David Airey, graphic designer

Proverbially speaking

Published on August 17th, 2010 19 appreciated comments »

Chinese proverbs might not relate directly to the design profession, but with a little translation, it’s easy to see how designers can heed the advice.

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Archived under Business, Resources.

I wish I’d known that

Published on August 10th, 2010 40 appreciated comments »

What advice would you give a design graduate? Chris Arnold, founder of Creative Orchestra and former creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, offers his pearls of wisdom.

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Archived under Business, Marketing.

AIGA panel on spec work

Published on July 13th, 2010 8 appreciated comments »

Here’s a video from an AIGA Metro North event titled reSPECt, “A civilized dialog between advocates and opponents of speculative branding and design work.”

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Archived under Business.

More than just a title

Published on July 3rd, 2010 7 appreciated comments »

Titles can matter to those who hire you, but you’ve got to make sure you walk the walk.

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Archived under Business.

Self-employment advice for designers

Published on May 25th, 2010 53 appreciated comments »

This month brought with it my five-year anniversary as a self-employed graphic designer, so I’m taking the opportunity to offer 15 pieces of advice to those thinking of “going it alone.”

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Archived under Business.

How to convince your clients they need a brand, not just a logo

Published on May 7th, 2010 32 appreciated comments »

The following advice has been excerpted from the May/June 2010 issue of Layers Magazine, and was written by brand identity designer Andrew Sabatier.

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Archived under Branding, Business.

How to win friends and influence people

Published on April 21st, 2010 66 appreciated comments »

“In his exuberant, conversational style, internationally bestselling author Dale Carnegie offers practical advice and techniques for how to get out of a mental rut and make your life more rewarding.”

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Archived under Business.

Becoming a self-employed graphic designer

Published on March 3rd, 2010 62 appreciated comments »

Graphic designers often ask how I made the switch to self-employment. Here’s a quick overview of that period in my life in 2004/05.

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Archived under Business.

Improve your portfolio with pro bono design

Published on February 22nd, 2010 53 appreciated comments »

You’re a graphic design student with a portfolio full of fictitious projects. You want to work with clients to build your experience, but you need a more developed portfolio to attract the clients. A classic catch-22.

That’s when working pro bono proves extremely useful.

Read on to learn why, and for a chance to win one of five signed copies of Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities.

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Archived under Business, Identity.

The design pricing formula

Published on August 17th, 2009 50 appreciated comments »

Money roll photo by Gnerk

Pricing is a task a lot of designers struggle with, and I’m regularly asked how I work it out. As much as I want to, I can’t tell you what you should be charging, and the design pricing formula explains why.

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Archived under Business, Marketing, Resources.