Comments for The Design Cubicle

Comment on What does a website cost? by Deidra Wilson

Deidra Wilson — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:48:29 +0000

What a great way of looking at this. Like a bum house with a leaky roof and bad plumbing, you get what you pay for with websites

Comment on What does a website cost? by Iggy

Iggy — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:26:49 +0000

I’ve asked the question. Basically, you wonder where the starting point is. You need to know where the base price is. In a world where you can pay $500 or 10s of thousands of $ you kinda ask out of politeness.

You know, I could have a simple 6 page website and yet quotes could vary by 50 or 100 times or more depending on designer. And sometimes prices has little to do with ability and more to do with sales ability you know. It’s difficult to assume anything in this world.

Where will you actually start engaging with me? At what point? You know, that’s all I ever want to know when I ask this question, and sometimes its like squeezing water out of a stone!

Comment on What does a website cost? by Web Design Southampton

Web Design Southampton — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:08:59 +0000

Great little read Brian. We take 50+ calls a day from prospective clients, and this is easily their most common question!

Comment on Hardest Part Of Being a Graphic Designer by MichelleL

MichelleL — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:21:25 +0000

I’m going with all of the above, too. And I whole-heartedly agree with what BeckySue wrote. This field poses challenges from so many angles, that I believe simply BEING a graphic designer is the greatest proof that you either really love to create… or that you’re insane.

Not sure which of those two categories I fall into, but I’m more than happy to add my list of grievances to those of my fellow graphic artists. Especially whilst I’m facing certain job elimination after 6 years in my position, and scrambling like a madwoman to find a new job in a bad economy. So here are my complaints about the industry:

The time and energy involved: Designing your own promotional materials (branding/logo, stationery, resume, business card, brochure or other leave-behind, interview folder, online portfolio, hardcopy portfolio); Learning new software, tools, tricks, coding languages, web standards, etc.; Applying to jobs, writing proposals/contracts, doing side-work for little to no compensation so you can have those “WOW” pieces in your portfolio that your regular 9-5 doesn’t give you the creative freedom to produce; Trying to stay motivated/creative under pressure in a highly competitive field; Staying up and working for over 24 hours straight to keep up your momentum on a project that inspires you (or frustrates you)

The costs involved: All those promotional materials I listed above? Gotta get them all printed! Employers and clients want to see high-quality print on high-quality stock. That’s $$$ right there, all out of pocket. And although times are hard for everyone, and they want you to find cost-effective solutions for THEM, they don’t want to see any cutting-corners from us; Fonts. Gotta buy fonts so you aren’t using the same old tired ones. Even if you create a font, you need the software to do it; Stock art; Camera; Scanner; Computer,; Internet Service; Software; Web-hosting; The work we do for free or chump-change for those “WOW” pieces I mentioned; All the costs of doing business if you’re a freelancer.

And what really irritates me is that, even with ALL those things we have to do and pay for, recruiters want more. They want you to blog and post status updates regularly on social networking sites. It’s almost like recruiters want you to make graphic design an all-consuming obsession. And though I do love graphic design, I have other interests and hobbies, and don’t mind being able to eat, sleep and relax once in a while like other normal working people.

I used to dream about being a novelist, but thought it sounded like a lot of work. Now I’d consider it a vacation!

Comment on Advanced Color Correction Tutorial by A.J.

A.J. — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:53:44 +0000

“the number between Red and Green is double that between Green and Blue”
I’ve analyzed this in every way and just cannot understand how this is so in the final solution.

Comment on 10 Common Typography Mistakes by Kees

Kees — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:59:45 +0000

You make one of the biggest mistakes in web design that almost all websites are doing these days, and that is using light grey colour text which for many people with visual difficulties,is difficult to read. Personally if its not crystal clear and easy to read, I don’t bother reading it.

Comment on All the Logo Design Resources You Will Ever Need by trace cell phone

trace cell phone — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:00:49 +0000

I really love the logo design in your post. keep it up. . wow…great job.

Comment on What does a website cost? by grocery coupons

grocery coupons — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:21:31 +0000

I too get that question a lot. How much will SEO cost is the question that I get. So many things go into a quote for services that both you and I offer that it is too hard to just give out a price. Thanks for your great analogy on this topic too.

Comment on 20 Questions To Ask Clients Prior To Designing A Logo by grocery coupons

grocery coupons — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:18:14 +0000

This is a great list, thanks. Not only are the questions great, but I have come up with a few more just from reading this list. Thanks so much, I’ll use this in the future for sure.

Comment on Questions to ask clients before designing a website by Robert Maxim Website Solutions

Robert Maxim Website Solutions — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:18:56 +0000

Great list Brian, et al. My problem is not the questions so much as getting them answered. I do auto repair website design and getting clients to provide more than their business name and address is like pulling teeth! I have tried collecting info in a variety of ways but haven’t found anything to make it easier for them and especially for me. If anyone has any tips on “extracting” info I’d greatly appreciate it!