1. Navigation
It certainly doesn’t have to be lined up on top or stacked on the left side. What are some other interesting ways that the navigation can be positioned?
http://www.stemcellfoundation.ca/

2. Typography
Good design has beautiful type treatment. Spend a good deal of time really learning the ins and outs of how to control typography with simple CSS that agrees with the look and feel of the site. Look at the spacing, line length, size, and placement of the type on exceptional sites.
http://waterlife.nfb.ca/

3. High-Quality Images
Plain and simple, low quality images and/or stretched images completely ruin the integrity of a website. Take care in making interesting, appropriate image selections of top quality.
http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

4. Colors
Color selection is not about what your favorite color is. They should always be inspired by your content and image choices. Limit your color selection on each page so that you do not overwhelm, and always tie the site together as a cohesive whole. Make sure type always has enough contrast as to not burn any retinas of your users
http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/historyofflight/

5. Integration
With the above tips in mind, you’re off to a good start. It’s easy to get carried away with squares (tables, divs, photos, banners, etc), but do not let that dictate your design. Colors, images, type, and graphics should all integrate seamlessly into each other. Images do not have to be squares…they can be organic shapes or masked. Integration is what will make your site an experience.

Of course you will not become a Webby award winner over night, but you CAN apply these tips in their purest design form. Keep it thoughtful, simple, and seamless. The fancy coding skills can come later

1. Look for work or job opportunities…just for experience.
Let’s face it, not all internships and jobs are paid for college students, but the experience really is beneficial. I was fortunate enough to get to work for my university on some fun design projects because I made connections and pursued them enthusiastically.

2. Go beyond what is covered in the classroom.
Take ideas from class and run with them, especially if it was a topic that was particularly interesting to you. Look up more information, do an extra little project to experiment with tool options, etc.

3. Find a mentor.
Undoubtedly, there will be some faculty member that truly inspires you to do great things with design. They will support you, critique you, and push you to be the absolute best you can be. This is a good person to talk with about your future options and plans. For me, I didn’t meet this professor until my senior year. She challenged me creatively and conceptually to really grow like no one else had pushed me. My relationship with her led to my graduate education and current teaching.

4. Network like crazy.
There are a lot of smart people wandering around your college campus every day (and they know lots of other smart people). Whether it is your course professors, or faculty and students you meet at events, make an effort to talk with them, develop a relationship, and stay in touch. You never know when their knowledge or connections may be able to help you down the road.

5. Redo projects. Do a good job and hang onto the design process.
By the end of your education, you’re going to need a strong portfolio of your work if you intend to scoop up a job. Do yourself a favor and improve projects as you go along, especially if they show potential to be a design sample. Hold onto all of your notes, sketches, inspiration, and rough drafts to showcase your process to employers too. They love (and sometimes require) to see how you think.

6. Make time for other hobbies like drawing, painting, or photography.
It’s easy to get caught up staring into the Mac monitor, but a little time away from the computer doing other artistic exercises keeps you observant, creative, relaxed, and applying your design skills in other ways. Pay attention to details, shadows, and composition.

7. Be inspired! Take advantage of student discounts at museums or in groups such as AIGA.
Almost all museums and design groups have student rates for admission and membership. Plan a day trip to NYC and make a few stops. It’s a great way to soak up inspiration, be exposed to great designers, and gives you a little time away from the computer.

8. Really LEARN the software.
No, really…learn it. Don’t expect anyone to hold your hand and walk through everything step by step. To really learn the software means that you don’t just go through a few tutorials once and forget about it; you practice the tools fairly regularly and build upon your capabilities. The more you are able to do, the more appealing you will be to the workforce, and the more efficient you will be as a designer (time is money).

Take advantage of all the tools and opportunities you have at your fingertips as a design student. It is never too early to start, and I promise you will not regret making the effort. To this day, I do most of the tips that I mentioned and couldn’t imagine living any other way.

(image source)

Wood type is beautiful. It’s aesthetic qualities of wrinkles, flaws and tactile characteristics are unique to only real wood press. Typeface is a film that focuses on the convergence of modern design and traditional technique at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum is in rural Two Rivers, Wisconsin. It is home to over 1.5 million wood letterforms – all available to hold, touch, and use in printing workshops. As the film’s site describes, “the scenario at the Hamilton Museum illustrates an intriguing convergence: the historical transformation of a craft having evolved from a practical, commerce-driven commodity to an object of aesthetic inspiration and academic study.” Of course, most contemporary graphic designers can certainly appreciate and admire these beautiful artifacts and the work that they produce.

(image source)

The demand for wood type was originally fueled by Industrial Revolution posters who’s large type could not be metal. Wood type was incredibly effective in poster design where the objective was to simply be louder than the poster next to you. Unfortunately, offset lithography overthrew the press in the 60s because etched metal plates eliminated the need to set individual pieces of type. Although it’s lack of practicality made it obsolete, it seems to now be making a comeback thanks to the oversaturation of mass production. Society is now flat, and the touch of letterpress stands out again. I was amazed by the passion of the craftsmen in the film who describe letterpress as laborious, but very relaxing. Enthusiasts hoping to keep the practice of letterpress alive note that using a computer to mimic wood type style taints the entire process. It is simply not authentic. Computers are too fast and automated; handling type gives respect to details and design process.

The film made me sad for the uncertain future of wood type as it’s original craftsmen grow old, taking all the tradition and detailed practices with them. It is rather tragic seeing such a focus on computer generated work and design software over handcraft. The film definitely has, “great characters both wooden and human” as it takes an in-depth look at the lives and feelings of the craftsmen, artists, and design students. I would absolutely recommend this film to anyone interested in design, typography, or even American History. If only Wisconsin were a little closer…

Film site here.
Museum Site here.
For you: Ok, who out there has been to the Hamilton Wood Type Museum? Please tell me about the experience!

I showed some self control in not getting the other awesomely designed items that I thought would look fabulous in my new place:

(vase, salt & pepper shakers, and chips and dip bowl)! All clever, practical, and smartly designed.

1. Smart Radius
Finally an easy solution to making those pesky selections around hair! Make a simple, rough selection going in a little more than normal by the hair. Refine Edges and smooth and feather any necessary areas. Increase radius to get the details back by the hair, then select “Smart Radius.” Awesome! If refinements need to be made, use the refinement touchup tool on the left of the Refine Edge box for localized fixes. For further perfection, check “Decontaminate Colors” and drag slider to the right.

2. Content-Aware Fill
I think this feature had the most hype pre-release of CS5 and it certainly delivers once you get used to it. Simple select an area you want to remove, go to Edit > Fill > Content Aware. No need for lengthy sessions with the healing tools. Thanks, Adobe! Watch a funny spoof of how the tool works here.

3. Puppet Warp
The next generation of transform tools has arrived! Essentially, this tool allows you to pin certain parts of an object down, while allowing you to manipulate other parts of that object (like a puppet with joints). To use it, isolate an object on a layer and go to Edit > Puppet Warp. Click “Show Mesh” on top menu to see what you’re working with, and click anywhere on the mesh to add points (that pin down areas). Click and drag to manipulate an area, or option-click to rotate a point like a hinge. It take a little playing around, but I can see this as being useful under certain circumstances (ie: slightly repositioning something, making an animated gif, etc)

4. Bristle Brushes
Like Illustrator CS5, bristle brushes are now a paint option with realistic brush strokes. See my post on Illustrator’s New Features for more on how it works.

5. Mixer Brush Tool
Ah, a tool that realistically mixes paint and can be used on photographs. Cool? Yes. Will I use it frequently? Probably not. But here’s how it works: Select the Mixer Brush and use the dropper to chose your start color (or hold opt key to sample multiple colors). Make a new layer if you are working with a photograph, and choose “sample all layers.” Use the top bar to determine style of painting you are making (the wetter the brush, the more fluidity in the color mixing). From here, just stroke and paint away.

Here’s an example from lynda.com (before and after)

Productivity Improvements Worth Mentioning:
- You can now delete all empty layers by going to File > Scripts > Delete Empty Layer
- Opacity can be changed on multiple layers at a time!
- Can now “Paste Outside” of selections
- Ruler tool can easily be used to straighten a horizon by simply clicking, dragging, and clicking “straighten” at top
- Can copy color’s hex code from the color panel and paste into document
- HUD color picker with eye dropper allows closer look at selected colors as well as  their relationship to others on the color wheel.

Of course this is only a quick run-through, so check out lynda.com for more information and training. Stay tuned for InDesign CS5 Awesome Features, and check out my Illustrator Awesome Features.

For you: What is your favorite new tool? What do you think Photoshop still needs to add/improve upon?

Here’s a little equation for you:
Making Ideas Happen = (The Idea) + Organization & Execution + Forces of Community + Leadership Capability

This can easily be a never-ending post and review of my Creative Freelancer Conference purchase, Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. I’ll try to keep it brief, and you can (and should) go read it for yourself.

Another equation to ponder as we look at Organization:
Creativity x Organization = Impact
100 x 0 = 0, or loads of ideas but no organization, yielding zilch.
50 x 2 = 100, or someone “less creative” somehow produces more work than their talented peers. Stellar organization makes impact.

Belsky proposes The Action Method for handling well…everything. Every idea (personal or professional) is considered a project that needs to be acted upon, from making a doctor appointment to launching a new website. Every project consists of three components:
1. Action Steps: specific tasks that inch you forward (send memo, post blog, pay bill)
2. References: project-related handouts, sketches, notes, manuals, websites, discussions…items that are not actionable, but serve strictly as reference for later
3. Backburner Items: things that are not actionable now, but may someday (revisit these once a week to see if they are closer to being feasible)
Projects can be easily organized into folders with these components for easy access. The system can be modified and certainly seems effective. For more extensive info on it, check this out.

Prioritization is always tough for me since I tend to think everything is important and in need of immediate attention. However, energy is your most valuable commodity. In order to be successful, you need to stay focused on long-term goals and really evaluate the amount of energy that you should be spending on each item (visualize from extreme to idle across all projects). Belsky suggests sticking to 5 projects that matter most per day…when “important” stuff comes up, these never get brushes aside.

Onto Execution, where we all experience the inevitable project plateau of brick walls, frustration, and procrastination. The easiest way out is of course to just start a new idea, but this is also the most dangerous because our addiction to new ideas cuts others short. So how do you get over the hump? Relentless persistence and perspiration…and of course, passion (in a nutshell). Celebrate progress and find places and habits conducive to working and getting you through the bumps.

Forces of Community is a part of the equation that I have been working on, and find rather challenging as a freelancer. We all need feedback and support, both online and offline. Belsky says that there are three types of people: Dreamers (idea generators), Doers (focused on execution), and Incrementalists (can do a little of both). We all have strengths and weaknesses that work better when not alone. An approach to critique mentioned in the book that I liked was Start, Stop, Continue, giving specific feedback of what the person should start, stop, and continue doing on a particular project.

Finally, I found Leadership interesting in that Belsky addresses self leadership, meaning our best hope for always staying on track is to notice when we stray and figure out why. We must develop tolerance for ambiguity (there will always be unknowns), capture benefits of failure, and embrace the fact that every day and every project is an opportunity and responsibility. I think there is much to learned from this book – go check it out!

For you: What do you do to overcome “project plateaus”? If you are a freelancer, how do you handle forces of community?

1. Perspective Grid
Finally, a way to effectively create accurate depth in Illustrator! You can only have one grid per document (one vanishing point), with several points to adjust as you like. Grids on the planes can also be adjusted and serve as guides to lock your art, like regular grids. You also have the option to save a grid as a preset to use in the future. I love that you also have the option to either draw artwork directly into perspective (by selecting specific panels in the perspective tool widget), or you can map flat artwork to the grid. Awesome!

2. Variable-Width Strokes
My eyes lit up at this feature as I wondered where it has been all these years! Simply select the width tool in your tool panel and click and drag on ANY path! You are not adding anchor points…these are width points that can be dragged around on the path. Two other tips: hold shift to move multiple points together, and hold option if you only want to increase width on one side of the path. Of course, you can save your stroke as a present if you want to use it again, or you can apply it to an entire artwork rather than painstakingly adjusting each width point. This is really a fantastic feature.

3. Bristle Brush
Ooo, real brush stroke simulated in Illustrator! The tool is lactated under the existing brush tool, with options to control bristles, opacity, and stiffness of the bristles. As a bonus, if you use a pen tablet, you can control the rotation of the brush like you are really painting. Quite a fun tool.

Note: This tree is not representative of my design skills. It was quickly drawn to show off the new brush

4. Shape Builder
Not a fan of the Pathfinder Window? Then this is a tool to get excited over. Just use primitive shapes to throw something together, and instead of using the Pathfinder, select the Shape Builder Tool and click and drag over desired areas of selected shapes to combine them. Tip: When building, use transparent fills to see exactly which paths you are combining. I think this will prove to be a handy little tool.

5. Enhanced Drawing Functions (Draw Behind & Draw Inside Modes)
No need to worry about sending things to the front and back as you build objects anymore. There are now two new options on the bottom of the toolbar – Draw Behind Mode, and Draw Inside Mode (automatically clips paths that wander outside of shape, and even works for photos).

6. Pixel Grid for Web Graphics
To have a better idea of what your web graphics are going to look like, you can now view the pixel grid when in Pixel Preview (View > Pixel Preview). To improve the look of your edges without guessing, you can “Align to Pixel Grid” by going to Window > Transform > and check the box for “Align to Pixel Grid.”

Other Improvements to Get Excited About:
- Command-click to select artwork through other objects
- Copy > Paste in Place is now finally an option!

Of course this is only a quick run-through, so check out lynda.com for more information and training. Stay tuned for Photoshop and InDesign CS5 Awesome Features.

For you: What is your favorite new tool? What do you think Illustrator still needs to add/improve upon?

First things first, Ilise says to set your goals. Easy enough, right? It can start as general regarding finances, marketing, personal, etc. Now the more challenging part…make the goal quantifiable by writing down actual goal numbers in a goal time-span. The key here is to be realistic—the goal can always be increased/decreased in the future. From here, you need specific, prioritized steps that you are going to take to make that goal a reality.

Now that you know your goal, Ilise says to set a financial monthly goal. This isn’t quite as difficult as it sounds if you look at your proposal/estimate history along with billed projects. Do averages of your monthly work, and then you can fairly accurately determine what needs to be done each month to meet your financial goal.

Once you know your goal and necessary numbers, the tough part is finding desirable prospects. This was an overwhelming part of the Marketing Mentor program for me, but creating networking habits is critical—again thinking quantifiable. Set monthly goals:

How many networking events will you attend?
How many prospects will you send a newsletter to?
How many hours per day/week will you spend social networking?
How many blog posts will you write?
How many research calls will you make?
How many prospects will you reconnect with?
How many blog posts will you comment on?

Ilise vows that marketing efforts will get you to your goal, and I know from working with her that she is absolutely right. What are you doing now? How does that website of yours look? Make sure that you know yourself and your business goals before running head-on into the design industry. As Ilise says, “if you can walk and talk like a business, then you’re a business!” You decide the validation.

Check out Ilise’s groups at: www.marketing-mentor.com
Read her blog at: www.marketingmixblog.com

For you: For me, the hardest part of being a business is consistent marketing. What do you do? How often?

As freelancers, “perfect” contracts develop through basic business know-how, experience, and painful mishaps. I still reread and adjust things with new projects to make sure that my work is protected. With almost everything easily accessible on the web, I was anxious to see what Jean Perwin (jsplaw.com) would say about contracts and copyrights at the Creative Freelancer Conference.

Much of her presentation addressed specific freelancer questions on the fly that I was already familiar with the answers from other freelancing blogs, but I did gather a bit of helpful advice to share with you. First, let’s address those pesky contracts.

Obviously, you NEVER want to work without a written agreement, but Jean emphasized having two separate documents for the proposal and contract. First comes the proposal/estimate with a confidentiality provision in the footer of each page. After all, these are valuable sketches and ideas that you are throwing out there. Once the client has agreed to the proposal, the contract is signed. If they do not agree to the proposal, the sketches and ideas should really either be sent back to you or destroyed.

As for rights of use for your work, Jean suggests having a part of the contract with a price for licensing rights (right to use in certain places of your specification) and a price for buyout (own files completely). Of course, you must determine what the value of your work is in relation to what the client can do with the files (How big are they? How big is their audience? What is the anticipated “life” of the work?). With your work at stake, NEVER transfer rights before payment. Simple enough.

Now for five types of copyrights we should all be aware of and protect ourselves accordingly (in contracts):

Reproduction (you must give the right in writing for them to be able to reproduce ANYTHING that you have done)
Derivative Work (give right for them to use your work as the basis of something else)
Display (applicable to public display, especially fine art and illustration)
Distribution (they cannot sell or send your work to anyone without permission)
Performance (applicable with music and anything you may perform)

I’ll wrap it up with a few copyright MYTHS that Jean brought up:

You do not need a copyright symbol on your work. I was actually unaware that I need it on everything, but I guess we all need to cover our butts.
Buying work means buying rights. Nope, sorry…that just means that you have a copy.
You do not need permission to use a project in your personal portfolio. False again. You must get permission from the client to use it, but it is rarely an issue. Avoid the issue by stating in your contract that you may use it in your portfolio.
If you see your work on another site without permission, you can sue. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…send the webmaster/owner a Take Down Notice politely pointing out that the work is yours and that you would like proper credit or for it to be taken down. If that doesn’t work, then you can call up the lawyer.

There are definitely a LOT of legal things to think about in the design industry, especially in an increasingly flat and interconnected world. I thought Jean did a great job of  addressing freelance design concerns. Check out more at her website: www.jsplaw.com

By nature, I am a fairly passive, open-minded, empathetic-type person—I have to REALLY TRY to not let that interfere with my business and teaching leadership. Needless to say, I was very excited that Luke Mysse (lukemysse.com) presented Who’s the Boss? Managing Clients & Their Expectations at the Creative Freelancer Conference. Ah, someone to help me with my daily struggles.

Right off the bat, he proclaimed that, “A good boss is deliberate. YOU train the clients.” I like where this is going, Luke. He goes on to explain how to go about unleashing my inner boss:

1. Find good clients.

This involves figuring out what your values are, who your ideal clients are, and what your nightmare clients would be like. Develop question “filters” to ask when meeting with a potential new client. Remember, you are interviewing them for a job just as much as they are with you. Just as you can “hire” a new client, you can also find a replacement client and fire them. Marketing allows you to be selective and pass on clients that don’t fit. Thinking about things in this way really helped me value myself and my business. Who wants a client that is going to make life miserable and not play by my rules?

2. Have clear expectations.

Clients need to be taught your boundaries, money policies, etc. I liked Luke’s suggestion to choose one day of the week to work on business (no client stuff); meaning, you don’t always have to answer the phone! I am a terrible offender of this…I know that I respond too quickly/usually answer the phone, and the expectation is built that I am ALWAYS there. As for emails, NEVER email on weekends (makes weekends an acceptable time to contact you) and try to delay response to keep time expectation in check.

When it comes to money, we all know that people tend to think design jobs will cost near-nothing, but Luke says to just come out and let them know it’s a lot. If they’re on a tight budget, you can offer less comps or less revisions but the price remains. A point that really stuck out to me was to let clients know that you spent a little extra time on something if you did. Just list it on the invoice with $0.

3. Manage often.

Send invoice reminders after 20 days if they haven’t sent in their money. Hold them to everything agreed upon at the beginning of the project. Luke urged us to, “be a consultant; not an order-taker.” We are problem-solvers and design experts. Sure, there are quick and easy build-a-cheap-website places out there, but our skills are undisputable.

To wrap it up, Luke offered some key characteristics of a stellar boss:
balance - in all areas of life
partnership - looking for the long-haul
excellence – pursued in all
integrity – have it!
enrichment – always learn
involvement – help others (clients, designers, students, nonprofits, communities, etc)

Miss CFC Recap, Part 1? Here you go. More on the way…

For you: What are your management tips? What has worked for you with money, policies, contracts, etc?