Color

Creative Curio brought me back to my Color Theory days. I usually pick bright colors to draw with because they are the ones I'm attracted too. Looking at the color wheel for inspiration is always a good place to start, but you have to pick the right color combinations. Like the three colors I had to choose to make my Website.

The Personals

It's fun to take everyday things and see them from a designers point of view. Swissmiss entered a design for the Type Directors Club, Beautiful Banal auction. The point was to take a personal ad found in the Newspaper and convert it into a poster. She took the ad above and converted it to the poster below. Check out the design,

Evan Roth

I few weeks ago we had Evan Roth come and speak to our class about his experience as an artist. I had actually seen something of his at the Museum of Modern Art. I didn’t actually know that it was his work until he should it to us in the presentation.

Well he spoke about his work during his college times. He showed us varies projects he did. But, what he really was really passionate about was graffiti. One of his projects, he explored a section of New York City and recorded all the occurrences of graffiti. Then he catalogues them by letter so that people can see the differences in typography. He later did this in Paris with funding.

He then showed us how he and a friend of his mixed his graffiti skills with varies mechanics and they created different projects. Like goggles one could use to draw even if you are paralyzed. Also, a graffiti pen which allows you to use light to tag buildings; which is the installation I saw at the MOMA.

He also spoke about how to market yourself. Really just put everything you have out there so that if some one sees it, and likes it, it will spread. Don't be afraid of copyright, in the end it is your idea; and if you get it out there enough... people will relies it's your design and they will look for you.

What I really enjoyed about his presentation was that he was so into what he was doing. He spoke of how he was constantly trying to think of something new and how on the weekend he would just do small projects for fun.

Get Payed

When you complete a projct for a client it's time for you to get you payment. Well sometimes that's not always as easy as it sounds. Personally my parents have trouble with getting payed in their business. Even in school now, people have trouble paying there tuiton. What can you do to... help your client along in peyments? Well it might be more difficult especially if you're a freelancer, people might take advantage of your companies size.

Here are a few ways to maybe avoid those situations.

1. Make payment plans available.

Small incruments are easier for people to pay than whole sums.

2. Early payment discount

Give your client a discount for payment an invoice right when it's recieved. It saves them money, and gets you your money.

3. Late payment penalty

If your client doesn't pay on time, charge interest... hey, banks do it.

4. Communication

Keep in contact with your client. Once the project is over one might forget that you even finished the project! But, the more you talked to them during the process the more likely they will remember they have to pay.

5. Reminders

Before the payment is due you can send a friendly reminder, friendly being the key word. Hey, they might have just forgotten.

6. Escalation

If none of the above works then it might be time to break up with your client. Stop working until you get payed.

Favors

In college it's a good thing to do projects for different people. This will give you practice, and, if it gets published somewhere, something to put on your resume. So you might even end up doing it for free... Well when your out in "the real world" free doesn't pay the rent.

Even if it's your best friend it's always good to keep a professional relationship separate. You could give them a discount but don't get taken advantage of! Freelancing is a hard career.

Redue

Being freelance might be discouraging at times... Being a designer might be discouraging at times. Maybe what you thought was a great design wasn't a hit with the client. Well just keep your head up and try again.

Ask for feedback, you can always learn from your mistakes... and maybe you'll like the next one much better.

PR

I barely know what PR means, let alone what one does to get good PR. So, when looking through Freelance Switch I thought I'd take note of a blog post titles "Five Simple Public Relations Steps You Can Take."

1. Pay your bills on time.

Didn't really understand this one. Thought it was more for people going into politics. I mean obviously you want to pay your bills on time, but didn't understand what it had to do with PR.

2. Be on your best behavior when in public.

You want to spread your name so you might wear propaganda, and when you do you want to reflect your company. So be nice! People might remember your name.

3. Resist the temptation to badmouth the competition

This is along the lines of being on your best behavior. No one wants to be that guy who talks smack.

4. Employees

Good employees means good customer service. People will remember that.

5. Press release

Get your name out there. And when it comes out... get it out there again! Print copies and give them to... everyone.