Your Brain on Design: A Graphic Design Blog | Leslie Tane Design » Re: business

Parlez-Vous Designer?

Leslie Tane Design — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:26:53 +0000

From my blog entry on the Digital Space blog

RGB. CMYK. Pixels. Serifs. Running heads. Resolution. Wrap-around. Sometimes designers speak a language for insiders only. This is fine when we’re talking to each other, but what about when we’re talking to our clients? Are we expecting them to break the code?

When presenting to a new client, I try to look at the work I’m showing them with a non-designer’s eye. Designers are communicators by profession, but all too often we forget the basics that need to be communicated to our clients so that we’re all speaking the same language. more at Digital Space>>

Is Direct Mail Dead?

Leslie Tane Design — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:17:01 +0000

From my blog entry on the Digital Space blog

It’s the age of the Internet — e-mail marketing, social networking, blogs. So why would you do printed, direct mail marketing? No one reads that stuff…do they? more at Digital Space>>

Designing for NonProfits

Leslie Tane Design — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:15:57 +0000

From my blog entry on the Digital Space blog

One of the things I most enjoy is working with non-profit clients — it’s especially satisfying to do design that makes a difference. We specialize in this type of work and our clients include a range of organizations, from those who work with troubled youth, to those who provide food and services for the disadvantaged, to those that work with the disabled, and more. Each organization has different design needs, but there are some things that are almost always true when working with non-profits… more at Digital Space>>

Making the world the way I think it should be

Leslie Tane Design — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:36:32 +0000

It’s a snowy day here in Massachusetts and it’s given me a reason to reflect. When I decided to expand my business from a successful one person home based venture to an office based design firm with an employee I thought a lot about what was important to me. Good design, personal integrity and business ethics, of course. But as a mother with two children under 6 (at the time) it was equally as important to me that I be able to accommodate their schedules and spend as much time with them as I can.

All women who have children compromise in some way. They may stay home with their kids full-time and sacrifice income and, perhaps, a career. Or they might work outside the home and miss time with their kids. There are many variations, and I believe that every parent tries to find the balance that works. I would never judge someone for the choices she makes.

I couldn’t afford to stop working. Even if I could have, I had worked long and hard to establish my business and I didn’t want to give it up. Not to mention that I get a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction from the work that I do. At the same time, though, I have an acute sense of time passing, of the fact that my children will only be young once, and that I don’t want to miss it. My daughter and son are the center of my life and the source of my greatest joy. How could I reconcile my need to continue to run my business with my desire to be with my kids?

In addition, the woman I hired as my production manager has three young kids. She is fabulous, the most wonderful employee I could ever ask for, and she was struggling with the same work/parenting issues that I was. It was essential to me that I make a workplace that was family friendly for both of us. There are so many smart, dedicated, and trained women who are not able to work, or not able to find the kind of work that they want, because there are so few jobs out there that are flexible enough to be both an employee and a dedicated parent.

We made it work. Here’s how:

We both use laptop computers. When we work from our respective homes, we have everything we need at our fingertips. When we come into the office we bring our computers in with us.
Sarah has a work printer at her house as a part of her full workstation there.
We cc and bcc each other on emails so that we can both track the progress of our projects.
We use Basecamp as our project management system. This keeps us on the same page, even when we’re not physically in the same space.
When we need to make conference calls, we use freeconference.com
Our office space has toys and art supplies for the times when the kids need to come into the office with us. It used to have a portable crib too, which the kids have now grown out of.
I trust Sarah completely. This would never work if I couldn’t.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Here are the pitfalls we work hard to avoid:

Sometimes out of sight is out of mind. I need to remember to delegate to Sarah, especially since I was on my own for so many years.
After 16+ years in the design business, I have a lot of knowledge. It’s important that we meet so that I can share it.
Occasionally a client will schedule a meeting with one of us and then want to meet the other person working on the project. We try to both be in the office if it seems like this might happen, but sometimes it doesn’t work out.

On this snow day, when school is closed and parents everywhere are scrambling for childcare or missing work, I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to create and share this business.

Two Notes:

Sorry for the long absence. I’m back to blogging again, and I’ll have an exciting blog related announcement coming soon!

For short design related links, info and more, follow me on Twitter @LeslieTane

How designers charge their clients

Leslie Tane Design — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:31:52 +0000

David Airey asked me to participate in his thought-provoking series “How Designers Charge Their Clients.” He’s asked designers from all over the world, with different specialites and amounts of experience, for their working practices. I’m very flattered to be included in Part 2 of the three part series. Check it out for some very interesting insights. And thank you, David, for including me!

Where do you get your clients?

Leslie Tane Design — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:25 +0000

When I talk to people who are thinking about setting up shop, graphic design and otherwise, this is the question I’m asked most often. My answer is three places:

Word of Mouth. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best way to get new clients. When someone has heard good things about you from a source that they trust, your job of selling yourself and your services is 80% easier. They’re not looking for reasons to hire you, they’re looking to see what you can do for them. It may sounds like the same thing, but it’s not. When someone comes in cold, there’s a credibility hurdle you have to get over — who am I and why should you trust me? When a word of mouth client comes in, the trust is basically established. So and so recommended you, and I trust them, so I’ll trust you.

Of course, this is the hardest way to get clients at first, because it’s a catch 22. You have to have clients to get other clients by word of mouth. It also serves as a good reminder that the design world is small and your reputation will start to spread. Make sure it’s a good one.

Networking. There are countless groups to join: your local Chamber of Commerce, Design Groups (like the AIGA, GAG, or SPD), Networking Groups (like BNI), user groups (Hidden-Tech is a local group) and clubs (The Ad Club of Western Massachusetts is another local organization). Depending on your availability, the list can be endless. But here’s the secret: once you join, you have to get involved. It’s not going to be good enough to show up at a meeting or event once in a while. Volunteer. Get to know the officers of the group. Make yourself indispensable. It may take a while to start seeing results, but they will almost certainly come.

Advertising. This is important, but the returns are much fewer than in the other two options I’ve mentioned. When I get a potential client through word of mouth or networking, I end up getting the job 7 or 8 times out of 10. When someone contacts me because they’ve seen an ad of mine or found me on the web, it’s more like 2 or 3 out of 10. Why? The person who comes through an ad is typically just starting the process of hiring a designer. They’re looking at other companies, comparing prices and services, and figuring out what they want. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, of course. But the person who knows you (or knows someone who knows you) is usually ready to go, and have basically already made the decision to use you, or have significantly narrowed the field by the time you speak to them. Advertising is important, but if you rely on it to account for more than 50% of your business, you’re going to spend a lot of time in interviews and writing proposals that never turn into paying jobs.

Do you have any secret weapons to find new clients? What works for you?

Facebook…works.

Julie Roads — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:22:27 +0000

By Julie Roads of Writing Roads

Note: This is the second in my series of guest posts. Julie Roads is a professional copywriter with over 15 years of writing and creative communication experience. We met at a professional networking event and have since become colleagues and friends. To find out more about Julie, including how you can hire her to write for you, visit her web site at WritingRoads.com. — Leslie

Guilty as charged — I resisted joining Facebook because I lumped it in with myspam, sorry, I mean myspace. As of this writing, there are 70,000,000 (+/- 1) people on Facebook, and a colleague talked me into it, so I joined last Friday. I now have 38 friends.

If you aren’t on Facebook, let me fill you in — it’s addictive. But, besides that, it’s a phenomenal networking tool. I have reconnected with the likes of 38 people (at last count), and five of them quickly became client prospects — strong client prospects. Do the math, that’s just over a 13% return rate…not bad.

The best thing about Facebook is that, like LinkedIn — another favorite — there is no spam. You can’t get access to other members without their permission, and all correspondence goes through Facebook channels; you only get member emails with their consent. However, unlike LinkedIn, you can search for old high school buddies. It’s Facebook, only yearbook style. This is the genius part for me. Even though it’s been years, these are people that I grew up with, and a strong bond exists. Not to get mushy, but — it’s been heartwarming…and, dare I say, fun.

It’s good to catch up, to share my happy life, to tell folks about what I do…I’ve been told my passion and enthusiasm for writing, marketing and blogging is contagious — apparently, even on the web. My network has expanded dramatically over the last seven days…and so has my business.

Head on over my friends…post your face.

Sorry, gut

Leslie Tane Design — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:08:28 +0000

Or why ignoring your instincts is always a bad idea.

Recently I got a phone call from a potential new client (I’ll call her Anne*) looking to have a brochure designed. “Let’s meet” she suggested, “and I can tell you what I’m looking for.”

Anne is a young salesperson at a fairly large insurance company, with multiple regional offices. She wanted a brochure designed to appeal to the young, hip consumer (“You know, young and hip like us” is actually what she said, earning my gratitude and appreciation for what a good salesperson she must be). She felt her company’s current collateral was too general, too dated and too, for lack of a better word, ugly.

“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked, warning bells sounding. “Most larger companies have an established brand and they like you to stick well within it.”

She assured me that she had her boss’ blessing on the project (important, since he would be the one signing off on my invoices.) Then she dropped a small bomb. “You just have to do the design first so I can get the final OK on the project. He wants to see what he’s buying.”

Now, ordinarily I would run away from this kind of project as fast as my legs would take me. I do not work on spec. No designer should work on spec. Spec work can bankrupt you faster than anything else I can think of (except maybe bad design work and bad customer service.) If I’m doing design work for someone, I want to be paid. Period.

But… Anne was so eager, and so nice, and so, I have to say it, adorable in her shiny new sales job that I ignored this warning bell and agreed to do the work on spec. Which I did, and sent off to Anne to await approval.

“My boss said to go ahead”, she told me, and complimented my design profusely. Who doesn’t love to hear that? I sent my standard contract and invoice for half of the project amount and waited.

Anne brought the signed contract to my office, along with revisions on the brochure I’d designed. “The invoice needs to be sent to the main office,” she said, “but I’m really anxious to get this brochure printed so I can start making sales.”

Ding, ding , ding. Warning bell number three. I never move forward with a project until I get a signed contract and a down payment. It’s my policy. But… I’d already worked on spec (which is not my policy), and I did have the signed contract. And she was so happy with my design.

“I showed the brochure to another sales person,” she said, “and he wants one, too, with a slightly different focus but the same general design.” Score! A two-for-one job. But…

“In order for me to get you a check, I need you to send the finished designs to someone in accounting. It’s just a formality.”

OK, I’m going deaf from all the bells ringing in here. But what did I do? I ignored them.

To make a long story short (well, shorter) I did the two brochure designs and sent them off. Only to receive a very sheepish call from Anne a couple of days later telling me that she had been transferred to an office in another state and the project was “indefinitely on hold.” She offered to pay me out of her own pocket for the work I’d done, which I appreciated and showed me that at least I wasn’t wrong in my judgment that she is a very nice person. We figured out a compromise amount that we can both live with.

So who’s wrong in this story? My eager young client, who should have gotten approval before we started the project? Absolutely not. I knew better, I ignored every warning sign, and I ended up wasting my time and money. I should have been more clear with her right from the start, especially when it came to the spec work, and I shouldn’t have started the job until I received an initial payment. I let my opinion of her personally influence my professional behavior.

When something doesn’t seem right with a project, trust your gut instinct. Next time, I will.

* This is a true story, but the details have been changed.

Should you redesign your logo?

Leslie Tane Design — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:30:52 +0000

I’ve been thinking about logos lately, inspired in part by David Airey’s excellent new blog Logo Design Love. I am often asked to design a logo for a new business or organization, but sometimes I’m asked to do a logo redesign. There are many reasons why a company or organization might want to redesign their logo including:

The existing logo feels old or out of date
The logo they have was done on the fly by someone with little or no experience (a surprising number of times an ambitious intern with a copy of Corel Draw. Ack!) and they’d like something more polished and professional
The scope or mission of the company has changed
The company has come under new ownership
The company has a name change

A logo redesign can be great, but here are a couple of things to consider:

It can be costly. After the expense of the logo redesign itself, expect to reprint everything with your company ID on it, including signs, letterhead, envelopes and business cards, brochures, folders, marketing materials, and more. If you have a web site, you’ll have to update your site, and depending on the design, maybe even redesign it. You can phase the new logo in gradually, but I don’t recommend it. It can take a very long time to use up your old materials, and in the meantime your brand spanking new identity is losing the impact it would have with a big rollout.

It can be confusing to your customers. A couple of years ago a real estate agency in my town did a complete logo redesign, with somewhat disastrous effects. The old logo and identity weren’t very aesthetically pleasing but the bright (bright) yellow signs and script logo font were immediately recognizable. When the agency rebranded themselves under a new name they also launched a whole new identity — white signs, modern looking artwork of a row of houses, and a sans-serif typeface — no more script. The new logo definitely looked better than their old one, but no one recognized the new company. For a small local real estate agency with a long standing good reputation, that was very unfortunate. They should have continued at least one of the aspects of their former, well known, logo and ID — color, script…something. The company sold out to Century 21 shortly thereafter. I don’t know if the logo redesign and the buyout were connected, but changing the company logo so drastically left many of their longtime customers wondering what happened.

For some examples of redesigns, both good and bad, visit Brand New. One of my favorites is Lifesavers redesign, above, but if you want to know what makes a logo redesign work (or not work), Brand New is your site.

Are you considering redesigning your company or organization logo? Have you seen a redesign that worked really well? Have you seen one that should have been left alone?

A tale of four printers

Leslie Tane Design — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:30:09 +0000

It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. When my hard drive had an unrecoverable crash this fall, much was lost. I thought all would be lost, but during a sleepless night, as I pondered the question of why I hadn’t been backing up (sheer stupidity was the best I could come up with), I had an inspiration. Most of my older projects have been sent to press already, I thought. I bet the printers have an archived copy of my files.

I work with many different printers — some I choose, some are my clients preferred vendors. Each printer received a variation of this email or phone call: “Hi. I recently had a total computer crash, and I’m trying to reconstruct some of my old projects. If you could dearchive a project, I would be thrilled. I’d be happy to pay for your time and any material or shipping costs you have.”

All of the printers I contacted did have backups of my work. How they handled my request is a study in how, and how not, to run your business.

The best. Printing for Less (a large online digital printer) and Red Sun Press (a Boston based worker owned shop) were totally sympathetic. Printing for Less emailed my files back within the hour, at no charge. Jenny at Red Sun sent me a CD with not only the job I’d asked for, but ALL of my past jobs included, also at no charge. I was blown away at their excellent customer service, and you can bet I’ll be back and that I’ll recommend them to my clients.

The good. 4 by 6 is the company I use to print my business cards. They dearchived my work and emailed it back to me for $20. I think that’s fair — it was extra work on their part. I’m thrilled to have my logos back. (Yes, that’s right. I didn’t have archived versions of my own company ID. Backing up is my new religion.)

The ugly. I try to use local printers when I can. I’ve used one local printer for quite a few years, with a variety of clients. I called my contact at this printer and asked for one fairly recent job to be dearchived. I was assured that that could be done. No files. Another call. No files. A third call. No files. Someone else I work with called. No files. At this point I would have given up, but I needed a photo that was a part of the job I was trying to get a hold of. A job, I should mention, that I have printed annually at this printer.

Finally, the files were sent, to the wrong person. It took over two weeks. I will not be using this printer again if I can help it.

After much thought, I’m not going to include the name of this printer in this post, but email me if you really want to know, and I’ll spill.

How are you doing with customer service? Do you go above and beyond to keep a client or customer happy? Have you ever written off a company because of bad customer service?