Business & Tech articles

The holy grail of web design used to be a three-column layout where every column had equal height. Now, the holy grail is making it so anyone can design a website or app. Visual design apps abound, one of the big names in the Mac community right now is Framer X. Framer X isn’t staying on only the Mac platform, though. The team has big plans, and it involves more than making it easier to push pixels. They reached out to WDD to see if we wanted to get a sneak...

3D Printing is a revolutionary new technology that allows you to realize, well, just about anything. The most common form of 3D printers use a special form of plastic filament to print durable, hard ABS plastic components or items. However, there are 3D printers—industrial mostly—that can work with materials like concrete, glass, titanium, steel and more. The tougher materials aren’t really necessary for design, but it’s still...

I recently began reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss and have been blown away by what I’ve learned so far. Regardless of what your ultimate career goal is—to actively build websites for clients or to turn your business into a thriving digital agency—there are ways in which you can work less and accomplish more. I’m about halfway through the book and I’ve already shaved an hour off of each workday just by using the tips in the book....

According to some historical records, some people out there have boundless energy, loads of free time, and ambition enough to make a dictator blush. These people are called “not parents”, “morning people”, and “annoying”. Some say these people invented the Side Hustle(™). Those historical records are wrong. The Side Hustle was invented long ago by people who just needed more money. Could have been Eve for all we know. Now...

As the managing attorney of a commercial law boutique practice, I am asked several times per week some variation of the following question: How should I best protect my intellectual property from being stolen? Is it as simple as filling out a copyright or trademark application and paying a small fee to a do it yourself on-line service? Will that really provide sufficient protection? What do you think? I have set forth below a few of the many aspects...

All of the work you do to grow your web design business requires an investment of time and energy. And if you do this song-and-dance routine for long enough, you’re bound to become exhausted by it all. So, how do you stop doing so much without losing momentum? Productivity tools help quite a bit as do templates — be they for managing projects, clients, or  to streamline your design work. In other words, anything you can do to automate, delegate,...

It’s going to happen at some point this year; you will face designer burnout. One of the reasons that burnout is so common for creatives is that it’s a never-ending process. (You can’t just stop having ideas because you are off the clock.) But there are things you can do to help make the burnout less bad and stay energized and focused more of the time. Here’s your checklist for the new year. (Seems like a great resolution, right?) 1. Get Away...

No, no. I didn’t go researching modern-day witchcraft or anything like I did with Taoism. No, I’m taking web design lessons from a set of entirely fictional witches who live on a flat, circular world which rests on the back of four elephants, who in turn stand on the back of the Great A’Tuin, a turtle that swims through space. It’s called the Discworld, and it is the subject of forty-one of the best darned books I’ve ever read in my life....

According to a recent QuickBooks survey, the #1 reason freelancers go into business for themselves is because it lends them the freedom to shape their own career path. Whether you’ve done freelance web design work for a few months or a few years, there may come a time when you feel bored, unchallenged, or limited by it. When that happens, do you keep charging along because it’s what you originally set out to do? Or do you work on turning your...

It’s far too easy to look back and imagine that everything was better then than it is now. God knows I miss being a skinny teenager, but I don’t want the acne back. The hormones can just shove right off, too. Even so, there are things I miss about being younger, and frankly a bit naïve. Lately, there has been conversation about the nature of the Internet, and many people seem to feel much as I do about my teenage years: that is to say, they miss the...

The autumn air is fresh and clear, the light is soft and uplifting and the autumnal forests are at their most beautiful. Combined with some smooth Swiss tarmac under my wheels, cycling conditions are perfect and I’m often out enjoying the hills in the middle of the day. But I’m not skiving, this is an important part of my work routine. Cycling doesn’t require a lot of engagement of the brain, so it’s a great time for thinking. The rhythmic...

Many, if not most designers will at some point encounter this scenario: they’ve just completed a digital wire-frame for a new project, with a new client. They’ve thought long and hard about the placement of everything, and they’re ready for feedback. They figure it’ll be a short conversation, just enough time for the client to say, “Yeah, that looks fine. Can’t wait to see it with the details filled in!” The client will take a...

A colleague recently said to me, “I’ve heard that you’re a client relations guru. Are there any tips or tricks that you have for starting to build up those relationships?” I always love a question like this—something that makes me stop and reflect. It’s true. Working with people and developing new (or existing) relationships is something I have a knack for. Even though I self-identify as an introvert, I love doing it because genuinely...

By now, you’ve likely encountered and worked your way out one of the more common problems freelancers face. In moving your business model from one that bills by the hour to value-based pricing, you become a trusted resource for clients instead of one they call on to tackle nitpicky requests. As a result, everyone stops focusing on the number of hours you put into a website and starts looking at the outcomes you deliver. By setting a rate that...