Should you give out prices by the item?

Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers

I made another fundamental error with the client I was talking to you about yesterday.

When a client starts off a job by telling you that he wants the quote to be broken down by component, R-U-N. That is code for he wants to save money by removing stuff if possible.

Clients don’t understand what goes into creating a design. In the example of a website, they think they can pick and choose the parts of the website that will “have the most bang for his buck” and save money by doing that stuff first.

I REALLY HATE THAT. It cheapens the design and starts the job off on a sour note.

The start of a design nightmare

I created a quote for a website. When the client asked what was the price of the banner. I (like an idiot) told him the figure.

Now, unfortunately, I didn’t take into account that when I created the quote, I always start with the banner because that will determine a lot of things like color and typography and the overall look of the site.

So, the figure was 1/3 of the price.

What did they do? They’ve decided they wanted to keep the old banner and have me work around that.

They wanted to change the dimensions of the site, but once you changed that, suddenly the height of the banner didn’t “look right” so they had me change it back.

Now, they want to get the original file from their previous designer and fix the height on that, so that when we “stretch” the site, it will be proportionate.

It’s becoming the biggest pain and really not worth the price that they will pay for the redesign. As they are constantly in flux and undecided about stuff.

C O N C L U S I O N :

When clients ask for a quote, say for a website, quote for the design of the entire website.

If they then want you to “break it down”, tell them that the quote is a package deal. The more they have designed, the less they are paying. That if you remove components, you will have to revise the quote and price it accordingly.

When making decisions like typography and colors, you will still need to make them whether you are having the banner redesigned or not. And that takes time.

In design, one thing always affects something else.

Technorati Tags: Business, Management, Tips & Techniques

Always take screen captures!

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

I have a new client that I’ve been learning a lot in terms of what not to do! Today and tomorrow’s posts will deal with a few things I’d like to share.

I was floored (totally floored) during a website redesign when in the middle of it the client says to me “I don’t even remember what the old one looked like ” and wanted me to create an itemized list of everything I had changed on the site!

Not only is this an absolute waste of my time, am I truly expected to remember every little thing I changed? The answer is YES.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take a screen capture of her old website. Even though it had been up for YEARS, they couldn’t remember what it looked like originally!

Luckily, there’s the wayback machine!

C O N C L U S I O N :

Always take a before shot of any webpage you are working on. Then present the client with a before and after shot.

It will save you a ton of heartache. It will also save you the grief of clients thinking that what you did was a simple “tweak” of what they had before (and therefore gypping them).

The screen capture is proof!

Technorati Tags: Business, Management, Tips & Techniques, Web Design

Are grids still relevant?

Tuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers

With the computer and page layout programs, it’s now easier than ever to use the grid in your layout. And yet, few and fewer designers are using them.

So why aren’t more people using them? Honestly, I have no idea.

Most designers think of grids as boring and being too rigid. But, in reality a good grid will help you structure your work. It helps you build a foundation for your design.

We usually see grids used in newspaper and magazines. Those are obvious. But changing the number of grid columns can really give you a lot of flexibility in your layouts.

The main reason to use grids is for consistency. The grid is the invisible foundation of your layout. You can create it using margins, guides, and columns (and for tables and depending on the layout, rows).

You don’t see it, but as a designer it helps you position all the elements in your design and keeps everything in order.

Creating grids

Here, the sky is the limit. Your grid can include 2, 3, 4 and even 6 columns (heck, I’ve even seen 7!) The more columns you have, the more flexibility you have in your design.

You can then include headers and footers and other repetitious elements in your designs (like borders, lines/rules, text and pictures).

Breaking the grid

Once you’ve created the grid, you can break it. I know, it sounds like a contradiction to what I previously wrote. But, the grid really is a guideline. Then, you may consciously decide that elements need to cross over some columns, extend off the page, or carry on to the next page.

C O N C L U S I O N :

Grids are not only great for print design, but also web design. The grid lends itself to web design, especially for newbie designers.

Thinking in terms of grids helps you compartmentalize the information you want to appear on the page. It helps organize the pictures and text you need as well.

For visitors to your website, it helps provide a structure, stability, and consistency. It provides a framework for your site and helps it appear more organized.

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Production, Tips & Techniques

Pictures should always be scaled properly

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

One of the first things I notice right away is if a picture is scaled properly.

I don’t know why, but a lot of designers out there, think that the picture should be proportioned by the space available and allocated to the picture.

So, if they draw a square (or rectangle) then the picture should fill the entire area.

2 Rules for including pictures in your document:

1. NEVER disproportionately scale your pictures (or, never scale the picture with different values for the vertical or horizontal) Always keep the dimensions the same.
2. NEVER flip the pictures on the horizontal.

C O N C L U S I O N :

I hate pictures that are stretched or distorted. I always say to myself, you’d never see that in a magazine!

And that second rule may sound a little weird, but trust me, in this day and age where everyone has tattoos, it can get a little confusing if suddenly the tattoo which is in reality on his right arm is suddenly for the purpose of this layout on his left.

FURTHER READING:

• Read here how pictures should always tell a story
• Read some more of my pet peeves of design here
  

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Pet Peeves, Tips & Techniques

Work faster using shortcuts

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

Who doesn’t want to work faster? You’d be amazed at how much time you waste using the mouse and menu items. It’s amazing.

I find that it also interrupts my flow having to stop and search for the correct command. Especially if it’s something I must do repetitively.

How you can speed up your work pace:

1. Right clicking for an expanded menu: My most frequently used trick! (Mac users: format your mouse for this secondary menu).
2. Two mouse clicks: Selects the word
3. Three mouse clicks: Selects the entire line
4. Automate repetitive tasks: Make use of actions in PhotoShop to record repetitive tasks (like resizing pics for the web) or create macros in MS Word
5. Create your own keyboard shortcuts: if you have a tool you constantly use, create your own keyboard shortcut for it!

C O N C L U S I O N :

Start learning the shortcuts you need to start working faster. Do you find yourself doing a task over and over? Is there anyway you can automate it?

And one final point: if you can, it’s always good to use the programs from one company (such as Adobe and Microsoft) because the shortcuts will be the same in all their programs.

FURTHER READING

• Here’s a list of common keyboard shortcut

Technorati Tags: Production, Technology, Tips & Techniques

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