Micromanaging and Efficiency
Joy, a graphic designer, relates this story about her experience with different studio managers:

“We had a boss that was extremely manipulative and controlling. Every aspect of our daily work schedule was managed for efficiency. We could hardly breathe because of the constrained work atmosphere.

Let’s face it, we did it for the money and not for the love of design.

“Our productivity was good, but we were miserable. Then one day, he announced his retirement. Most of us were ecstatic at his decision. A new manager was hired and we held our breaths.

“Our new boss was not a micro-manager and this took some time getting used to. His style was to give us our marching orders—he got out of the way and left the creative aspects, as much as was feasible, to us.

“But then, the productivity reports came down from upper management and we were all shocked about our performance.”

Find out what happened at the end of this article.

How to Get the Best From Your Coworkers
You may be a supervisor, a manager or a lead graphic designer, but the fact remains that you will need to have your co-workers do tasks for you, at some point, in order to complete projects.

But how do you get the best out of your staff? Consider this advice:

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

–George Patton, Decorated WWII General, US Army

His advice seems contradictory and foolhardy. But upon closer inspection what he is saying is to trust people’s abilities and judgment to complete a task; just point them in the right direction.

Graphic Design School and Creativity
Of course, you need a competent staff to fulfill your wishes. But knowing who your go-to people are can save you loads of headaches and anxiety by just letting them create and do what they do best.

The basics and foundation of graphic design often start with an education at a qualified graphic design college.

Those who have had formal training in graphic design can attest to how a graphic design school education can be useful in qualifying for design jobs.

The Rest of the Story
In Joy’s account of her new boss, this is what happened in the performance report. (Names and titles have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty.)

“We felt we were all pulling together to finish the projects instead of being forced to meet deadlines. Our new boss gave us the freedom to be creative. He gave us back our love for design.

“Our boss called us to a meeting to announce the metrics of how we were doing the past several months.

“The report from upper management showed that we had broken every record, in productivity and revenue, set by our previous boss. We did this during the two months our new boss was in charge.

Next Time…
So far we’ve seen how graphic designers do their jobs for the love of the art and creativity of design. But the practical side needs to be presented as well; how much do graphic designers make and what opportunities are there?

Stay tuned next week for the answers.

Until then, keep on designing!

Why Are You a Graphic Designer?
Or the question could also be “Why do you want to be a graphic designer?” Although these questions seem to be somewhat simplistic it is an important step in determining if you have what it takes to become one.

But let’s take this a few steps beyond; you may have what it takes to become a successful graphic designer but will you be a fulfilled and happy graphic designer?

Learning from the Best
In this series we’ll draw from the insights of designers not only in graphic design but other fields outside the scope of the liberal arts.

Hopefully we’ll be able to glean some sage wisdom from their experiences in the real world of design.

Some of their statements will ring unusually true with us because they are based upon situations that we have either experienced or seen.

But in the long run this series will try to provide solace and wisdom to designers who “put it out there” every day for the love of designing and not necessarily the money.

Failure: The Consequences

“The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”

–Edwin H. Land

Edwin Land was the inventor and designer of the Polaroid Instant Camera. His invention enabled people to take photographs and have a developed print in hand in less than 60 seconds.

Land’s work ethic was legendary as he would often forget to eat, change his clothes or take needed rest breaks because he was so intent on his research and development.

He would literally wear out his assistants with his incredible focus and energy. To keep up with his marathon work schedule he assigned different teams to assist him. When one team was exhausted, the next team would come in and so on.

Dr. Land understood that failure can either stop you dead in your tracts or afford valuable information and experience on how to improve and find a solution to a problem.

He opted for the later and the result of his efforts was the Instant Camera.

Creativity and Rejection
If you are in the creative arts you can probably identify with how failure or rejection can sometimes sting.

But as Edwin Land discovered, failure is sometimes the prerequisite for continued creativity and growth.

Coping with rejection and failure is easier said than done but if we can catch a glimpse of what Edward Land saw in being unafraid of failure; we can keep our creativity alive and well.

First Things First: Graphic Design School
The saying goes that you can’t run before you learn to walk. Design is similar; you can’t design before you have the tools. Graphic design colleges can help you to understand design principles and techniques.

Graphic design schools can polish up your raw talent and point you in the right direction for a design career so check with your local graphic design college for its course curriculum and classes.

Next Time…
If you are a graphic designer or manager and need your staff or coworkers to help you accomplish a task, have you ever wondered what the best way to motivate them is?

Find out next week in part two of Graphic Design for Love or Money. You may be surprised.

Until then, keep on designing!

Mistakes Anyone?
Whatever you call them—mistakes, oversights, errors in judgment or just your plain old oopsies we’ve all pulled our share of slip-ups or miscalculations when designing something.

The problem with mistakes in graphic design is that they tend to multiply exponentially.

For instance: the client has an idea but has a design mistake. The designer includes the ill conceived mistake into the design, and the art director or editor approves it-for all to see.

In part three of Graphic Design: The Humorous Side of Things we’ll see that the little mistake gremlins can have pretty funny results—unintentionally of course.

Enjoy and learn from the mistakes of others.

Remedial Math Needed
What better way to celebrate a milestone of an organization then to proudly display the dates of its inception and the date of celebration?

In this case, the magazine design layout presents a rather funny and embarrassing result.

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It’s apparent that the graphic designer wasn’t trying to show a math problem but unfortunately underscored the dates in a way that the graphic looks like a subtraction problem; ergo 1992 subtracted from 2007 does not equal 25 years.

The humor is especially strong because the magazine article is about education. Oh, well.

Moral of this ad: Double check your design layout before you approve it.
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Really?
As you’ll see, graphic design (or a lack thereof) is important on the Internet as well.

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It’s hard to not smile and chuckle a little because the advertisement is about good website design and presenting a professional image.  Now, if we could just get over the beach balls and loud set design in this video, we might even believe the spokesperson’s message. ;D

Moral of this ad: Video isn’t exempt from graphic design principles.

When Graphic Designers Have Too Much Free Time
What do graphic designers do when they have a little free time on their hands? In this video they do wonderful things in their spare time.
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Sometimes creativity can soar when the pressure is off of you. These examples aren’t mistakes but are great examples of what your creative juices can do if you let them run wild.

Moral of this video: Take a break for fun.

Graphic Design School and You
While mistake gremlins always try to sneak into your designs you can prepare and prevent them by getting the proper training at the graphic design college of your choice.

You’ll learn techniques and principles of design, art and layout to give you the best chance of designing pieces that can help you in your career. Keep your mistakes down to a minimum by paying attention to the details and obtaining a proper design education at a qualified graphic design school.

Next Time…
We hope you’ve enjoyed this series. We’ll be back next time with some more articles on graphic design and how you can keep up with design trends.

Until then, keep on designing!

Graphic Design vs Opinion
Have you ever had your designs rejected even though you knew deep down inside that your piece was exactly what your client needed?

Or perhaps your design was good but was turned down because the client (or the assistant) felt troubled because it was “too small,” “lacked enough bright colors” or even worse, “It reminds me of another ad we did…”
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The adage that too many cooks spoil the broth can come true when you are dealing with certain clients; everyone, including the office secretary, has an opinion on your design.

Funny or Tragic?
As a professional graphic designer you do your best in trying to meet the needs of your clients. But sometimes it seems that they don’t understand your concepts or your talent. Have you ever felt like doing this?
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This movie scene is from the tense confrontation between Tom Cruise’s character and Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie, A Few Good Men. Of course the dialogue between the two is cleverly overdubbed.

In this instance Nicholson plays the role of a graphic designer fighting for his creative license by dressing down a junior designer. Nicholson presents his credentials as seasoned designer and is outraged that his judgment has been criticized.

But in the real world is such an outburst necessary or warranted?

Solve the Problem
Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software has this to say about customers:

“When customers have a problem and you fix it, they’re actually going to be even more satisfied than if they never had a problem in the first place.

“So when someone calls [us], and immediately gets through to a human, with no voice mail or phone menus, and that person turns out to be nice and friendly and actually solves their problem, they’re apt to think even more highly of us…”

Graphic Design Schools and Problem Solving
Although an education at a graphic design college means necessary career training it also prepares you for problem solving. Clients come to you to solve a graphic design need or problem.

You can be prepared to solve these problems by utilizing all that you have learned in graphic design school to produce a unique visual and graphic solution.

Never forget that design knowledge is important but that action combined with this  knowledge is wisdom and good business.

Next Time…
Attention to detail, or a lack thereof, can make the difference between a great graphic design or something that draws unintentional smiles. Next time we meet we’ll go over the importance of looking out for the “small stuff” when creating your pieces.

Until then, keep on designing!

Let’s Have Some Fun
Designers, artists and those who work in the arts have a good sense of humor; it’s an essential trait to have when faced with constant deadlines, pressures, and the high expectations that goes along with these jobs.

Watch this video and see if you can identify.
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Humor finds itself in everyday situations because it usually points out a truth that most people can relate to. Graphic design is no different and if you have been in this career field or one that relies on creativity you know how it “only hurts when I laugh.”
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Changes for the Worse
The video you viewed holds a lot of truth in that it presents many of the “requests” you may have heard from clients regarding projects you have been hired to do.

The project you are working on could be an advertisement, a poster or a logo but sometimes the suggestions for changes do not make the design better.

Your job, as a graphic designer, is to correlate all the information necessary from the client to produce a piece that meets specifications, is professional looking and informative.

The Client is Sometimes Wrong
But in some cases the design guidelines from your client may not be the best graphic design. A common concern for some clients is too much “empty space” or lack of size. In the design world, negative space can help to enhance a design.

But in the client’s eyes it may mean not getting enough for his money. In cases where the customer wants more color, size, or other “eye catching” graphics you may need to point out what works and what doesn’t.

Graphic Design School and Proper Design
Because virtually everyone has access to a computer some think that the job of design is an easy one. All you need to do is to get some clip art, use the comic sans font, some bright colors and you’re a designer!

Unfortunately bad design abounds in the world because of the misconception of “design is easy.” Everyone may have access to some sort of graphics program but this doesn’t mean they can automatically become David Carson.

Getting the proper education from a graphic design college is essential in understanding design concepts, art principles, and the numerous computer design software and hardware that are available today.

If you are interested in the field of graphic design there are online classes, graphic design schools and community colleges that provide the essential tools you’ll need to get your graphic design career going.

Next Time…
In part two of Graphic Design: The Humorous Side of Things we’ll see a re-dubbed dialogue track of a well known movie that demonstrates what can happen when a graphic designer takes a stand against corporate mediocrity.

Until then, keep on designing!

Been There, Done That, and Been There Again
Sometimes a difficult customer can make you feel depressed, angry or both. But as they say, it’s all part of the package when you work for clients.

Tak Robinson, a lead graphic designer, shares his story of a difficult client.

“One of our customers used us because we were known for fast service. He had to pay a premium but grudgingly did so to meet his tight deadlines.

“Then he started to drop off his work after our studio was officially closed for business. He knew we had a night crew and demanded that his projects be ready by the next day.

“This really disrupted our night shift’s schedule in taking care of other rush jobs for the following morning. Our excellent night team was not happy.”

What did Tak do? The rest of the story is at the end of this article. (As usual certain circumstances and names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty.)

Difficult Clients
Most of the time, clients are reasonable. But there are always customers who stretch your patience to the max.
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As Jill the graphic designer indicated, you can’t really tell off a customer the way she did. But in rare cases where compromise or a mutual understanding isn’t working, it may be the better part of valor to diplomatically turn down the job.

Kristen Holden of SitePoint offers this advice:

“The easiest way to deal with problem clients is to not take them on board in the first place.

“Avoid feeling compelled to accept every piece of work you come across. Some clients are truly not worth the extra effort spent on managing them. Over time, you actually lose money.”

With that said make sure that you are doing the best you can to be professional and understanding in order to find a solution that will keep both you and your client relatively happy.

Graphic Design School and Customer Relations
The first priority for going to a graphic design college is to get a strong education in design and art. The secondary purpose is to prepare you for career opportunities upon graduation.

How you relate to your fellow peers in graphic design school, how you handle the pressure of deadlines, and your ability to produce consistently good work under adverse circumstances helps you in providing good customer service.

Hard Decisions
In a perfect world there should never be a circumstance where you need to turn down a client. But as we all know this isn’t a perfect world. Turning down a client must be done in a pragmatic and logical manner after all other avenues to work with the client have been closed.

In some cases a job may not be financially sound for your business. In extremely rare cases the client is unreasonable and unrealistic concerning expectations, deadlines or final costs.

Let’s find out the rest of the story concerning our graphic designer and the difficult client.

“His demands were becoming increasingly over the top for us and we had to make a decision to tell our night staff to charge him premium-rush-overtime to complete his work ahead of our other clients.

“The funny thing is he never complained about the extra charges. He started to drop off his work during the daytime again instead of at night. Eventually we figured out that he was always behind in his work and passed his hectic deadlines on to us.

“We wanted to drop him as a client but things worked themselves out for us. We think his company fired him because another graphic artist took his place.”

Next Time…
We hope you’ve enjoyed this series about Graphic Designers vs. Clients. In the next few weeks we’ll take a look at the creative processes of graphic design and see how good ideas can sometimes backfire.

Until then, keep on designing!