Uptop

So I'm in a Dunkin Donuts on Lyons ave in Newark, NJ. I just got burned for a buck, but the chicken parm flatbread did me some justice. I came up here for a Class Reunion Cookout and walked into a thunderstorm. Now I'm contemplating a mad dash for MD. The VP (who is pregnant) and myself are just plain tired. At least I made all of my meetings.

Pitiful

So here I am in the local DD. The owner gave me a free stale donut to go with the 2 stale ones I paid for. I fell for it again. I just finished delivering business cards to a client and built my first wordpress situation. I had a good day, but my blog sucks! Maybe it's this old sugar jelly donut I'm chewing on that has me thinking stale is a description I don't want to earn, but my blogging habits betray me. Maybe it's the coffee that has me believing that I can change it. We'll see.

Message to the Thrifty Client

Recently, I have had clients acting off of the confusion that arises from a typical production schedule. By typical I mean, EVERYDAY Murphy's Law is in effect. Things can and will go wrong. A client's awareness is the key to minimizing the impact of those realities or at the very least UNDERSTANDING why things happen. I've decided to state my opinions on the topic. These are in fact MY opinions but they should read as logic to some with experience in production.
1. Don't believe in miracles or miracle workers.
If someone pulled off an amazing feat for you in a clutch situation, don't expect them to be successful everytime. You will be wrongfully disappointed.
2. Plan Accordingly
Give your project, whatever it may be, the time it deserves to be the best that it can be. Planning is FREE and it can save a lot of money.
3. Research for yourself
As you plan, you should become familiar with costs and turnaround times. Set deadlines for your project and obey them. IF YOU FIND YOURSELF BEHIND SCHEDULE EXPECT TO PAY MORE AND ACCEPT THE POTENTIAL OF YOU NOT GETTING EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT.
4. Establish Direction
Now that you have the plan and the numbers, you must establish the route that you will take to carry it all into fruition. Selecting your vendors + service providers and communicating the needs of the project to them. Becoming familiar with their requirements + your responsiblities as a client.
5. Coordinate
I've learned to view coordination as juggling. You control several movements being acted upon by an external force. You set several parts of a plan in motion being acted upon by time. If you are unaware at this stage, you will drop something(s). Whatever you didn't know, didn't ask or points of detail you didn't express will add a blindfold to your juggling act.
6. Prepare for the worse
Worst case scenarios are considered because they are always potential. Even with the best planning, sharpest research + the clearest direction, you still can't predict the weather. Things go wrong. If you were doing everything right, you were prepared for this with a Plan B + enough time to implement it. If you weren't doing everything right, then there's proof that everyone involved is human.
I am human. I am not a miracle worker. I am a graphic designer who has coordinated many projects between quite a few vendors over the past 9 yrs. I know how stressful not having approximate times is. I personally compensate by giving myself more time when planning. I know what happens when you rush...usually double the price + the opportunity for more mistakes.
I prefer not to put that pressure on others whenever possible. I definitely don't appreciate haggling over the price associated with accepting that weighted responsibility with someone who most likely created the condition. Harsh? Paying for a clients lack of planning is harsh. Especially when you didn't charge them the RUSH price. Identity crisis. Thought I was the miracle man.
In closing I'll say this, I transitioned from a Graphic Designer to a Graphic Design Service after spending years IN production (Silk Screening, Environmental Technician, Communications Technician,Art Production Assistant in videos+ films). The talent is the design but the work is the service. I wanted to bring the talent + the logistics to small business graphic dilemmas. As novel an ideal as that may be, even when our all is given we will lose at the feet of poor planning. We will bicker over un supported beliefs and negotiate feverishly to ensure that you get more for less. Even then, after you've waited to the last minute, cut every corner + shaved every dime, we may be able to get your project what it needs. We will most definitely try. We always do. However, your business model will still be the product of poor planning. Harsh? Waking from a life lived as a lie is harsh, but
necessary.
If you just want to hustle and you want your project handled correctly hire( or assign ) a project coordinator and they will lose hair + sleep to make sure the balls never hit the floor and you don't have to stop earning to pick them up. If not, don't get your hair done with have several hats for you to try on. Next time.

Dungeon Talk

I'm in the basement, where the Black and Mild smoke won't irritate my wife. This where the drafting table and all the equipment lives. Admittedly, I don't spend much time down here. I work almost exclusively off of my laptop, on the dining room table. This is the only way I can stay focused and still spend time with my significant other. However, when I'm down here with the music and the art, I can't help but feel as though I am neglecting a huge chunk of me. I know that I use elements of my artistic person in my commercial pursuits. Typography is grafiti to me. Graphic design is doing a piece except the wall is a monitor. Those clever slogans are just homeless lines from "dope rhymes". I am passionate about it all, but only a fraction of it has been profitable. That fraction is what I base my career on. Just typing that feels crazy, besides actually living it.
I live on the web now. I'm constantly face to face with the competition and their product. I am furnished with armor in the form of information and the constant reminder that there are plenty of gifted people in this field. I have always been one to believe that awareness promotes evolution and that humility is the foundation of power. A lot the people who do what I do, do it better than me. Twitter has led me to quite a few. Don't get me wrong, I always operate at a professional caliber but sometimes professional is wack. There is always room for growth. Motivation is being exposed to those who have grown.
With that being said and the black (black and mild) being 2/3 ash, I'll announce the launch of the new HDS site. A little bigger. A little bolder. Not as slick as I envisioned, but better than before. As I tighten my grip on CSS, I promise you all a more pleasurable online experience. Maybe my business schoolmate @smerx or my comrade Chen from the Florida side can offer a bit of tutelage. Either way, the knowledge will be acquired. I also updated my Twitter background. It took outrageously long to actually upload, but that's Twitter. It's cool, but I'm paying more attention to colors now so I'll say it's OK. I will most definitely be laying out a new composition, but I welcome any feedback on the current one.
I dudded the black out. This beat has been playing for an hour. I have forgotten a verse I wrote in my head while I was writing this. I am skitzophrenic and every one of my personalities is exhausted. I think I'll stay up til they pay up, but this money on my mind is the money I can't find. Next time.........

Quickie

Just a quick thought.
If you use Twitter correctly, it is an invaluable tool that connects you with what you want to know and who you want to know. If used incorrectly it becomes another disease den where we lay our IPs. Its all up to the user.

Warning

Quick update. You designers have a couple of months left. Once I get in tune with CSS via Dreamweaver, the weak will have no relief. I am poised. Twitter is like mainlining information (stay tuned for Hollagraphics Design Services PSAs on Twitter. Jewels.......). The resources and the tutorials are like steroids, except crap graphics are the only thing being destroyed. My brain is lit. My mind is light. My grasp extends........

One for the Road

Nothing like designing with HBO Comedy playing in the background. To keep it 100(as in 100 percent or absolutely true)there are so many things that are better than this scenario for other folks, but I love it. Sometimes I let the news trudge on as ambient noise and successfully poison my peace of mind. For certain styles of design, chaos is fitting. However, I prefer to program tranquility via pen stroke. Other times, like this, I just let the design be.......