Converse: I love print, but I need to do websites too!
Last Thursday, we had our monthly Converse event. Converse is an opportunity for lovers of design to come talk casually about a specific topic. This month’s topic was “I love print, but I need to do websites too!”
In case you missed it, here is a little bit of what was discussed that night:
- Web design and web development are two different things.
- Don’t try to become a developer. It is a completely different set of skills. Would you ask a developer to design a brochure or logo?
- Do understand that you are designing for something interactive, its not static like print. Otherwise, the process is all the same.
- Find a good developer to partner with on projects. You might be able to find them at CMS conferences. You need someone who you can have good communication and respect for a good working relationship.
- Bring your developer early into the process. Ask them what kind of design files they prefer and bring them into client discussions to talk about functionality and design.
- Don’t take a job that wants the “everything” type designer. That type of employer does not have realistic expectations or an understanding of the web design process
- It is necessary to educate the client about all of the planning needed to design a website well
And here are some possible resources to consider:
- A List Apart
- A Book Apart Series
- Missing Manual Series
- Code Academy
- Bmore Awesome
- Aquent Summer of Learning (registration is closed for this however)
- Lynda.com
- Adobe Muse: some developers feel this is better for prototyping sites
- WordPress: some developers feel this is better for blogs and not commercial sites
Thank you to b.Creative for sharing their space and their wealth of knowledge with us!
Converse is our roundtable event regularly occurring on the third Thursday of each month. Each event focuses on a different topic for discussion. Email converse@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future Converse night.
Style or No Style?
This was the topic of our Converse event this past Thursday at Teavolve. It was a rousing topic, and the group brought up some great points.
- Some designers seem to have less of a style, but rather a methodology.
- Some felt they were hired/not hired because of their style or lack of style.
- Illustrators and photographers have a style, but this aids in predictability for that art form.
- Some see style as just a sales tool.
- Maybe the time for a designer having a style is over and the real art is in the process, methodology and the designer’s approach.
Thanks to those who made it out, and look out for our next Converse event on social design in January!
Converse is our roundtable event regularly occurring on the third Thursday of odd numbered months. Each event focuses on a different topic for discussion. Email converse@baltimore.aiga.org if you have any questions or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future Converse night.
Free Agent Nation …
Watching the NFL Playoffs, and the loss of the Baltimore Ravens, had me taking in the way the analysts discussed the loss. But more importantly, how they wasted no time in discussing the makeup of next season’s team. The old adage of “not for long,” being an acronym for NFL, has never been more true than in the modern game.
The way the game works nowadays, a player grows into a role, and if upon becoming relatively indispensable in their early career, they test the “free agent” market and they’re often gone to the competitor in a flash. That’s perhaps the truest test of how indispensable one is in the NFL. Will they keep the promising guy? On one end, we’d have a franchise player and on the other end, we have the journeyman who fills a role.
Without a doubt, each player on the team needs to know not only how integral their role in the team is: Are you playing for the long-term contract or are you playing (to impress) for your next team? Furthermore, they need to know what the team’s metrics dictate regarding these decisions as well. (Does the current team have a chance to make the playoffs? Does the current team have enough money to pay me what I’m worth?)
Similarly, the creative world has grown the same way. Many of the new economy experts say there is increased emphasis focus on assembling teams that evolve with laser specificity to certain projects and dissolve more fluidly. But you know this already. Environments that inoculate the creative from the stark realities of business are becoming more and more rare.
It feels like a million years ago that advertising stalwart, Eisner & Associates, suddenly closed its doors, leaving clients, suppliers and employees twisting in the wind. While that’s the extreme scenario, creatives have entered the free agent nation as well. Smaller teams for many projects just may be the new normal.
I recently worked on a design project where I felt like one of the cast from Ocean’s Thirteen: A group of folks on a conference call whom I would never know, anchored together with specific tasks to perform, a decent project and a project coordinator. Each person bringing something to the project to make it work.
The new economy is pushing us this way. With the American GDP estimating a weak recovery so far, after a disastrous two years, watching the bottom line is what everyone’s doing. Evil Catbert HR directors routinely are trying to figure out how to get your work done without you doing it. Businesses will hire from anywhere. What’s not made in China is even rarer. The bottom line is the top priority.
So, it’s not a surprise when a creative colleague gets that meeting—the kind of meeting at the end of Wall Street (the original)—where one’s walking into the office and everyone is whispering about the impending changes immediately coming to the company. Of course, let’s substitute Charlie Sheen’s character being arrested for being laid off at the end of the movie.
The new economy is about bringing on people who can “do that (special) thing you do” the way Richard Price, the author of Clockers, was brought in to David Simon’s The Wire. as told in an interview on NPR. “That thing you do,” of course, is something that shows a special creative insight that inspires and attracts attention. His was the aforementioned book. What is yours?
“The fundamental unit in today’s economy is the individual, a.k.a. YOU! Jobs are performed by temporary networks that disband when the job is done. So to succeed you have to think of yourself as a freelance-contractor—BRAND YOU! Someone who is savvy, informed, always learning and growing, who knows how to sell herself, and—most important—does work that matters.” — Tom Peters, the Brand You 50.
It’s wholly important that the creative professional hone their skills whether they area a franchise player or a free agent, because in the end, we are all free agents, as nothing is promised. This is the driving ethic behind initiatives like AIGA Baltimore on Behance, a curated page for the AIGA Baltimore audience, or recent events such as Critique Hash Brown, one of which took place recently.
Taking the opportunity to hone your skills or going the extra mile to develop new ones keeps your creative energy focused so that someone wants you to do that special thing you do.
Track Your Time & Your Money …
Because you waste alot of it… (And by you, I mean me).
Tracking your time and money are not sciences, they are arts. Meaning: one only gets good at it when one develops (and adheres) to a system and then uses that input for strategic advantage. Whatever system one develops, it’s the execution of that system that makes the endeavor worth while. Shoebox for receipts? Whatever. Timesheets to track design time? Sure … But, it’s about your personal style and getting better at being (the productive) you than anything else.
I mentioned the audio interview with Mark Simon the other day on the Five Ways To Get Hired and this was another thing he said: track your money. The reasons abound as to why you should, but Simon maintains that all kidding aside you can deduct more and essentially earn more of the money you make, if you legitimately claim the expenses needed to conduct your business by accurately tracking them. Tracking income is something we are conditioned to do, but tracking expenses is much less discussed and just as important.
Time is the same way. Whether one works in-house or freelance, knowing the timeline for project execution becomes critical when estimating for the completion of new work or understanding where current projects go into the weeds on timelines. The end result of tracking your time? Letting your phone go to voicemail a little more, staying away from constant Facebook updates, keeping email traffic contained to a certain time and, then maximizing your creative time to actually do something that is—gasp—creative.
I had a colleague who ended up on a project that had some “responsibility creep”. She was asked to re-design a logo on a current project on which she worked. Apparently the AE thought it would be a simple thing. Sometimes it is. Well, endless revisions stages later, the colleague asked whether it was appropriate for the time to be pulled away from the paid assignment to the bonus assignment, in such a manner as it had been. Scott Belsky’s recent book Making Ideas Happen—which I endorse for those of you looking to invigorate your task completion abilities—interviewed a person who found that he checked e-mail 37 times a day.
“The state of reactionary workflow occurs when you get stuck simply reacting to whatever flows into the top of an in-box. Instead of focusing on what is most important and actionable, you spend too much time just trying to stay afloat.” Moreover, Reactionary workflow prevents designers from being proactive with their energy.
Maybe, with the time and money you save, you’ll be able to send some comments along about how the time you were able to save, helped you produce that additional design piece, spend more time with your family.
You can do it!
The economy will always have its ups and downs, but graphic designers can still find their way. Here are some tips for the new graduates for 2010.
Time to make lemonade.
When you are given lemons, make lemonade. Finding a job right now isn’t easy for anyone right now, but it is a little harder for graphic designers than for some other fields because graphic design is usually one of the first industries to see cutbacks.
In February, I was laid off. I saw the industry I was in changing and design was becoming less and less important, so luckily I was expecting the layoff, and I was already feeling like it was time for a change. So I embraced my layoff and am now successfully freelancing and will most likely take this time to get my MFA. Graphic designers are lucky in that we have the option to freelance, where other professions don’t have that luxury.
Advertise.
No matter how wonderful you are, employers won’t be pounding on your door, so shout to the world online and in-person that you are looking for a design job. They do exist, but a lot of jobs are filled before a job post is even published.
I am a freelance graphic designer, and the majority of the work I have been getting is from me telling people that I was available, not from answering job postings.
Interviewing is a lot like dating.
You set up a meeting (the date). You converse to find out if you like each other, and then you go home and anxiously wait by the phone or check your email waiting for THE call. Chances are you will have to go to many interviews before you find a job that is a good match for you and the employer.
When I have a meeting with a potential client, I prepare. I look up the person and organization I will be meeting with. I select what I think will be the best designs to present, and I think about what questions might be asked of me. After the meeting, I evaluate what I could have done better. View each interview as practice and revise your answers and your portfolio constantly. Even if you feel the interview went great, try to not let it bother you if you don’t get the job. Move forward and look for something else.
You are not a rock star (yet).
You have worked hard for four long years and your professors rave about you, but you need to remember you are just beginning. There is actually still a lot for you to learn. And guess what? Once you learn it, it will change.
When I finished my Bachelor’s degree from SCAD, no one was thinking about being sustainable, designing for good, Web 2.0, iPhone/iPad apps or the design revolution in Asia. Over the years, I have continued to need to learn new things in graphic design, and I expect that will always be necessary.
Develop a thick skin.
Your portfolio review may be tough to hear today. Being a designer, you need to be able to take criticism daily. Your art director, your client, your client’s boss, everyone is going to have their opinion. It is your responsibility to educate these people on the design choices you made, but ultimately, you might sometimes be asked to make changes you don’t like.
When I work with clients, I not only want to provide them a design that I think is fabulous, but even more so, I want them to love it because in the end, they are paying me for my services.
It may not be perfect.
Don’t expect your first job to be the perfect design job. You have many years in the future to find that perfect job and quite frankly, your vision of the perfect job will change and evolve, so even if you find a perfect job now, it won’t be your perfect job in the future.
My first job was for CNN Headline News. I loved it…for the first few months. Then I realized I was doing the same job some people there had been doing for the past eight years. I realized if I wanted to continue to grow and develop in my field, I would need to find ways either in my job or outside of my job to keep myself current. For your first job, look for an employer you think you can learn from. Maybe there is someone that can be a mentor, or maybe you will be exposed new technology.
Value your work.
There are many people out there that want design services for free or for cheap. Make sure you are getting paid what you are worth. There will always be someone out there who will work for less than you. You need to explain to your clients or the employer what else you provide besides good design.
When I meet with clients for the first time, I find out what their needs are, show them my work, explain how I could help them, but I also describe to them the process. This way the client can understand all the work that goes into making a logo and why it will cost a lot more than $50. You need to do the same at interviews. Don’t assume they read your resume. You need to tell them why you will be the best person to hire.
There is still hope.
So, I am sorry to say, it won’t be easy to find a job in design. It is a competitive environment, but take this as a challenge and do all you can to make yourself stand out. Take time to write individual cover letters, tweak the wording of your resume for each job application, and bring the best and most appropriate pieces to your interviews. When you do find a job, you probably won’t love it all the time, but as with all jobs you should be able to learn something. Listen to your boss and your clients and try to find a good solution to the design that can make everyone happy, and lastly, love what you do.
Good luck to the class of 2010!
Praying to the gods of PowerPoint
Thanks to the rejection gods, I have this graphic to include...
It’s funny I think, ruminating on a post I created some time ago, I remarked that a colleague ended up calling me a “PowerPoint God” because I was able to build inter-activity and influence his PowerPoint with design sense. The comment I made was made in a way hat off-handedly put down being a “PowerPoint God” as if it’s like being the chief french fry-cooker at that coveted fast-food job when I was a teen.
I won’t be so bold as to say no designer dreams of being the PowerPoint God, because I realize that’s not true. I just don’t think I ever wanted to be that person. It just so happened that a) many people might confuse me with a reasonably competent designer (pity them) and b) I happened to work with some corporate types who seem to think using PowerPoints—at least internally.
But here’s the deal: when work is slow, me, I’m pining to be the “PowerPoint God.” So much so, that maybe I’ll create a PowerPoint have an internal meeting with corporate clients that I have discussing how much of a god I am at PowerPoint. Because, when it comes down to brass tax, being a designer is about a number of different avenues in the profession, whether it’s like a colleague whom I met last night who works at The Sun creating graphics or the colleague whom I met at the MICA Flex class who works on a designer jean label.
As it turns out these are all valid entry/destinations for a career in graphic design. Do you know how I know? They pay a paycheck. You laugh, but that, in many cases, is the arbiter of success.
Quick story: I went to Loyola and at Loyola the communications track translates into taking various courses among them: journalism. In the journalism class, my professor had each student work with a local paper, researching and writing a story for the paper’s editor. Well, my turn came up and I did an interview of program in West Baltimore. Even back then I had “journalistic ethics” supposedly. As an avid fan of “60 Minutes” and Mike Wallace, in particular, I didn’t want to be a pushover for the program. I wanted to check the facts mentioned—all that stuff. So, I did all that and wrote the article and the editor, as it turns out was happy enough with the work that he gave me assignments throughout that summer. When I went back to the professor some time later (lag time between writing and the subsequent publishing) and asked him what he thought of my article.
He said: “Did they publish it?”
I said “Of course!!”
He said “Well then, it was professional.”
I thought wow! That’s a great cover for not having read it (still don’t know if he did). But more importantly, it was a singular point that sometimes the most valuable thing to be, is the thing in the mind of your customer or boss, that says “they are great at this particular job and I am willing to pay for it.” I say this, having lived the experience of the in-house designer and being the guy who could do “that thing you do”.
Sometimes, in-house designers have to struggle at quantifying their value to the company (and the profession). Somewhat isolated, internally (always a small group in a company of people) and externally (“you work on what?”), it’s often a world of other stuff that the company’s focused on and, oh, by the way, the designer’s job is to tell them to fix the leading in the brochure and they’re like what? Who cares?
Well, we do: making good communication is what we do… that’s our deification.
Perhaps the search for value and meaning means finding more of that value outside your specific job function: (Note: managers that the innovative Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of their time working on a personal passion which keeps them energized for all that Google stuff) whether that means you are freelancing a little, painting, writing blogs or whatever keeps you focused on value.
But, keep the creative fire and the resumé fresh and keep getting paid.
The Day Before …
With all the snow and cold, I was recently treated to about 1 hour of channel surfing. On the Sundance Channel I saw a segment in a documentary series called The Day Before. Through all the self-importance and posturing, I thought about how often and similar the process of cramming is for design practitioners of the graphic kinds as well as fashion.
I saw the end of one on Fendi and (Karl Lagerfeld) and the beginning of another (Jean Paul Gaultier). The self-importance of the Fendi documentary was about as much as I could stand with my fingers ready to turn the channel, but the Gaultier documentary was interesting in its ability to capture the craziness in front of a fashion show.
What struck me is how little was actually done ahead of the day before!!! Gaultier’s whole collection was rounded together in the last 24 hours. What is it about the zen of the deadline?
This has been on my mind for about a quarter since I’ve been working with a MICA flex class on assignments that—while modified—were an assignment that I received and was given 24 hours to complete. When I got the assignment I was happy of course to be paid, but then as soon as I got off the phone with the client, the first thing that happens is I begin hearing that ’24’ tick-down, knowing that the clock is ticking…. And how for the first five hours I dinked around testing various compositions, then eating and then thinking: “I’ve got to have something definitive going into the next day”… I didn’t. But, we’ve heard this story before: a little head-clearing and voila comps which went to the client just slightly after time.
Flashback to the present. What remains of that story is some decent work and the buzz of the deadline. When communicating all this to the students, I’ve focused on their creating the internal process of milestone completions that allow one to revisit and rebuild—making the design better and better as one goes along. All that works out on paper, but the “fog of war” happens and the process gets muddled.
For instance, the snow interfered with six-hour class that was the working time that gave the students deadlines BEFORE the deadline. For some this was a help, for others it was a hindrance. More time to ponder became more time wasted. I saw a documentary where a design firm developed thirty-five prototypes of a chair design before presenting it to the client and wanted to impart this level of preparation to the students, if only to prove to them that, everything doesn’t have to be a seat-of-the-pants design process.
On the other hand sometimes those iterations become the inspiration that comes together in the end. It’s all down to varying experiences and varying processes. The key is to know your process.
An example of that is the difference between the way Apple releases products and Google releases products.
Apple’s emphasis is built on hyper-preparation and testing, perhaps fueled by their failures of the late nineties (think Newton pad). On the other hand Google often can’t release something fast enough to get it to a beta stage that can then be reworked and made better. Apple rarely does this. And anytime Apple had to revisit something, it was under the prospect of negative reaction—think back to the switch to OS X or the switch to USB and firewire and the blowback that Apple received.
Google’s not found the same level of objection, often releasing products at beta (Gmail is a prime example) which then was slowly introduced to the masses.
In an article on innovation in Fast Company, Doug Merrill, a Google executive said, “The marvel of Google is its ability to instill creative fearlessness”… A book I have on creativity called Fearless Creating says that we should “understand the difference between working and working deeply.” The bottom line is no matter what approach we use, it ultimately has to be about our ability to tap into that stored creativity reserve, preserve and cultivate some of that and make it useful for someone to digest.
Further thoughts…
I wanted to take a moment and add some thought to the re-post did yesterday on the article by Seth Godin on the 99 percent website. Talking about people’s block to creativity, he mentioned that we have an internal filter that dissuages us from risk and being creative is managing, or in some cases throwing that “filter” out. From the article he says:
“The resistance leads people to make suggestions that slow you down, suggestions that water down your idea, suggestions that lead to compromises.”
I was thinking alot about this since as of yesterday I was working with some design students and encouraging them not only be competent—of which they all were—but to throw creative abandon out the window if, at least for a little while, because soon enough, the deadline’ll come and we’ll all wonder had we thoroughly explored the concept?
I got to talking about an article on innovation I read where some Google team members were interviewed and some of that discussion I thought I’d repost:
“[Google] let[s] engineers spend 20% of their time working on whatever they want and we trust that they’ll build interesting things.” (Marissa Mayer) This sort of “play” helps to regularly defeat the personal, institutional resistance those engineers feel regularly and is just as important in other disciplines, like graphic design for instance. Just imagine 20% of billable hours out the window… The accountant will think you’re daft. But that “20%” could reflect itself in a growth in personal and company direction—less relatable to billable hours.
Take time out to learn, or better, yet master that wayward program. Structure or un-structure the time and just do it. It’s been some time I’d been looking at integrating more 3D into my own repertoire and some time later: voila…. a starting point.
A rendering developed to have more fun with a 3D program
Famously, Pablo Picasso said of his later (more famous) work: “It took me thirty years to unlearn what I had learned.” Some of that was about notions of playfulness and fearlessness. In the book Visual Thinking, Rudolph Arnheim quotes Cuisenaire Reporter in recognizing the “power of making abstraction is at its highest in children ages 6 – 9 years old”.
He continues, “Adults whose lives have been concerned entirely with practical situations may feel helpless when face with pure shapes, because in spite of their perceptual immediacy these things are “nothing” to them. They often have trouble with non-mimetic “modern” art. Children do not. They take ease with pure shapes, in art or elsewhere.”
So allowing your creativity to flourish is a skill as much as it is a desire. Flex your creative muscle whether you’re a designer or an accountant.
In other words, we have to WORK at making ourselves lower our creative barriers, especially if the resistance within us has been built up over time or condition. So let’s shout out, the notion of messing around a little!!!
AIGA Baltimore Blog 