Tips for Student Designers and the Small Businesses Who Love Them: OrangeSlyce Life

A few weeks ago, a blog post over at 37signal’s blog caught my eye.  The idea was “How cool would it be if you could design signatures as a side job?”.  An intriguing thought.  You don’t see many signature designers around nowadays and calligraphy is almost a lost art.  I tried taking a crack at my own signature and just wasn’t pleased with my results.  I wondered if my muscle memory was too embedded to be able to make any changes to my John Hancock.  Speaking of John Hancock, look how cool his signature was:

I’m also a fan of Barack Obama’s signature as well:

Design shouldn’t be nothing but logos and color schemes.  With personal branding becoming more prevalent, start thinking of other ways you can improve your client’s product including, but not limited to, their signature.  Many years ago, calligraphers would create seals for powerful families to use in their businesses.  If you can carve out a niche like that, you could be the modern day Wang Xizhi.

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Happy Labor Day everyone!  We’re taking the day off to pay our respects to the labor gods.  Have a fun and safe holiday!

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As technology advances, we find ourselves with a myriad of choices for software and this is especially evident in the design industry.  Though a great designer should practice using all of different types of software, a good graphic designer NEEDS to at least know the following programs to produce good work and also just to find work.

Microsoft Office:  I know this is a complete duh!  However, knowing how to create spreadsheets in Excel, presentations in PowerPoint and reports in Word is crucial to ANY industry.  Make sure you can do anything and everything that involves Microsoft Office.

Adobe Photoshop:  Most of us start playing around with Photoshop as early as high school but regardless it is necessary to know the ins and outs of the program.  Photoshop is crucial for editing and manipulating photos.

Adobe Illustrator:  This software is necessary for creating logos.  Illustrator is key for making graphics and for many design projects (specifically brand development) this will be your go to.

Adobe InDesign:  InDesign is the best layout design software in the business.  From greeting cards to magazine layouts, this software is used for several types of projects.

Make sure you get very familiar with all of these programs and experiment with their many tools.  Taking classes on these programs is also a good idea but be sure you are trying it out on your own as well.

What software do you use most?  Leave me a comment

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When looking for a new background for your Twitter account, or just a color palette for painting your walls, it can be tough for find an appealing palette.  Colors need to complement each other in the right ways and it can be tough to find an expert besides Pantone to help you decide.  That’s where today’s featured community, Colourlovers, absolutely shines.

A community for color lovers
Colourlovers is an excellent alternative to the monopoly on color that Pantone has.  Typically, designers need to pay Pantone big time to get the latest color forecasts.  Most companies actually do this so they can gain access to Pantone’s numbering system for colors.  Companies can then use a standard format so they know which hue they are referring to.  What Colourlovers provides won’t immediately make Pantone irrelevant, but they do offer some great tools for coming up with a color scheme, browsing popular color patterns, and engaging in an enthusiastic community.

Within minutes of signing up, I was able to create a color palette from the standard set of RGB colors, but I wasn’t finished there.  With tools to create patterns from those colors, I was able to create a pretty serviceable background image that tiled nicely.  It’s a shame I went to all that trouble because then I found Themeleon, a simple 3 step process to customize your entire Twitter page.

As I dig deeper in the site I keep discovering more tools that stretch my imagination even further.  Their PHOTOCOPA tool lets you create a color palette from a picture, which is great for when you have source material you are trying to emulate.  Their community is full of people and groups devoted to creating great patterns and sharing them with others.  For example, I found a group dedicated to their love of guitar colors.

Trends is a section focusing solely on what is happening in the world of color right now.  They feature color trends from everything to web design all the way to street fashion.  This is where Colourlovers begins to be a valuable resource to any designer trying to keep ahead of the fashion curve.

It’s impossible to describe an entire community in one blog post, but I’ve already fallen enough in love with Colourlovers that it is my go to source when I’m dealing with color.  Make sure to check it out and share some of your patterns with us!

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It’s safe to say that from the time we were pretty young our parents, our teachers, and maybe even our first employers have always stressed that for any job we need the same basic skills.  Communication skills, organizational skills, leadership abilities, teamwork experience… you know what I’m talking about.  However, from my own personal experience, there are a lot of things (silly somewhat embarrassing to admit that you don’t know how to do things) that nobody will ever say that you need and unfortunately these are the things that you will most likely be asked to do on your first day.  Below, I have listed some that I have come across and how I’ve discovered to handle them.

Make Coffee: I know, that sounds incredibly stupid but think about it.  Imagine  it’s your first day working for a real design firm and you really want to impress your coworkers and do everything right to prove that you belong there when your boss asks you to make coffee.  Simple enough, sure you can do that, child’s play right?  However when you approach the coffee machine and realize you have no idea how that particular one works, that’s where the trouble starts.

How to Handle it: Whatever you do, do NOT ask someone how to “work it.”  Instead, do one of these two things:  1.) Look for the instructions or 2.) Google it!  Chances are if you Google the brand of the coffee maker, you’ll find instructions on how to work it.  A bit of advice:  do NOT simply “figure it out” yourself.  It won’t leave a favorable impression if you break the coffee machine or flood the kitchen area with coffee.

Create an Excel Spreadsheet: Sure we all claim we can do this on our resume, and yes it is not difficult to open up Excel and start typing the information.  But your boss wants it formatted a particular way and you have no clue how to replicate it.  Also, if your company primarily uses Macs, you may have to use Numbers (a similar software to Excel but different enough to stump you) then what?

How to handle it: Yes you could click around and figure it out….and take your whole first day to do it!  Yes, you can also Google step by step how to create it, but assuming it’s more complicated (in the design world it usually is!) that could be just as time consuming as simply clicking around.  My advice?  Look on the company server.  Spare yourself the time and effort, find an existing spreadsheet that is formatted correctly and use it as a template.  Word of caution:  Do NOT replace your “template” with your new spreadsheet.  To avoid this mistake, immediately save the document with a new name.

Call XYZ and Verify Information: Time after time I’ve been asked to do this or have seen a fellow entry-leveler assigned to do this and there always seems to be a slight panicked look in there eyes.  Imagined you are asked this.  Mostly likely a slew of thoughts will run through your head:  “You want me to talk to a person?  I went into design to avoid this!  What do I say?  Will they be able to tell that I’m new and be annoyed?”

How to Handle it: Relax.  This will hardly be an involved or complicated conversation, but it IS important!  Ideally, you’ll have used phone etiquette several times but in case you haven’t, here’s some advice.  Be very polite and put on your “grownup voice.”  Do not mumble, use slang or “uhs and ums.”  What helps me most is writing down what I’m going to say (a script if you will) and just refer to it.  Do NOT simply read from it…you may be hung up on for fear of being a recorded message.  Also, remember to sound friendly.  It’s okay to make a little joke and if it’s a client or corporation that your company works closely with, introduce yourself.

So there you have it.  Three Simple things that you’ll most likely be asked to do on your first day that you can now be completely comfortable with.  As some parting advice, I’d like to leave you with a thought.  Think of your first week as an on-the-job interview.  You want to show that you are the best candidate for the job and that the company has made the right choice in hiring you.  This is the best way to build relationships with your coworkers and overall transition well into the team.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment

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It’s that time again.  Time to buy all of your textbooks, start getting up early, and prepare yourself to actually do well this semester.  But let’s be honest, after about oh I don’t know say the first week the newness and excitement of a fresh semester wears off and keeping up with our assignments is a slippery slope.  So what can we do to make Dean’s List this semester?  Well, this is what I’m doing:

1.)   Write Everything Down!  I know I’m a broken record if you read my blog “College Got you Stressed? Five Tips to Help You Relax” but seriously this does help.  I detest having to open the PDF of the course syllabus, scan through the various sections and finally (after five minutes) find what’s due the next day.  If you write down all of the assignments in a planner, you can simply flip to a page and see what’s due in seconds.  It really is a beautiful thing!

2.)   Highlight Your Text Book!  I’m going to tell you what no professor ever will: taking notes is a waste of time, paper, and effort; all you really need to do is highlight important information.   Highlighting is so much more practical because then you don’t have to worry about losing your notes or finding them on your computer if you type them.  Give it a try, I promise you’ll never go back to note taking again.

3.)   Go to Class!  I know you hear this ALL the time, but do you actually listen to it is the real question?  Probably not.  I know how it is, when no one is making you (Ahem, your mother) and in a lecture when there really aren’t a lot of consequences if you do skip, temptation to ditch is high.  My advice?  Take classes with friends (or better yet make a friend in your class).  In my own experience, I am much more likely to attend a class if I have a buddy to suffer through with…I mean learn with!

4.)   Don’t Over Do it!  Last semester I enrolled in a whopping 21 credits!  I know; I have no idea what I was thinking, but regardless learn from my mistake.  If you are taking a class that seems unnecessary and is extra drop it!  If there is no immediate value from taking the class then don’t bother.  Why solicit the extra stress?

5.)   Take Breaks!  You know how nutritionists preach everything in moderation?  Well the same rule applies to school.  Make sure you’re studying and doing your assignments but also plan time away from the books and away from work to do things for fun.  Ultimately, if you are working hard and doing all that you can for your classes your grades will reflect that.  So go ahead, take a break.

What do you do to succeed in school?  Let me know.  Leave me a comment

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I’ve always found the statement, “You can’t compare apples and oranges,” ridiculous. Of course you can.

As long as there’s some level of commonality (e.g. these are both fruit) there’s a purpose to looking at the differences.

Case in point: Matt Butson’s resume.

Matt is not your average man. He’s not your average young entreprenuer. And he doesn’t present your average resume.

Check this out:

Needless to say, it’s a little more.. dramatic than usual and it certainly abandons any of the preconceptions of what a resume looks like, but there’s a benefit to holding this apparent heresy to the light of what a resume “should” be.

The rubric: Glenn Kelman’s guest spot on Guy Kawasaki’s blog which presents the simple likes and dislikes of an active CEO. I’m not gonna go through all 29 points (cause it’s pointless and actually more lazy in my opinion) but rather extrapolate and apply.

Three pluses:

1. This is the most easily read resume I’ve personally seen. You don’t even have to “scan” it, you just have to look at it.

2. It’s directly customized to the job. Matt created this resume to apply to Apple. What company would better appreciate the aesthetically clean, novel, and “outside the building where the box was sitting” approach to a resume?

3. Clear personality and personal branding. The resume breaks down like this: here’s what I do, here’s where I’ve done it, here’s how to get a-hold of me so we can do stuff.

The Twitter address is nice too. It’s a cut above @gmail.com.

Three minuses? Let’s just call them suggestions:

1. I think it would be better to note the  single, most personal tangible accomplishment from each entry in the “Work” section.  Something that adds personality, something to talk about. Specific, like how many videos Matt cut at ASU.

2. Clean up the lines in the images. I know it’s picky, but–in my mind at least–it’s kind of like spell checking.

3. State your objective. If Matt simply say’s at some point, “I want to work for Apple,” it helps crystalize the fact that this particular document was created for this particular purpose. Effort, above and beyond.

I would do it something like this:

Totally subjective though.

The Juyce

The most important conclusion of the three pluses: Matt seems interesting to talk to. And that’s a fact. At OrangeSlyce’s Young Entreprenuer Happy Hour last Friday, we discussed topics varying from the potential influence of Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty on pop music to the U.S. Department of Education’s criticisms of for-profit higher education.

As Kelman says in his piece for Kawasaki, a resume is simply, “a request for a meeting.” Be interesting.

One last idea. Kelman’s piece links to the great Seth Godin’s musing on resumes. Take it with a healthy dose of salt, but consider Godin’s criticism: “Why bother having a resume?”

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We all know the basic ways to get a job: networking, using employment websites, job fairs, etc, but believe it or not there are many different ways to find employment and some are in places you would have never imagined.

Think your pastimes are just for fun?  Think again!  Recently my father started his own computer software company and hired two young college students to help him implement the software.  How did he meet these two?  From playing the popular internet computer game World of War Craft!  So next you’re in your yoga class or at a concert, talk to the people around you.  Who knows who you’ll meet.

Find any interesting companies on Twitter lately?  Send them a message.  Likewise you can also follow their company on LinkedIn (one of the sites’ newer features) and “like” their company on Facebook.  Social media is a great networking tool as well as a great way to find companies in your industry that appeal to you.  Not to mention, reading your favorite company’s tweets and staying informed about what they are doing  is a great way to impress them at an interview.

Think your boring part-time job is just for a little extra cash?  Wrong!  Working in retail is a great way to meet new people.  When I feel like I’m building a good rapport with a customer, I like to try and get to know them and often ask what they do for a living.  If they are in a field that you’re interested in tell them so.  Chances are if the service you provided them was exceptional and they see that you have a great personality they might want to snatch you up as their own employee.  Just be careful, there is a fine line between being pushy and being assertive when it comes to marketing yourself.  You can usually gauge who will be receptive to this versus who will not.

Did you meet your employer in an unusual way?  Tell me about it!  Leave me a comment

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Part of freelance work is flexibility and being able to negotiate the price you charge your client will broaden your opportunities.  However, when going into a price or salary negotiation, it is important to know about what you’re negotiating so you don’t get taken advantage of.

Do your market research
Finding out what the going rate for similar work or jobs should be your first task.  Using the salary wizard at Salary.com, I was able to find the median salary for a junior web designer in Phoenix, AZ was $48,000.  Another research tip is to find other artists and designers and ask what they charge.  Ask how flexible they can be on price.  Get an idea of where you can fit in the market.

Negotiating tactics
Negotiation is an art itself.  Good negotiators are hard to come by so even if all you learn is how to haggle, you’ll have come away from this post with something.

Price is nothing more than a mind trick in most cases.  This is articulated by the phenomenon known as the Anchoring Effect.  I definitely recommend reading the article in depth, but to summarize, whoever names the first price is in the driver’s seat.  No matter how much you negotiate, the first price quoted is the price both parties will subconsciously use to determine who got the better end of the bargain.

Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You To Be Rich, has excellent posts on how to negotiate – everything from negotiating bank fees, car insurance, cell phones and most importantly – salary.

And to completely round out your negotiating skills, learn from the masters of the art, the ultimate hagglers – rickshaw drivers.

Improve your skills
Using the market research you’ve collected and the negotiating skills you’ve learned, you can increase your income, but there’s nothing like a quality education that will boost your earnings potential.  Having a degree or certification is a key bargaining tool that you can use during your negotiation process and no amount of jedi mind tricks will have the same effect as a degree.

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