Get the Clients You Want

Now you, can get me, in downloadable ebook form via the fine folks at Flywheel. Available in exchange for your email.

In my independent practice, I’ve had clients that run the spectrum from inspiring and wonderful to kind of soul-crushing. I’ve had relationships with kindred spirits working together to make a project the best it could be. Those I hold on to. Then there have been those clients akin to after-school detention. You know the ones. They come with the expectation of silence on your part and a process that reminds me of chalk sentences on the board with little chance of making something valuable.

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Build a better design process

The latest article on Flywheel’s design publication The Layout on honing how what I do gets done.

Ever been in a situation where someone higher up decides that everyone is going to follow some new process because that’s what so and so is doing and it’s supposed to be awesome? No one asks what’s working in the current process or why certain parts may be underperforming. This type of change is usually followed by scrambling, confusion, and overthinking to the point of paralysis. Instead, I started asking myself as well as other designers I work with: “How do you like to work?” That’s the start to building a process that works.

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Why I wanted to be a designer.

This Flywheel post was a bit more challenging but it came together well with Chris Wolfgang's editorial eye. Enjoy.

When I was in school over ten years ago, the main pathway from student debt to adult salary seemed to be working at an agency that had lots of clients. Success was defined by the size of the budgets, the reach of the brands, and how many awards you landed. It was something I was interested in at first but eventually tired of. Don’t get me wrong. There are exciting careers that follow this path, generating amazing work along the way. But it’s not for everybody.

If it isn’t for you, how do you find your thing? 

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For the where, here’s my why

Next up for Flywheel. The anatomy of a supportive design community.

But what makes a design community great? There’s lots to be said about working as a creative professional in a big city with so many exciting things happening all the time it’s hard to keep up. And there’s lots to be said about smaller places and their interesting, unique opportunities. Regardless of location specifics, I have an important set of criteria that I think makes a great – and supportive – design community.

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Make things with weirdos

My third contribution to Flywheel. How to improve your design skills.

Because of self-initiated, collaborative projects, I got better at kerning. I got better at seeing the big picture. I got better at recognizing when an idea I had wasn’t very good. I learned how to keep a project moving, how to have ownership in the work, and why opening the project up to collaboration gets me to a place I never would have reached on my own.

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Hugs and High Fives

My second contribution to Flywheel. A “work in progress” framework for client relationships.

In my independent practice, I’ve had clients that run the spectrum from inspiring and wonderful to kind of soul-crushing. I’ve had relationships with kindred spirits working together to make a project the best it could be. Those I hold on to. Then there have been those clients akin to after-school detention. You know the ones. They come with the expectation of silence on your part and a process that reminds me of chalk sentences on the board with little chance of making something valuable. Those relationships don’t last, thankfully.

Read on the Flywheel blog »

I want you to see it all, for the most part.

The fine folks at Flywheel asked me to write some posts for their blog. The first was just published. It’s about portfolios and such.   

A designer, especially an independent one, has to stay current: in your knowledge of the latest design trends, being up-to-date on software, and with the type of projects being done, from responsive websites to compelling infographics. And also, making sure your portfolio and the work shared on it aren’t flying on 2011 coattails.

Read on the Flywheel blog »