ward0343: April 2010 Archives

Do you have a special niche in Design?

Sculpting out a special niche in the Design world can be of much help. There is so much competition in the advertising world that even the best and most talented artists are struggling. If you can become aware of that special design area you are interested in you will become an expert at it. Clients LOVE experts. Some designers accidentally stumble upon this and others consciously decide what direction they want to take. Gwyneth Dwyer from Larsen had mentioned this, also; find a niche, focus on that, create networks, blogs, research, comment, and become VERY informed on your niche. Create a place in the design world with this niche on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all other social networks you are involved in to become known and known for you knowledge and interest.

Is one niche sufficient?

One niche definitely helps to become known and helps to focus on a certain aspect of design since it all can become a little too overwhelming at times. Although this is of help, other skills are needed. Being an expert at one thing and having knowledge and experience of others is necessary. It can definitely kick you in the butt if you only focus on one area and that's it. Design firms are relatively on the smaller side, so the more you know the more of an asset you are to their company. Technology is changing everyday and to become an exceptional designer this must be acquired.

Being personally aware of our own interests and talents can really aid in our networking skills and designing overall. The social media and striving to become recognized in the design world can be dreadfully devastating. Focusing on a minimum amount of specialties can only push us forward.

http://artbistro.monster.com/education/articles/10119-carving-out-a-niche-in-the-design-industry

Gwyneth Dwyer, Larsen.

How awesome would it be to make sufficient money as a Freelance Designer?

This sounds amazing to all designers. Working from home, not having to listen to a boss, and making excessive amounts of money? Sounds like the life. Do some research and it isn't as enjoyable as it seems. To become a competent freelance designer requires a lot of work. Although working for yourself seems easier, laziness is out of the question.

Time flies.
Finding clients is the first step, which is a hard task to accomplish that takes much longer than you think. After finding clients working normal hours is out of the question. A constant flow of emails and calls is usual because you are the one-man team that has to take care of all phases necessary in a business. Most of this is cut working in any design firm, which has numerous clients already and have account executives to manage the funds.

Money is not always better.
Money can definitely be better as a freelance designer if you are prepared, experienced and bear high motivation. Just some things to think about if you want to become a freelancer, you must obtain your own health insurance, you cannot take paid vacations, and you will not receive a steady paycheck. Being able to depend on a paycheck is a nice feeling, especially when just getting out of school.

Awesome Opportunities.
Despite these factual pieces of information to open your eyes, we all still want this. We still all want to become freelancers. I am not saying we shouldn't or we can't. I am just presenting this information to take the advice of so many freelance designers to step out into the real world for a while and see what design firms are like. We will learn so much, mostly about things we would never know if we never tried it out. Working with people is the best thing to do in the design world. Collaborated designs are the best designs. The best thoughts come out of a group of designers.

One day we will get where we want to be. Here are 28 articles on how to get there:
http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/03/28-must-read-articles-for-growing-your-freelance-design-business/

http://designshack.co.uk/articles/business-articles/how-to-make-money-as-a-freelance-designer

Being aware of the world's natural resources is evident, but as a designer it is also necessary to be aware of how to do this. So many people desire to go green, but in reality do not achieve this. This entry is to help understand this green phenomenon and how to start facilitating these important efforts.

"If the world's natural resources were evenly distributed, people in 2050 will only have 25% of the resources per capita that people in 1950 had." (Ferraro-Fanning, Angela) As we all know, graphic designers use numerous amounts of paper everyday from printing off color swatches, printing mockups, drawing, catalogs, etc. I could go on forever, but since this is already part of our job we should be aware of other options we can use. Many people do not do their part because they think it is overly expensive and additional work, which is not necessarily accurate.

Are you green in your personal life style? It is essential to start here before becoming a green designer. When working on your current or next project, take into consideration of the excess paper used. As an alternative of printing off trials and trials, strive to analyze it on screen until you believe it's nearly finished. Scraps of computer paper lying around are efficient for printing on both sides when it entails things of less importance, such as directions, emails, etc. Although it is obvious that it is necessary to print as designers, it is also vital to consider how much we are printing. After the paper has no significance place it in the recycling bin; not the trash can.

Influencing your client is the next step in becoming a green designer. There are various ways to initiate this. Instead of printing a million postcards and misusing funds to mail, send email campaigns. Emails are economical for you and your client. Also, it is confirmed to attain better results through effortless online sign up or registering process. Online catalogs are another option to start saving resources. The majority of computer friendly people appreciate online stores because it saves a lot of time and catalogs are usually not at hand. Lastly, it is clear that printing is still crucial and will remain. Alternatives involve printing on post-consumer content (recycled paper). Many clients are becoming apt to using post-consumer content to print their marketing materials. As a designer it is essential to remember that designing on post-consumer content can still achieve its' visually pleasing aesthetic. There is a book I found online, Green Graphic Design by Brian Dougherty, with some great comments about the book. Here is a comment proving that, as a designer, it is your job to influence your client,
"Few of my clients urged me to design their marketing communication materials in expensive four color, I blankly said no and suggested them to use cheap recycled packaging paper to develop their collaterals. Finally we did some fantastic designs with silk screening technology and cut color styles."

If you become really committed, another option would be to trade out your printing inks with soy or vegetable basked inks. There are a million more possible efforts, these are just a couple to get you started and aware of the earth's natural resources.

http://www.greengraphicdesign.net/

Ferraro-Fanning, Angela. 13thirtyone Design.
http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicsblog/2008/05/green-graphic-design-why-and-how-to-be-more-eco-friendly/

Being aware of your social resources, assets, networks, organizations, events, and opportunities is a vital role in becoming a respectable designer. To take advantage of every part requires you initially to establish a good attitude. This has been told to us a million times, as designers, but it rings truer everyday coming closer to graduation. The unemployment rate plummeting, the design work is not enough. A positive attitude and outlook on life as a whole will take you places. An article from Articlesbase stated,
"Even if you are jobless there is no sound or required reason to remain unhappy. Your attitude governs mostly everything in life. Adversity comes and goes in the lives of people every day. Facing life with optimism and determination will enable those with a way to overcome."

By obtaining this positive attitude, you will have more inspiration and motivation to become aware of your social opportunities. Many of us have a twitter account, which is crucial to stay associated and become further informed of the design world around us. An article I found online, Making the Most of Twitter for Designers by Taylor Loran, gave a few pointers that are important for Twitter users and for any future Twitter users out there (get one now!). As a user of Twitter, it is necessary to tweet about other projects, encouraging articles, stock images, etc. that you have found and not just about your own ideas and projects. Twitter can be a great guide to network for millions of designers. By getting to know other designers and their work you can only gain knowledge. To be successful through Twitter, you must be an active member; posting often and sending direct messages once in a while. On the other hand, don't post too much and don't write consecutive unconstructive posts. This causes annoyance for many. Finally, the central key to Twitter is to not let it take up too much of your time! (I know we all get caught up and can't leave!) Keep it as a daily routine, but once you are finished move on to designing.

The last social aspect to be aware of is not the virtual world, but the actual world of design around us; from preparing for an interview to recognizing names of designers. Being able to talk about their company in an interview is impressive and you will be remembered, which again brings us back to attitude. Studying the company you have an interview for, involves a lot of positive attitude and inspiration. Here is a quote from Tom Sloper,
"If you want to move up into the studio, perhaps eventually to become a designer, you need a good attitude. It's the bright stars who get noticed. Don't just look for ways to do more... find them."
By being socially aware with a positive attitude, life will give you opportunities you weren't even aware of. Just a little inspiration and aid for everyone looking for a job out there! Good luck! ☺

Articlesbase. Attitude Plus Aptitude Equals Altitude.
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/attitude-plus-aptitude-equals-altitude-2047970.html

Loran, Taylor. Making the Most of Twitter for Designers. Oct. 19, 2009.
http://graphicdesign.suite101.com/article.cfm/making_the_most_of_twitter_for_designers

Sloper, Tom. Lesson #9 - Professionalism and Attitude.
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson9.html