With that understanding in mind, it is clear that both creative paths differ by one being a creative for the people and the other for oneself. As designers, there is always some level of artistic input that must be imputed into a design for it to be affective. The problem many designers have is trying to incorporate the desires of their inner artist into their work as a designer. There can’t be too much artistic perspective used because then it will lean away from the intended audience, however too little and the design will likely look very generic and uninspired. That is why we are going to go over how a designer can find that inner balance between artist and designer.

What is Your Favorite Style of Art?

Image Credit: jiruan

In the design world it is the popular choice to renounce ones own true favorite artistic style and to design according to whatever style is currently trendy. An current example of this would be the universal fascination over minimalism. This is a great artistic style, with a really engaging philosophy behind it. However it is still not a perfect mesh for everyone.

So with that in mind, let’s go over a couple of questions that can lead anyone to the art style that best represents them.

What Does Your Personality Say About You?

Art is nothing more than an outward manifestation of the current mental state, and personal qualities, of the artist creating the work.. This makes artwork personal, and the need for a personal connection from a viewer of the work and the artist must be able to be formed from the art. Understanding this about art puts better perspective onto how and why some artwork appeals more so to some than it would to others.

So before anyone can go around looking at artwork to find what suits their creative palettes, there must be an understanding of oneself. That way when passing by and viewing artwork, the true connection with the work and yourself can be established.

Can You See Yourself  in the Artwork?

As already mentioned, art is very personal and allows for the inner workings of an artist to come out onto their canvas. It is important to be able to sense a connection with the artist  through looking at their work alone, however it is more so important when aiming for inner balance between artist and designer to be able to see oneself in the work.

This isn’t so much literally seeing yourself of course. It’s about looking at something and being able to see the inner workings of your mind, person, past, future, and/or soul in the work you are looking at.

How to Incorporate Your Taste into Your Work

Image Credit: Fifth World Art 

As designers, it is our predetermined thought that our craft has no real room for personal creative interpretation, surrendering our individual tastes for that of the masses at large. It is quite easy to see how this thought process came to be when considering how community driven we are. From creation to final product, our main goal is to create something that is liked by a vast amount of people. If that happens to lead to something that we like, then that is just a little extra bonus in the project.

Now with that ideology thriving in anything designers create, it is quite hard to see ways in which any true personal artistic preference can be placed. Here are a few tips on how to awaken your inner artist in your designs.

Look for that “One Thing” when Finding Inspiration

Everyone takes that walk, or surfs the internet, trip, etc., to find inspiration for what they are working on. However, often the case is that instead of looking for that one thing in particular that stands out, the object of attention is the environment at large. That is of course fine for any other instance, but specifying your hunt for inspiration will lead to better results. This result should then lead you to an ample amount of creative thoughts that will easily lend themselves to your design project.

Ignore Best Practices…to an Extent

There is no such thing as a proven theory for success in the art world, so there shouldn’t be any perceived one anywhere near your mind when trying to bring out the artist in yourself. With so many proven success methods, guides, tutorials, and things of that nature, it’s hard for anyone to actually want to be adventurous. We design for financial gain after all, so this really isn’t such a bad thing. It’s just from the artistic standpoint, the only thing you’re doing by blindly adhering to these is suffocating your artistic expression. Understand the ones that make sense for what YOU are trying to do, and just leave the rest alone.

Lessen the Community Input

It is quite tempting to want to post what you’re working on to a social network full of creatives eager to see what everyone is doing, but it is not necessarily the best move. The vision for what you are to create can’t be translated to anyone perfectly, no matter how hard anyone tries. So of course there is no way that anyone elses input can actually lead to a better way of bringing out your inner artistic vision. Just leave this aspect for down the line when the project is close to completion, and needs that designer touch.

Don’t be Afraid

We all are afraid of creating something that is not well received, or easily understood by anyone else. This is so because art is not mean to be understood, only to express the thoughts of the artist. Don’t worry about the fear of rejection and just create, you could end up with something that the rest of us will be personally interpreting for years.

In Conclusion

Image Credit: fiveforefun

The work of an artist and designer is nothing alike, only the means they go about in creating their work. A designer can learn many things from art and artist like personal expression, relieving oneself of the fear of rejection, and the drive to fulfill one’s creative vision among other things. Just make sure as a designer you don’t let your inner artist consume your work too much, your job description still says that you create for the community at large.

So, guess who will have to tell them the bad news, and teach them the basics? Yeah, I’m looking at you.

We, at 1stwebdesigner, are nice guys so we’ll help you with a few common things that clients don’t understand, but they really need to, because when they do, everything will be much easier and more pleasant to do.

So, let’s rock.

1. How This “Web Design Thing” Works

by axenteoz

Here you should tell them your complete process including parts that aren’t covered by your current contract. For instance, even if you weren’t contracted for SEO consulting, you should tell them where you’d put this, if they want to contract you or another person for doing so.

You should explain the big development blocks, and even break them up into smaller ones, like breaking up “development” into “Look, first I do HTML coding, then JS coding and then I add this to our CMS, so you’ll be able to add content only at this point.”

All those explanations are important so your client will know when he will have each part of this thing done, avoiding weird things like you doing everything in a hurry and then waiting weeks for content.

2. Web Designing Isn’t Just Typing A Few Commands Inside A Fancy Text Editor

by svilen001

The first item on this list may help you a little bit, but many clients thinks that all web designing is done with a few commands and then drawing a few fancy things using Word or Paint (thanks DreamWeaver and FrontPage).

If you think that your current client is that type, bad news for you.

I hope you are a patient person (I mean, the kind of patient that will make buddhist monks look angry and impatient) so you can do a big thing for the Web Design Community: teach your client HTML basics.

Believe me, it’s not as bad as it seems.

First you should tell them its importance. We have W3C for one reason, HTML code can be “understood” by machines, so they really know which kind of content you’re creating. Teaching them a bit about HTML is not the same as teaching them how to customize their CSS. It’s about cool things like SEO, data mining, multiple devices able to read same content.

Then you could introduce them a few quite common content tags (p, h1-6, strong, blockquote, ul, li, dl, table…).

If your client knows HTML basics they can do a much better job when they’re updating the website by themselves. They’ll know why it’s so important to do things with h’s instead of ordinary P’s with increased site (not to mention FONT tags) and why they can’t just paste content from Word of Email clients.

3. Domain, Hosting, And Email Aren’t The Same Thing

Many people never stopped to think about it because we really understand this almost by osmosis. But how do you get things online? I mean, why can I go to google.com and not mywife’sPC.com/hiddenfiles? Why can’t you just get rochester@google.com, instead of boring rochester@thisIsMyOwnDomain.com.br ?

It’s time for a metaphor, the house metaphor (no, clouds above doesn’t mean internet).

by: lsgc

Hosting

Is the building, where you can put things. Usually we just rent it from hosting companies, so we don’t need to spend a lot of money building it.

There is where you store all your cool stuff and when people walk into your house (website) they’ll see this stuff (unless you hide it from them, for sure).

Domain

Is the address, ZIP code, the directions to get to the house. So when someone asks “How do I get to your house, bro?” You say “Easy, just go to myHouseIsPrettyCoolIndeed.com, if you get lost, ask google, he knows everything!”. And the same way you can have multiple entrances for a house, you can make several domains pointing to a single domain, so you’ll give your users more ways to get to you.

E-Mail

Is like people’s names inside the house. So, if anyone wants to send letters to your father they’ll have to send it to your house, right? This is the same thing, if your house is mydomain.com people can reach you by me@mydomain.com. If they send to me@myNeighbor.com they’ll reach the wrong “me” :)

4. What Is DNS Propagation

It’s quite hard to understand why it takes even 2 days to have your site working just because you’ve moved your site from one server to another. And this headache is gracefully caused by our beloved DNS servers.

Actually it’s a little bit hard to understand (some people say that we don’t even have this DNS “propagation” thing, since it’s usually TTL caching issue). But let’s stick with a pretty simple explanation that works well for anyone with more than 2 neurons (sorry amoeboid and trolls):

Hosting servers on the internet actually don’t have a really cool name. For example, many of them have a “name” formed by 4 groups of digits, like 74.125.234.50. It’s even worse than “Rochester” isn’t it?

Look,  something like 74.125.234.50 isn’t that easy to remember, right? So, that’s why we have things called Domain Name Service servers.

They’re quite smart guys that can remember the “nice name” (google.com) for each “ugly name” (74.125.234.50). So, when you type google.com in your browser, your Internet Service Provider asks DNS “bro, where is this google.com guy is hidden?” and DNS answers “Oh, you meant 74.125.234.50 , right?”.

So far, so good. Now you need to know just one more little thing, since we have several DNS servers over the web, when you change your hosting from company #1  to company #2, each DNS server has to tell his brothers about this change. So while one DNS server thinks that mysite.com is still hosted on company #1, others know that it’s actually on company #2, so a few users won’t be able to see your site in the meantime, depending on the route that they get (which DNS server their ISP ask).

5. Don’t Be A Comics Sans Criminal

Nobody needs to be a typography expert to know that Comic Sans is a really restricted font. It works pretty well, for comics. And only for that.

Google WebFonts allows you to use a lot of way better alternatives, but I recommend you don’t depend on it too much (since it’s a free service they have no obligation to keep it up 100% of the time). You could use font squirrel @font-face generator with Google WebFont fonts so you’ll have cool types and don’t need to bother using Google’s service.

Another good thing, is trying to tell your client how fonts are important, how they complete any design work, and a little of typography basics (sans-serif X serif, system defaults X @font-face imported).

6. IE6 Isn’t A Real Browser (yet)

by nkzs

Maybe IE10 will be an awesome browser. But currently, IE is far behind the alternatives. So, try convincing your client to switch to a real browser.

But the important thing here is: Forget about IE6. Unless it’s really your target (and if it is, it’s really bad for you) IE6 is hardly same as Mobiles. IE7 is really bad also, and if you notice a down market share, forget about it too.

I’m not talking about doing things that don’t work on IE. I’m talking about doing things the right way, and don’t lose time trying to get same effect in old and outdated software, move on.

7. Sorry, I’ve Forgotten My Magic Bean At Home

by mzacha

One thing that I really hate is when people say “Well, but I’ve seen it on google.com, facebook.com, anotherbigwebsite.com, so it’s possible to do. Do it.”

Assuming that you know everything that can be known in the Web Design field, we have 3 key points that define how our final work will look:

• Time – “Any problem can be solved with infinite time.” The more time you have, the higher quality will be, at a lower price (since you have more time, you can do other things in the meantime).
• Quality – High quality requires more time and more price.
• Price – The higher the price, shorter the time may also result to high quality.

How About You?

I’m pretty sure you’ve been asked a few great questions from clients that just don’t quite understand what goes into designing and launching a website. Share it with us!

Exceed your boundaries

Summer is the right time to do something wild and special. Break your routine and step out of your comfort zone. Put that laptop away and go surprise yourself. I bet you have a roaring desire for summer adventure. If you have always wanted to learn to water-ski, go and do that. Perhaps some of you dream about skydiving or scuba diving. What keeps you back? You’ve worked hard all year and it’s time to rest. Test yourself, get to know your body, exceed your limits. Next time when a friend calls with a spontaneous idea don’t grunt that you’re busy. You go for it with a grin on your face.

Exercise

Summer is also the time to get back in shape. Designers spend most of their time sitting and that does not help your health at all. An immobile lifestyle can lead to a lot of serious health problems. Summer is the perfect time to start working out. Wake up earlier in the mornings and go for a run. If you have a lake or a sea nearby take a swim after the run. You’ll feel great and lively. Revise your diet – no more synthetic food from supermarkets wrapped in ten sheets of plastic. Drink a lot of water, eat fruits and vegetables. Visit your local market and buy naturally grown food. Summer offers so many active ways to spend your spare time. Go out and start training – your body will be grateful.

Tribesports is a recently launched website which helps the sports person in all of us do more. You can create your ultimate sports profile, follow other users, create or join tribes and take challenges. It’s a great place to start off. I suggest starting with the easiest challenges and slowly move upper. With Tribesports you can easily share training updates, get inspiration, guidance and advice from others that are taking or have previously completed a challenge.

Livestrong is dedicated to being a users most valued online source of inspiring, relevant and useful health-related information. To achieve that goal, they have combined the best in health, fitness and lifestyle content. You are going to find dozens of useful articles on Livestrong as well as exercises, diet programs and inspiration. You can also set your weight loss goals, track your daily caloric intake and log your fitness activities. Livestrong provides all the needed features to start working out and live healthy.

Zen to Fitness is an online magazine with free weekly articles on health and fitness that can be read in under 5 minutes. The focus is a quality design/content and the site is ad-free. All the articles are easy to follow advice that you can use in your day to day life.

Go over your past work

No matter if it’s school, casual work, or freelancing – if you’ve been diligent during the past months a thick folder of work should have been piled up. Excellent projects you might be proud of, ordinary worksheets, or maybe something you haven’t quite finished. Going over your past work and analyzing it is a great way to improve your future results. Try to recall what and why you did certain things, analyze your work and think what you could do to make your work better next time. Learn from your own mistakes.

The “Do it later” list

Yes, I’m talking about the very same list each of us have to organize and plan our work. The list which we so enthusiastically wrote, but of which we flee and dread right now. I have a do it later folder in my bookmarks which stretches three times my monitor size. Interesting articles, inspiring interviews, useful websites – it’s all there, but somehow I’m still afraid of that list. Don’t be like me, though. Don’t sit there for two hours motionless refreshing your Twitter and Facebook. Instead close everything unnecessary and devote time to yourself and your unfinished tasks. No more naah, I’ll do this later. Sit down with your list and go through each point in turn. Organize your work smart and be awakening about your time. In the autumn you’ll be thankful, as you’ll be able to start work with no debts to yourself.

Widen your viewpoint

So you’re a designer and always wondered how would it be to be able to code your designs? Summer is the right time to give it a try. And I’m not talking only about design related things. Advance yourself, learn, digest. Traveling is the best way to get to know new cultures and societies. Why not to take a trip to some far-away place and stay there for a while? Go get to know the countryside if you’re a town dweller. Read the books you wanted. You accumulate your inner fortune with by doing things you thought you’d never do. Knowledge is never enough, keep that in mind.

Enjoy

Summer is supposed to be fun, joyful and full of adventures. Don’t spend your summer in front of a 24 inch screen reading some superior marketing techniques secrets. Put away those cutting-edge freelancing books and get out of the house. Believe me, computer tan ain’t as cool as you might think. Meet your friends, connect with people, do something crazy and just enjoy the summer. Memories are invaluable, you don’t want to remember trying to unravel that impossible CSS trick. You want to remember those beautiful nights by the sea with your friends, barbecue and beer. Reconsider your priorities and taste the life. Take a trip to some remote country, propose spontaneous ideas, break the lines. You won’t regret it looking at the pictures in autumn and remembering the times you had. So quick, close this window, think of something funky and awesome and go do it.

From what I have noticed the number of displays needed for a designer is always one more. You have two? Add another one. A good combination I have seen is a laptop and a cinematic display from 24” to 27”. Wireless mouse and keyboards are also favored.

Popular Displays

Dell UltraSharp U2711 27”–  Best Choice

According to CNET this is one of the best monitors to use today. If you’re considering buying it you can read CNET’s official review and the user’s reviews.

It boasts amazing color accuracy, 2560 x 1440 resolution, 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Not to mention the price, okay, it’s a bit expensive at $987.00 but surely this is worth every single buck.

Best Alternatives:

1. ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22–Inch

2. NEC MultiSync PA271W

3. Samsung PX2370 23”

4. ASUS VH198T 19–Inch

5. Apple LED Cinema Display 27–Inch

6. HP 2710m 27–Inch Diagonal HD Ready LCD Monitor

7. ASUS VW193TR 19–Inch Wide LCD Monitor

8. ViewSonic VA2431WM 24–Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor with Speakers

9. Acer V223W EJBD 22–Inch Wide LCD Display

10. Asus VH236H 23–Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor – Black

Sample Workspaces:

Popular Laptops

Apple MacBook Pro 15.4” Laptop –  Best Choice

Good choice for gamers and designers who love hopping from one place to another. With 15.4” display I’m pretty sure you won’t miss anything that should be in sight. Surely, this won’t make Steve Jobs blush of embarrassment.

It also now comes with Intel Core i5 or Core i7, giving near-flawless processing power. Something that even non-gamers and non-designers want to have.

Best Alternatives:

1. Samsung RF510-S02 15.6-Inch HD LED

2. HP G62-340us 15.6-Inch

3. Acer AS5253-BZ684 15.6-Inch

4. ASUS N53JQ-XV1 15.6-Inch

5. Lenovo G560 Series 067999U

6. Alienware m15x 15” Gaming Laptop (Cosmic Black)

7. Sony VAIO VPC-F133FX/B 16.4”

8. Toshiba Satellite M645-S4065 14.0-Inch LED

9. ASUS G73JW-ROG Limited Edition Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop

10. Dell Inspiron Mini Duo 3487FNT Convertible Laptop/Tablet

Sample Workspaces:

Popular Desktops

Apple iMac 27” Desktop – Best Choice

There is all this talk about gigahertz, cores, RAM, HD, and relevant technical things. Knowing these will help you choose your dream computer. My take on all of these in six words: “the higher the number, the better.” Note: pricing is a different matter. There are products that closely resemble each other in terms of features but greatly differ in price. Is it about quality or the name? In the end we’ll just have to trust people’s reviews and ratings. What comes to mind? Apple iMac. 27 inches!

Best Alternatives:

1. Acer AspireRevo AR3700-U3002

2. Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

3. Sony VAIO VPC-J11BFX/B 21.5-Inch Desktop

4. HP TouchSmart 600 23”

5. Dell Studio XPS 7100(Piano Black)

6. Gateway DX4831–05 Desktop (Black)

7. Lenovo Ideacentre H405 77231AU

8. iBUYPOWER Gamer Extreme A537SLC

9. HP Pavilion p6720f PC

10. Apple Mac Pro MC561LL/A

Sample Workspaces:

Best Mouses

Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse (Black)

“BlueTrack Technology ensures that the Arc Touch Mouse works wherever you need it to, on a range of difficult surfaces – be it a rough wood bench, glossy granite countertop, or soft carpet.”

And hey, if you are thinking that the “curve” stops it from being easily portable then you are wrong.

Alternatives:

1. Apple Magic Mouse

2. Logitech Wireless Trackball M570

3. Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX for PC and Mac

4. Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000

5. HP Wireless 3 Button Mouse

Sample Workspaces:

Best Keyboards

Apple Wireless Keyboard

Technical Details:

• Anodized aluminum enclosure
• Extended layout with document navigation controls, a numeric keypad, and special function keys
• Low profile keys
• Bluetooth Technology
• Ultra-thin design

Alternatives:

1. Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro Ergonomic

2. Microsoft Sidewinder X6 Gaming Keyboard

3. Logitech G19 Programmable Gaming Keyboard

4. Logitech Keyboard K120

5. Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000

Sample Workspaces:

Best Selling Graphics Tablets

Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch

It takes time to get used to using a tablet but it sure will help for illustrators, graphic artists and designers out there. If you have a fat wallet and can afford a much better version of this, you might want to go for Intuos4 or Cintiq 21UX.

Alternatives:

1. Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet

A great example using graphics tablet!

2. Wacom Cintiq 21UX

3. Genius MousePen 8 x 6-Inch Graphic Tablet

4. VT 12-Inch Touch Screen Graphic Pen Tablet

5. Wacom Intuos4 Small Pen Tablet

Sample Workspace:

Best Tablet PC

Apple iPad – Best Choice

Touchscreen computers and smartphones have taken over the world today. Wherever you look there are always people fiddling with their touchscreen devices (except poor me). Is there a tight competition in the market or is a certain brand the definite leader? Can’t really say which product is leading because it all depends on how good advertising and PR is. Anyway, here’s a short list of fantastic tablet PCs to complete your workspace.

Alternatives:

1. Motorola XOOM

2. Dell Streak 7

3. Coby Kyros MID7015 7-Inch

4. Archos 70 – 8 GB Internet Tablet (Black)

Sample Workspaces:

Popular Books in Web Design

1. Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

2. CSS: The Missing Manual

3. The Web Designer’s Idea Book: The Ultimate Guide To Themes, Trends & Styles In Website Design

4. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

5. Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 on Demand

6. Serif WebPlus X4

7. Introducing HTML5 (Voices That Matter)

8. Convert!: Designing Web Sites to Increase Traffic and Conversion

9. The Web Guru Guide

10. Website Design and Development: 100 Questions to Ask Before Building a Website

Anything you would like to add on this article? Would love to hear your feedback!

Let us take a look on the definition of collaboration. I would like to share with you how Wikipedia defines collaboration.

A recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective, determination to reach an identical objective) — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.

I find this definition very appropriate on how I want you to understand collaboration. As what this definition says,

Collaboration is a recursive process…

It is a process by which you need to start from one step, finish the previous step and proceed to the other and so on to reach one goal.

Difference of Communication and Collaboration

Many people find these two words similar, but I tell you they are totally different. The only similarity they have is they both involve two people connecting with each other.

Communication is when you just deliver information from one entity to another. It just transmits in a one-way direction.

While collaboration digs deeper, it delivers information and throughout the process of delivering there is sharing or changing of thoughts and information.

Why Do Designers and Developers Should Collaborate?

I created here a chart that will help you understand on how important collaboration is.

Let us stick on the chart and answer the question on why do we need to collaborate at work with each points below.

To share own ideas

The first step is sharing of own ideas. It is important when two people express what they think of something, this applies especially to developers and designers. In this way, they can say what they think about the project they are doing.

Sharing of ideas improve analytical thinking, creativity and uniqueness.

Analytical Thinking. Of course you would like your project reach success, so all the thoughts you give must be properly thought of and will be for the good of the project.

Creativity and Uniqueness. We always want a project to be one-of-a-kind and creative. When you share ideas with this kind of goal you will always think of creative and unique ideas that can be appropriate to the project you are doing.

Image by: Idea Maps

To come up with one concept

After sharing ideas, you can already come up with one concept. Not just a concept, but a clear and well-defined one.

What could be the benefits of having a clear and well-defined concept?

• It will make your work very fast.
• It will lessen critical moments.
• It will avoid rushing onto deadlines.
• It will lessen the expenses.

To avoid miscommunication

Wikipedia defines miscommunication as:

An interaction between two parties in which information was not communicated as desired.

A miscommunication happens when an information or message from one entity is not delivered, or delivered but not the way you wanted it to be.

When I was searching for an appropriate image about miscommunication, I have found this image that is an example of miscommunication between the CEO and employees. Please take time to read and do not skip any on what it is written on the image.

Image by: sieersht

This is one good example of miscommunication. From the CEO down to the staff, the correct message was not properly conveyed.

Miscommunication should always be avoided for this can make or break the success of a goal or a project. To avoid this one, always talk to your co-worker and share what you think. Collaborate.

In the process of doing these things, a relationship is built between the designer and the developer.

How To Collaborate

1. Think of Ideas.

When we work, we should always think of ideas. Ideas are very much important to think of. For instance with designers and developers, there are times when a designer thinks of something but seems impossible for the developer to do it. Think of not only one idea, but several yet relevant ideas.

Image by: thewoodenshoes

2. Speak Up

Speak your mind. Tell what you think of your project or of one idea. Speaking improves how we think and talk to other people.

Image by: yo_steedgirl

Be friendly when you speak up. Avoid being aggressive or boastful, this can make your co-worker feel uncomfortable towards you.

3. Listen

Collaboration is a two-way transmission. There will be times when you will have to speak, and there will be times when you will need to sit down and listen to what your co-worker has to say.

When you listen, listen attentively. This will make them listen to you well like how you listened to their insights.

Image by: “Anwaar

While listening, take notes. Remember when you are still at school? When your professor talks, you take notes. This also apply at work. Notes are very useful when you want to remember something important that will bring a good effect to your work. Make sure the notes you take are the important ones.

Image by: Colin Devroe

4. Cooperate

Collaboration will not happen if there is no cooperation between two entities. Cooperate if you think you have an idea in mind that can help your project reach success.

See how the people in this image cooperate to carry those steels? That’s how you should cooperate.

Image by: 17may

5. Know your Goals and Priorities

Goals define your priorities. You should know your goals and priorities so that you will know where you can focus yourself.

6. Be Responsible

Always be responsible, do not ever waste your resources with irrelevant things on your work. Maximize your resources by being responsible so you will reach success and be acknowledged for it.

Image by: Liz Lawley

7. Do Your Best

Always do your best in everything you do, to reach S-U-C-C-E-S-S.

Image by: Ali Eltom

Interview

I interviewed six people who already worked with a designer or a developer. This will reflect how these professionals value collaboration on their work.

1. In the 100% of time working with a designer/developer, how much is the amount of percentage you spent talking with each other?

• 3 said 40%
• 2 said 30%
• 1 said 10%

With these answers, I can say that many still value talking and sharing ideas with co-workers which builds collaboration between entities.

2. Do you talk with your designer/developer even off at work?

Four people said they still talk with their co-worker even off at work. There are times when their topic is still about work, and oftentimes it’s about any topic.

One said she just talk to her co-workers if they are at work.

One said it depends on the personality of his co-worker. If he thinks their personalities won’t jive, then they only talk when at work.

Now, you may ask on why did I include this question. For me, talking to your co-workers and sharing your insights is one way of building a relationship with them. In this way, you can be comfortable working with them, and they can also be comfortable with you.

3. Rate from 1 to 10 (1-lowest, 10-highest) on how important collaboration is between a designer and a developer? Explain your rating.

Out of the six, three gave a rate of 10, two gave 9 and one gave a rate of 8.

Designer Jeizelle Anne said:

“The success of the project depends on how the designer and developer worked together, and when we are working collaboration is really needed.”

Developer Eric John said:

“I gave 10 for collaboration is one key to have a good output when working with others, especially between designers and developers. I find it also good to work when I see that the team or partners collaborate well together.”

Developer Rassel Jan said:

“Collaboration is really important especially when you are in those critical moments of the project. In my part as a developer, I should know on what are the weaknesses of the designer or what he likes to happen on a certain project and I can do that when there’s a collaboration between us.”

Developer Luigi said:

“No good project will be created if the two will not work and collaborate well. But there are persons that can do designing and developing at the same time, though rarely that happens.”

Developer Joren said:

“It is important that the two should come up with just one goal or expected output.”

Designer Benjamin Arthur said:

“If there is collaboration, the work will be easier for the two. Then, there will be a good output. If they came up with one concept, then all of their ideas will be focused there.”

4. Who do you think has the easiest work? Is it the designer or the developer?

Five out of the six said it depends on the forté of the person. If the person excels on designing, he will think that the work of a designer is easier than the work of a developer and vice versa. One person said that it’s the designer who has an easier task, since designing is the only work he/she does.

And I agree with the majority that it really depends on where you excel. If you think your passion is coding, then you will think a developer has the easier work and vice versa.

5. What is your best and worst experience between your designer/developer?

Jeizelle Anne said:

“The best experience I had is when they acknowledge the works I do. And the worst experience I had is we do not understand each other well due to language differences.”

Eric John said:

“The best experience I had is when the project was a success or the expected output was reached. While the worst is when we came to the point that we already fight. ”

Rassel said:

“The best experience is when my designer have done everything I explained. And the worst is when we already wasted an hour without getting over a small issue.”

Joren said:

“The worst experience I had is when we are experiencing misunderstandings, then what will happen is everything will be done repeatedly.”

Benjamin Arthur said:

“The best experience I had is when he acknowledge my works and tell my shortcomings in a nice way. While the worst is when he tell things that he himself doesn’t know how to do.”

To avoid negative situations, collaborate.

Share your Thoughts

How about you? How important is collaboration for you? You may also share to us your best and worst experiences with your co-worker. Comment now!

There are too many items to cite but I only chose the coolest and most stylish. Things that a designer (developer, writer, etc.) would want to use not only at work but off-work, make your friend designer happier in this Christmas and remember there aren’t too many days left to get the gifts – huh..I need to remind that myself too .

SanDisk Cruzer 16 GB Flash Drive

Estimated price: $35.11

Adding to the fact that it has a lifetime warranty, it is capless so you won’t have to lose the cap. Massive storage for immediate and more portable needs. Features boasts that it includes JetFlash Elite data management tools which can help you to “Take your E-mail with you on the road” and “one-click automatic website log in”.

Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen

Estimated price: $99.99

I believe this is the smartest pen ever invented. Features include voice recording for over 200 hours, things that you write is written and at the same time recorded which in turn you can upload to your Mac or PC for a virtual image of your notebook. From there you can “search” a term and the software finds it for you. Also has built in translator and calculator. Of all the items featured here this is the one item I want. Works well for writers, developers, and designers who are in meetings or far from a laptop/desktop.

Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Fun Small Tablet

Estimated price: $83.57

Several months ago I had the chance to use one and I loved it even if I’m not really good at designing. For starters or pro this is a good tool in digital painting and other artworks.

Star Wars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock

Estimated price: $49.99

Admit it, many designers have seen Star Wars and are amazed by it. Who doesn’t know Darth Vader? Let Vader wake you up!

MIMO USB LCD Screen

Estimated price: $149.99

A busy designer’s screen has no place for e-mails and IMs, they won’t just fit in one. Here’s the solution, plug it and have an extra space.

Imagelab Slide and Negative Scanner

Estimated price: $80.56

From negatives to digital images, I never thought such a technology existed. Insert your negatives, wait a moment, and view your scanned images on the LCD.

Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printer

Estimated price: $59.99

Compact printer. Can print 4” by 6” photo in about 47 seconds with high quality. Wireless and has an LCD.

PanDigital’s 8.5”x11” Photo Scanner

Estimated price: $99.84

A device which requires no PC to scan images. Can scan up to 8.5”x11”. Photos are scanned as 650dpi full color. Scanned images are saved directly to a memory card.

The Web Designer’s Idea Book, Vol. 2: More of the Best Themes, Trends and Styles in Website Design

Estimated price: $19.80

A book to help avoid/remove designer’s block. Full of ideas, fresh and new.

Thinking With Type

Estimated price: $16.47

Reviewers of this book mentions that they “became better designers” just after reading this. I wonder, what’s inside?

Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt by ThinkGeek

Estimated price: $19.99

Aside from its ability to detect human presence, it also detects Wi-Fi! Imagine that? You won’t have to ask people if the place is Wi-Fi enabled or open your device just to check. Cool guy, knows where Wi-Fi signal is.

App Magnets

Estimated price: $17.06

Too much time spent on your smart phone results to real-life App Magnets. Decorate someone’s fridge with these either for a laugh or for style.

Holmes Black Robot Desk Lamp

Estimated price: $23.15

You do not mess with the Robot Desk Lamp! Add a creative touch to a friend’s room, a designer would love this greatly!

365 Cats Page-A-Day Calendar 2011

Estimated price: $9.62

Meow for inspiration. Meow.

Sharkoon X-Tactic SP Gaming Headset

Estimated price: $69.99

Every designer needs silence but holidays are coming and they will need to rock. Note: This is a gaming stereo headset for PlayStaion 3 and Xbox 360 with detachable microphone.

One Piece Anime Nami Oppai Mouse Pad

Estimated price: $49.95

Ergonomic mouse pad has good pads for wrist support. Yes, wrist support.

Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi Reading Device

Estimated price: $189.00

Imagine a pdf reader that you can use for a whole month in just one-time charging. Impossible? Wired Magazine’s comment about this product is “Battery life is long enough for space shuttle missions.” Kindle is also Amazon’s #1 bestselling item for 2 years and running. It boasts to be the most-wished-for, and most-gifted product in Amazon.

The Art of God of War III

Estimated price: $40.95

If you know a designer who is a fan of God of War then this book will delight him/her. This book gives the reader a peek into the epic conception of its epic art.

Photoshop CS5 Digital Classroom

Estimated price: $31.49

Perfect for beginners and even for experts. It has a DVD that will guide you along the way.

Designer Notebook Sleeve

Estimated price: $19.90

Can fit in a 15.6” notebook and will protect it with its Anti-Shock System. Who wouldn’t love such a beautiful design for a notebook sleeve? I’d buy it for 30 dollars.

Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse (Black)

Estimated price: $152.99

Best mouse for designers. Offers vertical and horizontal scrolling. Scrolling is fluid, you will never have a problem with that. There is also a search feature, set your default search engine and just highlight a word or phrase and let the mouse do the rest. To sum all of the reviews, this mouse is one of the most smartest today. And it’s wireless!

Logitech Illuminated Ultrathin Keyboard with Backlighting

Estimated price: $61.21

Very thin, has 3 levels of  back-lighting to help see keys in the dark, ultra comfortable and the most elegant keyboard you’ll ever see. A reviewer says this is the best keyboard he ever bought. Good gift? Yes.

Logitech Comfort Lapdesk N500

Estimated price: $38.15

Has a heat-shielding design which protects your skin from the heat. Recent studies suggests that placing a laptop on your lap may trigger allergic conditions because of the heat on your skin. Be protected from harm. Aside from that, this lapdesk promises to give its users comfort whether on the sofa or on the bed, reviews from buyers supports this claim.

Shumacher PP-2200 Portable Outdoor Power Unit

Estimated price: $66.17

This is a good gift for a friend or to yourself. Going on a vacation far from civilization and you need access to your laptop or other gadgets? This one is for you. Reviewers of this product says it powers their laptop for several hours. Amazing, huh?

Optoma PT100 PlayTime LED Gaming Projector

Estimated price: $179.99

Who wouldn’t want to have a home theater at $179.99? Works with game consoles and computers, has built-in speakers, and exceeds general expectations for such a small amount. Clearly, a good gift if you want people to relax at home.

1TB USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Ultra Portable External Hard Drive

Estimated price: $129.99

You know what’s cooler than 500GB? 1TB. Powered by your laptop/desktop, no need for an external source for power. Ultra Portable can fit inside your pocket.

Wii

Estimated price: $197.00

In France they call it Yes. Need I say more? Best gift for everyone.

Sony PSP

Estimated price: $169.99

Every designer needs fresh ideas and Sony’s PSP is a good gadget to get them fresh. Already finished work? Relax and have fun through PSP.

Website Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads

Estimated price: $27.66

Let’s face it, a website’s design is as important as the content.  Because humans are visual beings who decide quickly based on appearance of things, the principles should also be incorporated in web designs.

Fujifilm FinePix J40 12.2 MP Digital Camera

Estimated price: $59.00

Capture moments that inspire you. Great gift for an outgoing designer. Great price too.

In this article, we have selected 75+ various design quotes. Some you will recognize coming from the great artist like Pablo Picasso. Others are inspiring quotes created by designers across the world based on their mindset.

Picasso Type – Quote by Picasso

Design’s fundamental role is problem solver.

- Fast Company, 2005

Design is in everything we make, but it’s also between those things. It’s a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda, and philosophy.

- Erik Adigard

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

- Steve Jobs, 2003

Pablo Picasso

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.

- Red Adair

Invention is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

- Thomas Edison

…designers can make life more bearable by producing stuff that touches its audience rather than fucks them in the head.

- Jon Wozencraft

Dead Serious

Good design is good business.

- Thomas J. Watson Jr.

The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.

- Victor Papanek

A design isn’t finished until somebody is using it.

- Brenda Laurel

Creativity

You are what you are seen to be.

- Erik Spiekermann

To say that something is designed means it has intentions that go beyond its function. Otherwise it’s just planning.

- Ayse Birsel

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

- Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Sweet In The Sour

Truly elegant design incorporates top-notch functionality into a simple, uncluttered form.

- David Lewis

Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.

- Orson Welles

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

- Pablo Picasso

Excellence – Aristotle

Design is as much a matter of finding problems as it is solving them.

- Bryan Lawson

Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.

- Judy Garland

The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

- Tom Waits

Person You Are

Good art inspires; Good design motivates.

- Otl Aicher

Color is a creative element, not a trimming.

- Piet Zwart

Sometimes you can draw more inspiration from the people who don’t believe in you, then from the ones who do.

- William Childs

You Learn Something New Everyday

Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions.

- William Allin

Design is where science and art break even.

- Robin Mathew

I’m convinced that without bad design, the world would be a far less stimulating place; we would have nothing to marvel over and nothing to be nostalgic about.

- Carrie Philips

Typography

The definition of an expert is someone who knows what not to do.

- Charles Willson

Practice safe design: Use a concept.

- Petrula Vrontikis

Just because something looks good doesn’t mean it’s useful. And just because something is useful does not make it beautiful.

- Joshua Brewer

Never Tell Me

Good design goes to heaven; bad design goes everywhere.

- Mieke Gerritzen

When you eliminate quality as a requirement, the entire design process becomes a whole lot easier.

- Jared M. Spool

If you’re more susceptible to interruption, you do more out of the box thinking.

- Don Norman

Life Is…

By far the dominant reason for not releasing sooner was a reluctance to trade the dream of success for the reality of feedback.

- Kent Beck

You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrandt… or in front of a piece of graphic design.

- Stefan Sagmeister

I don’t think that design needs theory, but I think designers need theory.

- Johanna Drucker

The Only Thing Worse

Design is the contrast of the core of limitations therefore there are no boundaries. It is simply an interpretation of creativity.

- Jenaiha Woods

Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.

- Jeffrey Zeldman

Simplicity does not mean want or poverty. It does not mean the absence of any decor, or absolute nudity. It only means that the decor should belong intimately to the design proper, and that anything foreign to it should be taken away.

- Paul Jacques Grillo

Fight With Tools

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work & an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.

- Frank Llyod Wright

Design is creativity with strategy.

- Rob Curedale

There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.

- Thomas Edison

BeAmazing

Design is an opportunity to continue telling the story, not just to sum everything up.

- Tate Linden

Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this duty.

- Emil Ruder

Wisdom is to knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.

- David Starr

Compassion Will Cure…

Designers have a dual duty; contractually to their clients and morally to the later users and recipients of their work.

- Hans Hger

Imitation may be the “sincerest form of plagiarism,” but it is also the mark of an inferior person.

- David Ogilvy

Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.

- Paul Klee

Rising Sun

Some designers create things to show you what they did. I design things to tell you what I solved.

-  Brian Yerkes

The quality of any creative endeavor tends to approach the level of taste of whoever is in charge.

- John Gruber

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

- Leonardo da Vinci

Quotation 6

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word: excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.

- Pearl S. Buck

Designers think everything done by someone else is awful, and that they could do it better themselves, which explains why I designed my own living room carpet, I suppose.

- Chris Bangle

The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.

- Neil Gaiman

Mr.Mandela Said…

Designing a product is designing a relationship.

- Steve Rogers

The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.

- Milton Glaser

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.

- Pablo Picasso

Reminders

I never design a building before I’ve seen the site and met the people who will be using it.

- Frank Lloyd Wright

I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.

- Ralph Lauren

Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.

- Charles Eames

Worth Having

We hope you can be inspired and motivated by the quotes in this post. Join and tell us which is your favorite one or if you have your own quotes, feel free to write it down on the comments. In the meantime here’s mine.

You can’t reach the top before you start climbing from the bottom

- Ari Suardiyanti

But how do you find a quality freelance designer who knows his, or her, stuff and won’t screw you over? Read on to find out how to get top class designers begging you for work, how to qualify them all, how to weed out the bad, how to finally choose one and how to handle payments properly and safely.

Before you begin

This isn’t a course on project management, but there are a few things you have to know before you can even start looking for a designer.

1) A high-class (aka: a good designer you can trust) will not even look at poorly written job proposal. It simply isn’t worth their time.

Think about it: if the designer is already a successful freelancer, then they know what to look for and they know which jobs will pay. Therefore, they know to look for quality written job proposals because then they know exactly what the client wants. And when the client knows what they want, it makes the designers job a lot easier. Which brings us to the second point.

2) Make sure you have a complete project description.

This doesn’t mean post the whole project idea and description up on the web for the whole world to see, but make sure you have the completed idea somewhere in your notes.

You have to know everything that needs to be done and in the way you want it to be done. If you have examples of the style you want used, make sure you keep links or copies of them that you can give to the designer. Once you have picked the designer, then it’s time to give them the full details, not before.

3) No great designer will work for pennies, unless you make it really interesting…

If you’re outsourcing that means you are trying to save (and thus earn more) money, but asking top rated designers to work for cheap just isn’t going to happen. BUT, if you make it very interesting and very creative they just might be willing to do it. This highly depends on the project and the mood of the designers, but once in a full moon you will be able to snag a great deal.

For the most part though, top rated designers do come with a hefty price tag. What is very interesting though is that if you don’t require the creme of the crop designer, you can still get professional and high quality designers for a good low price. You just have to shop around.

4) Don’t forget to shop around.

There is no one best place to find a designer. In this dime-a-dozen economy they can be found in all the usual places and even the most unusual places. Look at the designer job boards, freelance sites and even on designers private website. Ask anyone worth asking because you never know who will get back to you with a positive response.

Where to find designers

Designers are everywhere, you just have to know where to look. Here is a quick list of just some of the places you can find great freelancers.

Get A Freelancer (GAF)

GAF is one of the most well-known freelance site for both employers and freelancers. It features many categories of which one will most likely fit your needs. There are plenty of freelancers looking for work there. You can also post job with your requirements (more on this later). This is definitely one place you should look.

Freelance Switch

This blog based design website is a premiere site for designers and the like. With fresh content each week, many designers visit and sign up through this site. You are bound to find not only many designers here, but also very knowledgeable and friendly designers. This site is more community based than job board based.

Digital Point Forums

The Digital Point forums are a great learning resource, but they are likewise a great place to find freelancers. Under the Business section there is the “Buy, Sell or Trade” forum. There you can post your job and find many other DP users who can do the job for you, or at least point you in the right direction. This is a rather friendly forum and fun to hang out at, so be sure have a presence there before posting in the job board.

Creating A Quality Job Post That Will Gather Attention

You do not need to be a marketing expert to create a job post but you do need to create an attractive and descriptive title and description.

A title such as “I need a designer” is not good. You need to be more concise so that you can attract the right type of designer and not just bottom feeders. You title should be reasonably descriptive. Something like “Logo design needed for Design niche website” is significantly more descriptive and will garner more attention. Try to mention what specific item(s) you need and for what niche at a minimum. Also try not to make the title too long. 7-12 words max.

The job description should include what items you want them to do, such as a logo, banner,  or site design. It should also include your style requirements and any examples you want to show them. It’s also a good idea to state the time frame.

Let’s review, a good title will:

• Be short, but descriptive.
• State the item or items needed to be made
• List the Niche or topic
• If it’s a fast or small job, state so (ie: “quick job”).

A good project description will:

• Restate what needs to be designed.
• Give a time frame
• List your design requirements:
  • Color
  • Size
  • Style
  • ect…
• List of example work to explain some style points if need be
• List the budget (more on this below).
• State payment process (if need be, also more on this later)

But there is one more extremely important part which will significantly increase the quality of freelancer you can choose from and ease your vetting!

Pre-Vetting Designers

One step which most people never do and regret later, unless they get lucky, is to pre-vet people who respond to them. What is ‘vetting’? It’s the process of weeding out the bad and leaving the good! Pre-vetting is simply for doing this process before the actual selection process.

This is done in a very simple way on your job posts. At the bottom of your job post, you give the respondents a simple task to complete. This is not something such as making a mock-up design, it’s something very simple and really a no-brainer assignment. It’s a task that even a monkey could do!

Here is a short list of task you can pick from:

• “Respond to this job post with ‘I understand all the requirements!’ for me to consider you. Failure to do so will mean you will not be considered”
• “To make sure that you understand the requirements please Respond to this message/Private message me/E-mail me/Contact me with the message ‘I read all the requirements and understand it all’. If you do not I will not consider you for the job.”
• “To be considered for this job, please answer this preliminary question first: Is a hot fire hot or cold?”

See? You ask them to do something very simple. If they are unable to complete this extremely simple task or answer the question then they probably don’t have the brains to follow any of your other instructions.

Interviewing Potential Designers

After your job has been posted for a few days you will have several replies. From the people who replied, select the ones who replied correctly. Out of those who replied correctly, it’s time to sit down and interview them.

You do not have to do a full-blown job style interview, but there are several things you will want to know about them. You will also not want to interview them all.

Some job board websites have bidding and user ratings for each job and designer. If a designer bid above your budget, then it’s probably safe to ignore them. Try to follow these tips when picking final interview candidates:

• Does the user have a good rating? Yes? Good!
• Ignore users with no previous jobs done, zero rating(s) or a negative rating/feedback.
• Do not pick designers to bid above your budget. Though you can try to talk to them and negotiate a lower price.
• Talk to the highest rated users first.
• Don’t care if they don’t speak (or type) English (or your language) perfectly. This is design, not highschool English class.

When you are talking to the candidates, there are several very important things to ask for which will ensure that they are good for you and your project. You should ask:

• Have they done this type of project before?
• When (ie: how fast) can they complete the project?
• Do they have a portfolio to show you of their previous work?
• Do they have references?

The most important aspect is can you work with them. Do they fit you and the project? What’s the point of getting a great designer if you can’t stand them?

Weigh all the attributes and pick one that works for you. Don’t forget, pick one that has proof of past history of quality. And don’t be afraid to call their references!

How to handle payment

Usually the designer will be paid full price at after the project is complete. This is the norm for project such as logo designs, banners, ads, and (smaller) web page design. If you order through a private or company website, then you might have to pay upfront.

If you use a site like GAF or Freelance Swtich then payment will most likely be through Paypal. Most designers have their own Paypal account, so if you don’t have one make sure you create and verify one before you post to job boards.

For any small job, like the banner or page design, it’s ok to pay the designer after the project is complete. But if you have a larger scale project, the most secure way to establish payment is with milestone payments and through an escrow account.

An escrow account will hold your money for you, and is guaranteed for the designer at certain intervals and after approval from you. They are many places to create escrow accounts and each place will act as the 3rd party intermediary should any problems arise.

After project completion

Once you have sent the payment for the project, be sure to give a small tip. It’s not required but is a good gesture if the designer did a very good job and in a very quickly. This also creates loyalty. The designer is significantly more likely to work for you more often in the future if you treat them well.

If you are satisfied with their work, be sure to keep their name on file for future work or to reference them to others. If you send work to them, they are also very likely to recommend you (and your products) to their friends and clients.

Don’t be afraid to ask your own questions to the designers or to even ask for recommends of other designers for other tasks (if your current designers isn’t an expert at a certain task). Be friendly and they will surely do an extremely good job for you now and in the future.

I want to cover the second point today. As a Web designer/developer, you have an amazing opportunity to shape your clients’ perceptions of what the Internet and online technology can do for them and their business. Your actions will largely determine how successful your existing clients are and who your next client will be. How you go about this can take a variety of forms, but as many a marketing expert will tell you, one very effective way of growing your business is identify your customers’ pain points.

Recognizing pain

Photo by Tomasz Kobosz

Every customer is going to have one or more frustrations related to their business or their Web site. You need to learn how to read between the lines and listen past the immediate requests of your client. The goal is to keep reinforcing the idea that you understand what they really need and can articulate it better than they can.

Many business owners are intimidated by technology. There’s an obvious pain point: “Help, I don’t understand how this stuff works!” Therefore, the more you can educate your client, translate computer/Internet jargon into plain everyday speech, and empower your client to learn more about good Web practices and the benefits of regular updates (news, product updates, blogging, social media, etc.), the more you will be seen as a vital business partner.

Learn to recognize pain points by asking the right questions and listening to the answers. You can ask about your client’s goals and vision. You can ask about who they want to target to grow their business. You can ask what motivates them and what doesn’t. For those with existing Web sites, you can ask what features they get requests for often, or which off-the-wall things they might wish they could do. The goal isn’t necessarily to implement their requests verbatim, but to get an idea of where to focus your invention and ingenuity.

Eliminating pain

Photo by Ali Farid

For example, suppose you’re working on a niche community site for a client, and they ask how you can allow members to embed videos on their profile page. You know the client doesn’t have the funds to pay for a video streaming solution like Brightcove, so you suggest simply allowing users to post videos from YouTube. They say “great, make it so” and agree to a bit more cash to pay for your implementation. Now you have three options at this point:

1. Create a free-form HTML box and allow people to paste in YouTube’s code for embedding videos. Simple for you to implement but rather confusing for many users. Hardly a great experience and it only creates another pain point.
2. Find a prefab JavaScript widget that can automatically suck in videos from a user’s YouTube account. A little bit better, but remember, your client wants community members to embed videos that are relevant to the topic of the site. Besides, you don’t want to blindly copy someone else’s UI. This is an experience that YOU are creating for your client and their audience.
3. Develop a solution where a user can copy a YouTube video URL into a field and you’ll generate the embed code automatically. Make it better by allowing users to add and delete specific videos from their profile. And, while you’re at it, let users provide a username, then show a list of recent videos from their account and allow them to choose a video to embed. Top it off by adding support for the popular alternative video service Vimeo as well. You or a developer can program this by using the publicly available APIs that YouTube and Vimeo provide.

I chose the third option for a real project I worked on last year, and my client was thrilled with the outcome. Remember, their pain point was “how do I support videos on my site? I don’t want it to cost lots of money!” By creating a transparent, straightforward process whereby social media videos could be added and displayed in the context of the site’s personalized UI, I reinforced the idea that I understand needs, know how to solve problems, and make cool things that work right.

Don’t be afraid of pain

Photo by Jamie Brelsford

It’s easy to find articles circulating like “How to avoid bad clients” or “Freelance clients that suck”. While it’s true that some clients are more trouble than they’re worth, and it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for potential money/time drains, I think it’s wrong to have the attitude that clients are generally a bother who need to be contained.

Don’t be afraid of your clients’ pain. When they seem to be making unreasonable requests or are exasperating you with their endless questions or concerns, remember, YOU are the professional. You weren’t hired to be a hot-shot, you were hired to solve problems.

Find out what the client really needs. Dig a little deeper. Perhaps those endless requests to tweak a certain HTML form is stemming from them not really knowing what info is most important to capture. Take a step back and help them determine what the particular business need really requires, then implement the form accordingly.

Or maybe you find yourself going back and forth on the colors of the header for a site. Stop and think: did you talk to the client originally about what colors they like or don’t like? If your client hates sky blue, no amount of convincing on your part will make them love your sky blue background image. After all, if you think you should have the ultimate say on what looks good, then go join an art gallery. Fact is, you’re a designer for hire. Your client’s happiness is ultimately all that matters.

Become the Expert that Everyone Wants

Photo by Asif Akbar

Imagine a business owner you’ve worked with telling their friends: “you’ve got to talk to my Web designer — s/he is so easy to work with and always knows how to make things work better and fix problems that come up. I used to be confused by all this Web stuff, but s/he made it simple for me!”

A client will of course be happy with the good-looking design you create or the nifty feature you implement, but the truth is they’ll be most happy with your professionalism. Stay on track, ask lots of questions, go the extra mile, and eliminate their pain points. It may seem like a lot of effort to jump through every hoop that arises, but when you go above and beyond the call of duty, you cement your reputation as a can-do key player in the Web design business. In the end, it will definitely pay off!

What do you think? I’d love to hear your feedback below.

Thumbnail photo by Derek Kimball

If you want to create effective icon designs, then you should take a holistic approach to issues such as audience, size, simplicity, lighting, perspective, and style. Here we bring you a good opportunity and a good starting place for making icons that using these below toolkits will work together with you and fits within your budget.

1.Adobe creative suite

Adobe CS5 is most important tool for icon designers. It might seem prohibitively expensive, but it includes a lot for your money. For icon designers, CS5’s most useful tools include Photoshop, the market leading piece of image editing, manipulation and compression software; Illustrator, an artwork program used throughout the creative industries; and Fireworks, which lets you allow to  optimize images for the web.

2.Axialis icon workshop

Axialis Icon Workshop6.5 is a highly compatible piece for your  icon creation priced at $49.95, conversion and editing software available for Mac, Windows and Unix OS too. Besides the standard features you would expect, IconWorkshop is the only icon editor which lets you create and edit Image Strips for toolbars. The new generation of icons uses variable transparency (alpha channel). This feature permits creating beautiful icons with smooth borders and shadows. Axialis IconWorkshop also simplifies the icon creation process by providing you with a vast array of basic image objects, You can drag and drop on top of one another for professional looking results and it’s compatible with graphic industry standards.

3.Awicons