I briefly mentioned Twitter in my last post, so I figured I would share a little more information about Twitter and list of some of my favorite fellow designers that are on Twitter. If you have never heard of Twitter, or simply don’t know much about Twitter the best way that I can describe it is by calling it a social media/microbloging tool. Over all it is a great way to not only network, but also a great place to find resources.

Listed below are 150 of my favorite designers, developers, and creatives (in no real order) that I interact with on Twitter semi-regularly. Read the rest of this entry »

I have always been one of those types of people that want to keep on learning and trying to better myself, not only as a person, but as a designer also. So recently I have been thinking a lot about what I do to attempt to be a better designer and while thinking it over, I came up with the 5 things that I do on a semi regular basis to simply try to be better at what I do.

1. Read…A LOT!
Thankfully I like to read, and that has come in handy. I have found that reading is one of my favorite ways to learn more about things. When it comes to design there are plenty of resources out there to read to help keep up on the latest ideas. Some of my favorites are as follows: Layers Magazine, Computer Arts and .net magazine

2. Challenge yourself.
I found another great way for me to learn some thing new is to force my self to just simply do it. Find some thing new whether it is a new idea, a new technique or simply just some thing new and try it. You never know how it will come out or what you will get out of it.

3. Talk to others in your field.
Technology has really improved the way we communicate. With so many advances like Twitter, Facebook and other social media programs it has become exceptionally simple to find other people to talk to in your field. (Feel free to send me a message on twitter @mrrichardson)

4. Learn by teaching.
Recently I found that I have two relatives that have been training to become designers and I did not realize it. Since than we have talked a lot about various design subjects and it has helped all three of us learn more. If you are not lucky enough to have people close to you that want to learn try writing a tutorial.

5. Find time to work on personal projects.
From time to time I have found my self doing the same thing over and over again for clients. Since they are paying me for what they want the way they want it it leaves me a less of a choice to change the way their projects should look. So when I work on my own personal projects I find my self moving outside my comfort zone and trying to push the envelope more an more. Find time to work on your own projects, sketch, draw, simply do more!

Photo by: Daniel
*Recovered Post- Origionaly posted 12/31/2008*

With only a few hours left of the current year a lot of us have been looking back on what we have and what we are thankful for, thankfully for me December always seems to be the best time of the year to say thank you. It’s the time of the season that a lot of people buy gifts and enjoy each others company, it’s the end of the year and for a lot of businesses it’s one of their busiest times of the year, but for me it’s the time of the year that I catch up on my thank you.

On another note it seems businesses are moving towards a quick in and out type of service, which may or may not be a bad thing in all reality, but what a lot of businesses don’t realize is the quick in and out service is lacking in a true thank you. Businesses should jump at any chance to add in a thank you because it not only creates a great way to improve their customer experience/satisfaction but it also it gives them another chance to get in front of their customers.

So some of the things that I do to thank my design clients are listed below, I know they may seem simple, but you would be surprised at how effective they can be…

• Simply say it - Talking to some one to say thank you can be surprisingly effective, and it’s extremely easy. Not only does it express the thanks you have, but it also gives you the of the person you are thanking an extra feeling human touch.
• Send a thank you card/note - Sending a simple thank you note or card might not be the biggest thing you can do, but you would be surprised at the effectiveness of a simple thank you note or card is. (As a bonus, if you are a creative you can design your own thank you card which adds a much more personal feel to the thank you.) My big rule for all of my thank you cards is they have to be hand written, again it keeps the human touch in the thanks.
• Send a creative gift - The key to this idea is to find some thing that really pertains to the person you are thanking. It’s always nice to receive a gift, but it’s a little odd getting some thing that is completely unrelated.Keep in mind it’s not only easy to say thank you but it can also be free, and like a lot of other things, the more creative you are with it the more effective it can be. So what do you do to say thank you?

Keep in mind it’s not only easy to say thank you but it can also be free, and like a lot of other things, the more creative you are with it the more effective it can be. So what do you do to say thank you?

Oh and p.s. thank you for reading this

Ok, I’ll finally admit it, I have writers block…

Creative block, or even worse creative drought can be a killer for any one who relies on their creativity for work. Whether you are writing, designing, coding or any thing else, having a creative block, can ruin your day at the very least. Thankfully there are plenty of ways to work through it, and although every one has their own opinion on the best things to do, I have come up with my 5 favorite ways to help get through the creative drought.

• Brain Storm/Mind Map - I am a huge advocate of mind mapping when I am working. Typically when I start a project I not only map out the ideas on the project, but I also map out what needs to be done in a linear map.
• Keep an Idea Book - I happen to favor “Moleskine” and “Moleskine like” notebooks, but I keep a note book, note pad or a sketch pad with me at all times, that way I can write down ideas and sketches that I can elaborate on at a later time.
• Read - I find that I like to read a lot. For me when I read it not only gets my mind working better, but I also tend to get more ideas from the things that I have read. Find things that are relevant to what you are doing and things that are unrelated and get the most you can out of it.
• Take a break - Some times the worst creative blocks that I get are when I either have too much on my plate, or when I start to get a little stretched out. When this happens some times the best way for me to work through the block, is to simply take a little break, and get my mind off of every thing. Find some thing to do unrelated to the project go out side, do some thing fun.
• Find Things That Inspire You - Go out side and take a hike, explore a place you have never been, try a new hobby, go to your local art museum or gallery, look online, the list can go on and on. Find any thing that can influence you and use it to your advantage, get ideas from it, find some thing new you never knew about that some thing rework it just find some thing.
• *Bonus tip* - Just Do It! - Simply stated get to work, start drawing, writing, coding or what ever it is that you are looking to do, and just do the best you can do. When I just jump into some thing, I will try to work as long as I can on it while still being productive, if I feel it is just not working out, take another break and than come back to it later.

That is typically some of the advice that really helps me to break out of my creative block. What do you do to help combat creative drought?

Photo by: Niels Timmer

Recently I had a friend came to me in emergency mode and asked me for help with his business, well finding more business for that matter. As a little bit of a back ground my friend runs a cell phone repair shop and has been searching for business for a while now (with to few good results). When my friend came to me he was looking for the same thing that most other people are looking for - Simple ways to get more business.

The direction that I wanted to lead my friend to, in order to help get him more business was a few things that he can do in the more immediate time period that would help him get more business. Although there are plenty of things that could help, most of the suggestions I have brought up are suggestions that can apply to every one, and not only for people who are in emergency mode, but also even for the business on the top of their game.

I guess the best way to sum this up is in these 5 points-

• Set up a fact finding time - Simply enough, one of my favorite ways to get more work is to get in front of your local businesses if you are B2B or if you are a direct to consumer company the key is to find ways to get in front of your targets. Some simple suggestions around this is to simply start a fact finding time, get to your local library or check online to find as much info as you can about your targets. (Info like who are they, what are they looking for, what are the buzz words etc) - After you find this info use it in any way possible.
• Get in front of your targets with every chance you get- Being a B2B company will make this easier for the most part (simply enough call or email every relevant business you find and get to talking to them) When it comes to direct to consumers there is a general need for innovation. Find ways to advertise to consumers with out making them feel you are pushing your product or services on them, in general be creative and find out what works for you.
• Start an email push - Every one you talk to in a B2B situation not only has an email address, but most of them will be willing to give it to you, so capitalize on this. Most of the time when ever I talk to some one simply ask them “Can I get your email address so I can send you updates?” 99% of the people will say “sure”. Signing up direct consumers is a little bit of a different situation all together with out getting in to too many details I have found the best way to get subscriptions is to be innovative and let every one know about your news letters. After you get a decent subscription base simply email them at relevant periods (once a month for most of the emails I set up) and provide relevant updates or new deals.
• Have some one look at your business from an outsiders perspective- By no means am I saying that every little detail needs to be micromanaged, but there are a lot of small things that most business owners will miss because they see it every day. Some simple things that outsiders can see easier, are as follows: How well do you tailor your website towards your customers? Is your corporate identity consistent and professional? Does your corporate identity match your business? Do you have a corporate identity?
• Be comfortable- This may be one of the most important points that I’ll bring up. What I have seen over all is that if you are going to offer a product or service, you have to be comfortable in not only the product or service, but also in your company. One major part of being comfortable with your product or service is realizing that you are fulfilling a need or a want. Any product or service when striped down is just that some thing to satisfy a need or a want.

What are your recommendations? Do you agree with the ideas that I suggested, or is there some thing that I am missing? If you have any suggestions please feel free to add them by leaving a comment.

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Recently I worked on a poster for USO, Lockheed Martin, and Charitable Recycling and when I went back through my notes for this project, I thought I could use this poster to explain my creative process, and how I start new projects.

I will have to admit that I am sure that my process changes a little for each project and as every one else looks at it I’m sure they could add things, change things or edit things, this is what works for me.

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*Recovered Post* I personally have been inspired by all of my fellow bloggers that have made free vectors, brushes or other freebies out there. After seeing so many different freebies out there, I decided to contribute what I can. So with that being said here is the first of what I hope to be a growing list of freebies that I will be offering. The only thing that I ask in return if you would like to use any of my freebies, please drop me a note so I can see how you use them.

Hope you all like them!

Free vector - Eagle Drawing
Download Adobe .AI file
Download .EPS file

I have been updating this blog for close to a year and a half and out of no where something happened… to keep a long story short well every thing got deleted from my hosting server. Needless to say, it’s a little bit of a bummer, but out of the things that I have learned from this experience I have the following advice to try and help every one so they don’t have to go through the same experience I had to.

Read the rest of this entry »