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2 Sep
Working For A Web Design Agency
Business, Clients, Web Design
21

The most obvious job for a web designer is working for a web design agency, but if you’ve never done that before… then how do you know what to expect? Is it even the right path for you?
Setting foot in an agency for the first time can be daunting. It’s filled with people who have probably worked in the industry longer than you and who probably know a lot more than you.
Perhaps you’ve just finished a degree and you’re looking for a first job, or maybe you’re about to go back to office life after a few years of freelancing under your belt.
Either way, today we’re going to look at the ins and outs of agency life and what you can expect from it.
We’ll also be asking other people in the industry for their experiences to get a broad overview of the entire subject.
Read more
13 Jul
7 Personality Types of Clients Today
Business, Clients, Freelancing
49
In previous articles, we discussed seven types of designers and seven types of developers.
Designers and developers form two parts of the design trinity: the client completes it. You can have the technology to build something and the design to make it magnificent, but if someone doesn’t fund the project, it usually falls flat.
No one has the time to do such a thing for fun. Designers and developers need clients to build their portfolio, sustain their lifestyle and grow and learn.
Not all clients are difficult, so we’ll try not to stereotype. But in all honesty, the perfect client needs no introduction or description. The perfect client is rare, though not extinct.
Today’s article focuses on seven types of clients who aren’t so perfect. You can decide for yourself which of them are the lesser evils. Read more
29 Jun
6 Tips for Pitching to Major Clients
Business, Clients, Freelancing
30

Almost every major web designer faces this dilemma at some point: either continue working with “mom-and-pop” style businesses, enjoying effortless marketing and relatively simple projects, or transition to working with larger businesses and reap the benefits of bigger budgets.
It’s a question of experience, and with enough design work under your belt, new opportunities start to present themselves.
The most difficult part for many is making the transition. The comfort of simple work and the ease of marketing yourself can make maintaining a small client network very tempting.
You see the effort involved in pitching to a major client and you slightly recoil, worried that you’re not quite skilled enough, you’re not quite experienced enough and your business is not quite big enough. Read more
5 May
How to Overcome 20 Reasons Not to Become a Freelancer
Business, Freelancing, Web Designers
31

We recently published an article covering 20 reasons not to become a freelancer.
The idea was that there are already a ton of articles out there talking about how great it is to be a freelancer, and all the benefits, but there are very few posts that talk about the flip side of all that.
Freelancing is not for everyone. It’s an important decision that not only affects your career, but can also affect your personal life and financial well-being. Of course, a lot of readers thought we were being way too negative about it all.
So here’s a follow-up to that article, covering ways you can overcome the potential pitfalls of freelancing if you’re still sure it’s a career move that’s right for you.
The good news is that virtually all of these things are manageable if you’re willing to put in the time and effort it takes to deal with them.
Read more
19 Apr
20 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be a Freelancer
Blogging, Business, Corporate
150

We’ve all read countless articles on the reasons you should consider freelancing.
They often make it out like anyone still working in the corporate world is just a schmuck with no ambition. But the truth is, there are plenty of reasons not to start freelancing.
Below are twenty such reasons, all laid out so you can make an informed decision about whether freelancing is really something you want to do in your career.
There’s nothing wrong with staying in a corporate job, just as there’s nothing wrong with setting out on your own. But it’s a choice every designer and developer needs to make for themselves.
One note: when we talk about “corporate jobs”, we’re talking mostly about design firms with multiple employees (whether they’re corporations or not), but most of it also applies to in-house design teams at large companies. Read more
6 Apr
The Ups and Downs of Being a Perfectionist
Business, Clients, Productivity
42

Almost everyone out there knows someone who’s a perfectionist, if they aren’t one themselves.
Some people are perfectionists in only one aspect of their life (such as school or work) while others apply their perfectionist tendencies to every aspect of their lives.
Perfectionism is often looked at by those who don’t share the same obsession as a negative personality trait. In reality, perfectionism has both positive and negative impacts.
Learning to work within the constraints of being a perfectionist can lead to much higher productivity, but not working with those traits can lead to much lower productivity. Read more
11 Mar
How to Be Corporate and Still Be Creative
Business, Corporate, Creativity
38

If you’re like me, you graduated from art school and had dreams of working as an art director at a small agency. You envisioned having your own office on the top floor of a loft with 30-foot ceilings.
Designers would play ping-pong below; people were allowed to drink beer at work; and brilliant ideas would flow effortlessly from your mind into multi-million-dollar campaigns for clients like Nike and Coca-Cola.
In fact, you got a job at a large corporation and were shown to a desk in a sea of light-gray fabric-covered cubicles. Instead of 30-foot ceilings, you have surprisingly low ceilings, covered with a substance that you could swear is asbestos.
You were given a 90-page handbook on how to create drop-shadows and sent off to populate templates for product brochures.
Sounds like hell. But outlined below are a few ways to improve your outlook on work life, foster creativity in you and the business and, most importantly, bring some fun into your corporate job. Read more
8 Mar
Why Designers Shouldn’t Settle
Business, How to, Web Designers
62

Ugly designs abound on the web, and behind each and every one of them is a “designer”.
In many of these cases the designers behind the sites are simply incompetent.
They’re often amateur designers or those who have little or no design training or people who design their own sites based on a book from their local library that’s ten years out of date.
But there are other times when the designer was perfectly capable of creating a better site.
So why would a perfectly competent designer create a site that isn’t very good? The answer is simple: they settled. It happens all the time. Read more
24 Feb
What Is the Future of Online News?
Business, Financial, Internet
32

Newspapers around the world are struggling to survive while competing with websites that offer comparable news more quickly and without a subscription fee.
Many newspapers have embraced the Internet and use their own websites to post news, but their online revenue is a fraction of what they get from print advertising and subscriptions.
Newspapers are losing money and one by one they are going bankrupt.
How can print newspapers maintain their profits while competing with online news?
This article explores the predicament and looks at the role that website writers, designers and developers will play in the near future. Read more
10 Dec
How to Deal with Feature Creep
Business, Clients, How to
24

If any assumption is safe, it’s that six months after launching a website (or sooner?), its owners will have a list of things they want to change, from minor typos to entirely new functionality.
Is it possible to accept feature creep as a natural (or at least inevitable) process?
Many websites begin to fail when their goals change or their scope expands.
Feature creep sets in when a client asks for one tiny adjustment that takes only a minute… and then never stops making requests.
Accepting feature creep as a natural process requires an ability to distinguish between a genuine need and a run-away imagination or “Wouldn’t it be great if…” Read more
22 Oct
Systematizing the Graphic Design Process
Business, Design, Web Designers
44

Unlike other forms of art, graphic design is not just about taking paper and pen and letting the work flow.
Graphic designers have to help viewers get the message and help sell a service or product.
Creating a design for a client with little or no strategy just doesn’t work. Unlike traditional art, graphic design has to convey a very narrow message.
Developing a system for the graphic design process can help the designer achieve the best results.
Systematizing any sort of project, whether graphic design, web design, programming or otherwise, gets the work done faster, keeps the project organized and yields better results.
Here is a simple six-step graphic design process, which you may want to take wholesale or build on. Read more
1 Oct
The Art of Branding Yourself and Your Freelancing Business
Branding, Business, Freelancing
79

Just as it is for big corporations, successful branding is essential to the success of a freelancing business and to just one self-employed web worker.
It is often times overlooked, most likely because many don’t realize the large benefits that can come from it.
The first thing we think of when we think “brand identity” is a good logo.
A good logo can do wonders for a self-employed freelancer, but branding identity goes far beyond that, into entire website development, content, business cards, and even into offline scenarios.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at ways to define a brand for something as unique as a freelancing business, and what one needs to do to get started on the right track to a successful brand. Read more
27 Aug
20 Quick Tips For Aspiring Freelancers
Business, Freelancing, How to
77

The last two years have been the most exciting of my life.
I made the jump to freelance work, which has given me the freedom to work when and however much I want.
The transition from a regular job to freelancing was not easy, but I managed it.
This post is meant to help you bypass difficulties and maximize your productivity as you start your own freelancing career.
That being said, here are 20 tips to help you become a successful freelancer. Read more
13 Aug
Freelancing and the Power of Partnering
Business, Freelancing, Marketing
33

When a business decides to outsource, it is looking for a solution.
It has a pressing project but lacks the internal resources to do it itself.
Chances are, some poor marketing director has walked out of a boardroom meeting, faced with a recurring problem: the deadline has been set, the work laid out in front of him and he has no way to get it done.
At this point, our poor marketing manager doesn’t want to spend hours searching the Internet for the right web designer, review another pile of résumés for the perfect copywriter and plow through stacks of portfolios for a graphic designer…
In this article we’ll review 5 useful tips that you can use to harness the power of partnering. Read more
21 Jul
9 Marketing Tips from a Six-Year Old’s Lemonade Stand
Business, Financial, Marketing
141

The other day my daughter, Sophia, announced that she wanted to set up a lemonade stand.
Seeing as how I didn’t really want to spend the better part of my weekend selling lemonade, I tried to talk her out of it by showing her how much she’d need to spend to buy the lemonade mix, get the cups, that sort of thing.
Regardless of my best efforts, there was no changing her mind. She wanted to go into business and there wasn’t anything I was going to do to stop her.
So as I succumbed to my role as venture capitalist in her first business startup. I decided that at the very least, this would be a great chance to teach my daughter about counting money, basic business principals, that sort of thing. Read more
15 May
100 (Really) Creative Business Cards
Business, Design, Inspiration
354

Whichever business you’re in, and especially for anyone in the field of design, such as web designers, a business card can be as important as your website identity.
A business card creates a physical connection and bond between you or your business and your customers.
Just like in a website, business cards can become great interactive elements, but with the added ability to have real textures, different materials and shapes.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 100 truly outstanding business card designs which show that there are truly no limits to the design of a business card. Read more
4 May
7 Mistakes To Avoid On Your Next Job Application
Business, Corporate, Freelancing
36

Whether you are a web designer or a copy writer, if you’re going to freelance, you need to learn how to look your best on a job application.
Having worked on both sides of job applications, I’ve seen enough to recognize what gets a person through to the interview and what gets their applications tossed.
I’ve even been able to go back over some applications I’ve sent in the past and determined what may have affected my chances for being considered. In a blatant attempt at reverse psychology, here are some of the major mistakes I’ve seen made, and made myself on applications for freelance work. Read more
22 Apr
10 Tips for Surviving The Economic Downturn
Business, Financial, Freelancing
24

The immediate challenge for smaller web design companies is how to attract new business and keep old clients in a downturn economy.
Customers are falling off of maintenance contracts and smaller businesses may not be looking to start a website right away.
Enterprise level clients are becoming more price-conscious. What can we do to make sure our collective heads stay above water in this tough climate?
Here are 10 tips to survive the economic downturn. Read more
30 Mar
15 Online Financial Tools for Freelance Designers
Business, Financial, Freelancing
73
Efficiency and organization are critical for freelance web designers. Managing finances and tracking down payments is not what drew most freelancers into this line of work. Fortunately, while handling finances is a necessary part of the business of freelancing, there are many tools and resources to that can help to simplify things. These tools can be critical to keeping your business running smoothly and efficiently.
In this post we’ll look at 15 online tools and services that can offer freelancers some help in the area of finances and billing. Most of these tools are paid, but limited free plans or free trials are available in most cases.
While paying for this type of tool or software may not sound appealing, the time you will be able to save should more than make up for the cost, not to mention less headaches and increased accuracy. Read more
19 Mar
5 Things Your Clients Should Know
Business, Corporate, Freelancing
30

Do you ever feel like you are endlessly repeating the same day? I do, every time I attend a kickoff meeting with a new client. Each time I find myself covering the same old issues from explaining the client’s role, to encouraging investment in content. I find it incredibly frustrating and this is what ultimately led me to write the Website Owners Manual.
This is not a criticism of clients, however. There is so little information that clearly defines their role. Sure, there is no shortage of material on usability, accessibility, online marketing and copywriting, but who has the time to read all of it?
The problem is that the client does need to have a very broad understanding (certainly more than can be communicated in a single article), however I have found that understanding certain key issues can make an enormous difference to the efficiency of a client.
What follows is a list of the 5 things that I believe will have the biggest impact on a client’s site. At least they should, if the client understands them and chooses to implement them. Read more
12 Mar
10 Tips for Working With Clients Remotely: Part 2
Business, Freelancing
22

When you’re working with clients remotely it can sometimes be difficult to keep everyone happy and your project on track. Without the benefit of face-to-face meetings, it’s easy for a client to feel neglected or out of the loop.
The key to successful remote work relationships is frequent and honest communication and trust between both parties. The tips below will help improve your everyday interactions with clients, no matter how far away they may be.
Please note that this is part 2 of a series – part 1 outlined the first 5 steps for remote interactions with clients which you can read here.
Now, let’s look at 5 more tips that can help improve your relationship with your clients. Read more
4 Mar
10 Tips for Working With Clients Remotely: Part 1
Business, Freelancing
42

Collaborating with clients you never meet face-to-face has become normal for most web workers. Ours is an industry where working remotely poses very few real obstacles — nearly every part of the web design process can be done from the comfort of a home office or coffee shop.
We’re lucky to have this flexibility, especially in tough economic times when a swanky office doesn’t fit in the business budget. Even if you do have an office, chances are you will land a few clients who aren’t located around the block. But you quickly discover that working remotely has its downsides.
Without face-to-face interaction it’s easy for major communication issues to develop… often without you knowing until it’s too late. Avoid a major meltdown with these simple tips. Read more
10 Feb
14 Applications for Project Management and Collaboration
Business, CMS, Code, Freelancing
86

In this article, we list several great applications for project and time management as well as collaboration between you and your clients. There are free and commercial options available.
These project management apps are here to save you time, but they can also be very time consuming and not intuitive. If you have a team who works with you remotely, then this is an ideal choice. If you are a freelancer however, you will have to spend some time learning these as well as teaching your clients how to use and interact with the application.
Let’s keep the cons aside and give the apps a chance, you can then see for yourself which ones will suit your needs best. Read more
30 Jan
6 Ways To Kickstart Your Customer Service
Business, Corporate
27

Most web design companies are one or two person operations, with little to no free time for items like after-sales service.
You are usually so busy with current projects that answering calls from past customers can seem like an unnecessary and non-profitable chore.
Here is how you can plug back in to your client base and turn customer service into the profit center that you never thought it would be. Read more