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Hide Your Email from the Spamming Bastards…

By Mister Freelance • January 2, 2012 • advice, blogging, free stuff, resources • Leave a comment

too much spam email? encode! If you’re like me, you get about 8 quadrillion spam emails a day. Unfortunately, when you design and develop websites for a living, you have to put your email address out there for those scraping, thieving robots that are out there, looking for your email address to add to databases that are sold to companies that help you enlarge stuff, see stuff you shouldn’t see or find cheap car insurance.

You want to make your email address accessible to the general public so that it’s easy to contact you (and send work and money,) but the minute you do that, you’re opening your box to a lot of spam – and I don’t mean the most awesome lunch product in the world.

One of the ways to avoid this is to encrypt your email address so that normal, real people can use your email, but the bastard will leave you alone. But – how?

Here’s how – Enkoder by Hivelogic. Just fill out the form, hit submit and you’ll get a code snippet that you can easily copy and paste into your HTML, Blog, what have you.

Now, your email address is protected and you can sleep a little easier. Real people with real browsers can contact you – but the robots can shove it.

You’re welcome.

Click Here to Get It (non-affilate link, no spam. really.)

Online File Conversion – Zamzar…

By Mister Freelance • July 29, 2009 • free stuff • Leave a comment

If you’re like me, you get disks full of videos that folks want placed on websites – and they’re never in the right format.

Them: “You mean you can’t make those videos in RealVideo stream and look like a million bucks?”

Me: “Um, I, uh, well – no…”

Enter Zamzar. While it’s not perfect, it is free (again, my favorite price) and it’s easy to use, with pretty good results.

You simply browse to the files you want to convert (in my case, a lot of mp4′s that needed to be made into flv,) pull down a menu to what your end needs are, enter your email address, click convert and wait until they send you an email with the download links. Sweet.

They don’t accept every file type (although I have yet to find one they don’t) and the free version only allows 100mb per upload, but you can get a lot done with this little goodie. Plus, it’s free. Did I mention free? I like that!

There is a paid option, but I have yet to really need it.

It’s online and it does it’s thang in the background, which is good for multitasking.

Check it out at zamzar.com.

Free Document Friday – The Proof Sheet

By Mister Freelance • July 25, 2009 • free stuff • 1 Comment

fdf It’s back! FREE DOCUMENT FRIDAY! I know you’ve missed it…

Anyhoo – today’s installment, a lovely little PSD that gives you a little more muscle and protection against the dreaded “my cousin can knock that logo off for $3″ attack. It’s my standard proof sheet for logos, web designs, etc. It’s got plenty of disclaimers, and the “official” nature of the language should help discourage knock-offs. If you’ve never had it happen to you, you’re lucky. Keep working this job long enough, and I’m sure copyright infringement (or intellectual property theft) will rear it’s ugly head.

Simply place in your logo, the name of your business, and you’re ready to show off the roughs without getting roughed up.

Click HERE to download…

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

BrandsOfTheWorld.com Gets a Makeover – Free Corporate Logos!!!

By Mister Freelance • July 23, 2009 • free stuff, our work • Leave a comment

Brands of the World got a makeover – a much needed makeover.

What is it? Well – if you’re ever stuck laying out something as exciting as an ad sheet or t-shirt for a corporate event, a poster, or anything and you find that you need the latest logo for Coca-Cola, Brands of the World has it. And, it’s got it in vector format. Free. SWEEEEEEEEET…

(Plus, if you’re like me and you like to make fun of corporate logos and twist them into something horribly juvenile or punk rock, you’re covered!)

No need to register, no flaming hoops to jump through – just good quality, vector logos of the majority of the major brands and companies, plus a lot you’ve probably never heard of.

Check ‘em out – they’ve pulled my biscuits out of the fire many times. When a client say “Oh, yeah – we’ve got the Wachovia logo in high res!” and they send you a GIF from the website, turn to Brands of the World. They’ve got it.

You’re welcome!

Free Documents for Freelancers – The Docket

By Mister Freelance • May 1, 2009 • free stuff • 2 Comments

I’ve found that my post, giving away a free logo design questionnaire, has been immensely popular. So, I thought I’d start a regular feature – Free Document Friday!

Today’s submission for your approval – the docket. I use this to keep a running total of clients, a running total of incoming cash and as a way to keep projects in front of me. If I rely on iCal (which I kind of do,) I’ve found a lot of things can slip through the cracks.

List your current, prospective, on-hold and billed projects, and their values. Write them down in order or use a numbering system (pencils work well, because you can move stuff up and down.)

I rework and rewrite the docket every Friday to reflect the upcoming week. It keeps things fresh, keeps them in front of me, and keeps them going in the right direction. I print of 10-20 of these at a time, now – you can too!

There are a couple of columns – what the project is worth (the $) and a blank column for little notes. Hold, stop, done, waiting, etc. I use a type of shorthand – but you can use whatever works for you.

Enjoy!

Download the free docket here. If you use it or find it useful, I’d love to hear from you!

Frugal Freelancing: Free Stock Photography!

By Mister Freelance • April 30, 2009 • free stuff • Leave a comment

There are several free stock photo sites out there – but you can never have too many. I’m notoriously cheap (I pay for stuff when I have to,) and free photos really make me smile. While Shutterstock has more and better and is probably a little more organized and pleasant, free is free and free is good with me!

So a couple of my favorite freebies for Thursday: Stock.xchng and MorgueFile.

Not much to say. Free photos, some free clipart and some pretty nifty features. Both Stock.xchng and Morgue File are easily searchable, well organized and offers pretty good sized files. Morgue File seems to have slightly more “arty” stuff, so plan accordingly.

Being a freelancer has taught me to be frugal. My next post will be how to construct an external hard drive from bits of lawnmowers and underwear waistbands from the thrift store. Stay tuned!

Groovy Little Thing Called Plugoo

By Mister Freelance • April 21, 2009 • blogging, free stuff • Leave a comment

Need another way for folks to get in touch with you? I know – you’re saying to yourself “Yeah. I REALLY need one more way for people to interrupt my Kongregate session.”

Well – whether you like it or not, you have to be available. Clients like that sort of thing. Instant messaging is nice – but not everyone has a client installed or the ability to use that client. Plus, there’s cross-platform issues, blah blah blah.

Really, though – clients like being able to get in touch with you, and if someone is looking for a quote or proof that there’s a warm body out there behind your website or portfolio, instant gratification can go a long way towards making the sale or landing the gig.

So – Plugoo!

It’s a lovely little script that you can put anywhere on a page (it’s Flash, so Java can bite it) and it’s configurable and can be styled to match your site. It’s essentially an I.M. portal, and you can plug in your favorite messenger app and folks use Plugoo to talk to you. They stay on your site (which is ALWAYS a good thing) and communicate directly with you. If you set your messenger to unavailable, your Plugoo cuts off, indicating that you’re not around.

It can be used for tech support, chat, questions, community – anything. You can see our Plugoo below. Heck – if you’re reading this post, scroll down and say “hi.” I might even be cordial.

It’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s easy – and it’s free. Freelancers like free stuff, right?

Visit Plugoo to learn more…

Nifty Email-Building Tool for Freelance Designers…

By Mister Freelance • February 29, 2008 • free stuff, tools • 2 Comments

I’ve had tons of clients ask for email newsletters and ads, which can be a little tricky. HTML emails are finicky beasts – and mailing lists are even stranger. I’m not overly “techy” and any tool that can cut off hours and still allow for billing is a good (great) thing.

I found a couple recently – MailBuild and CampaignMonitor. They’re very similar – and they’re made by the same company.

MailBuild allows you to build a brandable sub-site that you sent clients to and allow them to build their own emails. Tons of templates, and a lot of customizability. The cool this is that you set the price, the client pays the bill through MailBuild and you reap the profits. The actual rates are pretty low, so you can mark them up and make a little dough on each recipient and each time they send an email. Your client thinks it’s great because they are “doing the work,” and you’re off the hook – you just sit back and wait for the money to come in.

CampaignMonitor is similar – but you get all the control. You design the email, set the send-to lists and do all the footwork. You bill the client directly, but CampaignMonitor keeps up with the sending and Spam control – all the drudgery stuff. They also give you previews of what the email will look like when you send it – in a variety of different email clients. No more worrying about how it will look with AOL versus how it will look with Firefox or Gmail. Sweet!

I’m leaving out a lot of killer features – but they’re both a free service to designers, and they can really help you make some money on your – and your clients’ – campaigns.

Nice!

(and no, I don’t make a penny on either one of these by referring you.)

Freelance Design Community – Finally…

By Mister Freelance • January 15, 2008 • blogging, free stuff • 1 Comment

Well, I’ve finally gotten off my duff and rolled out something I promised a while back…

FreakinFreelance.com

It’s still under construction, but the functionality is there. You can sign up for a free blog and start going nuts.

The vision is to have a community where freelance designers can blog and connect with the other freelancers in the world.

Plus, it’ll offer a few cool features:

Online portfolio
Ecommerce built-in (make money!)
Adsense built-in (make more money!)
KILLER SEO stuff (really)
Tons of bells and whistles
Lots of themes
True Community Interactivity
Easy-to-use
Easy Domain Names (yourblog.freakinfreelance.com)
Much, much more!

And, of course, it will be all free. I think this can be pretty sweet – and I think we need more of this sort of discourse out there. One thing I’ve found is that a lot of freelance designers are kind of secretive about their businesses and practices – but I’ve also seen a lot of folks open up on blogs and share a LOT of great stuff, so having some of that in one place would be a boon to all of us.

So – GET STARTED! Blog now, blog often!

Finding Fonts Made Easy

By Mister Freelance • October 17, 2007 • fonts, free stuff, tools • 4 Comments

One of the banes of my existence as a freelance graphic artist has been trying to track down weird fonts. You routinely get logos or layouts that have the fonts converted, and they’re invariably something obscure or tacky or from a strange foundry.

If you’re like me, you’ve got thousands upon thousands of fonts from every manufacturer out there, and rolling through them all can take a long, long time – and make you crazy because of the subtle variations.

But – a great tool has come to the resuce: What the Font from MyFonts.com.

You scan the offending font and upload it to their server, answer a few questions and it gives you several fonts that it most likely is. The better your input is, the more precise the answer is. Plus, once you’ve got your answer, it gives you links to the font manufacturer so you can buy the font if you need to.

Best of all, it’s free and it’s fast. It’s not always dead-on, but it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to the perfect tool. Very nice, very slick.

Now, if it would just revoke the design license of folks that use Comic Sans, I’d be a happy man!

Freelance Design Time Management

By Mister Freelance • October 6, 2007 • advice, free stuff • 1 Comment

Time management is crucial to the success of a freelance business.

I’ll be posting some links and software solutions, but in the meantime – let’s talk nuts n’ bolts of time management.

I sit in front of the computer far too much, and being sort of old-school, the analog time management system (read: pieces of paper) work best for me. And that’s the first key to time management – you have to find what works for you. If you don’t keep it updated and actually use it, the most expensive, killer piece of time-management or project management software is just taking up precious hard drive space. I’ve found that out the hard way. Crash in all your info and then forget to use it. It can take more time than it’s worth. So, for me – pen and legal pad and Post-it Notes.

So, find what you’re comfortable with – and stick with it. I’ve tried just about everything out there, and each one of them has highs and lows. But, the most important bit is that it works for YOU. Everyone is different, and you’ll have to do some research and trial-and-failure time to find what works for your particular needs and style. Don’t expect anything to be perfect – and don’t try to force yourself to use something just because it’s the “latest and greatest.”

I won’t get into the commercial packages because they’re ubiquitous and too numerous. But there are some great free tools.

A couple cool, free online time-and-project-mangement tools:

30 Boxes – Fast, easy calendar with a lot of features. Highly acclaimed and very usable. You can tag, search and link sites, emails, etc. Slick!

ToDoIst – a simple to-do list manager. Very, very intuitive and easy to use.

There are tons more – and I’ll be posting a lot more in the “Resources” section as soon as I’m able.

The other issue I’ve found in my own business is not keeping records of what I’m actually doing with my time. It’s all well and good to plan your day – but you have to keep track of your billable hours. Plus, it’s very, very interesting to see how much of your time you actually bill. It can help you plan and be realistic with your expectations of your time.

The easiest way I’ve found (for me – again, I’m an analog kinda guy) is to have a clipboard on a peg next to my workstation, and whenever I complete a task (or portion of a task,) I write down the client, the time, the rate, and other info on a simple form. Then, I go through once a week or so and bill out all those hours. I do a lot of pay-per-project jobs, so they don’t get billed from this sheet, but I write down time spent anyway. It’s a really useful tool to keep an inventory of my productivity – or lack thereof.

It’s a simple form – feel free to use it or manipulate it to your needs.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Created in Freehand about a million years ago – saved for you as an Illustrator file and PDF.

Enjoy! Up next? Sleep. After that – I’ll ramble on a little about project management and juggling.

Best Freelance Tool Available

By Mister Freelance • September 28, 2007 • free stuff, tutorials & lessons • Leave a comment

Well, Friday again – and I’m going a little different route. I normally talk in code and software and pixels and DPI, but today – let’s talk art. Shall we?

With a minor degree in illustration and art history, I am a bit of an art buff. As a freelance designer, I’ve found that the most cathartic thing I can do is to pick up my sketch book and start doodling. It can be a sketch for a logo or a brochure layout, or it might be a line drawing of my daughter asleep. I’ve found that doodling and drawing help me break my linear thought and help the creativity come back into whatever I’m working on. Time out of mind, to quote Bob Dylan.

Now – I understand that not everyone is as comfortable around pen and paper (or brushes and canvas) as I am, but I simply have to suggest getting your feet wet. It’s a wonderful, satisfying way to get (or keep) the inspiration and juices flowing.

I’ve found a few places that have some pretty nice tutorials on drawing and painting. Click here to dig it, or you can Google for your specific interest. This site is pretty broad – but also pretty nice introduction to technique.

Check it out – art is fun, and every tool you can add to your design toolbox will help!

Logo Design Questionnaire

By Mister Freelance • September 26, 2007 • free stuff • 2 Comments

Sometimes, getting information out of a client can be a little like pulling teeth. Generally, they’re not sure what they’re looking for, and they havn’t thought the project out fully. You have to do a little hand-holding as a freelance designer, and picking a client’s brain can be frustrating.

When you set out to design a logo (or anything for that matter), there are a few questions you need to ask the client – and these questions will help you avoid spinning wheels and a lot of wasted roughs. Getting as much information up front will help you keep things going smoothly, and the information will help train your client to think about their project in a lot of different aspects, which will ultimately help you knock out their design a lot quicker.

You can download a sample logo design questionnaire here. I’ve used this one on many projects, and I’ve been suprised how much it’s helped – and how much time it’s saved me.

It’s a simple form, and I’m giving you a Word version along with a PDF. Customize it and use it for your projects. It works – and it will really save you a lot of time and headache.

Please don’t re-distribute or sell it. Thanks!

Download Here

Free Office Software

By Mister Freelance • September 17, 2007 • advice, computer stuff, design, free stuff • 2 Comments

I love to loathe Microsoft, so any way that I can stick it to ‘em, I take…

But, at the same time, you’ve got to admit that they make rather ubiquitous software, and as a freelance designer, I have to keep copies of everything that clients and potential clients might use. Don’t ask me about Publisher – I won’t answer.

Microsoft Office is NOT free – quite far from it – but there are a couple of really nice, really slick and totally compatible office suites out there.

First up is a Mac-only product – NeoOffice. It’s got pretty much anything you could possibly be looking for with the actual Office suite – word processor, spreadsheets, database and presentation software, plus it’s totally compatible with all of Microsoft’s products. You can open and save directly to Word files, PowerPoint files, Excel, etc. It doesn’t contain an email client, but there’s a million of those out there that are better than Entourage. Best of all, it’s free – and it keeps my beautiful brushed aluminum machine free of the scourge of Microsoft.

Secondly is a great free product – an open-source project called OpenOffice. It’s got versions for all the operating systems under the sun, including Sun. The only problem is that some versions require X11 if you’re on a Mac, but it’s free, it’s compatible and it’s slick. Plus, if you have a Mac, you can install X11 free anyway, and OpenOffice even shows you how.

Both of these pieces of software are funded solely by donation, so if you can afford 5 bucks for a latte and a Red Bull, you can afford to support the folks out there who support us with killer software for zilch.

Sometimes, the best things in (the freelance designer’s) life ARE free…

Click here to download NeoOffice (Mac OSX only)
Click here to download OpenOffice (All platforms)

Free Contract for Freelance Designers

By Mister Freelance • September 14, 2007 • free stuff, freelance • 1 Comment

Well, I’m finally getting around to putting up some free downloads for designers. Joy!

First up is a general contract. If you’re not using an online service that offers built-in contract protection(Guru, Elance, etc,) you MUST have a contract before you start any work. It not only protects you, but it gives your clients peace of mind that they will get precisely what they pay for.

The more detailed you can be (and you can get as minute with the project details as you want – just add more paper) the better off you’ll be, and it’ll be less likely that you run into the dreaded doing-more-than-I-agreed-to syndrome that seems to haunt us all.

The contract that’s here is, by no means, iron clad and leakproof – but it’s been good enough to get me out of more than one pinch, and usually, the signing of a contract is enough to guarantee that your client isn’t going to bail on you.

One word of advice for all freelancers – and I’ve learned this the hard way: If your client won’t sign a contract, DO NOT DO WORK FOR THEM. It’s not worth it. You might not get burned, but the possibility is increased exponentially if your client is not willing to sign on the dotted line.

Click here to download a zip file with the general contract. It’s saved as a PDF, EPS and AI file. Done on a Mac, but portable and reconfigurable. If you dig it and use it, all I ask is for a “thanks.” Links would be nice, a donation would be even better, but – that’s up to you and your conscious. Don’t sell it for profit. Cool?

Free Painting Software

By Mister Freelance • September 13, 2007 • computer stuff, design, free stuff, freelance, funny • 1 Comment

Software is expensive, and as a freelance graphic designer, the latest version of the big name software might be a little out of reach at times. So, I present you with a real – and FREE – alternative to some of the really expensive stuff.

ArtRage 2.5 is a really cool program. Very natural, nice tools, pressure sensitive if you have a tablet, and it works on all platforms. And it runs smoothly without a ton of ram or the latest processor. Works on laptops and little machines. Sweet! Free!

Well – the started edition is free. The full version is $25. But the starter edition is really pretty stinking cool. It’s not Photoshop – but then again, what is? It’s got lots of tools and feels pretty natural. If you’re into painting and illustration (like I am) you’ll appreciate the ability to be fluid. I think I’m going to pony up and get the full version – just to have a little bit of fun. It’s cheaper than canvas.

Here’s a screen grab of a self-portrait in progress – click for full resolution:

And here’s a little detail. There’s almost as many brush strokes as wrinkles:

Again – you can download it by clicking here.

As a freelance graphic designer, you can never have too many tools (especially free ones) and it can really be cathartic to push a little bit of paint around. It’s much more fun than pixels. Although I guess this is pixels. Praising painting while complaining about pixels while painting with pixels…

Man, now I’m confused.