right now

Type Con

Design Boom

BiJules

mine

this is a truck.

salon: the workflow rollercoaster

started off with some documents provided by Judy - number crunches of
her staffs hours and productivity and billable hours.
most notable was that Judy said she has a large client , who spends a
qtr. mil every 3 months, and they thought it was great, until they ran
the numbers and realized that they were only making a 3% profit. as a
result they are overhauling the way they work with that client.

another measure they take is to include and call attention to project management fees in the initial contract. --- so when clients require a
lot of hand-holding they either pay for it or use your time wisely.

Dress for the Job you want.
There was discussion about the valleys in the workflow roller coaster,
saying that is the easiest time to market yourself - but really - you
should be marketing all the time. and sending work out that resembles
the kind of work you want to be doing and bring in. praise for design
army's self marketing efforts. emergency cards, and coasters at
christmas. they put their time, their money and their heard into their
personal projects.

(market with your goals in mind)

G has started marketing to businesses as opposed to design. Focusing on strategy related projects and making the decisions.
G also has a sales force - that conducts cold calls. a non employee that is highly trained to be very sensitive to the potential clients.

Also good to have is Pro Bono work - relationships can happen anywhere.
charity work (harris productions)

side note, i think i misspoke towards the end of the salon... i asked the question - what if you are a young shop willing to work whenever to please the client, and i think i seemed a bit emotional. one response was to evaluate the work done in the wee hours, it might not be as good as work done regular hours. also judy said, you need to elevate the relationship so the client sees you more as a partner than a vendor. so
they rely on you.

so there was mention of Focused Networking and Targeted Marketing.

Identify who you want to work for, and go after that business. when you
get to work on stuff you want to work on it inspires you to keep going.

Go OUTSIDE of the regular business AIGA events, and seek inspiration
from all around you.

SCORE - develop a system of scoring for a client before you take a job.

Groom the good clients. -- anecdote, you get a client that was a great
pleasure to work with so you tell them at the end of the job, they came
in under budget, and take $300 off their bills.

another tip was to ask clients for quantifiable results - these build your reputation for further down the road, and bolster your credibility
for the next job, as word of mouth can make or break you.

new DADA?

Gordon McKenzie - orbiting the giant hair ball.

erin had RGA story about how they early on some days and were given the briefs from clients they didn't work on - and were tasked to come up
with new creative.

sometimes when you have your nose to the grindstone you forget to look
up and see what's around you.

just joined the women's presidents association where she met Edie Weiner - who is a FUTURIST. this makes me want to send her the apple movie with the touch-screens.

Price Waterhouse Coopers CD said the pieces she remembers are the thought leadership pieces and the white papers. those are the ones she keeps and shares and shows around.

designers need to have the power of word, and confidence in the word. designing and understanding.
other tips - track and map where your new business comes from. take sales classes... dale carnegie.

the stars know...they know...

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Where help is needed, pitch in -- especially if it's outside the boundaries of "your job." Showing that you're not above doing what it takes to make the team run smoothly will earn you all the esteem you desire.

fight club blagden alley saturday crazy.

1. the APES> my new favorite band
2. reflecting: need to craft the graceful acceptance / response. something like: oh thanks for calling. best of luck to you, i'm sure you will be very busy & successful. if you have any tips or advice for me in the future that would be great, if you think of anything you think would be useful for me in regards to my book, or my interview demeanor, i would really appreciate your thoughts. i was well impressed with the way you run your shop. good luck to you. please keep me in mind if you hear of anything that you think might be a good fit for me.
3. crazy conversation on the phone tonight. was priviledged with some very serious very private information. i really respect that. i feel lucky to be trusted so much by a friend. i hope i can be a supportive reassuring friend for a long time to come.

what's your favorrite piece

that's a question that i need a better answer to.

percocet and flexeril

they're not working. they just make me sleeeeepy. I could go watch law and order right now. But I feel like a dork sitting in front of the tv so much. boooring.
anyways, my upper back is f-ed. I was cleaning my room yesterday, sunday morning, waiting to go to the play hunting exhibit, and a good song came on and I just jumped around dancing and I was done for. Low mobility and shooting pains. Debilitating.
I was going to work on some trains layouts, and I have so much work to do in my room, but I just can't do anything feeling like this. I am afraid I am sitting incorrectly the whole time. I should probably just drug up and go back to sleep. So boring. I profile wont even be able to sleep anyways.

mom just called and I was feeling too lazy to hold the phone up.
booo...
so sad. so much achey pain.
I guess it is better than yesterday...
glad pr took me to the er. if I still feel like this today with all those drugs who knows what I would feel like with out them. i've had ice and heat and ice and heat. endless. and still it hurts. the scariest part is being incapacitated. like I can't get anything done. can't imagine what it would be like to have a permanent injury like this..
now pr is gone for a week. travelling cross country with rory and tyler. that is going to rock, i wish i could go. i ownder if they would have the farting contest if i was with them...

workin

my boyfriend is the f*ing greatest. period.

anticipation

everytime i see new e-mail in my inbox i bite my lip and get a curly stomach. this is so cathartic and so exciting! no matter what happens - its the whole process - I need to do this!
onward!

dreams

i think last night - i had dreams. 1. someone got fired from work,
amidst drama and tension. 2. some boy at the donut shop needed a place
to stay and the second time i saw him i offered him the other couch at
my parents. 3. pell was home, waiting for the bus, but with headphones
in and unresponsive to my waving and greetings. so i shrugged and went
about my yard-work.

bizarre.

semi-perm in chronological order

The Orphanage | sin city... all cgi. started 2 people, then 10, now over 100.

Insertsilence | 2 guys who lived on the same street in brookyn - but met in japan. bjork vespertine. musician.

Charlie White | his character joshua is shown fragile and ugly, how he sees himself. he lives in a world of blondes and brunettes. he has uniquie photo shooting style which results in extreme crispness of all subject. many photos layered and compiled.

Threadless/Skinnycorp | t-shirt Community dudes. 3 guys, chicago. let the community run the community! yay!

Paul Pope | comic book artist, studied manga in japan, claims to wear same clothes everyday.

Peter Sluszka | stop motion animation, layered shots, triaminic clam underwater.

End Day One

Visionaire | amazing themed magazine started in 80s all paste up, get everyone in there to help. group project, led to collaborations with TOP couture designers and artists and $175 price tag on the issue. requested that we submit a photo of "what we want most in the world" and /or "what stands in our way and keeps us from it" submit to: wish@visionaireworld.com

Chuck Anderson | TWENTY YEARS OLD. too young to drink. skipped college. got jobs by writing down the mag art directors names while sitting in borders. getting very famous very fast. likes things that look cool.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro | Architecture firm. seem to make art installations to. quality of renderings was amazing. plans & design for Boston ICA is phenomonal. moving LCD screen on outside of building in San Francisico.

Lobo | Brazilian animation firm. short films. piston pete. stressed getting corporate sponsors to sponsor your art. deisel dreams.


Fafi | french lady, pregnant, new york <3's new orleans t-shirt. sexy girls graff artist. liscened her work to snario company - dissappointed in quality of materials.

Joshua Davis | praystation, tool, 15th century artist, creative code with john maeda, programmer! v/ entertaining.

End Day Two

semi perm

chuck anderson.

semi-permanent NYC Sept 2005

seattle's bumbershoot and inkspot & then NYC's Semi-Permanent trips were so inspirational and exciting. the people there and speakers were ooozing with enthusiasm.



above is Joshua Davis. I had heard of praystation and visited it occasionally when i lived in london, but i had sortof forgotten about it, and had never known who the creator was. i wasn't up on the who's who, just trying to get my bearings back then. in anycase, now I know who he is and what he is capable of and its amazing. the 15th century painting then the transition to c0omputer program created art is what really blows me away.

i'm going to have to organize my thoughts about the 2 trips in total and make my notes here. i think i am too tired to do it right now.

tips from seattle

seattle: so much to take away from my recent journeys, but just a few thoughts/ reminders here while i am on the subject:

this is at the top of my list.

BLOG YOUR PORTFOLIO:
"You can do a lot more with a blog than share your opinion on your favorite indie band. Blogs, or weblogs if you prefer, have turned into a simple way for freelancers and small creative firms to post their latest work to the web. And here’s the big bonus: Since they’re incredibly easy to update, you’ll actually keep your online portfolio current.

In this informative 90-minute talk expertly delivered by CreativeTech’s Craig Swanson, we’ll actually create and post a portfolio blog as you look on and learn about: >Paid versus free blogging services >Using your blog for project management, as part of your current site, or as your complete, stand-alone site >Copywriting tips for blogs."
###
http://svcseattle.com/
I'll bet if I root around this site I will find loads of other good ideas just in the course listing section. seattle was great. i saw the coolest galleries and the nicest parks. it was brisk and chilly, & i even saw iggy pop -- all i could think about was his gap commercial and what band had covered the song i recognized most. i never did remember.

commence portfolio bloggin!

undiscovered

saw Jenny's new movie last night. was fantastic. it was kinda like hanging out with her. there were many batting cage scenes where she got her aggression out an whatnot - i'm going to the batting cage now. it really just looked like fun. and it's only a dollar for 16 balls. stoked. i think lisa's coming.

hp tv spot.

love the current HP Mobile Technolgy commercials. they employ a cute little camera trick when the actor holds a white picture border/frame in front of an area of the screen and there is motion all around, but the framed area freezes and becomes a still photograph. now this is great -- i think they or kodak were doing it to advertise didgtial cameras and printers earlier this year -- but hp's new branding and identity devices are fantastic. the colors relay the printing and the delivery - the lines and plus signs are standouts because they are modern but sortof 80's also. there was some very lubalin-esque headline type used - same rainbow / primary printing colors palatte on a field of black, set at a diagonal. it was very unboring for HP. I think HP has always had it together, they set some styles and standards that became popularized, and now they are changing it up again, and its looking good. very good.

CV

senior designer | national media inc | Alexandria, VA
February 2002 – Present
design for print, web, television advertising, marketing collateral, books, display & event materials, stationery & identity systems. worked for established fortune 500 clients, down to new business launches and independent candidates. presentation graphics, in-house support, assisting photo shoots. manage department freelancers, interns, project flow, timekeeping and some billing.
www.nationalmediainc.com

junior designer | modem media, london |
February 2000 – June 2001
internet advertising campaigns. web banner designs, from concept to production, interstitial web page
design and production, interactive tools, GUI design. experience with information architecture, and
logical information design.
www.modemmedia.com


freelance designer | Alexandria, VA
event flyers & collateral, set design, brochure, packaging.

admin | Northern Virginia Temporaries| Alexandria, VA
August 1999 – December 1999
various administrative / executive office duties.

intern | Taylor Weirup Advertising |
May 1999 - August 1999

education |
Maryland Institute College of Art | 2004
CE Advanced Concept & Design,
Typography Independent Study

Virginia Commonwealth University | 1999
BS Mass Communications, Advertising

che

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