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

Even if you haven’t heard of Firebrain, there is no doubt that you have seen their work with clients like Motown, Geffen Music, Dreamworks, Vans, Metallica, Toyo Tires and the list goes on! Because Firebrain often works with UPrinting for printing services, we were able to score a great interview with the company’s founder, Giulio Costanzo.

You the Designer: Tell us about Firebrain Inc. What services do you offer?

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): We are a full service design agency. We recently partnered with a marketing agency in Pasadena, California. So, we do print and web design, as well as traditional and internet marketing. We specialize in the music, movie, and automotive aftermarket.

You the Designer: What is the history behind your company?

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): I have a degree in painting, and went to work For Motown Records out of College.

I then went to work in the Records Industry until 1998. My claim to fame was designing Eazy-E’s last album, as well as all the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony albums, Social Distortion, Chaka Khan, among others. I founded Firebrain in 2000 or so, but we didn’t finally incorporate until three years ago. We have always kept on top of developing technologies and new opportunities for our clients. So we pride ourselves in being up to date.

You the Designer: Do you have a corporate vision that you might care to share with our readers?

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): Our vision in the future is to become a full-service Ad Agency for the Los Angeles area. Clients expect more than just design; they want ideas, designs and proven strategies.

You the Designer: As someone who studied painting and ended up going into graphic design and advertising, you have a unique perspective to share. What kind of advice can you give to our readers who are just finding themselves as artistic professionals?

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): Be patient. It is a long career; you have to pay your dues. I learned Photoshop 2.0 and Quark 1.0. I had it easy. Nowadays between print, web, animation, traditional marketing, advertising, social networking, creative suite, web software, after effects, not to mention a basic knowledge of programming, there are so many things. You can’t be a professional in all of them, but you need to have a basic understanding.

You the Designer: As the head of your agency, what do you look for in hiring a new designer?

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): First off I look for young people. They have all the ideas, even if they don’t know it. I look for excitement, and attention to detail. Talent is secondary. I can teach someone only if they want to learn. It isn’t fun to work with people who aren’t excited to create or make a product successful. Clients don’t want to interact with a grump, someone who isn’t part of the team. .

Life should be enjoyable, as a lot of our life is our work. Young people need to learn to be a part of a team, to make friends and network. Many designers treat their friends and family with such love (hopefully), but treat co-workers horribly and clients like they are a big pain. Yet designers spend more time at work than anywhere else, and our clients make our lives possible. I love my clients. They bought the house I live in. I admire my clients for starting businesses, taking chances, and letting me be a part of their innovation. I have clients who are completely self-made and it’s exciting to be a part of that.

You the Designer: That’s amazing! I think it’s quite admirable that you take such a helpful and supportive approach towards your clients.

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): Thanks! That’s our company approach – to be part of our client’s team and be the solution for their success.

You the Designer: In closing, would mind sharing with our readers your favorite Firebrain project thus far.

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): There’s so many but I would have to say the art campaign and show preparation / marketing for a Metallica benefit concert.

You the Designer: Thank you so much Giulio!

Giulio (Firebrain Inc): Thank you. It was fun!

For more information, check out the Firebrain website.

If you don’t have a portfolio site yet or are looking to create an easy to update, fast loading and slick looking portfolio than you should be using WordPress. Traditionally WordPress is a blogging content management system, but recently it has been used to be the back end for many cool types of sites such as portfolio sites for photographers and designers.

WordPress is easy to install on most web hosting accounts and you can have a site up and running in minutes. After the install all you need to do is purchase or find a free theme and upload it. You can then install any additional plugins you want and make tweaks to the design and upload your own work. I highly recommend adding your own personal touch to these designs since you are most likely a graphic designer if you are reading this post and it would be some what odd if you did not design the site even if you don’t really do web design. You can easily have a coder help you implement the new design or have them or make changes you are not familiar with.

Below are some of the coolest theme designed for WordPress with designers in mind.

WordPress Portfolio Themes

1. Briefcase Portfolio WordPress Theme

2. Sharpfolio²

3. Portfolio WordPress Theme

4. ProudFolio

5. Cassiopeia

6. Foreword Thinking

7. Geometric

1. Picking the Perfect Background

When photographing your business cards, spending some time picking out a great background can go a long way compared to just shooting them on your scratched up work desk. Look for something that compliments your business cards color, texture and style. Just make sure that the background does not overpower the actual design. A busy background will distract the viewer from the beauty of your work. Try using a neutral color, a contrasting color that makes your design pop or keep the focus sharp on the design and blur out the background a bit.

2. Bring Out the Texture

Some of the best business cards use high-quality card stock or unusual mediums to print the cards on. If you have spent a lot of time and money on extra touches like texture for your cards why not let it shine in your photographs. Texture is not only wonderful to feel, but it can make cards look amazing. When you shoot your cards make sure you can see the texture in the photos. To do so you may need to play with the focus, take close up shots and adjust background colors.

3. Picking the Perfect Position

Nothing is more boring than shooting your cards flat on a table looking directly down on them. Try experimenting with different views, positions, heights, distances and so on so you can get a photo that looks dynamic. The more photos you take in different positions the better your chances will be of finding that perfect shot.

4. Focus on the Focus

Its extremely important to make sure your photo is in focus, because a blurred photo is painful to look at!. Play around with the focus and make sure the important part of the card is clearly in focus. Beautiful typography on your cards will be wasted if you cant capture it properly with the camera.

5. Lighting, Lighting, Lighting

A large part of photography has to do with proper lighting and this can often be very difficult to achieve. Try experimenting with both natural lighting such as outdoor lighting and artificial lighting by using photography lights that you can adjust. bad lighting can make your photos look faded, bland, unprofessional and really just do more harm than good. So make sure you spend plenty of time experimenting with lighting so you can achieve the exact look you are going for.

Examples of Beautifully Photographed Business Cards

Not everyone wants to be “Famous”, but being a more well-known designer DOES have its benefits. Not only will your work get more exposure, but you will make more money! Becoming a famous designer does not happen over night, but there are things you can do to quicken the process and if you are lucky you should be able to gain a lot of recognition if the things you do turn out well. So I wanted to do a 3 part series just going over some cool things designers could do if they want to not only become more apart of the design community, but also gain a little recognition and help others at the same time.

Become a Famous Graphic Designer

1. Do Online Interviews

There are plenty of design blogs, sites and magazines looking for potential people to interview. Why wait for them to come to you? There are tens of thousands of designers and if you want those interview spots, you better start contacting sites! The key to a successful interview is to be honest and think about how you can help other designers with each question. The more interview you do the more recognition you will get and sometimes when one site interviews you, others will follow, meaning it can become viral and spiral into even more press for you.

2. Get Featured in Magazines

Being featured in magazines is a bit harder, but there is no reason you can’t pitch yourself to magazines as well. For magazines you may need to try and come up with an interesting pitch, such as having a cool new design style or an interesting background story. Getting yourself in magazines is one of the best things you can do because people tend to take things in print more seriously and the few design magazines out there are read by a large part of the design community and by this I mean designers of all skill levels.

3. Write an eBook

Graphic Designers are always on the prowl for helpful tips, so why not share your experience in the form of a free eBook? Free eBooks can go viral very quickly and if your name is attached to it it can help your personal branding efforts a lot. Make sure you create an opt-in email list using software such as MailChimp to give away the free download so you can build up a large email list.

Then when you release other stuff or new news such as an interview you just did you can send a newsletter out to all your subscribers. Just try not to abuse the list and keep your emails to a minimum, maybe one or two a month max.

4. Publish a Design Book

Publishing a book is going to be more difficult than getting an eBook out, but if your book becomes popular it can work wonders. Your book could be on a lot of topics such as a collection of your work or studio’s work, design theory, design resources, tutorials and so on. Getting published by a large publishing company might be difficult, but Self Publishing is always an option.

5. Create a Design Related Website

New design blogs, galleries and other types of sites are being created every week. If you can create a new popular design site you will be able to gain massive exposure. A simple about page that talks about who you are on a popular site can skyrocket you in the online design community.

When creating a new design site try to think of something that has never been done, but also be sure to factor in the price and time it will cost you to create and market such a site. If you are lucky you should even be able to make a profit from your online investment!

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3, which will feature even more great tips on how to become a design super star!

Getting into the world of graphic arts can be an exciting venture where you not only get to express your creative talent, but also earn a great living doing what you love to do. It is a very flexible career choice with many paths to go down and combinations to master. For example you could start off being a graphic designer working for a company, then learn web design in addition to graphic design and start your own design business from the comfort of your home or you could just earn extra money on the side being a freelance graphic artist if you already have another job you want to keep.

Steps to Get Into Graphic Arts

1. Start With the Basics

Even though graphic design is mainly associated with computers nowadays, its roots are in fine art. Many graphic art pieces years ago were all done by hand using tools and materials and not by fancy computers and software. This is why its great to have a foundation in drawing, painting and other fine art skills. If you attend design school, many of them will require you to take basic art classes before you are even allowed to touch programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

2. Design School

If you can afford it nothing beats going to a 4 year design school. The experience and guidance you will get is well worth the money and by the time you are done you should have a solid portfolio and resume ready with maybe even a few contacts. Many schools have career departments that can even hlep you find a job after school and the 4 year degree looks great and resumes and can mean an instant higher yearly salary for you.

3. Mastering the Software

The Adobe software suite is what most graphic artists use, so you will need to master these programs and the only way to do that is to spend many hours using each one. Read books, practice tutorials and take classes so the programs become second nature to you.

4. Creating a Portfolio

A portfolio is a must-have for any graphic artist. Some places don’t even care about your resume, they just want to know you can produce amazing work and when you are looking for clients online people go straight to the portfolio before anything else. So make sure you have a nice custom website portfolio up and be sure to update it on a regular basis.

5. Creating Your Resume

Most companies who are hiring will want to see your resume and some freelance clients will request it as well. You should have a copy of your resume ready to go in case some one requests it and you should have a few nicely printed versions ready to hand out with a disposable portfolio, which you would leave after an interview.

6. Networking

Networking is an essential aspect of any business and graphic design is no exception. The more designers and players in the design community you know the better your chances will be when it comes to finding a job of new freelance clients. Keep in contact with your network, take them to lunch, call them once in a while or send an email. This way you are actually making friends and not just abusing people when you need something. Be nice to others and they will often return the favor.

7. Join the Offline Community

If you want to make the most of your career you should get as involved as you can in the offline design community. Try going to museums, lectures, shows and anything else you can. If you love design you may even find yourself doing things like saving business cards from stores you go into just so you can look at them later for inspiration!

8. Join the Online Community

The online design community is one of the richest on the web. It is filled with great blogs, tutorial sites, forums, books, free resources, interviews and much more. Staying involved in the online community will help you keep up to date with the design community on topics such as design trends, hot new studios, marketing tips, business advice and much more.

1. Express Your Creativity

Probably the most important benefit of being a graphic artist is the ability to express your creativity, while still earning a great living. Many artists are moving towards graphic design because it’s easier to make a living as a graphic designer than it is in areas such as fine art.

More Graphic Artist Benefits

If fine art is your passion than you should pursue your passion, but being a graphic artist is very rewarding and you can still work in fine art and other areas. I loved both computers and art so graphic art seemed to be a good combination of the two for me, but I still dabble in fine art such as painting in my free time.

2. Web or Print Flexibility

The cool thing about being a graphic artist is that you have different mediums just like in fine art. The two big ones being print and web. Web is obviously more recent and still relatively new. If you get into web design and you can pick up programming skills such as html, css and php you will open up an entire new world of job opportunities for yourself.

Being a graphic artist will allow you to branch off into other skill sets easily that can dramatically increase your freelance or business grow potential.

3. Huge Client Base

Some businesses have a limited client base, but every business needs a graphic artist. If a business is going to do marketing than some one is going to need to design those marketing materials. As long as businesses keep growing and new ones keep appearing, then graphic artists will always have plenty of work. Because of this, the competition is getting rougher every day, so you will need to work much harder to stand out from the crowd.

4. Freelance

My favorite part about the graphic art career is the ability to easily do freelance work online. There are tons of places to find freelance work on the Internet and you can make some incredible money from the comfort of your own home in your free time.

5. Run Your Own Studio

If you have ever dreamed of having your own studio or office than you could turn your freelance business into a larger operation and begin running your own studio. This is a great option if you want to play the role of manager or art director and gain a lot more exposure by doing graphic artwork for very large brands, not to mention making more money!

6. Work In-House

If you are not ready to freelance or run your own studio you can always work full-time for some one else. Working In-House can give you the stability you need for peace of mind. Some designers worry about their creativity being limited in-house and this can happen, but you need to take a look at the benefits and disadvantages to make the right choice.

There are plenty of other ways to lets your creative energy run wild while not working in-house so don’t get too caught up about having more limits on what you can and can’t do. Its just part of doing business!

7. Easy to Get Into

If you have a decent computer and a few Adobe programs you are pretty much ready to rumble! After that it’s all about creativity, hard work, self growth and networking to name a few things. Compared to other careers being a graphic artist could be seen a pretty low cost career to get into as opposed to say starting a landscaping business where you would need a truck and tons of expensive equipment and other materials.

8. You can Learn on Your Own

While I do recommend going to school for graphic design, many amazing graphic artists learned on their own. If you practice enough at home, study other art, practice tutorials, read books and really have a passion for design you can learn on your own. The big benefit of going to school is having teachers to guide you and critique your work, so if you learn yourself you need to be able to gauge what your current skill level is and understand what areas you need improvement in.

9. Few Expenses

Another great thing about being a freelance graphic artist is that there are few business expenses. If you have a computer and software already than there isn’t much else you need to spend money on. If you are going to handle printing for clients you would work this into the total project quote and the same goes for stuff like buying stock images or hiring an illustrator for a project.

You might have some web expenses such as website hosting and maybe a marketing budget, but overall costs should be pretty low if your a freelancing, which means more profits for you!

10. Easy Online Marketing

The design community is incredibly rich online. I have never seen so many different useful and unique sites for an online niche before. The design community is full of great forums, blogs, gallery sites, organizations, tutorials sites and much more. There are so many ways to market your skills online its not even funny. It just takes a little a bit of time and energy to make the most of the web.

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There are a lot of things that can turn an exciting new design project into a nightmare for a graphic design business. Many graphic design businesses have experienced these issues below, including myself. The best way to avoid stress and problems with clients is to educate yourself about what can go wrong ahead of time and take steps to protect your yourself.

Graphic Design Business Tips

Below are 3 common problems that can go wrong and while they may sound simple and the solutions are simple, thousands of designers fall victim to these pitfalls.

1. Clients Who Won’t Pay

We all want to get paid and there are several ways to protect yourself against not getting paid. The first big mistake is to not require a down payment. Many designers do the work on spec or let the clients pay at the end, which is a big mistake. There are a few ways you can bill clients, but I prefer to simply bill half upfront and half when done, or get the full amount upfront for smaller jobs.

You should also use invoicing software or fill out an invoice template and a contract and have them all signed by the client so you have the project and payment details in writing. This will give you more power if you have to actually use the law to get your money, but hopefully it will not come to that.

2. Endless Revisions

This is an easy one to forget. You may be a great designer, but its an inside joke in the design community that the client always picks the worst design so they may not pick the design you worked hardest on, which means lots of possible revisions.

Many clients can be very picky and detail oriented, which is fine because they want to be happy, but if you do not limit revisions your project could turn into a nightmare where you actually don’t make any money because you had to put in so many extra hours.

As an example, you could offer 3 initial concepts for a logo design and then 3 revision rounds once they have picked one of the initial concepts to move forward with. You should also specify the price for additional revision rounds in case they want more.

3. Poor Planning and Timing

If you don’t plan out a project to the last detail and set a time frame you will run into major issues as well. For example if you are doing a website you need to know EXACTLY how many pages you need to create, what each page will have on it and so on. Talk about this with the client and make sure they give you everything you need before you start and get it in writing.

Creating a wire frame can be really helpful. A wire frame is basically a quick outline of what a design or website will look like and what will go where. This way you don’t miss anything and wont run into spending more time adding missing items later, which could cost you money.

Many clients also have very tight deadlines so you need to be able to gauge how long a project will take you and you need to get this in writing as well. For example you could say the estimated time to complete the project will be 3 weeks, but it could take a week more depending on extra revisions and such. Its better to add a few days or more to your estimated project deadline to give yourself a buffer.

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