Friend of NoD and New York Fine Artist Annika Connor (Instructor of Watercolor at Sessions Online) has invited all NoD readers and subscribers to attend the Company Launch Party for ACTIVE IDEAS PRODUCTIONS.

AI Productions, Inc. is an innovative corporation whose mission is to serve the artistic community by facilitating the presence of emerging artists and educating the public about their work.

This event is free and all interested parties are invited to attend, though RSVP is required. At the party, there will be 100 gift bags for VIP guests and donors to the Point Suite project.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008
8pm - Midnight
Mr. West
559 W. 22nd St. & 11th Ave., NYC
Sponsored Bar from 8pm - 10pm
Cocktail and festive attire

Please RSVP to: annika@aiproductions.org

For more information about AI Productions, please visit:
www.aiproductions.org

For information about AI Productions current project, please visit:
www.pointsuiteartbook.com

Currently AI Productions is creating a fine art book entitled Point Suite whose purpose is to enlighten the public about the ever-increasing artistic activities of our international contemporary art community.

The Point Suite art book is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions on behalf of Point Suite may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are
tax-deductible to the extent permitted by the law.

To donate directly to Point Suite, please visit
www.fracturedatlas.org/donate/883

Please feel free to share this information with your friends and colleagues.

You are a strong graphic designer? Then find several strong web designers, make them aware of you, and suggest a reciprocal relationship that would help both of you meet clients’ broader needs. Also, consider approaching hosting providers in an effort to be on their short list of referrals for work.

Contact all friends and associates with design skills complementary to your own and set up an informal reciprocal agreement.

It is crucial for the client to make a financial commitment to you at the project kick-off. Upon signing a contract, make sure that you get a deposit and have payment milestones. Consider 5% / 55% / 40%. 5% at signing. $55% at a midpoint deliverable that you have designated in the contract. 40% upon delivery. Some like to make 50% at kick-off. Your call…depends on your comfort level with the client. To explore these types of policies in more detail consider purchasing a copy of the Graphic Artist Guild’s Pricing and Ethical Guidelines.

Put this deposit and payment milestones requirement into your template agreements now.

There are many, many ways to structure retainers. Here are some suggestions. If a client hires you to build a website - or a portion of a website - and they do not have an in-house designer to maintain it, then offer your client to place you on a monthly retainer with a reduced rate. For example, if you charge $40/hour for freelance work, suggest a retainer of 10 hours per month at $30/hour or $300 per month. Invoice them at the beginning of each month Net 30. If they use you, then great. If they don’t, the hours do not rollover. If they are close to you then suggest a meeting once monthly to go over any needs. You’ll want to be proactive and ensure that they use you or the relationship will end.

Contact all current and past clients now and suggest a phone call / meeting to discuss the potential of a retainer. If you have no retainers in place now then don’t reveal that fact…you are a busy and sought-after designer.

When you present a proposal to a prospective client, include an addendum of testimonials from former clients and accompany the testimonials with samples/screengrabs of work you did for them. If you already have this type of content published on your website then great, you can repurpose it in your proposals.

Email past clients now and ask for a testimonial, then add them to your contract/proposal templates.

This is the how the world works, period. Never, ever burn a bridge. Keep in touch with past clients. Send them a “touching base” email thanking them again for the business, telling them you would be happy to work with them again because it was a great experience, and openly ask them for referrals. Send them holiday greetings. Watch their PR list and email them congratulations when you see they have made any interesting announcements. WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing) is more important than ever because everyone is more sensitive to and savvy about traditional advertising. It is being lumped together with what I would consider to be viral marketing, as you can see here in wikipedia. Our friend Andy Sernovitz has written a book on the topic and has started a growing membership organization called WOMMA.

Set up a google press alert for both former and current client names now so you can learn when they are in the press…and then contact them when they are.

Email past clients now with specific questions that might lead to word of mouth business: “Do you have any business associates in need of a website refresh / new business cards / a marketing DVD of services? Below are some highlights of recent projects we have completed. Please feel free to pass along to any associates you feel might benefit from working with us. And here are some testimonials from some of my happy clients.”

Become an “Award Winning Designer / Firm” by entering, and winning, design competitions. Great exposure, great on your website and helps your prospects feel more confident about signing your proposal. Being award-winning takes the guesswork out of it for those clients who can’t judge good design.

Check NoD’s competitions page. Go to Google’s Blog Search and search for Design Competition. Use other search phrases too…like “Graphic Design Competitions” and set up and email reminder from Google to let you know when new such posts are published. Here you can set up a reminder for “Design Competition.”

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is a regionally and nationally accredited leader in online education and has prepared art and design professionals since 1997. Schools include Sessions Online School of Design, Sessions Online School of Game Art, and Sessions Online School of Fine Art.

Notes on Design ( NoD ) and Notes on Game Dev ( NoGD ) are both publications of Sessions Online. They serve to inform the curriculum, faculty, and students of Sessions as well as a global base of approximately 40,000 subscribers.

Jacqueline Khiu, DESIGN 21: Social Design Network.

Jacqueline Khiu is the design and content manager for DESIGN 21: Social Design Network. DESIGN 21 is an online community and competition site that explores social consciousness through design. It is a collaborative project undertaken by the global design and merchandise company Felissimo and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Before joining DESIGN 21, Jacqueline was the design editor of Surface magazine and also the editor of both the Australian design and architecture publication Monument and the lifestyle magazine Australian Style. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on a range of subjects including the ability of design to affect global change. Her opinions are both well-informed and interesting, and I thank her for sharing her time with us.

NoD: DESIGN21 is a Social Design Network that inspires social activism by connecting people and organizations that are interested in improving the global community in which we live. Can you please describe how you facilitate the connections that help bring about that end? Is it simply the important matter of creating the context for productive dialogue or is there something more tangible that is happening at Design21?

Jacqueline: DESIGN 21 is an online platform that sets the stage for interaction between designers and non-profits primarily, but really any socially conscious individuals and organizations who are interested in the notion of “better design for the greater good.” People and organizations are welcome to join for free, create a profile and talk to each other. Beyond discussion, we give non-profits (who are, in a sense, the focus of the community) the ability to post specific “needs” to the site. Through a wish list function in their blog they can seek out designers or volunteers for projects or activities - and from the activity we’ve seen this seems to be working quite well. (more…)

Legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? Notes guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions.

Jean is a Miami-based lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment and General Corporate Law for a wide range of clients, including graphic design firms, advertising agencies, visual artists and photographers. Her firm handles copyright and trademark registration, copyright, trademark and patent licensing, entertainment, computer, internet and general business contracts, partnerships, and corporate matters. She is co-author of The Artist’s Friendly Legal Guide, a columnist for HOW magazine, and has a forthcoming featured industry interview on the Notes on Design blog.

If you have questions for Jean, go ahead and post them as comments below. Jean will reply to questions frequently under the “Legal, Copyright & Trademark” Category of Notes on Design.