I’ll be the first to admit that I have always been a perfectionist. In second grade, I would spend a minimum of 2 hours writing 10 spelling word sentences–they had to be “good”! I’m sure many web developers, web designers, or graphic artists are the same way–working hours and hours to get it “just so” and, even then, finding a million other things we’d like to perfect before letting our creation see sunlight.
For better or worse, perfection isn’t a realistic expectation to set on yourself. Here’s a few ways perfectionism can do more harm than good.
Deadlines- Time is a precious resource, and, unfortunately, we only get so much of it. Deadlines may be something that other people set for you, or they may be time limitations you put upon yourself. However they are set, having only so much time to devote to a project means that you will have to find a point of good enough to deliver on time.
Being “First”- There are certain instances where it is important to get your idea out into the market first. This might be an app or other product/service where your continued success is dependent on being established as an industry leader. In this case, like with deadlines, it is important to find a proper balance between meeting the Critical to Quality points and your own perfectionist tendencies. Like Reid Hofffman, the founder of LinkedIn once said:
“If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
Being at all- This is especially true for personal projects. We seem to have a tendency to be incredibly critical of things we do “for ourselves.” We see these especially as an extension of ourselves and don’t want to put up a flawed version. When this happens, it is important to remember others who started doing things “for themselves” and ended up changing the world as a result. What about Leonardo daVinci’s sketches of helicopters, or Tolkien’s bedtime stories for his children? Just saying.
For your own health and well-being- Ever heard “don’t sweat the small stuff”? Stress can cause or compound all sorts of nasty health conditions that your life would be a lot better without. Being in a constantly stressed-out state also can put a strain on those around you, making everything that much more difficult.
Be Agile- We developers are lucky. We’ve got agile development on our side. Agile development means realizing that not everything can be achieved in a single release, and so we can release one version, then add updates or changes and release another. Agile development doesn’t allow room for defeat–“Oh I didn’t include…”–because it will be added in the next version coming shortly afterwards. It also gives allowance for feedback from the users, so that the program/script/plugin can be tailored to be more useful without crippling its development cycle.
Agile development allowed me recently to share a plugin I’d created, then write down a page and a half of things I’d like to fix, and not stress so much about what I hadn’t yet completed. Instead, I got a chance to reflect on how much I’d actually gotten done. It was actually incredibly satisfying, list of improvements aside.
How do you cope with any perfectionist tendencies? If you are a developer, what do you think of agile development? If not, do you have anything similar that you use?
Peter Burgin is a web developer and instructor who’s not afraid of debugging, large textbooks, or speaking in front of huge crowds.
This week I’m publishing what I hope to be a series in video interviews with some of our partners and clients of Design Theory. Without them, there’s no us, and without them, we wouldn’t have learned so much. Let me explain… See one of our “theories” is that a client isn’t a one time sale, each of our clients are business relationships. Meaning, they’re with us for the long haul. We learn about them, they learn about us. We help them, they help us.
This interview with Avi is the start of showing or even being a bit more transparent with our business relationships. We asked Avi some questions that not many people know about him, his business, and what makes his brand so different from the rest. See for yourself in this short interview and let us know what you think.
A logo, unlike any other design element; is the face of a company. Whether it is your business card, letterhead or a brochure, the first thing that gets noticed is your logo design. That’s why I will attempt to share ideas from my experiences with branding-focused logo design for the real world.
Ask questions, and create your Design Questionnaire
Conduct a questionnaire or interview with the client to get the design brief. Ask, ask, ask! this is the key to know what your client wants. Ask about the business history, how the company differ from its competitor, specific images or icons they will like to include on the logo, color preferences, etc.
Search, research and search again
Problem-solve first, design later. Conduct research on the industry itself, its history and competitors. Research on logo designs that have been successful and on current styles and trends that may relate to the design brief. Follow trends not for their own sake but rather to be aware of them: longevity in logo design is key.
Conceptualizing, sketching…CREATING
Who sketch anymore? Actually sketching is a great way to transfer the ideas in your head into paper. Develop the logo design concept(s) around the questionnaire and your research. This is the single most important part of the design process. Get creative and be inspired. After that, it’s always easier to actually design it on the computer. Sketching helps to evolve your imagination: once you understand it, you will always start from just white paper.
Coffee break or Reflection time
Take breaks throughout the design process. This helps your ideas mature, renews your enthusiasm and allows you to solicit feedback. It also gives you a fresh perspective on your work.
Revise and improve
Every design have space for improvement, small modifications can result in a great design.
Show time or logo presentation
Present only your best logo designs to your client. You may also wish to show the logo in context, which will help the client more clearly visualize the brand identity. Preparing a high-quality presentation is the single most effective way to get your clients to approve your designs.
“Canned presentations have the ring of emptiness. The meaningful presentation is custom designed—for a particular purpose, for a particular person. How to present a new idea is, perhaps, one of the designer’s most difficult tasks. This how is not only a design problem, it also pleads for something novel.
Everything a designer does involves a presentation of some kind—not only how to explain (present) a particular design to an interested listener (client, reader, spectator), but how the design may explain itself in the marketplace… A presentation is the musical accompaniment of design. A presentation that lacks an idea cannot hide behind glamorous photos, pizzazz, or ballyhoo. If it is full of gibberish, it may fall on deaf ears; if too laid back, it may land a prospect in the arms of Morpheus.” (Paul Rand)
Delivery and support
Deliver the appropriate files to the client and give all support that is needed. Remember to under-promise and over-deliver. After you’ve finished, have a beer, eat some chocolate and then start your next project.
A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does. Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better. The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an airplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer. Etc. David Airey
These are some of the basic steps I follow when creating a logo, what are yours?
Search the Internet about social media, and you’ll find a host of results on how to use it, what mediums are out there, making money with it, and how to use it best. You’ve read all about Twitter, than Twitter makes updates and you don’t know where to begin. Same thing with Facebook. You hear all about how many millions of users are using it, yet you can’t seem to get your Fanpage past 50 fans. Let me tell you, they’re ever changing sometimes week to week, so if you’re not understanding them now, it could be harder to find the relevance to your bottom line.
Before I get into the return on your investment with social media, I’d like to first talk about the various mediums and some basic effectiveness. If you think that all it takes to be successful in social media is just a few minutes a day with thoughtful posts of inspirational quotes mixed with posts about your website, sales, and products; you’re seriously mistaken. Don’t get into social media with the intent on trying to sell. You’ll quickly become frustrated with the lack of interactions and see it as a one way conversation.
Twitter is great for short conversations throughout the day. You can jump in any active conversation, trending topic, or subject. Its real-time so the chances of hearing back from someone minutes after your replies are quite high.
Facebook Fan Pages are best with fewer posts each day. Another words, you may come up with a great post about a subject, then concentrate on following up with your fans as they post comments to your original post.
Linked In has so many avenues to engage with people, you can literally spend hours on that site and forego any actual productivity. From answering questions, to posting in groups, to connecting with old colleagues or new prospective clients; there’s plenty to keep you busy.
YouTube can almost be seen as one directional since you are mostly posting videos. However that’s just the beginning. Once posted, you’ll have the opportunity to follow along with the viewers feedback via the comments below your video. So post a great instructional video and you’re likely to get comments and questions for more information or encouraging words to post more videos.
Return on Investment. Well this is a hot button that seems to change often. At first I used to say that there was no money in social media. Whatever efforts you put in, you wouldn’t find the same in profits. I’m starting to change my stance on that because I’ve learned that you can’t use social media to sell. At least not blatantly. What I mean is, think of it as a networking meeting. You can’t just walk into a room full of people screaming to the top of your lungs about the sales and services you provide. Instead you walk in and court each person you make eye contact with. You meet people and ask who they are, what they do, where they’re from; then engage in light conversation. Maybe they sound interested (follow) in what you do, but not enough to be compelled to purchase something from you on the spot. However what you say about your industry and brand intrigues them to keep you in mind (comment/@reply) to tell other people about. You leave them with a great impression (post) and move on to meet someone else. The more people you meet, they more impressions you make. With the increase in impressions, the more traffic your website and business phone starts to get. You then start to become an authority on a subject matter. When that happens more people start to pay attention to what you say and post. And now because you’re respected, when you do offer a special or a sale (not often) they share your offer with others or purchase some for themselves. You couple all of that with analytics to gauge where you were most influential each day of the month and you replicate your best efforts the following month. All while keeping track of your lead performance, site traffic, and other metrics.
I know this sounds like a lot; and to be honest it’s all of this and more. Sure anyone can do this. Not everyone will be as effective or as diligent so choose your mediums and efforts wisely. The worse thing you can do is start and abruptly stop.
Have some other tips on social media and how to bank more for your buck? Please share in the comments below.
2011 just flew by and you still contemplating how to start your own Graphic Design business. Now 2012 is here and you’re thinking you really want to start the year off with your skills and talents in hand with a new business venture. Aside from being a daunting situation if you’ve never started a business before, it can be a mix of emotions and aspirations that can and will change from day-to-day. I wanted to give you some of the tactics and tricks I’ve learned. Here are 5 common keys that will make the difference on your jump-start.
Word of Mouth: It doesn’t matter in what stage of your graphic design business is, word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to land more jobs. First, impress your client with your design skills and business sense, you will be amazed of how word will get around. Belonging to professional organizations is another way to spread the word and meet other designers
Have your portfolio ready: Companies will choose a designer based on his/her previous work and how this is presented. There are several choices for what type of portfolio to build, and each has their own benefits and drawbacks. Search for options and decide which apply to your case.
Manage your projects like a pro: It’s very important that you keep in constant contact with your client and follow the project schedule so the job is finished on deadline. Staying organized is another way to keep projects running smoothly, this is a great key to be successful in your new endeavor.
Marketing your design business: Fortunately, these days there are plenty of ways to market your business. Take full advantage of the Social Media; Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and many more are great options to position your design business on the “know”.
Never Leave a Client Unhappy Even if it Means Losing Money: This one is hard but you just need to deal with it, finish your job, and send them on their way. Satisfied clients will tell a few friends how awesome you are – unhappy clients will tell the whole world how much you suck.
The secret to a successful long-term design business has little to do with design itself – it’s how you handle your business, how you deal with your clients. Is definite that your design skills matter, but if you don’t get your business end together, it won’t matter how good you are. People simply won’t want to work with you.
What are your plans for 2012? Are you ready to launch your design business?
