Business - Page 15

Learn how to run your design business, work with clients, manage expectations, and handle your finances.

Business / 13 Apr 2015

Introducing Media Temple’s WordPress Hosting

We’ve hosted Design Shack with Media Temple for years. So we were very pleased when they came to us, and asked us to take a look at their new managed WordPress hosting solution.

Media Temple’s new full-featured WordPress hosting solution features four new, customizable and scalable plans. Whether you’re a photographer, web designer or creative agency, there’s a plan that should work for you. Today we’re taking a look at this new hosting product, to see how it stacks up!

Business / 23 Mar 2015

5 Ways Freelancers Can Actually Make Money

Many designers dream about the freelance lifestyle. What’s not to love about taking only projects you love, or working in your pajamas, or being your own boss? But it can be a hard road. Many freelancers break off on their own only to later return to a firm or company because it can be tough to make enough money to support your lifestyle.

Building a reputable freelancer business takes time, work and a lot of dedication. While the pay is not always steady, you can earn a living off freelance projects.

Business / 29 Oct 2014

Do You Have a Design Checklist?

While every project is unique, every project also has a set of things and processes that are always part of your workflow. That’s where having a good design checklist comes in. This guide can help you manage projects and workflow, delegate tasks among team members and ensure that everything is complete before a design project is handed over. A good design checklist can help keep you from going astray during a project.

You may need several types of checklists in your toolkit: project design (print or digital), planning, execution, and printing and delivery. These lists can have overlap or not and can serve as starting points for you to create a checklist tailored to your design work.

Business / 5 Aug 2014

Why Every Designer Needs a Code of Ethics

Many professions have codes of ethics, a common set of guiding principles that help you make fair decisions. Codes often protect both the worker and client from poor business practices.

Designers working in a team or individual environment should be working with a code of ethics. Many designers might even follow multiple codes – one set by an employer, one set by professional organizations and one that is a more personal set of rules and guidelines. One thing is certain: Every designer needs a code of ethics.

Business / 26 May 2014

10 Key Features of an ‘About’ Page

A great About Us page can make — or even break — your website. For many businesses this can be one of the most visited pages on your website and is a chance for visitors to learn about you and your products.

About Us pages need to be written in clear and simple language and should not be put together as an afterthought. Just like any other page on your site, develop a plan for what message this page should communicate and work from there. Most great About Us pages contain many common elements. Here are 10 things your About Us page needs to include (in no particular order!)

Business / 2 Apr 2014

Intro to Gridgum: The Responsive Theme Marketplace

Later this month a new theme marketplace website is launching. What’s neat about Gridgum is that it offers themes for a variety of platforms and every theme on the site will be responsive.

A responsive theme is a must-have in today’s web landscape and the idea of a one stop shop is a good one. Gridgum is a marketplace for both buyers of themes and theme designers. And right now, theme designers can submit themes for a chance to win $2,000 in prizes before the full site launch.

Business / 26 Mar 2014

Good Writing and Editing Is Part of Great Design

Good writing is arguably the most important piece of a design project. Yes, writing. It happens before the first sketch. And then it continues to happen throughout the design process as text is written, rewritten and edited multiple times.

A stellar design will only get you so far if the content is lacking. Clunky, mistake-laden, or even just plain boring copy will almost certainly ruin any project. Great copy will help a design shine. Here, we are going to look at what good writing and editing can do for your design projects. (Make sure to note the visual examples as well, and how the text and design work together seamlessly.)

$Math for Designers: It’s a Numbers Game$

Business / 17 Mar 2014

Math for Designers: It’s a Numbers Game

Most of the time you don’t think about math and design at the same time. Maybe you think these concepts are as far removed from one another as possible. But math can be an important skill for every designer.

From working on projects – there are plenty of design theories based in math – to calculating rates and payment for a client project, crunching numbers can be an important item in every designer’s toolbox. Today, we are going to look at some of the time-tested formulas that can be found in great design and ways that every designer can use math. So you might just want to grab a calculator!

Business / 10 Mar 2014

The Simple Guide to Creative Commons Resources

Creative Commons is a tool that allows designers, writers, videographers and web developers to use content free of charge. From text to photos to video to sound, there are a variety of different types of available content that can be used when attributed appropriately.

But where can you find this content? Who can use it? And what really is acceptable to use? Today, we have a guide to creative commons works, proper use and attribution and tolls for helping you find great (and usable) content. (As an added bonus, all of the visuals used in this article were available under a Creative Commons license.)

Business / 27 Jan 2014

Understanding Design Copyrights and Trademarks

Not that long ago we entertained a discussion about design plagiarism here on Design Shack, but what does it mean if your work is stolen? How do you even know if your work is protected? And moreover, what can you do about it?

That’s where the protection of copyrights and trademarks come in. But what are they? And how do they apply to your designed work? Let’s take a look.

Business / 3 Dec 2013

Was My Design Plagiarized (Or Is That Just Flattery)?

Is nothing original anymore? It’s a concept we designers talk about all the time. All original ideas “have been used already”. But is that true? (I, for one, am not sure I actually believe it.) And if it is true are we all plagiarizing other designs on a daily basis?

All of these are ideas that are thrown around loosely, but have quite serious implications. So how do you know if your design idea was plagiarized? Or is a similar concept just the most sincere form of flattery? Let’s dig a little deeper today…

Business / 25 Nov 2013

10 Tips to Gain More Confidence as a Designer

Sometimes when a project fails, it can be hard to get back on your feet again. We all take the occasional confidence knock from time-to-time. But to see continued success in this tricky industry, it’s important to be able to regroup and recover gracefully.

Here, we’ll look at ten things you can do to gain confidence as a designer. These tips can work for experienced designers after a troubled project, or new designers looking to break into the market. It’s advice worth taking to heart.