Image: Watercolor by Brockett Horne

How to Avoid Damage in a Downturn, a recent podcast by David C. Baker, provides significant insights for design managers and studio leaders.
Listeners will appreciate his honest presentation, built from his own experiences of guiding creative teams through unexpected economic instability.

Four main points in the presentation seem insightful to me no matter what the economic circumstances. There were presented as temptations to avoid in a downturn: (more…)

As we get ready for the Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago, August 27-29, we are simultaneously building a resource web site for freelancers that will live well beyond this first event. (BTW, early bird deadline was extended to July 31st. You can still get $60 off the registration.)

So even if you can’t make it to Chicago, take advantage of our research. Here’s what we found to help you build your business:

Articles about marketing and other business issues for freelancers here:
Helpful links for freelancers of all types here:

And be sure to check out our growing list of sponsors, which includes HOW Magazine, Lynda.com, FunctionFox.com, Freelancers Union, Artisan Talent, SalesKite.com, Freelance Switch, OddPodz.com, MyEmma.com, Graphic Artists Guild, The Creative Group and more to come.

The British Council’s initiative Creative Economy, which aims to help establish global networks in creative fields, is announcing the launch of its new UK Young Design Entrepreneur award. The purpose of the award is to create networks between young design entrepreneurs and the design industry in emerging economies. The three finalists of 2008 will travel to India to meet leading industry figures and participate in meetings, tours, talks and workshops with the goal of establishing future collaborations. (more…)

Nothing about this book looks like an art book. The somewhat colorless cover, the MIT imprint, the marked lack of giant, colorful images. At very first glance, you know that editor Oliver Grau, an Image Science professor and Cultural Studies dean, means business.

Media Art Histories is a more academic look at a subject normally approached with thin, glossy coffee table books and broad, superficial language. Grau’s compilation offers takes from over a dozen professionals on the history and acceptance of digital media as an art form. (more…)

Unless you’re interviewing with a teensy design studio, chances are good you’ll meet with more than one person. At the very least, you should know your interviewers’ names and titles before you show up. If the hiring manager doesn’t give you this information, simply ask for it: “I’d like to be well-prepared for our time together. Might I ask who I’ll be meeting with during the interview process?”

To really impress, though, it’s smart to know more about these people, and then tailor your message to them. Get their names and titles, and then visit the firm’s website to learn more about them. Google them — see if they’ve been written about in the design media, if they’ve won awards, if they’ve presented at industry events, if they’ve authored white papers. In a recent Career article for HOW, columnist Julie Sims recommends, too, that you target your conversation to whoever you’re meeting with. For example, you shouldn’t get super-detailed about your creative process if you’re meeting with a CEO, but you should be prepared to explain your thinking if you’re showing your book to a creative director.

Brockett’s first interview suit, worn with the sales tag tucked in the pocket.

Inspired by Chris Costello’s post.
I’m uncertain if sharing my career pitfalls with intimidating, unidentifiable readers is threatening or liberating (in the same way that launching my thesis document from the 9th floor of the design building was thrilling). But Chris, you’ve inspired me, so here goes:

Yearn to kern:
During the first day at a dream job, the creative manager introduced me to team members as Miss Home (rather than Miss Horne). The kerning on my resume was so poor that the “r” and the “n” fused together, generating for me a new last name. It was an embarrassing error to correct, for both of us.
(more…)

Time management is a big challenge for most creative freelancers. You want to slow down and enjoy the season (or life in general) but you’re afraid that if you appear “unavailable” to clients, you’ll lose them or if you don’t take every one that comes along, you’ll never get another one. What to do?

Here’s one suggestion from Tracey Watt, owner of Rave! Design just outside Toronto, where Tracey lives on a farm and sometimes takes time during the day to ride her horse. (more…)

At the risk of stating the obvious, every designer should have a website or web presence of some kind. Websites serve as your marketing and self-promotional tool 24/7. Make sure you have a dedicated e-mail account and an email link on your site for people to contact you (and check your messages every day).

If you can’t afford a website/hosting services, etc, then start a blog (it’s free) and carve out some time to write about anything. You’ll be surprised at how many people will be interested in what you have to say. Contribute to discussion groups and design forums. Make yourself famous. (more…)

I often find that designers, whether they’re business owners, freelancers or employees, get sort of freaked out by the idea of planning their business or career. It can be an overwhelming prospect: figuring out what you want from your work life (and life in general) and charting a course to get there.

But what if you approached it like a design project? Like, start with a project brief in which you write down your goal and plot out steps along the way. Then find the best creative direction that’ll achieve what you want.

That’s the basic premise of HOW’s current webinar series on professional development for designers. Jeni Herberger’s June session drew rave reviews from participants who appreciated her honesty and openness, as she encouraged folks to really think about what they want. Jeni’s next session is July 24, and it’s one that any designer won’t want to miss. Plus, we’ve sweetened the deal: Sign up, and you’ll get a nifty downloadable HOW Career Guide as a freebie.

A client recently asked me if we could get sitelinks for our site in Google. I mentioned google sitelinks back in my series on Google Webmaster Tools (Part 4, specifically), but it was time for a closer look.

Just how does Google decide to put sitelinks on certain sites in their search results?

Well, as usual with Google, they don’t really tell you. Google says that the sitelinks are automatically generated using a secret algorithm. They are designed to help users find what they want on the site without having to click down into the site. (more…)