You need it, your clients are cautious spending it and no one likes talking about it, but sooner or later it has to come up. We’re talking about Money.

Obviously some tactfulness is required when discussing money with potential clients, broaching the subject like so isn’t going to get you far;

Client: Hello, I’m interested in having a logo…
Designer: 50% deposit first!
Client: …designed.

Typically after receiving an initial inquiry, generally by email, I write back a brief hello and thank you, as well as a few questions to clarify the clients initial design brief.

Once this is done I reply with a formal design brief as a PDF including a quotation and requirement of a deposit and request confirmation of the details without raising the question of money myself. Only once all details are agreed upon has the time for a deposit has arrived.

Graphic design has more than its fair share of tire kickers and people looking for a freebie, a.k.a. spec work, but how to broach the subject without rushing genuine clients.

What do you think?

I like to think I’m fairly gentle when it comes to the subject of money and hopefully not scaring anyone off. How do you do it?

If you haven’t already seen this BBC documentary by Stephen Fry you’re missing out, it’s fascinating.

Quoted from the BBC – “The printing press was the world’s first mass-production machine. Its invention in the 1450s changed the world as dramatically as splitting the atom or sending men into space, sparking a cultural revolution that shaped the modern age. It is the machine that made us who we are today.

Stephen’s investigation combines historical detective work and a hands-on challenge. He travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and early media entrepreneur. Along the way he discovers the lengths Gutenberg went to keep his project secret, explores the role of avaricious investors and unscrupulous competitors, and discovers why printing mattered so much in medieval Europe.”

Whether your a designer or not, setting aside an hour to watch this will be time well spent. Continue reading...

@issue have posted their latest quiz, the know your brand alphabet featuring a letter from 26 brand marks and logotypes.

A few of the brands no longer exist so don’t feel bad if you miss a few.

How many did you get?

17 for me, how about you?

A single, simple, recognizable mark is a great asset to any brand. To stand alone from any logotype yet still successfully tell their stories is what makes a mark great.

I’ve included here 10 of my favorite marks for enjoyment, hopefully they’ll lend you ( and me ) some inspiration for your next logo design project.

Sancti Spiritus Wines. A great mark, this logo design also won logo design annual Wolda’s 2008 award for Best of Europe category.

Martin Newcombe Property Maintenance. Continue reading...

InstantShift recently posted 88 single web page designs for a little design inspiration. Single page websites are great if your don’t have a lot of content and often used to showcase a portfolio of work with great effect.

They also free you from a lot of restrictions as a design only has to function on a single page but herein lies a problem. From a search engine point of view you essentially have zero content.

If your site is merely a point of reference and your business or traffic is derived from elsewhere this isn’t a problem but if you plan to promote your business primarily through your website this strikes me as quite a disadvantage.

Compare this to a content management system like a wordpress blog. A website is a long term investment, over a year a blogger with the time and inclination posting 2-3 posts a week can quite comfortably amass over 100 posts related to their particular niche.

That’s 100 more pages of content covering multiple topics, hundreds more keywords and phrases and possibly most important 100 more opportunities for backlinks.

What are your thoughts?

There’s no denying that single page sites can look great, be sure to check out that link. And blogging isn’t for everyone, without some regularity of new content there is little point in having one.

Ultimately the purpose and content of your website will dictate which path you take, it just strikes me that choosing a single page website is a distinct disadvantage when it comes to online marketing.