uprinting.com
Getting printing done cheap and good can be tough. Getting printing done for next to nothing and good seems impossible. There is a solution and you’ll find it over at uprinting.com. Admittedly, my experience with this company doesn’t cover a large variety of printed projects. I’ve had several sets of business cards made and a few posters printed. I must say that for the price and for the overall quality, you may not be able to find a better option. They’ve had one mistake, to this day I’m not even sure how it happened, but they quickly fixed it, discounted the price and provided new prints quickly.
More often than not, some sort of special promotion or discount can be found for whatever type piece you need printed.
If you’re a small business and operate on a tight budget, uprinting.com is a great solution. Follow this link to find out all the different printed products they can create. Professional templates can be found in a wide variety of formats to help get you started with the layout and design.
Do you have experience with uprinting.com or any other online print shops, both positive and negative? We’d love to hear them and we’re always looking for other alternatives for printing.
iPhone App Design Resources
There are numerous resources out there with design elements for the iPhone and iPad. I’ve looked through quite a few and selected a few of my favorite and a few that I believe will be of greatest value to anyone designing an app. You should have just about all you need to get started on your own app.
Enjoy this collection.
iPhone GUI 3.0
Free iPhone Toolbar icons
Glyphish
Free Vector Icons
Hand Gesture Icons
Ink Tycoon
This post is a review and a follow up bundled in one neat little package. The follow up portion relates to a previous post I did about knowing your limits. In it I discussed how you can become a better designer and business owner by knowing when to seek help. In turn, you help the client by delivering a better product. Below is the project and a review of the company that helped me illustrate the lesson.
Now for the review. Rhyolite Design was hired to create the packaging for a product that is in development by Progressive Solutions called Protecshine. It’s a cleaning/protecting solution designed for automobiles. Specifically, it protects and shines metal. Through the initial development I came up with a conceptual logo. After the project started making some headway we decided it was time to seek help from an illustrator to polish it up and create something unique. After seeing some of their previous work, we settled on the company Ink Tycoon.
We couldn’t have been more pleased with the results.
The project involved 3 stages. 1. Providing us with an initial sketch 2. Computerizing our selected option 3. Final Delivery of the product. It really was that simple. The sketching proved to be pretty important. The first concept, while he was nicely drawn, wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for.
So, we talked it over with the Ink Tycoon and requested another concept. In no time at all, we were provided with sketch number two. This was much closer to what we had hoped for and resembles the final drawing.
With a couple of revisions to the sketch and a couple of days in between, we were presented with the final logo concept. Ink Tycoon comes highly recommend from me. Very professional and a pleasure to work with.
The First Sketch.
The Second Sketch.
Final Design.
Skype- For Business
Recently, I’ve been introduced to the world of Skype and I must admit that I wonder what life was like before it. The route I took was purchasing a local phone number, which is now my business number, and purchasing a phone plan that includes unlimited calling to all of the United States and Canada.
For me, there were a couple of major advantages to using Skype.
1. It’s significantly cheaper than our local phone service provider. In fact, two months with our local phone service equals the entire one year plan I purchased with Skype.
2. Call forwarding is simple. I give people my business number only. It rings that, I don’t answer so it sends the call to my cell phone. This way I am available all the time and only have to worry about checking voicemails in one location.
3. I work on my computer, Skype is on my computer, plus there’s an iPhone app.
4. Video calls, screen sharing, text messaging, and traditional calls can all be done through a Skype account.
Skype is free for Skype to Skype calling and text messaging. Give it a try. I even bought myself a nifty USB Headset
Thumbnail image by elaininspired
Knowing your Limits
This past month I learned a valuable lesson about owning my own design company: knowing my limits.
For me, I like to do everything. It’s not that I’m a control freak, I just enjoy working on every facet of a project. I also take a certain amount of pride in working on all aspects and calling it “my own.” There are areas of design that I’m very strong at and there are areas that I struggle with. Knowing these limits can improve the quality of my projects and client relations. There is no shame in admitting your weaknesses and seeking help from those with more talent.
The project that led me to this realization involved a character illustration of a knight. I like to think that I can illustrate, but I can’t hold a candle to guys that do it for a living. It’s a unique talent. Swallowing my pride and acknowledging that my client would get a better illustration if I outsourced was difficult decision to swallow, at first. After seeing the final product, and hearing my clients’ delight over the final product proved my decision was correct.
Another factor to take into considerations is time. While it probably only took the illustrator a few hours to draw the character, it would have taken me days to get it right. I’m out of practice and do not posses that raw talent. This could have eaten into time I should have been spending on other projects or refining the skills that I really am good at. I would have given a proposal for a few hours, and far surpassed that. It’s not an efficient way to work.
(Nerd Alert.)
I remember a scene in The Dark Knight with Alfred and Bruce Wayne. Here’s how it went.
Alfred Pennyworth: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
Bruce Wayne: Batman has no limits.
Alfred Pennyworth: Well, you do, sir.
Bruce Wayne: Well, can’t afford to know ‘em.
Alfred knows that at some point Batman can’t do everything. Of course, this is a movie, and he can do everything and save Gotham City. But, it was a good scene to drive my message home…sort of. Unlike Bruce Wayne refuses to believe, a designer should know their limits. It makes for a more successful company and higher caliber projects overall.
Have you had a similar experience? Have you, as a designer, realized that you just can’t do everything?
Photo courtesy of zimway2k
Basecamp (Follow-Up)
Earlier this year I did a post introducing my usage of Basecamp and to get some feedback from other users. After about two months of using it, I wonder what my life as a freelance designer was like before it. Interestingly enough, I have partnered with two other design companies to help them with some work and they both use Basecamp for their project collaboration.
For me, it was all about getting organized with my largest client who provides me with the most work. It has been an effective way to centralize communication with team members. For one of the other design companies, it’s a way to organize all their projects (10-20) and have the various team members communicate.
For the iPhone app, I use Groundwork. I tried a few and ultimately chose this one because I was able to log into multiple accounts easily. I have a list of the different Basecamp accounts to choose from on the home screen and can quickly view and communicate on any account. It has proven to be a great purchase.
According to the website Why Basecamp Rocks,
here are the top ten reasons why Basecamp Rocks.
1. Basecamp focuses on collaboration and communication. It’s especially great for remote teams, and companies who want to share information with their clients.
2. Basecamp is easy to learn and use because the design is intuitive and simple. It effectively merges aesthetics with form and function.
3. It’s a web-based product, which means that you can access it as long as you have a web browser and internet connection.
4. 37signals makes it a top priority to keep your data secure.
5. The pricing is reasonable, no-strings-attached, and pay-as-you-go. You get your money’s worth, really.
6. There’s a Free Plan that gives you a whole lot: 1 Project and unlimited users, along with to-do templates, color customization, and your logo display.
7. There are a lot of cool extensions to Basecamp that you can pick and choose to enhance the experience.
8. The Help & Support section is well documented, and email support is fast, friendly, and professional.
9. The user forum is active and helpful. Users care about Basecamp. When you sign up for Basecamp, you become part of an established community.
10. It’s a proven product. There are over 3 million Basecamp accounts across the globe and 94% of Basecamp customers surveyed would refer it to others. Individuals, small-to-midsize teams, and many of the world’s respected brands use Basecamp to get projects done.
Here are a couple of reviews I found: