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.
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.
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