A Bad Brief Encounter?

As a designer, sometimes projects get shot over budget from a client brief that spirals out of control. These nasty little blighters can cause a nasty dent in the wallet as well as an overall dip in satisfaction for the client and the designer. So, to help eradicate these ‘*bad brief-encounters’ of the worst kind, I thought I’d write about a few things that help me.

* I apologise for the bad pun here, I like my sci-fi.

Ask the right (and enough) questions

Ok, it may be obvious. But the clearer something is, the more detailed and descriptive it is, then the easier life will become later on. However if there is murky water, then don’t be afraid to ask questions. I take notes a lot during a meeting.

Ask about who the end client / customer is, what are the project goals / objectives and how will you achieve them (the deliverables). What tone and style are you trying to set?

Set the ground rules from the start and carry on how you mean to proceed. Make sure you get that clear picture, or as close as possible.

Essentially, make sure you and the client are on the same page.

Never Assume

An easy mistake is to assume something. Make sure to ask again if you’re unsure on a point in the brief. It can take  up valuable time later on going back over something that’s completed wrong. Time is money right?

Set the Goal Posts

Be sure to set a project schedule. I always try to get a deadline upfront. A random time for completion of a brief, is just an extra bit of confusion. No one likes waiting around aimlessly. Which leads to unhappy clients. It’s good to have a start date, mid points for drafts and then a final deadline.

Ask about the Budget

I often ask if the client has a budget in mind. As it helps the direction of where to take the brief. For example, the deliverables could be completely different depending on the budget. Or if it’s open to quote, I could prove options.

 

 

The Walking Web! Are Websites Dead?

Did you come alone?

Hang on a minute. I’ve got to lock my laptop away from flesh eating website builders.

We don’t have long, so I’m going to hit you with some of my thoughts on why websites are rotting but also still alive and kicking!

Conformity and Responsive Websites

Squeezing the life out of websites originality, is conformity. Websites are now expected to work on multiple devices such as mobile phones and tablets. As a result, gone are the days of brochure style fixed layout websites (thankfully) and we are now left with large images and block layouts.

But I am personally tired to ‘death’ of seeing every site look the same more or less. However, this is also a good thing, as from a user point it makes sure everything is familiar. Humans like the familiar.

Plus, from a designer and developer point it’s even better. Designers can focus on the key messages and marketing, strong colour palettes and imagery. Developers have more frameworks and better CSS capabilities.

But can someone please put and Axe through Internet Explorer though?

Commoditisation

The internet is swamped with do-it-yourself website builders. Nothing wrong with that. When used correctly, they are a great way to get a web presence for your business. They can also be like letting 3 year old in a candy store (cringe).

Hear me out. Some of them are fantastic, easy to use for the non-tech savvy and quick. But here’s the kicker – for a lot of these, you will need to take time out to familiarise yourself with them and also, some bombard you like crazy with up-sell. Plus, if you don’t have a designer eye, the choice of colour, fonts and imagery is still all up for grabs. Does your average businesses have time for that?

There’s also every Tom, Dick and Harry knocking out a website (sigh) which devalues our profession. *shakes fist*

There are also website templates, which also have their place. Whip one out and add your content along with your logo and no one will be the wiser right? Well yeah, for a lot of companies that’s probably not an issue. One shoe might not fit all, but sometimes it might do the job right?

Finally, I suppose I can’t leave out Artificial Intelligence. There’s a service called TheGrid which I tried out very briefly. It states that ‘it isn’t just another do-it-yourself website builder’. Horse S*** (sorry mom) The hype for this thing has been unbelievable! Go and read up on it if you don’t believe me.

I found it confusing and not so whizz-bang that it promised to be. Anyway, it does beg the question – is AI the future?

Here’s my thought. You will never beat a designer and this wonderful quote follows that sentiment.

Thousands of web developers and designers emphasize that artificially developed websites couldn’t possibly be as meticulous as hand-drawn ones, as they lack the human intelligence factor that is brought into the project by a real artist.

Harold Stark – Huffington Post Worlds Collide: Artificial Intelligence Meets Web Design

So are websites dead?

Nah, they are just like Zombies. There are some dead ones knocking about (that may not work on all devices) and ones that conform with the personality of a corpse.

Websites are still the marketing-hub and home for your business on the internet. You just need to make sure you’re keeping yours alive! Don’t let it roam around looking all undead. Keep it fresh.

Don’t shackle it away in the basement. Give it all the social media integration it needs to be shared. Can your visitors view your social media feeds or blog feed? Do you have video on your website? Are you integrating the latest technology. There’s always new stuff coming out (yes some are fads) but some can be really useful.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so pop me some comments in below. The deathly screams are getting louder from down the corridor, so I’d better grab my … my …

—silence—

(Whisper … if you life please share, also comment below)

Killer Freelance Tips

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for design I can tell you I don’t have powerpoint or paint, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a life saver for people like you. If you give me a project brief now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will get creative.”

Yes, I may have paraphrased the famous line from the film Taken there. It gave me the idea for this post. My knee is a bit knackered at the moment, so I doubt I’ll be chasing any clients down ally ways for my invoices at the moment.

But I do use a lot of skills and tools to get through my creative day at work. I thought I’d share a few of them. Some of these could be dangerous in the wrong hands …

Master Keyboard Shortcuts 

Sometimes I look like I’m doing some ninja moves on my keyboard. It certainly feels that way at times and they are most definitely a time saver. Take some time to learn some.  Here are few of my favourites on my iMac. (Shh, they’re secret)

Cmd – H – Hides the current window

Left click – alt on desktop – Hides the current window

Cmd S – Saves the document (adding shift key saves as)

Holding Space bar in Photoshop / Illustrator – moves you around the document

Same as above, with alt key – lets you select an area to zoom in

 

Synchronise Watches

I started keeping a log of time for projects as soon as I started freelancing and have kept it up ever since. It helps you feel good, keep disciplined and look back upon when needed to give prices for similar projects. Which leads me onto …

Get the Tyme App

I recently came across this app – and it’s brilliant. It let’s you track your time for projects and syncs across the cloud across devices.

You simply start the time and stop it again and it clocks all individual time spent. It also allows individual parts for a project. So for example, one could be meetings and another admin work. It will then add it all up for you. You can also set deadlines and your cost per hour. It then gives you a break down of week, month and yearly stats.  

Click to get the Tyme App.

 

Avoid Black Suitcases With Money

To avoid having to send the heavies round, (or a strong worded email) be sure to get payment up front. For large projects, I usually get 50% upon the start of the project to secure the work and then the rest upon completion. Avoid meetings where money is exchanged in a big black suitcase.

 

Keep it Clear – Communicate

Muddy waters are no good for anyone. Define clear goals and be sure that yourself and the client are on the same page. If it means picking up the phone to run through a few of the finer details, then do it! It will save a whole lot of muck in the face later. Trust me.

 

Learn to Read Secret Code

Understanding a client can be difficult and frustrating. You need to grow yourself a thick skin. What the client says and what the client actually means can be miles apart. It takes time, but eventually you will begin to realise that a negative comment or critique is sometimes not as bad as you’d originally thought.

 

Organise Your Project Files

Take time to organise your files, projects and work schedule. I have a naming convention for all projects, each has a reference number and then a name. Inside you then have folders for each respective set of files for the project. For example, Photoshop, Illustrator, Research or From Client. I back mine up on an encrypted hard drive.

 

Define Your Work Time

Ok, so when starting out I worked from  a tiny corner in the living room whenever I saw fit. Now I work from an office 8.30 – 5. It’s so much better. This works for me, my point being set your time and keep to it. Then leisure time can be pure leisure time and vice versa, with or without an office.

 

Be Brave

One of my most frequent return clients originally came to me with a project that meant working on something I hadn’t designed before. I took a deep breathe, puffed out my chest and realised that in principle it was just another piece of design.

 

Have Your Secret A-Team

When I get stuck on a project or need help on something work related, I have a series of friends that I can rely on to help me out. A quick phone call or email and I’m back on track. I phoned at least 4 people last week about a quote and in the end,  I didn’t need to send in Mr T.

 

Well, I hope you found some of those helpful. Remember, I’ve spent a long time honing these set of skills and hope that you’re careful trying some of them.

I’d love to know some of your killer tips? Pop them below or drop me a tweet at my twitter.

Until we meet again.

Three Perks of Being Your Own Boss

Being the boss is great, but at the same time – it’s tough some days. I admit, I love the days where I lived 5 minutes away from the office and I rolled out of bed and strolled into work. Actually, it’s one of my favourite things!

Anyway, I digress.

I’m six years in, had plenty of early mornings, late ones and once, I even stayed up until about 5am on a personal project. Not quite an all nighter, but I do remember hallucinating and trying to play a poster like a didgeridoo. Those were the days! I can’t play for toffee. My point is, being your own boss is about give and take, having fun and getting things done.

 

It got me thinking and I wondered what other people enjoyed about being their own boss. So here are three of mine, I would love to hear yours.

1. Taking no crap

I have worked plenty of places prior to self employment where I’m sure that the staff would believe that the boss could walk on water and part the sea. I hated that! Worrying what the boss thinks, having to take their crap jokes, sarcasm, arrogance and general lording it above everyone else. Mind you, let’s be clear here – I’ve had a few fantastic bosses. The best used to shout so loud at me he could probably shatter glass. I still loved the guy! Probably the free pizzas …

Point being. I don’t have to take any crap if the boss is dishing it out! I also feel on the same level as my clients, without having to worry about pleasing the ‘almighty’ boss.

2. Freedom

Exactly that. If I want to work from the home office in my underpants and call my mom to ask for the secret ingredient to her perfect Yorkshire pudding*. I can. But, I, er … don’t.

I could go on and on for this point. Being the boss, means that I’m not restricted to when, what, who and if. For me, I love not having a a uniform, dress code or ‘no phones’ code of conduct. I listen to Rock music all day long and rock out with my dog. And it’s great.

* Yorkshire Pudding – a British thing. Basically a little round pancake (except we add salt and pepper) cooked in fat / dripping – usually with gravy. Son of a b’ to make rise perfect.

3. No Stress

I always find this peculiar. I get stressed at work, but nowhere close to where I got when I worked for someone else. I used to take work home all the time and worry and stress.

Ok, occasionally, I am surprised I don’t turn green and throw my iMac out the window. Or hurl my iPhone at door. But being the boss means that I am in control. This means that I have the power to control and steer where projects go. The feeling of being in charge is a HUGE relief on my stress level. I choose the project. I set the schedules. I set the prices.

 

What do you enjoy about being boss? I’d love to get your thoughts. Drop me some in the comments below.

3 Ways to Give Your Design Pow

I had a wonderful comment on my twitter the other week, from someone who said that my brand was really ‘pow’. It was actually Brad Burton, the founder of 4N networking, motivational speaker and business guru.

Fine praise indeed. Thanks Brad.

It got me thinking, what makes design ‘pow’ and stand out from the crowd? Obviously I ponder this almost daily, working on various projects for clients. It also sparked the idea for this post.

Here’s few things that you can do to make sure that your design has pow!

1.Excite

Tell others about your brand in an exciting way. Use interesting images, use unusual colour palettes and brilliant words. Don’t litter your brand with technobabble or cardboard images, snoozing facts or a billion bullet points.

Sometimes, thinking that you know best what your client wants to see, is not the most exciting way to execute a design. You have to think about what your client wants to see, but add this on the end; what’s an interesting way to do that?

You want your customers to enjoy your brand and feel interested whilst experiencing what you have to tell them. You want them to come back. Keep it short. Keep it relevant.

Keep in exciting!

2.Contrast

Variety is the spice of life. Imagine your design is a fine meal on a dinner plate, you want it to look appetising. A bland plate with no colour or contrasting flavours lends itself to a rather unappetising  meal.

So, add in some different flavours. Make sure you have some contrasting elements, such as headings, sub heads and paragraph breaks. For example, you may want to have some long paragraphs contrasted against some shorter ones.

If there’s a lot of images, you may want to make sure they aren’t all carbon copies of each other. Use size, style and crops to make them different.

If you’ve got some dark colours, have you got some lighter colours to complement the design? Contrasting elements in your design, will not only help give it pow but also help make it look a lot more interesting.

Remember, it’s a balancing act. So as well as contrast, you need to make sure elements of the design hold together.

3. Perfect

Nothing is ever perfect. But you should certainly be striving for it. Get someone to proof your design and scrutinise it.

The difference between you and your competition is every last minute detail. If you get stuck, just a few opinions or thoughts from another person can help focus your ideas in a new direction. Sometimes your design can be all the better for it.

If there’s something that’s missing that you aren’t particularly good at, it’s probably a good idea to get a professional in. Sometimes a super-hero needs a good sidekick.

Make sure that your design checks-off everything that you set out to achieve. Sometimes that final pow is making sure that the design hits the mark that was intended.

 

So remember the next time you are involved with a piece of design for your business, keep it interesting, enjoyable and professional. You don’t want to be another piece of bland card that’s forgotten in a heart beat. If you want to stand out, give them that added pow!

If you want to chat more about design pow for your business then get in touch at sean@daredevil-creative.com or call 01543 423 688. Or check out my website at www.daredevil-creative.com.

 

 

 

Why Hire a Graphic Designer?

If you’re thinking about going-it-alone with a bit of graphic design for your business, then it may save you a bit of money in your wallet.

There are plenty of software and websites to create marketing designs. But beware! Not using a professional designer may cost you a lot more further down the line.

Here’s a few reasons why you should think about using a professional graphic designer for your business marketing …

1.They can see things that you can’t

I’m not talking Jedi powers. Although it would be nice! Sometimes you can get too close to something and not see the whole picture. As an outside observer, a graphic designer will have a great outside perspective of your business. Helping you think up fresh ideas and new ways to present your business.

Plus, a graphic designer who knows their stuff, will easily be able to see if your design will appeal to your target audience – and not fall to the dark side. A simple word or image swap can change the design it can.

2.They have years of experience

A professional graphic designer will have spent years at college and University studying and learning their craft. Even better, some will have worked at various design studios learning different areas of design keeping up-to-date with current trends and practices.

Add to this countless hours learning the software needed (we are keyboard ninjas) a designer can help make things run smoothly and save you time, stress and money in the long run.

3.They will help you create a professional image

If your design doesn’t look great – your customers will pick up on this. So designing your own business logo or getting a friend who dabbles in computers to create one … probably isn’t the best idea.

Any design needs professional care, thought and execution. Now, I’m sure for your business you practice this each day. But, when you put on the hat of a designer, you’re missing the foresight, knowledge and finishing touches that add that professional level.

 

In summary, it’s great to have a hands-on approach your your business. Your business is your baby and it’s not easy to hand the reigns of your baby to someone else.

This may be why some people try to design their own business marketing, coupled with trying to save some money. But the result of this can damage the overall image of your business in your customers eyes, if you aren’t careful. Causing added stress and you having to take valuable time out of your business.

Using a professional designer, allows them to concentrate on what they’re good at – and for you to concentrate on your business.

Is Your Website Ready for 2016?

With all the changes in technology that have happened over the past few years, is your website ready … Do you know what this means for your business and customers? Is your website working for you?

Hopefully this blog post answers few questions and things to think about for your business website in 2016.

Is Your Website Mobile & Tablet Ready?

Technology has changed a lot over the past few years, along with your customers viewing habits.

More than half of all Google searches now happen on mobile devices, according to Google’s Amit Singhal, senior vice president of search. That’s a lot of thumb bashing!

This means that if your website isn’t optimised for mobile phones or tablets, then you could most certainly be losing potential customers.

A mobile ‘friendly’ website will take into consideration the smaller screen space and how you interact with the device. This will mean that images will be correctly sized and that you can read the text without having to tap and zoom in – which can be a pain.

It also means that there will be a mobile version of the navigation, usually under a hamburger style button. It’s called hamburger as it’s made up of three lines that resemble … well … a hamburger! Tasty. But also a very useful way to make navigation easy on a mobile device.

So in summary, a good mobile website will load quickly and allow you to easily browse the content, without having to zoom in or fumble around. It should resemble both the desktop and tablet version and include all the relevant information from them. And, most importantly an easy way to call or contact you.

Google is also continuously changing how it ranks your website in its search results. So this means if you don’t have a mobile version of your website, you may see your search results eventually slip down lower.

Mobile and tablet versions of your website are certainly something to consider if you’re getting one designed for your business, or if your current website doesn’t have one.

After all, if your website isn’t a good experience for your customer, then they will swiftly move on to one that is.

Is Your Website Outdated?

It’s a busy job running your business and sometimes your website can sit on the back-burner. This means that it may not reflect your current business branding and all your services.

Keeping your website updated with your current offers, menus or services is important for a number of reasons. For starters, a website advertising services that you no longer offer, or missing new services can be very confusing and frustrating for your customers. It can also mean you losing potential work and customers.

Secondly, if your website looks different to other areas of your marketing materials, than this can create mistrust and weaken your brand image. This is why it’s important that all your marketing materials look and feel part of a family. Even hold hands together and sing a little …

Technology also moves very fast, with new features becoming available for websites on a frequent basis. For example, a lot of websites are now implementing parts of social media into their websites. This includes things such as social feeds, which pull through all your business tweets or posts and display the top few on your website. Another great feature that a lot of websites are using is a share option, which allows your visitors to share an image or page that they like on platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIN and Facebook. Adding features like this to your website helps you look current and help you engage with a wider audience.

Can you update your Website?

As we’ve discussed above, keeping your website updated is an important way to keep your brand strong and your customers correctly informed.

This means that you either need to be able to update yourself or be able to get changes made via your web developer. A common trend is for you to be able to edit parts of your website yourself. This means that you can instantly change information, such as opening times or contact details without having to wait.

Having control of parts of your website, can also save you money. For example, if you frequently change large parts of your website, then a web developer would usually charge to make those amendments. Being able to change yourself, or getting a staff member to, could save you money.

A lot of modern websites are now either built within a content management system, or have a custom built control panel. These are basically editors, usually within your web browser that you log into to edit parts of your website.

Both will act in a familiar way to how you might create an email or word document online. More common ones include WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. Some are simple and others are complicated, so it’s important to see an example prior to start getting your website created in one. After all, it’s you or your team that’s going to be using it.

If you can’t currently update or edit parts of your website, more than often, this means that you may have to get your website rebuilt. Or, in some cases your web developer may be able to work out a deal for moving your website into a content management system. Either way, it’s now becoming an expected feature for websites.

In Summary

So there you have it. Websites now need to fit in your pocket, keep with the times and allow you to make changes on the fly. With technology moving all the time, websites now have to look great on whatever you may be using. This opens the door to a more rich experience of image and video and a wider audience. If your website doesn’t keep up with trends, then it may just be swept under the rug, while your competitors clean up.

A Few Strange International Business Traditions

Hurrah! It’s Friday again, for many British that can mean an early finish and off down the pub. It can also mean fish and chips for lunch or a selection of cakes in the afternoon. A little celebration for week well done.

So this got me wondering  how countries differ over the world when it comes to business and the workplace. So I had a look – and here are a few of my favourite.

Brazil

Apparently in Brazil, it is customary to stand extremely close and use lots of physical contact while talking. While the normal reaction might be to back away, those who do risk losing out on a potential business relationship, since it is considered disrespectful. Touching is welcomed between close friends and family and at work.

So, back in the UK … I can’t really see this working. Lets face it, we’re British. We get awkward shaking hands.

Finland

Things get a little steamy! In Finland, enjoying a relaxing sauna is an honored tradition for helping build business relationships. It’s a sign of hospitality and declining it is considered negative. Also long periods of silence are common in meetings.

So for those of you in the UK that have showers in your workplace, try not to get any funny ideas. Or, be quiet about it and try not to slip on the soap.

Japan

Hanami (Japanese flower viewing). So basically, lots of people gather to where lots of trees are blossoming. By some, I mean thousands. They fill the parks to hold feasts under the flowering trees, and sometimes these parties go on until late at night. The ‘blossoming” peaks are often close to the beginning of school and after vacation, so welcoming parties are often opened with Hunami. So friends, family and company co-workers go together to enjoy it.

I guess in the UK we may just have to stick to walking around the park at lunch with a sausage roll whilst watching the pigeons.

Egypt

In Egypt it is considered rude not to accept tea or coffee. Even if you don’t drink it.

I think we Brits can relate to this one.

So there you go, I’d love to get your thoughts – leave me a comment. Does anyone know of any other strange business traditions?

The Power of Two! beuie Websites joins Daredevil in new Stafford Studio

It’s time to celebrate!

Daredevil has moved office to the beautiful Cannock Chase Enterprise Centre. More space for tea drinking, stretching our legs out on the sofa and flexing our huge design and developer muscles. (They exist in our head and have taken years to shape).

Let’s go down memory lane a moment. To much of his annoyance and gratitude, I’ve been working with my best friend and colleague now since 2011 on various website projects. His name is Andy, he is a kick-ass website developer and makes a mean brew. I’m Sean (hi) and I’m a designer and am equally skilled in brew making.

We’ve worked on small websites, to really complex ones that took a lot of thinking, scribbling and designer voodoo. I worked from my office at Wolverhampton Science Park and he worked from home. Skip to 2015.

We now share an office together at the scenic Cannock Chase Enterprise Centre, in Hednesford, Staffordshire. We’re practically right on top of the Cannock Chase, so are neighbours with rabbits, stags and lots of trees. It’s beautiful, we love it.

The office took about a month for us to move in, as we decided decorate it from the ground up. We battled with gigantic brown walls, foot eating floor tiles and discovered that I love ending up with more paint on me than the walls.

So now we’ve settled in. We haven’t killed each other. I have to say, that it’s going pretty well, we get through the average day doing an average amount of british moaning. But that’s about it. We have three well behaved cactuses to care for, named Woody, Billy and Clint.

By working together, we can now offer a range of website design and graphic design services for small to medium sized businesses. It’s the best of both worlds, brains and beauty.

So enjoy the photos and we look forward to seeing you at our new office. We’re holding an open day in September – drop us an email at studio@daredevil-creative.com if you want to come and say hey.

Our cactus hanger

Superb art based on breaking bad from thebearhug.com

We love our colour

More work

The seating area

Frank. He doesn’t talk much.

Take a seat

Woody, Clint and Billy

The wall of Daredevil work

Magnetic board for important things

SAMSUNG CSC

Our office mugs, Daredevil themed

Pink

That’s it you put your feet up Andy

Picasso at work

A tired Andy

Horrible tiles

Bare bones

Let it be green

One of many white coats

Brown wall optimism

The horrible brown wall

It’s official

The horrible blue tiles

Well deserved