If your a designer, whether working at an agency or off on your own freelancing chances are at some time or another you’ve found yourself working under incredibly intense pressure. The kind where you feel that if one more task or problem comes your way, you’ll burst from the sheer weight of it all.

If this describes a recent day you’ve had, don’t despair, tomorrow is a new day, but there are things you can do TODAY to keep the pressure under control and keep your sanity.

1. Stop Checking Your Email: If you’re actively working on a project, complete it before checking your email again. Often, checking in to many times, will not only stop your production, but seeing the list of jobs piling up will only serve to weigh you down.
2. Make Lists: When you do check your email make a To-Do list. Committing your work to a list will get it off your mind and allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. There are tons of easy to use Web apps for list keeping and organization. Find the system that works for you.

   Remember the Milk
   BackPackIt
   Toodledo
   TaDa List
   Intuit Task Manager

3. Stay Organized: The more you organize your files and folders when you have time, the less stress you’ll have in the crunch times. Being able to quickly and efficiently find the files you’re looking for is one of the first steps to managing your workflow.

I’m sure everybody will have tips and tricks that work for them, but on a basic level and across the board, following these three basic principles will help to keep you sane!

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You might notice that a few changes have occurred here on the blog. You might also notice that there are still a few bugs to work out where colors aren’t quite matching up and things are in limbo. I decided that I would take this opportunity to have a visual illustration. As you follow the blog, you can also follow the progress of the site.

Stay tuned, we have some guest bloggers on their way with some awesome articles, that you don’t wanna miss. If you are interested in being a guest author contact me here.

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Recently, I was carefully thinking over  a new design for a client. I realized that as I rehearsed scenarios and applications for color in my head that the decisions I made in a matter of seconds would truly have an impact on how the piece came out. What seemed like a minor move, was actually an enormous piece of a dynamic puzzle that was being created by an artist. Namely me.

But the same principle certainly applies to every designer in every situation. Innately, we are gifted with certain talents that somehow connect our hands to our brain and our eyes, enablng us to create incredible masterpieces in every area of business, commerce and life. Man! Think about it. This design stuff is no small task.

The weight of the world may truly be on our shoulders. A bit dramatic? Perhaps. But think about it. On a daily basis society is accosted with images, advertisments and colors vieying for attention. What is the determining factor between something that is chosen and something that is ignored?

In a word? Design. Yep. The way it’s layed out, crafted or arranged. Whether consciously or subsconsciously, the design you see before your eyes will either draw you or cause you to repel.

Designers, the next time you set down before a blank canvas, a new document or behind the lense, remember that your decisions, no matter how seemingly unimportant, may have a huge impact on what others see and decide around you. Choose wisely.

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Every design we create serves a purspose. Is it up to us to determine that purpose? Or does each piece innately have a purpose?

Well, unfortunately I think there is truth in both. Our job is to amplify the innate purpose for each piece. Confused? Don’t stay that way, let’s examine the pieces we create on an everyday basis and the function they should serve.

The Business Card.

Part salesman, part reminder, part secretary. The business card created correctly can accomplish all these tasks in a single stroke. Often the most used piece of identity branding, too often businesses use a cookie cutter design and expect customers to take notice. Does it work? Maybe if your business is Office Depot. But if you’re a designer branding yourself or a client you want to think outside the box to make a business card that will really get the attention it deserves.

I like to think of the business card as a pocket sized billboard. It should scream at the consumer and burn a hole in their pocket!

As the designer it’s up to you to decide which information should be included and HOW it can be included to best represent your client and provide as the Heath brother’s (Author’s of "Made To Stick") would phrase it, "Stick-Ability" in the mind. (You want the customer to remember it!).

Chuck Green lists a Business Card Checklist that you might find useful to help you determine WHICH of the following bits of information is most vital to your client. Remember, you can’t possible include EVERYTHING. So you’ll have to pick and choose:

Business card checklist

Here are some of the many details you might include on your next business card.

PEOPLE
Name of person
(Nickname)
Title
Affiliations
Professional/academic designations

PLACE
Pronunciation of unusual names
Department/division name
Organization street address
Floor/suite/mail stop
Alternate P.O. box address
City/state/state abbreviation
Zip+four/postal code
Country
Home street address

COMMUNICATION
Voice phone/extension number
Toll-free phone number
Mobile phone number
Pager number
Fax phone number
Home phone number
E-mail address
Web site address

DETAILS
Office hours
Time zone
Appointment fill-in
Map/directions

ORIENTATION
Name of organization
Mission statement/business description
Product/service categories
Resource info
Special offer
Invitation
Illustration/photo
Logo
Organizational affiliations
Sponsorships

Once you’ve determined WHAT you’re going to include, try to think about ways to include it that will make a statement!

Have you designed business cards you’re proud of? Email them to me, and I’ll showcase them in an upcoming post with links back to your site!
 

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As a designer my job is to:

• Connect the reader and the writer
• Establish a visual connection between the product and the consumer
• Determine who your audience is
• Reinforce the message of the copy
• Guide the reader across the layout
• Direct the reader’s eye through "implied motion"
• Select the appropriate images to drive the layout
• Create an emotional connection between the viewer and the client

   
Obviously this brief list is not the all-encompassing tasks of a good designer, but I do think that without this mindset any design will suffer. Carefully consider what YOUR job is, when you take on your next project!

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Recently while attending a series of sessions relating to design, technology and marketing, I was confronted with an interesting question.

Why do people wait until the last minute?

Where did this procrastination society spring up? It seems like we rush around to get things done, to meet deadlines. That’s when it hit me.

When I’m approached with a new task, let’s say a design competition that I want enter, the first thing I do is check the deadline date for entries. Do we put things off because we’re just too busy to get to them or do we put them off because we no longer get an "early bird special" for being on time? Somehow being late has become the norm.
 

I love this from Seth Godin:

"Airlines and others penalize people for planning ahead by instituting non-refundable fares. We don’t get treated like royalty for signing up early, and the penalties for waiting often seem fairly small."

As marketers do we offer enough incentive for someone to purchase our products NOW? Or can they walk away from our information and feel that they can catch it later?

We’ve all heard way to many TV Special commercials. Most likely you can quote the last words, "and if you call in the next 10 minutes we’ll DOUBLE this offer."  We roll our eyes or better yet, change the channel. 
 

Let’s strive to be different, when you hear about an opportunity, jump on it. When you get  a notice in the mail that you’re interested in, act!
 

Similiarly, let me throw in a little shameless self-promotion here, students who are reading this blog, don’t wait until the day before the Student Identity Competition Deadline.
 

If we each strive to avoid putting things off another day, do you think our clients will do the same? As designer’s does the poignancy of our work dwindle over time if not acted on immediately?

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Looking for some new inspiring ideas? Want to really get your client noticed?

Though it occured almost 2 years ago, few Billboards have been as noticed and talked about as the Giant Chocolate billboard produced by a British chocolatier Thorntons. 

The billboard was created, was 860 pounds (390kg) of pure chocolate in London that was 14.5 ft by 9.5 ft. It consisted of 10 chocolate bunnies, 72 giant chocolate eggs and 128 chocolate panels. The billboard took three months to build. It was eaten in three hours.

Pictures from BBC and Yumsugar.

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As a designer, I’m always learning, new, faster and better ways to do something! One of my most recent discoveries: creating a 5 second contact sheet using Adobe Bridge and InDesign.  The functionality may have been around for a while, but it wasn’t until reading "Adobe Master Apprentice" that I suddenly stumbled acrross this incredible feature.

Here’s how it works:

1. Instead of having to place the images you wish to sample in InDesign in order to print them, simply collect the images into a folder on your machine.
2. Open that folder in Bridge.
3. If you’re using CS3 go to the "Tools" menu and select "InDesign".
4. Select the option for "contact sheet"
5. Choose the number of rows and columns you want (this will adjust the size of the images)
6. Watch InDesign do the work for you, automated!

I hope this tip will save you tons of time! Enjoy!

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Black. Without black there would be no need for any other color. Black is the backbone of all colors. What does that mean? Well, would anyone appreciate the vibrancy of red, the energy of yellow and the intensity of green, if it weren’t compared to the dark abyss of black? What’s more, any color combined with black suddently creates a piece that pops.

Black is a symbol of class, take black limousines, and black ties and tuxedos. Some gravitate so much to black that they make a whole brand on it, such as Johnny Cash, the "man in black". In clothing, black is slimming and flattering.

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