Successful freelancing is a matter of finding the right clients in the right places for the right reasons. Every client you take…
Creative freelancers invest time and effort carefully crafting brands for their clients. In regard to their own brands, they often come up…
Early in my freelance journey I joined a business networking group through my chamber of commerce for the purpose of generating leads and…
Q: As a freelancer, is it worth having business listings like Yelp and YP? A: It depends upon what directories you choose and…
When you're in business (and freelancers are in business), you build reputation through social and in-person networking. According to the Oxford Dictionary,…
We are always marketing. From the quality of our work to how we talk about ourselves, we are constantly sending messages into…
Did you know that there is more than one way to be a freelancer? Independent creatives — freelancers — can choose a variety…
Self promotion is the practice of telling potential clients about what you do. With it you build your brand, engage prospects and…
One of the huge differences between a salaried worker and a freelancer is that freelancers need to always be looking for work.…
As an independent creative, prospecting is a practical and necessary business activity that I need to give focused attention to. It requires…
The commonly-given advice is: Do what you love and the money will follow. This is a great ideal, because no one wants to…
In Part 1 of this article I focused on what a brand is, and the visual and conceptual components of an effective…
branding influence reputation
typographic illustration in reds for Design and Conquer blog post
Of Influence, Time and Trust Branding is a popular discussion in my circles, and in the course of those conversations I gain…
Email is the most effective means of reaching your customer base. It's targeted and direct, and recipients have opted in to your…
Are you more concerned about aesthetics or your bottom line when contracting design services? Designers - good ones - always care about how…
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…
Whether you’re a business owner, executive or staff member, business cards continue to play a leading role at events, in business and…
Non-descript design that lacks distinction will do nothing to add distinction and value to an organization.
To be meaningful, design needs to connect on five successive levels of significance…
How many people set goals and never achieve them? How many creatives start a business and then watch it fizzle out Are…
Does it matter if a design is good or not? Before we can deal with that question let's ask a more basic…
Practically every business, organization and government has a banner. These are raised in the form of logos, motifs, icons and flags. We wear them and put them on our car bumpers and on signs and travel mugs. Every banner represents something—an identity, a set of values, a reputation, a history.
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
How can you invest your product or service with “lovability” and create devotion in your customers? Here are some options: Love it…
I was asked by a client to re-design a print ad laid out by someone else. The original layout (above, left) was…
Graphic design represents ideas and values. A design is not in itself the idea, but the expression of it. Design points to…
Those who track and analyze cultural trends generally agree that our culture has become design-driven. It's no longer based on business or…
I am currently designing a new print promotion…
My friend, Mary, was in a community theatre production of The Mikado, and was asked to write her bio for the printed program. This being…
Once you have made the investment in the creation of a company identity – a logo – how should you utilize that…
If brand is a person’s perception of a product, service, experience or organization, then the best branded branch of the United States…