’s spiders to gradually realize that they don’t need to follow these types of pages, than doing it all at once which could put the rank of your domain in detriment. Also you will want to de-index low quality websites that have linked to your pages. When it comes to SEO it is always better to have quality over quantity now more than ever.

Link Older Pages With Newer Pages

Lastly, it is a good idea to link older pages to newer pages with newer content, as long as they’re relevant. This practice is called interlinking, and Google’s current algorithm likes to see this. This will ensure you spread out your link juice all over your page, and will give the links that you use more synergy with each other and more meaning. If your rank on the SERPs is important to you (it should be), then it is a good idea to stay up to date on updates in Google’s algorithm.

More SEO related articles:

• 10 SEO Rules for Designers
• Strategies to Make Facebook SEO Friendly
• 9 SEO Tips You’ve Probably Forgot About
• How to Get Free Advertising on Google
• Designing Websites with SEO & Conversions In Mind

Have you noticed a dip or rise in your ranks? How did you overcome them?

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

This is Jerry Seinfeld’s new Web video series which features several of his well-known pals (including Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Colin Quinn and Alec Baldwin) driving in cars & getting coffee. I had the honor of meeting & working with Jerry in person on several occasions, who was relatively easy to work with – a good guy!

My role in this project included the UX and UI for the web & mobile site, the Facebook fan page, designing & hand drawing the logos, and the overall art direction. The site was developed in house at Ammirati.

As a disclaimer, the thumbnails below do not depict the order or even if that character will appear on the show.

Comedians In Cars Getting Website

Comedians In Cars Getting Mobile Website

Sweet’N Low

Sweet’N Low is the zero-calorie sweetener in the little pink packet, that you will find in coffee shops all over the USA. This was a really cool web project that coincided with a fully integrated campaign (print, digital, video, website, social media) targeting women under 35 to spread the word that, in a world where sweeter is better, the iconic pink packet delivers amazing sweetness with zero calories.

The campaign positioned Sweet’N Low as the perfect addition to a wide range of drinks, not just coffee, with the goal of increasing consumption and regaining some of the shelf space lost over the years to the competition.

My role in the whole campaign was to do the UX and UI design for the whole site, as well all the digital touch points, including the skins and tabs for Facebook, Twitter and the rich media banner ads. The site was developed in house at Ammirati. The Sweeter The Better™.

Sweet'N Low Website Home Page

Sweet'N Low Website Sub Page

Also check out the 15 second video commercial below. Make sure you turn on HD to see it in all its glory.

FXDD Frontier

FXDD Frontier is an Institutional FX service provider that leverages its long standing relationships with banking institutions, technology vendors, and alternative liquidity sources to deliver best prices and execution via industry-trusted multi-bank trading technology. My role in this project was art direction, UX, UI and the interactive infographics.

FXDD Frontier Home Page

FXDD Frontier Subpage

Energy Kitchen

Energy Kitchen takes the guesswork out of eating healthy with fast, non fat food. For this project I had to redesign the home page using their existing branding, which you can see below. The sub pages were designed previously by another designer.

Energy Kitchen Website

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The importance of the creative process dawned on me the other day when I was making a cup of tea. It’s been a long road on the way towards tea snobbery, but the experience has taught me that like with producing great art, producing great tea must be done with care.

You take the time to pick leaves whose scent intrigues you; you steep a precise quantity in boiling water for just the right time, and reward your efforts with that perfect cup.

Alternatively you can pick up a value box of pre-bagged tea grounds at your area supermarket and take your chances with a hurriedly made, mass produced product. I assure you the experience will not be the same.

Attention To Process

Expressing our creativity in a professional capacity requires the same attention to process.

You can’t expect to produce a great design just because you have a seemingly great idea. There is no magic button. Whatever light bulb moment you experience has to be tempered with meaningful planning and preparation if you want to create something arresting, powerful, and lasting. If you want some guidance on how to improve your creative process, consider these tips as a starting point.

Familiarize Yourself With The Process

First things first: in order to execute a creative project correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with all the components that will take you from idea to physical realization. If you have a faint concept for a client company’s branding design, for instance, try planning out the key elements of the design before trying to draw it out.

What colors best communicate the ethos of the company? Would the brand have more impact with a minimalist approach, or does it need to be big and bold? Take your time to imagine yourself as a customer of your client company, consider the aesthetic appeal of your brand in various mediums, and so forth.

Once you’ve settled upon the general layout of your idea, don’t hesitate to design multiple drafts in one sitting so you can work out all the aesthetic kinks of your idea.

Balance The Extremes

The creative process is all about balancing extremes. When a seemingly amazing idea hits us like a stack of bricks, the first impulse we have is to act on it immediately. But the idea you have is likely couched in extremes, having flashed in your mind out of nowhere and enticed your creative impulses.

Say you have the urge to create an utterly stark and simple design for a project on a whim. If you’re itching to sketch out your idea while it’s fresh in your mind, by all means do so! I’m not trying to advise against acting upon the sudden flashes of inspiration that drive all creatives. But do have the foresight to put away your design and look at it the next day with fresh eyes. When you’re not in the heat of the moment, you may realize that your design is unbalanced: perhaps the simple and clean look now appears too sterile, or it needs more attention to detail.

Don’t Force Inspiration

This is perhaps the best advice that I can give. It’s the certainly something I tell myself all the time. When you feel yourself sapped of creativity, devoid completely of the motivation to produce designs, don’t look about for inspiration in vain.

The best creative work comes from people working almost in an out-of-body experience of natural effort; in these moments, the urge to create isn’t forced, it comes from within without any exertion. Certainly creative minds are capable of coming up with things on the fly for small time projects, but when it comes to endeavors that require huge swaths of your time, you’re better off letting inspiration come to you. Ultimately, if the creative process doesn’t feel natural, then you should reconsider your approach.

–

*Kimberly Wilson is from accredited online colleges and writes on topics including careers, creativity, education, college life, home improvement & time management. Photos by Big Stock Photo.

I was recently interviewed for the eBook ”Web Domination: 20 Masters of the Web Reveal Everything You Need to Know to Create a Successful Company Online.*”

The eBook / course has been put together by Michael Dunlop of IncomeDiary.com who over eight months, has managed to make 20 marketing experts share their secrets on how they became extremely successful business owners.

What Michael asked of me was focused more on web design for online businesses and included tips on:

• The Design Process
• The Designer’s Toolkit
• What Makes Good Design
• Designing to Convert
• Colors & Branding
• Working with Designers
• Web Design Trends

I’ve received a review copy of the ebook and can say it lives up to its name. I highly recommend worth checking it out. It’s on sale for $47 right now, and there is 60-day money back guarantee. More details can be found on the sales page*.

I’d be interested to hear your feedback if you do buy it. Thanks! *Aff

Here are a few simple, but important tips to keep in mind as a design student. These tips have been compiled by Christine Kane*, but for some of my own tips please see the ‘design for students‘ category section.

1. Get Organized

One of the most important things that you can do in a graphic design program is to get organized. Use a calendar so you can use to stay on top of things. If you don’t use some kind of planner, you’re probably going to get behind, and end up missing assignments. Write down the due dates of every assignment that you are given so that you will know exactly how much time you have to complete them.

2. Set Your Priorities

It is vitally important for you to set some specific priorities while you are in school otherwise, it will be easy for you to get caught up in many things that have nothing to do with your goals. There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with your friends or partying, but make sure that you keep your studies up near the top of your priority list.

3. Over Estimate

In the area of graphic design, you have to estimate how long each project will take. As a general rule, try to overestimate how much time you think a job will take you to complete. If you get the job done faster than you estimated, you get some bonus time to do whatever you want. If not, you’ll at least have that time designated as work time. Over estimating goes for pricing work too.

4. Network Like Crazy

While you are in graphic design school, this is a perfect opportunity to network with other people who could help you later on in life, especially after you graduate. The people that you go to school at will be out there working for design agencies or starting their own companies. Knowing the right people in your field will help you in advance at a much steadier rate.

5. Be Passionate & Enjoy Your Work

Many people in graphic design school stop loving what they do, and their work becomes almost mechanical. If you want to do good work, you need to enjoy yourself. Passion is a huge part of creativity, and creativity is at the heart of great design. Make sure you know why you are doing what you do.

6. Be & Stay Creative

As mentioned above, creativity is at the heart of great design. If you are not being creative, then you’re work will obviously reflect this. If you are having trouble coming up with  ideas, gather inspiration from the vast corners of the Internet or visit this post on how to be creative.

If you keep these tips in mind while you are in design school, it will make your studies much easier and not only that, you’ll have more fun, have a better chance of graduating with honors as the quality of your work and the joy you take in it will shine through, making your job search after graduation much easier.

Do you have any advice to share?

–

*This guest post is by Christine Kane, a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects including internet service for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00ATgmail.com. Photos by Big Stock Photo.

A photo from our recent trip to Costa Rica.

For our anniversary I surprised Emily with a three day getaway to South Beach, Miami – one of our favourite getaway destinations and where we first exchanged the words “I love you”.

I  secretly arranged with her boss to get the Friday off, so we flew out that Friday morning. We stayed at one of her favorite hotels, The Perry (previously The Gansevoort), and we enjoyed the many amenities it had to offer, most notably the rooftop pool. We went to our favorite nightclub, LIV, to see LMFAO play live and on the following day, dined at our favourite restaurant Barton G, known for their over-the-top meals, iPad menus and romantic outdoor seating.

The Perry Rooftop Pool & Bar, South Beach

Everything seemed to be going to plan, and Sunday seemed like an ideal time to propose, however Hurricane Debby had other ideas. We were kept inside by torrential rain and wind, so I called the proposal off, with the ring still hidden in my pocket.

We went back to New York on Sunday afternoon, relaxed and happy, but not engaged.

I was determined to make this happen and Monday seemed like the perfect time to try again. Monday was our true anniversary day, so I arrived home early and decked out our apartment with roses, candles and fairy lights. We both exchanged anniversary gifts, had dinner and was soon off to sleep. Just before falling asleep, I mentioned that I had another surprise.

I turned off the light, told her to close her eyes, got the ring and came back into the room. I got down on one knee, turned on the bedside lamp and simply asked her “Will you marry me?”. After about fifteen seconds of staring at me like a stunned rabbit, she burst into tears, grabbed me and said “Yes!”.

The Engagement Ring

We reflected on reality for a while and then stayed up into the wee hours of the morning calling family & friends, as well as responding to the Facebook notification frenzy.

From here, I very much look forward to spending our lives together, getting used to the word ‘fiancé’ as well as designing all of the wedding collateral.

On that topic, do you have any tips or suggestions for weddings / invites / etc.? Pinterest’s wedding section has been great so far.