Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks

A Day in the Life of a Graphic Designer: Another Day of Cracking Clients...I Mean Rocks

I feel badly for freelancers that are either self-taught or come out of design school with no training on how to deal with clients. For me, I am a self-taught designer with a degree in Marketing, but that really didn't prepare me much for dealing with clients either. On more than one occasion in my life I got the raw end of the deal when working with client - something I am not overly proud of. 

I know that it's far more fun to check out the newest tutorials on Photoshop or go searching for free fonts, but if you don't know how to deal with clients and invest all of your time gathering goodies, you're going to end up a well-equipped but miserable freelance designer.

Being able to cope with the daily madness that clients throw at you is a tremendous challenge for all freelancers (a look on blogs, message boards and twitter and you'll see it). That's why I wrote Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers. I got tired of getting run over by client day after day.

But to be honest with you, clients still try to run over me, they still try to get away with whatever they can (just because I'd written a book about it didn't change that) -  they just don't get away with things anymore, I know how to put them in their place.

Just so you get a taste for what type of client interactions I, and many other freelancers deal with, I've included a small snippet of what happened yesterday:

• One client that burned through 2 full messages on my voice mail (the machine cut her off), she also sent 5 emails full of gibberish which I had to try to make sense of and get her back on track. Talk about OCD!
• Another complained about the printing done on his inserts, even though he wanted to go with the printer because they were inexpensive (he wanted me to call and try to get a future discount for him...nah, he can call).
• A client who's also a buddy was supposed to provide 300 characters or less for his flyer, he gave me 585 and said, “See what you can do”. He first tried to have his sister design the flyer instead of paying me, when that backfired he came groveling back.
• Another client I hadn’t heard from in ages assumed that I would be able to pick up right where I left off - she’s frightfully demanding and has no idea what she’s doing so I constantly have to reeducate her.
• Lastly, and perhaps the best of all, one client tried to get me to join one of those worthless multi-level marketing deals. Jeeez.  

Yep, just another day in paradise. Do any of these client interactions sound familiar to you?

It's a constant challenge keeping clients and projects moving in the right direction (even for me), I can only imagine what other freelancers are going through that don't know what I know - ouch.

PS - Blog post title was inspired by my friend and illustrator, Rich. When asked, "Dude, what are you up to?"

He always replied, "Just cracking rocks..." This is also found in the Clash's song, "I Fought the Law" - "...cracking in rocks in the hot sun, I fought the law and the law won, I fought the law and the law won..."

PPS - Shout out to my friend, Ruben over in Belgium for his feedback on BASAS, "I’m really enjoying the book, already learned a lot! Not completely finished yet, because it’s been very busy with the holidays coming up, but when I have some spare time, it’s always a pleasure to read. Really worth the price!" - thanks Ruben.

When Slow and Steady Don't Win the Race, How to Cut Revision Time in Half (and Keep Your Sanity)

Nothing will slow you down and take the wind out of your sails more than clients evaluating your creative projects and picking them apart with revisions.

I've found that clients often feel like they are not only entitled to but qualified to make creative direction judgments on their project - no matter how little intelligence or background they have on the matter. Ridiculous. 

In meeting with a client for the first time, I remember looking them over and thinking, "Is this the one...the client from hell that's going to go round and round on the revisions merry-go-round?" It's almost like playing Russian Roulette. But the fact of the matter is, the more you work with clients, the more likely you will eventually get this client that has no idea what they want and is just as picky to match.

Over the years I've learned about techniques and human behavior that have helped me cut down the number of revisions, you'll find most of them in my "Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers" book, as well as my mentoring CD on iTunes called, "From Zero to Graphic Design Hero", but I did want to mentioned something extremely valuable I learned about clients after creating both of those resources.

Let's say a client hires you to create a logo, business card and web site for her. Typically what I, and most freelancers would do is start with the logo. We'd start with rough concepts, move on to more refined concepts, hone them down to 3-5 logos and then continue to grind those down until the client finally picks one. Throughout the entire process we're attempting to get the client's approval, we do this because we feel if we don't, we're wasting time.

I've got news - this approach is a HUGE time waster.

Let's continue on with the example, once you've got the logo done you then move on to the business cards and repeat virtually the same process. For most freelancers, their 2-4 weeks into the project now - no good, keep this approach to designing and you'll not only tear the hair out of your head, you'll be wasting thousands of dollars. But now you're about to learn a better way...

So What's This New Approach?
After I'd be freelancing for a while it dawned on me that the longer I was on a project the more the client tended to find "wrong" with it. Furthermore, I found that this process of creating one project at a time gave the client loads of time to mull over and obsess about what they suddenly felt should be changed.

So instead of submitting projects one slow stage at a time - and one at a time, I would submit let's say the logo (5-7 of them) and the business card all at once. This forced the client into making a whole lot of decisions at one time, rather than micromanage tiny little stages over the course of weeks. Now the clients had 5-7 good looking logos and a finished business card in front of them - ready to go, all they had to do was approve it. This tiny shift in my approach cut project turnarounds from 3-5 weeks down to 1-2 weeks. The same approach can work for you if you find yourself doing revision after revision*.

Why My Approach Works:

• It's true, the longer clients have to look at creative projects, the more they'll find wrong with them. Shorten the time they get to obsess over them.
• Clients have difficulty seeing your vision in the early stages, which cause them to nitpick. If you can show them a finish project much sooner in your process, the better off you'll be.
• By providing finish projects all at once for clients to approve, you are demonstrating your confidence in what you've created and establishing yourself as the creative director - not the client. This is a much more effective approach than asking for approval at every small stage of the process.
• I've found that while many clients are picky, some are busy to - if I have a good looking branding package ready for them to go, many will take it and avoid wasting further time with revisions that don't really matter in terms of bringing in more sales for them.

* NOTE: In order for my approach to work, you need to hone your skills in interviewing clients; being able to read/interpret what they want and sell your artwork (those skills are discussed in the resources I mentioned earlier).

Pure Insanity - Why Some Freelancers Refuse to Embrace Success

A while back a freelancer in GA picked up both the Being a Starving Artist Sucks and Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers books. At virtually the same time I ran a spec work project as an experiment on CrowdSpring. At the end of that contest I made an offer to give the 10-12 freelancers a free copy of my Being a Starving Artist Sucks eBook (about 3 took me up on the offer).

After a few weeks I checked back with everyone to see how they were enjoying the books (yes, that is important to me). What I was surprised to learn was that the designer in GA who actually bought the books had read through them both, in fact she said, "These books are fantastic. I devoured them. I found both of them very funny, and I especially loved the kung-fu theme. Both of them have been quite useful to me already."

Nice response. By the way, I checked out the designer's web site - she's talented and she's going places.

In contacting the other 3 designers I'd met during the spec work project (remember that none of them won the contest I ran), I was surprised to learn that NONE of the 3 designers had read the book. In fact, only 1 of them even went through a few pages. While they all had their own excuses as to why they hadn't done any reading, I found that "I don't have enough time" was a common thread.

Here's a portion of what one wrote, "The book looks really interesting but to be totally honest with you I haven't got very far. That is not because I am not interested, more an issue of time. There are a lot of pages of information to read through and I will get there!"

Hmm, let's back up for a second and look at this; you have time invest hours in doing creative projects that you have virtually no chance of getting paid on, yet you have no time to learn how to grow your business and develop your own clients that will actually pay you.

It's maddening to me. These designers are clearly struggling and yet can't seem to invest 15 minutes a day to grow their business. Over 75% of the freelancing businesses out there won't make it past 2-3 years...I suppose someone has to make up those stats - these freelancers are the ones making up the stats.

What kind of odds do you give these designers in becoming successful and making over even $50k a year?

And is just that they didn't read MY books? Nah, but clearly you can see that "playing the part" of a freelancer is more important to them versus actually becoming a success and being paid for it.

I am sure I'll hear back from the designer in GA - the other 3 I am not holding my breath on. I hope someday they'll get around to taking their success seriously, but if they think spec work is going to make them rich, they've got another thing coming. I wonder how many of them are still actively in business.

PS - Just wanted to quickly thank you guys for passing this info and blog on to other freelancers. If you enjoy reading this and or get an RSS feed to it, please consider letting the online design community know you enjoy this resource.

Top 7 Things a Creative Freelancer Should Never Say to a Client

For many freelancers out there (aspiring ones especially), the designing/creative aspect of the project is really the easy part - dealing with a client that's trying to squeeze every cent of value out of the project is where things can get a little hairy.

In thinking about some of the "not so smart" things I've said to clients over the years - and I've said a number of dumb things to clients that came back and bit me right in the butt, I put together a list below of the top 7 things that designers shouldn't say to clients.

1) "Send me what you have, I'll be able to make it work"
Issue: Over committing without knowing what you're going to get.
Unfortunate Scenario: Client thinks, "Cool" and sends you a 72 dpi image off of Google that they want blown up to banner size.

2) "Sure with PhotoShop I can pretty much fix and work with any photo"
Issue: Over committing without knowing what you're going to get.
Unfortunate Scenario: Client gives you beat up photo from 1975 that she wants to use...the photo is faded, torn and you have to remove her ex-husband. You've just inherited a 4 hour photo manipulation project in PhotoShop.

3) "I can, or I am willing to beat anyone's price"
Issue: Over promising, gets the client focused on PRICE and not VALUE.
Unfortunate Scenario: By saying these type of things in your marketing or in person to clients will result in you getting bargain shoppers, bottom-feeders and anyone else trolling for a bargain.Instead you'll want to focus on the difference in VALUE you provide rather than a difference in price.

4) "Call me whenever you have a question, I am always available"
Issue: Overextending yourself.
Unfortunate Scenario: It's nice to be accessible to clients, in fact, I've found that most clients have a real complaint in not being able to get a hold of their freelancer, but if this phrase comes out of your mouth, be prepared for clients to take advantage of it...and you. I said this to a client who not only would call me at 6:00 AM but as late as 11:30 at night - ouch!

5) "If you need it faster just let me know"
Issue: Overextending yourself.
Unfortunate Scenario: Somewhat similar to the example above, but what you should know about this deadly phrase is that clients...almost ALL clients will want something faster if they can get it. Rarely have I ever heard, "Nah, that's okay, get it to me when we agreed". Bottom line, establish a time line and if you get it done earlier then take the credit, just avoid promising that you can deliver earlier unless you want to be put under pressure.

6) "I've not done that type of project before but it won't be a problem"
Issue: Over promising to get more business.
Unfortunate Scenario: Admittedly, I've done this one myself, and I got away with it some of the time - but a few times it burned me. I tried to figure it out or search online for help - not a good idea. If you need the business but don't really have the skills, offer the client a bit of a discount and tell them you'll be learning as you go - yes, being honest goes a long way.

7) "If funds are a little short just pay me when you can"
Issue: Giving clients the freedom to pay you when THEY want.
Unfortunate Scenario: It would be nice to extend clients a little grace in paying their bill, some of them would not only appreciate but they would pay you as soon as they could. Sadly, many of them will use this phrase to take advantage of you and pay you later...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay later.

Bottom line on this guys is that it's cool to try to help out clients where and when you can, just be wary of overextending yourself, and putting yourself in a bad position. What you say can and will sometimes be used against you!

PS - Check out the guest blogger page under the navigation section if you'd like to be a guest blogger here, or if you'd like me to put together something for your blog.

Best Logos in All of Professional Sports

A while back I wrote a post on the worst logos in all of sports (US anyway). I haven't received any nastygrams from the sports clubs I ripped on, but a few designers wrote in and asked what my favorite logos were...and if I felt I was being fair to the designers who created the logos I slammed. 

While I still maintain that the logos I chose for this dubious honor are still fricken bad, I wanted to add in fairness that just because the logo came out poorly doesn't mean the designer that created it isn't talented. And of course you never know when the heck corporate executives are going to stick their greedy little hands in the creative pie and start making decisions that they have no business making. I know clients can sometimes bully their way into the creative process and ruin an otherwise good logo. Anyway, this entry's about the better logos out there (I'll provide the link to the crappy ones at the end).

Fair warning, I am a bit of a homer when it comes to these logos (many of you who know me will recognize that these are many of my favorite teams). Hey, at least I am honest about it - there's no way in hell I would have picked the Dallas Cowboy star for this list :)

1. Cleveland Cavaliers:
Well it was nice to see the Cavs go from that hideous 80's logo with the ball smashing the net to this new look. The colors are bright but not clowish, and I like how they worked the rapier into the logo (which is a throwback to their really old maroon and yellow logo).

2. Phoenix Coyotes:
Sure the club went bankrupt...and they suck, but that doesn't stop them from looking good on the ice. Check out their transformation from the weird kachina Spuds Macinzy dog to the bolder, more simplistic color palette look. Nice job in reducing the color palette from like 8 PMS colors down to 3 - that was a good move - taking the team out of Phoenix and moving them to Glendale...well considering the team filed for bankruptcy, this might not have been a smart idea. 

3. Pittsburgh Steelers:
My favorite team in all of sports. The Steelers logo's been this way ever since I was born. I've always loved the color palette. The logo is a symbol of steel but it's more than that, it's a symbol of hard work and toughness that runs deep through the people in western PA. Unlike any of the other logos on here, this one symbolizes an attitude of the players and the fans that wear it - almost like a badge of honor. I've never met another Steelers fan that would ever change anything about this logo.

4. Detroit Lions:
Ah the toothless Lions, lovable loser that always make one nationally televised game a year - the obligatory Thanksgiving Day game. Each year I cheer for the pitiful Lions and the unfortunate fans of Detroit to get a win, each year we're all disappointed. I am hoping this new look (new lion) they came out with in '09 will be the start of something more positive. The lion is now kind of standing up rather than lying down like a doormat - maybe that's a sign of good things. At least they don't have that old logo with the lion with a bag over its head.

5. Phoenix Suns:
I like how they incorporated the phoenix in the flames above the ball - very nice. But what's up with the gray color?!?! I can't understand why they'd use gray...even some of the uniforms have a lot of it on them. Guys, let's stick with the purple, red, orange and yellow. Orange and gray uniforms? Come on. By the way, I never disliked the old Suns logo either, a little dated but it was a nice look.

6. Colorado Avalanche:
Always liked the way the snow/avalanche wraps around the "A" with the puck in the lower right. Color scheme it pretty good but in all honesty I think this logo could use just a little polishing to make it outstanding. The circle in the back looks like it was just dumped there and while I like the puck in the lower right, it's a little tough to see.

7. Cleveland Indians:
I've liked this logo since I was a kid as well. Being out here now in AZ I am a little more sensitive towards Native Americans, but for the first 20 some years of my life I never thought this was making fun of a particular ethnicity. I like Chief Wahoo - he's awesome. If there are groups out there that are offended by the logo I feel badly for them, I don't believe it was ever meant to poke fun at anyone - and most Clevelander's cherish the logo like I do. With war, starvation animal cruelty and child abuse so prevalent in the world, perhaps the "PC" police might use their time more constructively filing furious lawsuits and wasting tax payer money.

What do you guys think? Did I pick some good ones or am I completely crazy?
Whether you like what I have or think I am an idiot, let me hear from you, and feel free to share or retweet this.

PS - here was the link to the Worst Logos in All of US Sports.

PPS - Just wanted to thank my friend Chris for taking a moment to write a review about BASAS on Amazon.com. I hooked him up with a free WSNH package, to which he replied, "That's nice of you, but you don't have to do that. I didn't do it for a freebie."

I replied, "I know you didn’t do this for a freebie, and I really appreciate you saying that. I’ve had a number of freelancers say they were going to write up a review because they really liked the book, but for one reason or another they just never got around to it. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me out, and while I know it wasn’t done for personal gain, I believe people should be rewarded for taking action. There’s a lesson here for freelancers – take care of those people/clients that take care of you." - thanks again Chris.

How to Get More Business from Your "Designed By" URL - That NO ONE Else is Doing

A look at any web site and you'll usually find 2 items at the bottom of the page:

1. The web site copyright
2. The URL to the designer/developer's web site

The copyright's a necessity...but when you get down to it, I suppose so is the URL. Over the years I have received some business from dropping my name and URL at the bottom of a web site. In fact most web designers probably have - many would love to place a loud flashing animated gif down there if they could get away with it. But there's a better way to ensure you get business from visitors clicking on your URL, and it doesn't have to do with a putting your web address in 20 pt. bold font :)

If you're designing sites and do put your URL down at the bottom of the page, where exactly did visitors go when they click on it?

They go to the main page on your web site, don't they?

Big mistake that's definitely costing you business.

Think about this from the user's perspective, you're on a web site that you kind of like, you click on the link at the bottom of the page and another window abruptly pops up that has nothing to do with the site they were just on.

Now the user is on your main page and has to go through an entirely new experience...an experience that has nothing to do with the site they were just on. 99% of the designers out there make this mistake, but I've come up with a more effective way to reel clients in.

Instead of having users go to the main page of your web site, why not create a special page on your site that provides a case study about the site they just clicked off of? For example, let's say you designed a site for a CPA, when the user clicks the hyperlink at the bottom of that site they're taken to a page on your site that specifically talks about the experience, reaction and results you helped get that CPA - perhaps you even have a testimonial from the CPA on there as well.

How much more compelling would it be to see something specific about that client versus landing on your main page and fumble through your web site? Answer: MUCH MORE.

Sure, at the end of your specific case study you can suggest 1-2 links so the user can begin exploring the rest of your site. But under this new approach I've just suggested, you're providing a bridge...a path for the user rather than plunking them down on your site and letting them fend for themselves.

Give it a shot guys, I promise you'll get better results.

Freelance Graphic Design Humor: 10 Ten Question Bombs I'd Like to Drop on a Demanding Client

Getting ticked off and or squabbling with clients is never the answer (that's why I came up with Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers)...still, I often think it would be funny to drop a bomb on a client that's clearly trying to get the best of me - just to see the look on their stunned face.

Here are a few things my brain's thought up but I've never said to a client:

1. If it's so easy to do, why don't you fire Photoshop up and get to it?

2. You don't question your dentist or mechanic while they're working, so why do you presume to think you know more than me when it comes to design?

3. What would you say to one of your customers that contacted you and said, why don't you do the work for me and I'll pay you if I like it? Why then would you ask me to do it?

4. If your past designer was so good, why aren't you still working with her/him?

5. I know you like your logo but I've got to ask, did your son or daughter design it?

6. What's more important to you: bringing in customers/sales or getting your way?

7. Why would you hire an expert like me and then tell me exactly what to do instead of letting me do what I do best?

8. You mentioned that this shouldn't take much time to finish, how exactly do you know how long it will take?

9. If you don't want to put any money down up front that's okay - I'll take your wedding ring or car as collateral, which one would you rather leave with me?

10. If your business idea was that good, why would it make sense to partner up with someone...why wouldn't you just pay the designer and reap ALL of the profits when the idea takes off?

Please RT this post if it made you laugh :)

PS - Stumbled on these reviews for Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers.
Thanks guys!! 

PPS - This was an interesting article I stumbled on in the NYT about freelancing (it was a while back but still relevant): http://is.gd/ndNo.

Blogs - Mad About Design, and Why Freelancers Should Stick to Their Word

I received an email from a publisher in Spain a while back: maomao publications.

They asked me if I wanted to feature this "Being a Starving Artist Sucks" blog in a sort of "who's who" of graphic design blogs called, "Blogs - Mad About Design".

Sure, I said - not really knowing what I was agreeing to...and not all that confident that the book would ever be published.

Months passed and I never got any word but a few days ago I saw on a tweet that the book did get published - my free copy came today.

I really was surprised:

• The book did get published
• They would honor their commitment and send me a complimentary copy for being featured in it

As I've gotten older in age and in my freelancing career I've become all too skeptical of people. I've run into too many folks that said they were going to do something and they didn't. They'll make excuse after excuse, but in the end it boils down to a lack of integrity (by the way for you new or aspiring designers, this is a MAJOR complaint clients have with freelancers).

Make sure you take care of your reputation and do what you say and say what you do...even if it means taking it on the chin a little bit. You might not see the immediate effect of not honoring your word, but it has a way of coming back and biting you in the butt. Okay, lecture's over, I guess I just wanted to thank maomao publications for coming through. 

By the way, it's actually a pretty darn good book (a lot fricken' bigger than I thought it would be too), there are some nice resources out there, and it's an honor to be placed among them - I am on page 90 if you pick the book up.

PS - I also wanted to thank webdesignerdepot.com for allowing me to share one of my articles over there. Walter's one of the good guys - not only does he have a great resource (be sure to bookmark or grab a feed) but he's got loads of integrity.

If you haven't checked the article out you can view it by clicking the screen to the left.

The Easy 1-2-3 Graphic Designer's Guide to Borrowing Someone Else's Logo and Claiming It's Your Own

1. Scour the Internet for designer's portfolios, you can even use contest web sites for "inspiration", I even googled "free logos" and a bunch of stuff came up. 
2. Use Adobe's Live Trace in Illustrator to get a vector copy of the logo. You may want to bring it into Photoshop first to clean it up a little. Okay, maybe this takes a couple of hours or so.
3. Tweak it just a little bit so people can't accuse you of blatantly ripping off someone else's work.
   Present the work to the client as if it's your own - collect the accolades and the check! Another 30 minutes here and your grand total is still well under 5 hours!!!!

Sweet. It's that easy - 1, 2, and 3...isn't it? Well yes and no.

There are of course a couple of inherent risks taking this approach to designing logos, but that's okay, it's worth it if you're really in need of cash and don't have a lot of talent as a designer.

Here's what you'll want to be aware of if you've "borrowed" someone else's work for "inspiration":

1. Don't hit the same site over and over for "inspiration", you never know when they'll get wise to it - spread it around and "borrow" from everyone...that way it'll be harder to track you.
2. Make sure your client DOESN'T hit it big. If your client actually becomes successful, there's a good chance the "wrong" people are going to see your work and that's not good for you. Good news for your client = bad news for you. Your hope then should be that your client goes out of business as quickly as possible.
3. Avoid any inclination to display this new logo on your online or printed marketing collateral - especially your web site or blog. You never know who'll be snooping around. My advice would be NEVER to include it in your portfolio...which would make having a nice portfolio kind of difficult, but you can worry about that later.
4. Make sure you've got a decent stash of cash in case someone does find out that the borrowing you did is closer to stealing. The designer you borrowed from will probably come after you, and your client may also. Remember, lawyers are expensive, so $2-$3k is a good start.

I suppose the easy solution would be not to steal other designer's work...but that kind of makes too much sense, doesn't it?

All jokes aside, if you're borrowing looks more like stealing to the design community, you don't have to become a monk or hide in shame - just stop doing it.

PS - Just wanted to thank Gareth over at www.downwithdesign.com for inspiring this post with his post, "Are your logo designs being used for more than just “inspiration”?" I had initially misquoted him in his post. I've apologized to him and I apologize to you as well for not getting this right the first time. If you do have a moment check his site out - good stuff!

If You Don't Have the Fire, if You Don't Have the Swagger, Don't Expect Your Client's to Find It for You

If you sat me down at Starbucks and asked me, "Honestly, what do you feel about the resources I've created for creative freelancers?"

Here's what I'd say back to you...

• I agree with a lot of my reviewers - these resources SHOULD be passed out to every design school graduate. I know they don't teach you this stuff in school.
• If freelancers decide, "Nah, I don't need that stuff", I think their foolish and in the end they'll end up paying for it by not having to do more work for less money.
• Freelancers that feel they can't drop 15-30 bucks on a resource that will save them a load of time, money and aggravation should get their heads checked.
• Whether they're an aspiring or experienced freelancer, I am certain that what I've put together will both help and inspire. And they won't be left thinking, "I already knew all this crap, why'd I buy it?!?!"
• I know that freelancers will be able to bring on more clients, charge more, differentiate themselves from the competition more and look/sound more professional in front of clients if they pick up some of these resources. The only way these resources can become useless is if freelancers don't buy them or don't use them.

Yeah, I know you're thinking, "Dude, I am visiting the blog to read, not be sold to." You'd be right too...but I did this for a few of reasons: I wanted show the passion and confidence I have in my product/services, but more importantly, I wanted you to see what type of passion and confidence you should have in your own talent and services.

You might think the bullet points above are a pretty strong sales pitch, but to me a sales pitch to me is just a bunch of meaningless words that are barfed out about a product or service. This isn't a pitch to me; it's really how I feel deep down.

Do you feel like you're giving clients a sales pitch or are you really speaking from your heart?
When you approach clients, do you have the same passion for helping them?
Do you have the same confidence that they'd be foolish to hire someone else on?

It's just something to think about, clients pick up on this, and they feed on it. If you aren't passionate and confident about what you can do for your clients/customers, who will be?