Archive for November, 2005
November 29, 2005 at 3:15 am · Filed under Icons & Web Design, Logo & Corporate Identity, Pricing, Projects, Redhu, UK
I have been engaged in discussions for the following design tasks for a UK-based client:
- Interface design for their software
- Logo re-design
- Icon design for their software interface
and since Interface design is something I have not handled previously, I am having a tough time figuring out what to charge the client.
The major variables involved in the interface design engagement that will affect the price are:
- Design of the main screen of the software [ once that is done, other internal pages will require minor tweaks and re-designs ]
- Number of all the icons required for tasks [ there are three platforms across which the software is integrated and while there are similar tasks on all three, there are extra/additional functionalities which will require separate icons ]
- Design of the icons [ one of the platforms on which the software runs has quite a few restrictions in terms of colors, shapes, alignment etc. - which will make it tougher to generate more appealing color schemes. At the same time, I intend to design each icon as a representative of the particular software and/or company - the services they provide/the functionality of the software - so the set of icons will be non-reusable anywhere else ]
- Other stuff like travel time, learning time [ I need to familiarize myself with their software and the three platforms it uses ], doodle time etc.
I am a member of a couple of great Graphic Design YahooGroups and have posted a request for some clues on what the best way to go about pricing such an design engagement is. I do wish there were some more guidelines on how to set prices for creative work. I fully intend to use whatever I learn in the pricing process and create some kind of a loosely-defined guide to help out other freelancers/self-employed designers when they start out.
Maybe, more than figuring out prices, one needs to start with “What am I charging for?”
UPDATE
After a heated discussion [ an ex-colleague - he's a Finance guy ] I realized what I’m charging for.
This particular client/company has an excellent piece of software – software that works and is functional. However, in recent years, it hasn’t been doing too well and based on client feedback, the management has realized that clients want it to ‘look better’.
I am of course in the business of making things look better, but in this particular case, I will essentially be assisting the company in business turnaround – I will be assisting them with turning around their product, increasing sales and hence boosting profits.
I will be charging them for business turnaround using design strategy.
Popularity: 1% [?]
November 24, 2005 at 3:17 am · Filed under Icons & Web Design, Personal, Projects, Redhu
In an effort to centralize all the content I have generated so far on the web, I have transferred my Business Networking blog from Blogger to WordPress and onto the aside domain.
OBJECTIVE :
- Better design
- More control
- Better management
- Centralized content
- More frequent and better writing
PROCESS :
- New domain connected to the aside website – aside.in/blog/networking
- Blog design – WordPress BLIX theme, two-color scheme, professional look
- Transfer of content from Blogger to WordPress [ posts AND comments transferred successfully ] – as easy as a pie!
- Landing page on Blogger – to transfer visitors to the new blog
The new blog’s ScreenShot :
The landing page on Blogger to re-direct visitors :
Popularity: 1% [?]
November 21, 2005 at 9:47 am · Filed under Logo & Corporate Identity, Projects, Redhu, Theory
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That a logo must be for forever, that the essence and meaning of the logo must not only remain intact but should also be fresh through years and years of business, that when you see the logo today and then again after 20 years, the core meaning of the company and its business must still be evident in the logo. |
That’s the ‘rule’ anyway.
Which has been flouted time and again by firms big and small, successful and unsuccessful.
That is one of THE MOST challenging aspects of logo design – to keep it relevant over the years. But something even more challenging would be to re-design the evergreen logo keeping in mind the ‘changes’ in the company, its business, the specific industry and the global business landscape.
- Is it really possible to keep, follow and market the same core competencies year after year?
- Would there be absolutely no change in the language that the company uses internally and externally?
- Will there be no NEW stuff at the company AT ALL?
- If logos are expected to be static, do we also expect companies to be static?
- If the company does, however, grow and change, shoudln’t the logo too undergo some transformation?
A positive answer to the first four questions and a negative answer to the fifth sound more far-fetched than the statement that “A logo must last a lifetime”!
A lot of logo designers crib about having to create a logo that lasts for forever – how in the world are designers expected to create ANYTHING like that?!
Who said logo designers had an easy job! But what’s better than designing an evergreen logo AND preparing the company and client for a future logo re-design that fits in with the growth of the company? Agreed, that it’s tougher than ‘just’ designing an evergreen logo, but it sure is doable.
Maybe I will attempt something like this in the future with one of my upcoming logo design engagements. I’ll keep you posted.
Popularity: unranked [?]
November 21, 2005 at 2:22 am · Filed under Icons & Web Design, Personal, Projects, Redhu
Ok ok! That isn’t quite the heading for a post on a logo design studio blog but it’s definitely relevant for blogging.
I have been an avid user of Bloglines and when Google launched Google Reader, very reluctantly [ what could be better and more functional than Bloglines!? ] decided to try it out. After about more than a month of using Google Reader, I am a permanent convert and do not use Bloglines anymore.
Couple of days back, Google also provided the “Add to Google” button for blogs to use to allow readers to subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed directly on Google Reader. In the same regard, I put the buttons [ with some design tweaking ] on this blog [ on the sidebar at right ].
DESIGN TWEAKS
The original button looks like this: 
Since WordPress automatically provides RSS subscription options to blog Entries as well as Comments [ although I'm not sure how many people actually use the Comments RSS feature! ], I needed to design two buttons that allowed direct RSS links as well as a subscription link to Google Reader – and I did not want to design four buttons and thus waste more blog real-estate!
This is the Entries RSS and Google Reader button: 
And this is the Comments RSS and Google Reader button: 
Each button caters to two links [ one for the direct RSS Feed link and the other for the direct subscription link to Google Reader ]. And I thought ImageMaps were pretty much obsolete!
Design isn’t just about making stuff look pretty – it has to be functional too – and just because a particular feature is oft-used and ‘old’, doesn’t mean its utility is lost.
Popularity: 1% [?]
