Archive for May, 2009
5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Business Overheads
May 26th
1. Recycle Paper
Yes, you heard right! You can recycle paper RIGHT there in your office.
It doesn’t matter whether it is your home office or a large corporate environment, there is always a way to reuse paper.
No, I am not suggesting that you load up all the shredded bits of paper and invest in paper presses for the basement (although there is a large market for fancy recycled paper – and you could probably EARN some money from doing that, and employ a few more people in the process), but I am talking about reusing accidental printouts, or achive stuff that can be ‘thrown out’ otherwise.
How many times haven’t you printed something out, only to discover that you either forgot to proof read properly, or run spell check, or it printed out only in 2 colors instead of 4 because some idiot did not replace the toner properly – anyway – instead of just throwing it away (and yes if I ever see you simply crumple that sucker up and toss it in the trash, I WILL be having words with you). You can easily take this paper and use the other side of it for the following:
- scrap paper for your desk (your choice whether you cut it down into neat squares or not)
- paper for making notes in meetings
- if you use a plain paper fax machine – you can load it so that the blank side receives the fax (although environmentally speaking you *should* be using an electronic fax solution)
- donate it to a playschool/nursery/pre-school or elementary school providing it does not have confidential or financial information on the back, because to a child a blank piece of paper is a WORLD of possibility
2. Insurance Is Mostly, Money for Nothing, Until you Need it.
Please do not go and get rid of your insurance just because I said that. You ALWAYS need insurance. However, in the current economic times (more so than ever before) we need to be saving our pennies. Make a note in your diary to phone around for a new insurance quote every month.
Insurance companies are keen to keep their clients, just as other insurance companies want to get as many new clients as possible. Most insurance companies will offer you some sort of no-claim bonus as well. However, I would rather pay less insurance to begin with, than rather hold out for 4 years for some bonus that may never arrive.
You can easily switch insurance companies and reduce your premiums as many times as you can get a reduction in tariff.
Please take note of:
- The fine print, make sure that they are not increasing your excess in order to reduce your monthly premium
- Make sure your coverage is the same as before, it is YOUR responsibility to check the fine print of the contract (no matter how boring and long winded it may seem) before accepting it.
3. Volume Licensing
This relates to software, and more for a corporate environment with more than one employee/computer.
If your company owns several computers, it may be possible to negotiate a volume licensing deal with whoever created the software you’re running (providing of course that the software you’re using requires a license to operate commercially).
4. Better Yet, Go Open Source
A prime example is to ditch Microsoft Office (I just heard a collective gasp from the corporate world in general), in favour of an Open Source product like Open Office or Neo Office. You will save THOUSANDS of dollars.
5. Even Better: Switch To Mac
It is a known fact.
Macs ARE better.
They cost less in the long run if you look at total cost of ownership, follow up training and software required to make it useable.
I still don’t understand why more companies aren’t making the switch. If I hear one more person say, Oh but Macs aren’t very good at running spreadsheets I may just have to slap them around the head.
Macs are better at everything since I last looked, and if you’re that much of a technophobe that you don’t want to switch because you’re afraid of learning a new operating system (you’re probably one of those people that still uses Internet Explorer ((shudder)), then buy a Mac. Because they can run Windows. Better than a PC.
Although be warned, a lot of PC users will try to tell you that “Macs are getting viruses now too” and then laugh in a stupid, neanderthal way, and you can laugh right back at them and say, “Yeah, that’s really only affecting the Macs that are running Windows.” I have yet to meet ONE SINGLE PERSON that has made the switch to Mac, and then run Windows on that Mac exclusively, because that would be like walking into a Michelin Starred restaurant and ordering a Big Mac and fries.
Plus, Macs are SO PRETTY!
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Design Work and New Directions
May 20th
As designers we love our work. It’s rare that we work on designs that we do not like, because we all have personal style, that is reflected in our work, regardless of what our clients want. The trick is to find that common ground with your client between what they think they want, what you know is best, and what works for them, and what looks best to you. Does that make sense to you?
Sometimes though we need to be able to drop what we’re doing, and go in a completely different direction if something is not working out right. I’m working on a particular project at the moment which is setting up a website (blog format) for a local printing company. The work has primarily consisted of optimizing an already established blog design, and tweaking it to meet the clients expectations.
The beauty of using the blog format is that we can upload and work on the content, and *then* tweak the design bits and pieces, without losing the content if we suddenly go off in a new direction. Which is what I found myself doing just yesterday. I’d been struggling with a blog header for this site for awhile, and getting it to fit properly, and get all the other elements to work together nicely. So I decided to take the plunge and stick in a fresh new template that I found whilst trawling the internet, and go for broke.
Sometime during the day after I installed the new template, and began to optimize it with customized headers and buttons etc, I got an email from the client, saying “I like what I see!”, so even though it was virtually a whole new look and feel, and it had been a leap of faith for me, it was clearly a step in the right direction, and ultimately a good decision.
Several emails followed with suggestions from the client, and I tweaked and made changes where they were requested, and it turned into a very productive afternoon. I worked from home, the client was at the office, and we had a perfectly do-able collaboration without so much as a phone call to one another.
So, lesson learned. If you hit a brick wall, with a design, take it as a sign to take the plunge let go of your initial work, and go in a totally new design direction, because the chances are that it will be a great decision and work out for the best.
Here is where the header from my last post (with the photo, and the mountain) has gone to. It’s totally different, but it works.
Now, one of the key design brief notes was that the business owners face had to be featured prominantly on the website. So when I went off in a new direction, I could not simply ignore that instruction, but I had to find a way to work around it. So I introduced a profile box on the right hand sidebar. Like so:
The reason for the prominence of the business owners profile is simply because she has been successful in the local printing industry for 20 years and her name is synonymous with integrity and great service in her business. To *not* have it there would have put the website at an immediate disadvantage, so it was imperative to make it a feature.
Beyond the clickable image, in otherwords linked to the profile box, is the story of how she originally came from Zimbabwe, (then known as Rhodesia), and grew her business from scratch, relying on sheer grit and determination to be successful.
I chose the textured paper look, and the ‘American Typewriter’ font type to give the profile box that retro printing look, a bit like an old newspaper. The story of her rise in business is actually taken from an article written about her a few years ago, so it all fits together beautifully.
Lower down the page, I’m using the ad-space slots provided in the template, for a completely different function entirely – to showcase the other members of her team.
This is one of the wonderful things about using the blog format for web design, because there are just SO many possibilities and opportunities to be creative!
Right enough talk, time for action, and it’s back to the grindstone!
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Blog Header – For a Printing Business
May 14th
Blog headers are hot right now in my world 
Well, I’m loving it!
This particular header is part of a web presence that I’m developing for the company. We’re using the blog format, for SEO purposes, and frankly, this is just the way that websites are done now. They’re not so much websites any more, as content portals! Using wordpress as our content management service of choice, makes it easier for the client to keep the information up to date and the webmasters happy!
Now, this blog header is particularly true to what the client asked of me. They were quite specific about the business owner appearing in the header (owing to the fact that she is well known locally and has loads of clients who ask for her by name) and that the header should contain a picture of Table Mountain, to ensure customers that this is in fact where the business operates from.
Here is a sample of the header so far. There are still some more details to add, contact details, address etc, so this is just the bare bones of it at an early stage.
I’ll update you as I make progress with this project so that you can see the final product being developed.
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File Extensions Part VII
May 12th
Do you know what the File Extension MOFF is used for? I didn’t until I did some digging to find out!
The File Extension MOFF is classified as the following: Movie, Video, Multimedia File Type.
So where is this file type used? This picture motion browser file is found on Sony Camera Hard Drives. At this stage, I’m unable to find any information on formatting or converting MOFF file types, or how to open it, whilst not using the Motion Picture Browser on the camera itself.
Also available on the website above, is a utility called “Driver Cure”. It’s available for free download, and will update your outdated drivers automatically. A useful little tool.
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The Ultimate Mac Office: Viewing Station
May 9th
Finally, a return to my ‘Ultimate (mac) Home Office’ series, I’ve missed it! For those of you who don’t know, I often showcase products that I myself would like to use in my future radically awesome home studio/design space/home office/zen den!
So for today’s showcase, let’s talk tv stands. Why, you ask? Why would a photographer/graphic designer need a tv stand? Elementary my dear Watson…
Every photographer needs an area with a plush, stylish sofa for her clients to sit on, with a whopping great LCD screen in front of them, so that they can view a professionally edited slidehow of their wedding/portrait sessions once they’re ready, so that they can fully appreciate what they have purchased, and to help them make buying decisions when it comes to prints/posters/canvas prints they want etc. The perfect time to do this of course is once the couple is back from their honeymoon, and really still in the glow from after the wedding, providing of course that the honeymoon went well.
They can also invite moms/dads/friends with to relieve their special day, and *those* folks might even purchase their own copies of the Wedding Photo Slideshow DVD. If you can showcase your work like this it not only looks professional, but also enables you to keep an eye on the news, or fashion trends or whatever you need to keep your eye on at work.
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Simple, Clean, Elegant Blog Headers
May 9th
Here is the last in the series of blog headers that I’ve been doing for a fellow blogger.
To recap, here is the progression of development…
We went with the basic idea of a navy blue, and orange, to fit in with her blogs current template. The instructions were to produce an 800×150px blog header that was clean, simple, not too girly, a bit edgey.
We headed off in a slightly more artistic vibe here with the paint splash, and a bolder title.
We decided to bring back the header to a less bold, slightly more feminine font, return to the orginal orange brief, and retain a sense of edginess by using a cosmic-type graphic in the background, adding depth to the header.
Because I like to throw out a ‘what if’ to my clients to expand their initial brief, and provide them with options, I developed this whilst busy also developing her specified brief. While it was well received, the ‘Bond Girls’ were deemed a tad too s3xy for this mom of three.
So we head back to the original navy and orange, and we introduce her tagline. However in this particular version, the web colours were a bit too pink, so I went and designed some more! I’m definitely doing the right job, because I actually like it when I get to carry on with a project.
So I scaled back completely, brought the header back to the navy, orange and black brief, and went for bold graphics on the left, with the clients font of choice on the right, and included the tagline.
At this stage it looks as though this blog header is the winner, although my personal opinion (which is irrelavant here, I know, but still) leans towards the one at the very top. Although I must say, I really like all of them, and would use various versions of these on my own blogs.
What do you guys think? Which one is your favourite?
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It's All About Branding!
May 8th
Yes, it’s all about the branding these days!
I saw two atrocious examples of branding today, while I was in the car, on the hour long school run in the morning. The first was sign writing on a car, which read, “Personal Branding Specialists” and the letters were all squonky (“Squonky” of course is a word specific to the graphic design world, meaning something akin to, say, Craptastic, or the opposite of ’straight’), and the squonky lettering was followed by a random logo, which was completely indiscernable, and worse, repeated three times, in various hues. It was totally an advert, which said, Whatever you do, don’t waste your money on these people!
The second example of bad branding, was an banner advertisement, at a traffic light, for a printing shop. One of the first things on their poster that they were advertising, was banners. This may have been the worst banner I’ve seen in months. The text, logo, and image were *all* over the place, and then some random graphic, of a cat, with enlarged eyeballs bang in the middle of the banner.
What the *heck* for? What does the cat have to do with anything? It’s not even as though they were offering some kind of special, which would go a small way towards explaining the cats enlarged eyeballs. But nothing. Yikes. Remind me to not use their services. Ever.
So what do you do, when it comes to branding?
You use your brain.
You consult with a professional.
When you need graphic design, you hire a graphic designer, you don’t hire a plumber. Of course if you need a plumber, don’t go hiring a lawyer. Use-your-brain.
Here’s an example of super cute, and functional branding.
Yes I’m talking about custom tote bags! These should be on every corporate and small business shopping list. They can be used as give aways to clients, gifts for staff, but either way, *everybody* can use one. With the war on plastic shopping bags being won, and the environment standing to benefit from this everybody should be toting around their gear in these.
That makes good branding sense.
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Mommy Cards!
May 8th
So you’re a stay at home mom.
Why shouldn’t you have a business card? Even if you don’t join the legions of Home Sellers in the Tupperware, Avon, Creative Memories vein, there’s still plenty of good reason for you to have your own business card.
Haven’t you ever tried to swop numbers with someone, to organise a playdate and been unable to find a pen/put the baby down etc?
Here’s a sample of one that I just whipped up, all of 10 minutes ago…
Anybody recognise *that* address? I’m guessing if you’re a mom, you already have that particular address drilled into your brain. I do! That’s why I used it on my sample.
So you see, you simply replace your ‘job title’ with your kids names, and your title. Other moms will instantly know that ‘Mom’ stands for ‘chief cook and bottle washer’ ‘24 hr on call person’ ’specialist fever reducer’ ‘chauffer’ ‘amateur sports coach’ and of course ‘She who cleaneth up all manner of bodily projections without fainting, gagging, running away screaming’.
So – who wants to order some? I will design them to your specifications
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More Blog Headers
May 6th
Here is a further development on the blog header of yesterday. Definitely, the “orange being too pink” problem has been solved.
It’s a far more bold statement too. I’m still going to develop this theme some more before finalising the project.
Remember you can leave a comment, your oppinion, or an order for your own fresh new blog header/button/graphic design job that you require.
Looking forward to hearing from y’all.
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Blog Headers are SO Fun to Design
May 5th
I’m currently working on a blog header, and I’ve loving every minute of it. We’ve been through several versions of it, and I feel like we are heading in the right direction with the design. The feedback from the client has been good so far. One thing to remember when designing for web, in particular, is that when you optimize a file for the web, converting from .psd or .jpg to .gif or .png your colour selection can vary DRAMATICALLY.
Take this…for example…
The graphic on the left, was a gradient layer from hot orange, to navy. It *totally* looks pink in this graphic. You have to really tweak your image mode, and web safe palette to reflect what you see when you save it as a web optimized file. While you *could* theoretically use .jpg as your blog header image file type, it’s not ideal for the header to take time to load, so using .gif or .png is really a much better idea.
Plus think about calibrating your monitor, that, is an advertising and graphic design necessity these days!
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