Arbenting Freebies

Maintaining Your Entire Freelance Business Alone

Rob Bowen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:55:47 +0000

As every freelancer knows, having to manage every aspect of the business is quite a task. One that can be very taxing and if not handled correctly can be extremely costly as well. So finding ways to help keep all of your bases covered when you are flying the freelance skies solo is an almost necessary pursuit if you want your business to by sustainable by any measure. Which is what brings us to the post you are currently reading.

Here we have taken what we feel to be the four most vital bases that you need to keep an eye on, and attempted to help you get them covered. With what we hope is important information and useful tools/services filing into each category for coverage. As freelancers ourselves, we know that a post like this would have been beneficial to us when we were getting started, but alas, we didn’t come across one and had to learn the hard way on many of these areas.

Hopefully, this post will prevent others from falling into any of the same traps that we did getting started (or keeping going for that matter).

Time Management

Probably one of the most crucial areas we need to keep in check for the sake of our freelance business, and our sanity, is time management. Scheduling your days effectively, and being able to keep to it are major players in the success and failure rates for your freelance business. Especially as we try to maintain a professional edge to remain competetive in our markets as we go up against established companies with reputations for solid results.

If we are unable to manage our time, how is a client supposed to expect us to meet their deadline? We need to ensure that we make our meetings, that we are able to respond to our clients in a timely fashion, that we are able to meet deadlines on time (and not just the final one either, but all that the project demands); and to do all of these things, our time management skills cannot be lacking. If they are, and we suddenly miss the designated window for submitting samples to the client for approval, it reflects poorly on our business, our preparedness, and our ability to complete the project on the client’s timetable.

It only takes one dropped ball to ignite the embers of doubt in our client’s minds. To get them looking at us as a risk, not an asset to their project. That is never what we want. So we have to take all the steps necessary to stay on track, and on time. Below are a few resources that can assist you on this path to better time management.

Customer Support

Another area where we need to step up our games due to the corporate competetion that we will inevitably be facing, is the customer support arena. With other big businesses having entire departments specifically for addressing the concerns and issues their clients run into, we need something in this field of play giving us an advantage. Seriously, let’s face facts. The only way a team of one can be in any way competetive against a team of a half a dozen or more, is with unlimited time and a decent bag of tricks at their side.

Now we cannot do anything about the time part, but we can certainly point you in the right direction with regards to filling your own proverbial bag of customer support tricks. Client’s have great expectations in the customer service department these days, and as such, many may already be a bit leery of opting for the freelancer route simply due to their expectation of customer support needs, and their lack of faith, that a single person can meet them. So as freelancers, a lot of times, we are already coming at this area from a disadvantageous position.

One selling point that we can make to this end, that might weigh heavy in our favor with some clients is this: if they have any issues, they will be dealing with the same person that has handled the project from the beginning; not some faceless stranger to the project who has to play catch up all of the details each time before getting started on ways in which they can help. This is often appealing to anyone who has ever had to play this catch up game with a customer service rep.

Now while that may help a bit, there is still some disadvantaged ground that we need to make up for. In large part, with regards to accessibility. As a single freelancer, we tend to not be as reachable as those entire departments whose only mission is to man the phones, and offer support. But we can certainly give our clients the impression of accessibility in their times of need, which is helpful.

The Importance Of Customer Service To Your Freelance Business
How Freelancers Can Improve Customer Service
ZenDesk : A web based customer support platform

Project Management

Time is not the only thing that one has to learn to effectively manage to make the most of their freelance business. One other vital branch of this management tree is project management. One of the keys to being a sustainable freelancer is being able to run multiple projects at once without letting anything slip through the cracks or fall behind. This is not always easy to do, especially as the unforeseen will tend to rear its ugly and derailing head into the arena on any given project, at any given time. So we have to do all that we can, and focus as much effort as necessary to keep all of our projects progressing along smoothly.

Naturally there are tools that can really help you step up your project management game, but the main factor you need to be concerned with is you. We are the biggest wildcard in this equation. Our organizational skills, our ability to perform under pressure, our ability to remain focused and driven, how we handle the unexpected and deal with problems, and so on and so forth ad nauseam. All of these things play into how we deal with whatever the clients and projects throw our way. They all impact how we are able to effectively manage all of the tasks at hand.

So we need to do as much work as we can on getting ourselves prepared for each and every project that comes our way. As thorough preparation can course correct so many ills that can derail a project before things get out of hand. Also the more prepared we are, the less likely we are to be completely panicked by any distressing developments along the way that can often land things in something of a chaotic twist. Research and constant learning can be your best friends in this end, something that most freelancers spend most of their careers doing already.

Part of being prepared to manage your projects effectively, is having being armed with the right tools to relieve as much pressure from you as possible.

Invoicing

If you are not able to collect from your clients, then your business is always going to be moving away from sustainability and satisfaction. Which is why proper invoicing procedures are always a must-have element when it comes to keeping your books balancing in your favor. This is also a way of legitimizing your freelance business to clients who may view you as just some disconnected person working from their basement. Which we may very well be, but if we have an effective and professional invoicing and collections system in place, then our clients are less likely to see us this way.

For whatever reason, a professional, consistent billing system does seem to have some sort of psychological triggering effects in our minds. The more organized, comprehensive and structured the invoices, the more legitimacy and weight we seem to give them. So as freelancers, who may not always be skilled or adept when it comes to tracking, pursuing and collecting payments, leaning on some of the various billing tools and services that are available to us online can prove invaluable to our businesses and peace of mind.

That Just About Does It…

…but now we want to hear from all of you! What areas do you think we should have looked at in this post? Or what tips or tools would you have added to those we have already gathered? Feel free to leave us your take and two cents below to expand this freelance resource’s reach even further!

15 Natural Greenery Textures : An Arbenting Freebie

Angie Bowen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:30:15 +0000

Specs

Size: 2080 x 1544
Included: 1 zip file containing 15 jpg textures
Style: Nature, Greenery
Free for both commercial and personal use, no attribution required
Do not repackage or redistribute. If you would like to share these freebies, please link to this page.

Previews

Inspiration in Orange

Angie Bowen — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:14:34 +0000

As our reboot continues, we roll on through the rainbow with our inspirational color series. This week we are going to aim our focus on the next hue that we feel deserves its day in the sun. So today’s color is Orange! Sorry for the Sesame Street moment, but it just felt right. Anyway, we searched through the web to collect some truly inspired designs with an orange focus.

The color orange is a warm color that tends to be associated with joy, sunshine and the tropics. It represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, and creativity. And today, we hope that it represents an abundance of inspiration! Enjoy…

A Showcase of Amazing Fantasy Photomanipulations

Angie Bowen — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:05:20 +0000

When it comes to inspiration, we always tend to get a huge charge from the galleries of graphic artists who have a penchant for manipulating photos. While recently searching for an inspirational refill, we turned that direction and dove in head first. Then we realized how selfish we were being, so we decided that we should bring our readers along with us. After all, we know for a fact we are not alone in our love for photomanipulations.

So here is a breathtaking showcase of some amazing artists’ fantasy themed photomanipulations. We hope that all of our readers will find these works as inspiring as we do, and get as much enjoyment from it as we got putting it together for you.

The Photomanipulations

Romance

Goodbye

Night Light

The Clock Ticks Life Away

Rainbow’s End

Waiting for my Prince

Dragon Summoned from Hell

Soul Eater

Solaris Autumn

My Secret Place

Tea-Party in Wonderland

8 Usability Mistakes Made By Web Designers

Rob Bowen — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 07:56:54 +0000

In the world of web design, we can look around and see so many shining examples of what makes this industry great. Though we are certainly not an industry without our faults and flaws. In fact, with that same discerning eye one can look around and see examples of our less than stellar industry moments. In fact, one can even point to common examples of balls being dropped in various areas. For example, in the usability arena of web design.

Here we can point to a handful of overlooked elements and oft made careless blunders that haunt far too many of our web design pasts. And hopefully, with this post acting as a helpful reminder, our web design futures can remain free of these usability mistakes. So take a look through them and see how many of these proverbial skeletons linger in your closet.

No Mobile Consideration

Unfortunately for so many already established sites and designs, the explosion of the mobile web market has left many brands unprepared for this new landscape. Many sites and designs are simply not compatible with all of these new devices that have begun shaping a new direction for the future of the industry. There’s not enough mobile design considerations being made. There are plenty of examples of designs breaking on mobile devices, which is about as bad as usability issues get.

At this time there are multiple solutions that one can seek to temporarily get their brands back on track in mobile contexts, but not too many that allow them to take their branding, and often costly designs along with them. So we see a bit of stalling in regards to progress in making the web a fully mobile friendly place. But as this new market continues to dominate in terms of growth, not having considerations of some kind in place for mobile is a big web design faux pas.

Insufficient Padding and Margins

One less crucial usability error that you see a lot of around the web, is the lack of sufficient padding and margins in various areas of the design. Whether it be between stacked elements, text blocks, a combination or whatever, there are numerous areas throughout the design where we can fall susceptible to this common error. Visual comfort is a big part of keeping the reader’s on your site and consuming whatever content you are presenting them with, so it is not something to take lightly.

If any of your design feels cramped, or too constricted then your understanding of the box model could use a little bit of work. If it is employed correctly, then your spacing is guaranteed to not interfere in any way with your content. Once your content becomes compromised in this way, the design and the content have both been done a complete disservice. The more cramped the design feels, the less planned and completely professional it comes off. And that is never an impression that we want made through our work. So we need to be sure that we keep these little things in mind too as we build.

Not Enough Contrast for Readability

While we are on the subject of visual comfort and doing everything in your power to ensure that the content your design will hold will be displayed successfully, readability is one area that could use more focus. To be more specific, ensuring that there is enough contrast for everything to be read properly. Comfortably. This is one common problem area in web design for sure.

There are a number of web designs that fall into this trap, and at this stage in the game there really is little excuse for this slight to usability. Luckily there are services that will make any site readable even when we have not. However, if we as the designers do our jobs properly, most users will never have to avail themselves of such services while visiting one of our designs. Double checking the contrast of the text and any elements behind it should top your list of finer points tp focus on.

Lack of Progressive Enhancement

This could actually be the cause of some of other errors we have brought up. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, then chances are, this ball has been dropped once or twice in your wake. The wiki definition is actually wonderfully put so we shall defer to it for a quick breakdown of this technique.

Progressive enhancement uses web technologies in a layered fashion that allows everyone to access the basic content and functionality of a web page, using any browser or Internet connection, while also providing those with better bandwidth, more advanced browser software or more experience an enhanced version of the page.

While this layered technique does require more time and work to pull off, it really does set the website up with the best possible presentation for those who can view it, all the while providing a natural degradability for others. It is somewhat of the high point of the usability peak. With the number of presentations one must consider and provide for, it is easy to see why this technique is not always employed.

But for the sake of the user. For the content. The client. Or just the design itself, progressive enhancement is the way to go when usability is your driving focus.

The Unclickable Clickables

One thing that we as web designers have to keep in mind, is that the internet is no longer in its infancy. It has grown into its adolescence and now its users come with certain expectations. One of those expectations comes to calls to action and clickable elements. When users see elements that appear to be big button like objects, they expect them to be clickable. When they are not, users tend to not be happy with the site. Confusion sets in and they suddenly feel lost.

Same goes with little things like underlined bits of text. Usually anything that is underlined, or a different color from the rest of the text, is expected to be linked to something or somewhere else. So when users come across these unclickable clickables the intuitive nature they rely on from your design gets tossed out the window. They do not know what to expect, or how to move around. This can cause them to flee out of frustration rather than sticking around to try and figure out the specifics of your design.

Too Many Options

Another usability problem you spot a lot around the web, especially the longer sites tend to be around and relevant, is that the navigation options climb high into the realm of the ridiculous. When some users face an overabundance of options they become overwhelmed and they turn back rather than push forward. The fewer initial choices that the users have to make when they first begin to look around, the more likely they are to investigate.

If they have the inclination to poke around the site and see what all it holds, and they are immediately met with dozens of places to turn, the more likely they are to think that the site holds just too much so they don’t even scratch the surface. We want to encourage users to go deeper into the site, and in order to do so, we cannot make that seem like a daunting task. We need it to be inviting. And looking after this angle of usability can go a long way towards reaching this end.

Inadequate 404

One place where usability tends to fall to pieces is the 404 page. Generally looked upon as an afterthought (or at least that is how it feels from many of the web designs out there), this error page is not often looked upon as the opportunity that it is. Whenever a user loses their way, unless they have a particularly compelling reason to try, they will often turn around instead of trying to find their way around your site.

So we need to look at the 404 page as a user refresh page for the site. No matter what caused them to lose their way, we need to appeal to the user and come to their assistance. Draw them to other content, or provide a search box so they can look for the content that they were headed for in the first place (if it is even still there). Provide them with other useful information, something to make an impression. One that will erase the slightly negative impression they may be left with given the error.

There are some really great examples of useful and impressionable 404 pages all over the web these days, so dropping this ball is another hint that this part of the design is an afterthought. There are literally showcases across the web that demonstrate the effective ways that the design can help recover whenever these errors occur. We need only take heed of these examples whenever we are working on a website.

The Waiting Game

This is an area of useablility that we know we need to work on for Arbenting ourselves, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Slow load times for a site can be a site killer these days as users are more and more prone to instant gratification. If our designs lag or drag for them, then we risk losing some who are unwilling to play the waiting game for whatever content we have in store for them.

Once again there are numerous ways to improve the load times of our web designs to cater to our users need for speed. In fact, if you are using WP for your site’s CMS, Noupe recently had a wonderful post on ways to speed up your site. The suggestions offered are great places to start no matter what CMS its based on. If your site has not been optimized with your users load times in mind, you might want to use one of the free tools that can identify any of these problem areas your site may have.

After all, any steps we can take to improve the user’s experience should be seen as necessary ones to be taken.

In Conclusion

Examples are all around us of these usability mistakes being made, as we pointed out, we have them here as well. But as long as we keep them in mind as we move forward, we can build a more user friendly web.

What other usability mistakes do you see running rampant throughout the web? Which do you think matter the most to your users?

Hit us up in the comments to let us know.

Autumn 2011 Wallpaper

Angie Bowen — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:00:07 +0000

Specs

Size: Widescreen and Fullscreen
Included: 1 zip file containing 8 wallpapers in various sizes
Style: Season, Calendar

15 Natural Stone Textures : An Arbenting Freebie

Angie Bowen — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:30:16 +0000

Specs

Size: 2080×1444
Included: 1 zip file containing 15 jpgs
Style: Stone, Nature
Free for both commercial and personal use, no attribution required
Do not repackage or redistribute. If you would like to share these freebies, please link to this page.

Previews

Over 550 Photoshop Brush Packs For Commercial Use

Angie Bowen — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:28:14 +0000

As you probably know by now, we have been trying to get the reboots of our more popular lost archives back up on the site and back into our readers feeds and bookmarks. Today we continue on that journey with the fresh reboot of Over 550 Photoshop Brush Packs for Commercial Use. This was certainly one of the most popular posts we had published, and continues to be trafficked today…even though it has been gone. But no longer.

We have scoured the internet to collect free Photoshop brushes of complete awesomeness to recompile this behemoth of a post. Beneath our spotlight for this post we have numerous Photoshop brush packs from some great sources. In fact, we have pulled about a max of 4 packs from each of the resources listed, but rest assured, if you visit the site’s themselves you will see that they have so much more to offer.

And remember that all of the brushes here at Arbenting are free for commerical use as well!

Enjoy the showcase. And please let us know your thoughts!

The Shoreways Photoshop Brushes

Smashing Magazine

The Design Bureau of Amerika

Fudge Graphics

BittBox

Photoshop Island

Brush Lovers

Free Photoshop Brushes

Hawksmont Universe

Individual Brushes

Splatter Brushes

4 Watercolor Stroke Brushes

82 Sumi Strokes Brushes

Postage Label Photoshop Brushes

Big Color Burst Texture

14 High Resolution Assorted Maps Photoshop Brush Set

Steps for Building Better Brand Engagement

Rob Bowen — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 07:31:25 +0000

In the design and development community branding is a major part of the game we play. Especially if we wish to maintain an effective presence in the massive arena that our playing fields inhabit. Even beyond our own brand building, we can be hired to build a new, re-build or strengthen an existing brand for a client. And one of the most effective ways to do this, is through better brand engagement.

For any brand, the number one concern is connecting your brand with your target audience. Countless meetings and work hours are spent trying to establish these viable and often brand sustaining connections with the demographic that we are trying to tap into. So we have compiled a handful of steps that can point you or your clients in the right direction for better brand engagement.

Step #1 – Develop a Content Strategy

This first step should go without saying. You cannot underestimate the value of a solid, fully thought out content strategy. In fact, most of the steps we cover here, would be somewhat covered in such a strategy. So any time you are sitting down to plan a way to build up your connection with your audience, then you should always be sitting down talking content strategy.

Every brand generates some sort of content that they are attempting to deliver in one way or another to the public. The purpose of which is usually to gain an audience or to reach out to them in some way. So it only makes sense to plan for the dissemination of this content as completely as you do the content itself. What is the point of putting so much thought into the content, if you do not give equal time and energy on getting the content out there and seen?

Implement Said Strategy

It is nothing to be ashamed of, but many of us are much better at preaching than we are at actually practicing. Just the nature of the game and the players. It is much easier to plan than to implement, but this is not one of those cases where we need to allow our inner-slacker to take the day. We need to see this strategy through to the end if we expect any sort of return on our investment.

100+ Best Websites to Promote Design Related Articles and News
The Discipline of Content Strategy
We also recommend checking out The Elements of Content Strategy from A Book Apart.

Step #2 – Mind Your Social Side

It’s about engagement so interact. Often times we see brands venture out into the the social media waters only to make no effort to stay afloat and they immediately sink below their potential. Social media is not an automatic recipe for success in this area. It takes some work. And if you do not have the right people minding your social media activities, it can begin to work against you.

It takes more than having someone manning the helm, you need to have someone who will nurture this engagement with your audience. And with examples piling up all over the web of people dropping the ball, sending personal updates through the business accounts they manage, this is important. You are wanting something of a personal touch so that your audience is able to connect with the brand, but you do not want that line crossed.

Consistent Brand Message Throughout

The harder side of this equation is building the right team to manage this social networking aspect of your brand consistent with your overall brand message and identity. Because as you reach out through numerous avenues in order to engage your target, consistency of message and identity is key. You risk fracturing the view that the public has of the brand by allowing inconsistencies in your social media presence.

Step #3 – Creative Marketing

You need to develop strategies for connecting with your base through your marketing. Again, sounds like a no-brainer, but today’s audience is much more media savvy, and they expect a more personal and catered to approach. Not to mention, that too often these days, the general public tunes out to most advertising. If they are given the chance to skip an advertisement, they generally opt for that route. So you have to find creative new ways to reach them.

If you want today’s audience to respond to your marketing campaigns, then you are going to have to grab their attention in a completely out of the box way. They essentially have to not see you coming. Those campaigns tend to be the ones that get the most response. The more the campaign resembles one they have seen before, the more likely they are to tune out. Believing they have already seen it.

Know the Limits of the Medium

What is important to understand here, are the limits of the medium you are using for your marketing approach. If you are more focusing on a print advertising route for your reach, or more of a web based approach, you need to know what barriers are going to reign in your ideas and creativity. It is all well to come up with an amazing marketing campaign, but if it is unrealistic or unachievable, then it is useless. Know what obstacles in your way are movable, and which are not. Usually budgetary ones are the latter.

Step #4 – Value the Blogosphere

One resource that many brands underestimate and fail to tap, often to their detriment, is the blogosphere. This is not to say that you must have a blog for your own brand, but you must understand and value the blogosphere. So many opportunities to engage with your brand’s target audience exist here in this ever-expanding arm of the web, that you are doing your brand a major disservice by avoiding participation in this playing field.

Whether you have your own blog attached your brand’s site or not, you need to get in there and contribute in some way or another for a solid engagement with your target audience. Comment on other blogs, have guest posts on other blogs, or arrange giveaways or contests to promote your brand through other sites. There are any number of roles that brands can fill in the blogosphere beyond just the role of blogger, and they each have benefits in building that engagement.

Commenting Code of Conduct

Now if you opt for commenting and contributing to the dialogs and experiences being created in the blogosphere, you need to remember the code. This commenting code of conduct shows that you are about the engagement and not just about the brand promotion. Most blogs leave places for you to include your website when you leave a comment, so there is no need to leave your address in the comment text. Also, be personable so your audience can connect with people, and leave your actual name (as a brand representative) not your brand name behind.

Step #5 – Abide By the Law of Averages

Know that no one approach works for every person in the public, let alone in your target demographic. You are going to have to engage your audience on multiple fronts, and play the law of averages. Each front will have its yield, and you cannot try to force more from it or you risk compromising the front altogether. Brands are always walking a fine line when they are out in the more social and visible virtual waters.

That line is the one between promoting your brand (your perceived reason for showing up and potential partial motivator) and engaging with your audience (your actual reason for stopping by which does actually feed into the first). It’s a tricky line for sure, but one that must be walked with care. We have to ignore the instinct to push the averages and start pushing the brand. Otherwise the brand comes off as pushy.

Play the Field with Honor

As you attack these multiple fronts, you have to remember to be honorable in your tactics. Do not attempt to undermine your competition by running their names through the proverbial mud. Keep your brand on the high road, and your engagement with your audience will tend to provide you with better results. Also, they know you are a business and there to promote it, but they are there for engagement, so be sure that you stay focused on them.

That’s a Wrap

That is all we have for this post, but leave us a comment with your thoughts. What steps would you include, or would you have omitted? Leave your two cents in the comment section below. The ball is now in your court.

Simple and Elegant Still Life Photographs

Angie Bowen — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:48:23 +0000

Given that the weekends can tend to be draining or even derailing for our inspiration charged endeavors, we thought we would kick the week off with a photographic dose of imagine for our readers. Below is a collection of wonderful still life photographs that are sure to get the ball rolling for the potentially long week ahead. Let us know in the comments which one in the showcase is your favorite!

88:Reds – in record ruins