Digging Yourself Out of a Creative Black Hole and Getting Back on Track

(How’s that for a mixed metaphor?)

Sometimes you just freeze up. No matter how much you try you keep recycling the same failed idea over and over again as if somehow you’ll find the magical tweak that will save it.

I say sometimes because if this happens often, you’re in the wrong field. Designing for the most part should be exciting and relatively easy. This is equally true for writers, painters, sculptors and any other creative field where you make something from nothing. If you find yourself struggling more often than not, then you should find something else to do. However, no matter how passionate and excited you are about your job, sometimes it just doesn’t go as smooth as you’d like.

Problem: The Idea That’s Too Good to Abandon

We’ve all been there. A sudden bolt of inspiration hits you and it’s just brilliant. This is the idea, the one that will define your client’s brand like no other.

The trouble is though, when you try to executive this amazing idea, it just falls flat.

Since you’re convince of your idea’s brilliance and you’ve already invested emotionally in it being the solution, you waste countless hours trying to polish what is essentially a turd.

Solution: There is only one way out of this and that is to just stop, toss the idea and look at other options. This will be followed shortly by another moment when the real solution pops into your head and you’ll wonder why you never thought of it before.

Lesson Learned: Know When to Quit

Problem: Going in Circles

This one is depressing because the design you’re working on is fundamentally decent but it just lacks a proper ending – that ah-ha moment that tells you you’re done. And you desperately want to be done.

Now, because the design is sound but anemic, you keep tweaking around the edges – afraid of disturbing the core. The trouble is the tweaks are just more of the same – booooring! And the results are the same – a design that is just shy of complete.

Solution: This one’s counter intuitive but you need to make a copy of that file and then just go ape shit on it. Try every ridiculous thing you can think off. Push the envelope as far as possible. Don’t worry, no one will see but you.  Too many fonts, ugly fonts, gigantic fonts, fonts on angles or bleeding off the page, one word per line, once character per line, bad line breaks, all lower case, all uppers, mix and match, left justified, right justified, asymmetrical layouts, hideous color, tangents – it’s all good. However, in the process of creating intentionally bad design you will free your mind and see things that you previously dismissed as unworkable. Then you can go back to the original and implement the best ideas culled from the mound of crap you just created.

Lesson Learned: Loosen Up and Try The Unthinkable

Problem: Good, But Not Really Good

You understand the specs. You have a complete handle on the objectives. Intellectually it’s a no brainer. Unfortunately your designs are stiff and uninspiring. Technically there is nothing wrong but it’s not going to win any awards, and more importantly, make money for your client.

Solution: Go see what other designers have done to solve a similar problem. Nothing is created in a vacuum. We all draw our inspiration from everything we’ve ever seen, heard, felt or touched since the time we were born. So add some more inspiration to the pile. Don’t worry about copying someone else. If you’re reading this you probably know the difference between inspiration and theft. Then, wait a day or two, and tackle the project again with a deeper reservoir to draw upon.

Lesson Learned: Expose Yourself to the Best and the Brightest, So You Can Be the Brightest and the Best

Problem: Total Brain Freeze

This should be rare but sometime you just blank out. You stare at the monitor and just drift aimlessly in your mind. Perhaps you’re too sick or too tired. Maybe it’s burnout. Whatever it is you know that to continue working would be a farce.

Solution: Go to a movie. Go hiking. Take your kid to the park. Read a book. See a concert. Take a nap. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s not related to design.

To the average person it will look like you’re goofing off, but the artist in you knows better. You’re best work is often done subconsciously in the background. Just because you’re not at your computer pushing pixels, doesn’t mean you’re not working. The creative mind doesn’t take vacations. Doing other things allows you brain to practice free association and create the epiphanies. The ones that make you pull off the road, bolt out of bed, or stop in mid conversation, so you can jot down that perfect idea that just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Well, it didn’t just appear out of nowhere. While you were hiking, playing, or watching that movie, your brain was quietly working on that problem that had eluded you for days. When it  finished, it pushed it forward so you could do something with it. Having fun and “goofing off” really is essential to the creative process.

Lesson Learned: All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Designer

File Under: 4 Techniques for Breaking the Most Common Types of Creative Blocks. How to Break Creative Block for Writers, Artists, and Designers

Get Your Design On!

The secret to a successful long-term career as a freelance graphic or web designer has little to do with design itself – it’s how you handle your business. I’m not saying that your design skills don’t matter, they do, but if you don’t get your business end together, it won’t matter how good you are. People simply won’t want to work with you.

It’s with this in mind that I offer you my top ten list of the most important business practices for freelance designers. This is not a theoretical list, this is how I run my business, so I know they work.

1. Never Leave a Client Unhappy Even if it Means Losing Money

This one hurts but you just need to suck it up, wrap up the job, and send them on their way. Happy clients will tell a few friends how awesome you are – unhappy clients will tell the whole world how much you suck.

2. Apologize Even if it’s Not Really Your Fault

You’re hired to solve problems not assign blame. An unresolved hurt will eat away at a client designer relationship. You need to nip it in the bud. If that means apologizing for something that is not your fault then so be it.

3. Take Ownership of the Problem Even When the Problem is Not Yours

Does it matter that your client’s website is down but there is absolutely nothing you can do about it because it’s hosted on a shared server two thousand miles away from your office? No, it’s your problem now because it affects your client. Clients are counting on you to take control of a situation, even if it means just placing a simple call to tech support to find out how long a server will be down. Will that get their website up any faster? Probably not – the hosting company already knows their servers are down and are working on it as fast as they can. But telling your client that you called tech support, and they are working on fixing the problem as fast as they can, assures the client that they have someone on their side who will take control of a situation and get things done. You need to be that person.

4. Remember to Use Your Phone Voice

Before you pick up the phone, take a deep breath, smile, and then answer. This assures that you always sound cheerful and refreshed. Nobody wants to hire someone who sounds frazzled and stressed.

5. When Trying to Land a Client Act as if You Don’t Need the Work

Don’t be rude, aloof, or difficult – just behave like all successful people behave. Winners are generous, polite and helpful because they are confident and secure. They have nothing to prove. You need to behave as if your business will be just fine whether they hire you or not. However, enthusiasm is good. So is asking lots of questions and kicking around ideas. There is a big difference between showing passion and interest in the client and their ideas and showing interest in their money and their connections. The former is about them and the latter is about you. The more you want the job the more you need to keep the focus on them and control your impulses to push things too quickly. Clients can sense desperation and it turns them off. If you’ve done you job correctly, the client will make the first move in closing the deal. They want to feel as if they got lucky when you took them on as a client.

6. Freely Give Away Advice

Don’t hold back a good suggestion until they hire you. Just say it. Quite often it’s that great suggestion that seals the deal. The good clients will be impressed and will hire you even after you already explained everything that they need to do. That’s the way serious business people behave. They delegate authority to professionals that know more than they do. They don’t feel the need to do it themselves or micromanage. Nothing screams authority and trust more than someone who freely gives away a “million dollar” idea to someone they just met. Conversely, bad clients will take the info, hang up, and you’ll never hear from them again. They’ll then do a half-assed job trying to implement the suggestions themselves on the cheap. They won’t know the difference and will feel as if they got the upper hand over a naive designer. And that’s a good thing. It saves you a lot of headaches that come from working with a wannabe who will never be a real player.

7. Always Ask for a Down Payment Before You Start a Job

Fifty percent is good. If they bail on you, at least you got paid decently. This also weeds out the tire kickers. The only exceptions are larger established companies that invoice at the end of a job. You don’t ask for fifty percent down when The Discovery Channel or Google hires you for a contract job. Most media agencies (print, television, radio, web, etc) also work this way. You just do the job and invoice at the end.

8. Buy the Best You Can Afford

Good equipment pays for itself very quickly, bad equipment costs you everyday. Good equipment is cheap, bad equipment is expensive.

9. Remember to Invoice

Nothing fancy, they just can’t pay you until you invoice. Accountants and payroll departments are funny that way.

10. Get a Client Testimonial for Your Website

After you’d wrapped up a great project ask for a client testimonial. Don’t wait for them to offer it. You can even give them suggestions on the types of points they could cover or include an example of a previous testimonial to get the ball rolling. Not only does this help land future work it also gives you insight into what your client valued most about their collaboration with you.

File Under – Business Tips for Freelance Graphic Designers – Business Tips for freelance Web designers – How to Run a Successful Freelance Graphic or Web Design Business

Four Legitimate Reasons Why Your Designer May Not Want to Release a Layered Photoshop or Illustrator File…Plus One Illegitimate One.

I hear this a lot. Designers don’t want to give the layered masters to their clients. Clients rightfully feel a little miffed about not getting something that they assumed they had paid for.

There are many legitimate reasons why a friendly, helpful and knowledgable designer may suddenly get a little anxious when a client asks for the layered Photoshop or non-outlined layered Illustrator masters, but only one illegitimate one. Let’s review the legitimate reasons first and then wrap up with the illegitimate one.

1. It’s a Legitimate Business Decision Based Upon Agreed Upon Deliverables

For some this is a legitimate business decision. A client is paying for a finished print ready or web ready file. They are not paying for all of the active layers and the full history of the project. This is why a designer provides you with one finished design and not masters to every comp they created. You are only paying for one design. With access to the layered file a client could hire someone else to churn our endless variations from the raw data and the original designer, who put in all the work, will never see another penny. If a designer is using this formula then they will probably offer you the master for an additional buyout fee.

You can think of it this way. If you hired a songwriter to create a jingle or a writer to create a killer tag line, you are entitled to one finished mix of the song or one finalized tagline. You don’t get all the rough tracks and out-takes and you don’t get to have all the other taglines you passed on.

A master layered Photoshop or Illustrator file is similar as they often contain a history of all the available options.

For me personally, I tend to reserve the layered Photoshop file until there is a specific reason. They contain the entire history of the project and I don’t want some hack breaking it apart and creating junk, nor do I want my client to accidentally send the wrong file to the printers. When I’m collaborating with other designers who need the layered files to reformat for use in other mediums, I always provide a cleaned up version of the layered master. I also expect them to do the same for me.

However, if my client simply wants a layered Photoshop file out of curiosity I will generally discourage it. I will always provide a cleaned up version of the layered master free of charge if they truly want it – that’s just the way I conduct my business – but I also establish some rules when I do. This is based on experience as a layered master floating around can cause problems for both myself and the client. So if I’m hesitant about releasing the layered file it’s really an attempt to protect my client from misusing or accidentally distributing a very valuable business asset.

However, Illustrator files are a bit different. I tend to work in the Illustrator editable PDF format so all of my proofs are essentially “masters” anyway. So I will generally provide a layered master Illustrator editable PDF file and all the fonts after I cleaned them up. Since they are the PDF format, and vector files are quite small, my clients will have no problem opening them with just Acrobat Reader. However they will need Illustrator or Acrobat Pro to edit them.

2. Your Don’t Have The Proper Software to Open the File

This is a common problem. A client will ask the designer for the master Photoshop (PSD) or Illustrator (AI) file yet they do not have the software to open it nor the experience to do anything with it even if they had the program. Several says later the client calls.

“Something’s wrong with the file you sent me!”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time I try to open it nothing happens”

“Ok. I want you to open Photoshop first…”

“Wait, what’s Photoshop?”

“It’s a professional industry standard image editing program.”

“I don’t have that. I have Microsoft Paint though.”

“That won’t work. You need Photoshop.”

“Then why did you send me this file if I can’t use it?”

“Because you insisted on having it.”

“Then send me something I can use.”

“I did, it’s the TIF file I gave you originally. I also gave you a JPG version.”

“Oh, OK, Thanks!”

3. Your Don’t Have a Powerful Enough Computer to Open the File

A layered Photoshop file for a complex poster could be 500mb or more is size. If you have an older laptop with only 2gb ram, your computer will slow to a scrawl while it tries to open a file that big file. It may not be able to open it at all. Design professionals have beefy workstations and files we open easily may be difficult for our clients. So a designer may not want to give you such a large file knowing full well it will just make you frustrated.

4. Your Designer is Worried That You’ll Use the Wrong File

Clients need a variety of file types. For an example, a client will need an outlined vector PDF of their logo, a print quality transparent TIF, and a variety of JPG, PNG or GIF files for email stationary, web use, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations.

Most designers will clearly create file names such as Logo_Word_Document.JPG, Logo_Web.JPG, and Logo_Master_Outlined_Printer.PDF.

To the designer this seems infinitely wise and helpful. However the client most likely just sees a bunch of logo files and will grab the most convenient one and use it.

“I’ve been trying to email our logo to a website who’s going to write about our company but it just keeps sitting in my outbox and never sends”

“What file are you trying to send?”

“Our logo.”

“I mean what is the file name.?

“Uh, let’s see..it says logo master for printers dot t-i-f..”

“Ok, that’s a print quality file that is only supposed to be used in special circumstances when someone can’t handle the PDF version. It’s 35 megabites in size. At best an email client can handle 12 megabites.Why didn’t you send the file named web?”

“What do you mean?”

“Go back to the files I gave you. Do you see one labeled web?”

“Yes”

“You use that one for the web.”

“Oh , Ok thanks!”

Sometimes it’s the reverse.

“I sent the printer our logo and they said the resolution’s too low!”

“What? That’s impossible. It’s a vector file. It’s completely resolution independent.”

“Well that’s what they are telling me.”

“Uh, hold on, forward me the file you sent them.”

“Here you go, sent.”

“Ahhh, I see now. You sent them the web resolution JPG and not the PDF file.”

“Which ones should I send them then?

“The one called Logo_Master_Outlined_Printer.PDF”

“Oh, Ok. Thanks!”

Now these are not uneducated clients. They are often experts in their field, quick learners and sharp as a tack. However, things that are second nature to a designer are archaic to them. They simply don’t think about file extensions, file names and file size.

Because of this, a designer may be cautious about sending over a huge layered file that is completely impractical for their clients needs.

5.Your Designer is Really Just a Petty and Controlling Asshole

Some designers are just paranoid pains in the ass. They don’t see you as a collaborator and confidant and instead view you as an adversary. These designers feel that they cannot maintain their client list by providing superior service and instead hold various elements hostage to prevent their clients from leaving them.

Stay away from these designers. They are poison and will not hesitate to jeopardize your success to protect their egos. They also make my job exceedingly difficult when they refuse to release files I need to do your job.

If you suspect this is the type of designer you are dealing with, you are probably right. If in doubt, ask them why they won’t give you the layered master Photoshop files or the non-outlined editable Illustrator vector files. If they don’t have a good reason that is in line with one of the first four legitimate reasons then you need to switch designers. Good designers like to empower their clients and will do their best to get you what you truly need to make your business a success.

File Under: Understanding Layered Photoshop Files – What is a Layered Photoshop File – Giving Master Files to Clients

Good-bye AI…Hello PDF

For most of my career, when I started a new Illustrator project and went to save the file, I choose AI for the file type and only used EPS if there was a special request. However, now that Illustrator can save layered PDFs as editable Illustrator files I’ve made the switch to working directly in the PDF file format. I’m so stoked with how it’s working out I’d thought I’d share what I feel are the three big advantages of working in the Illustrator editable PDF file format.

1. Everyone Wants a PDF Anyway

PDF rules the roost in the printing industry. It’s the one thing everyone can rely on for maximum portability and compatibility. But some industry niches still require a different format. This is usually related to legacy software that demands a specific file type and they are not interested in spending the whole five minutes it will take to convert my PDF.

So when the occasional embroidery or signage company insists on an AI or EPS file  I just save my PDF in the format they want and send it to them. It takes me five minutes and they are totally happy to now have the “correct” file format.

2. It Speeds Up Proofing

When I was working in AI format I’d have to save a PDF version to send to my client. When I work directly in Illustrator editable PDF format I can just send them the same file I’m actually working on. What a huge time saver! And if they should find one version to be perfect they already have the master file in their hand. If the fonts were embeddable I don’t even have to convert it to outlines. Sweet!

3. It’s an Insurance Policy Against Lost, Overwritten, Corrupted or Accidentally Deleted Files

Since every PDF proof I send  also doubles as an editable master I know I have multiple usable “masters” floating around that I can easily retrieve if need be. If I were to accidentally overwrite a revision that the client approved I could just pull the file attachment from my email sent folder or ask my client to send back the one they like. Presto! Back on track.

Risk Free Trial

If you’re not working directly in the Illustrator editable PDF format why not try it for a month and see how you like it. You can always just resave you editable PDF files as AI or EPS so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

File Under: Advantages  and Benefits of Working in the Adobe Illustrator Editable PDF File Format – How to Save Illustrator File as Editable PDF

What is Good Design? Good Design is Design that Makes Your Client Money

If you ask a designer what makes a good design they’ll rattle off a list of impressive sounding terms: good contrast, effective use of type, good use of white space, logical hierarchy and so on.

Ask a client and they’ll tell you one thing – it needs to increase sales.

For some designers, that is a hard pill to swallow. You may think your design totally kicks ass but if the market says otherwise, you failed. By failed, I don’t mean artistically, I mean failed in not meeting the goals of the client. You client doesn’t care about your design theories – this is a business, and businesses must make money or die. Make your clients money and they will take you very seriously.

You Don’t Know Everything

So you finished the new full-page ad and sent it to the printers. It looks amazing. It stands out from the rest of the ads in the magazine in a very good way. It pops. It sizzles. It rocks big time. Then nothing happens. No calls, no increased sales, no spike in website visitor traffic. What happened? It doesn’t make sense, the design was perfect, some of your best work.

You’ve just gotten the most important lesson you’ll ever learn as a designer. Just because you think it’s good, just because it follows every design theory to the letter, doesn’t mean it will perform.

Don’t take it personally. There’s a good chance your client thought is was good too.

If you’re a bad designer, a wannabe, you’ll blame the customers. Obviously they were just too stupid to understand how awesome your ad was. If they weren’t such a bunch of unsophisticated country bumpkins this ad would have worked perfectly. You’re not going to lower your standards just to get these idiots to buy.

Do this and you’re gone. The client will drop you quick and you deserve it. You’re not being paid to express yourself, to win awards or to show off to your peers. You are being paid to make money for your client. Period.

If you’re a good designer, a rockstar, you’ll blame yourself. You made the comps, you steered the client to a specific approach, and it was you that misjudged the market. You’re going to deconstruct that ad and figure out why it didn’t work. Was it too avant-garde or clash with proven customer reading patterns?  Was the message wrong for the magazines demographics? Was it pitching a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist? Did you forget to include a clear call to action? Whatever it was, you’re not going to repeat that mistake again. It’s time for a different approach.

Do this and you’ll be getting more work down the road. Your client doesn’t expect you to hit it out off the ballpark every time. But they do expect you to picking up a good share of doubles and to take their needs seriously.

You’re Not Flipping Burgers

A good designer should care deeply about their client’s success. All clients start out great and deserve your emotional and professional commitment. This is not flipping burgers at McDonald’s. People are putting their business and reputation in your hands. That’s a special relationship that must be respected.

More often than not, your client has the same dependence on you as you do to your mechanic, doctor or lawyer. If they didn’t they wouldn’t need your services or be willing to pay serious money to secure them. It’s an unequal situation where your screw-ups have a profound impact on your client’s business. If your ad, poster, mailer or brochure doesn’t get to the printer on time they could lose thousands. A website that never goes live leaves them completely out of the online competitive landscape. Weak branding will leave them vulnerable to competitors and slowly drain their coffers as potential customers silently turn away and seek other alternatives.

Just as a doctor’s misdiagnosis could cost you your life, a mechanic’s botched repair can leave you stranded on the highway, and a lawyers misreading of the law could lead to jail or huge fines, so does a designer bad choices affect their client. Bad design won’t kill your client, but it may kill their business and they know it. That’s why clients are a little anxious about these things. They know what’s on the line and how much power they are giving you.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A designer earns their respect daily. Every phone call, email, comp, and revision adds or detracts from your street cred. How you handle a client’s request matters. How you deal with a crisis matters. In fact, it’s the crisis situations that make or break your business. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is, if you choke when you need to shine, your client will make a serious note of it. Do it twice and you’re gone.

So if you want respect then try doing something to deserve it – like make them money. If you want your client to hang on your every word then give them a reason to listen by delivering results. If you want to be treated like a god then make marketing miracles and turn your pixels, vectors and code into money in their pocket.

Do that and you won’t be one of those whiny designers with a list of floundering clients that drive them crazy.

File Under: Making Your Clients Happy – How to Build Good Client-Designer Relationships – Client-Designer Dynamics – How to Be Taken Seriously as a Graphic Designer – How to Be Respected for Your Graphic Design Skills – Why Your Clients Don’t Respect Your Design Talents – Getting Respect as a Web Designer

How I’ve Tricked Out My Work Station to Make Sure I Never Go on Disability Again

I know what it’s like to wear a wrist brace for three years, to be in so much pain that I had to ice my hand after brushing my teeth, and to have my partner pay all the bills because filling out a check was just too painful. This was my life after I walked off my job painting custom designs on ceramic sinks and tiles for eight years. I had tried to delay the inevitable with Cho-pats, wrist braces and ibuprofen. I switched to half days and tried modifying my work area to accommodate my ever decreasing abilities. Then one day my hand seized up, the brush dropped and I told my boss that I’d reached my end.

Looking back, I should had quit sooner. The last year caused so much damage that I have no doubt that it had a detrimental effect on my chances for recovery. So in 1998, after I had run through two years if disability payments and exhausted every physical therapy program available, my case was settled. The verdict – permanent disability. As part of the settlement I received $20,000 which was supposed to help me transition to some new mythical life.

Now I had always been working professionally in the arts since high school. While I was at my sink painting job I was also working my butt off in my freelance career. When not at my day job painting intricate works of art, I was designing a line of edgy t-shirts that were distributed nationally through Miller’s Outpost and Pacific Sunwear, I was staff cartoonist for three local papers and was self syndicating my alternative political comic strip, and even doing cartoons for Playboy Magazine. So when I went on disability it wasn’t just about my job and loss of income, it was my entire life.

This is when I got my fist computer. My dad bought it for me for Christmas after I told him that I think my future is digital and working at home under my own conditions. Turned out to be an excellent investment on both our parts.

So unlike most people, I was already disabled before I started working on a computer and at first I could only work on it a couple of hours a day, every other day. My condition was that serious and I was required to think ergonomically from the first day I powered up my workstation.

But here I am, twelve years later and working 12 to 14 hours per day with no issues. Time, acupuncture and some really smart ergonomic choices about how to modify my work station did the trick.

Now I’m passing on some of my favorite tips and tricks for working hard and efficiently on the computer AND keeping yourself off disability.

Get Rid of The Mouse and Buy A Pen Tablet

I don’t think anyone should be using a mouse. It was an ergonomic nightmare when it was invented and it still is today. Do this little test. Hold your arm out in the mouse position – forearm parallel to the floor, elbow cocked at a 45 degree angle, your palm facing down- and extend your index finger like you are using an invisible mouse. Hold it for 30 seconds and notice how awkward it is and how your arm doesn’t feel stable and strong. Now, without changing anything else, rotate you hand into a pencil holding position. If you are right-handed you’ll rotated your hand 45 degrees to the right. Feel the difference? Notice how your shoulder relaxes and how stable your arm feels now? That’s why you need to switch from a mouse to a pen tablet. Professional designers or serious hobbyists should spend the big bucks on the Wacom Intuos but regular folk will do just fine with the very affordable Wacom Bamboo.

My Wacom Intuos pen tablet shown here with added foam grip and added clear sheet protector to provide a smoother glide.

Get a Gaming Keyboard with Programmable Macros Hotkeys

Like a lot of people I copy and paste all day, and like many I use the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V keyboard shortcuts. Now, I never learned to type so I use my two middle fingers and look at the keys. I’ve tried to learn to type the real way, but it hurts my tendons to use all those fingers rather than just powering through using my two longest fingers. This means I also use two hands to do my keyboard shortcuts. I tried doing the finger spread with my left hand but it irritated my tendons very quickly. If you cut and paste perhaps several hundred times per day, using two hands or even two fingers on one hand, it’s going to take its toll.

Now what if I told you could have a keyboard that could do anything – be it a keyboard shortcut, inserting a line of text or even launching an application – with just one keystroke. Well if you get a gaming keyboard with programmable hotkeys you can do just that. I’m using the Logitech G110 and it’s changed my life. I can have instant access to 12 shortcuts of my design and another 24 on reserve. But I really want just copy and paste shortcuts so I programmed all the left hotkeys for copy and all the right hotkeys for paste. Now it’s nearly impossible to miss!

My Logitech G110 Gaming keyboard with programmable hotkeys. Now I just hit G6 for copy and G12 for paste.

Wrap Your Pens and Pencils with Foam for a Wider Grip

Pens, pencils and brushes are just too slim for sustained use. The thinner the instrument the tighter your tendons must contract. Additionally, the last 50% of your  finger’s contraction takes more energy than the first 50% of the contraction. Try it yourself by picking up raisin or other small object. Notice how easy it is to start the contraction but the last 50% of the movement requires more concentration, more strength, and more tension. Wide grips on your instruments negates the need for a full contraction. It also creates a grip with some give so it’s softer and more comfortable to use. The bounce back from the foam also provides a subconscious reminder to relax your grip even when you are stressed and rushing through to deadline. The same effect is experienced by teeth grinders who use a pliable mouth guard to stop their jaw from clamping down. I use 1/8 inch black foam rubber that I get at Orchard Supply and some high quality duct tape. Electrical tape also works.

I wrap all my pencils, pens and brushes in 1/8 inch foam rubber for a nice ergonomic wide grip.

Divide Up Your Chores to Spread the Wear and Tear on Your Body

I have a pen tablet but I also use a mouse. This was at first a necessity because I covered up the right-click button on my pen with a layer of foam rubber to create a wider more economical grip. So I placed my mouse on the left side of the keyboard to handle right clicks and scrolling. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise because now I’m spreading the wear and tear on my body over both hands and not putting all the responsibilities on my right.

I use both a mouse and a pen tablet to spread my duties across both hands. The mouse handles right clicking and scrolling.

Set Your Computer for Single Click Action

By default you probably double-click to launch a program or view a hyperlink but what if you could do that with one click? By setting your mouse and pen clicks to single action you instantly reduce your daily clicks by 50%.

How to set your mouse for single clicks in Windows Vista.

Buy some Wide Grip, Light Weight Writing Pens

I’ll make this one super easy. Just go to Staples and by their store brand Classic Grip gel ballpoint pens and a couple of packs of Classic Grip refills. I’ve used a lot of pens and these are the most economically friendly I’ve ever found. They also have a supremely smooth tip feel that just glides across the page. I’d give you a link but apparently Staples’ doesn’t have enough sense put this pen on their website so you’ll have to buy it in store.

Staples ergonomically friendly Classic Grip pens. I always keep a pile around my workstation and one in my car.

Now a Word About Laptops

For the last two years laptops have outsold desktops. This is great for manufactures but bad for our bodies. Everything about a laptop is ergonomically wrong. The keyboard and the screen are connected causing you to hold your arms too high while simultaneous tilting your head to low. When you work on laptop you round your shoulders and bring your forearms up. Not a pretty sight.

Snidely Whiplash working on his laptop. Notice the hunched shoulders and how high his forearms must be to reach the keyboard.

To make matters worse more people are ditching the mouse in favor of the little touch pad, so now their posture is even more cramped. If you absolutely must use a laptop then buy a keyboard, pen tablet, monitor, and decent computer desk. Just leave the keyboard, mouse, pen tablet, and monitor set up on the desk 24/7. The pen tablet you can take with you when you travel if you choose. When you’re at home and it’s time to work on the laptop, just hook it up and use it the way you would a desktop computer. Your body will thank you.

Ergonomics…By Any Means Necessary

Ergonomics is not about looks or style – it’s about function. Don’t be shy about doing what you need to do to make it work for you. Who cares if you bought a giant mouse so you could use it with your toes or that you bought a children’s keyboard because you like the jumbo sized keys? If it works, it works. Below is my computer workstation (my giant oak drafting board is off the frame to the left) and it’s not a pretty site.

My workstation ain't gonna win any beauty contests.

This is the “by any means” mantra in action. My Wacom tablet was just a little too low and the angle a little too flat so I propped up the back with my first computer magazine “The Winter 1998 Computing Dictionary”. It’s the same one I’ve been using with all my Wacom tablets for the last twelve years. My new Logitech Gaming keyboard was too slim and the angle too low so I set it on top of my “9th Edition Graphic Designers Guild Handbook – Pricing and Ethical Guidelines” and then put one of my package designs for Do-Goodie brownies on the back to create the proper angle. I knew the Graphic Designers Guild Handbook would be useful someday and I’m glad I didn’t eat all the brownie samples!

File Under: Ergonomic Tips for the Workplace – Computer Ergonomics – How to Upgrade Your Workstation for Better Ergonomics – Workplace Ergonomic Tips  – Setting Up an Ergonomic Home Office

Nigerian 419 Scam Turns into Comical Lesson on How to Prepare a File for Print

Sometimes opportunities just fall into your lap. In this case, a spammer using a classic Nigerian 419 scam ends up providing the perfect example of how NOT to prepare a design for professional printing.

The first email arrives with a vague request to an obviously spoofed address. The big tip-offs that this was a scam are the lack of punctuation and the question about accepting credit card orders. Nobody asks that up front unless they are fishing for a victim.

From: William Burns <sales.burns@gmail.com>
Date: 3/28/2010 4:58 PM
To: info@postcardsplus.net

do you print postcards and do you accept credit card for this order

Curious, I reply back to see what this is about. I am already 99% certain this is a scam, but who knows, in the off-chance that this is legit it can’t hurt to reply.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/28/2010 7:03 PM
To: William Burns

Do you have the right person? What order are you referring to?

He gets right back to me but suddenly his name has changed and he’s using a different email. Well that answers the “is it a scam?” question pretty clearly and the second request about accepting credit cards seals the deal.

From: David Baker <david_baker2g7@yahoo.com>
Date: 3/29/2010 8:15 PM
To: Clay Butler

quote me on 50,000copies and 100,000 copies
Post Card: 6″ x 11″ Standard Postcard
14pt. Cardstock Gloss
2 colours front,blank back

do you accept credit card and are you the sales manager or the owner

david and sons ltd
2384 rusk st
beaumont,tx
77702

Just for kicks I do a search for David and Sons Ltd just to see if it’s a fabricated business or they are spoofing a legitimate company. Turns out it’s fabricated, which makes sense because the scammer can’t have me calling the company to confirm. I could have just dropped it at this point but I was curious – how far could we take this? So I send of a reply.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/30/2010 5:40 AM
To: David Baker

I’m the owner.

Do you have the artwork ready?

Sometimes people confuse the concept of two colors. Is this two colors visually (process color) or two PMS spot colors?

David hits me back with an answer.

From: David Baker
Date: 3/30/2010 9:26 AM
To: Clay Butler

i have an artwork ready to proceed so quote me  to proceed

Great, he admits to having something that I know for sure he doesn’t. So I give him a quick quote.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/31/2010 5:42 AM
To: David Baker

$3,000 for 50,000 print run
$5,600 for 100,000 print run

David gets back to me and now he brings up that this will be shipped to his orphanage in Ghana. I’m so blessed! I couldn’t have come up with a more hilarious response if I tried. And that the orphanage is called “James Orphanage” and the address is “505 Orphanage Street ” just kills me. Seriously, this guy should be writing for SNL!

From: David Baker
Date: 3/30/2010 9:26 AM
To: Clay Butler

Hello I am ok with the price and i will like to order in total $3,000 for 50,000 print run And i will recommend a freight company for the pick up of the unit to my new orphanage home in (West Africa) . Now i want to you to contact them with the total weight of the unit and find out the freight quote to Africa for me . The delivery address is below :
James Orphanage
505 Orphanage Street
Kumasi, 00233
Ghana(West Africa)
billing address
David and sons ltd
2384 rusk st
beaumont,tx
77702

Freight company email address : freightlinersshippinggh@hotmail.com
And including the pick-up location and they will surely get you a freight quote .As soon as you her from them let me know so that i can proceed with transaction
Best Regards

However, I’m not caving. He needs to send me the print ready file.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/31/2010 10:02 AM
To: David Baker

I need the artwork. Can’t start the job without the print ready file.

Thanks.

David then tries to change the subject.

From: David Baker
Date: 3/31/2010 10:09 AM
To: Clay Butler

well the artwork is ready here but first thing is to get me the shipping cost asap to proceed

Now it’s time to see how much David is willing to invest in the scam before bailing. I hold firm but assure him that once I get the file I will call the freight company so his orphanage can get their postcards.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/31/2010 5:09 PM
To: David Baker

Perhaps this is your first time ordering such a large print run but we don’t make the order without the artwork. My print department needs to review the file to make sure it is print ready and our your color quote is accurate.

Please mail me the print ready file and remember you must include a 1/8 bleed, convert all fonts to outlines and all images converted to CMYK.

Once I have that I’ll contact your freight company.

Thanks,

Then the totally unexpected happens. He sends me the file and it’s awesome! I haven’t laughed so hard in weeks. Below is a gif thumbnail but you can view the original PDF if you’d like.

From: David Baker
Date: 3/31/2010 5:49 PM
To: Clay Butler

attached is the file so advise

I open the file in Illustrator. It was clear he made this in Word as it’s 8 1/2 by 11 and in giant Times New Roman – no PMS colors, no bleed and no fonts converted to outlines. I’m shocked he actually even tried and even more impressed that he knocked it out in under 40 minutes. Not bad. But what cracked me up the most is I’ve actually gotten “print ready” files from clients just like this. I’ve had business cards mailed to me so I can scan the logo from the card to use on their website. I’ve had 150 pixel by 100 pixel images pulled from random websites to use in print brochures and posters. I’ve received images embedded in Word documents and “hi-res” logos that were just jagged gif images or bitmaps. If it’s non-standard, non-compliant, and non-usable, I’ve gotten it. Sometimes there is no other choice because the client has nothing else to give you – it simply doesn’t exist – so you need to work some miracles. However David is not my client, he is a criminal, so he gets it straight.

From: Clay Butler
Date: 3/31/2010 6:44 PM
To: David Baker

I reviewed your file and I’m glad I had you send it. There are several problems with it.

1. You made the file 8.5″x11″. The Postcard’s dimensions are 6″x11″ with a 1/8 bleed
2. You didn’t specify what PMS color we should use for the yellow
3. You didn’t convert the fonts to outlines

The good news is that these are not difficult fixes. If you’d like, my graphic department can get it up to spec for $50. However I would need to be pre-paid for this. I can give our company PayPal account and you can pay that way if you choose as we accept all major credit cards and you don’t need to have a PayPal account yourself.

Your other choice is to fix it yourself and send it back.

Thanks,

Unfortunately I never heard back from David which is a bit disappointing because I really wanted to turn the tables and have the scammer pay me. Now that would be rich!

Now if you’re a business person and not a designer you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Your source images look big on your screen and you designed your poster in Word which is a “professional” program. For the business folks out there I’m going to give you a quick lesson that will not only help you, but help your designer.

What Designers Mean When They Ask, “Is it Print Ready?”

or

The 4 Most Important Things You Should Know About Printing Requirements

1. Bleed Requirements

So what is bleed? Bleed is when the artwork goes out of the final trimmed print area. If your brochure, postcard, or business card has anything, be it color or images, that go right to the edge you need bleed. So a 6″ x 11″ postcard with a yellow background needs to have the yellow ” bleed” another 1/8 inch around all sides. That means your print ready file will need to be 6.25″x11.25″ (an extra .125″ all away around).

This is because your postcard will be printed on giant sheets of paper. There may be eight duplicates on one sheet of paper. After printing these sheets of paper are cut down to 6″x11″. The extra yellow bleed gets cut off leaving you a perfect background of yellow that goes from edge to edge.

Think of it like painting a room in the house. You mask out what you don’t want painted and then paint slightly over the mask. When you peel the tape back you have perfect edges with complete paint coverage.

2. Print Quality or Print Resolution Images

When designers talk about print quality images they mean images that are of sufficient size to print without having to enlarge it beyond its native size. We use pixels per inch (screen resolution) and dpi (dots per inch) interchangeably. Common printed jobs are typically run at 300 dpi. That means if you were to count the little dots that make up a printed image, you would find that for ever inch you would find 300 dots in a row. These little dots combine with other dots to form full color pictures. Full color printing (process color) has four colors of dots. The dots are cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black and are commonly referred to as CMYK. Each color is on its own screen and each one passes over the paper with the black going on last. If you’ve ever seen a full color image in a newspaper that looks blurry like a 3-D projection, it means that one or more of the four-color plates (screens) was off register.

So what does this really mean? It means images that look big on your monitor will print much smaller. But why do they look big on the monitor? Because your monitor is displaying the images at 72 or 96 pixels per inch, an image that is only 300 pixels wide will look pretty decent. But with print we reverse the formula.

If you have an image that is 300 pixels wide it will print only one inch wide. A 600 pixel image, like the one below from a Russian spammer trolling for a husband, will print two inches wide.

So if you have a 6″x11″ postcard that needs an image that covers the entire print area it needs to be at least 1800 pixels x by 3300 pixels (6 inches times 300 dpi and 11 inches times 300 dpi). That’s a big image and most likely you’ll won’t be finding that on someones website. Now, designers can enlarge a good quality image a bit, so you could probably get by with something around 900 pixels x 1750 pixels if sharp details weren’t crucial. But overall keep this formula in mind (divide the pixels by 300) and make sure source images are big enough to print nice and clear.

3. Fonts  – Embedded, Installed and Converting to Outlines

The number one thing to know about fonts is that just because you have that cool font installed on your computer doesn’t mean your designer does. The same goes for the company printing your design. If you send a file to your designer and your designer doesn’t have that font installed, his system will swap it out with a default. If he’s not paying attention he may not even notice. So if you have a particular font that you must have, you must email it to your designer so he can install it on his system. If you’re on a PC you can find the font by going to your Control Panel and then opening up the Font folder. Find the font you want and attach it to an email.

The second thing to know is that because not everyone has the same fonts installed, you printer will want you to convert all text to outlines before sending them the file. This means that editable text will be converted to shapes. So the letter “o” will no longer be a letter in the alphabet that you can change but an image in the shape of an “o”. Don’t do this to your master as it’s not reversible. Make a copy and convert text to outlines on that one. If you want a designer to edit your file, don’t send them the one that’s been converted. He will not be able to make changes to the text.

There is a hybrid between these two options and that is fonts that are embedded in a PDF file or other documents like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. Depending on the restrictions put on the font it may instantly install the font on the user’s system (fully installable), allow the user to edit the document but not have the font on their machine (editable), just be able to see it (print preview) or not see the original font at all (do not embed).

Most common fonts can be embedded into a PDF file. If you send a PDF, Word, or PowerPoint to your designer, and the fonts are embeddable, he will be able to make edits even if the font isn’t installed on his system. However, this doesn’t work with programs like Photoshop or Illustrator. If you send your designer one of those files you’ll need to send the fonts if it isn’t already installed on his system.

Confused? That’s ok. The most important thing to take from this is that your designer needs to have the fonts you want to use.

4. Spot Color (PMS) Versus Process (CMYK)

When someone says a design is two colors they don’t mean it looks like two colors. They mean it is two specific spot or PMS colors. PMS stands for Pantone Matching System and it’s a set of industry standard pre made colors. It’s a lot like picking paint for your house. You look through swatches and then pick the color you want.

A design that looks like two colors may actually be  process color (CMYK) -  meaning it took four plates of color (blue, red, yellow and black) to make those two colors. This is an important difference for if your two color design is actually achieved with four colors (process/CMYK) you’ll be paying for process color.

Normally this doesn’t matter as typical trade printing (business cards, brochures, flyers etc) is so cheap it’s not worth stressing about. However, when you get into other types of printing – like for packaging, signage, and garments – it may make a big difference.

So know which method you are using. If you are using spot color your printer or designer will expect to know that before they start and assume you have the PMS colors picked out. Remember, picking PMS colors is like picking paint for your house. They both come right out of the can looking that way. No mixing is done.

So there you go, a quick lesson about what your printer and your designer means when they say “print ready”.

Need Help Designing Your Postcard?

If you’re looking for someone to design your postcards I can help you out. Whether you need punchy cartoon art or a seriously slick and conservative mailer, I’m your guy.

File Under: What Does Print Ready Mean – Explain Print Ready – Preparing a File for Printing

Shhhh, It’s Our Little Secret

I know I’m supposed to do it, but I just can’t. Everyone tells me to do it, and my entire industry encourages and promotes it, but it just feels wrong. Even my clients expect me to do it. But I just can’t. It makes me feel dirty and cheap.

I’m of course talking about reselling.

I get freakishly low-priced, high quality printing services because of my business. I have a wholesaler account with an exceptional print house. The prices are so competitive that I could easily tack on another 50% and it would still be lower than what my clients could get on their own. It would be so easy. Put the job on my credit card and drop ship the product to their business. Send them an invoice and pocket the difference. No one would know. Except for me.

I have a hosting provider that allows me to host an unlimited number of domains for $6.95 per month. That means it cost nothing to throw another account on there. I host several of my clients sites. I could easily have told them it would be $10 per month and they would be happy. That’s cheaper than what they were paying before, plus it makes both of our lives easier to consolidate into an hosting environment that I’m intimately familiar with. No one would know or even care. Except for me.

I’m really good at what I do but there are some things I’m never going to master. I have no interest and it would distract me from my core competency to try to develop these skills. So I collected a very tight-knit group of friends who are brilliant flash designers and animators and a secret team of database programmers. They are my ace in the hole for these skills. When I spec out the job I add their costs to the job as is. I could easily tack on a 25% surcharge to my partner’s fees and my client would never know the difference. Nor would they care. In fact they probably expect me to do it. Even my creative collaborators expect me to do it. But I just can’t. I tell them straight up not to low ball the job because they expect me to jack up the price and pocket the difference. I don’t play that game. These are talented professions that I can trust 100%. They will never leave me hanging and they always give more than promised. They are not going to work on the cheap. Not on my watch.

Now for me, this is just proper business. You treat your talent well and you don’t nickel and dime your clients just because you can. But it’s also the direct opposite of how the industry works. Now I’m not one to follow the norm just because it’s the norm, so I developed two key principles that guide my business.

The Two Key Principals of Why I Don’t Resell

1. You Don’t Add Costs Unless You Add Value

This is just the socialist in me. Buying low and selling high, without adding additional value, just seems wrong. If I go to a garage sale and see a valuable antique priced at 25 cents then buy it and flip it on EBay for $125, I didn’t “make” $124.75. I didn’t “earn” anything. I just got lucky and took advantage or an ignorant seller. Not something to brag about. I increased my wealth, yet provided no additional value in the world. You can blame the entire current global financial crisis on people who violated this principle.

2. Reselling Dilutes My Brand and Cheapens My Talent, My Credibility and My Status as a Rockstar Designer.

Could you imagine Tiger Woods selling golf clubs out of the trunk of his car (well, maybe now you can). You know he gets tens of thousands of dollars in free gear every year. He could easily flip this stiff and make a nice profit.

Or how about Michael Jordan. I’m sure he gets all the free shoes he wants. Why doesn’t he just sell them on EBay. Easy money right?

Easy, yes. Profitable, yes. But this easy profit comes with a hidden cost.

Ever see an actor that you admire suddenly start doing commercials for some dumb-ass product. What goes through your head? Do you think, “wow, they are really industrious and savvy to leverage their brand so effectively” or do you think “WTF?”

Or how about the first time you heard a Who or Rolling Stones song on a slick corporate ad? Felt weird didn’t it? Almost a violation.

When you go for the easy money, when you invest your brand into areas that make no sense, you pay a price. It may be little or a lot. It may be permanent or it may pass quickly. But you WILL take a hit.

Getting More by Giving Away

Some would argue that I AM adding value and therefore I’m entitled to add additional fees to my printing or web hosting costs. After all, without access to my connections, knowledge and relationships my clients would not be able to secure those resources themselves. However, I would argue that that is not added value but is a value position. In other words, when my clients get cheap printing and free web hosting it enhances my value and my brand. It’s a differentiator that carries weight in the marketplace. The higher my brand’s value the more desirable it becomes. So I’m forgoing short-term circumstantial profits for long-term across the board profits in the form of enhanced brand value. Simply put, I can charge more for my core services because I chose to forgo profits on peripheral ones.

Cultivating Client love

So what do my clients get out of this? My clients never question my fees or billing and for good reason. They know from experience that I don’t pad the bill or engage in reselling. If I tell them the new feature will cost an additional $1,500 in programming, they know that is the real is the cost. They won’t be able to go around me and engage the programmer directly as they will get the same exact quote. They know that if I tell them it will cost $500 to print a 1000 units of their brochure that is the real cost. They could shop around but they will not be able to find a better deal anywhere because they don’t have a wholesale account with a top printing house. Not only do they know this in theory they now this in practice. When it’s time to print up a flyer or brochure I get my client’s credit card number and shipping address and place the order. They get a receipt direct from the print house and the product is dropped shipped to their address. There’s no question on who paid whom for what. It’s completely transparent and transparency creates trust and peace of mind.

I Want to Be a Rockstar Designer

I want to be the Tiger Woods or the Michael Jordan of design. But am I, and who decides? There are many designers out there that would love to nitpick over my portfolio. There’s always some young hotshot who thinks they’re God’s gift to design and delight in trashing others work. This is just the nature of the business. They can trash me all they want because I don’t care. To my clients I AM a Rockstar, and they are the only ones that count because they are the ones paying my bills. Industry awards and peer accolades don’t pay the rent, my clients do.

I don’t want to nickel and dime my clients and dilute my brand. I want them to focus on the unique services that I provide. That’s my brand. I could do what everyone else in the industry does and resell commodities at a profit but doing so would send a contradictory message. I can’t be both a Rockstar and a reseller. In other words, if I’m so good, why do I bother reselling hosting at a $10 per month profit? If my brochure design was so brilliant, then why am I adding 25% to the design cost by reselling the printing. Wouldn’t a Superstar just charge 25% more because they’re so damn awesome?

So I made a conscious decision early on; I’m was going to behave the way that the best of the best behave. If the superstars won’t do it, then I won’t either. So far it seems to be working.

File Under: Reselling Web Hosting – Reselling Printing – Reselling Design and Programming Services – Reselling Outsourced Work – Ethics of Reselling – Enhancing Your Branding – Branding Your Business – Graphics Design Branding – Why I Don’t Resell Web Hosting- How to Be A Rockstar Graphic Designer


I Hate Bon Jovi. I Mean I Really, Really, Really Hate Them.

If hating Bon Jovi was a medical condition I’d have to carry an injector with me to keep me from going into anaphylactic shock every time “You Give Love a Bad Name” came on the radio.

I don’t hate the members of Bon Jovi personally. They seem like really nice and honorable guys. It’s just that their music is deeply offensive to my aesthetic sense.

Now I’m fine with my hatred of Bon Jovi. However it’s WHY I hate Bon Jovi that has always bothered me. Their songs are undeniably catchy. They got great hooks and they are excellent musicians. Bon Jovi himself is a good singer. His flawless angelic skin beams rays of pheromone injected charisma. Rippin’ solos, crunchy guitars, they got it all really. But I just can’t stand their music. Now I could go on about how painfully cheesy and cliché Bon Jovi’s lyrics are and how they form the basis of my contempt. But is that true? I like Ted Nugent just fine, but it would be hard to argue that “wang dang sweet poon tang” was any more or less poetic and original than “I’m a cowboy on a steel horse I ride”. So do I really have a problem with Bon Jovi’s prose or is this an after-the-fact justification manufactured in my mind to justify my Bon Jovi hatred.

The truth is, I don’t know why I hate Bon Jovi. And that bothers me. For if I don’t know why I hate Bon Jovi that means I have no idea why I like Metallica. It also means I have no idea why Duran Duran makes my skin crawl but Depeche Mode is just fine. Sure, if pressed I could cite all kinds of reasons, but none of them are quantifiable or applicable to other bands. They are not testable theorems. They’re just reasons I manufactured out of nothing to make my personal preferences seem intelligent and reasoned.

I’ve Seen a Million Faces an I’ve Rocked Them All

Pearl Jam and Creed, and Nirvana and Bush, are good illustrations. I love Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Liked them right off the bat. Yet I couldn’t stand Creed and Bush from the moment I heard them. Now sonically, Pearl Jam and Creed and extremely close. Same with Nirvana and Bush. An alien from another planet or even a country fan probably could not tell the difference. An 11-year-old Jonas Brothers fan most likely would confuse them as well. Yet to my ears they are light years apart. My emotional response to the bands is profoundly different. Is it because that once I fell in love with Pearl Jam I had no more room to also like a very similar band? Did hearing Pearl Jam first preempt my ability to ever like Creed? Is it the slight difference in the timber of the lead singers? Their inflections in the pronunciations of their lyrics? The guitar tone? I have no idea. And that bothers me.

Shot Down in a Blaze of Glory

When I’m presenting options to a client or discussing branding strategies, I have, what I believe, are rock solid justifications for every decision I made. I take my job extremely seriously and my client’s goals and branding strategies occupy my thoughts continually. If we are good match, my client will largely agree with me. When they disagree, they too will have very good reasons to back up their opinions. But are we just kidding ourselves? Are there immutable laws of design that guide the universe or are we merely elevating our personal preferences and cultural conditioning to universal truth? I like to think it’s a bit of both.

Yes, we have preferences that we can never fully understand, but I assume there must be innate laws of aesthetics burned into our DNA that we can tap into. Without it I don’t think we could ever have developed a cannon of great art. Every culture has its giants; collections of literature, sculptures, paintings and music that are universally considered exceptional. The interesting thing is, if you look at the best art from China and compare it to say India, they both look amazing and they share many similarities. On the surface they may look very different, but the aesthetic principles are nearly identical. Even with humor this holds true. When you compare the classic jokes from each country they are amusingly similar, not only in subject, but in rhythm and structure as well. Seems a well crafted good joke is a well crafted joke. Cultural, religious and language differences aside, we all tell and appreciate jokes the same way.

I’m a Devil on the Run. A Six Gun Lover. A Candle in the Wind

So how do we know when our decision are based upon shared innate aesthetic principles and when they are personal preferences? I think the key is role-playing and objectivity. You need to assume the role of your customer. In your mind you must become THEM and understand THEIR motivations. For the question is not “What Bon Jovi song do I like?” it is “If I was a Bon Jovi fan, what song would I want to hear?” Because someone like me, who hates Bon Jovi, will pick the least offensive song according to MY tastes. However this will most likely be the worst choice as I would pick the most un-Bon Jovi song in their catalog. I can almost guarantee that my choice of the most pleasurable Bon Jovi opus is not the same as a serious Bon Jovi fan.

I think you also need to pull back and see it from a “scientific” point of view. If I was a record company executive, would I have the objectivity to sign Bon Jovi, even though I hated their music?  I would hope so. My job is to sign profitable talent that can perform well in the marketplace. I’m not there to please myself. From an objective viewpoint, you could convincingly argue that their songs are very well crafted, their hooks are strong and they have an undeniable mass appeal. So logically you should sign them.

This is the essence of good marketing, of good design, and of good branding. Tapping into your personal preferences for inspiration and originality but never losing sight of the innate aesthetic sense and the expectations of your target market

You don’t have to personally like everything you do. It’s OK to think a tag line you wrote is a bit dull, that your illustration is trite or that you would never use the product you are marketing. The real question is “What would my inner Bon Jovi think”. If he thinks it rocks, well then…whoa, oh, we’re half way there!

File Under: Marketing and Cultural Considerations – Universal Principles of Design and Aesthetics – Avoiding Designing to Your Personal Preferences – Marketing to The Masses