Poll: Freelance Designers

With the new year and with new company budgets in place for 2009 I have been asked to do a lot of estimates for new clients. This raised an important question for me: Should I estimate incoming projects hourly basis or a project basis?

It is important for me to be sensitive to a client's budget, especially with the volatile nature of the current economy. On the contrary, it is also very important to me to deliver quality work that is unique with an efficient turnaround, so my estimates are based fairly on those standards.

An article on The Freelance Switch, a feed that I follow regularly, outlines the advantages and disadvantages. As one person commented, "It seems that most clients don't really care how much time it takes to complete a given project, the bottom line is the total cost and the quality of the finished project."

I was also interested in finding out what the average hourly rate designers were charging for their time. So I created a poll via Poll Daddy. See the results here. And please include your vote if you have not yet already.

Please share your experience with me. I am interested in hearing what designers or clients have to say.

2008 American Graphic Design Awards

Last week I received the 2008 issue of the Graphic Design USA, which is a news magazine for creative professionals.  Each year, for nearly four decades they present the American Graphic Design Awards, which is sponsored by Adobe. The contest is open to everyone in the community: advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporate, institutional, and publishing inhouse departments, etc. It honors outstanding new work of all kinds of media: print, internet, corporate identity and logos, etc.

Recently, I was notified that I was a winner of a design for Yasharians Interior & Exterior Remodeling that I submitted for the category of Internet Design. I was honored and excited to be recognized for this exceptional award. I received an embossed Certificate of Excellence. In addition, my design was also published in the Awards Annual magazine (pg. 220), which will be seen by an estimated 100,000 at ad agencies, graphic design firms, and more.

Getting to know me...

I was recently tagged on Twitter by @AndyVitale. As a result of being tagged I have to post seven things you don't know about me. I thought it was such a huge compliment for Andy to tag me as a helpful resource on Twitter and since I am always eager to participate, I figure why not :)

• I am a self proclaimed professional Annie's Mac & Cheese chef. That purple box contains the fixings for delicious Mac n' Cheese goodness. However, you still have to add the butter and milk. I have perfected a balance of butter and milk to a tee. Come on over, I'll make you some, you'll see.
• My biggest fear is public speaking. Enough said!
• If I wasn't a graphic designer I would be a fitness trainer or a nutritionist. I am fascinated by the capabilities of the human body both mentally and physically when it comes to the power of exercise and eating right. I love to work out and cook healthy meals.
• I share the same wedding anniversary date as my Grandparents. July 5th :)
• I hate doing laundry (ask my husband), but I actually enjoy cleaning the house on a Saturday or Sunday morning. It makes me feel accomplished, organized, and fresh.
• I love Bill O'Reilly and I am a reality TV junkie. You name it, I watch it: everything from Top Chef to The Girls Next Door, to the Hills, to Jon and Kate Plus 8… I love it all!
• I can't resist a good deal at T.J. Maxx or Homegoods. I have to make a weekly trip otherwise I go into withdrawl. 

Since it's my turn to tag some people. Below is a list of seven people that you may or may not be following on Twitter. Being tagged means that you have to create a similar blog post.

@colorburned - a great resource that I discovered via Twitter who lives in the same town that I grew up in

@Vital_Design - a NH based Agency that provides Web Design, Graphic Design, and Marketing (and a fellow Twitter buddy)

@iamkhayyam - an enthusiastic Designer, Wordsmith, Standup Comic, Radio Guy, Photographer, etc., who is always willing to help with Retweets and send links :)

@imjustcreative - one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter because he has great ideas and he is always getting the design community involved in his blog

@SpinWhiz - one of my most recent Twitter buddies, who does Brand Management for a media company

How to be a good client

For all of you clients and designers, here is a true (and hilariously ironic) account about How to Be a (Really) Good Client. This link that was shared by DesignEnabler on Twitter. It is from a designers POV on how to be a good client. Designers across the board, (including myself) wish that there was a more modest way of sharing this list with clients or including it in proposals, in the meantime we will continue to pray for the "Perfect Client".

Kevin Skarritt featured on the Seacoast Business Connection radio show

Kevin Skarritt, Chief Nut of Acorn Creative, will be featured on the Seacoast Business Connection radio show on Portsmouth Community Radio, WSCA 106.1 FM, from 12-1 pm on Monday, December 15, 2008.

This session, produced by the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, will be on the topic of Social Media and is sure to be a lively exchange.

We hope you will be able to tune in and listen!

Featured Nice Person on WeAreJustCreative.com

This week I was featured as this week's nice person on Graham Smith's, We Are Just Creative web site, which is an Audio, Visual & Social Media Community Creative Magazine.

Graham gave his followers the opportunity to be featured on the home page of his site. Graham said, "I thought how cool it would be to series a number of these black and white portrait photos for anyone who wants to submit them, just like a gallery."

Here was the criteria:

• Submit images with the following dimensions: 460px wide by 147px deep, include a short bio, and send them to Graham.
• There is no deadline. Just a cool thing to do.

For more information, or to submit yourself, visit: http://idek.net/xA

Visit Graham's other sites: I'm Just Creative, SoulTweet, and I'm Just Graham.

"Tweeter" (Twitter) has made me sweeter!

I Tweet a lot on Twitter – it is my latest guilty pleasure – but I can honestly say that I don't really feel that guilty about it. Here's why:

• I utilize Twitter as a professional tool to further my career as a designer.
  
• I am making connections with designers, creative people, business people, etc. that I may not have connected with otherwise.
• I try to help other designers by answering their burning questions; I contribute to their surveys and blogs when invited to participate; I engage in meaningful conversations with other designers; I share cool links when I find them; I retweet posts as often as I can when I find good content, etc, etc, etc – all of which helps to validate me as a professional in my industry.
• I get the inside scoop on the latest design software and updates and gadgets and tricks and tips and everything!
• I try and mix my tweets up with design related posts, business, social media, tip, and a few day-to-day personal touches to keep people interested and coming back for more.
• I feel more confident as designer because people have approached me on Twitter and shared my ideas and re-tweeted me and shared my posts with their followers, which lets me know that I am respected member of the design community.
• Plus so many other benefits, that it is just too much to list in one post!
  

Please share your experience with Twitter and how it has made you a better designer, business person, chef, blogger, etc. by posting a comment below. I'm excited to hear what all of you have to say!