Talent is Not Enough - CH7

In Chapter 7 of Talent Is Not Enough, the legal aspects of starting your own design firm are the main focus. There are many things that a designer can get held up on while starting their own firm starting with the type of business that they want to set up. This can vary depending on the size and complexity of your business. You could start out as a sole proprietor which means that you are the single employee of your own business. this generally requires little effort and money to get set up. The next option is a general partnership. In a partnership the business is made up of two or more people that hold the business as co-owners. This generally does not require much formal paperwork or effort in order to be obtained. Next, designers could acquire a limited partnership. This is when the day to day operations are made separate from the legal and investing aspects of the company. This limits the control of the management on their part. The chapter then begins to move into the direction of the different types of corporations. Corporations are defined as being a separated from the legal and founding employers of the corporation. The two types of corporations are type "C" and "S". These two are generally harder to set up than a partnership or sole proprietor. The final business model is an LLC or limited liability corporation. This type of business model is very common because it is generally very easy to set up and also offers a wide range of benefits such as liability from business debts and smaller taxation.

Talent is Not Enough- Ch 3 and 6

Chapter 3 in the talent is not enough book begins to discuss issues when beginning a freelance career in design. Although it is a good way to expand your network and portfolio, there are many issues that designers get caught up in that may cause them legal troubles. Many of the issues that are discussed deal with the benefits that you may have to provide for yourself, or your employees if you own a small private business. This relatively short chapter also touches on the different documents that freelancing may require such as W-9, invoices, purchase orders and form 1099.

Chapter 6 of Talent is not Enough dives a little deeper into the world of freelance design. When freelancing it is important not only to know your worth within the market, but also how much it will cost you to operate. To do this, you must calculate your expenses such as office supplies, travel expenses, insurance, and advertising. The overall message in this chapter is to price yourself so you are successful and also competitive with other designers.

Ch6 - Complete Graphic Designer

In the final chapter of The Complete Graphic Designer branding is discussed. Branding is described as how something is perceived by the viewer. Today branding is very important in order to establish yourself, company, or client as a reliable and accurate representation of your product. The way your brand us perceived can also give you great financial results. An example used in the book was the difference between a .49 cent cup of coffee and a $3.00 cup of coffee. The way that a company such as Starbucks has built upon their brand has allowed them to charge more, not only due to the quality of the coffee, but also because of the experience that the customer has come to expect from the brand. Another important aspect of this chapter was the different kinds of brands. These include: Monolithic brands (brands with a dominant presence), subsidiary brands ( parented beneath a larger brand), Endorsed brand (a product or division of a larger brand) and Pluralistic brands (a large brand that is a sort of container for established brands). The next important piece of information in this chapter is the importance of market research. This can be done in many ways. First, market research can be obtained by gathering specific information with surveys and interviews with consumers. Focus groups are another form of obtaining market research information. This is when a small group is gathered with similar age, race and income are gathered and asked similar questions in order to obtain valuable information. Next up there is mystery shopping. Mystery shopping is a way for the client to gather information without the audience even knowing often times. This way employees and customers are not put on the spot to gather information, but they are observed. Finally, there is usability testing. This uses groups similar to focus groups to involve the consumer with giving feedback in many ways by using the desired product before its release. This can be anything from design to ease of use to its functionality. The chapter wraps up by describing many other ways of promoting your brand such as interior and exterior signs and package design that must remain consistent throughout in order to maintain an established identity.

Ch5 - Complete Graphic Designer

In chapter 5 of The Complete Graphic Designer, the author discusses how to successfully create an identity for yourself or a company. In the first section of this chapter it is made clear that an identity is not a brand, but instead it is a visual system that helps to identify goals, values and the personality of the company or individual. It is important not to confuse the identity with that of the brand which is all in the mind of the consumer. It is the consumers perception of the company or individual that makes up a brand. Another important aspect to creating a successful identity is to maintain consistent throughout all of your branding materials. Consistency is imperative in order to establish the brand as a legitimate business or company. Another important aspect to consider while creating an identity is to design for longevity. This means that when creating a logo and deciding on colors, typefaces etc... that the designer should not focus on current design trends to use as a crutch, but rather look at building a strong identity that suits the brand itself. This brings us to the importance of the assets that build the identity such as the logo, color and typefaces. All of these elements that build an identity are important to establish the brand in the consumers mind and make them easily identifiable. Next, the chapter moves on to the paper systems that are established within the brand. This includes letterheads, business cards, and mailing envelopes. All of these materials are meant to be designed in a way that represents the established identity and informs the consumer of the origin of these materials. In order to maintain a consistent look throughout these materials it is important to build a brand usage document or style guide. having one of these will ensure that all of the colors, logos and typefaces are used properly throughout all materials within the company which will help to establish a stronger brand identity.

AIGA- Jeff Fisher

Jeff Fisher is logo designer that is known worldwide for some of his logo designs. However I felt that this lecture was geared towards an older audience that may not be aware of the different ways that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be used to promote yourself. Most of this lecture was spent talking about this or different books he had been featured in. Although I have a lot of respect for the way that he has taken initiative and built a business around doing what he loves; creating logos, I felt that this lecture was not very informative. I think that much more of the time could have been used to speak about how he created his brand and the different philosophies he used while creating a brand around himself, rather than how to use your Facebook status. Although Jeff has become a successful designer throughout his career, he mentioned that he does not keep up to date with many of the up and coming design trends. I have heard this from many designers, however I have to wonder, Is this a good idea for all designers?

There were a few positive things from this lecture too. One thing that was touched on briefly was treating yourself like a product. This will help to build a stronger identity. Another useful tip from this lecture was to make yourself as a personal business seem bigger than you really may be. For example, Jeff always refers to his business as a firm, making him sound larger and more capable of quality work. This technique can give you an advantage over other freelance designers that do not market themselves this way.

The Complete Graphic Designer- Chapter 3

In chapter 3 of Complete Graphic Designer many of the basics such as the importance of grid structures were discuss. Personally I felt that this was really good for me to read right now because I feel that I have lost touch with using grid structures a little bit. This section has helped me remember how important grids and organization in your work really are. Although this process may be basic it is the most important in order to create a successful design. Other aspects such as photography are discussed in order to talk about how they can be incorporated based on different issues such as copyright, amount of content and most importantly style. This chapter may have been somewhat of a review, however I felt that it was important for me to revisit things like this in order to help reinforce the importance of basic design processes.

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