Category: Business

  • Citizen Designer

    What does it mean to be a designer in today’s corporate-driven, over-branded global consumer culture? The following is an excerpt from the introduction to Steven Heller and Véronique Vienne’s Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility. So, what is the responsibility of a designer when the design is impeccable but the client is tainted? Being accountable…

  • Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour

    Blair Enns, author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto, has released a new title, Pricing Creativity. Blair was happy for me to share an excerpt. Pricing Creativity, Rule #2: Offer Options One of the biggest pricing mistakes that creative professionals make is to put a proposal in front of the client that contains only one…

  • A few thoughts on passive income

    My answers to a few questions about Amazon Associates and passive income, asked by Tom May for a piece on the Shopify blog. Pilea peperomioides, aka Chinese money plant, via. When did you get involved with Amazon Associates and what first prompted you to do so? It was 2008, most likely because of ProBlogger (I…

  • Being an independent designer

    It was in 2004 when I first gave serious thought to self-employment. I was part of a team in a small cancer charity, and one day after work I picked up a hefty ankle injury playing football. Unable to walk for a couple of weeks meant some time away from the office, but it was…

  • What Clients Think 2017

    In association with the DBA, Up to the Light conducted telephone interviews with 455 design clients to produce the What Clients Think 2017 report. Interesting read. Here are some things that stood out. 44% of clients believe that their design agency should ask more questions. “Asking questions is a good habit. Agencies frequently ask lots…

  • Design in Tech Report

    For the third year running, John Maeda released his Design in Tech Report.

  • Paula Scher on pro bono

    “That’s why pro bono work is great. You choose to do it, and if you’re choosing to do it to grow your own work, your deal is essentially that you’re not going to collaborate. You’re going to do the job the way you think the job is gonna be done.” Paula Scher, photo by John…

  • Bowie on design ideas

    “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you feel that your feet aren’t quite touching the bottom you’re…

  • The five constraints

    In one of his talks, Blair Enns of Win Without Pitching focuses on five business constraints, and bets that those who apply them are much more likely to succeed. Leslie Green’s No Exit sign in London’s Holloway Road tube station. 1. You can never sell or retire. 2. No more than 10 clients at any…

  • Ogilvy on meeting clients and prospects

    In 1962, Time magazine called David Ogilvy (1911-1999) “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.”