Have you ever won something? Well once upon a time, late back last year I entered a state wide design competition here in Australia and I won 2nd place (you can see the coaster design below) and it made me feel so good winning, not because of the prize money ($500) but because of the recognition (there was a ceremony and everything) that I just had to enter it again this year but this time I am going for gold!

But before you get onto me about designing for spec (something I am strongly against) I entered this design competition for a good cause… it was to promote the dangers of alcohol in our state and our designs were to be distributed right across NSW (our state).

The Brief

Anyway, the brief was to create a drink coaster that explored the issues related with the usage of alcohol. We had no other guidelines except the dimensions of the coaster (95mm diameter) and that it was to be directed towards 18 to 25 year olds - the rest was up to us.

The Design That Won in 2007

Below you can see the design that got me 2nd place last year… my typography skills have improved since then, so please, no judging… I believe I got the prize due to the concept not the execution, after all the purpose of design is to communicate and I believe this coaster gets the message across loud and clear. What are your thoughts?

The Process

For this years competition, I had a total of about 7 hours to get my design completed as I had to express post the design to their office before the deadline. I only had this amount of time because I have just returned from my holiday and couldn’t do it before then.

Anyway, after some brainstorming and rough sketching I finally came to an idea I liked. I then did a sketch of the proposed design (see left below) which I then scanned into the computer and then hand traced in Illustrator (see right below). I probably would have drawn and traced the letters a bit better if I had more time, but time was not on my side, however, in saying this I was still happy with the outcome.

After this I coloured the words in eye catching red colours (they are slightly different tones of red) and placed the bottle onto a black background.

I then had to choose a slogan to go alongside the coaster of which I finally came down to the slogan “Take A Closer Look”. One must remember that the simpler the message, the easier it is to communicate. I then played around with locations of where to put the tag which you can see below.

I ended up using the one that you can see on the bottom right as I believed it was the strongest - what is your opinion?

After a few test prints and tweaking I was ready to create the back of the coaster however I will not cover the process of the back cover here.

The font I used on the final design was Helvetica Neau 87 Heavy Condensed.

Below you can see the final designs, both front and back.

As always, constructive criticism and questions are welcome.

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After nearly 2 months off traveling around Europe and Asia I am now back home here in Australia so a big g’day to everyone… hope you didn’t miss me too much :P!

Thank You

First off I would like to thank everyone for their support of JCD while I was away. I would like to thank the guest authors especially and those who joined in on the discussions as it is those who make JCD a better place.

JCD also managed to gain over 1500+ new subscribers while I was away so I also thank you guys for spreading the word, whether it be through social media or just word of mouth.

Back To Normal

Things are going to start getting back to normal meaning that I will be replying to all comments left on JCD (as I did before I left) however please be patient with me as I do have over 3000+ emails to sort through and business to catch up on as you could imagine, plus we just moved house and university started back today as well so it is pretty chaotic atm.

Anyway enough about that, here are some pictures and stories of my travels.

14 Countries in 44 days

Above you can see a map of some of the places that I visited on my tour and below is a list of the countries. All 14 countries were done in a time of just 44 days so it was pretty full on!

• England
• France
• Spain
• Monaco
• Italy
• Vatican City
• Greece
• Austria
• Germany
• Liechtenstein
• Switzerland
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Hong Kong

If you would like to read about exactly where I went and what I did I would recommend visiting the official Contiki tour page as it goes into much more depth there.

Highlights

To summarise 44 days and choose just a few highlights of my travels would not be fair as the whole tour itself was a highlight but to put it into perspective imagine partying everynight (yes, every night) and then having to wake up 5-7 hours later to explore a city and then doing this for 32 days straight… well you get the drift.

I also met a lovely lady from California too, however, I really don’t think we could have lived any further away from each other but such is life…

Anyway, enough about that here are some photos.

Photos

Want photos? Well I did have over 1200+ photos to choose from but here are a select 30 so as not to bore you :P. I actually also had about 200 more however my camera got stolen in Greece but luckily I had most of the photos backed up as well as travel insurance so I suppose it was not too bad. Anyway, enjoy.

The 46 of us who travelled around Europe together. I am at the very back.

Outside the Big Ben in London.

Posing in the good ol’ fashioned red telephone box.

Château Versailles, home to Louis XIV.

My second visit to this beautiful city.

Outside the Louvre, Paris.

Good times on the beach in Biarritz.

Enjoying a cold one outside Biarritz.

Posing on the French Riviera.

In Monaco (the world’s second smallest country behind Vatican City). This is outside Monte Carlo Casino.

The classic leaning tower of Pisa pose.

In Venice… it is extremely beautiful here.

Also in Venice with my mate James just before our Gondola ride.

The whole group outside the worlds oldest amusement park, Prater.

In a beer hall in Germany where I meet another Aussie with the same shirt as me.

In Switzerland with my ultra classy $2.95 Australian umbrella.

Setting up camp in the Swiss Alps.

Check out how low the clouds - we are half way up the mountain.

Posing inside the Ice Palace at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland.

Jump posing at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland.

Posing at the top of Jungfraujoch mountain, Switzerland with my mate, Jenna.

Inside a waterfall also in Switzerland. It really is quite beautiful there.

Inside a clog in Amsterdam just outside the clog factory. We saw how they were made.

Taking a ride in the countryside of Amsterdam.

Inside a club called the Church in London.

The Big Buddha in Hong Kong.

Tai O, a fishing town on stilts in Hong Kong. Quite amazing really. Pity it smelt like fish intestines everywhere.

Repulse Bay Beach in Hong Kong.

On top of The Peak in Hong Kong. A truly magnificent site.

Hong Kong in the day… the last day of my tour.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that. As always I will answer any questions you may have.

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In this guest article Chad Swaney* walks us through some techniques and guidelines on how to make your website more accessible. It is a good change to see something more technical here on Just Creative Design so enjoy.

One of the biggest mistakes I see from web designers is making accessibility more complicated than it actually is. Most designers think of creating accessible content as something that will take weeks of exaggerated tagging, designing tab-browsing and hot keys for every minute function of a site, and writing over-descriptive metadata, so most people just give up and don’t even bother. However, by using some simple techniques and following some basic guidelines, you can make your website accessible to a wide audience of users without spending too much time and energy.

I define web accessibility as:

Making web content available to a wide audience regardless of physical abilities, web clients, and personal preferences.

To simplify our tasks as accessible web designers, there a few specific categories that can be helpful as we evaluate some of the different types of users:

• Visually Impaired: Those with low or no vision. These users may use screenreading software or may use the browser’s functionality to increase text size and contrast.
• Hearing Impaired: Those with low or no hearing. These users will need to be able to see a textual representation of any audio that is part of the site.
• Physically Impaired: Those who lack the physical dexterity to use a mouse or a traditional keyboard. These users may use a variety of interface devices, many of which parallel the functionality of the traditional [TAB] key.
• Alternative Web Client Users: Those who may be using a mobile device, tablet PC, specialty browser (such as a retail point-of-sale device), or gaming console. The dimensions and orientation of the browsing window on these devices may be unconventional
• Technologically Limited: Those who may have low bandwidth or low network reliability, such as users in remote locations or in developing countries. These users may turn off the presentation layer to have better access to content.

To design an accessible site, one of the most important things you can do is to separate content from presentation. Remember, people are visiting your site for the content. By separating the presentation from the content, you are giving your users the ability to use whatever client is appropriate to access your content, whether it is a screenreader, mobile device, or tablet PC.

Content Layer

The content layer is the heart of designing an accessible web site. The content layer, which consists of everything between the <body> tags should only contain information that you want to directly communicate to the audience, such as text and images. Other than setting out the order in which the information is displayed, the content layer should not include any information about what the page should look like—that information belongs in the presentation layer.

Structure. The content layer should be structured according to the meaning of the html tags that you use. If you are already familiar with semantic code, this should be easy. If you’re not, you should check out Roger Johansson’s article on semantic HTML.

• The title of the page should be contained in an <h1> tag, indicating that it is the highest-level heading on the page.
• The site’s navigation should be contained in a <ul> tag, as it is an unordered list of items.
• Whenever possible, avoid using an <iframe>. Inline frames tend to confuse screenreading software and wreak havoc when trying to navigate a page with the [TAB] key.
• No formatting <table> tags should be used. <table> tags should only be used to identify tabular data, such as a financial balance sheet.
• Don’t go crazy with <div> tags. Unfortunately, as people have stopped using <table> tags, they seem to just be replacing them with <div>s. When a <div> does not represent a new content grouping, it is not being used correctly.

Images. Principles of semantic design tell us that non-content images, such as the infamous spacer.gif, should not be included. Images should be metatagged using <alt> to indicate their purpose to a user who cannot view images; unfortunately, some hyperconscientious designers will add <alt> tags that are so detailed that they become useless, such as:

<alt="a small group of people including a blonde woman with short hair, a man with dark hair, a woman with long dark hair, and a man with brown, long hair all on a light blue background">

Remember that the information you include in an <alt> tag will likely be read out loud by a screenreader, so a concise description, such as <alt="Team Photo"> is best.

Presentation Layer

Fixed Dimensions. Users may have an unusually-sized screen, or may choose to increase the text size in their browser. When you establish fixed heights for elements, it is likely that your design will break when your user tries to increase the text size. Avoid fixed dimensions whenever possible.

Color and Contrast. Make sure that your color selections allow text to stand out from the background so that people with low vision can read your content easily.

Dynamic Content. There are a lot of great JavaScript-powered, AJAX-style, dynamic techniques that can be used to make your site have a visually appealing, and functionally-useful presentation. When including these elements, always keep an eye on what happens when a user who does not have Javascript enabled tries to access the content or function. For some great techniques in this area, I highly recommend Tommy Olsson’s article on Graceful Degradation & Progressive Enhancement.

Usability Testing

Once you have worked on the accessibility of your content and presentation layers, it’s time to take a look at how your site might be presented to your customers who are looking it through any number of non-traditional means. The best quick accessibility check I have seen is the MIT Web accessibility guidelines 5 minute quick check for accessibility. It includes the following steps:

1. Turn off images in your browser (make sure image place holders are turned on)
2. Turn off support for JavaScript
3. Tab through the page, try navigating without a mouse
4. Try to change the standard font colors and styles in your browser
5. Try to increase the font size by using the browser (view > text size > increase)
6. Turn off support for stylesheets

If your site still makes sense after taking these steps, then you have an accessible site that can reach a very wide audience of users, and hopefully you will still have enough time left over to enjoy an icy cold beverage and read the Gaming section of Digg.

Other Resources

Here are some of the resources referenced in this article, and others that have great information about accessible web design:

• The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• Plain Old Semantic HTML from 456 Berea Street
• Graceful Degradation & Progressive Enhancement
• MIT Web Accessibility Guidelines
• IBM Web Accessibility Checklist
• Legal information about the U.S. accessibility case NFB v. Target

*About the author: Chad Swaney specialises in aesthetically pleasing, accessible, standards-compliant design that generates measurable performance improvement for learners. His specific areas of research and interest include: usability, accessibility, cognitive load theory, and learner-generated content.

**The owner of this blog, Jacob Cass, is currently on holidays and will not be able to reply to comments until July 20th however the author and the community should be able to answer any questions you may have.

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In this guest article Liam McKay* talks us through some strategies on how increase your creativity & productivity by varying your workplace.

Working as a freelancer may sound like an ideal solution to office life. You get to work at home, working for yourself, choosing your own hours and clients. But is it really that much of an escape from the office lifestyle, are you really getting away from it all. Too often people end up spending more hours on their computer, cooped up in a make-shift office, rarely seeing daylight and working in the same space they live in.

It can all get too much and you end up getting bored of seeing the same thing’s on a daily basis, and in a lot of cases freelancers end up returning to full-time work after realising that the working-from-home-environment isn’t that much of a getaway.

Working from home shouldn’t mean you are confined to working from your bedroom, who says you can’t work from somewhere else. The only person stopping you is yourself. There are a few things you can do to escape your daily workplace boredom.

Leave the Country

Editors note: Or state, if in Australia? We can drive for 1000km and still not get out of our backyard.

Yeah, that’s right… leave the country. It sounds drastic, but today it’s even easier than ever to work from another country. It doesn’t have to be permanent, it can just be for the duration of your project, be it a few days or a few weeks. Getting away from your home / office can have a great effect on your work.

This doesn’t have to be something you do very often, it can be something you do when you’re particularly bored of your workplace for an occasional treat and motivational boost.

Benefits

1. You’ll be able to focus more.

This is because there are less distractions that may come with working from home. But if you are on a holiday you can easily get away from any distractions and focus more time & energy on your work.

2. You’ll be more inspired, creative & productive.

Working in your office day in day out can just dry up any creativity you might have. Getting away to a new location can give your mind a new way of thinking and open your eyes to new ideas. Here are some ways to Boost Your Creativity.

3. You’ll be able to relax more.

Working from home sometimes means your relaxation area is also your working area. This means that you never really get a chance to escape the computer, or emails etc. Working on a holiday means that there’s always somewhere else to go or visit once you’ve finished your working hours.

How?

You will only need some basic equipment, a small amount of cash, and a passport and you are set. It’s quite a big step to take, but it’s something which could help release you from a creative block, and re-inspire you as a designer. There are a few things that you will need to do this;

Laptop

Probably this go’s without saying but the first thing you will need is a Laptop. Today the power and portability of a laptop means that working away from home no longer means you have to compromise on the ability of your computer.

USB Broadband Modem Stick

This is probably the most important part of the whole “leave the country” idea. It’s a technology which allows you to plug in a small USB stick to your laptop, and with a monthly fee of around £15 per month will give you access to the internet completely wireless in about 40+ countries. Including the UK, US, Australia, Sweden, India, Spain, Portugal, Greece, France etc & many more.

There are a variety of price plans, monthly usage limits and companies to choose from, but most are a reasonable price and have a large coverage area. It is important to know that connection speeds and availability will vary from country to country, but I’ve found that it is very easy to get coverage information from the makers of the sticks.

Cheap Flights

International travel is cheaper than ever. Budget airlines usually offer much cheaper rates for last minute flights, so you could choose a destination & book flights and a place to stay within a week, or even a couple of days if you’re not too picky. But if you think about it, it really isn’t too hard just to…

Get out of the House

This is something you can do on a daily basis, or just when you feel like it. It’s a good release and a great way to help you focus on your work. Using the same technology as above, all you need to do is find somewhere near by and take your laptop & USB Broadband (or WiFi), and that’s it… you’re set.

The advantage of this is you can really get your money’s worth out of your laptop & USB Broadband. If you’re going to work outside your house quite often then the small amount of money you have to pay for the equipment will seem quite insignificant in terms of the productivity and time you have gained.

Where can you go?

A quiet place near-by

Well, providing your USB broadband stick has a decent enough signal… you can go anywhere. A local park, a forest, public gardens, a field, the beach, anywhere. I bet there’s somewhere quite beautiful not far from where you live, just somewhere where you can go and not worry about distractions - how about the top of a mountain.

Obviously you don’t need to have the Internet to do these things, you could work off-line, but I think (given the technology is out there) that the ability to be on-line, communicate, send files etc. makes working away from your home/office a much more appealing option.

A friends house

If you know another freelancer, or someone in a similar position as you, it may be a good idea to work in the same place. The advantages of this is that it’s not going to feel totally alien to you, it’s still an office, but it’s a new office.

It’s going to feel like it did the first day you started working from your own room, you’ll be full of enthusiasm and eager to get stuck in to your new work place. It will be the same feeling you get from your first day at work.

Working with someone in a similar position as you also gives you the chance to get a second opinion, share ideas and concepts. It’s always good to have direct feedback from a different pair of eyes than your own.

Final Thoughts

There is technology out there that gives you, as a freelancer, a lot more freedom and options when it comes to where you work. I’m sure there are a lot of places near your house you could visit to work, literally hundreds of places.

There are numerous countries that you could visit to do your work in, and hopefully this has opened your eyes to the fact that there is a world out there, and working in a profession involved around working on a computer no longer means you need to stay confined to your office space, you can give yourself a more inspirational environment to work in, and the chances are, it can only improve your work.

*About the author: Liam McKay has a passion for all things design, but his focus at the moment is on designing websites & blogs. Visit his site WeFunction.

**The owner of this blog, Jacob Cass is currently on holidays and will not be able to reply to comments until July 20th however the author and the community should be able to answer any questions you may have.

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Time to give back to JCD readers! All you have to do is comment on this post saying what you DO NOT like about this website and why AND/OR you could suggest something you would like to see on JCD. I am doing this so I can improve JCD.

What can you win?

There will be one winner chosen randomly and the prize is also drawn randomly, hence the lucky dip. If the winner does not want their prize let me know and I will pass it on to another person.

You could win any one of these things:

• $100 from PayPal
• $50 from Paypal
• $20 from Paypal
• Professional Logo Design
• Blog / Website / Product Review
• Blog Header Redesign
• Go Media Vector Pack - Ultimate Vector Collection 1 - 597 Vectors royalty free. (Worth $523). You can view what’s in the packs here: Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5
• One month 125×125 advertising on JCD.

I will announce the winner around July 20th in THIS post so you must come back to this post to claim your prize.

Winner!

Congratulations to Harley of BaffleInc who has won one month 125×125 advertising on JCD! The winner and prize was chosen randomly by Random.org.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this post, I really do want to improve JCD and over the next few months I will take what you have said into consideration and make some changes. Thanks once again.

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In this guest article Kelly Erickson* comes back for a second guest article (find her first article here) and this time Kelly showcases 7 truly unique and inspirational female graphic designers with a brief bio on each.

The field is ever-changing, yet the rock stars of graphic design are still, mainly, men. Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the globe is in the hands of individual women… It’s time to see more women like these seven, making a mark with their own Vision. Get inspired!

Marian Bantjes: Step Away From the Computer!

Based near Vancouver, British Columbia, Marian Bantjes’ extraordinary way with communication begs to be called “graphic art,” in the finest sense of the term. Fabulous hand lettering is her trademark, demonstrating the power of a fine pen in a plugged-in world. A 2006 installation created with Stefan Sagmeister shows off her hand work in an ultra-modern context. Her spam email centerfold for the Vancouver Review will make you tear your hair out with jealousy. This is one hard-working lady, even when she’s riffing on a bit of junk mail!

Kristen Nikosey: The Art and Craft of Communication

Illustrator and graphic designer Kristen Nikosey’s work evokes Impressionist painting and Arts & Crafts style, with a distinctly California vibe. Her book illustrations are rich. Her pattern designs are meticulously casual, if such a thing is possible, with deep color that jumps off the page. In her packaging and identity work she blends today’s digital design techniques with her old-world sensibilities.

Janet Allinger: With Tongue Planted Firmly in Cheek

Irreverent humour in identity design? If you’ve got Janet Allinger to inspire you, why not! If the market can take it, this designer dishes it out. While she’s been known to do more traditional design, it’s her post-feminist comic stylings that will grab and hold your attention. Fun, funky, and a little bit in-your-face—this lady’s not afraid of being known as “edgy.”

Laura Smith: Reinventing Retro

While designer Laura Smith is at work, Art Deco will always find fresh interpretations. She’s done work for heavy hitters from Time Magazine to Major League Baseball to the U.S. Postal Service, and that’s just for starters. Classic, colorful, edited to only the necessary detail, her graphic images are nostalgic but never stuffy.

Louise Fili: Elegant Romance

Louise Fili has a special way with food packaging and restaurant identity design: the old-fashioned way. Her intricate illustrations and hand-lettered type grace brands from the most familiar, like Williams-Sonoma’s, to the most exclusive. As a book jacket designer previous to opening her New York City firm, she designed over 2000 covers, and learned the intimate art of connecting with an audience visually within a very small frame. Today she is also the author of several excellent books on graphic design.

Deborah Sussman: Urban Legend

Art director and environmental graphic designer Deborah Sussman has been creating legendary work for public spaces for decades. Deborah and her firm, Sussman/Prejza, have done interior and exterior wayfinding and signage systems for Apple, Hasbro, the city of Los Angeles, and numerous others. She may be most famous for her comprehensive graphics program for the 1984 Summer Olympics. She has a keen eye for both client and community needs, creating work that is imaginative, spare, and crystal clear.

Paula Scher: The Dame of Grande Design

Bigger is definitely better. Bold words wrap you up and pull you in. You’re hooked! New York-based Paula Scher, one of only two female partners at mighty Pentagram, is a graphic design rock star of the highest order. She’s also an author, a superb lecturer, and her work is in the permanent collections of several museums. Her clean, brash, and inventive use of typography has influenced a generation of young designers.

Barriers? Sure. Glass ceiling? Maybe. These ladies have their eyes on the prize, not the ceiling. As a result, they’ve busted right through it. Rock on.

Editors note: For some further reading check out this great discussion / article… Where Are All The Female Designers? or maybe check out the controversial article where Milton Glaser states that “Women will never be design rockstars“.

*About Kelly Erickson: I walk in the shadows of all the giants and emerging leaders listed above, and of so many more women and men. Great thought and design is all around us. Future rock star business owners: as the owner of VisionPoints, The Experience Designers, I’m obsessed with your success. For more writings about Experience Design, visit the Maximum Customer Experience Blog.

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Learning how to carry out a compelling conversation with your non-tech-savvy client is a crucial skill that all freelancers must possess, especially if you want to keep a steady cash flow.

This article will go through some strategies on how to talk jargon with your clients so you can maintain their attention and give an accurate picture of what they really need to understand.

Fish for an estimate of their expertise

So you know how much explanation is needed for certain terms, you must first try to determine the clients starting knowledge. This can be done indirectly by using “fishing techniques”.

For example, you could bring up in an early conversation a generic question related to your industry. For example, if you worked in the web design industry you could ask your client in passing “Hey, what is your preferred web browser?” or “What operating system do you use?”.

What you are trying to find out is if they know the basic terms of the industry, if they have a knowledge of the industry, if they have any experience with it, their tech savvy-ness and how they relate with the topic at hand.

Some more questions could be:

• If you worked in the graphic design industry… “Do you use Adobe Photoshop or any other image editing software?
• If you worked in the programming industry…”Do you subscribe to any RSS feeds?”, “How familiar are you with the programming process?”
• If you worked in the writing industry…”What are some websites / authors you read regularly?”
• If you worked in the illustration industry…”Have you ever worked with an Illustrator before?”

Don’t Underestimate Their Knowledge

Let’s imagine that you are a blogger and you’ve just asked another blogger if they knew what RSS feeds were? They would most probably laugh in your face or worse, get offended and that is what you must avoid. You can do this by not underestimating their knowledge. Don’t patronise them.

As quoted in Freelance Switch’s 12 breeds of clients and how to work with them make sure you balance the playing field by asking for their input in the areas they know about – their business. This will keep them happy and stop them feeling the need to weigh in on your area of expertise – which can waste everybody’s time.

If you’re unsure of their grasp on a particular subject, don’t assume they don’t know anything, ask fishing questions and judge by their reactions whether or not you’ve explained enough. This is even easier if you are in a face to face interview.

Keep It Simple & Slow

Once you know their level of knowledge you’ll start to gather an understanding of how deeply you must explain the job at hand. Explain in plain English, use examples, keep it simple, keep it slow and don’t overwhelm your client with technical jargon or over-the-top explanations. There is no reason to explain how you are going to do something, you should be telling them why and what it will do for the client.

Just think about it when you visit a doctor and he speaks with unfamiliar medical terms, don’t you hate that? But when he slows down, provides a good explanation in plain English and shows you diagrams from a book, he accomplishes his task of communicating with you more effectively. This is what we need to do as freelancers, slow down, provide examples and talk in familiar terms.

Talk In Terms Of Results

As mentioned above, explain to them why and what you are doing for the client not how you are doing it. Talk in terms of results - this will keep them listening and they will be more appreciative of the job you are doing for them.

For an example, trying to describe the importance of standards-compliant XHTML, you could say: “Standards-compliant XHTML ensures that the website’s mark-up is valid and supported by most modern web browsers which in the end means less maintenance and fewer customer support enquiries due to browser-rendering issues“. It is still technical but it gives them the results of your efforts.

You could also go for a more simple approach and say “I will optimise the code so that you will get the best Google rankings possible and make your site viewable for as long as possible into the future, by the widest possible array of users.”

Pause or Ask for Questions

If you leave pauses in between your explanations this will encourage your client to clarify or ask a question. Behave as if that you’re always willing to answer any question, no matter how simple or stupid it may sound. If they ever seem confused or remain silent, ask them “Should I explain further?” or if you’re writing via email, tell them that you’re “happy to answer any question that you may have”. Never make your client sound stupid. Period.

Put Things In Writing & Share Resources

Non-Tech-Savvy people like things in writing as they can read and re-read it at their own pace and get familiar with the terminology and even research the topic themselves. This is a great time to share with your client any resources that may be relevant. For example, you could provide a link to the Wikipedia explanation of unfamiliar terms or even provide an eBook on the topic at hand.

Use Familiar References

A great way to relate information to clients is by using scenarios and situations that are pertinent to their background. Be creative, make analogies funny, and most of all, use analogies to relay complex concepts. To illustrate with a satirical example: if you were talking to a photography enthusiast, you could say “using tables instead of div’s for a page layout is as bad as a decision as using Photoshop filters on your photos.”

Be Honest

Being honest with your client is a no brainer so try to be honest, sincere and upfront with everything that you do. If they ask you a tricky question, don’t pretend you know everything. Your client will appreciate it if you tell them the truth and that you will “get back to them later with a full solution.”

Conclusion

You may want to impress your client with the vast amount of knowledge that you have, however, if they do not understand it, then all of your effort is lost. Try to think of the doctor analogy I mentioned earlier… when explaining a concept, slow down, provide examples and talk in familiar terms.

Have you got any other tips on how you effectively communicate with not-so-tech clients? You can also check out Freelance Switch’s post for more tips from Freelance Switch readers.

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In this guest article Kristine Sheehan* talks us through her experiences of setting up and running an online based business with some tips on the way.

Taking on an entrepreneurial spirit and making an online design business a reality is a challenge to say the least. With so many design professionals out there, competition is paramount. But once you choose to forge ahead and create an ‘ink spot’ of your own it is not as difficult as it first appears. Here are some tips that I learned while starting my business, ‘The Merry Bird…pen, ink and design’.

Get out there

Utilising the web was the first step at bringing my online business to fruition. Blogging, building a website, and most importantly, offering customised ink works was how I really got my business going.

Become an expert in the field

Read, read and read some more… keep up to date on what’s going on in the technical arena as well as industry trends. Socialise with other businesses and swap idea’s. Borrow and buy books. Attend local work shops and shows. Read Just Creative Design.

Fly around the world wide web

Regular social networking is easy and fun to do. I fly into social networks such as Myspace, LinkedIn, Ryze, and other online venues to gain exposure for my business. It is here that networking with entrepreneurs and others got the word out about The Merry Bird.

Find your target market

Customers are everywhere, but the ones that are drawn to The Merry Bird are those that like something “real”, nostalgic or customised - ie. Mothers to be, Brides, and women between the ages of 25-50. Finding a target market is crucial to the success of your business and after you find out your target market you should find out their needs.

Ask for referrals…

Once business is in flight, I always ask my clients to give referrals. This definitely opens up opportunities to gain new clients and get more business.

The Merry Bird…pen, ink and design has been an online business for two years and I can officially say I have an ink spot of my own! How about you?

*Kristine lives in Connecticut, married with two children and has Studied Art History, Studio Photography and Graphics in the late 80’s and early 90’s. She is bringing her studies of art back into her life full time with The Merry Bird, after it being on hold for a few years.

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In this guest article, Alex Charchar from RetinArt discusses the benefits and his true passion of paper. It is a very well written article providing many reasons to make you stop and think next time you start a design. If you don’t have time now, print it out for the weekend or the ride home… I guarantee after reading this you will see a new light on paper and design.

The idea of paper facing it’s demise is one of the dumbest ever. As is the idea of digital ink being used as a substitute for the real thing and the magazine, novel and all other published matters becoming objects of the past, pushed aside to make room for their digital counter-parts.

Why? Because paper is perfect. Paper has a feel, a smell, a look and a vibe that cannot be reproduced, no matter how many pixels you cram into a display. It has attributes that cannot be bestowed upon any other medium. It is something that enriches our lives and minds in ways most of us don’t even realise or notice. Paper is beautiful.

Paper can be Warm & Soft

Paper can be warm. Paper can be cold. If the paper you choose is of good quality and you make it work for your project, it can help set a mood and feeling in your audience before a single word is read or a fraction of an image absorbed. A good example of a high quality publication using paper in a beautiful way is Dumbo Feather, Pass It On. If you have the chance to, it is well worth picking it up as it shows how warm paper can be. It is a beautiful little publication that has developed a loving following, which I’m sure is helped by the feel of the magazine as you make your way through the pages. The beauty of Dumbo Feather begins the second you hold it in your hands. The heavy, soft, recycled stock of the front cover makes you feel comfortable. It helps set the mood for the rest of the document—you just know that what you’re about to digest was crafted by love, with the audience firmly in mind. The stock that makes the pages is also a recycled one – a beautiful uncoated paper, with soy inks used to help round off the mood. It feels like a warm blanket for the stories it tells, like a gentle embrace. It just feels good, feel right.

Paper can be Cold & Sharp

Just as strong is the power paper can have when it’s cold and sharp. This is what should be avoided if you care about your content. Think of the trashy gossip mags the plague the shelves of newsagents and supermarkets. The cold, glossy, thin stock is like the popular group in high school. On the surface it’s awfully pretty and gets attention easily, but spend more than five minutes near this overly superficial gang and you want to blow your brains out. There is no substance to be found and you feel kind of dirty if you hang around it too much. There are of course beautiful glossy papers, mostly semi-gloss stocks with a slight weight to them. These feel like the kind of papers that are that soft mix of good looks and intelligence that are often used by publications, in which a high density and depth of colour is needed, such as art publications and, back to them, those gossip magazines that need to be saturated with colour in order to be noticed.

Paper Is Perfect

Paper is, above all, one of the closest-to-perfect surfaces on which to place your design. As graphic designers, we still look at the design of posters and magazines from 30, 40, 50 years ago in awe as their beauty and elegance bounce off the page. Paper is afforded this quality by not being a platform that is engaged in a constant evolution like that of computers, televisions and all other multimedia platforms. Of course, this is probably exactly why a lot of multimedia designers love their digital mediums – they can make things move and dance. Plus, there is always something new around the corner to wow us.

Digital Lack of Control

But for me, it’s the quietness of paper in its self that makes it special. It lets your words and your images live. It gives them a home, a couch upon which to sit, rather than a cage which is forever changing shape to be jailed within. A cage of glass, metal and plastic that it cannot escape. Digitally housed design is almost never going to work the same for the entire audience. Different monitors sizes, resolutions, internet connections, home-theater setups insure that the design process is a little more complicated when the whole audience is considered thoroughly. It is harder to give this entire audience the same experience—to view the content the same. Unless you’ve got the biggest screen in town, there is always someone experiencing what you are looking at better, which isn’t the way creative outputs should be experienced. It is the creator, the designer, who should be in control of how their work is seen, so the audience can give it it’s own life, instead of worrying about having the biggest monitor or loudest sound system. You shouldn’t have to do everything you can to squeeze the quality out of the work, especially with gadgets you have to fork out large sums of money for. With paper, we’re all on a level playing field.

The Difference of Paper

Print a magazine, it is always seen the same. Typeset a book, it’ll always be read the same. Read, study or flick through a publication in your favorite chair, on the toilet, on the train, at your desk, at the gym or at the library and, yup, you guessed it, it’ll be the same. This is an amazing insurance when you’re a designer. It means you know exactly how your work will be seen and you can control the way it is absorbed and processed by the audience to a much higher degree. Just because you can browse the internet on your iPhone doesn’t mean it’s going to be as enjoyable as reading the paper. Think about your audience and how they read. It is an awfully satisfying thing to crack the glue that binds a hardcover book or to crease the spine on a softcover novel. To get to the end of the newspaper and have it split by several cross-hatching folds. Paper remembers what it has been through, it leaves tracks that almost make you proud to see on your bookshelf, desk or bed-side table, rather than having hit up the same site on the 13th, 14th, 19th, 21st and 28th of March, as your internet history will tell you.

What you put on a page, stays on a page

An argument against our precious paper is that the elements that you put on a page, stay on a page. They don’t move, they don’t animate and they don’t make sounds—they aren’t interactive. Well yeah, of course that’s true. But most of the time, we turn off the audio and block the ads. And TV? The television does all our thinking for us. A good book that gets us to think is far more valuable to our minds than a box emitting light and sounds that tell us how to think, when to laugh, when to cry. Paper doesn’t need a source of power to do what it does. Once the pigments hit the fibers it is complete. Nothing more needs to be done. No power cables, no recharging, no monitors or keyboards. All you need is a little light and you got yourself all you need to enjoy your experience. And really, who says paper isn’t interactive? You pick it up, move it, fold it, smell it and, if something worth while is printed on it, it moves your mind around.

Remember

I do hope that you understand I’m being a little over the top here. Of course paper isn’t the be all and end all of delivering information and design. This is why radio, TV, the computer and the internet are what they are. They do things that could never be possible with paper. They give us continuously updated content at break-neck speeds, which is an even bigger step forward in our culture than that which Gutenberg gave us. But sometimes it’s nice to go a little slower. To spend a few hours here and there, enjoying the printed word over a couple of days, weeks or months. We can take our time with paper. If it’s on paper, it means someone thought it was worth designing, printing and shipping, which means it just might be worth looking at, might be worth spending a bit of time with. Not always, not even most of the time, but a nice portion of what is printed and designed with care, that ends up on paper, is something special in its own right. Remember that the next time you commit something to paper that it should be worth reading, worth taking note of and worth keeping. Otherwise you’re just creating more junk. Pick the right stock and don’t just use what your printer has in bulk. Pick something special. Something welcoming. Something perfect. Don’t cover it in inks, varnishes and cellos. Just pick a paper that already sings the tune you’re after and let those special inks be a rose in the pocket and nothing more.

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In this truly EXCELLENT guest article Prescott Perez-Fox* goes through the inner workings of the obsessive creative designer and shows how to effectively spot and get the most out of one. A extraordinary and must read article - trust me.

It is an unfortunate truth that in our society, engineers are underrated. Compared to the scientists, architects, and politicians they work with, the engineers remain relatively unknown and are just those behind-the-scenes ‘elves’ who hold the ship together.

Are engineers disrespected, under-appreciated, overworked? Is their role in society valued and rewarded? This debate is ancient, and it comes back into the light whenever something big goes terribly wrong. NASA scientists landed men on the moon, NASA engineers mixed up feet and meters resulting in the loss of an expensive satellite. You see my point.

What is A Graphic Engineer?

The design profession has it’s engineers too, and they are just as underrated as their sciencey counterparts. Their arena isn’t space tech or tall buildings, but rather packaging die lines and website code. I’m not talking solely about the production people, proofreaders, mechanical artists, programmers, etc., but rather those individuals who dedicate themselves to becoming Graphic Engineers. The Graphic Engineer (GE) is not identified by his job title or his skill with software, but rathey by his mindset, his personality, and his work habits. He is someone who views the world differently and approaches every problem from a slightly steeper angle of incident.

The GE is a valuable member of any successful design team, and a good engineer can make everyone’s job easier, but they’re not always easy to manage or to work with. Here’s how you might identify, and then accomodate your GE, to get the most out of him, and your team overall.

How to spot a Graphic Engineer

The Graphic Engineer:

Is obsessed with Details.

Not just the obligatory ‘detail-oriented’ that every job description in the world includes, these people go above and beyond what most folks would consider ‘a closer look’. Spotting a misused Em Dash from 30 meters is just the beginning. Editor: One of the 15 signs you’re a bad graphic designer.

Values the methodology, sometimes over the results or the time frame.

Embodying the philosophy that “anything worth doing is worth doing right,” the GE will go out of his way to ensure that any process is done to the letter, including documentation and feedback, which often go overlooked. He’s the one most likely to create immaculate CSS style sheets, even if it’s just for an internal login page. Table styles in InDesign, layer comps in Photoshop? Most likely put together by a GE. Best practices, after all.

Never accepts good enough.

Along with his obsessive nature, the GE has an overdeveloped sense of duty, and never leaves a job unfinished. For that matter, he re-defines the word ‘finished’, and will take those extra precautions to ensure quality. After all, it’s his butt on the line when something goes wrong. Just like NASA.

Lives in a world that always needs fixing.

Rather than simply striving to make the world more enjoyable or more beautiful, the GE strives to solve problems, correct errors, and iron out all manner of wrinkles in the day-to-day of our profession. It’s a very blue collar approach to graphics but show me where the leak is.

How to get the most from your Graphic Engineer

Now that you’ve identified your groups GE (raise your hand if it’s you! - Editor: You got me spot on!) , you have to understand a few things about how he works. Because GEs are unlike regular employees, a bit of tact is required to get the most out of your engineer.

Give him space.

This is both physical and metaphorical. Clearly, all GEs work better with a larger desk, larger monitor, more sunlight and square footage, and an ergonomic chair, but at the same time, I’ve never met a GE who worked better with bosses hovering and peering over his shoulder. In fact, that’s probably the easiest way to get shoddy work when you need it most. (Editor: Amen)

Ask his opinion.

Personalities aside, GEs always have opinions. And those opinions are often based on independent research, industry knowledge, trial-and-error, prior experience, and good old fashioned gut instincts. In other words, those opinions are valuable and ignoring them simply isn’t smart. GEs want to improve their general situation (they live to fix leaks, remember?), so their advice is usually constructive. Also, ignoring those opinions can lead to bitterness, depleted productivity, and the wording of those same precious opinions and ideas.

Let him rant.

Since engineers are often under tremendous pressure, they may need to let off some steam. (pardon the metaphors) So let them. Do whatever you can to get the most out of your GEs, even if that means shaking things up in your studio. Ranting often brings to light feelings and thoughts shared by many members of the team but why not let your hardest thinker explain why the current situation has gone pear-shaped.

Learn from him.

The engineer is naturally a teacher. By providing knowledge, he helps elevate everyone around him and thus feels less aliented. Also, this makes his job easier because the rest of the crew is meeting him half way (or at least part way). Considering GEs are often well versed on the latest trends, languages, software techniques, and professional happenings, you might actually learn something when he pulls out the “well, actually” during a meeting.

If you’ve never spared a thought for the Graphic Engineer, now’s the time. Next you need him to tidy up a messy style sheet, extend a poorly cropped photo, or a revive hand-me-down Mac, show a bit of appreciation and understanding. Graphic Engineers are the glue that hold together the gears of the creative industry. Imagine your life without them.

*Prescott Perez-Fox is a brand developer and designer in New York City. He blogs about design and branding at his site, Perez-Fox . He also happens to have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics with a concentration in Aerospace, but that’s hardly relevant.

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Here are 6 Adobe Photoshop tips and tricks that you probably don’t know about (I bet you don’t know at least one). This post comes after hearing the reactions from some of my fellow students in class when they found out about some of the options available that they never knew about.

1. Refining a selection

After you make a selection in Photoshop you can easily edit the selection using refine edge in the top toolbar. You must try this out, it is very useful!

2. Hidden Options Behind Arrows

I am amazed by how many people do not know about these tiny little arrows that hold so many more options! These tiny arrows are pretty much on every tool bar across the whole Adobe Suite. I assure these arrows will open you up to a whole new world.

3. Blending Options

If you right click on a layer in the layers toolbar, and then click blending options this will bring you to a whole vast array of effects that will keep you busy for hours. Use these options very sparingly.

4. Resist The Urge to use the filter gallery, especially the lens flare.

Not so much of a ‘tip’ but more ‘helpful advice’… but yes you heard me, do not use the filter gallery. Design is not filter effects and it never will be. Also please resist adding lens flare to your work, as well as rainbow gradients, embossed type and drop shadow unless you know how to use it well. You may want to check out 15 Signs Your a Bad Graphic Designer. NB. Rules can be broken.

5. Layer Blending Modes

Once you master the blending modes in Photoshop you can pretty much ‘own’ photoshop. Open up the layers palette, select a layer and click the downwards arrow where it says Normal. Try experimenting with different blending modes on different layers, put layers above or below other layers, change the opacity and so fourth and you will be amazed!

6. The best tip of all…

Practice. You can do this by doing tutorials or watching videos or experimenting on your own. Practice, practice, practice!

In my own personal experience I have found that if I find a design piece or style that I really like, I search the net and magazines for tutorials on how to recreate that effect and try to adapt it to my own personal project and style… I find this a great way to learn. Also if you ever need help, check out Adobes Help function in the programs and also write questions on forums (or blogs)… people will be more than happy to help you out!

Is this article worthy of a stumble or designfloat? How many of these did you know about?

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In this guest article, Jeffrey Way* talks us through the problems associated with being a lone freelancer when competing against the big brick and mortar design companies. He then shows us that we can actually compete against these large design studios by providing the best customer experience possible.

Let’s face it, being a freelancer is just plain tough. In what other arena is one person responsible for answering the phones, balancing the books, paying the bills, designing the website, creating the graphics, and working with the customers throughout the entire process? Yet, despite our amazing ability to juggle all of these duties, we still face one large barrier. We don’t have that glowing brick building that somehow screams, “We are a successful company!” As a result, it can be difficult to “capture” large clients.

We Have To Beat the Big Guys

Today, freelancers are becoming more and more prevalent. Why not? It is a fantastic job. We set our own hours, we take on only the jobs that we desire, we have artistic freedom, etc. But, the biggest gripe I hear repeated time and time again is the fact that the main client pool consists of people with tiny budgets. You also may want some tips on how to get your first job.

We’ve all done the local work for far less than we would normally charge. We’ve all received the email from the guy that needs an E-Commerce website for $200.” We’ve all had the regrettable experience of taking a job against our better judgment. When our stomachs are screaming, “Don’t accept this job!”, we ignore it and must ultimately deal with the repercussions: the man with the $150 budget for business cards that expects you to work around the clock; the person who promised he would pay you only to suddenly change his mind a week later. Do you know how much the average graphic designer earns?

Quite simply, the small jobs don’t pay the bills. In order to succeed, we have to beat the big guys. Who are the big guys, you ask? I’m talking about the established design firms in those “brick buildings” that do exquisite work. But, how do you stand out when you’re the shortest guy in the room?

What can we offer that they can not?

To truly be content and financially secure as a freelancer, we must be able to grab the large clients. But bottom line, why would a financially stable company go with a freelancer when they can easily choose a more reputable firm? To answer these questions we must look at our strengths.

What can we offer that they can’t? There are a few constants. First, we most likely won’t be able to out-perform a team of designers as far as “chops” are concerned. I believe we can equal that level of quality, but won’t be able to stand out in this respect. Second, we can out-price them, but cost typically isn’t as big an issue with large corporations. So, how do we beat the design firms?

Customer Service

Think to yourself: What is my main gripe, as a consumer, with large companies? My first thought goes to my bank. I called them recently to remove an erroneous error only to be put on hold for thirty minutes. When I finally did speak with a human being, he most likely lived in another country and had little, if any, interest in my situation. They, like many large companies, have terrible customer service! We can use this to our advantage.

Nine times out of ten, a prospective client doesn’t know exactly what he wants. He doesn’t know the jargon or even how to communicate a semblance of what his company desires. This is where we can rise above the larger design firms.

Act As a Guide

It may require a bit more work, but it ultimately gets us the contract. New clients are weary about the entire process. It is foreign to them. If we act as a guide, we can take their hand from beginning to end and provide them with the comfort of knowing that someone is looking out for them every step of the way.

If they have a question, they can directly call us - no receptionists, no programmer that doesn’t know the full details, just one person. In my experience, this has been vital to my success.

I’m a firm believer that customer service is what has gotten me every single big client that I have. There will always be an individual or company that can do the job better. As much as this agitates me, I accept it. To stand out, we must focus on our unique “freelancer” strengths.

Use Deadlines to Your Advantage

What you’ll find, if you haven’t already, is that deadlines are a very real issue with corporate clients. They must have a job completed by a certain date, no questions asked. The only problem is that they very rarely have all their ducks in a row.

They have sudden changes that come from corporate which require immediate revisions. Who is going to make these changes in the middle of the night in time for that presentation Monday morning? They know that the successful Firm X designers won’t be at work until Monday morning. But, Freelancer Y is a single ring away and will be happy to fix it at midnight. Yes, I’m talking about you, fellow freelancers!

How do I personally get big clients?

How do I personally “reel” in a big fish? First, I will work on weekends when the bigger firms are closed. Second, I will give a client my personal number and tell them to call me immediately if they think that they might have a question. Third, I’ll pick up the phone on the first ring - whether that is at two in the afternoon or four in the morning. When a client knows that he can rely on you no matter what, you begin to stand out in a big way! Editors note: First ring is pretty freaky!

I will close with a portion of an email that, just a few weeks ago, secured a very large client’s business.

“I truly hope you’ll consider me. If you have not already heard from other divisions in your organization, I will be personally available to you 24/7. If you need a quick change to the site at 10:00 at night, it’ll be taken care of. If you need me to communicate with your print designer in the very early morning, it will be taken care of. Relieving you of as much stress as possible is my goal - and I always achieve it.” Please don’t hesitate to call me personally if you have any questions. I’ll hope to work with you soon.

The client called me later (without ever being put on hold, I might add) that day and said, “Let’s do it!” Was it my “web chops” that got me the job? Nah, any developer can code a site. My “customer service chops” got me the job.

*Jeffrey Way runs DetachedDesigns, and has had clients ranging from Nashville Music Publishers to Harvard University.

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