David Airey, graphic designer » Marketing

I wish I’d known that

David Airey — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:48:53 +0000

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.

——

It’s tough. Very tough. And there is a truth in the fact that only the toughest survive. The lazy ones fail. You need to be proactive, no-one is going to call you. You have to make your own opportunities, make your own destiny. Your success is in your hands. As is your failure. But here are a few tips. Most are based on the very basics of marketing. Many are common sense. Sometimes you just have to think like a creative director (CD) and then you’d wake up to what motivates them.

Never send out blanket ‘Dear Sir’ emails. Total waste of time. Personalise all communications and do your homework. Know about them and their company and work. Quality is better then quantity.
Do something that will get a CD (or senior) to really want to see you. They are time short so can’t see many grads. Like any good design or advertising, it’s all about impact. They are looking for the ones that stand out.
You are not God, yet. Never tell them how great you are, “hot talent,” you aren’t. Not yet. You are fresh but green and making claims you are great makes you look arrogant and deluded. They already have great people working there, so why will they hire you? Mainly because you are cheap, work hard, and have potential.
Be different. So many books are all the same. Colleges turn-out sausage factory students with the same work. Blame the bean counters in Whitehall. Bin it. Start afresh and make the work yours. It should reflect your values, approach and style, not your tutors. Be employed for who you are, not who the college wanted you to be.
Work hard. Really hard. You’ve been in cotton wool land for three years doing no real work with no real pressure by our standards. This is the real world. You need to work harder, faster, and all-hours. And never use Facebook at work. Friends, socialising, all comes second.
Forget money. If you land a job, great. Most will spend months, maybe years doing unpaid or poorly-paid placements. It’s not the money but the work that really matters. Get a job in a bar or pizza joint. You’ll need it.
It’s not just about the work but about people. You need to engage future employees, be nice, listen, be humble, take advice. Never argue or be arrogant (as an employee the boss’s word is king). You need them more than they need you — the pool of talent for employees is very big. Make them like you. We want nice people with potential talent. Once you’ve seen someone, try and keep the connection going, come back, build a relationship.
Think of yourself as a brand. You need to be remembered. What will they remember you for? What defines you? If you have it in you, do something that defines you. Invent something, develop a unique skill, get noticed for something — it creates a talking point.
Action. Try and get a second interview. Ask to come back when you’ve renewed your folio. Ask about work experience. Ask for honest feedback or how you could make the grade to get a job there.
Remember, it’s a very subjective world and some will love your folio, some will hate it. The better it is, the more polar the response. If everyone just likes it then it’s average.

Chris Arnold
Founder & CD, Creative Orchestra
(Former CD Saatchi & Saatchi, Draft, STH, Feel, Alliance…)

——

These tips were originally left on the Creative Review blog, republished here with permission.

Chris is author of Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer: Marketing in the New Ethical Economy. Available to buy here:

More help for design graduates from Lee Newham with these CV tips and design interview tips.

Other past posts here that you might find of use: what graphic design schools are lacking, and self-employment advice for designers.

Image courtesy of Thinkstock

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Figuring out the Amazon Sales Rank

David Airey — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:53:52 +0000

I’m keen to know how book sales are going, so it makes sense to check the stats provided by the world’s largest bookseller, Amazon. The retailer displays what’s known as the Amazon Sales Rank.

Here’s a quote from Amazon’s help page.

What Sales Rank means

As an added service for customers, authors, publishers, artists, labels, and studios, we show how items in our catalog are selling. The lower the number, the higher the sales for that particular item. The calculation is based on Amazon.com sales and is updated each hour to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold on Amazon.com. We hope you find the Amazon.com Sales Rank interesting!

What Category Sales Ranks mean

While Amazon.com Sales Rank is a good indicator of how well a product is selling overall, it doesn’t always indicate how popular an item is among other similar items. Our category sales ranks were created to highlight those categories where an item really stands out. We choose a few categories where the item has a high ranking in relation to other items in that category, and showcase them on the product page. Like Amazon.com Sales Rank, these category rankings are based on Amazon.com sales and updated every hour.

For “competitive reasons” Amazon won’t give actual sales figures.

Here’s how Logo Design Love is faring (figures updated hourly).

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: #1,539 in Books

If you were to view specific categories, my book’s listed as follows:

#2 in Advertising (#1 is It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be)
#2 in Graphic Arts (#1 is The Art of Looking Sideways)
#2 in Brands & Corporate Identity (#1 is Crush It!)

I wonder if the category rankings are affected by the reader-assigned tags you can see on each product page.

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,606 in Books

There’s a much larger catalogue sold through the .com site, so it makes sense that my ranking is lower in the United States.

Strangely, Logo Design Love sits at #1 in Amazon’s illustration category, yet ranks at #30 for graphic design — if you’re an illustrator, I think there’s a niche in the book market for your talents.

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #29,996 in Books

Reader reviews don’t carry across borders, so although there are 17 Logo Design Love reviews on Amazon.com, there are only nine shown on Amazon.co.uk, and just two on Amazon.ca.

This might explain the lower Canadian figure, or it may also be because my publisher is based in the United States, and I’m based in the United Kingdom, leaving no physical presence in Canada.

Where’s the value?

So if number assigned to your book varies by the hour, is there any point spending time checking?

The Sales Rank comes into its own when an author carries out a marketing push. Say for instance that one week a book is mentioned on Design Observer, and the next it’s shown on Swiss Miss, an author can track which website brought a higher Sales Rank during the days immediately after the feature (useful info for future marketing plans).

Leave it to Amazon

If your book is performing well, Amazon will help. To illustrate, England-based Daniel Gray kindly forwarded me an email Amazon sent. I wasn’t previously aware of the message, and here’s what it said:

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,

We’ve noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Logo by Michael Evamy have also purchased Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities (Voices That Matter) by David Airey. For this reason, you might like to know that Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities (Voices That Matter) is now available. You can order yours for just £12.98 (50% off the RRP) by following the link below.

Evamy’s Logo is probably the most popular logo gallery book to be published (it’s one of the few I keep), and I imagine plenty of other people have bought a copy from Amazon.

Of much more importance to me than the Sales Rank are the reader comments. If someone gets use out of my content, and if they tell others about it, then by extension, word of mouth will help the sales take care of themselves.

I can imagine some authors have become addicted to checking their Sales Rank stats, in the same way people religiously check their web stats or online bank accounts.

Anyway, now you know as much about Amazon’s tracking tool as I do.

Amazon Sales Rank mentioned elsewhere

Amazon Sales Rank: Insider’s Guide to Book Marketing
Book Marketing, Amazon Sales Rankings, and Tracking Book Sales, on The Self-Publisher’s Notebook
Quickly check your Amazon Sales Rank across the .com, .ca, .co.uk, .fr, .de, and .co.jp sites using Sales Rank Express

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Tips for finding and securing graphic design jobs

David Airey — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:47:35 +0000

I receive a lot of email asking for advice about graphic design jobs, so to help, I’ve created this short Q&A video. I consider the advice to be pretty basic, but I’m asked often enough to warrant a post.

The following four questions are answered:

I’m moving abroad. Do you have any advice for design job hunting?
How should I make initial contact with the design studio?
Should I offer to mail the studio a printed portfolio?
Do you have any interview tips?

I’m not too hot at these video posts just yet, so bear with me.

Watch on Vimeo If you can’t see the embedded video above.

Referenced resources

I normally answer reader questions via email or with a typed blog post—the old “your questions answered” series, for example—but it’s good to mix things up, and I’ve wanted some practice at creating video posts since back when I took on the book project.

Do you have any tips for designers looking for jobs?

If you have another question you’d like me to answer, fire away.

Image credit: the type junkie

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

New not improved

David Airey — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:01:48 +0000

Just because something is new, doesn’t mean it’s better.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

The design pricing formula

David Airey — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:02:54 +0000

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.

(Updated following this comment from James Chartrand.)

No-one knows better than you how much talent you have, and every project specification is different. If your client is asking for a rush-job, they’ll expect to pay a higher rate.

The physical location of my clients doesn’t change what I charge, but it could alter what the client is willing to spend.

Here are some pricing articles to help.

About design pricing

12 Realities of Pricing Design Services, by Steven Snell
Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price, by Collis Ta’eed
Is Charging More the Right Thing to Do? on Men With Pens
The Subtle Effects of Pricing on the Mentality of Clients, on FreelanceSwitch

And a few previous ones here on my blog.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Good design kills 20,000

David Airey — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:13:17 +0000

At the battle of Carrhae in 53 B.C.

In the year 53 B.C., Marco Casio invaded Parthia with a 40,000 man army, and the goal of expanding the Roman Empire.

It was a disaster.

This was mainly due to the design of the Parthian bow, a weapon made with a laminated spring, with a range and power that made the Roman legions defenseless. 20,000 Romans died, 10,000 were taken prisoner.

The Parthians did not prevail because they had a better general, they prevailed because they had a better designer.

Excerpted from @Issue Journal of Business & Design.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Imitation vs differentiation

David Airey — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:02:46 +0000

Photo by Jill Murray

Starting a business isn’t easy. That’s a given. But when people have tread the path before you, it’s tempting to imitate. After all, if they’re successful, why not do it just like them and be successful too? Thing is, you’re not like the others. People don’t do business with you because you work like someone else. They choose you because of who you are.

A follower, or an initiator?

Think about what makes you stand out. Your higher quality product. Your excellent customer service. Your attention to detail. Use that to show your potential clients that you’re the right choice for them. Not how similar you are to someone else.

If you find that others are imitating you, take solace in these three valid reasons to never fear being copied. Here’s a quick excerpt from Dwight’s timely words.

Chinese automakers BYD (Build Your Dreams, seriously) and Geely have been blatantly ripping-off designs from Mercedes-Benz and Rolls Royce, two of the most prestigious auto brands in the world.

It’s shameful.

It’s undignified.

But does it even matter?

Do you think any of the world’s millionaires will one day wake up and say, “Oh, I’d love to buy a Mercedes-Benz CLK… but the BYD S8 is a cheaper alternative, so let me buy that instead.”

BYD S8

Mercedes-Benz CLK

It’s the brand that people associate with. You know… the story. And if that wasn’t true, we’d all be proud Skoda owners.

Imitation around the blogging circuit

An example closer to home relates to design blogs and the “top whatever” lists that increasingly crop up. Everything’s good in moderation, but say for example you see a post referencing the “top 20 designers on Twitter”, you can bet your life that if you add your own 20 picks and republish as a top 40, it won’t be long before someone “betters” it with a top 100, 200, or 500. Where do you draw the line?

It’s not a competition to see who can copy and paste.

It’s all about you.

As a blog author, differentiate yourself with compelling, personal, unique content so you won’t lose your audience to the next 100+1 list.

As Seth says in reference to the video below (worth three minutes of your time), “guy #49 is irrelevant“. It’s the initiators people remember and forge a bond with.

What do you reckon?

Are you promoting what sets you apart, or are you seduced by imitation?

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Northern Ireland’s designer twits

David Airey — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:23:03 +0000

Illustration by Matt Hamm

Increasingly mentioned in the media, Twitter has replaced Delicious as my bookmarking tool of choice. I’m always interested in what local designers are up to, so here’s a “Top of the Twitter Design Charts” for Northern Ireland (be great to get a coffee / pint one weekend soon).

Designer twits in Northern Ireland (listed by # of followers)

6,489 — @gracesmith — Grace Smith (Postscript5)
4,516 — @webcreative — Leeanne Lowe (Web Creative)
4,376 — @davidairey — David Airey (Logo Design Love)
3,020 — @problogdesign — Michael Martin (Pro Blog Design)
2,712 — @leemunroe — Lee Munroe (Lee Munroe)
838 — @webireland — Paul Anthony (Web Distortion)
554 — @acejet170 — Richard Weston (Ace Jet 170)
548 — @davymac — David Macdonald (davymac)
487 — @vectorfunk — Eamonn Murphy (Vectorfunk)
460 — @darrylxxx — Darryl Collins (Banjax Web Design)

Doesn’t seem a lot, does it? Surely there are more.

(Yes, but don’t call me Shirley.)

Find designers on Twitter

Twellow is a searchable Twitter directory that can help you find graphic designers nearby (I’m listed even though I’ve never entered details, so I guess it’s comprehensive).

Twitterholic is another that gives more stats than Twellow. Here’s a top 100 list for Northern Ireland, but I see some users aren’t indexed.

Remember though, Twitter’s not a competition.

I’ve thought about adding an extra field to my comment form, where if you enter your Twitter username it’ll automatically add a link to your profile, kind of like how Darren does it on TwiTip. Can anyone help with that?

Update: 15 June 2009
I’ve installed the Twitip ID plugin, so you should now see an extra field in the comment form. Thanks for the tip-off, Rarst.

Lee also let me know about his new side-project, Tweet NI, which looks like a great way to find twits in Norn Irn.

In summary, can’t touch this.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Getting your foot in the door

David Airey — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:02:20 +0000

Lee Newham is was a senior designer at London-based consultancy P&W. He received three or four CVs (resumés) every day, and here he offers some tips on how graphic designers can get to the top of the pile.

CV tips for graphic designers

99% of CVs are poorly designed. It’s a struggle.

If your CV is good, and relevant to me, you have a higher chance of getting a response.

The creative director often isn’t the person to contact. Many times senior designers are the first port of call for interviews. There is no harm in sending a CV to more than one person at an agency.

Be creative, but don’t be pushy. Agencies find it very difficult to enlist good staff. That’s why most use expensive recruitment agencies.

Here’s my advice to graphic designers trying to get their CV to the top of the pile:

Brand yourself. Make yourself memorable. I know that some people may disagree with this, which seems to be a USA thing, but your CV is seen by a creative, not the accountants. ‘Wow’ them.
Be more than a sheet of paper. Most CVs are now sent by email. What can you do to differentiate yourself?
Don’t include things I don’t care about, like ’I once worked as a waiter’ or ’I got a qualification in chemistry’. I don’t care if you like swimming. I do care, however, if you saw the last lecture by Paul Rand before he died and what your thoughts were. Make it relevant.
Ensure everything is beautifully presented. Consider your kerning and double-check there are no silly mistakes — we all want to employ a safe pair of hands.
Follow-up anything you send with a phone call, but remember, don’t hassle, be polite. Ask them what they thought of your CV and how it could be improved.
Don’t try too hard. One student sent a mailer that was a fake bomb (with the tag line ’dynamite designer’. The bomb squad were called and the designer was contacted — by the police. He didn’t get the job. This raises another point — don’t boast, no-one wants to employ an arrogant designer. Never say you are the best. Leave that to Mohammed Ali.

Patience + time = job. Good luck.

Your thoughts

Do you have any additional CV tips to share?

Once your foot’s in the door, Lee has these interview tips to help you nail the next step in the process.

Header image: Thinkstock

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Designing through a recession

David Airey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:34:15 +0000

Here in the UK it’s all doom and gloom — at least that’s what the politicians would have you believe. As a self-employed designer, however, I’m in a great position to take advantage of the credit crunch, and with the right preparation, you can be too.

In this article I share the thoughts of some talented designers who are discussing the pros and cons of today’s economic climate.

“My advice to you: learn how to run projects, learn how to run a business, learn about and adopt uncompromising professionalism. Whether you’re a freelancer or an agency designer, there’s an opportunity here for you to leverage your online blog/portfolio reputation and build yourself a strong place in the profession.”
— ANDY RUTLEDGE

Andy writes a compelling piece on why we should be optimistic, and I find myself agreeing with much of what he has to say.

“How do we go about replacing clients or gaining new ones at a time when people are at their most cautious? Does being a studio with premises give you an advantage over someone who works from home? Being a freelancer at this point could give you an advantage over a studio as you have fewer overheads, but studios have the physical presence which acts as a 24/7 billboard advert to draw in new clients.”
— SARAH PARMENTER

Sarah goes on to mention how some of her clients are taking longer to pay, as they tighten their purse strings. My most common payment structure of taking 50% in advance, with the remainder upon completion — and just before original artwork is supplied — has meant I’ve not seen any of this, but I wonder if you’re experiencing anything different.

Image copyright Aaron Russell

“The truth is, as freelance web designers we have good reason to be optimistic. With slashed budgets, marketers may increasingly turn to email, viral and web marketing as they seek better value for money and return on investment. And when companies begin to lay off staff, it is often the freelancer who benefits when they step in to complete the work that starts overflowing.”
— AARON RUSSELL

Regular readers of davidairey.com, Shaun Barnes, Brian Yerkes and Andrew Kelsall briefly share their own credit crunch experiences in the comments of Aaron’s article.

“…though we are in a hard and trying time, I feel that it is the businesses that strive to be innovative and market their products well that will see through the current economic downturn. Whilst businesses that bury their heads’ in the sand and ignore the situation will fail.”
— SCOTT MALLINSON

How the recession has affected me

I can increasingly attract identity design clients who place significant value on my service, but I believe this has more to do with improved online visibility, and less to do with the current financial climate. I receive one or two solid enquiries per week. There are normally five or six short email approaches in the same time period, but the majority of those are looking for cheaper options.

The third and fourth quarters of 2008 have shown a significant upwards curve, and given the international reach of my online business, I’m quietly confident this will continue into 2009.

I’m cautious, however, and not spending outwith my means.

Further graphic design-related articles about the recession

Advice for designers facing a recession, from AIGA | Aquent.
Recession: simple advice for designers, part 1: new business // part 2: accounts // part 3: running a design firm // part 4: printing, from Noisy Decent Graphics.
Tips for business development in a recession, from Rebecca Caroe.
Design and marketing in a recession, from Rob Cubbon.
Spend your way out of a recession, from Amanda Vlahakis.
Why freelancers are best equipped to survive a recession, from Bruce Byfield.
10 best things about coming depression, a more humorous take on things, from Jeffrey Zeldman.
10 cost-saving strategies for troubled times, from Design Sojourn.

The recession and you

How have you been affected recently? Have you noticed a change in the way you or your clients are doing business? If you’re clever about your marketing, and don’t turn design into a commodity, you have much to look forward to, and can prosper in the tough times ahead.

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David Airey, graphic designer » Marketing

I wish I’d known that

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Related posts on David Airey dot com

Figuring out the Amazon Sales Rank

What Sales Rank means

What Category Sales Ranks mean

Where’s the value?

Leave it to Amazon

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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Tips for finding and securing graphic design jobs

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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New not improved

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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The design pricing formula

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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Good design kills 20,000

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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Imitation vs differentiation

A follower, or an initiator?

Imitation around the blogging circuit

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Related posts on David Airey dot com

Northern Ireland’s designer twits

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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Getting your foot in the door

CV tips for graphic designers

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Related posts on David Airey dot com

Designing through a recession

How the recession has affected me

Further graphic design-related articles about the recession

The recession and you

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Related posts on David Airey dot com