10 Extremely Useful Time Management Tools

Published September 22nd, 2010 in Business, Tools - 49 Comments

Web designers, especially freelancers, face the challenge of effectively managing their time while juggling a lot of different responsibilities. There are a number of online apps and tools that can help you to take control and make the most of your time. In this post we’ll look at 10 that may be able to help you. This includes calendars, to-do lists, time tracking, and project management tools. If you have a favorite please feel free to share in the comments.

1. Remember the Milk

Remember the Milk is a free to-do list manager. You can add tasks that you need to get done, prioritize them, and check them off when they are done. Remember the Milk apps are available for the iPhone and for Android.

13 Ways to Challenge Yourself in Your Career as a Web Designer

Published August 25th, 2010 in Business, Design - 42 Comments

A career in web design or development requires a constant effort to improve and to stay on top of new technologies and changes within the industry. No matter how much you improve or how many new things you learn there is always something else out there that can make you better at your work and improve your career.

Fortunately, most designers and developers receive challenges on a daily basis in the normal course of their work, especially those who work for a variety of different clients. However, there are times when a designer should focus on learning and improvement outside of these normal activities. Perhaps no project has come up that will provide an opportunity to hone skills in a particular area, or maybe you have something specific in mind that deserves extra attention.

In this article we will look at some of the ways that you can challenge yourself as a designer. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list, there are certainly countless possibilities in this area, but it is intended to give some ideas to those of you who are interested in trying new things or improving on existing skills.

Some of the most beneficial things that I have done in my career have also been the most uncomfortable. For most of us it is easy to get in the habit of doing things in a familiar way or avoiding projects that push us beyond our comfort zone. There are times, however, when those challenges and discomfort lead to invaluable opportunities that can have a significant impact on our futures.

1. Accept Clients for Freelance Work

If you are currently working for an agency or as an in-house designer, managing some clients of your own on a freelance basis would certainly provide some outstanding learning opportunities. With your own clients you will need to consider things like pricing your work, securing the client, project and time management, financial management, communication with the client, possibly outsourcing some of the work, and meeting deadlines.

Some of these things, like time management, communication and deadlines, are likely already a part of your daily work as an employee, but when you are managing the client and the project on your own they will probably have a different type of significance.

15 Proven Ways to Gain Exposure for Your Design Portfolio

Published July 21st, 2010 in Business, Marketing - 39 Comments

With so many web and graphic designers out there, getting the attention of potential clients and landing work can be a major challenge. The portfolio site is one of the most important assets for a designer, and an effective portfolio site will be an invaluable resource for keeping the business moving forward.

For many designers creating an attractive portfolio site is not the problem, getting people to see it is often much more of an issue. In order for the portfolio site to truly do it’s job it must be well-designed and it must attract the right types of visitors. In this post we’ll look at 15 things that you can do to increase the effectiveness of your portfolio site by getting more exposure for it.

1. Have a High-Quality Design for Your Portfolio Site

Not only is the quality of design of the items in your portfolio important, but the design of your portfolio site itself will also have a big impact on potential clients. Clients will expect a designer to have an attractive and usable site, otherwise they will question the work that the designer will be able to do for them.

When designing and coding your portfolio site be sure that it is getting all of the attention that it deserves. After all, it will be one of the most important aspects of your business, so it should not be rushed.

Impressive portfolio sites are great for encouraging visitors to contact you about their project, and they are also more likely to attract links and attention from other designers and bloggers.

Client Retention: A Key Ingredient for Freelancing Success

Published July 15th, 2010 in Business - 13 Comments

Working as a freelance designer is a challenging job. Not only do you have to be a skilled designer, but you also need to be able to find work and run a profitable business. Landing new clients can be a lot of work and can require a considerable amount of time on your part. Once you have the client, retaining that client can be highly beneficial for your business.

A long-term or repeat client could be any number of things. Maybe you’ve designed a website for a client a few years ago and they just came back to you because it’s time to update their site with a fresh design. Or maybe the client needs on-going work each month and they’re hiring you to provide that work in addition to your one-time services of designing their site.

With content management systems most clients no longer have to hire a designer to make basic updates and additions to their sites, but many clients still have a need for a designer to perform various services on an on-going basis or at some point in the future. Hopefully the information presented in this article will reveal the potential that this presents and will help you to land a few on-going clients of your own.

13 Keys to Success as a Freelance Designer

Published June 18th, 2010 in Business - 36 Comments

Being a freelance web designer is an appealing job for many people. There are perks like a flexible schedule and the ability to work from home that encourage people to move towards a career as a freelancer. Unfortunately, many people do not consider everything that is involved in being a successful freelancer and all of the challenges that come with being in such a crowded marketplace. In this post we’ll examine 13 keys to achieving success as a freelancer. These are all areas for would-be freelancers to consider before making the jump, and potential areas of improvement for existing freelancers.

Being successful as a freelancer requires you to be rather well rounded, as you will notice from the diversity of the keys on this list. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert in all of these areas, but you do need to consider them and recognize their impact on your work. You’ll be able to develop your skills in theses areas with time and effort.

1. Discipline and Commitment

Working as a freelancer or an independent designer is much different than working as an employee for a design studio or as an in-house designer. As a freelancer there will be no one to hold you accountable, no one to tell you what you should be working on at any given time, no one to set your hours, and no one to hand work to you. Everything is on you.

While there are significant benefits to working on your own and being in control, there is also great responsibility. In order to achieve any type of lasting success as a freelancer you will need be disciplined with your work and time and committed to your own success. Some people are naturally driven and well-suited for working as a freelancer, and others tend to have more stability and less risk.

Freelancing can be many things to different people (see Is Freelancing Right for You?), but if you are hoping to make it a long-term career choice, don’t jump into freelancing before considering the discipline and commitment that will be required. For most freelancers, the first few months and years are the most difficult, and as you become more established it should become a bit more natural and easier. However, making it to that stage will require a great deal of work.

40 Sites for Finding Web Design Jobs

Published June 7th, 2010 in Business - 28 Comments

In the current economy there are a lot of designers and developers looking for work, whether it is full-time employment, contract work, or freelance opportunities. Fortunately, there are a number of great places to find these types of positions. In this post we’ll look at 40 sites that include specialized job boards that include web/graphic design and web development opportunities.

Best Places to Find Web/Graphic Design Jobs:

Authentic Jobs
A very active job board used by a lot of recognized and respected agencies. Includes freelance and full-time opportunities.

Is Freelancing Right for You?

Published May 17th, 2010 in Business - 27 Comments

Web designers face the difficult decision of whether they should work as an employee, freelance, or both. While it can be a tough decision, the good news is that they are all viable options and you just need to find the best fit for your own situation. There is no right or wrong answer and in this article we’ll take a look at some of the common purposes of freelancing and the keys to determining if it is right for you.

Common Goals and Purposes of Freelancing:

Everyone has their own unique circumstances in life and career, and not every freelancer has the same reasons for working as a freelancer. Whether or not freelancing is right for you will be impacted by a number of factors regarding your personal situation. Here is a quick look at some of the most common purposes of freelancing, along with a description of when it may be a good fit.

1. Work on the Side – One of the great things about freelancing is that it can be whatever you want or need it to be. Many freelancers have other full-time or part-time jobs and their freelance work is just a gig on the side, at least for the time being.

It may be right for you if…

• You are looking to turn your skills or hobbies into some extra cash.
• You want to expand your horizons and learn new things.
• You want to move towards full-time freelancing but with reduced financial risk.
• You are a student and looking to gain real-world experience before graduating.
• You are a full-time designer for an agency and you’re interested in building your profile and name recognition.

Pros and Cons of Package-Based Pricing for Web Design

Published April 28th, 2010 in Business, Marketing - 44 Comments

Pricing services is one of the most challenging parts of being a designer. Most designers have an opinion of what their time is worth and what they want to make on an hourly basis, but accurately estimating everything that will be involved with a project and how much time it will take can be very difficult.

In attempt to simplify pricing for both the designer and the client, some designers and agencies use package-based pricing with prices listed on their website. While offering proposals or quotes for each project is more common, package-based pricing is used frequently enought that it warrants consideration from the designer or agency.

In this post we’ll take a detailed look at both the pros and cons of listing your prices publicly. It may be worth noting that Vandelay Design does not use package-based pricing, although this has not always been the case. A few years ago packages were listed on the site before deciding to price projects on a case-by-case basis.

Pros of Package-Based Pricing:

1. Gives Visitors a Clear Picture of What to Expect

Many visitors and potential clients really have no idea what to expect in terms of how much they will need to spend for web design and development services. In some cases this is a result of a lack of experience in dealing with the subject, but another contributing factor is that prices can vary so drastically. If a client is looking simply for a low-cost provider, regardless of the type of project there will always be someone who is willing to take on the work (not necesarilly qualified) for a fraction of what most of the competition would charge. This variance in pricing can make it difficult for clients to know what is included at that price, what quality of work and customer service they will receive, and how this compares to their other options.

Clients like to know what to expect, and package-based pricing can give them the general information before they even contact the designer. If the pricing is out of their budget they can move on to another designer, or they can re-consider what they are willing to spend. Clients can make comparisons much easier with package-based pricing, assuming the details and any potential add-ons are clearly provided.

15 Invoicing Tips for Designers and Freelancers

Published January 27th, 2010 in Business, Design Process - 55 Comments

Most designers don’t particularly enjoy the financial side of running a business, but handling it properly is a necessary part of being a freelancer or running a design agency. The financial side of the business includes invoicing clients, and in this article we’ll look at some tips and best practices for invoicing.

1. Decide on an Invoicing App or Software

There are plenty of online invoicing apps available that have been created with designers and freelancers in mind. Additionally, there are some software options as well. Using either an online app or software to handle your invoicing will allow you to save time and to have better organization over your invoices and receivables, as opposed to using a manual system or spreadsheets.

With so many options to choose from (see 20 Invoicing Tools for Web Designers), you should be able to find an app or software that includes all of the features that you need, and ideally, not a lot of those that you don’t need. Online apps are available in a wide range of prices, some are even free. Prices will usually rise as more features are included, and most invoicing apps will have a few different plans according to the number of invoices and clients that you need to manage.

If you’d like to avoid monthly or yearly fees of online apps, you can purchase invoicing software for a one-time fee and manage an unlimited number of invoices and clients.

For invoicing software we recommend Fanurio. For online apps we recommend FreshBooks. Find a solution that meets your needs and it will help you to have more accurate invoicing and financial records with less time commitment.

Networking Tips for the Busy Designer

Published January 6th, 2010 in Business, Marketing - 41 Comments

Professional networking is an important part of being a designer and working towards a challenging and rewarding career. Unfortunately, most designers are so busy with client work, or trying to find more clients, that networking-related activities are more of an afterthought that get attention whenever the time happens to be available. While networking is critical, it doesn’t have to adsorb huge amounts of time that prevent you from getting other essential tasks completed.

In this article we’ll look at a series of tips and suggestions that are aimed at designers who want to network more successfully, but without committing large amounts of time each day or each week. The idea is to get as much benefit as possible from a reasonable time commitment that can be accommodated by just about any schedule.