Note: This is part 5 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Strategy guru Michael Porter states that the underlying idea behind strategy is alignment, that is, getting employees to make good choices based on a common value proposition. The reinforcement of the proposition is critical, and must be expressed through every aspect of the organizations culture, in particular the design of its communications, products and services.

For designers, the client’s business strategy is an essential ingredient in making design decisions. Through business research designers answer the question, “how do we articulate the client’s strategy through design?” Design’s role in supporting strategy takes on many forms, including bringing efficiencies to the design process and Read the rest of this entry »

Note: This is part 4 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

The proverbial “seat at the table” has always been a coveted spot for designers. The price of an invitation is the ability to show accountability in design decision-making and a return on design investment. Design research is the foundation of these two areas. Without it, design decisions cannot be made, and success cannot be measured. However for most designers, research takes a back seat to the familiar and comfortable creative side of the design process.

The goal of a designer’s work is to influence a target audience’s thinking, and ultimately their behavior. We know that the craft of design has great power in determining the success or failure of these outcomes. Consider how the nuances of typography can change peoples understanding of words, or how a powerful image can touch people in meaningful ways. Yet there is little rigor for design decision-making. Most decisions are made on the designer/client level, often based on intuition, past experiences and assumptions.
Read the rest of this entry »

1. How can you make time for marketing?
2. Should you have an e-mail newsletter?
3. Are proposals best presented in person?

These are just a few of the pressing questions that will be answered by creative business experts at the Creative Freelancer Conference
in Chicago, August 27-29, hosted by HOW Magazine and Marketing Mentor. Read the rest of this entry »

With rising gas prices and other economic troubles, freelance designers (as well as their clients) may be feeling the pinch. Clients are eschewing major redesign jobs and other big budget projects, and designers are scrambling for ways to keep work rolling in.

But you might be able to get back on track with two little words: Thank you.

Now is the time to remind former clients of your services so you can encourage more business from them, and sending a thank you note for previous work is a great way to do it. Unlike a flashy brochure or generic card, a handwritten thank you note puts a personal touch on your communication and gives you a reason to extend a special deal to specific clients. Here are some tips for making it work: Read the rest of this entry »

The NYC Department of Health and Yves Behar of fuseproject have joined forces in an effort to encourage safe sex in New York City.

The coalition recently unveiled a brand new look for the NYC condom, as well as a high-design dispenser, which will debut in 200 New York City venues in the coming weeks. Both the condom’s packaging and the dispensers were created by Behar, who believes the new designs will promote awareness and increase acceptance.

According to Behar, “Good design can help bring condoms out of the closet. The brand’s friendly design and the dispenser’s approachable shape convey openness and acceptance. They say condoms are nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Since the NYC Condom was introduced last year on Valentine’s Day, the Health Department has distributed more than 36 million condoms. That’s twice the number given out annually before the City launched its own brand. Some 900 local businesses, clinics, and non-profit organizations now distribute the condoms free-of-charge.

It’s an interesting program, and all signs seem to indicate that it’s working–more proof of the power of design.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you are no doubt familiar with Google’s logo. It’s a deceptively simple mark. In fact, it almost seems non-designed. Of course, that’s not actually the case. Not at all.

Ruth Kedar is the designer responsible for the logo, and in an interview with WebProNews, she talks at length about her process and the goals of the project. She also discusses the details. For example, she has this to say about the color choices:

The colors evoke memories of child play, but deftly stray from the color wheel strictures so as to hint at the inherent element of serendipity that creeps into any search results page…

Wired has more about the logo, including sketches of some of its earlier treatments, and Kedar again provides commentary. Together, these pieces make an interesting read. The Google logo has perhaps become more ubiquitous than any other mark, and the story of its genesis paints an interesting portrait of a certain period in web and graphic design history.

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I have to be honest. I giggle sometimes at people who include quotes in their email signatures. Usually, it’s because the quote just doesn’t make sense. The others I laugh at only because I’m jealous that I don’t have one as good. One day, I read this quote on one of my client’s emails: “Make your plans to fit the circumstances.” It was attributed to General George S. Patton, Jr.

Patton Speaking with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, at Brolo, Circa 1943

I didn’t laugh at that quote. In fact, it got me thinking. No matter how busy I am, I needed take the time to make a marketing plan, a plan of action for my company. Simple or complex, I needed to take the time­ so I could do something. I’d always wanted to do this so that my decisions would be more proactive instead of reactive, and I also knew that I had to put it in writing so that I would have a roadmap to getting things done. Since I’ve developed a plan, it has really helped the company grow. It’s also helped me to understand what works and doesn’t work when it comes to marketing my
studio.

I guess you could say that I’ve learned to make my plans fit my circumstances. With that in mind, here are few things I’ve learned that can help you make your plan:

Do Your Research: Go through your client list, and examine what you’ve done to attract and maintain the clients that you enjoy. Are they in a particular industry that you’d like to find more work in? Were they referred by another client? Did they find you because of your Web site, a brochure or a PR effort? However you got them, maximize that channel to attract similar types of clients.

Stretch Yourself: Pick a method that expands the way you typically market yourself, for the experience and the possibility of where it might lead. The worst thing that could happen is Read the rest of this entry »

Lose weight, get organized, save money… millions of people make resolutions like these at the start of the new year. They’re hard to keep, but some of these same resolutions can improve your personal website or your web design work for clients.

Slim down. You’ve heard this one since you started designing websites years ago, but it still applies today. Your traget audience’s work and home computers may have super high-speed connections, but many mobile devices, like the iPhone, can be slowpokes. Sites often visited on-the-go need to keep the weight off.

Banish clutter. Many frequently updated sites are victims of “content creep.” Your once-minimal homepage suddenly has a news box, added by the PR department. A month later, there are some banner ads you never saw before. Then, some extra SEO terms appear. None of these are necessarily bad things, but with all this additional content, you need to reevaluate the design. See if you can rearrange these things on the page so as to maintain the integrity of the original design, or just redesign to accommodate the new features. Every feature on the page will be more valuable when it doesn’t have to compete with clutter.

Get a new job. Okay, maybe not a new job, but how about finding your niche? What can you do to stand out among all those other web designers? While working on your “usual” jobs, consider the parts you’re really good at and those you really love. Maybe it’s Flash character animations or e-commerce. Over time, build a portfolio that showcasing this specialty. You’ll make yourself more appealing to a specific types of clients, be able to charge more because of your expertise, and enjoy your work.

Be secure. If you haven’t backed up your site or all your great custom actions and plug-ins recently, do it now. Right now. Done? Good. Now, talk to your hosting company about other security measures, like ways to protect your site from hackers. This is particularly important Read the rest of this entry »

Much has already been written about the marketing of Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows. Bypassing major labels and a fixed pricing scheme, Radiohead invites customers to purchase the album for whatever amount they like (including nothing). The music is purchased and downloaded via inrainbows.com, an e-commerce web site designed by Radiohead’s graphic design mastermind, Stanley Donwood. Just as Radiohead’s distribution scheme is a critique of capitalism and major record labels, the interface design of inrainbows.com is a critique of the rigorous usability guidelines that have become all but ubiquitous on the corporate web.

The traditional goal of an e-commerce site is to separate the customer from her money as quickly and painlessly as possible. Disorienting and thought-provoking interface design has no place in the checkout line of amazon.com. But what if you are a rich band like Radiohead, with little interest in money but a strong desire to tweak culture, provoke thought, and establish a meaningful relationship with your audience? What if you decide to spend the popularity you have earned on a kind of experimental art project? Suddenly e-commerce design becomes less a means of extracting money and more a means of disrupt the customer’s expectations.

Donwood’s design for inrainbows.com is so minimal it’s disorienting. The copy is cheeky and terse, dry and ironic.

inrainbows.com welcome text

Although the FAQ section addresses a number of logistical issues regarding product shipping, it never explains that the album can be had for free. Only when you arrive at the payment do you realize that something is amiss. Read the rest of this entry »

These days, just about every print, web, or multimedia designer you encounter can rattle off a domain name for you. Visit the site, and you’ll probably find dozens of work samples, a resume in PDF format, contact info, etc. You know the drill.

Most designers create these portfolios because they hope to engage clients. But how do clients find these sites? Networking and search engines work, but for many job seekers, there’s a better way to attract the attention of potential clients: portfolio services.

Creative Hotlist and Portfolios.com are the most popular portfolio services, but others can be found via designers’ guilds and specialty websites.

Portfolio services serve two main purposes: they play host to your portfolio images and personal information and allow potential clients to search for and contact designers.

In general, clients prefer to use these services than wade through dozens of independent sites. Read the rest of this entry »