Graphic Design
Turmoil
Feb 16th
I am exceedingly grateful to be a work at home/freelance graphic designer.
Last week, my father passed away (rather expectedly, aged 81 from cancer). His funeral was on Friday.
The ensuing family feud (courtesy of my stupid brother) took place shortly after.
By the weekend I was over it, and getting on with my life. I took it slowly, and decided to really get ’stuck in’ to work on Monday. Except that in the early hours of Monday morning Reebok started running a fever. Monday night he decided to wake up just shy of midnight with mild croup.
Today, I had a major deadline, that I managed to keep.
There is no way, that I would have coped with the stupid stresses of the past 7 days if I was in some dead end corporate job somewhere in a dingy grey building, stuck in high heels all day.
I am convinced that being able to work in my bunny slippers is the ultimate gift!
Had I been prone to breakouts of eczema due to stress, then no, last week would not have been pretty.
However, I think that the light at the end of the tunnel is drawing near.
So despite my limbs feeling like lead, and trying to curb an overwhelming desire to pack my macbook, and camera and run away to Amsterdam, I’m doing okay.
Thanks for asking.
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Baby Shower Invitations
Feb 15th
There are a number of things to note when designing things like wedding invitations, and baby shower invitations. For one, they are intensely personal items that people (particularly women) have been daydreaming about, and doodling for, for decades possibly! This makes designing them a very different experience to designing say, a business card, or a brochure.
For one, your client interaction will be much greater, and the number of proofs sent back and forth between designer and client will be much higher in number. Be careful to always embed any new and unique fonts, because it may be that what you are sending, and what the client is viewing on their computer are two very different things. Better yet, flatten your work into a basic jpg to increase the compression rate and enable quicker email speeds.
Lastly, get your clients signed approval on the final proof before going to the printer, and remember to give the printer any new and unique fonts too, the last thing you need is 500 invitations with the incorrect font going out! Believe me it’s happened more than once. (never to me thankfully!)
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The Difficult Concept
Jan 14th
I have heard that when you work for a large design agency or ad agency, that your role as a designer tends to be more clearly defined. They have copywriters and editors and a plethora of other job roles to cover an advertising concept, leaving the design part to you, as the graphic designer.
However, when you work for yourself you tend to be more open to taking on a much broader view, especially during the time when you are trying to win new clientele and taking on the smaller enterprise market. It can be quite a challenge stretching yourself to come up with the catchy headline, the witty tagline, when it’s a product that you are unfamiliar with.
Well then, just like Helen Hunt did as Darcy Maguire in “What Women Want” starring alongside Mel Gibson at the fictitious agency Sloane Curtis, when she handed her execs a bunch of products and told them to test them out in order to be able to better brainstorm ideas.
What if your client is a local spa, and they’ve retained you as their advertising designer of choice, and they come to you with their new offering, which involves a facial, a manicure and pedicure, followed by an earth shatteringly brilliant colon cleanse?
Then they invite you try the package in order to better understand and brainstorm their ad campaign.
What do you do?
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Freelancers: What are your best work hours?
Jan 13th
Freelancers, designers, wahms, tell me… What are your best work hours?
For the past week, I have been really focused on working on my network of blogs and on generating quality content. This means that a single blog post can take anything from 4-6 hours to do from start to finish.
Sometimes I work on them for longer, days even, designing some related custom graphics etc and generally tweaking and retweaking the layout until I’m happy with it.
In the past I have always found that getting up early, like around 4am has worked really well for me.
I get up, put the old fluffy slippers on and shuffle through to my home office and put in a solid 2-3 hours before my kids or husband even wake up.
This week however, I’ve just been too tired to get up in the morning, looking like I seriously need the best eye cream that the world has to offer, but of course the work still needs to be done.
My youngest son is back at school after the holiday break, but my older son is still here, and taking up a lot of my day time hours. I love being able to spend time with them, but as every freelancer or wahm will tell you, that it is a constant distraction. No matter how many times I take some time out with him, I’ll get back to work having set him up with a fun task to do, and bam, he’s right back at me clanking, shooting, spinning in the chair next to mine and just generally making noise directly around me and making it nearly impossible for to concentrate on a single word.
So I’ve been staying up late nights instead.
I’m finding it even easier than getting up early lately. Maybe because of the increased caffeine in my diet? I don’t know, but I’m getting to bed around 23h45 and last night was just after midnight. I feel better if I push myself to do this, because then I can just tumble into bed afterwards, it’s not like then I have to get out of my pj’s and rush headlong into my day.
As for fun activities, today I set my son up with MS Paint, on my husbands old PC laptop.
I was *astounded* at what he came up with. I showed him a couple of the tools and how to ‘fill’ and then left him to it so that I could get back to work.
After about 20 minutes of blessed, peaceful silence, I heard the words, “Look here Mommy!” and I turned from my iMac to see what he’d made.
How old do you think he is?
He-is-just-four-years-old.
Did you see the smoke coming out of the chimney and everything?
Four.
I think I’m going to be out of job in a few months at this rate.
Kids, they amaze you all the time.
So back to my original question…what hours of the day do *you* work at your optimum capacity?
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Resources for Graphic Designers: Graphic River
Jan 11th
Graphic River is one of the Envato marketplaces.
A unique group of websites that cater to the graphic designer, and creative techies in general. There is something for every level of designer, and even digital scrapbookers.
Each piece offered for sale is vetted before it’s allowed into the marketplace to ensure that it meets with appropriate standards, and that there are not too many of the same type of item. I can literally spend hours looking at stuff, being inspired by some of the amazing work, and planning my purchases for the next month. They have a great way of cataloging the work, so that when you find a designer whose style you like, you can view all of their work and add your favourites to a bookmarks folder for viewing later.
Aside from the graphic river section there are other marketplaces (all linked by one user name and password) offering audio files, flash files, code snippets, video files, web themes and more and the payment method is via Paypal or by depositing ahead of time using Paypal, or credit card.
Whichever way you swing it, it’s a great place if you are a creative person, and looking for inspiration or bits and pieces for a project.
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The Freebie and the Beast
Jan 9th
Here’s a freebie blog header for you!
- Size: 660 x 175px (perfect to fit most blogger blogs)
- Format: layered .psd file (you will need Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to edit the file – or any editor capable of dealing with the .psd format)
- Font: Champagne and Limousines (or you can substitute your own)
- Cost: Absolutely free!
- Don’t have photoshop? Leave me a comment with the wording you want on it and I will personalize and email it to you with pleasure.
Now, just as I’m trying hard to stick to my design a freebie everyday plan, so too do I have my daily demons to deal with, and the one that I have to deal with on a regular basis is Exercise.
Exercise used to be my friend, my social outlet and my constant companion.
But alas, we have become enemies of late. Me for having abandoned her for so long, and her, for punishing me the way that she does when I try to reconnect with her.
Her favourite instrument on which to push me to my limits is the series of ellipticals that we’ve owned over the years. We recently purchased an exercise bicycle as well, and the two sit side by side in the entertainment room (facing the TV!). I must admit that the placement there, has been the biggest boost to my exercise regimen yet, because it takes my mind off the fact that my but is busy being worn away by the relentless pursuit of the body.
As a work at home mom/freelancer type, it’s important for me to remember not to sit on my butt all the time in front of the computer working as hard as I do, because nothing gives me a greater boost to my creativity and energy levels than a good blast of exercise.
Which reminds me, time to tackle the beast for today, because I know I’ll come out feeling great on the other side. Or maybe I should go for a swim…it’s Saturday, the baby is asleep and the sun is shining, so what am I still doing in front of my computer?!
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Design Wiblet of the Day
Jan 8th
This is a header that I designed for Photo Super Hero, which is a photography website dedicated to bringing you news about photography, great products, helpful advice all in one place. It’s been touted as ‘way less stuffy than other photography sites’ and I suppose that is because it’s written from the perspective of a photographer, who started by buying a DSLR and figuring everything out by becoming self-taught. That advice is passed on through the posts in order to help others.
Aside from that wiblet of the day, I have a ton of projects to get to including designing another blogger background for a client, as well as a business card mock-up. I look forward to when I can present my designs electronically to a client in person, in a swish ultimate mac office, complete with LED screens on
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A Design Resolution of Sorts
Jan 4th
I have made a promise to myself to design something everyday.
I’m not talking about stuff that I do for work, but rather just something.
A background.
A photoshop brush.
A pattern. A dodgy little compilation of free digital scrapbooking elements.
Anything.
Something.
Keep the juices flowing. Stretch the mind.
I have some pretty big, scary goals that I have laid out for myself like a bit of a gauntlet, and in order to achieve them, I really need to be at the top of my game.
I suppose it’s a sign of maturity, in a way. That achieving goals, is more important to me now, than merely doing a good enough job to afford luxuries like a Slingbox or a new TV etc. As wonderful as those things are, and as entertaining as they are, there are things in life that we need to keep in the bigger picture. I may be only 33, but one has to think about retirement, and what that might mean to ones income.
Yes. Very many large projects and goals to achieve this year.
I cannot wait!
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Free Blogger Background Fun
Jan 1st
Most designers will know, that the urge to create is mostly overwhelming. A bit like ones desire to say, breathe, or maybe eat. But not necessarily in that order! So this morning, I find myself just having a go at making a blogger background.
I think I may have spent exactly 2.6 seconds making this one, so really, it’s not my best work, or even near the standard that I would create for someone who commissioned a special background, but it’s all fun and games, and hey, it’s the 1st of January so I’m really just amusing myself, whilst writing down my goals and plans for this year.
There it is for those of you who are interested, by all means go and grab the larger size for your backgrounds if you want it. Consider it my New Years Day Freebie! If you do use it, please link to this post, or tweet it or something, not too much to ask for something free eh?
So I find myself at home on New Years Day, and naturally, when home, will be at the iMac. But this is a time of year when many find themselves on family holidays, especially in the Southern Hemisphere where we are enjoying really great Summer weather. In fact, I would go so far as to say that so many people are on the roads right now either going to their destination, or returning home, that it is probably a good idea for them to have a decent motorhome warranty or they may find themselves in a pickle if they have a prang!
Lastly, speaking of motorhomes and caravans, I’m going to the Top Gear show at the Grand West Arena later this month, and can’t wait to see Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond in real life. Going to be awesome! Especially if they blow something up!
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- The Difficult Concept
- Freelancers: What are your best work hours?
- Resources for Graphic Designers: Graphic River
Greetings from My Corner of Africa
Dec 29th
When I sit down at the computer to do design work, I’m amazed how much I rely on space. Head space that is.
Sure, I work with two little kids at home, so I need to be prepared for distractions, and they’re par for the course. I’ve become accustomed to having to leave tasks, to return to them, once the offspring are otherwise entertained, or asleep. What I am finding difficult right now, is the other parental unit, is currently on vacation days (and will be until the 4th of January) but I can’t seem to make it clear to him that simply because he is on vacation, doesn’t mean that I am able to drop everything, participate in every conversation and basically not do any work at all.
If I hear, “Are you on the computer AGAIN?” ONE-MORE-TIME, I may just run to the nearest hillside and break out into a fiendish blood curdling scream.
On another note, because of my freelancing status, and the argument I mention above how, when you’re a freelancer you’re *never* on holiday? Well there are ways of planning to supplement your income while you are on holiday, if you plan ahead. I generally have my finger in several pies, including a spot of online marketing, some web content production and numerous other avenues.
A new one which I’ve just discovered, which I wish I had found shortly after leaving university was a site that allows you to sell textbooks. Imagine how much cash you could regain by selling some of your old text books. When I was at university staying in residence we generally went and found a first year (or they found us) that was studying the same course, who was usually a willing buyer of our second hand stuff, but a site like this would have been so much easier to deal with. Click, ship, ka ching. I like that kind of ease of use and efficiency.
One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to use the services of business that make a real effort with their online presence (probably because I understand of the great deal of effort that it entails). Just the other day when I was shopping for a new iMac, I found a local (!) online shop that had 24/7 live chat (very rare in South Africa) and were able to answer my questions about stock levels on the spot. NICE. I will definitely send some business their way soon.
On that note, I hope you have all had a peaceful and fun festive season (whether Earthbound or not) ha ha, and I hope you’re looking forward to the New Year as much as I am.
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- 3 Hours Sleep
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- Decking Out a New Office Space
