So, check out what we were able to make for him.

Keep in mind, this doesn’t just happen overnight. This was the third revision we made to the header before finally getting it right. And that was AFTER we sketched out different ideas about how the header might look.

And this is only scratching the surface! Alex and I had a folder FULL of different colour schemes that we felt might fit well the product. Not to mention, all of the logos we came up with:

Just a little taste of the time and effort it takes to find the right look for whatever you’re designing!

So, I ask, fellow designers – I’m super curious, does your process look similiar to ours? What works for you and what doesn’t? Do you have a creative solution for coming up with ideas that you think nobody else has? Tell me your secrets! (I promise I won’t tell.)

Other fine readers, what do you think? Does any of this surprise you or can you relate in something that you do in your own life? Let’s talk about it.

I’m always interested to hear about other people’s experiences and opinions. Chatting is lovely. Let’s do it!

And, of course, thanks for reading!

March 30th is the day. We still need donations. Please, if you can spare a dollar, it matters. It all matters! Let’s find a cure so nobody has to suffer through cancer ever again!

Also, for anyone who donates, we’ll send you a custom made thank you card! Please consider anything you can afford. It really is for a good cause.

Check out the link here to donate.

Don’t you want to see me bald? C’mon! You know you do!

Anyway, I love Duneland Counseling Center but I don’t love their website. I felt that it truly needed some updating. It doesn’t reflect the professionalism of the organization. These people truly care and know what they’re doing.

So, I made a redesign that I hope to offer to them. Take a look.

What do the think? What would you have done differently? Leave me a comment below!

See the difference?

This is the same text (Arial). The same size (150pt). The same color (#FFFFFF). Yet, the bottom one obviously looks much more professional.

The first one, was just typed out. I just opened a document and typed out the name. The other one, had much more work into it to make the letters spaced out just right. Designers take a good amount of time and energy on details like this that people may not notice conciously, but subconciously, people can tell if it looks professional or not. They can’t explain WHY, they just can.

I mean, think about it. Have you ever been in a store and looked at the packaging and thought the product seemed shady, like it couldn’t be trusted, or like it would just break after a few uses? You don’t want anyone thinking that way about what YOU’RE selling!

So, as always, I urge you to hire professionals!

Did you find my example above interesting or eye-opening? Let me know in the comments!

I’m a firm believer that if you have any sort of service or product in which you want people to give you money for, you need to prove that your work is worthy and that you are trustworthy. In other words, you need to prove that you and your company ARE quality.

In case you’re new here, my partner, Alex, and I are designers. Being designers, we’re very aware of the design that surrounds us in almost every aspect of our lives. I don’t know about most people, but I never took notice of so much before I took on this profession!

Sometimes Alex is more observant that I am. Alex’s mom went on a business flight to Europe last month. As we went to pick her up from the airport, she handed us two little pieces of chocolate that she had received on the flight.

Me, I ripped that wrapper off and ate it. Swiss milk chocolate? Yes, please!

But Alex took notice of the wrapper as he was savoring his thank you gift.

The outside was a simple red with white text stating “THANK YOU FOR FLYING SWISS”

Incredibly smart advertising right there. For a few reasons.

First, they give away something for free in return for your patronage, something that most people enjoy and it doesn’t cost them a lot. But people love to receive things for free and it may help people to become returning, loyal customer.

Second, using Swiss chocolate for Swiss Air. Could have used German chocolate. But why would they? They’re Swiss Air and they want you to remember it. It’s another reminder of the company and a simple and smart marketing tool.

Third, everything about the wrapper screams “LOOK AT US! THINK OF US! REMEMBER US!” The colors, red and white, make up their color scheme for their logo and everything they use to promote themselves to help create brand recognition.

But the thing we were most amazed about, was the inside of the wrapper. There, closest to the chocolate, was a pattern made up of their logo repeating over and over again. Such a simple little touch that is really important and says that they are quality. This is stated subconsciously to most, for only really observant people or individuals in a advertising field would really take much notice of the inside of a wrapper.

But subconsciously or not, they want their branding to say “quality” in order to make “quality” synonymous with their company. And if this company is quality in their branding, that they take care of the littlest of details, doesn’t that hint that the company itself is quality and will take care of every little detail or concern you may have?

Not saying if it is or it isn’t. Personally, I’ve never flown Swiss Air. But, based on their design, I make assumptions. Everyone does. This is why quality matters regarding everything you put out for the world to see. For the world picks up on little subliminal cues. These cues may say, “This looks really cheap. This company is probably really cheap, so they probably don’t know what they’re doing or going to rip me off,” or saying “Wow! This looks fantastic! If they look this nice, think what they can offer me!”

So, what do you think? Have any stories where the little things mattered to you? Have you ever consciously based a purchase based on a poster design, package design, or something similar? Let me know in the comments! I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

All design is not created equally.

Since I’m only speaking from my personal standpoint, I can only know this to be true as far as graphic design, web design, and interactive design goes.

But, I’m SURE it can be said about any type of design. Interior Design. Floral Design. Architecture.

For that matter, I’m SURE it can be said just about any skilled trade, service or talent someone offers.

This post is written not just for someone getting individuals searching on how to find a good designer, but for designers as well. New designers, learn this lesson and stick to it. Experienced designers, we need to be together on this united front and educate others about this lesson.

Designers have A LOT of competition out there. There are sites that offer site templates for super ridiculously cheap. There are sites that allow people to bid on a proposal and the customer can pick the designer with the lowest bid. There are sites where people want to have designers make a design for them FIRST and THEN they’ll pick which one they like best. (BTW, spec work is totally unethical but that’s for another post. C’mon, would YOU do work for free?)

That’s just the start. Then we get into people in your town. There’s a kid down the street who knows Photoshop and is offering to make a logo for $20. Maybe that person downtown with an actual office went to school for design, knows a thing or two about how to make something, but still doesn’t know all that goes into design. Charges $50 for a logo. A little more than that high school kid, but still dirt cheap. How are you supposed to compete?

I am currently living in a small town called Chesterton, Indiana. I like it here, but it’s small. I’m from a small town outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I know a thing or two about small towns.

The problem I have with small towns, is that 80% of them don’t know anything about what looks good. Wouldn’t know a good design if it punched them. So why wouldn’t they choose the $50 logo over your $1,000 logo? To them, it’s all about price.

If you’re a designer, it’s frustrating, I know. But I’m here to help. If you don’t read anything else here, read this. Read it twice.

DO NOT LOWER YOUR PRICES.

If you’re a potential customer, looking for a design, read this.

If you want anything good, you’re going to have to pay for it.

Let me explain.

Designers, it may seem tempting to lower your rates to fit in with the rest of the crowd and to compete. But you know, deep down, your work is worth more. Hours of hard work put in to making each design you lovingly create. Not only that, if you lower your prices, you’re not only hurting yourself, you’re hurting the whole industry. Read the industry standards. Find them and know them and go by them. It’s the responsible thing to do .

If you’re worth it, prove it. Don’t back down. Tell them. Stress it. Believe it. Your designs cost more because you are worth it and your customers will get their money’s worth.

Customers. Okay, so you CAN get some good things for cheap. Cereal for instance. But, most things live by the old saying, “You get what you pay for.”

Don’t just take my word for it, check out this really smart article about no-no’s when trying to save money, from Lifehacker. Take note particularly of number five: “Buying the Cheapest Products to Save Money.”

But, don’t get me wrong. You want to make sure you’re not getting ripped off. It’s good for you to do your research of designers before you hire. It may be in your best interest to review the industry standards yourself. Make sure whomever you decide to work with, you get everything in writing and the contract is signed by both parties. But, know this: if you pay $10 for a logo, website, anything regarding design, your customers can tell. And that cheap looking design reflects you and your product, business, whatever it may be.

Design is not just throwing things together. Design is part math, color theory, typography, psychology, and art. Research goes behind every design to make sure it’s accurately representing the brand and successfully accomplishing your goal of making you money. That is, if the designer is competent and knows what they’re doing. You have to pay more for that.

Oh, and also, if you’re running your own business, design work may be tax deductible. That’s always awesome, right?

Conclusion: You get what you pay for.

If you forget this lesson, you’re doomed to regret it.

#SOPASTRIKE

Learn more: SopaStrike.com

Places/Things that inspire me include:

• Museums
• Traveling to new places
• Watching movies about people that inspire me
• Going to art shows
• Going to the library

Sure, I could look at art in my own home and still feel inspired, but I get so much more by being out in the world experiencing it. The whole atmosphere of being in a museum is very motivational to me, making me want to get off my butt and create something. Same goes with all of the other things I mentioned.

My partner, he shares some of the same things that encourage me to get moving, but also has some of his own. For example, when he finds out about someone that makes him jealous, it just pushes him harder to work and get to same level of accomplishment of that person. That just doesn’t work for me.

So, when I can’t get out to the museum or art shows, I do the next best thing. I bring what I enjoy to me. Sure, it’s still not the same, but sometimes you have to work with what you have.

Look around at life! Enjoy life! So take pictures of things you like! Write them down! Take notes and keep them to look at when you have a block and you can’t seem to accomplish anything at all.

I use Evernote and take pictures of designs I like out at grocery stores or anything else. Check out my pictures:

Jen Inspriration

I think this can work with anyone with anything that inspires them. My passion is art, music, creativity, learning, etc. So, places that have these things on display are the places that I enjoy being. But, other’s passions may be writing, performing, dancing, stamps. Anything. And you don’t have to spend lots of money to find these things out in everyday life.

Find out what inspires you.

Already know? Let me know in the comments below. And let me know what plan you have when you’re not feeling quite so inspired!

I’m super excited about the opportunity, personally. I’ve never shaved my head before and not only am I excited about helping a good cause, but on a more selfish note, I’m excited about getting a fresh start with my hair. I see it as a new adventure.

But I’m wondering, what steps should I take after I shave my head to get my hair looking and staying nice as it grows? And what sort of hats should I buy to keep my poor head warm? Unfortunately, I don’t think my Adventure Time hat will be enough!

More information soon on how to donate to this worthy cause!

I’ve never been big on New Year Resolutions necessarily. This is the time of year to discuss such things, but I work on goal planning year-round. I love staying busy. I love feeling the results, knowing that my day has been productive, and am now at least a few steps closer to accomplishing my life goals. Ya know, Life Goals. Like the Sims 3. And I’m not allowing any room for failure.

Not to say I might not stumble along the way.  That happens to the best of us. But I will never give up on making what started out as dreams, a reality.

How does one do that? I’ve personally got a few theories.

As Dr Phil puts it, “The difference between a dream and a goal is a time line and an action plan“. That’s why I write down everything I plan to accomplish. I make a list of my Life Goals. I make a list of yearly goals that lead me accomplishing my Life Goals. I make a list of smaller goals that lead me to accomplishing my yearly goals, which lead me to my Life Goals. The smaller steps may seem redundant but sometimes those Life Goals may seem so huge and out of reach,  but taking it a step at a time and rewarding yourself along helps everything become much more attainable.

Another reason for writing so much, is just to get it out of my brain. Like Dumbledore, I need a pensieve because my head just can’t hold everything. But since they’re so hard to find, when my head starts to hurt from everything I’m trying to remember for the day, I take the weight off it’s brainy shoulders and write it down.

Along with that, I’ve started to incorporate the ideas from this LifeHacker article  ”Seriously, Stop Sabatoging your 2012 goals“. Basically, I’m getting even more specific and creating DAILY goals, some that stay the same from day to day, some that are specific to the situation, making a checklist and printing them out. I hate to use the paper, but if you’re like me, it’s very easy to ignore the goals made if it’s not in some sort of psychical form. I mean, seriously, I love Wunderlist, but it’s so easy just not to open it up and pretend like I forgot it ever existed.

Another idea that I love to use to keep me going, it to get someone to help keep you accountable. Sure, I have to be sure to hold MYSELF accountable, make it so that I can see my steps and what I need to do next. But, it never hurts to have someone there to kick your butt a little when you lose that motivation.

Perhaps one of the most important of all, no matter what strategy works for you, you have to stay positive! It’s hard to be successful if you don’t believe inside that you can create the life you want. So, if you’re not an optimist (not the same as being naive), it’s time to start working on it! You’ll only see positive in your life because of it. Crush out those bad voices in your head and replace them with good ones.

I can’t say that my ideas are original but the combination is what works in my life! Have you figured out a combination that works for you?

I’m ready to make 2012 MY year. What about you? Do you have any other secrets of being successful throughout the year?