http://allaboutfreelance.com a glimpse into the life of a freelance graphic designer. tips, tricks and resources. now with extra funny! Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:52:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Your clients expect you to be available - and you should be. You should answer the phone. You should answer emails. You should pick up on the occasional instant messenger buzz. But how available should you really be? What does availability do to your productivity? What does that availability do to ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/06/17/freelance-design-tips-dont-be-too-available/ (hint, hint) I colleague of mine (check her out here) clued me in to this the other day - custom engraved moleskin sketchbooks at engraveyourbook.com. I've mentioned before that I use sketchbooks and paper and pencil and pens extensively, and I think it's a good idea for everyone out there. Wether it's ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/06/09/the-perfect-gift-for-your-favorite-freelance-design-webmaster/ There is so much noise these days. It's everywhere. Visual and audio noise is pervasive, invasive and omnipresent. It's hard to get a moment of real quiet. Ears and eyes are constantly bombarded. Having a quiet space to work is important for a few reasons. It makes it easier to concentrate: That ALWAYS ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/06/04/noise-cancelling/ I garner a fair amount of work from online sources, and I've found that there are a couple of universal red flags when it comes to bidding on projects or quoting a job. I'll go into some of the others later, but the big one is "Budget is a concern." While ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/30/budget-is-a-big-concern-is-not-my-concern/ As I think I've mentioned, I'm an old-school guy in a lot of ways. I like to draw, I like paper, I keep notes on pads and sketches in sketchbooks. I also keep a clipboard with a quad-ruled pad on it, with all my projects and sub-projects listed in no particular ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/29/freelance-design-101-touch-every-project-every-day/ Words of advice for freelance designers (gotta get the buzzwords, you know): Laugh... It's one of those things that you get and find funny, or that causes you roll your eyes at us geeks that are rolling on the floor, clutching our ribs and making the universal symbol for "can't. breathe. ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/28/and-now-for-something-completely-different/ TonerForAutism.com is a great cause, and it's a simple one to support. We all use printers, and we all go through too much toner and ink. I'm a father of 3, and while my children are all blessedly healthy, I have friends and colleagues that have children with Autism. It's a ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/21/a-good-cause/ I have had subscriptions to many (if not all) of the freelance job-finding websites. They all have good points, and I think the amount of work you actually glean from them has a lot to do with how much time and effort you put into the searches, the portfolios and ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/19/freelance-design-job-sites-toe-to-toe/ Yeah - I'm a little late to the party. But - that's not really news. I'm always a little stubborn and reluctant to change. But a well-placed cup of apple juice forced my hand this time. My son (5) spilled a cup of apple juice into the keyboard of the Mac ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/19/apple-keyboard-review-or-im-slow-to-the-draw/ Well, well, well. It's about time... I've been out of the blogging business for a while and in the business of doing business. My list of open projects is currently standing at 43. Some are large, some are small. Some are fun, and some of them royally suck. But - I've been ... http://allaboutfreelance.com/2008/05/18/drowning-in-work-or-the-power-of-43/