I found this quote from Jobs aligned with my ideas around design.As a graphic designer by trade, your job encompasses more than graphics. You should hone your writing skills, planning skills, business skills etc. And all the while, expand your understanding of design beyond graphics. It will make you more rounded and less bored....
I have been pondering on my career recently. I’m working through the concept of next steps and new challenges. What do I want to dedicate the next seven years to? The last 10 years have been a huge challenge. I spent the first seven discovering what it takes to build a strategic design agency and now that I’ve left it behind I can see, with hindsight, all the good and bad choices I made along the way....
A few minutes thought now can save you years of stress when it comes to your business website. Often small and medium businesses will be sold a site that is good for the developers recurring revenue rather than their own. Knowing the process before you start will help you avoid getting a website that's not quite what you were hoping for. This guide will hopefully help you make an informed choice about the different ways to launch a website....
So now you understand your customer has a problem that needs to be solved. And they want to solve it using a little brain power as possible. You know WHO your audience is and WHY they are at your website. The next step is to write your outline script....
Your story is the unique thing that sets you, your business and your product or service apart from anyone else. This post will take you through the Storybrand framework, created by Donald Miller to help you to better articulate your brand message with clarity and simplicity. I’ve seen it improve conversion for websites, email open rates and most notably shift people's perceptions at how marketing works....
My client wanted to create a Chilli Oil that was at the more gourmet end of the spectrum. Read: higher price tag. It would be the kind of product that would appear in Asian grocery stores and then move into gourmet food stores. The kind that inner city cool-cats shop at....
I needed to update a clients Facebook Page cover photo and noticed that most sites that offer a template will make you read a novel of SEO backstory before they let you get access to the template and who has the time for that. So here are some templates in JPG, PSD and Powerpoint – quick and simple....
A clear and concise homepage structure will help convert your visitors into customers. So many websites are style over substance. Packed with design features, they do well for the designer who created them but neglect to inspire action in your customers. Now more than ever, the clarity of your home page is key to doing the heavy lifting for your business....
Design is a collaborative process. Any person involved with the process can have an impact on the final outcome. That is: the client, the engineer, the CEO and the end user. But not all design is good design...
This story on the importance of details in logo design and typography is pure joy. Follow legendary type designer Doyald Young take you through the nuance of typography and lettering using examples of his own work. I have three comments to make on this...
I find myself fortunate that remote working is my normal. For nearly two years I’ve been working out of a home studio with the systems in place to work with a range of clients and suppliers. I’ve had many conversations this week about transitioning studios to remote working. I've done this a few times and can say the biggest hurdle for creative businesses is managing file transfer.There's also a real need to keep motivation up and loneliness down...
The evidence is clear that Facebook is the 'Big Tobacco' of our time. The question is can we still call ourselves ethical if we use it? It is arguably the most unethical business ever created and has reached a point where it is proven to be actually harming its users. But it's also a monopoly so do we have a choice?...
I've recently finished a major brand and website project for Sense of Security. The job involved a full stack brand refresh and website design and build. It was an exciting and eye-opening experience as I learnt so much about cyber security – the good and the scary....
You know what it takes for you to do your job well. You know the hours you put in that the client never sees – or pays for. You do it for the love of the craft. For the sheer joy you get creating something from nothing. You should take your skill and self worth more seriously and share that with your clients in a comprehensive credentials document. With a solid credentials document you can outline the value you bring to each project before the pushing of the first pixels. Maybe then you can feel confident charging what you’re worth....
I stole that headline. It’s fantastically abrasive and the idea behind it is equally as hard to face.Designers (and probably everyone else too) should be more brave and authentic to themselves. I read that headline at the same time I was self-censoring a post on Linkedin.Linkedin is all about business, I thought to myself. You gotta be serious and curate your “workplace brand.” You have to make yourslef more attractive to the next potential employer.Screw that....
Over the past few years I have seen a huge spike in the amount of website projects I’ve taken on. The question of “how much does it cost to build a website” is one of the most popular questions I get asked. And the answer you don’t want to read is…. It depends.But in the interest of quick wins, here’s the quick answer.Design and build it yourselfIf you want a normal website, you can build it yourself using some kind of online builder like Weebly, Wix or Squarespace.Using these services is as easy as building a Powerpoint presentation. But remember...
I've just finished David Epstein’s book “Range – How generalists triumph in a specialised world” and I’ve come to the conclusion that generalist designers have more fun. All designers should strive to be a bit more generalist at some point in their career. It’s the weird and wonderful lessons you learn doing a variety of things that allow you to have a wider perspective and generate novel ideas.Having lead design teams and trained many designers, I'm still shocked to discover that a great number don’t understand the processes behind the physical manifestation of their work – how it’s printed, displayed digitally...
A case could be made that some graffiti tagging should be considered an art form. First you need to understand the difference between tagging and graffiti in general.In this case let's assume 'good graffiti art' is the act of making a complex beautiful mural or word art in a public place. Something that adds to the environment in which it sits. Whether that be to add a splash of colour to a drab factory wall or tell a local story much like the Caves of Lascaux.Bad graffiti is tagging in general. Taggers motives are no more complex than a 2 year...