If you haven’t gotten around to creating yourself a website or online portfolio, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. In today’s YTD post we discuss the importance of web promotion for graphic designers with David Airey, the famous brand identity designer, blogger and internet marketer extraordinaire. His self-titled website, www.davidairey.com, draws thousands of readers a day and made headlines when the international online community rallied to support his stand against an unscrupulous domain thief. He recently published an amazing book entitled Logo Design Love and works as a self-employed graphic designer in the UK.

Interview with David Airey

Sammy: Hi David! Thanks for taking the time out to share your knowledge and experience with the readers of YTD.

David: You’re more than welcome, Sammy. Thank you for the invite.

Sammy: Let’s get right down to business. Can you tell us a little about the history of www.davidairey.com? What did you envision when first launching the site and how it has evolved over time?

David: Back in 2005, I had a static online portfolio that wasn’t attracting any attention. That’s completely understandable, however, as my site was your typical MS Frontpage masterpiece, and full of fairly shoddy work, too.
You’re welcome to poke fun by witnessing my beautiful attempts here: The 30 month evolution of my online graphic design portfolio.

Sammy: Do mind listing and describing your many websites?

David: It started with davidairey.com — first as a static website, and then as a design blog with attached portfolio page. Then came logosdesigners.com — a collection of iconic logo designers and their background information. You can read a little more info on that one here: 35+ iconic logo designers. Afterward I decided to create a logo-specific blog, titled Logo Design Love. Choosing a name wasn’t easy, and I asked readers of davidairey.com what they thought: Tips for logo design website names. Had I not launched my second blog, perhaps I’d never have been offered a book deal. What I do know is the book certainly wouldn’t have been called Logo Design Love.

Sammy: Do you have a favorite CMS platform such as WordPress or Drupal?

David: WordPress is definitely my favourite CMS. Not only because it’s incredibly intuitive, but there are so many useful plugins available, the support community is huge, and on top of that it’s free. There’s also the fact that I’ve never tried another option. I don’t feel the need to.

Sammy: Do your websites help you attract clients? Do you have any particular stories or examples that you can share with us?

David: My websites are my main marketing tool, and I can’t remember the last time I needed to actively search for a client. Thankfully, clients find me first. A nice example is when out of the blue I received a message through my website’s contact form that said:

I would like to explore refreshing the Canadian Yellow Pages logo and the Walking Fingers logo with you.

Interested?

Yellow Pages has been my biggest client to-date.

Sammy: David, it’s obvious that you’ve achieved somewhat of a celebrity status through your web promotion, but I’m sure you had to overcome many obstacles to get there. What sort of advice would you give to a designer who is just now starting web promotion?

David: I’d never consider myself a celebrity, and I think I need to do a lot more good before even coming close, but I appreciate your thought. I can, however, offer what I believe is solid advice for those designers starting out with online promotions:

• Launch a blog, and be prepared to spend a lot of time nurturing it
• Don’t expect immediate results
• Engage in the comment threads of design blogs you admire
• Take a camera wherever you go (or at least a notepad) because everything around us is a potential blog post
• Avoid regurgitating the same old tired lists, it’s boring
• Express your opinion — it’s what makes you the person people want to work with
• Use images alongside your text
• Give credit where it’s due, and never pass off someone else’s thoughts or work as your own
• Link to others as you want others to link to you

Sammy: You have 2 twitter accounts that I know of: @DavidAirey and @LogoDesignLove In what ways do you use twitter to promote your work and do you use any 3rd party programs to manage your multiple twitter accounts?

David: I’m one of the old-school who still uses Twitter on the web. When I started using the site I tried one of the instant-messaging style tools — one similar to Skype or Messenger — but I found it a needless distraction, and much-prefer visiting Twitter only when I find a nice link to share, or have a question to ask.
In terms of using Twitter to promote my work, all I do is reference a new blog post when I publish one (maybe once or twice each week). I see the service as just another way to communicate with people — a nice accompaniment to my blogs. Ultimately, Twitter is very immediate, in the moment, whereas thoughts expressed through a blog post have a sense of permanence that sets them apart.

Sammy: Do you use social bookmarking to promote your website? Any favorite bookmarks?

David: Not really. I used to, and back in the day I gave Digg a shot: Here’s what happens when you get on the front page of Digg. I tried StumbleUpon, Delicious, Reddit, Design Float, Design Bump, and a few others, but all these sites can suck up your day, and I think it’s more important to spend time elsewhere.

Sammy: I noticed that you link within your websites with specific anchor texts such as graphic designer or graphic design portfolio. Is it safe to say that you are a believer in Search Engine Optimization?

David: Isn’t everyone? I’m far from being an expert, but I’ve discovered a few tips along the way, such as how to reverse a Google penalty, and how to get on the first page of Google and Yahoo in 11 days. At the time of writing, a Google.com search for “graphic designer” or “graphic designers” will show me on the first page, which isn’t too shabby (although it means I’m constantly fielding interview requests from students with design assignments). I’m not doing too bad for “logo designers” and “best logo” either, thanks mainly to the launch of Logo Design Love — and perhaps the relevant keywords within the domain name.

Sammy: I’m one of the 5,000+ fans that Logo Design Love has on Facebook. Do you find that social networks are effective in promoting your work?

David: Oh, nice. Thanks for joining the Facebook group, Sammy.
I started that page upon the recommendation of my book publisher, so about three months ago. Prior to that, I didn’t take Facebook seriously for business purposes. To an extent, I still don’t, but it’s fantastic to see the additional design chat that takes place when my RSS feed automatically updates the Facebook wall. I was surprised that many people comment on Facebook, yet don’t comment on the actual blog posts I publish, so for me it’s another way to keep in touch with my peers.

Sammy: What other social websites do you recommend for online promotion?

David: None come to mind. I use Twitter and Facebook daily. No others.

Sammy: David, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. I thank you on behalf of all our readers and the team here at YTD and UPrinting.com! Cheers!

David: It’s my pleasure, Sammy. I hope my ramblings have been of some interest to whoever made it this far.

Google now holds a 70% market share of the search engine game and increasing your visibility in Google Search is key to gaining new clients. In addition, you may have noticed that Google now displays 7 local listings and a map when you search for a local business or service. Guess what? Graphic design is a service and a business. You can immediately increase your visibility to potential clients in your area by registering yourself in Google’s Local Business Center.

Local SEO for Graphic Designers

It takes about 5 minutes to sign up and fill out your info. At the end, they need to verify your account by phone or postcard. I chose phone and received a call within 10 seconds of submitting my listing. Voila! I found myself in Google Maps a few minutes later.

In a busy city like Los Angeles it isn’t easy to be ranked in normal search results, but follow these tips to increase your visibility in both general search and google maps search.

• Use words that describe your service like Logo Designer, Freelance Designer, etc. in your listing. I used SEO Consultant in the example above
• Add your website address to your local listing; add your local address to your website (in html text, not flash, not image)
• Guest post on blogs and link back to your site with words like “logo designer in los angeles” or “web designer in west la”
• If you are a web designer who has worked with local businesses, ask them for a “web design by______” link in the footer.
• Ask past clients to add reviews for you on Google Maps

Even if you don’t get ranked in general search results, you may find that clients will find  you by browsing the area closest to their business. For example, my listing didn’t show up until I moved the map near my address. Lucky for me, there are a ton of office buildings nearby.

In celebration of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser turning 5 years old, the Mozilla Creative Collective are hosting a poster design competition. The contest description states “The winning design will be featured on Mozilla websites and merchandise, and the winning artist will be highlighted on the Creative Collective homepage and the Mozilla Blog.” This is an amazing contest to showcase your talent!

Five Years of Firefox Poster Design Contest

To learn more about this competition, check out the contest page where you can also submit a design when you are ready to enter. The contest ends December 9, 2009, so don’t procrastinate. Get working on that contest design today!

When it comes to working with clients, there are a lot of things you should be doing besides just asking for money. The tips below will help you grow your design business quickly and easily by asking your clients for a few simple things after completing a successful design project.

1. Testimonials

Testimonials can be a powerful element of any business website. They are proven to inspire trust in viewers and many top online businesses feature testimonials on their websites. Its a good idea to feature a few in a prominent location such as your home page and then you could have a “read more” link to a page with even more testimonials from clients. Testimonials do not have to be long (usually a sentence or two is fine), so be sure to ask your clients for a testimonial if the project went well!

2. Designed by Links

If you are creating a website design for a client you should always try and get a “Designed by” link somewhere on their website. The most common place is the footer, but if you can get a link in a better spot go for it! These backlinks can help your site rank better in search engines if you use an important keyword as the anchor text.

Also, if people like a website design they will often look in the footer to see if there is a link to the web designer’s home page. If a client is resistant to the idea try offering them a price discount, but realize a link like this is much more valuable on an established site than a brand new one that is getting no traffic.

3. Print Design Credits

If you are doing print work you may be able to snag a credit somewhere, which can bring in a lot of business. Being able to get this credit will depend heavily on the client…a lot of larger size clients will not want to give you a credit, but you may be able to negotiate with smaller businesses. Try offering them a small discount in exchange for your website some where on the design.

4. Logo Usage Rights

Displaying logos of well known businesses is another great trust building tactic. Many potential clients like to see who you have done work for before and if they recognize the logos of clients you have worked for, it can increase your chances of bringing them in. So be sure to ask your clients for the right to use their logo on your website or wherever else you would like to display it

5. Full Contact Details

Sometimes when you get a new client you only have their phone number or email. It is important that you get all their contact info, including their mailing address if you want to maximize future business. If you have their number you could do a follow up call and if you have their mailing address you can send holidays cards or promotional offers once in a while. Over time, you should be able to build up a pretty nice list of business contacts, which could really come in handy when work is slow.

6. Future Business

Having your clients contact info as mentioned above, will make it easier to get future business. How often you contact clients is up to you, but you need to be careful not to bug your clients too much. Personally I would not email, call our mail something out more than a few times a year to a list of clients. Its usually best to offer some sort of discount instead of directly asking a client if they need new work. Most of the time, clients will seek you out if they want new work so be sure they have your latest contact info and your website is up to date.

7. Referrals

One of the best ways to get new business has always been word of mouth. If you do a good job for a client they are very likely to refer you to friends, family and co-workers if some one asks them about the services you provide. A good way to step this up a notch is to offer clients a finders fee, so if they refer you to some one and you land the job they get a small percentage or a flat rate finders fee. This can help keep people on their toes and bring in way more referrals.

You should also network with other web designers, graphic designers, and marketing professionals so you can offer them the same finders fee. If they are overloaded with work or can’t provide a service a client is asking for, they may send them your way!

If you have mad design skills and t shirt week on YouTheDesigner has inspired you to start creating and selling t shirt designs…than keep on reading. Today’s t shirt week post is about how to promote your t shirt design business offline. Selling tees is NOT easy and it takes a combination of both on and offline marketing to be successful. You also need to create and build up your brand so that people become familiar with your line. Branding is a very important aspect of the fashion industry.

So when you are dabbling in offline promotions, you must always keep your brand in mind and your brand identity consistent in your marketing collateral. The same idea should be applied to any business, such as a freelance graphic design business. Below are some very common things clothing line owners use to promote their brands, all of which you can get at UPrinting.com

1. Business Cards

This is the most important thing to have when running a t shirt design business. As a clothing line owner you need to network like crazy and the one thing people always ask for is a business card. If you are caught without one there i a good chance you will not be taking seriously and you could miss out on a big opportunity. You might even find every day people asking you where they can get your tees and handing them a business card with your website url is a great way to ensure nabbing a new customer.

So the first thing any t shirt business owner should get is some Spiffy New Business Cards with your logo, website url and contact details on each card.

2. Flyers

Flyers are a great way to promote sales to your customers via standard mail and also at events. Their are plenty of holidays during the year shoppers associate with sales and these are all Great Times for Flyer Printing and mailing to past and potential new customers promoting sales, contests and more. Start building up your mailing lists today and keep a stack of flyers handy at any t shirt events you attend.

3. Stickers

People enjoy supporting brands they love and stickers are a great way to create a guerrilla marketing team out of your loyal customers. You can throw a few free stickers in with each order, give them away at events, or stick them around town yourself! When you Order Your Sticker Printing, make sure your logo and website url are on the stickers so people know where to go when they run across your brands stickers.

4. Hang Tags

Hang tags are a kick butt way of reinforcing your brand name on your actual products. Many clothing line owners create Custom Clothing Hang Tags with their logo on them and attach them to each t shirt. This is a cheap way to help people remember your brand name and it is also a good spot to place pricing tags without damaging your t shirts. You can order several hundred hag tags for cheap and there are a bunch of easy ways to attach them to your tees quickly.

5. Vinyl Banners

Going to concerts, trade shows and other events is an important thing for any t shirt business owner to do. Many brands spend a lot of time traveling and attending events to promote their t shirts to a specific target audience. If you can find the right audience for your tees at events you can sell tons of tee designs in just one day. Usually you pay for a spot to set up a booth and then its up to you to draw people in.

I have seen t-shirt business owners create very impressive setups to promote and display their tees. Putting up a Big Vinyl Banner is a very good way to draw people in and the banner is something you can keep using over at any events you go to.

6. Letterhead

A good letterhead design can be used for a lot of things such as standard letters, contracts, estimates, invoices and so on. Its a simple way to make your business appear more professional and keep your branding consistent across all your business and marketing collateral. A Good Letterhead Printing design should not be too overpowering, but should include your logo design, design elements that work with your branding and important contact information such as your website url, email and phone number.

7. Greeting Cards

The perfect holiday promotional tool, greeting cards can work wonders for bringing in extra sales during the holidays. Greeting Card Printing is also a really nice way to just say thank you to your customers. You don’t always have to pitch a sale or offer with a greeting card. A simple seasons greetings form your clothing line with your logo and website url is enough to get people back to your website when they are trying to think of ideas for gifts.

8. Catalogs

Catalogs are perfect for trade shows and handing out to retail stores interested in selling your tees. It allows people to quickly see all the designs you have in stock and can help them order products offline. If you have a ton of products you can even invest in Catalog Printing and allow people to order a printed catalogs online. You should also carry a small stack of catalogs to events in case any potential retailers like your line and want to take back some samples and a catalog of your products for review.

9. Roll Labels

If you can’t afford expensive custom packaging for your tee designs, but you still want to make an impact you can use Custom Roll Labels. The roll labels can be printed at various custom sizes and placed on standard envelopes and boxes to give them a sweet custom look that is consistent with your branding. Roll labels can make all the difference when it comes to packaging design. They are super easy to have made and only take seconds to place on your product packaging.

10. Sales Sheet

There comes a time for many t shirt business owners when expansion is needed. There is nothing cooler than seeing your t shirt designs in clothing stores and making great money at the same time. In order to get your t shirt designs into stores, you usually need to pitch your line to a retail business that sells tees. Having a Professional Looking Sales Sheet is a super simple way to let a retailers know everything about your clothing line and individual designs such as what your tees look like, how they are printed and who your target audience is.

Images from LintyFresh on Flickr

If you are a freelance designer doing websites and graphic design work for clients, there are certain services your client will often be in need of. For example web hosting would probably be the most common service needed. You probably know a few good hosting companies already and would simply recommend a few choices to a client, but why not sign up for the hosting affiliate programs and ask them to use your referral link?

A lot of hosting companies give you $50-100 for a referral! That’s a nice chunk of change for not doing anything if you ask me. If you do a lot of websites each year you could potentially make a few thousand more dollars a year just by getting clients to use your hosting affiliate link! If this sounds interesting to you, check out some other ideas for generating extra money from referring clients below.

How to Squeeze Money Out of Clients With Affiliate Programs

1. Printing

As a freelance graphic designer the thing you can promote the most is a Printing Company. Most graphic designers have a favorite printing company mine being UPrinting.com of course =). Printing companies like UPrinting often have a Printing Affiliate Program you can use to help your clients print work. This can help offset some of your expenses and can bring you in a lot of extra income each year!

2. Email Marketing

Many businesses want to build up email lists because they can be a very powerful way of keeping in touch with customers and bringing in new business. If a client asks you about an email marketing and list soultion you can tell them about one of the many great services out there such as MailChimp, which has a partnership program waiting for you.

3. Shopping Carts

If your client needs to set up an online store there are plenty of really great software solutions out there that can save them thousands of dollars on a custom coded store and earn you a few bucks as well. 1shoppingcart is a popular e-commerce solution that has an affiliate program you can promote.

4. Website Security

Some of your clients maybe be creating online stores or websites with private information that needs to be protected. Website can be secured with SSL certificates and that means you could recommend a quality SSL certificate service to your client and get a referral commission as well. Comodo is a good choice for SSL Certificates and they have an affiliate program you can sign up to.

5. Hosting

As mentioned earlier web hosting will probably be the most common thing you can recommend to a client as a web freelancer. HostGator is a very good hosting company with a solid affiliate program that has a tier based commission system starting at $50!

Feel free to recommend any other services design clients often need that have affiliate programs below!

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryman/78337046/

The current unemployment rate in the United States is at 9.6% as of August 2009. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) That’s pretty scary if you ask me and most people think it won’t get better for a long time! Hundreds of thousands of people are getting kicked to the curb every month and graphic designers are no exception. I’ve spoken about how competitive the graphic design field already is and the current economic troubles have only made it worse. Don’t worry, there is still a light at the end of the tunnel and this guide will help you get there or at least get hired!

Find Jobs With Your Graphic Designer Resume While Sleeping

I’m going to teach you how to job hunt while you sleep and we will be doing this with your graphic designer resume. If you have not created one yet, check out our Graphic Design Resume Guide then come back.

Job hunting online is very popular nowadays, especially on big job boards like Craigslist and Monster. People who post jobs on these boards are being bombarded with tons of applications, especially now that there are many thousands more unemployed designers across the World. So your chances have become much more slim at finding a job online.

Thankfully there is a solution…

Step 1 – Keyword Research

If you want potential employers to come directly to you, you must first figure out what they are searching for online. As an example we will use the phrase “Graphic Designer Resume”. If a company was looking to hire a new graphic designer they might very well type that phrase into Google to search for designers. How great would it be if they saw your resume appear on the first page of results? Getting your resume on the first page of Google can greatly increase your chances of being hired, especially for a popular phrase like “Graphic Designer Resume”.

If you use the Google Keyword Tool you will see this phrase gets an estimated 12,00 searches a month. This number is usually a high-ball figure, but if you were in the top 5 results on Google for this phrase you would see a significant amount of traffic, which could very well lead to some job inquiries! Obviously being hired will depend on many factors such as your experience, portfolio, location and so on, but who wouldn’t want a steady stream of potential employers visiting their site on a daily basis, even while asleep!

So check out that keyword tool above and type in some different phrases. Once you have picked a phrase you want to rank for we can start setting up your site.

Step 2 – Get a Domain Name and Hosting

If you don’t have a website up you will need to set one up. I suggest using your personal name as your domain name. If its taken try some variations such as first name and last initial or throw in your middle name. You can get a domain name ad GoDaddy or similar domain registrars. Most domain registrars also offer hosting, if not HostGator and Doreo are a few good choices as far as web hosting goes. All you need is a basic plan to start. Just make sure your hosting has cPanel and supports WordPress because they are very useful and powerful tools…

Step 3 – Set Up Your Website

How you design and code your site is up to you, but the important part is what is on the website. For this guide I am going to recommend displaying your resume as the home page of your site. Its a very plain and simple concept, but not many people have done this. Most of the time you just see a link to download a resume or a portfolio displayed on the home page. I recommend adding those things as well, but your resume should be the main focus.

If you have your resume completed, then you should already have your site’s design and content! Just convert your resume design into a website and make all the text live so search engines can crawl and index your resume content. If you need help coding your website try using a service such as psd2html.

Step 4 – Optimize Your Site for Search

Now once your new resume website is up we need to optimize it for the keyword phrase you picked in step 1 such as “Graphic Designer Resume”. Below are several basic on page search engine optimization tips you can use to help boost your sites relevance and ranking for the search phrase of your choice.

1. Page Title Optimization

The page title is the title seen at the top of your browser window and is also used as the title for your listing in search results. Your home page title is very important and should include your target phrase. An example of a simple and effective page title would be “Graphic Designer Resume of Your Name”. Including both your target phrase and your name is very important and so is keeping the page title short and to the point. Page titles are added in the header section of a website, usually along with other META tags.

2. Title Tags

Once you add your resume to your home page as the main content of your site, you should add some keyword rich titles. So for example you could add the phrase “Your Name Graphic Designer Resume” wrapped in an h1 tag in the code of your site. The h1 tag is one of several tags that are used for titles and subtitle styling h1 is given the most weight by search engines. Adding one h1 tag and a few h2 tags around some important keyword phrases can help you rank better for those phrases.

3. Keyword Rich Content

Your resume is probably already keyword phrase rich, but you should try adding in some important keyword phrases to help your site rank better. For example if your target phrase was “Graphic Designer Resume” you could mix that and some variations of the phrase into your sites content. This will help search engines better understand what your website is about and will help it rank better.

4. Clear Site Structure

Your website should have a clear navigation that remains the same on every page. This will help users and search engine navigate your site better. Also make sure your website coding is valid.

5. Sitemap

Once all your pages are up you should generate both and HTML and XML sitemap for your site. The HTML sitemap should be linked in your footer and the XML sitemap should be submitted online to Google Webmaster Tools, which you need a Google account to access.

Step 5 – Increase Your Search Rankings

Now depending on the phrase you picked it can take some time and money to get on the first page of Google for your target phrase. The most common way to increase rankings is to do link building, because right now most search engines such as Google rank websites heavily by the quality and amount of backlinks pointing back to a site. So for example if a lot of websites linked back to your website using the link anchor text “Graphic Designer Resume” and your home page as the URL and your website was optimized for that phrase using the above tips, you would be on your way to the first page of Google.

While this is an important factor in rankings their are many other ranking factors as well, but don’t worry about that yet. Lets start with the basics and if you want to learn a lot more about SEO, I recommend checking out SEOBook.com, which is a great resource for learning all about search engine optimization.

They also have an awesome free guide on how to build links quickly. Following the tips in the link building guide can help you increase your rankings in search engines.

Step 6 – Other Important Tips

1. NoFollow Tags

Many sites now use the NoFollow tag on links. This simple tag can be added to links and tells search engines NOT to follow the link. This means you won’t get any ranking benefits from the link. So if you buy links, post on forums and do other link building. make sure you are getting follow links. You can check if a link is NoFollow or not by right clicking it to view the properties. If the link is NoFollowed you should see a mention of it in the properties.

2. Varied Anchor text

When you do link building its important you build a natural link building profile. This means varying the anchor text used to link back to your site and also mix up the places you get backlinks. So basically you DON’T want 5 thousand forum links all with the same anchor text pointing back to your site as your only marketing method. So mix it up and think natural!

3. Contact Info

Your contact info should be clearly visible in multiple areas of your site so potential employers can reach you easily. The harder you make it to be contacted the lower your chances of getting hired will be. You should include both your phone and email to give the employer options.

4. Available for Employment

It is very important that you clearly state you are available for employment and where you are available to work. Are you willing to move across the country, work remotely or do you only want to work in your home state? Put your available for employment message somewhere at the top and bottom of your site where it can be easily seen.

Step 7 – Conclusion

Hopefully you found this post useful. I have used this tactic myself and it has worked wonders. I am currently employed full-time, but recently got two very generous full time job offers in one week by companies who found my resume by searching online using Google. Even if you are currently employed and have to turn down offers, you will be making contacts and securing possible future employment.

If you have any questions related to this guide please feel free to ask in the comments below and I will do my best to answer back quickly.

Most graphic and web designers spend long, long periods of time in the home office, so why not make working less stressful and more relaxing? Creating a relaxing home office can help you produce better work, reduce stress, make working more enjoyable and improve your mental and physical health. Below I have put together some interesting tips you can follow to create a more zen-like home office and working experience. Feel free to share any relaxation tips below or photos of your own zen-like home office.

Tips Towards a more Zen-Like Home Office

1. Your Desktop Wallpaper

It sounds simple, but think of how many hours your eyes are locked on your desktop screen! Try adding a nice relaxing image as your desktop background. Personally, I like to use nature landscapes, because to me nothing is more relaxing than an ocean view or a gorgeous forest. For you it might be a photo of loved ones, something cute or even something you really want such as an exotic car, which can work as relaxing or motivational imagery.

2. Find a Room With a View

In the corporate world people always dream of an office with a view. Why? Because its much more relaxing to look at trees outside and birds flying around than a cubical wall with papers stuck on it. So don’t be afraid to relocate your office in your house so that you have a nice view. Believe me, I’ve spent many years working out of a basement with no windows or natural light and it is NOT fun or relaxing.

This topics always reminds me of the scene from office space where the main character unscrews his cubical walls and lets them fall to the ground so he can see outside, which appears at 1 Minute and 55 Seconds below:

3. Get Some Green

Just because you are indoors doesn’t mean you can’t do some gardening. Adding oxygen-generating plants to your room can make the air better, make the place look great and keep you more relaxed. How many plants you get it up to you, just don’t get fake ones!!! Plants just need a little water and sunlight to thrive and can help you do the same.

3. Fresh Air

Nothing is worse than working in a hot stuffy office. Try opening your windows to bring in some fresh cool on windy days and save some energy by turning off your fan or air conditioner. Fall is the perfect time to take advantage of a relaxing and fresh breeze courtesy of mother nature.

4. Burn Some Incense

Humans have been blessed with many senses, many of which can make you feel more relaxed. Different smells work for different people so you need to do a little experimenting, but a popular choice is Incense. Incense has been used for many years as a way to enhance relaxation and mediation via smell.

5. Fresh Coat of Paint

Many studies and articles have been written on how certain colors make people feel more relaxed. Repainting a room can be done in a day for very cheap, which is def worth years of increased relaxation. Your eyes will thank you!

6. Redecorate

If you are going to repaint your office you might as well redecorate! Try replacing old dark and bulky or outdated furniture with, eco friendly furniture or some more wallet friendly, but still light and modern looking furniture from IKEA. A few pieces of new furniture and decorations can go a long way in making your office suitable for Buddhist monk meditation!

7. Let There be Light

Working in bad lighting can really strain your eyes, especially if you are working in bad lighting for many hours at a time and this eye strain can lead to eyesight problems and headaches, which is NOT good when you are trying to relax. Hopefully your office gets some good natural light during the day, but if it doesn’t make sure your room is well lit and don’t forget to use those Energy Saving Bulbs!

8. Turn on the Spa Channel

One of the greatest things ever invented was the Spa Channel on Sirius/XM satellite radio. Satellite radio costs under $15 a month and has TONSSS of music stations including the Spa Channel, which plays relaxing music all day long with no commercial interruptions. The music is very soothing and can work wonders for anyone looking to make their office more zen-like. They play soothing music of all types from a variety of cultures and they have a huge selection of music so they don’t replay the same songs over and over again.

9. Quiet Time

Similar to the mediation tip recommend below, I highly recommend getting some Noise Canceling Headphones. They are great for when you really need to focus on work and not be disturbed by a noisy environment. Silence is golden as they say.

10. Meditation Breaks

This might sound a little odd to some of you, but meditation really works and can help you clear your busy mind and make you feel very, very relaxed. One of the most popular forms of mediation is Transcendental Meditation, introduced in India in 1955 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Supposedly you need to be taught it by a certified teacher, but I have heard many people talk about its amazing benefits so I am sure its worth it and look forward to learning it myself.

11. Embrace the Outdoors

If you are ever feeling stuffed up, stressed or find yourself having a mental block, try stepping outside for a few minutes. Hopefully you are lucky enough to be around nature, but even if you are in the city you could walk around the park during a phone conference or to think of creative ideas. You could even try holding meetings outside if several people work in your office. This can create a more relaxing work environment and can help boost office morale.

12. Organize Your Belongings

This one always shows up on relaxation lists and and it is the tip I will stress the most. Nothing creates more stress than being unorganized and your stress levels can spiral out of control from a simple thing such as not being able to find your keys. Even if it is not spring, you should clean house right now! Trash, recycle and giveaway everything you can so that your office is neat and organized. Everything should have its place and you need to get into the habit of cleaning on a regular basis and be sure to place things where they belong.

13. Get an Ergonomic Office Chair

The most important piece of furniture in your home office is your CHAIR, because that is what your butt is planted in for most of the day. A bad chair can be very uncomfortable and even cause back issues and pain over an extended period of time. So if you are going to spend any money on furniture, get an ergonomically designed chair, that provides good back support and is very comfortable. This can improve your home work experience tremendously!

14. Get Your Eyes Checked

If you spend massive amounts of time on the computer your eyes could be suffering and this can happen pretty quickly. I used to have perfect vision and now my eyes are in much worse shape, which I am sure can be blamed on me spending too much time in front of the computer. So be sure to get your eyes checked by an eye doctor and get your glasses prescription filled if needed. This can reduce eye strain, help stop headaches and can make reading on the computer much easier.

15. Extend Estimated Project Timelines

We all want to get projects done quickly so we can send out invoices, but sometimes its better to give yourself some more time to complete them. Try extending the estimated project timelines for a few of your projects that way if anything goes wrong you will have more time to get things done. Rushing to meet deadlines is always a nightmare, so by adding a week or even a few days onto timelines you can save yourself tons of stress.

16. Quench Your Thirst

It only takes a loss of about 1% – 2% of your body’s ideal water content to put you into a state of dehydration. When you are dehydrated you can feel fatigue, weakness, dry mouth and lots more and it only gets worse as you become more dehydrated. This doesn’t sound very relaxing to me, but the fact is many people are dehydrated so you should drink about 6-10 glasses a day. The benefits of staying hydrated or truly endless so be sure to get one of those sweet Poland Spring Coolers in your home office.

17. Cut the Sugar
Everyone knows drinking sodas is bad and one fo the worst parts its the sugar crash. The sugar crash happens when you intake a large amount of sugar and can make you feel very sleepy, which makes you not want to work! Not working will make you miss deadlines and can add stress to your daily regiment. So replace the sodas with water or something healthier, so you can continue to run like a well oiled machine all day long!

18. Get a Massage on Your Lunch Break

Let me tell you…almost nothing is better than a relaxing deep tissue massage. They can be pretty expensive, so most of us can’t get one every day, but they can work wonders on those extra stressful days. So save the spare change up from lunch for a professional massage on one of those hellish work days.

Hope you enjoyed these tips!

Few people realize that the business card has its roots all the way back to the 16th Century in Europe (and the 15th Century in China).

In Renaissance Europe, the servants of aristocrats would present “visiting cards” to the servants of other aristocrats, the first step in any formal social interaction between the wealthy and powerful.

In Victorian England, the “calling card” was absolutely essential in polite society. When calling on someone, even a close friend, the visitor provided a card printed with their name. People collected these cards as a way of keeping track of friends who visited, so they would know to whom they were socially required to pay a return visit. It was also a way of screening out unwanted visitors — once presented with a card, the host could simply refuse to admit the person, without having to deal with them face-to-face. (When the telephone was first introduced in England, there was an uproar because now anyone could talk to you without providing a card, or without following any of the other countless rules.)

Historical Business Card Designs

The British also introduced the “trade card,” a calling card containing an advertisement for a person’s business, often with lithographed graphics. The French carte de visite, a collectible photograph cropped to the same size as a calling card, and the trade card were both forerunners of the “trading card,” well known today to fans of baseball and inedible chewing gum.

Today when people print business cards, it’s a synthesis of the calling card and the trade card. They serve three purposes: (1) to introduce yourself, (2) to provide information about your business, and (3) to act as easily-referenced contact information for any colleagues who may wish to get a hold of you.

Modern business card designs tend to be all flash and color. You can stand out by creating an unusual business card, taking inspiration from the simpler designs of old.

From the 19th Century: dress goods; glue manufacturer; carte de visite of John Wilkes Booth.

Victorian trade card; “scrap” calling card (the embossed section lifts to reveal the name); fully decorated, ethnically-insensitive calling card.

From around the turn of the 20th Century: Henriettie Carother; Willie Olds; W.A. Taylor.

From the 1950s and ’60s: Don O. Thayer of Minox; Buck Lacey, Privileged Character; Parker’s Barbecue (back and front).

Three business cards of historical note. Top left: Hamad Hassab was in fact a survivor of the Titanic, as noted on his business card. Top right: A fake business card for Abraham Lincoln, printed in 1984 as a joke by his enemies in the Democratic Party. Bottom: The note, written on a calling card by the Marquess of Queensberry in 1895, that eventually led to the conviction of playwright Oscar Wilde on charges of “gross indecency.”

Looking to learn more about viral marketing and videos? Then you should definitely look into the work of David Murdico’s creative agency Supercool Creative. With clients like IBM, FIFA and HateFiring.com, you may have seen some of their contagiously hilarious videos on youtube. We contacted David for a quick interview about his agency and to discuss the field of viral marketing.

Tell us about SuperCool Creative. How would you describe your services in a nutshell?

Supercool Creative is a creative agency specializing in online video creative and production, viral marketing and integrated social media campaigns for companies and organizations that want to improve brand awareness, increase traffic, sales and all that good stuff. We also own Spotzero, a company that is doing the same thing but with a focus on small and local businesses with local targeting and reach.
Our approach is to use video as the spearhead for each social media campaign, creating a focal point for discussion on blogs, forums, social networks and bookmarking sites.

How did you come to be the executive creative director?

I started the company, so when I got here. I pretty much had my pick of titles. It’s kind of like when you’re the kid who brings the baseball you get to be the pitcher.
Actually, after graduating from USC in the early 90’s I wanted to be a creative at an ad agency somewhere but they told me a needed something called a book. So instead of putting together a book, I went into commercial and TV production because they didn’t require a book to fetch coffee and do errands for long hours and very little pay. I became the annoying PA that asked everyone a million questions, learned a lot and eventually I worked up to becoming an art director on commercials and TV shows, then a TV comedy writer and then a commercial director. As the web started picking up, I started making funny commercial parodies and then we decided to make them for companies. So, as we started Supercool Creative, my job description added up to Executive Creative Director and it stuck.

It looks like your portfolio includes a lot of comedy based viral work. What was your personal favorite project?

I think Hatefiring was my favorite project because it’s a series and we really got to develop an attitude and personality for the online video spots as well as for the characters. I have always leaned toward the irreverent but whenever you can mix insanity and smart you really have something. The “Asteroid” video for IBM was also a lot of fun. They were great to work with and really allowed us to get a little crazy.

Our readership includes many people in the creative fields of graphic design and 3d animation. Do you find that your company works with these types of professionals often? What do you look for when working with designers?

Since most of the work we have done is live action, we haven’t worked with a ton of graphic designers and 3d animators but that is something we plan on doing much more of. In fact, we have been talking to a couple of shops on the East Coast that do animation and interactive, like animated banners, video banners and micro sites where you can play around with different characters. We are working on partnering with them to offer our clients more in the way of design and animation while at the same time, they can offer their clients more in the way of live action video, comedy and marketing. That said, the thing I look for most in anyone I work with, designers included, is a likeness of attitude and work ethic. You can find creativity and skill all over the place but I think the thing that really separates the few is a special attitude toward their work, their clients and a respect for the creative process. Paint me a perfectionist but I liken what we all do to that medieval blacksmith who takes pride in the glowing hot thing he’s pounding and sweating over, whether it’s a sword for a valiant knight or a horse shoe… and I’ll bet he had to debate form vs function on a daily basis as well.

As a successful creative director, do you have any words of wisdom for our readers at YouTheDesigner.com

Yes, open your mind up to all sorts of possibilities, never get stuck on the first idea that pops into your head until you’ve considered a bunch more and never shoot down any ideas until you have to. I am a big believer in collaboration on creative projects. Everything we, as individuals, create is limited by our own life perspective because that’s the lens we each look through and it’s all we each have. When you can combine different perspectives, you really start opening up new possibilities. The down side of that is the risk of homogenizing the work by making everyone happy at each turn. My process toward creating, as well as directing on set, is to listen to the people I have surrounded myself with and try a rewrite, a scene or an edit out a few different ways and then run everything back again through my lens. Most often, the final script, take or edit is something better than what I had imagined.

Check out Super Cool Creative’s newest Viral Video Business Wonder Drug