It appears that scammers are targeting freelance web designers. Here’s the scenario:

I received an inquiry via email regarding web site design services. The sender claimed to be located in London and was opening a small business. He (gender is assumed) asked the cost of designing a simple 2-page web site and included a link to an existing web site as an example of what he was looking for.

It was odd to me that the sender was not inquiring with local designers in London. But I responded with a price range and recommendation that he work with a designer in the UK. The sender then informed me that my rates were agreeable and requested my contact information so he could have his associate in New York City send a down payment of a particular amount, and stipulated that the balance – again a particular amount – would be paid upon completion.

At this point, I was still testing the waters. The stated “budget” was generous, so I prepared my usual contract outlining deliverables, schedule and terms, and emailed it to him. It was ignored.

When the money orders for more than the specified down payment arrived in and envelope with no return address, I took them down to my bank, where they were confirmed as being suspect.

Fellow freelancers, beware. This scam seems to carry more legitimacy than the Nigerian 419 scam. Here are the red flags to watch for:

• You received an inquiry from a startup business claiming to be located outside the USA, with a contact/agent/go-between in the USA
• The inquiring party offers just enough information to make it sound like a legitimate project inquiry
• They use poor grammar (like in those Nigerian scam letters)
• You receive identical emails but with different information (it’s a form letter).
• You receive no response to direct questions about the project, and the inquirer is vague about details
• The inquirer dictates the payment terms to you
• Payments arrive in the form of international money orders for a lot more than the agreed-upon amount
• You are requested to deposit the money orders and refund the overpayment to the sender through Western Union

This type of scam is usually targeted toward uninformed seniors. The fact that this came through my business and was centered around a web design project shows that scammers are become more creative. They’re culling from portfolio sites and browser searches. As with any lie, there’s just enough truth involved to make it sound legit, but the further you go with it, the more it falls apart.

Be watchful. I’m not out any creative effort or money. If I was the target of the scam on the basis of my being a designer, it follows that other designers are being targeted. There’s sure to be a freelancer somewhere thinking it would be great to have an “international” client and take the bait.

I teach a course at UCLA Extension called Elements of Design. It deals with the stuff design is made of. Things like balance, gestalt theory, proportion, value, color, structure and composition all go into the mix of what design is all about. Students who complete the course come away with the understanding that design is not one thing or another but a conglomeration of elements. Remove one or several and it’s just not design.

We can say the same about designers. Let me begin with this analogy: It’s conceivable that a person can purchase a stethoscope and a white coat, have his name embroidered on it and call himself a doctor. But the proof of his being a doctor is not in his accessories or attire, but in his knowledge.

The person who takes a few software classes, prints up some business cards, sets up a website and calls himself a designer is not necessarily a real designer. He might look like a real designer but without certain abilities that are essential to the craft he’s created a veneer with no substance to support it.

Real designers, whether formally educated or not, are set apart by virtue of what they know and how they apply it. (How and where they learn these things is not my point here.) Beyond technical ability using Creative Suite software, there are critical thinking skills and background knowledge involved in creating successful design solutions.

This is my list of essential knowledge and abilities that are foundational to being a real designer. Lacking any of these ingredients compromises one’s ability to design well, if at all, in my experience. Please note that none of these have anything to do with Photoshop:

Design principles and elements, including gestalt theory;
Color theory, including web and print color, psychology, symbology and basic scientific properties of light and pigment;
Typography, including typefaces and font families, and the ability to select a face based on how it needs to communicate;
Knowledge of design history;
Knowledge of popular culture, current trends and future projections;
Drawing skills, because drawing is a basic form of visual communication;
Verbal and written communication skills to be able to present a solid rationale for design decisions, keep clients informed and educate when necessary.

Then on top of these foundational ingredients we can add technical skill and the ability to engage in the design process to reach a successful outcome. Why? Because a real designer can design with a pencil or a computer. The tool is secondary; the thinking ability is primary.

A few places where you can get learn design without applying to a degree program:
Art Center at Night
Otis Continuing Education
UCLA Extension
School of Visual Arts Continuing Education
Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education
Pratt Institute Continuing & Professional Studies
Parsons The New School for Design Continuing Education
Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design Continuing Education

It’s red. It’s leather. It’s about two inches thick on its best days. It has rings. It is too big to fit in my pocket.

I am describing my daybook: my planning/organizing/time management companion. It’s a throwback to the 1980s when planning systems first became popular, and Filofax and Franklin were the top-of-mind options. I formed my planning habit of keeping my contacts, to-dos, appointments, ideas, and doodles all in one place within easy reach back then.

For me, there’s something luscious about the feel and sound of paper; how my pen or pencil grabs the surface and creates a tangible drag as I write. Then there’s the physical action of flipping pages, which to me is much more interactive than scrolling over a digital screen. I can add pages or remove them, tear or fold them and use both sides of the surface.

I replace the filler set every year but have used the same binder. This year I designed my own filler pages. I bind up prior years and archive them in boxes. Occasionally I go back through them. Events and people long-forgotten come to my recall. I have a record of things accomplished and things left undone. I can easily see my history.

My tradition of keeping a daily record and planning my days ahead of time was learned from my parents. My mother kept a calendar and my dad kept a journal. Bits and pieces of lives that I knew well were handed down to me on paper. Those recorded comings and goings remind me of the people I came from, as I suppose my daybooks and sketchbooks will remind my progeny in the same way.

I have an iPhone and use the Evernote, FCTasks and Calendar apps regularly as back-up to the more creatively-contrived and personable daybook. To jot something down is quicker for me than keying it in on a touch screen, and I commit fewer typos in the process.

In thinking about the archival issues, I suppose that with our technology few people really consider how they will leave their legacy, or even if they think about it at all. What do they have to hand down that is personal and stable enough to last for years and years? With technology renewing and upgrading constantly and rapidly, access to older technologies disappears. Paper, at least for now, is the timeless and more tangible option.

I was over at FastCompany’s blog reading Chris Dannen’s review of Apple Leopard. He referenced the multi-touch technology developed by Jeff Han at NYU, and included this clip.

Just watching this is very entertaining and all the gestures and movements going on reminded me of traffic control officers and orchestra conductors. I found this clip really fascinating to watch, and thought, how cool! Not having to sit all the time in front of my computer screen? Priceless!

What do you think? Can you see yourself designing at your desktop in this manner?