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    • Graphic
    • Realism
  • About
    • Meet Alvalyn
  • Blog
    • Submissions Policy
  • Courses
    • Freelance Road Trip
    • Private Instruction
    • Color Theory & Digital Color Gear & Supplies
    • Elements of 3D Design Course Supply List
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Read more about the article Do Freelancers Need Business Insurance?

One thing that’s great about flying solo as a freelancer is all the freedom you have in who you work with, where,…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingDo Freelancers Need Business Insurance?
Read more about the article Boost Your Profits With Mark Ups

A mark up, also known as percentage over cost, is one way you can increase your freelance revenue. Marking up is a…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingBoost Your Profits With Mark Ups
Read more about the article How’s Business? Five Tested Ways To Help Your Freelance Business Thrive

Did you know that your creative business thrives because of how you do business and not because of the quality of your…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingHow’s Business? Five Tested Ways To Help Your Freelance Business Thrive
Read more about the article Why Freelancers Should Have an Agency-Styled Website To Attract Clients

If you're an independent creative professional, you probably already have a website showcasing your amazing portfolio. Portfolios are a necessary component of…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/marketing
Continue ReadingWhy Freelancers Should Have an Agency-Styled Website To Attract Clients
Read more about the article Try This Easy, 8-Point Tune-Up For Your Freelance Business

Every business needs regularly-scheduled tune-ups. Just like with automobile maintenance, tune-ups keep things running smoothly. They're most effective in maintaining performance when…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingTry This Easy, 8-Point Tune-Up For Your Freelance Business
Read more about the article 10 Proven Networking Strategies for Introverts (and Everyone Else)

Building a business requires connection with people: prospective clients, colleagues, mentors, customers, and sometimes even family members. When we connect, we share…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue Reading10 Proven Networking Strategies for Introverts (and Everyone Else)
Read more about the article 3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid

Because pretty much everything runs on design and other forms of visual communication, the role of the visual communicator (designer, illustrator, photographer)…

  • Post category:art law/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue Reading3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid
Read more about the article 12 Questions You Need to Ask Every Client BEFORE You Accept Their Project

Have you ever gotten involved on a project and then realized that neither the project nor the client is ideal? The project that…

  • Post category:advice/business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue Reading12 Questions You Need to Ask Every Client BEFORE You Accept Their Project
Read more about the article Tactics for Better Business Networking

If you are a self-employed creative, business networking is a significant part of your marketing mix. While designers, illustrators and photographers naturally get together with other creatives for…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/marketing
Continue ReadingTactics for Better Business Networking
Read more about the article Creative Freelancer Q&A: Do Business, Not Favors!!!

Avoid awkward moments and misunderstandings about getting paid for your freelance work. Prepare written agreements for each client that outlines the type of work you will do, how much you will charge for it, and how you want to be paid. You cannot make a living by doing favors.

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingCreative Freelancer Q&A: Do Business, Not Favors!!!
Read more about the article 6 Freelance Contract Mistakes and How To Fix Them

Most problems freelancers experience when working with clients are due to contract mistakes. Do any of these statements sound familiar to you?…

  • Post category:art law/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/professional practice
Continue Reading6 Freelance Contract Mistakes and How To Fix Them
Read more about the article How Do I Know If I Will Be Successful At Freelancing?

A student asked me the same question I asked my teachers: "How do I know if I will be successful at freelancing?"…

  • Post category:advice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingHow Do I Know If I Will Be Successful At Freelancing?
Read more about the article 2 Ways To Mix Color

There are two ways in which we mix color: Additively, using direct light from an original source, and Subtractively, using light reflected from…

  • Post category:Eye Level – Design + Illustration Theory & Tutorials
Continue Reading2 Ways To Mix Color
Read more about the article Set Goals, Not Resolutions

Have  you made resolutions for the new year? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to change? Where do…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/professional practice
Continue ReadingSet Goals, Not Resolutions
Read more about the article 10 Ups and Downs of Freelancing

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Freelancing provides more freedom than any other type of work structure. With that freedom come the responsibilities of ownership and reputation. When…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue Reading10 Ups and Downs of Freelancing
Read more about the article Advice for Freelancers: On Being an Owner

Ownership is simply the idea that something belongs to someone. In the case of your freelance business, you own it. It belongs…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingAdvice for Freelancers: On Being an Owner
Read more about the article 8 Qualities of Successful Freelancers

Freelancing is on the rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the freelance (contract, temp worker and freelancer — in all industries) economy…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/professional practice
Continue Reading8 Qualities of Successful Freelancers
Read more about the article How To Handle Special Requests From Clients

I was asked about how to deal with unusual requests. Once someone finds out you are a designer, writer, photographer… any type…

  • Post category:client relations/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingHow To Handle Special Requests From Clients
Read more about the article Find Your “Why” to Achieve Your Goals

You need to identify what's at stake. I often reflect on  how blessed I am to work the way I've always wanted to…

  • Post category:business/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingFind Your “Why” to Achieve Your Goals
Read more about the article 7 Things You Must Do To Start Your Creative Freelance Business

With the excitement and anticipation of embarking on a freelance career, we can easily get caught up in the ideas of freedom,…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue Reading7 Things You Must Do To Start Your Creative Freelance Business

To answer the question, “How much will it cost?”, the question, “What do you want to accomplish?” needs to be asked first. Clients are often…

  • Post category:client relations/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingHow To Budget For A Design Project

The commonly-given advice is: Do what you love and the money will follow. This is a great ideal, because no one wants to…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingPassion or Profit: Should You Start a Freelance Business?
Read more about the article How To Choose Good Clients

Good clients are integral to successful freelance projects and to your career overall. Beyond the project itself, a referral or recommendation from the right…

  • Post category:business/client relations/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingHow To Choose Good Clients

In Part 1 of this article I focused on what a brand is, and the visual and conceptual components of an effective…

  • Post category:advice/branding/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingHow To Manage Your Brand

I wish I hadn't said, "Yes" to certain design projects. It's not that the projects were a problem, but something about the clients'…

  • Post category:client relations/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/professional practice
Continue Reading5 Reasons Why I Can’t Be Your Designer

Recently, I met with a start-up business. As we discussed the scope of work and began putting the design brief together, it…

  • Post category:client relations/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingThe Value of the Design Brief

Every design project includes a punch list of required deliverables and a budget. When the budget does not allow for the creation of…

  • Post category:advice/business/client relations/design management
Continue Reading8 Ways to Cut the Cost of Design
Read more about the article Creative Freedom Through Setting Boundaries

Working with clients can be likened to a downhill race: The designer moves along in her process and picks up momentum as she heads toward the finish…

  • Post category:advice/client relations/design management/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingCreative Freedom Through Setting Boundaries

The Practice and Principle of Accomplishing Something Upon learning about what I do by trade, an employed acquaintance asked with some concern,…

  • Post category:design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingGood Success

Start-up businesses and organizations tend to hold themselves back in terms of establishing reputation and solidity by under-budgeting and under-investing in the…

  • Post category:aesthetics/business/design/marketing
Continue ReadingThey’ll Notice

Before working with a designer, a client should prepare for that relationship. Often,  businesses will request a web site or a logo…

  • Post category:business/client relations/design/design management/design practice/professional practice
Continue ReadingBriefly Stated: The Advantages of Getting It In Writing

Working on spec directly contradicts good business practices and does not even promise payment for work performed.

  • Post category:client relations/design practice/ethics/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/professional practice
Continue ReadingSpec Work Is Gambling

Not every client relationship is a good fit, and it's just good business to separate.

  • Post category:client relations/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing
Continue ReadingRed Flags: Fire When Ready

All too often a business or organization seeks a designer to execute an untested, unrefined idea as quickly and cheaply as possible. A business that's design-oriented will not regard design as an afterthought but as the basis for its marketing communications and brand awareness.

  • Post category:design/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingHow Much Will It Cost?
Read more about the article The Importance of Knowing Why

How many people set goals and never achieve them? How many creatives start a business and then watch it fizzle out Are…

  • Post category:branding/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/marketing
Continue ReadingThe Importance of Knowing Why

Does it matter if a design is good or not? Before we can deal with that question let's ask a more basic…

  • Post category:aesthetics/design/marketing
Continue ReadingDoes Good Design Matter?

Being effective involves doing the right thing at the right time in the right place.

  • Post category:client relations/design/design practice/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingWhen It’s Time To Let Go
Read more about the article 12 Rules for Freelance Success

Setting and maintaining boundaries will help you avoid relationships and circumstances that are potentially harmful.

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue Reading12 Rules for Freelance Success

To be promoted in our design-driven culture, a product must be packaged in such a way that it becomes meaningful to the person using it, so that they become an evangelist for it. This requires thoughtful planning and execution of a design strategy

  • Post category:aesthetics/branding/design/design strategy/marketing
Continue ReadingLoving It: Seduction, Satisfaction and Graphic Culture
Read more about the article The Internship Epidemic

It is the responsibility of design professionals, teachers and school administrators to value the next generation of designers so that the profession is respected, appreciated and thrives. Unpaid internships won't accomplish that.

  • Post category:design/design practice/ethics/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/students/teaching
Continue ReadingThe Internship Epidemic
Read more about the article Email Scams Target Web Designers

Scammers are highly creative in who and how they target. No one is exempt. This design project scam targeting independent creatives has…

  • Post category:Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/professional practice/tips
Continue ReadingEmail Scams Target Web Designers

How can you invest your product or service with “lovability” and create devotion in your customers? Here are some options: Love it…

  • Post category:branding/design/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/marketing
Continue ReadingCreating Lovability

Graphic design represents ideas and values. A design is not in itself the idea, but the expression of it. Design points to…

  • Post category:business/design/ideas/marketing
Continue ReadingDesign As Your Ambassador

Clients have a choice when selecting creative services: They can go the cheap route and buy a logo through a crowdsource or contest…

  • Post category:business/client relations/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/freelancing/success
Continue ReadingFreelancing: In Getting Work, Relationship Counts More Than Ever

Why is spec work so prevalent in the design profession when it's not in other professions? Increasingly, companies - creative businesses included…

  • Post category:client relations/design/ethics/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design/students
Continue ReadingUnpaid Internships Are A Form of Spec Work

Since I established my design studio over thirteen years ago, I have worked with clients large and small, designed for sole proprietors…

  • Post category:branding/client relations/design/ethics/Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Continue ReadingWhy You Can’t Be My Client
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