With the current state of the economy more designers are turning to the freelancing arena to try and generate some extra revenue. Given the growing pool that potential clients have to choose from, any extra steps that we can take to really separate ourselves from the crowd can help us get a leg up on the competition. We need to stand out from the rest so that clients are typically drawn in our direction, because we have instilled that sense that we are in fact a top notch freelancer.

But what does being a top notch freelancer entail, you ask? Good question. That is precisely what we are here to answer today. Below are a handful of the qualities that you will need to possess and display proudly to attract more business your way. We will also touch on the best ways that you can sell each quality to the client. Convincing them that you are the way to go with their design project. So if you are a freelancer, then take a look at the tips and ideas that we have prepared for you today, so that you can hopefully take your freelance business to the next level.

Effective Communicator

One of the keys to successfully running any kind of business is having effective communicators in place to interface with your clients. Especially with design, there are many intricacies of the field that you want to be sure clients will understand. For example, can you explain the reasons behind your decisions in a clear and concise manner so the client can follow what you are saying. In order to control this as much as possible, you may need to clean up your communication skills. And of course, the other side of that communication coin is somewhat of a sales pitch. You have to be able to effectively market yourself to the client as well.

Ways to Display

Showing off your communication skills is fairly easy to do in this case. You just be sure that you are speaking slow and steady, not at an excited rate. It becomes easy to loose the clients when your pacing is somewhat erractic and speedy. Also be sure that they are following you by asking them questions along way. This helps to engage the client and keep them from drifting off during your presentation. And finally, listen. When the client is speaking give them your full attention. Make notes when and where applicable, but be careful not to miss out on something they say because you are writing down something else. Wait until they have finished speaking, then as you relay it back to them to be sure your on the same page, make your notes then.

Design Brief Adeptness

Now one area that a lot of freelancers somewhat phone it in on, is the design brief. If they even use one, that is. The design brief is an awesome tool that can help both you and the client find your way through the project if it is put together and handled correctly. You see a lot of designers believe that compiling a comprehensive and in depth design brief for the client to fill out is all that they really need to do. Build it, and hand it off to the client. However, if you really want to show that you are a top notch freelancer, then you will follow through and not just do the job halfway. Not only showing how adept you are at putting them together, but also at helping the client fill it out. The design brief can be the key to unlocking all of the project’s paths to success. The better the brief, the better your chances of smoothly sailing through the project.

Ways to Display

Mainly, on this you want to be accessible to the client during the entire briefing process. The clients typically know the information that you are asking for, beyond some of the more design specific parts of the brief. What they may not necessarily be that familiar with, is why you are asking for the information. Which, lets be honest, is important in how we tend to answer questions. We tend to focus our answers in the direction of the context we know they will be used in. So let them know this. Include short descriptions of how the information will be used. And if you really want to go above and beyond, write up a sort of brief FAQ to include with it, perhaps with sample answers to the questions so they can get an idea of what you are looking for.

Research Junkie

Now the design brief will give you much needed background on the clients, but in order to fully complete the picture, you are going to still need to do a bit of research. Not that you cannot trust the client’s vision of their company, and not that their take is meant to be disregarded, quite the opposite, but you still want to get other perpectives on the company. This is another area that really separates the best, from the rest. Most designers may a light follow-up on the brief. Look into some of their competition the clients listed in the brief, and so forth. But a top notch freelancer is a research junkie. They dive into the market, also examining the user base and the ways that the client and its competitors interact and relate to them.

Ways to Display

Now, this can be a trickier quality to easily display to your clients or potential clients, especially in the beginning of the project talks when this impression needs to be made. Though it can still be done. Once the initial contact with the company has been made, dive right in. Prepare a brief history of the company based on various outlets of information that you can find. If possible, collect a testimonial or two from past clients of theirs. This way, when you go into your first official meeting with the client, you can show them how committed and informed you are. Many freelancers are somewhat reluctant to do this because they are not guaranteed any payment for the time they will be putting in. Which is understandable, but if it gives you an advantage over the rest, isn’t that time well spent?

Over-Deliver

Now when it comes to really stepping up and showing the client that you are the cream of the freelancing crop, then all you need to do is over-deliver. When clients get more than they were anticipating, they are more likely to remember you the next time they need a design. There are any number of ways to do this, but they all require focus and dedication on your part. An easy way, is to include multiple files upon delivery of the design. Include a layered file, the flattened file, a black and white version (when applicable, if you are designing a web site, this is not necessary, but with a logo works nicely), etc. You can also over-deliver by not just meeting, but beating the deadlines. If you can get the design in and wrapped up ahead of their schedule then do it. Don’t waste time on the project just because you have it.

Ways to Display

Now we talked about some ways for you to come through in this area, but how can you display this quality, without giving it away. If the client is a returning one, then they already know what to expect from you, but if they are new you don’t always want to spoil the surprise. After all, that is part of the appeal to this approach. The surprised feeling the client gets when they receive more than they were expecting. So you can allude to this in ways, without fully disclosing what all they can expect from you. Tell them they will get multiple files, but not necessarily explaining the full scope. Tell them that you will give them your entire focus, but hold back that you plan to deliver early. You can also use testimonials of your past clients to somewhat wet their appetites, so to speak. So hint away, but refrain from telling them the specifics. This also protects you in case you are unable to fully live up to these promises.

Business Ins and Outs

Finally, if you really want to impress upon your clients that you are top notch freelance designer, not just part of the proverbial flock, then you really need to know and be able to handle all of the business ins and outs. Remember, there are two sides to this freelancing coin. The creative side and the business side. Both require you to be on top of them for you to shine. If you cannot manage the business side of freelancing, then there is massive potential for dropping any one of the important balls that can make or break your business professionalism in your client’s eyes.

Ways to Display

When it comes to displaying this quality to your clients, the approach here is much more straightforward. You know the various business hats that freelancing requires us to wear, just be sure that you can pull them off. Accounting, scheduling, customer service, and on and on the list goes. We need to be able to manage all aspects of our business to remain ahead of the game. Staying on top of all communication back and forth with the client is paramount. You might also want to carry a planner with you at all times so that you can access important notes, project related dates, etc. when you are meeting with the client. Paper trails are also essential here.

That’s a Wrap!

That is all for now, but the discussion is only getting started. Now it is your turn. What are some qualities of a top notch freelancer that you feel we should have included in this discussion? Are there any that you think should not have been on the list? Give us your two cents below, or even let us know how you have dealt with and displayed these qualities in your freelance business.

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

Nearly every day we see the lines blur between art and design more and more. The debate continues from within the community as to just where exactly those lines are drawn in the first place. So as designers set out creating stunningly aesthetic solutions for our clients needs, we can see similarities between the art world and the design world. And just as artists develop a signature style which tends to be easily recognized by the public, designers can effectively do the same. Leaving their fingerprints lightly on the design.

First off, let us clarify, this is not a recognition kind of thing. Just as artists sign their paintings, designers will often be credited as well on their designs. This is more about that unique style and flair that you develop which devotees of your work can pick out at a glance. As you look back through the ages, you can see this stylistic signature in some of the most celebrated artists of the art world. O’Keefe, Pollock, Kahlo, Van Gogh and list goes on and on. And today, you can see it happening among some top designers.

So what about you? Are you more a trend follower, whose style mixes with the non-constant waters only to be washed away from the memories of those who cross paths with your work? Or are you developing your design signature so that you know your fingerprints are being felt? Below are some tips to finding your own way to this virtual fingerprinting.

Do Your Own Thing

First and foremost it is important for you to step away from the crowd and do your own thing. Not just a variation on what everyone else is doing. We are not saying that trends are the enemy, or anything like that, but they are also not your best friend. In the design world, you see many who become virtual slaves to the trends that steer the industry. They never break out and dare to strive beyond.

Find Your Individual Voice

The key to this is to do just that. Break out of the confines of the trends that move through the design waters and find ways to your own sense of style. Trends can be great learning tools along the way to your voice, but we are meant to learn from them and move on. To dissect them. Learn the various techniques and the different solutions for certain design concerns that they have to offer, and adapt elements of them into our own style.

Oddly enough, trends are meant to help us find alternate perspectives and solutions. To help us see and work outside the box. But unfortunately, all too often, we end up allowing these trends to box us in. Our thinking becomes geared more towards ‘how can we fit these trends into our work’ rather than allowing the design to find these techniques organically because they are what satisfies the design’s objectives.

Nurture That Individuality

Another task that becomes paramount is to find ways to nurture this individuality. With clients calling the shots, straying from trends and getting them to accept this new direction is not always an easy thing to accomplish. And if we work for a firm, then our bosses may also not be that comfortable with this approach. There can be an assembly line mentality that drives the industry at times as clients, enamored with these new trends, push for their inclusion.

So we have to keep up side projects and work on design in our time off so that we can ensure we have the ability to work however we like. When we call all the shots, we can work on nurturing that individuality that will take us to that signature style of our own. Trends and boxes be damned, we have nothing standing in our way but design problems that need creative solutions. And there are no limits or specifications on how we must proceed. Innovation is our only guide.

Be Consistent

Not in deed alone, but in design. If you are going to find a design signature then you are going to have to maintain some level of consistency in your work. Not that there has to be an underlying theme, but something that ties them together stylistically needs to be present. If you think of the work of James White, you can understand what we mean here. His work tends to have a signature style that remains consistent across his body of work.

Tread Lightly

Now though consistency is key, you have to tread lightly as you effectively fingerprint your work. Whatever your signature style ends up being, it needs to be balanced just like all design. Something subtle enough to not detract from the overall piece, but recognizable enough to be picked up on. Your style needs to be able to have broad enough application throughout the design industry to make it truly effective.

Good or Bad?

Now we divert for a second to ask what we feel is an important question. Is having this sort of stylistic signature a good or a bad? It is always good to ask just because we can do something, should we? That is what we are attempting to do now. While some might argue that we are limiting ourselves and have simply created our own little box to work from, we don’t necessarily see it that way.

Having our own style does not mean that we have a certain mold that all of our designs will be created from. It does not mean that we have created our own little trend that we are following. Having our own signature style still allows us to approach each design with a fresh perspective, and does not dictate how we approach the solutions any design needs to address.

And as long as this does not impede on the design or your ability to keep it effective, then we say this sort of virtual fingerprinting is a fantastic way to establish yourself in the field. To stand out from the rest of the masses. To develop your work and your following at the same time.

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

…okay, so ‘Event’, might be a bit strong. We were going to go with ‘Spectacular’ but thought that might be a presumptuous. So we settled on ‘Event’, because ‘Extravaganza’ was too over the top. Of course now, we are thinking that we maybe overthought it, but at any rate, to come full circle, we present this pack of 14 circular vectors!

Do not repackage, redistribute or direct link to the download.
If you would like to share this vector pack please link back to this page.

Preview

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

Below is a collection of amazing artwork all in this steam-driven Victorian hybrid theme, that is almost certain to kickstart your inspirational engine. No matter who you are. So if you feel that spark of creativity begin to flicker and fade as the months heat up, then just dive into the steam!

The Artwork

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

Below you can browse through this collection of fine works from the corners of the field of photography. Perhaps you will not only be inspired by the pictures, but also moved to leave a comment either here or on the gallery from whence they came by clicking through for more great pieces from these fantastic photographers. Either way, take your time and soak in the images in all their glory…smell the roses, so to speak. Enjoy.

The Photos

The Sun is Also a Star by rad-ix

A Slice of Life by Gilad Benari

Maybe Next Time by PORG

Heaven or Hell by karil

Where the Wild Roses Grow by M-a-e-e

it came from… by impatienss

The Other Side of Twilight by rad-ix

Listen To The Sky by Hantenshi

Under the Red by justeline

The Nature of Love by PORG

Glory by realityDream

His Own Life by Gilad Benari

Moment in Time by Sortvind

Nostalgia by `nighty

Butterflies by CasheeFoo

Sunset by AntiSpy

Water, Land and Sky by AntiSpy

Just cosmos by CasheeFoo

Return to Twilight by rad-ix

What Dreams May Come by mrcool256

Hopewalls by iNeedChemicalX

Summer nights by closer-to-heaven

A Night To Remember by uberfischer

there you’ll be by justmeandmyfashion

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

So how can we ensure that whenever we step into one of these team brainstorming sessions that we are being heard, and not getting eaten, and that above all, the meetings themselves are effective? First we have to understand that brainstorming sessions tend to be different animals altogether from regular team meetings. Somewhat more mindless. Brainstorming sessions have less order by design. There doesn’t tend to be an agenda, or at least not as rigid of one as we would normally be working off of. It is much more about getting ideas up on their feet, and much more of an open discussion than most meetings.

So we need to approach them slightly differently than we might be used to. And not just for our own ideas to survive the oncoming horde in this mindless onslaught of creativity, but for the sake of all of the ideas being offered, and the overall project your team is working on. Otherwise, you risk some truly amazing ideas that could elevate your project and demonstrate the absolute best of your team falling through the proverbial cracks.

However, it should be understood that in order for things to run smoothly and ensure no ideas get precedence over others, the leader of the meeting is going to have to be more sidelined from the actual brainstorming. They are there to guide the storm, not participate in it.

Given that if the leader is offering ideas, then other members of the team may feel that the leader favors their own approaches for the project and might therefore shut down others before they are fully heard, they have to stand back and act as a buffer. Not a contributor. So it may be a good idea to alternate who gets to lead the brainstorming sessions for your team, that way everyone gets the chance to participate more evenly. Whoever is leading the charge during these sessions should be good at filtering through the rabble to hone in on those ideas with true innovative potential. They need to be tactful, and fair.

If you choose the wrong person for the position, then naturally your brainstorming session can become compromised, and the project will suffer. So you have to know your team fairly well to be able to choose your leaders wisely.

One thing to keep in mind when taking notes though, is that with the rapid fire nature these sessions can take on, being able to keep up with your notes accurately while not missing out on anything important can be tricky. Mainly you want to keep up with your own ideas in your notes, expecting the rest of the team to be doing the same. Otherwise, you might want to make notations of any other outstanding ideas that come out during the session as well, no matter who they are from.

Post Meeting Reports

If you have taken notes throughout the meeting, another way to ensure that your ideas survive beyond the chaos of the initial session is to send the team your own assessment of the session. Put together post meeting reports that highlight the discussions and ideas that weathered the storm. This can help the project and the team remain on track between meetings as well. Do the team a favor and let them know you would like any notes they took as well to be included in the report.

This is where the divide and conquer mentality can work out the best for the project and every one involved.

Taking Turns

Once you have split into groups to brainstorm separately, you can then meet back and take turns sharing what each group discussed and came up with during the time you were separated. This can control some of the tendency for the meeting to deviate down the path towards the unproductive.

This can also ensure that more of the ideas get heard and fully weighed before they are dismissed as someone else brings up their idea. As each group takes their turn, everyone is listening not just anxiously waiting for their go desperate to be heard. They know they will have their time just as you had yours.

Also, once you have divided into your smaller groups, it is easier to take turns within the groups to keep those idea exchanges flowing smoothly. The smoother and more focused those divided group sessions go, the better chance that your clearest best ideas get presented to the entire team when you reconvene. This adds a secondary filter for the brainstorming sessions, to help the better ideas rise to the top, and the less than stellar ideas fall by the wayside. So if the urge to let the rapid fire, mob mentality approach can be quelled, then this much more orderly turn based model might prove more effective.

Idea Swaps

Another way that you can use this group approach to further improve the output from these sessions is to include time for idea swaps. This is where each group, once they have settled on their best brainstorming ideas can swap them with the other group and see what they can do with those ideas.

Ways they can expand or improve on them, whatever. This can add an evolution to the ideas while still in the brainstorming stages, giving the project more layers and each idea more concentrated doses of creativity.

This also gives each group, and in turn each team member more individual time with each of the ideas guaranteeing they each process and digest them, rather than brush them aside or dismiss them. There are often times in these sessions when people get distracted, lost in their own heads, and in turn they miss out on what is being presented. But with this kind of approach, the team is less wrapped up in the anxious nature that can sometimes consume these brainstorming sessions, and they can each focus on what is being discussed.

Your Turn!

That pretty much wraps up this end of the discussion, but we are anxious to hear from you. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below on what you think can help ensure that you are heard above the horde, and that ideas are not being lost to the team because of the nature of the meetings.

More from this Issue

• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration
• Chrome : The Ultimate Online Workstation

Start by setting up Chrome sync by going to options > Personal Stuff. Sync is the first option, set it up and you can easily sync chrome across computers complete with extensions and apps.

Next check out Chrome’s built-in developer tools by pressing Ctrl+Shift+I. Play around here for a while and learn what Chrome can do sans extensions.

Then browse the Chrome Web Store and find an array of helpful extensions to take you beyond the built-in tools. Listed below are a handful of the most useful extensions to turn Chrome into a web developer’s ultimate online workstation.

Extensions

ChromoDoro

ChromoDoro is a great extension for any web worker using the Pomodoro Technique. A small icon sits in your taskbar letting you know where you are in your cycle. You also get popup and sound notification options to alert you to the beginning and end of break times.

Download Here

Firebug

For a long time Firebug was the one thing keeping web designers and developers from using chrome. That issue has now been rectified opening up chrome to a group of users it had been lacking.

Download Here

Incredible StartPage

Incredible StartPage replaces blank tabs when opened with a page designed for productivity including a sticky note for quick notes, your recently visited pages, bookmarks and apps installed in Chrome.

Download Here

Web Development Toolbar

Web Development Toolbar is another important extension imported from Firefox. I actually like the usability of the toolbar better in Chrome than I did in Firefox

Download Here

Chrome Sniffer

Chrome Sniffer allows you to inspect web framework / CMS and javascript library running on current browsing website. An icon will appear on address bar indicates the detected framework. Version detecting is being implemented.

Download Here

Chroma

If you are a Web Designer working with colors, and want to get rid of the hassle of launching Photoshop just for picking a color, Chroma is the right tool for you. Chroma is the straightforward way for picking a color and seeing its shades. It’s perfect for borders, backgrounds, gradients or just playing with colors.

Download Here

More from this Issue

• Team Brainstorming Sessions: Being Heard Above the Horde…Without Getting Eaten!
• Are Your Fingerprints Felt? Developing Your Design Signature
• Freebie – In The Round Vector Pack 2
• Get Inspired with Futuristic Steampunk
• Top Notch Freelancing : Outranking the Rest
• The Colors of Nature : Photography Inspiration

Not only did this impact the mission itself, but that burnout reached a bit farther than the boundaries of the project. Angie was somewhat spared a lengthy bout given that she had bowed out earlier on, but Rob had burned himself out nearly all around. He managed to be able to continue writing, and contributing to some design projects in minor ways during the duration of this burnout. It wasn’t easy, but as freelancers, it was necessary, so there was an element of just buckling down and powering through when it was demanded. But overall, he could not get back in touch with that inspiration for his design work.

I Digress

What made all of this that much worse, was that the blog at Dead Wings was undergoing some major conceptual changes behind the scenes, and before the burnout hit, we were really making progress towards realizing that concept and moving forward with it before the summer of 2010 was going to be upon us. So those major changes, the magazine format and style that the blog has now become, were put on the proverbial backburner. Then a virtual greasefire spread across the stovetop and totally screwed those plans up even more. Frackin’ greasefire. But that is another story for a different article.

Back on Track…and Then Some!

In the beginning, Rob considered this possibility of burnout, and actually thought he had devised a clever little way around that. He thought that if he chose a different focus for the designs each month, this would somehow help stave off the death of his inspiration. He was wrong, and apparently not that clever. For January, he designed an original Dead Wings t-shirt each day, and was really pleased with month of work. For February, Rob took it to a simpler place, designing a black and white CD single cover for some of his favorite songs, and was also pleased with the result. In March, however, he fell short on his movie poster designs.

Not as far as disappointing results, that was not the case. In fact, once again, Rob thoroughly enjoyed the posters he did re-imagine. It was just in this month however, that the odyssey finally died. But not before a final spark shone through that would light the way forward for the future of the Dead. The movie posters were not the original project idea for the month of March, no in fact, originally Rob had proposed doing another original Dead Wings focused month of designs. They were going to come in the form of faux magazine covers. This was the goal even on the first day of March when Rob followed through with it and designed the first fake cover.

But something kind of funny happened after that first cover was completed. It was a mockup based off of GQ and it was for DW (a Dead Wings magazine). But as he sat there looking over the design, which used some of our blog post titles as mock headlines, suddenly he had the urge to make another right then and there. This time it was for Dead Magazine, sort of like Mad Magazine, only once again using our blog post titles for headlines and some truly Dead Wings style graphics for the cover. Then he designed another and another. That is when he realized this would no longer qualify as a daily design project with four of them done in one sitting.

So Rob set those aside for the moment, came up with a new idea for the March edition of the Design Odyssey project, and did the first of the posters to put up at Behance. And it was actually a few days before he went back to the fake magazine covers that he had made on the first of March. It was upon this second viewing that we decided that something needed to be done not necessarily with those covers, but with that idea. The Dead Magazine covers were staring us right in the face, and yet we still were not exactly seeing it. The month carried on, and the fire for the Odyssey was beginning to weaken as we focused on trying to place this new idea.

The Circle of Life

There is that old tale about the circle of life…no, we are not talking about the Lion King. Maybe it is more of an old wive’s tale or addage that spoke about how in the circle of life, usually as someone dies, another is born. As if the lives were somehow taking the place of one another. This is kind of what happened with the demise of the Odyssey. It was almost like it had to die so that this new direction and style for the blog could be born. Perhaps because this new direction was conceived within the grips of the Odyssey, and so for it to be freed the Odyssey had to pass on. Or perhaps because we were just too lazy to pursue both.

For whatever reason, it seemed this somewhat grimly symbiotic relationship between them meant there would be no coexistence. And so it came to pass. Only the burnout factor tossed an unusually troublesome wrench into the mix, and began a long queue of disappointing redesign delays. It was as if the Design Odyssey was somehow demanding a period of mourning be observed and we were just unaware of it. And it was mourned. Though like most periods of grief, there were hints of anger mixed in. Anger at the burnout taking hold so deeply, and derailing our plans to move forward. And anger that the Odyssey went uncompleted. Anger at the failure.

The Experiment’s Conclusion

The initial theory that drove the Design Odyssey project was that this kind of continued creative muscle flexing would in fact lead to a burst of inspiration that would know nearly no bounds. But as it turns out, this project had the exact opposite effect. Again, Angie bailed out early, and so was not subject to the reign of burnout that Rob was, which as experiments go, was somewhat revealing. Rob pushed himself much harder and farther into the project and suffered horribly for it. This is not to say that no one can manage to come out of these type of daily design projects unscathed, or that no one can follow them through for the entire year. This is just how it turned out for us here. It had an unbelievable up, as well as an unbelievable down. What is your take on these kinds of projects? Helpful or harmful?

More from this Issue

• Freebies: Geometric Corners Plus Vector Pack
• Gathering Inspiration Magic : The Artists Behind Magic the Gathering
• Freebie: Vector Sugar Skull
• Networking vs Marketing: The Social Media Equation
• Designing a Cause : The Passion Play
• Showcased User Comments (1st qt 2011)
• Recommendations (1st qt 2011)

The Chosen Few

Thanks again for your participation, see you on the flipside!

More from this Issue

• The Demise of the Design Odyssey (RIP 2010-2010)
• Freebies: Geometric Corners Plus Vector Pack
• Gathering Inspiration Magic : The Artists Behind Magic the Gathering
• Freebie: Vector Sugar Skull
• Networking vs Marketing: The Social Media Equation
• Designing a Cause : The Passion Play
• Recommendations (1st qt 2011)

Designers to Follow on Twitter

@IconicImagery is an awesome tweep. Lisa is always uber supportive and super social. If you are not following her stream, then you might want to see to that.

Speaking of social superflies, another stream full of useful content and always friendly interactions is that of one @marcofolio. Make no mistake about it, Marco is tops!

@iamhenrym is another tweep that we had to feature in our first recommendation post with the relaunch. Henry is a fun and dialed in fella that you won’t regret following.

Speaking of fun folks to keep in your feed, jonbergan is a web developer and online friend from down under. @Jonbergan is another supportive tweep with bags of personality.

When it comes to personality in spades, another tuned in, and super savvy tweep that fits the bill is @sheenaoosten. Sheena is another designer who just gets it right.

Design Blogs

Attack of Design is the first blog that we are showcasing, and it is one that we are relatively new to ourselves. But in the short time that we have been following this fantastic blog we have fallen head over heels for it. Both with its wonderful content and wonderfully clean, original design.

One blog that is not so new to our radar, and that we hope will at least now be on yours, is The Web Design Blog. It covers, well, web design, but you probably guessed that from the name. With a couple of years worth of fun and informative posts, this blog is bound to keep you busy for a bit.

Speaking of loaded archives full of some truly inspiring and inspired web design related goodness, Web Design Mash is another blog that really ranks high in our feed. As a result we wanted to turn our spotlight their direction and tip our hats to this design blog that truly does stand from among the masses.

Outstanding Articles from the Community

Last month, Web Designer Depot had an awesome post that will hopefully get a lot of people in the community thinking about their professional behavior. Ethics in the Design Field, by Cameron Chapman. If you haven’t read it, know that it comes highly recommended.

Another brilliant and thoughtful piece that we wanted to call your attention to just in case it slipped by you, was published over at WebDesign Tuts+ and put together by Shaun Cronin. 6 Tips for Improving Website Accessibility explores ways to open your site up to the widest available audience.

Another article that was published recently which really struck a chord with us and we felt obligated to feature as a result, hails from our buddy Sheena Oosten and her blog. There’s Nothing Free About Freelancing looks behind the scenes at the world and working assumptions about freelancing.

Resources for Freelancers

TeuxDeux is a free online to do app for freelancers, with enhanced features for those on the go. Certainly worth checking out. Very simple and straightforward.

Readability is a brilliant bookmarklet that takes any site that you visit and can remove any visually uncomfortable elements, stripping the site down to a simple black and white presentation that focuses on, well, readability.

More from this Issue

• The Demise of the Design Odyssey (RIP 2010-2010)
• Freebies: Geometric Corners Plus Vector Pack
• Gathering Inspiration Magic : The Artists Behind Magic the Gathering
• Freebie: Vector Sugar Skull
• Networking vs Marketing: The Social Media Equation
• Designing a Cause : The Passion Play
• Showcased User Comments (1st qt 2011)