Showcase of Amazing Websites with Attention to Detail
Published April 9th, 2012 in Galleries - 11 Comments
Often times what really puts a website’s design over the top is the subtle details. Creating a beautiful website requires a great deal of attention to detail. Many visitors will barely notice subtle details, but the overall result is that they pull the design together and give it a completed look that visitors love.
In this post we’ll showcase 20 websites from various designers that show incredible attention to detail. This can be a great source of inspiration when you are working on your own designs.
El Passion
El Passion makes excellent use of a subtle texture on the background, interesting drop shadows on text and other design elements, a cool hover effect on the logo, and more.
7 Reasons to Send an Email Newsletter to Clients
Published April 5th, 2012 in Business - 9 Comments
Being able to effectively and efficiently communicate with clients is one of the most important aspects of being a web designer. It can mean the difference between having happy clients and having frustrated clients.
Communication is a constant challenge when you are working with many different clients over a period of time. Sending out an email newsletter to your clients can help for a number of reasons. In this article we’ll take a look at 7 reasons why designs should send email newsletters to their clients.
1. Stay In Touch with Clients
After you have completed a client project how much contact do you have with that client? In most cases, probably not very much. Staying in touch with your clients is important because it’s likely that those clients will be in need of services that you offer at some point in the future, and you’ll have a better chance of landing that work if you are still in regular contact with them. Also, some clients may have a need for on-going work that you could provide, such as site maintenance or updates.
Having a newsletter helps you to keep your name in front on them, even if you are not communicating one-on-one.
25 Helpful Tutorials for Lighting Effects in Photoshop
Published April 4th, 2012 in Design, Photoshop Tutorials - 7 Comments
Photoshop allows designers with unlimited possibilities when it comes to creative effects, including lighting effects. There are plenty of different ways to create lighting effects in Photoshop, and there are equally as many different possible uses for them. If you’re interested in learning more about how to create awesome lighting effects in your own work, here are 25 tutorials that can help.
33 Logo Designs from the Music Industry
Published April 3rd, 2012 in Galleries - 5 Comments
An effective logo design can have a positive impact on a business or organization in any industry. And if you’re a designer, browsing through well-designed and creative logos can prove to be an excellent source of inspiration for your own work. In this post we’ll showcase 33 different logos from the music industry. These logos have been created by various designers. Click on the images or the text links to be led to the source where you can get more information and, in most cases, see more work from the designer.
25 Beautiful Non-Profit Websites
Published April 2nd, 2012 in Galleries - 1 Comment
For non-profit organizations a website is one of the best ways to provide information to those who are interested in getting involved or receiving services. Effective websites help non-profits to reach more people and to communicate what the organization is all about. In this post we’ll look at 25 non-profit organizations that have recognized the importance of their website. These examples will hopefully provide some inspiration for your own design or for your organization.
Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York
7 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Web Design Clients
Published March 30th, 2012 in Business - 6 Comments
Many freelancers are often faced with the challenge of finding new clients. With so many designers and agencies out there competing for work, the process of landing new clients can be frustrating if you are having a difficult time.
Obviously, being able to get new clients on board is a big part of being able to survive and thrive as a freelance designer. However, the focus on new clients sometimes leads to overlooking the opportunities that already exist with your current clients.
In this article we’ll look at the subject of increasing the value of your current web design clients rather than focusing on finding new ones. If you’re able to increase the amount of money that you are making from your current clients you will be able to reduce the dependency on constantly bringing in new clients.
There are a few reasons why this is a productive way to look at the challenge of increasing, or stabilizing, your income as a freelancer. First, it’s typically easier to sell to those people who have already hired you and trust you. If they are happy with your services all you really need to do is find another way that you can help them in addition to the work you’ve already done.
Second, it can save you a lot of time. Landing new clients requires a lot of leg work to develop quotes and proposals, and that client could easily wind up going with another designer. Selling to existing clients will cut out some of that wasted time because you will already be familiar with each other, and your conversion rates will likely be higher because existing clients are less prone to shop around with several different service providers.
So if you are looking for ways to increase the value of your own clients, here are a few suggestions.
Save 40% on the Freelance Starter Kit for a Limited Time
Published March 29th, 2012 in Site News - 2 Comments
One year ago we launched the Freelance Starter Kit, which has become our most popular product at Vandelay Premier. We launched the product to provide freelancers with easy access to important resources like contract templates, invoice templates, proposal templates, letterhead, informational ebooks on different aspects of the business of design, and interviews with successful designers.
Over the past year we have added to the kit and more than doubled the size and value. To celebrate the first year and to make the resources accessible to even more people we’re offering a limited time promotion to save $20 on the Freelance Starter Kit. The regular price is $49, but through April 9, 2012 we will be offering it at just $29 (more than 40% off)!
Our goal with the Freelance Starter Kit is to help designers with the business side of things, freeing up more time for actual design work. Many of our customers find the contract templates alone to be an invaluable resource, but there is much more included to help you market your services, communicate with clients, and learn more about running a successful business. Here is a look at the resources that are included.
10 Examples of Effective Infographics
Published March 28th, 2012 in Galleries - 3 Comments
Infographics are incredibly popular right now for communicating statistics, presenting a message, and for displaying information in a visually appealing manner. A well-designed infographic can get more attention than the same information presented without the visual appeal.
Many companies are now using infographics in the link building efforts because they tend to get a lot of attention and attract links from blogs and social media.
In this post we’ll showcase 10 examples of effective infographics for your own inspiration.
Hosting Decisions, from the Chalkboard
13 Photoshop Tutorials for Learning About Smart Objects
Published March 27th, 2012 in Design, Photoshop Tutorials - 5 Comments
Smart Objects allow Photoshop users to do some powerful things, but if you haven’t used them before it can be challenging to understand how to use them. Adobe describes Smart Object this way, “Smart Objects are layers that contain image data from raster or vector images, such as Photoshop or Illustrator files. Smart Objects preserve an image’s source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.”
Like anything else in Photoshop, the best way to learn about Smart Objects is to start using them and experiment. The tutorials featured in this post will show some examples of what is possible with Smart Objects, and they’ll provide a good starting point for you. Once you’ve worked through a few tutorials you’ll probably have some ideas for how you can start to use Smart Objects in your own projects.
Be Smart and Use Smart Objects
25 Spectacular Light Paintings
Published March 26th, 2012 in Galleries - 1 Comment
Light paintings are one of the most interesting and attention grabbing types of photographs. When it comes to inspiration, browsing through samples of light paintings can serve as inspiration for your own photographs or for effects to be used in your own graphic design.
In this post we’ll showcase 25 amazing examples of light paintings. You can click on the images to see the source. These are all creative and imaginative works that hopefully can serve as inspiration for your own work.
