Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

Great Graphic Ideas: Nebon Media

Filed Under Design, Great Finds, Successful Blog | 3 Comments

Cool Things Are Happening

If you know an outstanding design site, email me a link and tell me why you think it’s important to share. Then I can pass it along. Lorelle shared this design group with me.

Great Find: Nebon Media

Permalink: http://www.nebonmedia.com/en/inthehut.html

Target Audience: Design clients

Content: Any web citizen who appreciates great design likes to check in what cool designers are doing. The folks at Nebon Media have some great ideas. Take a minute to check them out. Click the screenshot to make a visit.


Nebon Media


I don’t know them. I’ve never talked to them or worked with them. I just like what they’re doing visually. Notice how you can see through board to the trees behind the “hut” the shelves are in.

Great design engages imagination ways like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Related
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: block posters
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: Pixel Ruler
Great Find: PDF Online — Free

Get your best voice in the conversation. Buy my eBook.

Great Find: How to Geek Comment Moderation Notifier

Filed Under Design, Successful Blog | Leave a Comment

Got a Full Email Box?

Now that I have a phone on which I can actually read something from the web. I’ve found the beauty of being able to keep with important email when I’m not in my office. The problem is that if I don’t preplan I also have to keep up with the in flow of email I can’t address at the moment. One amazing chunk is spam comments that hit my blog in a literally constant stream via my moderation queue.

So when I came across the How-To Geek’s remedy, I stopped to give it a read. I think you should do the same. I’m about to try it out. It sure looks to be an elegant solution.

Great Find: How to Geek Comment Moderation Notifier
Permalink: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/how-to-geek-software-wordpress-comment-moderation-notifier/
Target Audience: WordPress users
Content: This WordPress plugin is meant to ease the load on our email inbox caused by spam filters that moderate all new comments. It creates a desktop window to launch the comment moderation page of a blog so that we can monitor comments coming in quickly and easily.

When there are new comments, you’ll see this little message pop up, and then the icon will change to some random icon alert icon I found somewhere. If you click on the text it will take you to the moderation page. — the How-To Geek

You’ll find the plug-in and installation directions if you click the logo below.

the How-To Geek

Check it out!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: QuickStudy Reference Charts

Filed Under Design, Great Finds, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

QuickStudy Offers Great Reference Charts!

Great Find: QuickStudy by Bar Charts, Inc.

Permalink: http://www.barcharts.com/

Target Audience: Anyone who uses a computer!

Content:

Bar Charts, Inc. produces laminated QuickStudy guides for academic and computer topics. You may have seen them in book stores. But, did you know they also offer free guides in pdf format? My favorite is Computer Shortcuts & Special Characters.

e.jpg


For example, do you ever forget how to add the accent to an é? I use these special characters occasionally, but not enough to memorize them. So I often turn to this guide.

This tool is on my favorites list because it’s:

Check it out yourself. Maybe there’s something that you will find helpful. Look for the “Free Downloads” link conveniently located on the banner. Click this QuickStudy image to go there.

QuickStudy



See you next time!

–Sandy, Purple Wren

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Great Find: PictureTrail
Sandy’s Great Graphic Find: CoolText
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The 5 Hats of Graphic Designers

Filed Under Design, Successful Blog | 34 Comments

Guest Writer: David Airey

Before computers entered the mix, the production of print material was firmly in the hands of graphic designers and printers. It took a very clued-in client to have any idea about the print-production process. Therefore, people were mentally prepared to pay substantial amounts for their logo designs, brochures and annual reports.

That was then. Now, however, things are very different.

Ask most people how they would design a logo or prepare a newsletter and they’d automatically point to the computer, placing their faith in software packages to do the job.

So if a novice can work their way around a photo manipulation or page layout program, why do designers still charge large figures for their services?

five-hats-of-graphic-designers

Today’s designer must wear many hats, and I’ll talk about some of them here.

The problem solving hat

Designers are presented with a problem, and it’s their task to find a solution. The problem could be to set a business apart from its competition by using an effective logo design, or to increase product sales with a cleverly designed advertising campaign. Whatever the initial brief, there’s a clearly defined problem and the designer puts on their thinking hat.

The teaching hat

By educating clients, customer-satisfaction is improved and the designer is more likely to be called upon in the future. What might a designer teach? File preparation is an important part of the print production process, and a lot of my time is spent educating clients about file types. You’d be surprised just how many of my clients don’t understand that a thumbnail image off a website can’t be used for a full-size A3 poster. This provides a little more info.

The graphic designer hat

This is actually just one function of a modern-day designer. Ask any self-employed designer just how much time they spend designing and you’ll probably be surprised at the answer. I can’t say for sure how long I spend actually designing, but I think it’s between 25% to 40%.

The salesperson hat

Whether it be attracting new clients or selling an idea, graphic designers need to have enough confidence in their own ability to persuade a client that they’re making the right decision. Every design pitch must be treated like a sale. When meeting people for the first time, I make sure to focus at least my first three questions on topics not related to business. It’s much easier to develop a relationship with a person than it is a business, so don’t be pushy.

The manager hat

Accounting is a vital aspect of my business operations, and I’ve not yet reached the stage where I need to outsource, or take on an extra employee. I process my own tax returns once every year, and calculate my VAT returns every three months. This needs the manager hat, taking a step back from the creative side of work and focusing on the numbers. Time management and project management are also encompassed by this hat.

To summarize

Whilst it’s clear that the role of graphic designers has changed, it still remains an extremely creative industry. Of course, designers aren’t the only ones who must wear different hats in their profession.

What’s your line of work and how many different hats do you wear?

–David Airey

Thanks, David, for this grand explanation of what the folks in your profession do!
Come back again to tell us more, anytime.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

30 Photo and Art Links Shared by Bloggers

Filed Under Design, Great Finds, Successful Blog | 8 Comments

I Just Had to Share

Hi Everyone! We talked about photo and art sources last night at Open Comments Night. Sure, we talked about other things — Twitter and business coaching. In the end, we must have stayed on topic, because we developed an impressive list of links to pass on today. YEA!!

Here are some cool links we shared.

  1. Stock Exchange
  2. Salon de Maria Art Resources
  3. Dan Heller Photography
  4. Art New Blog
  5. Morguefile
  6. USDA Photo Library
  7. Shunya Lost Cities
  8. Nelson-Atkins
  9. Free Photos.org
  10. Vernon’s Favorite Flickr Photo
  11. Becky’s Flckr
  12. Maria’s Flickr
  13. Pbase
  14. Plan59
  15. Anahat Katkin
  16. Salon de Maria Birthday
  17. Ashley Cecil
  18. iStockPhoto
  19. Phase
  20. Susan Reynolds Art Gallery
  21. Renee Biertempfel
  22. Captain Crayon
  23. Strobist
  24. The Inn
  25. 5 steps to being more photogenic
  26. Rijksmuseum
  27. New York Public Library Digital Gallery
  28. Carpe Factum photos
  29. APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day
  30. Ask Patty’s Jody DeVere’s Racing for a cause at Irwindale Speedway

Thanks everyone for coming!
I hope you all had a great time!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

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