Notes from Notchcode

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All solitary dreamers know that they hear differently when they close their eyes.

-Gaston Bachelard

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Notes from Notchcode

6.19.2009

Why it's Awesome to be a freelancer

While I agree with many of the points Andy makes in 10 Reasons It Sucks to Be a Freelancer, I think (if you are a good fit for the job) it's a great thing to be. With Notchcode going into its tenth (!) year, and with me going at it full-time since 2002, here's my perspective on why being a freelancer rocks:

1. You are your own boss.

This is the excellent part everyone who strikes out on their own sees when they pull the trigger and start working for themselves. Now, by "boss", I mean "someone who sets the agenda, schedule, and priorities in your life". Your REAL boss is your clientele, but that's true whether you're working for yourself or for someone else, so we'll set that part of things aside. What I'm talking about here is the day-to-day aspects of having a job. Don't like working in the morning? Fine: No eight AM meetings, ever again. Like to go for a bike ride before work (as I do)? Go for it. Need to pick up the kids and mind them from three PM till dinnertime? No prob. You set the schedule.
(CAVEAT): This also means you need to be responsible enough to work time into your schedule to actually get the work done, meet with your clients, do your bookkeeping, and so on, at other times during the day. Being your own boss doesn't mean being a slacker--it just means being the master of your schedule.

2. You get more work in a recession.

A cartographer I know is insanely busy this summer. I am busier now than this time last year. Why? A lot of in-house creative staff has been let go. And while I definitely shed a tear for my peeps (I was once one of them, too), it's also an opportunity to get more work. Just because there's a recession doesn't mean businesses and organizations need less creative work. Often, they need more: ad rates are cheaper in a recession, and you can build your brand on less budget--but only if you have the creative content and marketing work in place to take advantage of it. While small shops and freelancers have to pay more FICA, deal with their own health insurance, etc., our overhead in the short term is probably lower than an in-house asset (although losing the in-house body of experience and knowledge is a mighty hurdle to overcome with outside talent). I won't say that a lot of my larger clients are giving me huge projects (because they aren't), I will say that small entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the marketing vacuum right now to launch new projects (which need marketing and development) and larger organizations are doing a lot of smaller, strategic projects with the budgets they have on-hand. And small shops/freelancers are perfect for that.

3. Pick your clients.

Granted: When you're starting out, it's really hard to pick and choose whom you're working for. Nevertheless, one thing I've learned is it pays to be picky. If you sense a prospective client is going to be too high-maintenance, isn't a good fit for your capabilities or style, or doesn't have the budget for what you think the project needs, sack them before you get going (nicely. No need to be impolite). You'll find that as you build your clientele with groups you enjoy working with, they refer other good groups your way (mostly). It's a positive feedback loop that makes both you and your clients happy. If you like to do work for hot air balloonists, you'll probably find a lot of other hot air balloonists calling you after you do a great job for your first one.

4. You can work from anywhere, with anyone, in any location.

I work out of my home, my favorite independent coffee shop, my car, a park--anywhere I want. It allows me to put myself in the best place to get work done and to be creative. If I find things too distracting in one location, I pick up the laptop and the client folder and head somewhere else. Some companies enable this with a more open attitude, but not many. You can also find yourself working with a wide variety of organizations in lots of different locations. From my home base in Denver, I've done work for clients in Oregon, California, Washington, D.C., Iowa, and across Colorado. I've worked with vendors from all over the place, as well, which is another cool thing, if you like to see how people in other places do the same thing your usual vendors do. There is the time zone difference to consider, but it's never been a deal-breaker for me.

5. Set your price, your standards, and your scope.

We all know that the market has a say in how much you get paid (on average, anyhow); but there's a lot of latitude. If you are an expert with years of experience in a specific area of graphic design, or web development, for example, you can command a higher rate. You can also be more flexible than a larger firm can (less overhead for you to consider) when it comes to striking a deal with a client you really want to work with. And you have the satisfaction of being the person who sets a monetary value on your worth. You also don't have to do something you don't want to do. You don't have to settle for less, which your boss may want you to do if you're running over on time, for example. And you can define your practice to fit the specific scope of work you enjoy doing--and are awesome at. If you only like doing user experience work, just do user experience work. Refer your clients to someone else for the rest of the project (or better yet, bid on the job together and get a package deal).

Those are just five reasons why it's great to be a freelancer. There's lots more. I started being my own boss, exclusively, in the last recession, and haven't looked back, and am loving it. If you find yourself spending your coffee breaks, day after day, considering going solo: do the research, make a plan, and go for it!
Labels: advice, b2b, freedom, process, work

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4.29.2009

Which workers spend the most time working at home?

Turns out it's arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media people. About 55% of our total weekly work hours are spent working from home (or from an office on a home-based property, one would assume). Not really a surprise, but still interesting to know that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is tracking such things.

A few takeaway points from this data: It looks like there's an institutional bias against letting salaried creatives work from home, compared to other service professions whose self-employed hours-worked-from-home is above 16%. Personal care, management, and sales-related workers who are wage-earners and salaried employees all get to work from home more than their salaried brethren in the legal, business & financial, and creative professions. I know that when I was a salaried employee there was strong resistance to allowing creatives the freedom and flexibility of working ex-office. Granted, that was in the late '90s, but it appears that trend has stuck around well into this decade.

The other point is how much time self-employed workers aren't working at home. Nearly 45 percent of the time, creatives are somewhere else. Where? Client offices, off-site meetings, research, and vendor locations are likely candidates. And I am wondering how many of these self-employed workers are in-house contractors, who, while self-employed, have to show up at a client's office and work there.

Here's my take on the chart from the BLS. You can also download a CC-licensed print-quality PDF of it here as well.

Thanks to Planet Money's Laura Conaway for twittering about this data!
Labels: art, design, information graphics, productivity, work

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4.21.2009

Sarah Wu: Hire Her Before Your Competition Does

Ach! I thought my friends would all escape the recession unscathed. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Sarah Wu, recently married, is also now recently laid-off. Don't let her talents go to waste!

From Sarah:

The dot com and post-911 bubble bursts didn't get me, but I couldn't outrun the recession of '09! As the most productive product strategist you'll meet with success at the fastest-growing technology companies in Colorado, I'm ready for a new Product Management or Product Marketing challenge. But are you ready for me? On Twitter, DM @sarney or find me on LinkedIn.

You better hire her before your competition does.
Labels: advice, marketing, productivity, social networking, software, work

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4.06.2009

What's in a good design proposal

I've been writing a heck of a lot of proposals this month, and probably have written hundreds over the last ten years. Regardless of the scope of work, the type of project, or the size of the client or client's budget, there are some key things that you should look for in any design proposal, and they're all based on setting expectations--on both sides of the table.

What are you doing?

Spell out broadly, then specifically, then in excruciating detail, exactly what you're doing for the client.

How are you going to do it?

Discuss the process; how are you going to get from step one to step three?

When will it get done?

List a specific schedule for each step, including things the client is responsible for. Make sure they know they are an important part of the process by including them in the planning process for a schedule.

How much will it cost?

I'm of the opinion that the client likes to see the project fees broken down in some way, whether it's by job function (design/production/copywriting/etc.) or by project phase (research/conceptualization/layout/revisions/etc.). This helps them--and those above them who have to approve budgets, perhaps--to get a handle on where all the money (read:effort and time) is going.

Of course, this method is value-based vs. hourly-rate agnostic; you can place the full value of your concept work in the "Concept" row, or you can simply list a number based on your hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours you plan on spending on that task. I won't go nto detail here, as I've posted about it before, but design is a value-adding process, and I would advocate charging based on the value the client will get out of a certain function of your work, as opposed to merely the hourly rate you value your time at.

What will the client get?

List explicitly what the client will receive at the end of the project. In my case, it's the right to use a certain design for a certain application for a certain amount of time, for example. That, and the physical or electronic deliverables they receive comprise the total deliverable package they pay for.

Terms

Make sure you use a good, vetted set of terms. The AIGA and the Graphic Artists' Guild are good places to start; your lawyer is a good place to end.

Sign on the dotted line

Make sure you and your client sign the agreement. It is a contract, after all.

Photo via flickr by A National Acrobat

Labels: advice, b2b, graphic design, process, small business, work

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3.18.2009

Our (future) studio featured at Shedworking

Alex at Shedworking has taken note of the studio that architect Liz Biondi is planning for the backyard. Once built, it will house the Notchcode Studio, allowing for expansion of the practice, if needed, and provide a calmer arena in which to create. There are a lot of advantages of a garden studio, most notably being able to watch my kids run around the backyard, and the smell of herbs and flowers wafting into the studio from the plots around the space. We also plan on making it energy-efficient with passive and (if the price works out) active solar, and using green construction materials when possible.

Alex will be posting about our experience in planning, building, and eventually inhabiting the studio on his blog and in his forthcoming book on shedworking (or as we sometimes call it in the US, "telecommuting", "working from home", or "not having to drive two hours to and from work every day." Stay tuned to his blog for updates.
Labels: architecture, blogs, small business, work

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3.09.2009

It's a busy week.

I won't be posting much, peeps. I have a huge workload this week, which is good for me, but bad for you (or perhaps good for you, depending on how much you cringe when you see another post from me come down the feed-pipes). I plan on being back here next week to come up for air. If you have some interesting tidbits, send them over to me so I can be distracted once in a while!

In lieu of posting thoughts, I'll be posting some of my favorite images shot over the last few years by myself. Not much of the photography with a capital P, but moreeveryday images. Here's one from last year's Passover seder:

Labels: flickr, photography, work

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3.04.2009

How designers charge

I've been asked by a number of new clients and friends how graphic designers charge for their services. Here's how I do it:

I prefer to charge on a per-project basis, estimating a fee that accurately reflects the value that the client will get out of both the intellectual property I create, and the physical/virtual expressions of that property. For example, if asked to create a direct mail brochure for a nonprofit client's annual giving campaign, the intellectual property includes:

the research and investigation into their audience, marketplace (competition), and goals,

the concept of the piece, including marketing direction and consultation,

copywriting and visual hooks or elements unique to the piece, which integrate their branding and overall marketing strategy,

There's more, but those are the basics.

The expressions, of course, would be:
the graphic design based on the approved concept,

revisions to the design based on feedback from the client, focus groups, stakeholders, etc (although most of this feedback should be handled in the conceptual phase, it sometimes leaks over into the design phase),

production of the approved design layout for printing, coding for e-mail or web, etc.

overseeing fulfillment with vendors (printers, web hosts, programmers, etc.)

Partially, there is an hourly rate component embedded in here. As any small business owner knows, you have a certain hourly wage your workers (including yourself) must generate in order to make the business profitable. $x per hour for y man-hours a year minus expenses (including salaries, taxes, etc.) roughly equals your profitability. So you can't not have an hourly rate as some portion of the equation, at least from a pragmatic standpoint. Hourly rates are also an important part of out-of-scope work elements (say, you decide to add a micro-website on top of the previously-negotiated brochure project). Those rates can serve the practical function of covering your firm's time, while also acting as a bit of a warning to clients to try and get all the work covered in the original project, so as to avoid extra charges.

The hourly rate isn't the only factor in a project's cost, of course, because we are talking about the value that the finished work has to the client. If a client is only using this piece for a one-year campaign, it's not as valuable as something they will use over and over (like, say, a brand identity). Therefore, it will cost less than a more long-lived product, even if the work takes the same amount of time and effort to produce. Many of the books on the subject show a percentage calculation for this sort of value (or other values, such as turning over all the source files, or re-using a design that was only licensed for one-time use). The value is really the important thing to stress, both for designers and their clients, because it frames the product of a designer's work in the right way. Like architects, lawyers, scientists, and other professionals who generate intellectual property which is then applied in the "real world" around us, the value in a designer's output isn't in the mechanics of creation; it lies instead in the application of creative and analytical thinking to a particular problem, which results in a practical solution.

So with this overarching concept of charging based on value, it's important to note exactly what the client gets, in-hand, at the end of the process. Contrary to what most people assume, it's not the actual product of all that work; rather, it's the right to use that intellectual property in a certain way. It's a license.

That license may be limited by time or quantity, or geography (one year, 5,000 brochures, only in North America); or it may be completely unlimited. In the design world, it's usually an exclusive license, as a designer is making something that's "purpose-built"--made for a very specific application such as a capital campaign, or fundraiser, or season ticket brochure. A programmer may specify the license is non-exclusive, since more than one person may be using, say, their video game.

By specifying the scope of a license, the value can accurately be assessed, and the client doesn't pay more than the worth of the designer's work for the use the client needs. Why buy the bridge, when you just want to walk over it once?

This aspect--licensing--can flummox even business professionals who otherwise comprehend much more complex concepts. Many people assume that design work is more like carpentry: they ask you to build it, and take possession of it. This is a concept known as "work for hire", and many others (illustrators, photographers, graphic designers) have detailed why it's a bad idea, so I won't go into it here. Suffice to say that work for hire practices ultimately stifle creativity and can generate unwelcome issues for both the creator and the party commissioning the work. Both leading professional graphic arts organizations, the Graphic Artists' Guild explicitly opposes work for hire, and the AIGA also seems to concur (albeit without the vitriol or explicitness of the GAG).

So who sets prices? Ultimately, the market does. There's a reason multinational corporations pay millions of dollars for a brand identity: it's worth it. Likewise, there's a reason local businesses pay a certain amount for a new website: it's worth it. The great thing for businesses is they aren't forced to pay a certain amount for a service. Someone shopping the design market for, say, a website, will find a range of fees offered from different firms for the same thing. They would also see a range of capabilities, creative outlooks, and strategies for production and implementation from these firms. But there will be a range, and that range is determined by what those firms have independently determined a given project, with certain specifications, is worth to that type of client at that time. While there are guidelines (based on surveys made nationwide), they don't determine a given firm's rate for a project any more than market pressures in their area do.

It's also important to note that as I alluded to above, price is just one variable to consider when shopping a project around for a designer. Businesses and designers need to have compatible viewpoints on strategy, approach, attitude, working methods, and other things, to really have a successful outcome. I've found that if an organization is shopping exclusively on price, they will get what they pay for, and not get what they really want, or really need.

I should also note that the basic principles I mention here are used by most of the reputable professionals in the field. People just starting out, students looking for a little extra money for tuition--they may charge differently. I'm certainly not saying everyone should apply these principles, but I am saying lots of us do, which is why I've outlined them here.

Hopefully this has been informative. I'd love to answer your specific questions about the pricing process, (and bid on a project, if you have one in mind!). Just e-mail me or leave your questions in the comments.
Labels: advice, b2b, b2c, graphic design, licensing, process, work, work for hire

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Los Angeles Times features shedworking

I'm currently planning a backyard studio for my design practice. With three kids at home, all under the age of five, it's nice to stay close and watch them grow up. My good friend Liz Biondi at Tamzin Architecture has finished the plans, and now i just need to get off my duff and get a soil engineering report, request a variance for the back and side yard setback (the studio will be in the back corner of our lot), and then (ugh) pay for materials and labor to build the thing. Once it's done, it will be EXCELLENT> Until then, I just drool over other peoples' cool "sheds" (as they are known in the UK.
As Alex in his shedworking blog posts:

An excellent slideshow of home offices in the Los Angeles Times features the marvellous garden office belonging to Santa Monica architect Jesse Bornstein (photos: Mark Boster), pictured above and below. As the LA Times says:
'Forget great rooms, walk-in closets and spa-like bathrooms. The home office has become the new staple of the American home.'
The rest of the slideshow is well worth a browse too.

(Via Shedworking and Homeworking.)
Labels: architecture, work

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1.05.2009

Feel like a slow start to anyone else?

I'm posting this in the hopes that it will kick-start the blogging for 2009...all day today things have seemed really slow, as we got back into the flow of work. How is it out there for everyone else?
Labels: vacation, work

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12.08.2008

Great Graphic Design makes everything better

One thing I remind people about all the time: everything anyone has ever made has been designed by someone. Great graphic design makes products, companies, and ideas more accessible by more people. Bad graphic design just makes products, companies, and ideas more opaque.

What differentiates the good from the bad? Lots of things. Focus. Brand integration. Accessibility. Grokability.

Paying someone $150, or $400, to design a logo will almost always result in bad design. Does that mean the designer who made it is not a good designer? Not necessarily. What it does mean is they aren't taking the time to find out what the essence of that brand should be. The same thing goes for paying a similar amount to design a website. Or a brochure. Even if you think about that money in terms of an hourly rate, rather than the value the design has for you (which is really how you should look at it), what does $150 translate to, in hours? I'll tell you: very, very little.

Would you trust a lawyer to draft the articles of incorporation for your business for $50? Would you let a $400 doctor operate on your heart?
Labels: advertising, advice, aiga, b2b, b2c, branding, graphic design, illustration, information graphics, interface, licensing, logo, marketing, nonprofits, packaging, process, ROI, seo, typography, visual information, web design, work

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7.30.2008

Inspiring

Most creatives I know have a space near their workstation where they put up all kinds of stufff to inspire them, remind them to do something a certain way, and whatnot. I've blogged about mine before, but thought I'd share the latest iteration of my wall:

Check out the plans for the new office space! And the cool bike jersey I designed for the scholarship fund.

Labels: creativity, work

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6.25.2008

Bike to Work Day

If you forgot to bike to work today, with the rest of us, make up for it by biking in tomorrow. You'll still get credit for it in my book. But only if you wear a tie.

photo by Mark Wolff, Rocky Mountain News
Labels: humor, work

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6.20.2008

The List, Item One: Do the Unpleasant Stuff First

These posts aren't specifically design-related, but they do speak to a working methodology that I have learned a lot from: my dad's. He had a list in his office that served as a set of guidelines for how to get things done quickly, efficiently, and well. I have no idea if he came up with it himself, or if he got it from somewhere else (although I suspect it might be a mix of the two), but having tried out The List on my own, it certainly has helped. So I wanted to share it with you.

The first thing on the list: Do the unpleasant stuff first.

There are several advantages of tackling the things that really make you cringe right off the bat. The best thing about it is that you get it done, it's out of the way, and you can now focus on things that you are more excited about. And a lot of times, if you do that Unpleasant Thing, you find that it wasn't so bad, after all. In most cases, what's the worst that could happen? Someone getting mad at you? Be disappointed in you? I'm not discounting these things as being bad--because in some contexts, they really can sting--but as they say in the old world, "you've still got your health, right?"

What this rule does for me is it forces me to look at my list of Stuff To Do and find that one thing that I would otherwise weave my way around until there was nothing else on that list to do....and then I'd probably make a new list with a bunch of other stuff on it in order to keep avoiding doing That Thing.

The problem is, That Thing would still be there. And it's not going away. The worst case scenario is that it's actually getting worse, just like an untreated wound festers without proper attention. So you need to get up out of your comfy chair and deal with it. Ideally, you'll get the most unwanted item off your plate, and lighten your work- and psychic loads. And even in the worst of all worlds--hey, at least you won't have it hanging off your shoulder like the proverbial albatross. Forever.
Labels: performance, productivity, ROI, work

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6.05.2008

Planning the shed--er, the office.

I met with my wonderful architect Liz Biondi today to flesh out our plans for my backyard work oasis, where I plan on moving the Notchcode offices as soon as timer, construction labor, and money permits. After our first meeting where Liz had asked a lot of great questions about what I wanted in a workspace/relaxing space (because any creative process requires a certain amount of room to breathe, so to speak), Liz drew up a plan that I really liked.

The only problem was that we'd have to pull in another water tap, a sewer tap, and potentially a gas line...three items that are budget-busters. So today we looked at a smaller space (although it's still around 400 square feet...not exactly a tiny space) that nixed the bathroom and hard-plumbed coffee bar (but we're still gonna have fine coffee beverages there, because otherwise I would be unable to function in any meaningful capacity).

Some highlights (besides the coffee bar, of course): good north light, passive (and possibly active) solar, all the server/printer/storage enclosed and out of the way, guest accommodations, room for 2-3 worker bees, and a space set aside for the enormous Argus light table I plan on prying out of the hands of one of my printers, since they aren't doing as much stripping as they used to.

Plans will be posted here as they become available. I want to share my experience with the rest of the design and home-working universe and get feedback from you all to make this the best creative space it can be!
Labels: architecture, productivity, work

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6.02.2008

Even Ira Glass Sucked before he got good.

Sometimes it's the people who know a good thing when they see it that know they aren't a good thing, themselves. At least not yet.

Ira Glass, of Chicago Public Radio's This American Life, is quite arguably one of our best storytellers currently broadcasting. He puts together compelling stories of every facet of our country's experience, told through the deceptively normal tales of the people around us. Stories that are compelling enough to keep nearly two million people coming back to hear more every week. And, apparently, he took a really long time to get good at it. Over eight years, in fact. And while he was sucking it up on NPR, where he worked before doing This American Life, he knew his writing and performances weren't as good as he wanted them to be. Now, this level of self-awareness isn't necessarily unique--in fact, Glass posits that all creative people, the ones who really are impassioned to make something unique to share with the world, these are the people who are the most aware of what a good piece of art is; and they are also (even sometimes they don't admit it to themselves) the most self-critical. As they work through the beginnings of their careers as creatives, they know they aren't good enough. At least not yet.

In this short video, Glass gives all creatives a locker room pep talk, telling us that it might seem like the game is over, but really it's not even halftime, and that we have to keep our heads in the game and persevere. And if we do? We'll come out on top. Or at least, a lot farther than we thought we could.

tip o' the Rapidograph to the Denver Egotist and Kottke for the link.
Labels: creativity, work

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5.28.2008

Busy Busy Busy

Just like about this time last year, things are heating up for us here. Lots to do. A sampling of this week's events:
rebranding proposal for a statewide non-profit organization
branding proposal for a new upscale product line
build-out of a website for a structural engineering consultancy
user interface revisions for a local non-profit organization's website
book cover design for an author
content intake for another non profit website project
designing a lenticular postcard for a state agency project
and about a half-dozen other things!
So apologies to all you folks who come here for design, branding, marketing and photography musings...I have a couple of things I want to talk about, but they'll have to wait until I can get up from under the aforementioned pile of projects!
Labels: work

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4.29.2008

Break Free from the tyranny of the clock

Zen Habits has a little post on something I've been practicing ever since I left my last corporate job and started my own firm: Leave the clock behind.

Now, before I get started, let me state that there are times for clocks: Need to be on-time to a client meeting, or (even more importantly) keep a meeting focused and on-track by limiting its duration? Have a court date? Other professional obligation? In those cases, yes, yes, YES, clocks are your friend. They keep us in sync with the rest of the world, keeping the trains running on time, metaphorically.

But this isn't about those cases. It's about the other 90 percent of your life.

In the rest of your life, ideally you don't need a clock. Your body tells you when you are sleepy, when you are ready to awake, when you're hungry, and so on. And your finely-honed sense of professional duty and personal passion for what you do tells you when to get to work (right? right?). So what's the clock for?

Now, yes, yes, YES I know: I am not chained to a cubicle, with a nefarious middle manager lording their supposed superiority over me. I am fortunate to run my own spread, and work with people who are responsible enough not to need much in the way of a clock, either. I'll give you that. But I've got to tell you, there's a lot to be said for waking up when you are no longer sleepy; eating when you are hungry; working when you need money (which, in the face of $4 a gallon gas, is pretty much every minute I'm awake).

My point is that if you live without a clock telling you when to do things, you are letting something else tell you when to do them. Like your body, or your mind, for instance. And I think that's a good thing.

Creatively-speaking, what does this do for you? Or for your clients? Well, if you're not clockwatching, then your are more likely to be actively engaged in your work. You are more likely to be thinking, and not just doing (which is to say: you will be doing your doing better, since you'll be paying more attention to it).

And as your ruler-toting nun teacher (or in my case, sharp-tongued and eagle-eyed philosophy teacher) would say, "if you're paying attention, you're learning." And isn't half, or more than half, of what a designer, marketer, copywriter, or artist does simply listening?

I posted on this topic a couple of years ago, relating that back in the 1600s, the village blacksmith didn't sit at his forge for eight hours, then go home. He worked when there was work that needed doing, or when he was feeling particularly inspired--whether that was at noon or at ten at night. The rest of the time he was, you know, being human. which is to say: having a life.
Labels: creativity, performance, work

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1.04.2008

Philip Pullman and working in a shed

Rodcorp has a nice little snippet about how the author Philip Pullman goes about his day, and the role working in a shed (we here in the states might call it a "detached home office") has in his daily routine. I post it here in the hopes that Alex over at Shedworking sees it and links to it (or at least reads it) over at Rodcorp and, if he finds it useful, posts it over there for his audience (and why not just message Alex? Well, blog reading is a nice passive leisure activity, and I don't want to bother him with some sort of seemingly purposeful info in case he's either already read the Pullman piece, or doesn't really find it relevant).

In any case, it is of interest to me because we are planning on moving the office out of the basement of the current location, and into a purpose-built structure out back. Lots of advantages, but Pullman raises the issue of it "...being down at the end of the garden, especially on rainy days." Well, no real issue for me, in Colorado, where a graphic designer looks forward to about 300 days of sunshine a year. But if I were about 1 percent lazier, I could see the point, even here.

How about you? Do you work (even part of the time) in a detached home office? What are the benefits? The issues?
Labels: architecture, work, writing

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12.31.2007

Just as I get used to writing "2007" on everything, here comes another year.

Happy New Year, loyal reader. This has been a great year at Notchcode. Lots of creative projects, and clients who actually get the fact that good design gets good results. We did a lot of interesting and worthwhile work. Some notable bits:
I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Yahoo! Media Group Flash advertising guidelines (thanks, ClickHere, for being so patient). For someone who really loves trying to avoid using Flash, I actually do a lot of it now, and have gotten to the point where I don't cringe when someone asks me to to 20 versions of the same ad, with different specs, programming, actions, and dimensions.

I got a even deeper into branding methodologies. Finding a good process for building a brand identity from the ground up can be a challenge. I found a great model in Alina Wheeler's work, and have built on it. It really doesn't matter if you are a low-budget startup or a multimillion dollar corporation; if you need branding work, the process is the same regardless of who you are. The difference is the resources you can bring to bear on things like competitive audits, testing, brand expressions, marketing, and the rest. But the philosophy and process is the same for a non-profit with a $5,000 budget as it is for a multinational corporation with a million dollar budget. This year I helped build two really nice brands for very different organizations, with different budgets, and by having a good process in place I was able to achieve success with both projects.

Print advertising was on the rise this year. I know that some folks keep talking recession, and downturn, but we had a record number of print ad accounts show up at our door this year. These are fun, because I got to work with very specific goals for each campaign, and we applied tracking practices to measure success whenever possible. And I know people keep talking about how print is dead, yaddah yaddah yaddah--it really isn't. If you can build a solid print campaign, it can work very well within a lot of markets.

Time management and project management is possible in a small office, if you have the right tools. Basecamp from 37 signals has been a great tool in keeping projects focused, on-time, and on-budget. And David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology, along with tweaks online fron Kinkless, the Omni Group, and 43folders keeps me from wanting to drive my car off a bridge because I have too much to do.

Sometimes the best projects are the ones you don't get paid to do. I could tell you horror stories about the pro bono work that comes with clients who assume that since you're doing it for free, then you must have plenty of time on your hands to make twenty additional revisions, change the concept right before it goes to press, and otherwise alter the scope of work and make your life crazy. Yes, that is the stereotype, and I have had my share. But I worked on a couple of pro bono project this year that were lovely, notably a re-election website for my local city councilperson, and ongoing work for a photographer friend of mine who makes amazing photographs of people, places, and things. They were both committed to the process, the project, and in making sure things worked well between us. Pro bono doesn't have to make you run the other way; just find projects you really care about, and get the right person on the other end of the project to align scope, expectations, and the rest with you so it doesn't go off the rails.

Once again, I have the most amazing vendors and partners in the world. I am talking about the great folks like Dave at Wandel, Keith at D&K, Tamera at Sprint, Justin at MailMasters of Colorado, the good folks at the local Compass Bank, and so many more. Combined with help, advice, and services from copywriter Jon, cartographer Nick, designer Heather, and SEO-program-dude Knox, Notchcode delivers a large agency footprint in a small agency package. You make me look good, and (more importantly) make my clients look great. Thanks, guys!
I got to meet some interesting and passionate lighting engineers. Passionate business executives. Passionate water and land use advocates. In fact, pretty much all of the clients around here were passionate about what they do. Which, obviously, helps make them so good at what they do. So a little unasked-for advice for 2008: be passionate about what you do!

Have a great new year's celebration out there, and we'll see you in 2008.
Labels: 2007, clients, holiday, work

posted at 4:17 PM Leave your comments here: 1 comments

6.07.2007

Do you know the way to San Jose?

I do, and I am here, in northern California, to prove it. I am here to see some fun clients, and I'll catch my friend Nick's work at the Comedia Dell'Arte (sure I misspelled it right there, being the uneducated boob that I am) over the weekend.

Initial impression: everyone here has a laptop, and they all hang out at the Borders store to work.
Labels: california, clients, laptop, vacation, work

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4.30.2007

Love those 18-hour workdays!

I am currently getting over my annual spring cold, and therefore it should come as no surprise that I was awake early this morning. 3:30, to be exact. After an hour of flailing around, trying to get back to sleep despite clogged sinuses and a raving headache, I decided to head down to work.

This is one of the many advantages of working from a home office; I was downstairs, drinking coffee and booting up my Mac before most of my east coast clients had even had breakfast. This is a first for me--I pride myself on not using an alarm clock to get up, so being up this early was remarkable.

To my amazement, I accomplished quite a bit. Some stock photo research (using Adobe's Bridge CS3, which isn't all bad), some invoicing and bill paying, some vendor RFQs, and even a little bit of creative work. All before I saw clients' IM avatars showing up as "active". For a while, I thought about the possibilities of working this early every day. But I am not a morning person, unless forced into a sunrise photo shoot or a night shift press check; my body would rebel after a week or so of 5am wakeups (my condolences and awe are due to all of you who actually are up and moving that early as a matter of course, of course). After about six weeks of stumbling around at all hours tending to newborn twins, my body simply stopped responding--I just slept through it all, to the chagrin of my wife.

But today was a nice exception. I got a lot done, and was on my bike for a morning ride by 7:30. The downside came with some catch-up work this evening, which I've just wrapped up (at 10:45pm), and I am only now realizing I sort of, uh, forgot to eat dinner (do you think the two cups of coffee, three cups of espresso, two mochas, and three cups of green tea make up for it?)

And now, it is time to surrender to the bliss of slumber, only to be interrupted by the sound of the newborn hatchlings outside the window, saying good morning to the sun.

Unless, of course, I can't sleep again.
Labels: adobe, early morning, illness, work

posted at 10:34 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

1.04.2007

Bright and Shiny

It's another spin around the sun, folks. Here are some things that will make it a more productive and enjoyable one:

OmniGraffle. This graphical diagramming tool is a real boon to anyone who needs to visualize a complex process, system, or flow of information. Say, a website, for example. And not only that, you can create wireframe prototypes (that actually work) with them, courtesy of Michael Angeles of urlgreyhot (which is one of the most inventive web development names I've come across in the last 12 months).

Lists. Yeah, baby. As sexy as ever, make some lists. Get it off your mind, onto paper, and then look at the damn things on a regular basis. The bonus: when you cross stuff off of a list, you feel good...sort of like laughing at a good joke. Or imbibing rare Tortolan rum. Or, whatever makes you feel good. If you really need help making a list, go get one of David Allen's books, or just buy a stack of index cards and a binder clip, and get going.

Personal Days. Use them or lose your soul, bit by bit. I would recommend a day spent with the phone and computer off, perhaps waiting until everyone else has left the house to get out of bed, followed by an hour or so at the coffeehouse, with another hour in a bookstore. Then lunch, a hike, and happy hour with some friends, who will undoubtedly pour your beer all over your head when you tell them what you were doing while they were working on their TPS reports.

Smile. Corny, I know. But it makes you feel good, and makes others around you feel good, too.

That's all the advice I am willing to give, in the context of starting a new year. Let me know how it works out. As for me, I am going to go take a nap. And then get back to work on those TPS reports.
Labels: 2007, advice, new year, omnigraffle, productivity, work

posted at 9:29 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

12.29.2006

anyone else working today?

I routinely feel like Ebenezer Scrooge. Not that I'm tighter than a high-strung violin, or stingier than a pack rat, but because I find myself working on these days before holiday weekends...the days my clients and most of the rest of the country seems to be taking off.

I've stopped trying to actually go to client offices on days like these (unless I call ahead), or to schedule meetings, which is a good thing; I suffer from the small businessperson's curse of being drawn into working. all. the. time.

Having a home office as well doesn't help matters. I do have the self-discipline--most weeks--to stay away from it when the notchcode offices are "closed".

And that's what we are today, for the most part (blogging activities excluded, of course): closed.

Have a wonderful last couple of 2006 days, and we'll see you on the other side.
Labels: friday, holiday, work

posted at 12:29 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments