Why are people afraid of designers?

Maybe it's the way we dress, or the way most of us stock up on gadgets. I have been referred to as a "gadget girl." Mostly by my best friend, but there is some truth to it.

I have found that most ordinary business people that I network with don't really know what a creative designer does. I've stopped referring to myself as a graphic designer, by the way. There are a lot of folks out there calling themselves graphic designers and we all know that a mastery of Microsoft Word should not constitute a graphic designer.

Back to the topic.

Since most business people don't really have an understanding of the creative process and hence the value of creativity, they are afraid of us. They may tip-toe around us, not wanting to "interrupt the creative process" and snicker to their co-workers about the fruitcakes in their creative services department.

Although I do own a t-shirt that has "fruitcake" screen printed across the chest, this does not mean that I really am one. I love the creative process and I love to talk about it. Once most of these business professionals see the passion for my profession, it usually brings down the walls and the stereotypes. Opening up conversation between us. I get many remarks from my clients that I'm not at all who they pictured me to be. In fact, I've had many of them tell me that they were surprised that I would accept their feedback on a particular design or idea.

My view is that feedback is critical and there is a very fine line of how far I can go in my recommendations to a client. I don't pretend to know more about their business than they do and my clients appreciate that. They expect professionalism from me, but also enjoy the "fruitcake" designer side.

Response time is key in business

What does your response time mean and what is an acceptable amount of time to respond? My personal feeling is that 24 hours is an acceptable response time Monday through Friday. Most times, I respond within 2 hours during regular business hours. Anything longer than 24 hours and you risk a frustrated client. I do think that if a fire pops up, you should respond sooner, but typically 24 hours is sufficient when conducting general business.

I use this guideline to respond when giving any kind of proposal and if questions arise about said proposal.

What does it say about you if your response time is longer or non-existent? It says that you are not interested. Whether it's because you are too busy, don't want to continue a business relationship or just have poor follow-through, it says you are not interested in obtaining or keeping my business.

I choose to conduct business with others who are responsive. I have picked up many clients and vendors based on responsiveness. I have heard clients complain that they had contacted another designer(s) prior to choosing me. What wins their business? Knowing that I desire to work with them through producing great work and through being responsive to them.

Here's the Google link to add my RSS feed

My vision for the design community

I think it would be a great idea to set up a non profit design group that could provide creative services for small and minority owned businesses using grant money. I don't know a thing about grant money, but I do know a smidge about setting up a non profit organization. This endeavor will take a great amount of time, money and collaboration.

Perhaps this is my life's mission.

This idea is spurring from recent conversations that I have had with some startup companies looking to hire a professional designer. These newbies have a good appreciation for aesthetics and know the advantages of using a designer, as opposed to creating their corporate identity on their own (using Microsoft Word for heaven's sake!) The problem lies in funding their new business and incorporating enough funds to pay for professional design. Sometimes they have to pass on the design in order to buy the right equipment and hire the right people to get the company off the ground.

Good corporate identity can also help the company get off the ground, but when the funds aren't there, they just aren't there. I've worked some deals out with startups, where they pay a monthly fee and I can commence work. I've also worked out a plan where a company can pay me as they get the results they need from a marketing campaign that I have designed. That adds an extra "guarantee" to my work and builds trust between me and my client.

Things may be a bit more process oriented for the startup or established business if there was a non profit design group working from grant money.

Networking, networking and MORE networking

For those of you who might believe that networking is a big schmooze-fest, think again. Networking is simply meeting other people. You can do this offline (face-to-face) and online (using the internet). Using both of these methods is your best bet. I met with Nathan Wright last week, who is a social media consultant and founder of LavaRow.com. He can help you with the online part and really guide you in ways that can help increase your referral business and increase the value of your existing online presence.

Appropriate networking is a must for you to increase business contacts and grow your business. It's best to find two groups of folks to network with. Find a group associated with your particular trade and also a group of folks that are not associated with your trade. This way you can collaborate with some of your competitors and build community within your trade. Your clients will think you are amazing for working WITH your competitors instead of AGAINST them. There is plenty of business to go around and chances are, you will do things differently than any of your competitors that will appeal to your target audience.

I've even had a competitor call me to tell me that one of my clients was calling on his company! That gave me an incredible opportunity to call my client to check in and see if there was anything that I could offer to keep her business. Turns out, I was able to keep her business AND work WITH my competitor on an aspect he was able to provide to my client that I was not.

My client was overjoyed to hear that we were working together to fully service her needs and went out of our way to do so. She had felt guilty about calling my competitor, but needed a service that I did not have.

Collaboration is key, community building is crucial. Know your competitors and introduce yourself to them. I think you will be surprised with the results!

I'm in a movie! UPDATE

As many of you may already know, my partner and I were filmed in 2006 for a portion of the documentary movie, The Asphalt Gospel. This movie was produced by the organization Crosswalk America in conjunction with Scott Griessel of Creatista. The DVDs are now available for purchase at the Crosswalk America web site. Crosswalk America is a phenomenal group of individuals that worked to build community among each other and the cities they visited on their journey.

I was honored to be given the opportunity to donate my design services and to design the cover for the DVD packaging.

What's cookin' today

1. Ad design for Stacy Berenguel of Smith Barney. She's also my financial adviser, so if you are looking for some investment resources, email me for her contact information. She's very smart and savvy.

2. Business card redesign for Andrew Lietzow. He and I share the same BNI chapter that meets on Wednesdays at 7am at Principal Park. Great group and great location! Andrew is a real estate agent for Remax. Here is his web site: YourIowaHome.com

3. Web banner design for Capital City Pride. This is an organization to which I belong and volunteer my design services. Here is their web site: CapitalCityPride.org

4. Play Blackhawk Striker 2 - VERY addictive game!!

5. Meeting with Nathan White of LavaRow.com. He is a social networking consultant that I am hoping to hire. Depends on his proposal, of course.

6. T-shirt design for Resurrection MCC in Houston, Texas. We are modifying our Love Thy Neighbor shirt design for custom printing their church info on the front and back. Here is their web site: ResurrectionMCC.org

Election graphics

While I certainly wouldn't endorse (or not endorse) any candidate based on his or her campaign graphics, I think that Barack Obama's logo is definitely worth mentioning. I like the references to the letter O throughout the design. Nice touch with the rising O within the O. I was wondering if any of the candidates would come up with a new and creative way of showing the essence of the American flag. Way to go Obama! You've got my vote... but the spiffy logo design was really just a bonus.