Do you have any scars on your body? If so, how’d you get them?

My knees from falling off my bike as a kid. A couple of chicken pox scars on my belly from scratching. And a lovely gash across my shin from falling through a fish tank (don’t ask!)

Ask me anything

Upload to YouTube in 4 Steps

Overview:

This tutorial was written by freelance graphic designer Theraisa K to help you learn quickly and easily how to upload videos to the popular website YouTube.com. Theraisa K is not in any way affiliated with YouTube and doesn’t sponsor or endorse the site or services in any way; if you have an issue with their service or need help/support, contact YouTube.com directly.

http://www.youtube.com

Step 1: Register / Log In

If you are not registered to YouTube’s service/website, please do so before attempting this tutorial. To register click the “Create Account” text link in the upper right hand corner of http://www.youtube.com and follow the steps provided.

If you already have an account, you can either sign in using the “Sign In” link in the upper right hand corner of the main page OR if you click the “Upload” link in the center of the main page. Either way you will be taken to a sign-in page – enter your Username & Password (that you used to register to YouTube) and then click the Sign In button. If you’ve forgotten your Username/Password you can click the link that say’s “Can’t access your account” and follow the instructions provided.

Once you’re signed in, you can upload your videos.

Step 2: Upload your Video

To upload your video click the “Upload” link found at the top center of the screen.

You will be taken to another screen where you’ll have to click the “Upload Video” button (center left side). You may also want to note YouTube’s video restrictions (2GB, 10minutes, etc.).

After you click the “Upload video” button a box will popup showing the contents of your computer. Find your video file on your hard drive, select it, and then click the “Open” button. After a few seconds you should be redirected to the Video File Upload page. If not, hit the refresh button on your browser window and try the above steps again.

Step 3: Enter Video Details

If you want to enter in details about your video, the Video File Upload page is a great place to do it. Simply fill out the form with the Title (YouTube should have automatically put the name of your video file in this spot, you can delete it and enter in a different name); Description (what the video is about); Tags (keywords or one word descriptions of what your video is about; example: Family Video, Brantford, Vacation, Summer, etc.); Category (what type of video it is); Privacy settings (who you want and don’t want to see your video) and so on. To save any information you’ve entered hit the “Save Changes” button at the bottom, or if you’d like to skip entering in your information click the “Skip for now” link.

Step 4: Share your Video

If you want to share your video right away, YouTube generates codes that you can place on your website or send by email, etc. Simply copy the URL and/or embed codes provided at the bottom of the page and place them where ever you want to share the video.

Need to change your video’s info? Uploaded the wrong video?

If you’ve made a mistake or want to edit the videos you’ve uploaded, the quickest way to do so is by clicking on your username in the upper right corner of any page. A drop down menu should appear with a variety of options. Select the one that says “My Videos”.

You will then be taken to a page containing all the videos you’ve uploaded. On this page you can edit, delete, view and do a variety of other options to the videos you’ve created and uploaded, simply by clicking the buttons provided alongside each video.

Need Help or Support?

If you need additional support or help using You Tube, contact YouTube directly or use their Help feature (located at the bottom left of every page) for assistance.

Article © 2101 Theraisa K. All Rights Reserved World-Wide. Unauthorized use of this article and contents is prohibited without obtaining a License from the author. http://www.theraisak.com | info@theraisak.com

This picture makes me laugh

A three year old's drawing of his Dad & Mom

My 3 year old son's drawing of me and my husband. I know I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it. We look like crazy old people that should be locked up. Is that serious how we look?! (BTW, I'm the one on the right hand side!)

Freelance Graphic Designer and Creative Artist

Freelance Graphic Designer and Creative Artist.

Pen Tool Tutorial

Pen Tool Tutorial
Document ID: TUT03
Dated: Wednesday, January 27, 2010

This is a basic Photoshop tutorial brought to you by TheraisaK.com one of Brantford’s leading freelance Graphic Design and Creative Services (http://www.theraisak.com).

Photo © Theraisa K 2010. Grab this photo from TheraisaK.com!

You will notice in our original photo (referred to as the “product photo” or “product image”) that our product was taken with a black background; we want to change the background to white.  In this tutorial we will be using the Pen Tool to do this.

Feel free to try this using your own photo or use the one we have supplied in this Tutorial Package (#3) found at http://www.theraisak.com.

Photo Editing Tutorial

Photo Editing Tutorial Document ID: TUT01 Dated: Wednesday, January 27, 2010

This is a simple photo editing tutorial brought to you by TheraisaK.com one of Brantford’s leading freelance Graphic Design and Creative Services.

Photo © 2010 Theraisa K

For the sake of this tutorial, the above photo is what I will be editing. Key areas to note in this photo are: the overall darkness of the photo, the branch in front of the characters, the stump and trees in the middle background and the tree line at the very top of the photo. Throughout this tutorial we will be correcting these areas with various Photoshop CS3 tools and techniques; many of which you can use on your own photographs!

If this sounds like a tutorial you’d be interested in checking out please visit http://www.theraisak.com and download the Zip file for Tutorial #1!

Hidden Costs in Design: Web Design (Part 2)

Hidden Costs in Design: Web Design (Part 2)
By: Theraisa K
December 17, 2009

If you have never dealt with a Freelance Graphic Designer (or Freelance Web Designer in the case of this article) before, you may not realize that you may be paying for more than just the finished design! Do you really know what your latest design project costs? If not, perhaps this article will help clarify all the costly expenses hidden away in your design project.

Part Two: Web Design

Before you kick off any project with a Freelance Web Designer be sure to go over all the expenses you may encounter during the project term INCLUDING any hidden expenses that may arise BEFORE beginning the project and more importantly: get it all in writing! Many designers offer some sort of initial contract and/or production schedule that contains much of this information – be sure to read and sign off on any contracts or documents the designer provides before work begins – it will save you time, stress, aggravation and money in the end.

THE DESIGN

It’s a given that you (the client of the designer) will be paying the designer for the “design” of the website; but there are many tiny factors that could be included in that final price the designer may have quoted you for such as:

Hourly Rate vs Flat Rate by Page

Some designers charge an hourly rate (many being around the $80/hour mark) to design your site from start to finish; while some may charge a flat rate based on each individual page created (ranging from $20/page to over $200/page) AND some will use a combination of hourly and page rates. Knowing in advanced how the designer charges will not only help you decide whether or not that designer is right for you, but will give you a rough idea of how much the overall design cost of the project is going to be.

Concepts

Some designers may charge you for “X” number of concept designs at the start of the project – basically samples of what your site COULD look like before any real work is done on the site itself.

You can save yourself a lot of money during this phase of design if you plan out and prepare a bulk of the required materials in advanced of contacting the designer. Having a rough idea in your head will help limit the number of concept ideas (if any) needed; which means less design time equals more money in your pocket!

Some items that you can have on hand before beginning work with a designer are:

Rough Sketches – a rough sketch of the layout of your site including where you want your logo, text, videos, graphics, navigation system, applications and other elements placed will give the designer a better idea of how you want your site to not only look, but operate as well.

Fonts & Colors – if you already have in your mind a rough idea of what type of fonts you want to use (such as serif, sans-serif, cursive or a specialty font) or even better yet, have the fonts on hand to give the designer it’ll help speed up the initial design process. Some designers may charge you extra if they have to 1) search for the font 2) obtain and/or purchase a font including their respective licensing and other associated fees themselves (see stock items in the Third Party section below). Same goes with colors, having in your mind a basic idea of what colors (color palette) you want to use for your site, will help the designer create the right look and feel for your site. Some designers may charge you extra if they have to create the color from scratch.

Number of Pages – having a rough idea of how many pages your site will be comprised of will help the designer give you a more accurate quote for your site. Generally most designers offer “x” number of pages for a set price and then charge for each additional page created after that point. For example, you initially wanted 5 pages designed. The designer quotes you for $500 for those 5 pages, but later on you need 2 more pages added on. The designer may charge you $80 per each additional page extra (so that’s $500 + $160 = $660). The price may be higher or lower depending on what stage of the project you requested the additional pages in as well. Some designers might consider those additional pages as being “outside the scope of the original project” and therefore charge you a much higher price for the creation of them (some may even go as far as considering them to be a project on their own).

Logos – this includes your own logo as well as any other logo marks such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. that you want to use on your site. If you don’t have your own logo and the web designer needs to create it from scratch he/she may charge a separate price (outside of the website design price) for the logo itself. Depending on the scope of the logo needed, some designers may just include it as part of the overall site design.

Graphics & Multi-media – if you want your site to have a lot of graphics and multi-media content, it may be a good idea to either obtain all the graphics/media that you want ahead of time to give to the designer and/or at the very least find samples of the type of graphics/media you want the designer to create and/or use for your site. This will save the designer a lot of time fiddling around with ideas, concepts and samples to send you and will ultimately save you money.

Text & Copy – if anything, the most important element to have on hand before getting in touch with a designer is all the copy you want on your site; especially the main body content. In most cases, designers aren’t inept at writing lavish copy for websites; they’re energies are more focused on the internal workings along with the overall visual appearance/layout of the site. You may have to hire someone other than the designer to create the copy for your site; if you don’t plan on doing it yourself, and/or pay the designer extra to provide those services to you.

Modifications

Almost all designers will charge you modification fees; but read the fine print! Some designers will charge by every little modification you make while others will only focus on the more major changes made – such as redesigning the whole site after they’ve spent hours and/or days working on it. If you somehow manage to cause the designer to basically start from scratch on a new design – expect to pay for it on top of what the designer has already created!

Many designers will put a cap on the number of modifications they’ll allow you to make before they start charging mega bucks for additional changes – mostly they do this in an attempt to get you to focus on what you really want changed and to stop making changes on every little speck of un-importance you see.

Make sure you know how many changes you’re allowed to make and during what stage of design you’re allowed to make them in including what type of changes the designer will allow and/or consider as a change (such as changing a little item over something major – will they waive the little item or not? – find out ahead of time!), and more importantly how much they charge for any extra changes needing to be made, during and after the project term. Yes, many designers also charge you extra for anything they have to change after the site is finalized and published to the World Wide Web!

Coding

Otherwise considered as the “behind the scenes” factors that the designer must contend (and more or less troubleshoot) with in order to make all the elements of your page/site appear in the right location, at the right time, the right way for a variety of browsers, screen sizes and so on. If anything, this is the most time consuming part of designing a web page/site and may even require a separate designer who specializes specifically in scripting/coding of websites.

This aspect could include the time it takes to code the site AND the time it takes to test that code – some designers charge separately for the coding and testing; so know in advanced what aspects of coding the designer deals with and to what extent.

You might want to note, if the designer codes by hand and/or provides their own script/coding (instead of stealing from someone else, adapting from someone else, or otherwise obtaining some form of script they didn’t create themselves) you may end up paying more money in the end (not skilled coder = more time = more money out of your pocket; skilled coder = less time = more money in your pocket).

Graphics / Photographs

If your site uses custom graphics or photographs, you may also have to pay the designer on top of your website design for these special features and services. Depending on the designer, they may have the ability to create their own graphics and/or take their own photographs; but in some cases they will either obtain (at your expense of course) stock items or pre-made templates and graphics to customize and use (see Third Party section below for more on the hidden expenses within this topic)

Visual Enhancements / Multi-Media

You may want all the latest gizmos and gadgets for your site, but expect to pay for most of it on top of the design costs. If your site uses additional visual enhancements and special features such as a flash based splash intros to your website, or embedded content such as videos, news feeds, etc. the designer may charge extra to either create, install, equip, code and/or obtain these features OR you may find yourself hiring a designer/coder that specializes in just such an area. Either way, these fees will be on top of your website design fees, so keep it in mind before you go crazy with over-enhancing your page with irrelevant applications and non-sense glitter.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you want your site to be compatible for easier indexing in search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, and so on) your site will need to be optimized to very specific search engine guidelines. In many cases you will need to hire on an SEO specialist (but not always) to help the designer and/or you in this area. Many designers opt out of having to perform such tasks and leave it up to the specialists to do (or client’s to deal with), while others include very basic or limited SEO services in their design costs and/or as a separate fee. Find out ahead of time what your designer’s limitations and skills are when it comes to SEO for your website.

THIRD PARTY EXPENSES

In almost all cases you are required to either pay and/or compensate the designer for the use of any third party items, materials, services, etc. – that is: services or skills the designer doesn’t possess or offer themselves.

Some third party expenses include:

Domain & Hosting

Almost any way you look at it, you’ll more than likely end up paying for your own hosting and domain (on top of the design costs); but beware, you may also have to pay hidden expenses such as registration fees, membership fees, processing & administration fees or other fees the designer tags into the mix if he/she is the one doing the registering and/or setting up of your hosting and domain.

Some designers have their own servers and may force you into using their services whether you want to or not; and they may not exactly offer such services for a reasonable price! To save money, shop around before contacting a designer to set up the hosting/domain for you; you may not save a ton of money, but at the prices more designer’s charge, every penny saved counts in the end!

Stock Items

In many cases the designer will go over in their initial contract the ways in which they handle the use of third party stock items in a design project. Some stock items include: photography, illustrations, fonts, coding, templates, web graphics (including buttons, banners, etc.) and other items you may want such as applications or videos.

Some designers may require that you handle all stock items including the registration/membership of such services, the licensing of the stock items and other fees including legal fees that may arise out of the use of those stock items; while other designers may provide stock items based on a reimbursement system. That is, the designer registers to the stock service, finds the stock items needed, purchases the stock items and then bills you for it in the end (on top of any changes they may have made to that stock item).

You may, depending on the designer, also be expected to pay for the effort the designer put into finding and obtaining stock items such as: administration, processing and search times, which the designer may or may not include as part of their design fees.

Templates

You may find yourself rushed for time in getting your site online and may opt for a template driven website. These templates could come from the designer themselves or from a third party service; either way, you’ll be paying for the template including any licensing or hidden costs associated with obtaining the template and then paying the designer to alter, build upon or otherwise change that template.

Codes & Scripts

If the designer doesn’t have the ability, patience or time to create their own scripts or coding for the back-end of your website, you may have to pay the designer extra to find, obtain and alter coding/scripts from a third party services. This may also include licensing the rights to be able to change the script/code to suit your website.

Fonts & Colors

Most designers have a catalog of fonts and colors they can easily use from, but if you want a specialty font and/or color, the designer may charge you either for creating the font/color and/or finding the font/color through a third party. You may end up paying the designer for search, registration, membership, licensing and other fees associated with the use of obtaining these elements from a third party.

Support & Maintenance

Many designers will charge separate fees and rates for both support (to you as well as support services for your website) and maintenance if they offer those services at all. Many designers choose to leave the support aspect up to the client to contend with, so you may find yourself outsourcing to a third party service to provide the support you need for your website. Most designers provide some form of maintenance services at cost of course! Make sure you know how much your designer charges for support and maintenance before you enter into an agreement with them at the start of the project.

COMMUNICATIONS & TRANSPORTATION

Most designers require compensation for such things as communication and transportation expenses. This includes things like: telephone charges, fax charges, postal mail (including rush deliveries, priority mail, etc.); compensation for fuel, accommodations, airfare, taxis and so on. All of which is generally billed at the end of the project term at your expense.

LICENSING OF RIGHTS

At some point during the project, you will come across the need to license the rights to some or all of the work created by the designer including third party elements within the work such as stock photography, fonts, etc. (mentioned in the Third Party section above).

Some designers may include licensing as part of their design costs and some may charge separate prices for each element needing to be licensed. Generally this information is provided in the initial contract and/or at the very least negotiated before work begins on the project.

By rights, any thing created by the designer remains the property of the designer, and the designer can choose to either lease you the work (license) and/or sell you all (or some of) the rights to the work (buyout).

Make sure you understand the difference between licensing and a buyout (especially in the designer’s eyes as every designer is different) and know which type of licensing you want for your project – either way the expense will be coming out of your pocket, so make sure you’re getting the most out of your money!

RESOURCES & MATERIALS

Any resources and/or materials the designer uses and/or needs will more than likely be figured into the final cost of the project, either directly or indirectly. Make sure you are aware of these costs before starting a project, as you may be able to negotiate a better method and/or cheaper materials that could be used.

DESIGNER’S FEES

Some designers figure the following into their hourly wage and/or rates but may or may not present them upfront or in writing: administration fees, processing fees, archival fees (and/or the process in which they store your project, materials, etc. for future use), search and/or research fees (browsing the web for fonts, stock items, etc.), file session fees (the opening and closing of a file being worked on) and many others fees based on the designer.

To sum it up, anything the designer is required to pay during the project term out of his/her own pocket is generally sent your way in the final bill! Anything the designer doesn’t want to pay for or doesn’t provide a service for you can expect to pay out of your pocket on your own time outside the scope of the project. Everything in between, will probably come out of your pocket as well; so before you start a project with a Freelance Web Designer be aware of all the hidden expenses you may incur and plan your project accordingly; it may just save you a few hundred dollars in the end!

–

Theraisa K is a Brantford freelance creative/graphic design artist dedicated to providing quality and creative services including graphic design, logo design, photo editing, digital illustration and file conversions at affordable prices since 1994.

Article © Theraisa K 2009. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article is to be reproduced, copied, transferred, transmitted, sold or otherwise used without written authorization from Theraisa K.

Hidden Costs in Design: Print Design (Part 1)

Hidden Costs in Design: Print Design (Part 1)
By: Theraisa K
December 4, 2009
http://www.theraisak.com – info@theraisak.com

If you have never dealt with a Freelance Graphic Designer before, you may not realize that you may be paying for more than just the finished design! Do you really know what your latest design project costs from both sides of the coin (your end and the designer’s end)? If not, perhaps this article will help clarify all the costly expenses hidden away in your design project.

Part One: Print Design

Before you kick off any project with a Freelance Graphic Designer be sure to go over all the expenses you may encounter during the project term INCLUDING any hidden expenses that may arise BEFORE beginning the project and more importantly get it all in writing! Many designers offer some sort of initial contract and/or production schedule that contains much of this information – be sure to read and sign off on any contracts or documents the designer provides before work begins – it will save you time and money in the end.

THIRD PARTY EXPENSES

In almost all cases you (the designer’s client) are required to either pay and/or compensate for the use of any third party items, materials, services, etc. Depending on the designer this is mainly based around liability and legal factors. The designer doesn’t want to be caught in a sticky place and will therefore place most of the liability factors on your shoulders.

Stock Items

In many cases the designer will go over in their initial contract the ways in which they handle the use of third party stock items in a design project. Some stock items including photography, illustrations and even fonts.

Some designers may require that the client (you in this case) handle all stock items including the registration/membership of such services, the licensing of the stock items and other fees including legal fees that may arise out of the use of those stock items.

Some designers may provide stock items based on a reimbursement system. That is, the designer registers to the stock service, finds the stock items needed, purchases the stock items and then bills you for it in the end. You may, depending on the designer, also be expected to pay for the effort the designer put into finding and obtaining stock items such as: administration, processing and search times, which the designer may or may not include as part of their fees.

Printers & Manufacturers

Some designers may have the capability to provide the printing and maybe even the manufacturing of the final project and/or have access to a reputable printer and manufacturer; in either case, expect to pay the designer on top of the design costs for any printing and manufacturing done on their behalf.

In cases where the designer doesn’t supply the printing or manufacturing, you will have to find those services on your own and pay them accordingly.

Also you may want to keep in mind, many printers charge not only by the quantity (how many units are being printed) but also by the color (special colors may be extra), paper size, paper type including finish (matte, glossy, etc.), binding method and any special needs such as die cutting, folding or other. Go over these expenses with the printer before giving them your files so you know exactly what expenses to expect.

EQUIPMENT & RENTALS

Photography

Some designers prefer to use their own photography and in many cases will charge you for the rental of such things as: equipment including cameras, lights, props, set pieces; location (if the location has a rental charge); transportation including vehicle rentals; compensation for models, make up artists, stylists, operators; and other based on the project, designer and service being provided.

Printing

If the designer wants to not only provide the final design, but print it themselves and doesn’t own the right type of printer, he/she will charge you for the rental of such printing equipment including any specialized inks, papers and other materials needed to use and process the work.

COMMUNICATIONS & TRANSPORTATION

Most designers require compensation for such things as communication and transportation expenses. This includes things like: telephone charges, fax charges, postal mail (including rush deliveries, priority mail, etc.); compensation for fuel, accommodations, airfare, taxis and so on. All of which is generally billed at the end of the project term at your expense.

LICENSING OF RIGHTS

At some point during the project, you will come across the need to license the rights to some or all of the work created by the designer including third party elements within the work such as stock photography, fonts, etc.

Some designers may include licensing as part of their design costs and some may charge separate prices for each. Generally this information is provided in the initial contract and/or at the very least negotiated before work begins on the project.

By rights, any thing created by the designer remains the property of the designer, and the designer can choose to either lease you the work (license) and/or sell you all the rights to some or all of the work (buyout).

Make sure you understand the difference between licensing and a buyout of “all rights” and know which type of licensing you want for your project – either way the expense will be coming out of your pocket, so make sure you’re getting the most out of your money!

RESOURCES & MATERIALS

Any resources and/or materials the designer uses will more than likely be figured into the final cost of the project, either directly or indirectly. Make sure you are aware of these costs before starting a project, as you may be able to negotiate a better method and/or cheaper materials that could be used.

MODIFICATION FEES

Many designers offer freebies up to a certain point when it comes to changing elements or aspects within a project. Most base their fees on the complexity and time it took to make the changes. If it’s a simple change, such as changing the color of one word that took .002 seconds to do they may even waive the charges. But if it’s something more complex or even outside the scope of the original project started, you can expect to pay mega bucks to have the corrections made. Also, many designers charge to change things after the project is done – again based mostly on time and complexity.

DESIGNER’S FEES

Some designers figure the following into their hourly wage and/or rates but may or may not present them upfront or in writing: administration fees, processing fees, archival fees (and/or the process in which they store your project, materials, etc. for future use), search and/or research fees (browsing the web for fonts, stock items, etc.), file session fees (the opening and closing of a file being worked on) and many others fees based on the designer.

To sum it up, anything the designer is required to pay during the project term out of his/her own pocket is generally sent your way in the final project bill! Anything the designer doesn’t want to pay, you can expect to pay out of your pocket on your own time outside the scope of the project. Everything in between, will probably come out of your pocket as well; so before you start a project with a Freelance Graphic Designer be aware of all the hidden expenses you may incur and plan your project accordingly; it may just save you a few hundred dollars in the end!

Article by Theraisa K © 2009 TheraisaK.com. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article shall be reproduced, copied, transmitted or other without written permission. http://www.theraisak.com – info@theraisak.com

How to get the most out of your Designer by the Hour

“How to get the most out of your Designer by the Hour”
By: Theraisa K

http://www.theraisak.com

If you’re looking to contract a Graphic Designer that pays by the hour, below are a few steps to help insure that your job gets done quickly and efficiently without costing you an arm and a leg in the end.

Step 1: Know what you want

Before you start looking for a Designer (of any sort) sit yourself down and plan out in your mind or on paper EXACTLY what you want. Including where (roughly) all the elements/pieces should go, what colors, fonts, graphics, photos and other items you will need to get the job done.

A Designer can help you refine your rough plan or offer new ideas with their expertise and knowledge, but having a solid idea already in your head of what you want and how you want it displayed will move the job along quicker.

Having a solid idea will also help keep design modifications of the job to a minimum. Some Designer’s charge extra (on top of their hourly wage) for modifications after a certain point and even more if the changes are outside of the original scope of the project (i.e. what you originally contract the Designer for); not to mention almost all Designers charge for any modifications needing to be made after the job is done!

Step 2: Have what you need

Once you have a solid idea in your head of what you need to make your job visually appealing, make sure you have all the content and elements on hand to give to the Designer. Things like stock photography or illustrations; information and figures for graphs and charts; copy and/or text elements; and any other information or elements needed to complete the job.

The more information you have on hand before contracting a Designer the more money you will save in the end because the less the Designer will have to create from scratch and/or obtain from another source – a third party – which could include extra expenses such as membership fees, registration fees, stock fees, equipment rentals, licensing fees and so forth.

Having all you need on hand will also help keep “back and forth” communications with the Designer to a minimum. Some Designer’s charge extra for communication expenses such as telephone charges, fax charges and even transportation charges if they have to drive/fly/etc. to meet you in person.

Step 3: Contract the right Designer for the Job

Once you have an idea and most of what you will need to complete the job, make sure you contract the right Designer for your job.

The field of Graphic Design is enormous and sub-divided into many, many, many areas of specialization! Most Designers wear many hats and specialize in many areas of Design, but generally have one area of expertise. Finding the right Designer may seem like finding a needle in a haystack, but in the end will be worth your effort and will save you time and money.

For example: it wouldn’t be wise to contract someone who is a MySpace design coding expert with umpteen years of web design experience to design your 10 page company brochure booklet with hand stitched binding and special die cut out sections. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they’d be able to slap it together, but it would probably take them twice as long and probably wouldn’t look as appealing as someone who specializes in designing brochures and/or corporate branding materials.

My point is: If you’re working on a web job – contract a web designer, working on a logo – contract a logo designer, working on a photo that needs touch-ups – contract a photo editor and so on. It just makes sense!

Step 4: Get it in Writing

After you’ve found a Designer for your project and before you begin any work, make sure you go over everything that you want done to the very last detail with the Designer.

Generally this is considered as your Proposal and the Designer will usually counter with a cost Estimate for the project (how much he/she thinks the project will cost based on the info you provide in your Proposal). If both sides agree on the information exchanged, sign a contract to those effects! This will insure that both parties know what’s expected of each other, the time frames in which the work is to be done, and when payments are to be met, etc.

Signing a contract with a Designer should help keep the project on track and give you a better sense of when certain elements will be completed and roughly how much it will cost you in the end. Also, you will have a written and signed agreement, which may help in any disputes or legal matters that may arise down the road.

By following these four simple steps, you should be able to help your hourly wage Designer work quickly and efficient on your job while keeping your costs down.

Keep in mind, every job and Designer is different and not all of the above steps will apply to your specific job or needs! These steps are provided as an example of what generally helps get and keep a job on track while saving some expenses along the way.

Written by Theraisa K © 2009 TheraisaK.com. All Rights Reserved. http://www.theraisak.com – info@theraisak.com

“Location, Location and the Designer’s Within Them”

“Location, Location and the Designer’s Within Them”
By: Theraisa K
August 16, 2009

In the day’s of old, the key to hiring the perfect designer for your project was much like hiring a babysitter for your kids. You’d meet the designer in person, peruse their portfolio and resume and then based on first impressions would hire them. Not much has changed other than the World Wide Web has now opened the flood gates to a new level of hiring. Instead of just being able to choose one or two designers from around your block, you can now pretty much hire anyone in the world. So how do you know if a designer on the other side of the planet is “the one” you want and how do you go about hiring them to work for you?

First you get in touch with them by email, instant message, phone or other communication device of preference. Within the first few bouts of communication you should have a basic idea of whether or not the designer is going to work for (and with) you. Communication is absolute key to working with a designer you may never meet face to face. If you can’t communicate your thoughts, visions, technical garble-ly-goo, and ideas well; maybe it would be best to stick to a local designer you can meet up with when needed.

Second you peruse the designer’s online or print portfolio and resume. Much like the babysitter theory, you want (and need) to know their past experiences and skill level. You wouldn’t leave your kids with a total stranger, unless you knew a little bit about them, right? Hiring a designer isn’t that much different, think of your project as your little baby and the designer as the babysitter. Make sure that they are suited well to each other before hiring them. Each designer has a specific style, area of expertise, professionalism and communication level and each project needs a specific designer to design them – keep that in mind! Resumes can be fluffed, but portfolios never lie. You’ll know right from the get go whether or not they’ve got what it takes to tackle your project by looking through their portfolio offerings.

Third ensure that you and the designer are on the same page when it comes to payment, payment frequencies and payment options. Some designers charge by the hour, other’s by the project. Some accept certain forms of payment (cash, check, money orders, etc.), others don’t. Some like to be paid in installments, others like to be paid upfront, some like to be paid in the end. So before hiring them, make sure you have written in stone what your payment options are, when they’re to be met and how they are to be met. There’s nothing worse then getting to the end of a project; not being able to pay the designer and the designer withholding all of your hard work because of it!

Fourth if the designer has a contract or agreement, be sure to read it over a few times and know exactly what is expected of you and the designer (especially before signing or agreeing to it). Online agreements are no different than a contract you would sign by hand, so be sure you know what you’re getting into before hiring or contracting a designer. Some online contracts don’t even need your signature; you just simply have to read it to agree to it, so always read the fine print!

Lastly trust your gut instincts. If the designer comes across as fishy, avoids answering direct questions (evades them or simply skirts around them, especially when related to finances/money) or just doesn’t seem the right fit for you or your project then don’t hire them – find someone else.

All in all, hiring a designer from the online world really isn’t that much different then hiring someone in your local area; you just have to be more aware of their stipulations and communicate better than ever! If you find the right designer, no matter where they live, your project should turn out just the way you imagined it or better.