Business Features

Ten Free Online Tools Every Designer Should Know

These free resources help you manage your business, store files, find stock images that aren't copyrighted, explore color, and more.

How to Follow Up with Potential Clients

What your prospects say, what you hear, and what they mean are often three very different things. Here's how to know what's really going on and when to follow up to clinch the deal.

HerGeekness Says: Convert a File, Any File

When clients hand you files so ancient or obscure that they're unreadable, don't despair. Part 1 of my file conversion survival kit will have you repurposing those files lickety split -- without asking the client to lift a finger, and without forcing you to buy every application under the sun just to open the occasional weirdo document.

Why You Need a Different Kind of Scanner

No, not another scanner for artwork. An automatic document feeder can clean up your life -- or at least your office.

Learn Wedding Photography from the Pros

What gear do you need? What settings are best? What shots are must-takes? And how do you protect your media and your business? Three professional wedding photographers spill their secrets.

Translate Your Print-Based Design Skills to the Web

When you move from static design to Web design, it's like tennis players trying racquetball. The problem isn’t that they don’t know how to handle the racquet; it’s that they don’t know all the rules and techniques. Read this article and you'll come out swinging.

Design Successful Logos

Three logo designers discuss what goes into designing a logo, including typeface choices, inspiration, and overall branding messages.

Thinking Outside the List

Want to think and communicate more clearly in a wide range of situations? Try mind-mapping.

The Tricky Side of Photo Model Releases

You may think that model releases aren't necessary for photos used in editorial contexts, but the truth is actually much more complex. Read this in-depth exploration and you'll know exactly what to do to sell your shots without worries.

HerGeekness Says: Screen-Share with Your Clients

Letting far-flung clients see your screen makes online proofing as good as in-person proofs and online collaboration a cinch. Recent technology improvements free you from worrying about routers, firewalls, computer platforms, or browser compatibility.

Scanning Around With Gene: Pay Up, or Else!

The current economic slowdown has resulted in many people having to stall on paying some bills. Gene Gable takes a look at collection stickers from days gone by and wonders just what motivates someone to break down and actually mail that check.

What to Do When a Prospective Client Doesn't Respond to Your Proposal

Persistence is welcome -- a pest is not. Here’s how to stay on the right side of that line.

The Fine Art of Linking In

When you know how to work it, LinkedIn can be a great resource for new assignments. Here are seven tips for getting the most out of it.

Control and Creativity: A Match Made in Heaven

Organization, structure, and habit aren't threats to your artistic freedom. In fact, they're tools that help you carve out the time you need to let your creativity fly.

Organize Your Business with an Intranet

Do you lose opportunities or duplicate the efforts of your coworkers because you don't have a central place to track activities or store contacts? How easily can you judge performance and perform costs analyses? An intranet may be the answer.

Cut through Advertising Clutter with Archetypes

Advertising has changed a lot over the decades. What started as "Here's the product, now buy it!" ads in the 1950s have turned into "Here's a feeling, now feel it!" ads, in which products appear as personalities, metaphors, and emotions. Psychological theory can help you tap into archetypes that appeal to people at these deeper levels.

Desert Island Reading

Last month, I received an email message from someone setting up a new graphic design department at a university.

Become a Brand Sponge

What is the key to successful design -- design that doesn't just look good, but speaks for the brand itself? Three case studies from the interactive firm Firstborn hold the answer.

Online Marketing Tools for Creative Pros

Social networking, blogs, email campaigns, portfolio sites -- it's all so confusing. Which of the new options is right for your business?

The Art of Business: Logo Lessons

What makes you stand out in a competition? Eric J. Adams reports from the other side of the designer-client divide.