New Lakia Ross Creative website coming soon!
I am diligently working away on it during the small pockets of time I have between projects.
New look, great new features. The site will have lots of resources for my fellow designers and my clients, like free templates to download. Estimated launch date in 2 weeks!
You have a potential client. You send them an estimate. They cannot afford your estimate. So, you agree to adjust your price to meet their budget.
STOP!
Before you agree to a lesser price, be sure that you are not offering the same services for a smaller amount. By all means, work with your potential client to meet their budget, but pare down the services they get for the reduced price. For example, your original estimate gave the client three initial sketches and four rounds of changes. For a reduced price, maybe the client gets two initial sketches and two rounds of changes.
Changing your rates without adjusting your services does to things: 1) puts a welcome mat on your forehead 2) makes you seem disreputable to your peers.
Repeat after me: I am a professional. My time and my work have value.
My website is in phase one of a retro theme. Here is a great reference site for various retro looks.
It's happened to all of us designers. We are the third person to work on a project, and for some reason or another, the files on a brochure, etc. are not available. But, we still have to match that font. Now, maybe you are more gifted/attentive than I, but I can only identify about 30 typefaces by sight. So, what to do about those other 3 billion typefaces? Let identifont do it for you. They even have the font ready to purchase, after you have figured out which one it is.
I recently received a requested packet from David at The Press Room, which contained some lovely samples of letterpress printing.
Why letterpress? Daily, I am inundated with cheap, waterless-printed ephemera. If I close my eyes and touch each different piece, it all feels the same. Same 80# or 100# coated coverstock, same uv coat; I have an inclination for the tactile, and these no-budget solutions aren't cutting it for me. They are starting to look the same, also—too much info, too many colors, both sides overloaded with substandard graphics—not interesting in the least.
Keep it simple, keep it clean, and spend a little extra up front. I would rather pay more for a card that someone keeps, than have 5,000 business cards for $50.00 that people discard immediately.
I am in the market for new career opportunities. So, as I am browsing a list of jobs and their descriptions, the following line jumps out at me: “Professional demeanor and attitude required at all times.”
When did this become necessary to state? I mean, if you are adept at hiring someone and providing them a professional environment to work in, shouldn’t this be a given? Would not the absence of professional demeanor and attitude be noticeable in reference checks or interviews? Or in that initial probationary period?
Honestly, what I read into that statement was “Your work environment will be a seething morass of office politics, miscommunication, and unnecessary bureaucracy. You will be expected to unequivocally enjoy this.”
Needless to say, I did not apply for that one.
Conversely, I do know several peers who behave abysmally unprofessional (and blame it on their artistic nature). But, I could weed them out in the interview process in a heartbeat.
I do a lot of Powerpoint work. I am always amazed when people tell me they don't know how to use Powerpoint (what is there to know?). I am even more amazed at the people who do know how to use Powerpoint, and insist on using Powerpoint's layout templates to create their presentations. I could tell you why using anything Powerpoint has already set up is a bad idea, but Seth Godin tells it better. I am happy to announce that #5 on his no-no list is the only plague I have to endure with my “Powerpoints”.
