My Mad Mad Marketing Plan—Phase One: Organize

For those of you who have perused through my resolutions a few posts back, I mentioned a desire to ideally launch at least two major promotions, one during the normally leaner months in the summer and another at the end of year.

I thought it would be a good idea to break down my process. After all, nothing says "motivation" like potentially facing humiliation in front of a virtual crowd by not following through. Plus, highlighting a few simple, nifty aides could end up being a benefit to others in their creative quest as well.

To get from point A to B in life, it pays to organize. As I said before, a simple declaration to "do" isn't enough to get it "done." To this end I figured that starting off with the right tools by spending the extra dollar or two on a good planner was in order. No more adapted spiral notepads or partially functional planners for me—I needed something that met my demands. Something that I would want to pull out every chance I had instead of cramming it in the dark recesses of my bag, never to see the light of day until the end of the year when it was time to replace it.

Of course, not all are created equal. My ideal functional planner had to meet certain personal criteria:

1. Portable. I needed something that I can shove in any bag or roomy pocket and go-go-go. Large ring binder styled, or bulky portable planners were too cumbersome. With all the other items I usually tote around with me (like my sketchbook) I would undoubtedly end up experiencing high school heavy back pack flashbacks. The type also had to be legible enough where my eyes wouldn't burn from their sockets from all the squinting. I mean really, some of these pocket planners need a loop to be readable.

2. Space to write. I needed each of the days to have enough space for me to write multiple appointments. Some agendas dedicated an entire page for one day. Frankly I didn't need that much space. Conversely there were others that dedicated two rows if even that much. Just wasn't enough. One with a few lines dedicated to each day would do nicely.

3. Project/Goals. I often scribble "spare of the moment" notes, normally on projects, research, or random ideas that pop in my head. For this a few pages dedicated to this section where I could jot them all down was a must.

4. Extras. I like extras, don't you? Even though you might not need them all it's good to have them there anyway, just in case. I'm talking about the closure straps, the map with the international time zones, the long distance area codes, metric conversion table, that sort of thing. Hey, in this business, you never know when it'll come in handy and it pays to be a bit prepared.

5. Address book. At the bottom of my priorities, because darn near every planner comes with one. I did however hanker for one that I could move from yearly planner to yearly planner.

After a bit of desparate hunting at different locations both online and in stores, I finally found and bought the moleskine pocket weekly planner. It fulfilled all of my criteria and had a very well designed layout, bonus. Originally I thought it was a bit overrated (supposedly inspired by Hemmingway and Picasso's styled journals) but I must admit that they're not all "gimmick." It's portable, well designed, sturdy, had a closure strap and a place marker, had the right kind of bells and whistles and surprisingly enough was quite legible for it's size. I probably will buy moleskines from now on unless I discover something better further down.

Not only was it important for me to have a physical planner, I needed a virtual one as well. After all, I'm online more often than not. So to that end, I opened the iCalendar that came with my Mac OS software for the very first time.

Let me just say that I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. For those of you who aren't familiar with this digital planner, some of the nifty features of iCal include notifications, that is, I can email a reminder of an impending appointment to myself as well as set an alarm to go off at any time or day of my choosing. It also lets you separate sections by color and leave detailed notes to yourself. Pretty nifty.

I'm already well into uploading all of my business and personal affairs. Moreover, if I for example don't want to see a calendar riddled with color coded schedules, I can hide whichever I don't want to see at the moment from view. Very easy to set up and use.

Next Time: Phase Two: Scheduling

Traversing the Critique Section and other Forum Anecdotal Nuggets

Every so often...well, more often than not, I'm participating in design forums; receiving creative wisdom or imparting my nuggets of knowledge in the interest of helping my fellow designer in some way.

Once in a while there will be that occassional post that merits a spotlight because it touches on a common issue, this is one such situation. One rather disgruntled sounding poster "barked,"

Since when did 'critique' mean: "Entirely pick the hell out of someone's piece that they spent hours upon hours to create. Tell them how bad it sucks, and sound as though you actually have ground to stand on (ignore the fact that you've never undergone any formal education in the the field because, hell, you're part of this virtual nirvana and nobody will ever know anyway!!!"

Sound like a familiar scenario? Here was my opinion on how a designer should approach a public forum full of professionals without getting their ligatures bitten off.

In fairness look at it from this perspective. While I agree that you may have put in hours of effort and are pleased with your output which may have exceeded your expectations, look at who you're presenting your work to—people who are seasoned professionals in this field. That's almost like taking a painting and presenting it to museum/gallery curators for their opinion—they're going to offer you their professional view based on the standards they are accustomed to, standards that are likely higher than the average Joe.

That's what many students and novices don't understand. Many of these people are not peers and to be a bit on the harsh side, often don't present the quality of caliber these folks consider their standard. If you want to play with the big kids you have to be ready to bring your A-game. If your A-game isn't up to their A-game, then you aren't ready to play. This game is no different from any other in life.

Now, if you introduce yourself in a manner that establishes your modest intentions to this group, in other words, not as a peer, but someone who is looking to be mentored by these professionals to elevate your own standards, the responses will likely end up a bit more welcoming. You have to show respect, to do less demonstrates an arrogant duplicity on your part, whether it's intentional or not.

For example, I'm sure you've seen plenty of folks who sign up, try to integrate themselves into the group. So far, so good. However, then they open up a critique thread with something like this:

"Hey guys, here's a logo I've been working on for Company X, tell me what you think."

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Right off the bat, this is a creative forum no-no. Number one, you've offered no background information on the project. If you want an honest critique, we have to know if it's a good fit for the client and their market. This one liner demonstrates a lack of basic design branding fundamentals. Second, it gives off an immediate feeling of trying to present yourself as an equal. If this is the case, be prepared to be met in kind. In this business, our work has been brutally scrutinized by peers, clients and employers at one time or another, it's the more merciless side of the industry. Those who understand this can read between the lines and respond accordingly, those who don't leave defeated and offended. Again, if this line is your A-game opener, you've just made a major bush league mistake.

As another example, another person posted some samples of a rock band's logo that he was designing. He opened his dialogue this way:

"I made this graphic for a local band I like...I really want to know what you guys think of this and what I can improve on...I love design and I hope to have something to do with design for a job..."

From the onset, he's establishing an important distinction that guaranteed a more sympathetic response from people, the fact that he is learning and is seeking advice on how to improve his output. There is no show of arrogance and no attempt to pass himself off as a peer here, so even though his work and presentation required more refining on his part, the responses reflected a more genuine and gentler desire to guide his creative direction. By the way, he was a fourteen year old kid. Great compositional eye for his age...or even for older folks.

Don't give up on some of these critique forums if you really want to elevate your game and play with the big kids. Although some venues offer a more "kinder and gentler" assessment, make no mistake that they also likely hold high standards as well. By making your position and intentions clear, we will have a better idea of how to respond in kind.

The "Barker," as I'll hence dub him, also had this to add:

My point: more of you 'know-it-alls' need to post your work-why not? Is it because it takes balls to do so? (don't be afraid of how someone with nothing more than a sharp opinion will cut it up, you'll survive). It does take balls to let your work undergo the scrutiny of this forum, unless you've posted your work, LEAVE YOUR OPINIONS TO YOURSELVES!

My reply:

Why post work for a second opinion when we don't need to? That's not what the crit section is for. It's for getting help, not showing off to others. Besides, you're saying that the only advice you'll take is from someone who's work you deem worthy? How about the value of the trained artistic eye...is there no respect there? Remember that there are many people in and around this industry who's roots lie elsewhere but who's input not only has merit, but is respected as well.

Three last parting shots:

1. If you are any kind of professional then you'll know that in this industry, everyone's work gets this sort of bare knuckles critique at some point or another, it's the nature of the business. You either roll with the blows and try to glean the best advice that will help you improve or find another line of work.

2. If you can't take criticism, then don't post on a PUBLIC FORUM. This sort of rant demonstrates to me a need to hear more praise rather than a realistic assessment of your work, which can help you improve your development process and execution. I suggest if this is the case (not saying that it is, mind you) show your work to your friends and family instead, they'll be more likely to respond more favorably to spare your feelings.

3. Opinions are like rear ends...everyone has one. Take the best advice that will help you improve and move on.

Illustrate the Basics

It's funny how some of the things I absent-mindedly enjoy end up somehow turning into a little design exercise. For example, the other day I thought it would be neat to replace the holiday avatar I used on some of the forums I participate in with an updated literal representation of my moniker, Seapony. A forum habit mascot, if you will. What started out as a little two hour (maximum) recreational activity turned into a day long obsession. Fortunately I didn't have any pending work at the time, quite frankly I shudder to imagine the implications if I had.

After one hasty (and rather ugly) comp in my spiffy new sketchbook (courtesy of my HOWie Secret Santa), I was inspired by the smooth, streamlined drawing style inherent in Disney's Sleeping Beauty to mimick a similar effect in my own little creation. My aim was to emphasize simple, clean and fluid stroke lines. At some point in my early rendering, as I was pondering the best action pose for the little critter, I noticed that with a little tweak here and there I could curl it's little tail up into a letter C, the first letter in my maiden name and the spelling of the earlier incarnation of (my now "retired" design name) Seahorse Productions. It didn't quite end up that way, but then again I'm getting ahead of myself.

As I fiddled with the stroke thickness, I began to notice that the curl of the back, along with the C letterform I was refining, started working itself into another letter, which happened to have been the first letter of my married name. I was excited at the prospect of subtly implying these two letterforms into my moniker, sort of a marriage of my past and present. What better way to infuse a bit of myself! It was beginning to form into a neat little branding package that also hinted my illustrative and typographic training. I could almost feel my blood racing to meet the demand of my fueled creative juices.

I considered adding color at some juncture, but I felt that doing so would muddle these nuances and thus harm my budding brand. There was already too much subtlety at play to complicate it with another dimension like color. However without it, the silhouette was too flat and lacked punch. After a bit of pondering while I continued to refine the angles of the lines, I concluded that the color would have to be somewhere in the webbed fins of the creature. What fins, you ask? Good question. I knew that at some point I had to make the fateful decision to possibly scrap that direction, because adding fins, colorful or not, would obscure one of the letterforms for certain. The issue of how and where was mounting.

My "simple" little design excursion turned into a complicated struggle to maintain the integrity of my symbolism. However rather than "go quietly into that good night," I continued to balance my lines and weights in the hopes that an answer would come to me. Taking a quick forum break, a reference I read in a post reminded me of the little egghead illustration I did for one of my online colleagues, Chris Tomlinson of Gon Ink, Design and Print as a drawing exercise aid. That was yet another little distraction that ended consuming more of my attention than it should have, but the end result was worth it. The rendering of the eyes would add a perfect splash of color to my seapony. Moreover, without the whites of the eyes it really looked like a fish eye of sorts, bonus. I dug it up and proceeded to consume even more time than I expected deciding on a good complimentary scheme that was also somehow reflective of my personality.

Initially I thought the answer was obvious, it simply had to be blue. Anyone who knows me is well enough acquainted with my affinity for all things azure and my "disapproval" of most things green (except in nature, where it belongs). However it was coming out too dark overall. I had to add at least a bit of a white eyeball in there for contrast. Even then, the scheme I picked just wasn't working well enough for me. So on I fussed, changing from orange to gold, even lapsing in sanity long enough to entertain the notion of just keeping it in it's original "egghead green" color. Thankfully, I managed to slap myself back to my senses. At the last possible moment I finalized a blue palette that gave me the punchy effect I was looking for. I was weary, but victorious. In hindsight I determined that if I so chose, I could always change the eye color, adding a refreshing twist to my little mascot.

Finally came the fins. At this point I was largely satisfied with the overall look of the shape and letterforms and didn't want to obstruct it with appendages of any kind. Because it was largely in silhouette, the little fin predicament was an easy remedy—just create a stencil cut out of them in it's body. Of course it wasn't enough to end there, I tweaked it just enough so that the positive and negative space implied the form of it's protruding tummy. Finally came the defining moment, the head fins. As most live seahorse breeds don't really have fins on their heads, I could've gone either way. I wanted to imply it's namesake as well as that of it's other association of a sea dragon, but wasn't quite sure how to pull it off, until I made the rather lazy decision to place the side fins on it's head. I immediately saw the potential in my judgment—it created a serpentine "bony" protrusion that complimented the overall style very well. I quickly rendered the rest using as a blueprint the vision that was already completed in my noggin.

And Voila. Amazing how a little half hearted distraction can turn into something more. Just goes to show how important understanding and communicating creative principles (as well a bit of some honed talent) can even subconsciously help fuel your design's development towards it's final end. Moreover, this is another reason why any artistic design is two parts creative development and one part execution.

There was also one other serendipitous bonus to reward my thoughtful development. It wasn't until after I was done that I noticed it subtly formed yet another extremely appropos letterform. Any guesses?


Disclaimer: Creative preferences are up to the personal discretion and perspective of the reader...athough all things considered it ended up looking pretty snappy.

It's That Time of Year Again

Resolutions. Why do we torture ourselves, making promises that we're doomed to break? What lulls us into believing that despite a 364 day streak of being unable to reform, this one day will somehow magically strengthen our resolve to persevere over our shortcomings? Perhaps humans are masochists at heart. This could explain why we gleefully place our lofty general idealist expectations on a pedestal, only to suffer as we watch them fail one after another in defeated resignation. Or perhaps we're still too hung over from all of the holiday festivities to stop ourselves from setting too many unrealistic goals.

Yet, despite these nuggets of enlightenment, hope continues to spring eternal. This year, rather than make vague general aspirations, I'm going to attempt to set more realistic and attainable goals. In addition, I've decided to outline a plan of attack to maximize their fruition. With that, I present my top five design resolutions for this year.

Increase Profit. Didn't see that one coming, did you? But it isn't enough to make a general declaration as though the intuition to accomplish this will mystically materialize. Chris Gee of Cube Interactive, LLC and ringleader of The Prepared Mind suggests arriving at a target amount you want to make in a specific time period (in my case, how much I want to earn in one year) and working backwards. Forming a plan this way seems less like an uphill struggle when strategizing a means towards your lofty objective.

Launch a Self Promotional Campaign. I've fussed and balked long enough, it's time to heed the clarion call for action. Part of the reason, well, most of the reason why I still don't have a website or a stationery system with my redesigned logo is that I'm too anal, I feel as though I can always come up with a better solution and end up changing strategies. In short, I'm my worst client—EVER.

I gave this one some serious thought, and the most effective solution I could arrive is therapy. No, really. I had to sit myself down and have a rather brutal heart to heart. "Inner Designer," I firmly yet caringly said, "You will ALWAYS come up with a better solution, doing so is the product of your years of training. However it doesn't mean that the concepts you've already developed are outmoded or inadequate. If you aren't sure of their effectiveness, create a focus group of your target market and a group of peers and study the merits of your creativity that way rather than wallow in misgivings and doubt." There were a good deal of hugs, music and chocolate after the breakthrough.

So next was a plan of action. I looked ahead to the months where I usually experienced lulls, reviewed the prime "commercial" promotional months like Christmas and New Year's, realizing they are six months apart—perfect. Ideally, two modest campaigns for this year, one in the end of May (Memmorial Weekend) to kick off the summer and one to cap the end of the year seemed the most viable promotional deadlines. From there it's a matter of estimating and marking down a deadline for prompt delivery (with an added two week allowance for any unforseen hiccups along the way), taking care to structure a researched custom mailing list of the most attractive prospects. Once that is established I can continue planning backwards by establishing a deadline for research, concept development and execution.

Get Fresh Blood. In order to reach my lofty profit goals, I need new clients. For this, as I stated in the previous resolution, I've been driving and walking around town taking down company names that are in sore need of a rebrand, visiting "noteworthy" yet poorly designed sites and developing a good promotional campaign that targets their needs. In all of these cases, I took a page from J.P. Morgan and "followed the money."

Another avenue of approach is my determination to visit more entrepreneural sites and hobnob with self starters. My preliminary research indicates that many well established designers get a good amount of business from start up companies in need of branding and promotions. To this end I also jot down the building sites of commercial businesses under construction so that I can at least send ahead a business card with an introduction. For this approach to work to my satisfaction however I have to...

Launch Website. Oy, what a headache this has been. The fact of the matter is that I wasn't really satisfied with any of my concepts. After a much needed intervention with my "Inner Designer" I came to the conclusion that a website offers a versatility that a more "final" print advertisement doesn't—the ability to evolve and grow. Cutting edge design be damned, I can start off with a nice, clean professional design and build up from there. The important thing now is to get out there. Like it or not, we are in an age where it behooves a professional in any field to erect a website promoting their range of services, very few are the exception to the rule.

The other little obstacle is that I decided last year that I wanted to teach myself DreamWeaver and use my site as my "proving grounds," so to speak. I mean, I taught myself Illustrator, how much harder can this be...and while I'm at it, let me purchase the Flash Bible and learn that too!!

Let's just say my free fall from La La Land wasn't very pretty. I will likely have to just bite the proverbial bullet on this one and find a web coder to build it. On the other hand, it offers me the opportunity to spread the love to my fellow web designing colleagues, some of whom have expressed a desire to both help me and arrange a commensurate agreement that benefits both parties. My "Inner Designer" is still resisting, but I think logic is beginning to wear her down.

Enter Industry Design Competitions. NO, not spec run "contests." Here's the major distinction between the two. A design competition, spearheaded by well established, reputable circulations and industry sites who want to showcase the work of some of the industry's finest, accepts entries both commercial and personal from services that were already rendered and compensated for. You or your clients depending on the original project agreement still retain the rights to your design. A one time release of the entry for the printing of the winning submission is all that is usually required (in the case of a design annual or other similar circulation). The benefits, other than having your talent acknowledged by your peers, is that many prospects tend to solicit design work by coming across these books. Think of it as a high profile promotional venue.

A contest that uses a speculative model solicits active work targetted towards that product. They will ALWAYS endeavor to wrest normally free creative labor and usage rights from the designer, with the promise of the possibility of compensation...that is, if you even win. Even if you don't, one usually ends up being forced to sign away all legal ownership rights of the entry to the contest holder FOREVER. That means that they can take it, change it and reintroduce it for any other future campaign if they see fit because it's now their property. And to think they got it for next to nothing. That's what makes these particular "prize" contests so unethical. The fact is that there is no valid reason for them to retain ownership rights "in perpetuity and in all the universe," as they so brazenly word their terms. Those with desires to be professionals in this industry who participate in these exploitative schemes end up whoring their wares, devaluing their creative worth and not even walking away with so much as a thank you or a future job offer...but I digress.

In a perfect world I'd love to achieve these goals and more. If I organize my work structure and curb my forum habit some of these resolutions just may have a chance.