Articles
Live to Design Another Day: Know When It’s Time to Fire A Client
We've all had them; they think they know what they want, they seem to be in control of their business, and then you find out they are completely inept. They order changes for the sake of change, they think their diploma says graphic designer instead of business administration, and they keep your cell phone number on their speed dial. The out of control client is a pretty common phenomenon, but how do you know when enough is enough? How do you know when it's time to fire the client? As for my company, we believe there are three scenarios in which the client should be fired. We recently acquired a large package-rebranding project. For...
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The Return of Vinyl: The evolution of music technology reveals a surprising U-turn smart marketing can utilize.
From the first recorded musical track, music fans have been looking for better ways to record and play back music. The introduction of the wax record and the record player made recorded music accessible to the population for the first time. It wasn't until the 8-track deck came into being that vinyl records first started to slip from preeminence as the music device for the masses. The more convenient the music was to access, the more people enjoyed a particular technology. The invention of the Walkman took the tape to the top of the recording industry. At least until the compact disc came and wiped out the tapes. Now the .Mp3 is...
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The Dreaded Box
I've been thinking a lot lately about stability versus spontaneity, freedom versus structure. Sometimes I find myself saying things like, "You can't grow unless you try new things, even if it's just trying a different shampoo every time you run out," and "If I die today, I won't care if the dishes were done." Then, on another day, I will preach that you can't live or grow in chaos. Humans need routines. Otherwise we inevitably feel lost. So how does one keep oneself from teetering over the edge… or never even approaching the brink to see that gorgeous view? I'm wondering what it means to have structure and what it means to be free,...
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Do this, Not that – Overcoming Procrastination
As I sit here at my desk with yet another article deadline staring me in the face, I can't help but wonder if I'm the only one who is plagued by the appealing face of procrastination. Procrastination lures me away from my daily tasks and whisks me off to friend's houses, shoe stores, movie theaters and wine bars. I believe this character flaw can be attributed to owning my own business. As large design agencies close their doors due to a poor economy, more and more individuals are starting independent agencies or freelancing. While the pros far out way the cons, I've discovered being your own boss has its disadvantages. Sometimes you...
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The Only Advertising Advice You Will Ever Need
In the advertising business we all aspire to do something big, something memorable, something great that has never been done before; unfortunately not very many of us get the opportunity to present our big ideas to a multi-million dollar corporation. Many of us sit at our desk, some of us in cubicles with white walls, wondering where our integrity went. We mass produce someone else's creative work with no input on the project and wonder why we are given the title "Creative Director". The recently released documentary, ART & COPY, awakens the creative spirit in all of us, which has been subdued by clients dictating their ideas and...
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