I just received an email from FindIcons.com today and I have to say I am totally impressed with their quality of icon work. You should check it out. They also offer custom designed icons too.
Checkout the Designers of the Month contest on CreativePublic.com and see the latest winners!
http://www.creativepublic.com/design-contest-05-2010.php
I recently joined the chamber of commerce a few months ago and have been planning on networking with local businesses in my area. I have put it off and put it off, but I finally went to my first networking meeting last week. It was an early morning 7:30am meeting, so it was hard for me to get up and get motivated, but I did it anyway (plus I was very nervous too). I figured if I don’t give it a try at least once, not only did I waste money for my chamber membership, I would also never find out if joining the chamber was even worth it.
With that said, the meeting was quite fun and beneficial and the first 5 minutes I was there, I landed a blog design prospect. Then throughout the meeting, we introduced our businesses and got an opportunity to chat with one another. Surprisingly, it went really well and I landed 5 leads just that morning. Now with that said, I have not landed any work, but the entire purpose of going to these network meetings is to get to know local business leaders and get your face out there. Leads should always be followed up on, you never know which one will decide to hire you.
What is really strange about all this to me, is for the last 10 years of my business, I really never networked like this or at all. Basically, 70% of my business came from online searches while the remainder came from referrals. So, I was not really used to getting back in the game of networking, but being stuck in my home office, this has given me an opportunity to get out of the box and go see some new faces. Even if I don’t land business right away, I am at least getting out of the office, making new friends and working on the prospect of getting new business.
Even if you don’t want to join your local chamber or don’t have the budget, many times, you can still attend these network meetings for a small fee. For now, it seems like a good way for me to get in touch with local business in my area. I hope it works out the same for your business.
There are millions of web designers out there, but how do you know which is the right one for your business. Learn tricks, tips, and cost savings to guide you through the web design process. Creating an online presence is just as important as getting your name out to your local consumers. Grow with the internet by learning how to pick the right type of design for your market as well as how to sell directly from your website.
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If you are not playing video games on a regular basis or even attempting to play then you may be missing out on the ability to transform your design career/business through the powerful grammar, storytelling, condensed learning and rich visual environments of games.
So, do you play video games on a regular basis (or even know HOW to play)?
If not, you may want to consider getting on board (and fast)
I, for one, was never really big into “gaming” but that has been changing recently with my 14 year old stepson giving me lessons on the Nintendo Wii with games like “Call of Duty,” “Zelda” and “Super Smash Brothers”
Consider this:
“Half of all Americans over age 6 play computer and video games. Each year, Americans purchase more than 220 million games, nearly 2 games for every US household. And despite the common belief that gaming is a pastime that requires a Y chromosome, today more than 40% of game players are women.”
and this:
“Play will be to the 21st century what work was to the last 300 years of industrial society – our dominant way of knowing, doing and creating value” Pat Kane, author of The Play Ethic.
Research has shown playing video games not only can sharpen our conceptual abilities but also enhance our creative ability for pattern recognition, for empathy, for strategic thinking and creating visual mappings among others.
And the future of gaming is just getting started. It has all sorts of rich possibilities in every industry imaginable – like medical, military, sports, marketing, etc. – where (just for starters) real life situations have the ability to be simulated.
Especially if you are just starting out in design, it would be a good idea to investigate the many art/design schools that offer degree programs in game art and design.
Here are a few sites to wet your gaming appetite:
Game Spot – http://www.gamespot.com
Game Talk – http://www.gametalk.com
Yahoo! Games – http://games.yahoo.com
Women Gamers – http://www.womengamers.com
PopCap Games – http://www.popcap.com
Wireless Gaming – http://www.wgamer.com
…now if I can only get this darn wii controller right
- by Doug Farrick
By Jeanna Pool
Founder & President of the Freelance Design Marketing Association
Would you like to hit the 6-figure, $100,000 mark in your freelance design business?
Doing so gives you a lot more income (obviously) and a lot more freedom (a huge bonus). But, the most successful freelance designers don’t soar to the top magically overnight and it doesn’t happen by luck or some magic pill (although that would be nice). It does take work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is “pulling your leg” (as we say in Texas).
A designer becomes a 6-figure designer because they apply marketing strategies that work. Unfortunately most freelance designers don’t come anywhere near the $100,000 mark because they focus on the wrong things or try to copy what every one else in the design industry is doing for marketing — which is usually wrong and just creates a lot of “me too”, “copy cat” marketing.
If you want to reach the magic 6-figure income level, here are the secrets you must put into practice in order to maximize your earning potential and set your business up for success.
How do I know these are the secrets and they work?
By Jeanna Pool
Founder & President of the Freelance Design Marketing Association
As freelance graphic designers or web designers, competition seems to be all around us.
If others “do what we do” and “offer what we offer.” How do you compete? How do you get more clients? How do you leave your competition in the dust. Yes, competing with other designers in your industry can be a challenge at times.
But…
This is not the competition I am speaking of. In fact, your competition is NOT who you think it is. Your competition is NOT the thousands of others in your industry or the hundreds of others located in the same area of town in which you work. Nope.
Your competition is something you may not have even thought of. In fact, your competition may be eating your lunch and costing you thousands of dollars and you don’t even realize it!
Who is this competition you say…your competition is YOU.
Surprised?
There are way too many designers out there who would be so much more successful if they would just get out of their own way. They’re holding themselves back and they’re hindering their business from growing. They blame the economy, they blame clients, they blame competition, when really they should blamed themselves.
How about you? Are you your own worse competition?
Here are some things to think about…
