Daily Resources for Web Designers & Developers by Andy Sowards » Blogging

40+ Amazing Examples of Music Inspired Design – Artwork, Concepts, Illustrations & Photography

Andy Sowards — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:48:57 +0000

So we all know music rocks, literally (hehe herp derp ). Today we have some amazing examples of how music can influence a workflow or a design in a totally awesome way. Music can make anything more creative, or motivate you to do your best on any given task (great to listen to while designing or developing btw!). Drool over these awesome artworks, concepts and designs that were inspired by the true power and beauty of music!

Enjoy!

The audio above is the engine revs the Moog would produce. Once again, the theme of using something recognizable and something alien was combined to produce noise an electronic music inspired car would make. In this case the vehicle is sporty and specific to this genre of music, but this project was an exercise to demonstrate how inspirational music can be to the design process.

You need moar music inspired epic awesome designy-ness? Well Okay…

here ya go! check these out for your homework (jk homework sucks)

40 Amazing Music Inspired Artworks

30+ Music Inspired Logos in Logo Design

30+ MUSIC INSPIRED LOGO DESIGNS

What is your favorite music to listen to? I am a big fan of all music, mostly alternative and rock

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If you like this, You’ll love These.

Here There Be Dragons! Dealing with Nightmare Clients & Challenges As A Freelance Designer

Michael Dambold — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:25:23 +0000

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In the great fantastic world of design, professionals are like knights, claiming prizes and rewards while fighting fierce dragons and vanquishing evil foes.

At least, we think ourselves kin to the great knights of old. In many ways, we may be correct.

While we may not be Knights of the Round Table or regularly hold Court with King Arthur, we deal with many challenges as they would. The difference is our enemies are time and budget, and our dragons are challenges we face. The challenges are not only with producing an excellent product, but producing any product within the time allotted.

Most specifically though, many of our battles are fought with clients who hold little or no knowledge of what they want, or how to communicate it.

Many times we deal with clients who are ignorant of the way web or print works, and say so outright, negating the need for designers to find out the hard way.

However, there is always that small element that believes they know everything about design and web. These are the clients we fear to deal with, and the ones we avoid if we can.

Unfortunately we sometimes find ourselves caught in a web of deception and miscommunication, and it makes any project or assignment nearly impossible to either navigate or accomplish. There are five things we can use to keep from the webs and shed light upon any possible problems we might encounter with a client.

1. Explain in writing to any potential client how much you charge, and how you work.

If you charge hourly or by project element, make sure it’s easy to understand before any contract is made. It’s never recommended to begin hourly negotiations at this stage but to explain how you work in terms of available hours, and your current workload.

Being this translucent up front tends to intimidate those who are used to taking advantage of designers and by making a professional declarative stance on your work ethic and available hours. By doing this the tone for negotiations of the contract is set.

2. Don’t forsake your principles, and don’t compromise your basics.

Every once in a while a client will come along who is convinced they have the business market cornered, and will try to convince you that no matter how much time you’ve been in the business or who your clients have been, they are the most important thing that will ever happen to you.

They’ll explain that you can’t possibly see the scope of the project and will most likely try to either bully you into a lower rate or some sort of impossible concession that you cannot make. Don’t let it happen. There are concessions that can be made in any project, but working until 3am when you have a young child or are sick, working for a significant decrease in pay, or some other concession that will hurt you is never worth it, unless your client is a major corporation like Disney. Even in that case, they will understand your boundaries and won’t violate them.

In that case, the reference will outweigh any concession that needs to be made. But chances are, many small business owners will not carry such weight. But whether or not they have a significant advantage such as a reference can become clear in negotiations.

3. Make the contract yourself.

Never allow the client to make the contract unless it’s from a large corporation and you feel comfortable with the contract after reading every word. Every contract is a legal binding agreement, and if you don’t know what’s inside, you could be in for a world of misery.

4. Become best friends with other professionals, and a lawyer.

Other professionals are a wonderful way of gaging your experiences with clients and sharing them with others. So much can be learned from their good and bad experiences. Becoming friends with a lawyer is also helpful. Whether you hire one or have one as a friend, legal counsel is invaluable to navigate the potential problems with contracts and legal problems.

5. If 1-4 are violated, drop it like its hot.

If you’ve followed 1-4, and the professionals or lawyer gives you a warning about the client, they refuse to allow you to give any input on the contract, attempt to make you concede in ways you aren’t comfortable with and do not care for your work times or demand you violate your standards, it’s a given that you will leave the project with less sleep, more stress, and less money.

Those clients are usually not worth dealing with, and though they are a minute percentage of the clients we face, we owe it to ourselves to work with people in mutual respect and professional courtesy. Any business used to dealing with freelance designers is also used to dealing with the above 4 steps. Any business that sees fit to violate them is usually used to ripping off other people, and you aren’t the first and probably won’t be the last. Working with professional businesses who are respectful and deal with projects in a professional manner are the highest prize of all, and those are the battles against time and budget that are always worth fighting for.

Stick with the battles worth fighting, and the challenges worth facing. We have a great world out there to conquer, and many dragons to fight!

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But Where Have All the Clients Gone? How To Get More New Freelance Design & Development Work

Jules — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:59:33 +0000

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If you’re a freelance designer or developer in 2012, you’ll recognise that smell in the air. You know, the one that smells a lot like fear. Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned pro, the issue of clients, sales and good old moola rolling in is probably one that dictates a lot of your daily activities. You might have given up the comfortable day job with its little perks and reassuring monotony, to strike out on your own, be your own boss, set your own hours and endless cups of tea/coffee (insert favourite beverage here) etc. You may well have envisioned an easier, less stressful (and shorter) working day, one that involved lounging around in your ~~tacky~~ comfortable clothes, your favourite music blasting from the speakers and a smug look on your face. Except you didn’t quite bet on the fact that the clients aren’t exactly knocking down your door, did you?

(Field Of Dreams Image via Shutterstock)

The old adage of “Built it, and they will come“ certainly doesn’t apply to any freelancer I know. It’s a natural state of play these days. For every great idea/concept/service/product out there on the web today (and indeed, in many industries) it is always swiftly followed by a barrage of knock-offs, rip-offs, copycats, grasscutters and undercutters. There is always someone out there willing to do it cheaper and faster (so they say) than you. If you did your research before setting out as a freelancer, you would have no doubt come across the many ‘freelance’ sites out there where you can *shudder* bid for a design project or contract, and the job is often handed out to the one who will do it for the cheapest. If you’re hoping to make it as a freelancer these days, you’ve certainly got a lot to compete with especially as outsourcing becomes ever more popular. The talent pool has invariably widened as more and more people turn to the web for their income.

So you’ve set up your business, built your site, set-up your social media accounts, turned to your inner networking circle for portfolio work, written blog posts, maybe even joined a few forums here and there. You’ve probably registered on pretty much every single ‘directory/freelance’ site out there. You’ve read the eBooks, the blog posts, the How-to’s any resource you could find and you feel ready, confident to open your virtual doors to prospective clients. You probably feel all excited (clammy hands optional). And still… nothing. No emails, no phone calls, no tweets, no nothing. The silence is deafening.

So where have all the clients gone? Why aren’t they clambering over themselves to get at you and your skills? The answer is profoundly simple.

It’s because you aren’t where your clients are.

(Solitary Image via Shutterstock)

Get it? The internet means that we are becoming intellectually less inclined to dig deep for what we’re looking for, because the majority of the time we’re simply overloaded with information wherever we go (notice how I say ‘we’, because when it comes to prospective clients, you have to think like they do). It’s a well known fact that if you don’t rank on the first page of Google (or other reputable search engine… no wait… what were their names again?) you simply won’t get seen.

So before you rush out there to set-up your Google Adwords account (no really, don’t even bother just yet) what should you, as a freelancer, be doing to get clients?

1. Set yourself a ‘target’ audience

(Target Audience Image via Shutterstock)

Okay, so you’re a web designer, developer, programmer, monkey or whatever. Great! Identity crisis over. What you should be asking yourself is “Who am I working for?”. And before you nonchalantly answer “everyone who wants it”, you need to remember the old marketing saying that “when you attempt to market yourself to everyone, you end up marketing to no-one”. A good example is good old Jon Doe, who owns several hotels under his franchise and needs a spiffy design tailored to his industry. What do you think he’s going to type into his trusty search engine? That’s right… “Hotel Web Design” (call it an educated guess). And unless your site is SEO’d to the max with the relevant keywords, old Jon Doe isn’t even going to come close to finding you.

You need to find your happy place within the scope of your skills and then market accordingly to a specific demographic. A prospective client is going to be far more impressed and comfortable with choosing you for their next project if you can demonstrate exactly how you can fulfil their requirements. So our Jon Doe is more likely to choose you if your portfolio shows a history of designing quality websites for hotels or the hospitality industry. By targeting your niche, you are more likely to a) show up in search engine results (provided your site is optimised accordingly) and b) be found by prospective customers checking out their competitors websites by the gratuitous link to your site in the footer.

2. Where does your client hang out?

(Ads Image via Shutterstock)

So Jon Doe is just a regular guy, keen to get his business in the spotlight. He probably subscribes to ‘Hotel Monthly’ (I made that magazine up, genius huh?). He more than likely reads articles on popular hotel websites on how to run his business better, or he’s joined several groups on various social networking sites for hotel owners. He may even attend conferences, seminars or workshops on running a hotel. Now if your business doesn’t feature anywhere where old Jon Doe hangs out regularly, he’s never going to know about you and your amazing hotel web design business. Got it?

If you’re going to spend on advertising, then your money will be far better spent if you target your ads to an industry or niche. Research your ideal clients, build up an idea of who they are, what they do, what they are interested in and where they go to find information, then make sure that your skills are prominently displayed accordingly.

3. Fine tune your portfolio

(Portfolio Image via Shutterstock)

Of course, 1 and 2 will mean absolutely nothing if your portfolio doesn’t measure up. One of the biggest mistakes freelancers can make (and I say this, because I’ve done it) is to set up their business and race out there to advertise themselves. Sure, your site may well be bombarded with visitors, but if your portfolio isn’t up to scratch then none of those beautiful little clicks are going to be worth anything if you can’t convert them into clients. It is far better to have your best work displayed (even if it is only a handful of projects) that really showcase what you can do. Quality wins over quantity, hands down.

And if your portfolio looks a little bare…

4. Partner up with other freelancers

(Partner Image via Shutterstock)

Now it’s not something that occurs regularly, but there are other freelancers out there who have more work than they can handle. Instead of turning clients down, their street cred will remain intact if they can offer prospective clients a recommended alternative. A client will feel far more comfortable if another freelancer has recommended you, because everyone knows that if the alternative turns out to be crap, then it doesn’t make them look good either. Find out who your fellow freelancers are in your niche/industry and get in touch. Most freelancers I know are friendly, helpful and happy to collaborate because despite our geek status, we’re generally a nice bunch. I say generally, because there are always the odd ones who prove me wrong. When you do make contact, outline your skills, give links to examples of your work, be courteous and let them know it’s a two way street should the roles be reversed in the future.

5. Contract out to design agencies

(Agency Image via Shutterstock)

This is becoming quite a popular trend among my network (it’s a small network, but hey). When freelance work is generally a bit quiet or slow, it may be worth your while contacting established design agencies and offering your skills on an ad hoc basis. There are many design agencies that work with a core number of full-time staff, but require additional resources on a part-time basis for larger projects. The same rules as above apply for contacting them make sure you’re professional, showcase your skills and provide recent samples of your work. You may get work straight away (if your timing is right), but even if you don’t then at least you know that they will consider you for future projects. Sites like dribbble.com have a job board which is generally where agencies list their vacancies, and is always worth checking out. You never know what opportunities will arise if you never try nothing ventured, nothing gained!

So there you have it my non-exact formula for garnering new clients in an ever-growing industry. Above all though, don’t ever give up because if you love what you do, then the web needs people like you.

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WINNER ANNOUNCED! Epic T-Shirt Giveaway – Win Any Shirt You Want From Threadless.com For FREE!

Andy Sowards — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:56:17 +0000

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We Have A Winner!

The lucky Winner is

Adam Safar

Congratulations!

Adam picked up this shirt that he asked for entitled “A Birth Day” (which is funny because today is my son Kayden’s bday! Happy 5th Bday Kayden!) – design on that shirt is shown below, pretty awesome!

Special thanks to everyone that participated! Your support was overwhelming! Don’t worry if you didn’t win though, there is always another awesome design giveaway around the corner! Stay tuned!

Today we are honored to partner with our favorite t-shirt company, Threadless, to bring you this exclusive giveaway. As you have probably seen, they have some seriously awesome & funny t-shirts, well today is your chance to get your hands on one of these sweet shirts absolutely Free!

Who is Threadless?

Threadless is an online community of artists and an e-commerce website based in Chicago, Illinois. Threadless designs are created by and chosen by an online community. Each week, about 1,000 designs are submitted online and are put to a public vote. After seven days the staff reviews the top-scoring designs. Based on the average score and community feedback, about 10 designs are selected each week, printed on clothing and other products, and sold worldwide through the online store and at their retail store in Chicago. Designers whose work is printed receive $2,000 in cash and $500 in Threadless gift cards, which can be exchanged for $200 cash. Each time a design is reprinted, the respective artist receives $500 cash. Threadless keeps rights to the design on clothing; designers keep the rights to their designs on all other media.

What Can I Win?

1 lucky winner will receive ANY SHIRT OF THEIR CHOICE that is currently in stock in their size from Threadless.com – See all the shirts.

These are just examples of what they have, you can pick any shirt you want to win

How Do I Win?

EASY! Here is what you have to do.

1) Leave a Comment on this blog post about which shirt you want to win from the available shirts at threadless – NOTE: Make sure the shirt is in stock with your size – also leave a valid email so we can contact you.

2) That is it! Told you it was simple

Rules: Entries must be received before 5PM EST on February 7th, 2012

Our system will choose the winner using random.org and we’ll announce them in a short followup post the day after the giveaway.

Good Luck Everyone!!

You like this? Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @andysowards and like us on facebook @andysowardsfan! We are also on that new fangled G+ doohikey.

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The Billion Dollar Lost Laptop Problem – The Cost of Lost Data & How To Protect Yourself.

Editors — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:42:27 +0000

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Intelligence In Software: IT Software Strategy

The Billion Dollar Lost Laptop Problem

Every time a business laptop is lost or stolen, an organization takes a direct cost hit. But how much of a hit might surprise you. What would your organization do if it realized that each year it’s losing millions of dollars in this way? Odds are, it would be far more diligent in protecting laptops.

Last year, the Ponemon Institute released a study (conducted independently and sponsored by Intel) of The Billion Dollar Lost Laptop Problem, an independent benchmark of 329 private and public-sector U.S. organizations — ranging in size from less than 1,000 to greater than 75,000 employees and representing more than 12 industry sectors — to determine the economic cost of lost or stolen laptops. What they found: The cost is huge.

Participating organizations reported that in a 12-month period 86,455 laptops were lost or otherwise went missing. That added up to 263 laptops per organization on average.

According to an earlier Ponemon Institute study (conducted independently and sponsored by Intel), The Cost of a Lost Laptop, the average value of a lost laptop is a staggering $49,246. This value is based on seven cost components: replacement cost, detection, forensics, data breach, lost intellectual property costs, lost productivity and legal, consulting and regulatory expenses. It’s important to point out that the smallest cost component is the replacement cost of the laptop.

Some of the salient findings from The Billion Dollar Lost Laptop Problem report:

The total economic impact for 329 participating companies is $2.1 billion, or on average $6.4 million per organization.
Out of the 263 laptops per organization that are lost or go missing, on average just 12 laptops were recovered.
Forty-three percent of laptops were lost off-site (working from a home office or hotel room); 33 percent lost in transit or travel; and 12 percent were lost in the workplace.
Twelve percent of organizations said they don’t know where employees or contractors lose their laptops.
Although 46 percent of the lost systems contained confidential data, 30 percent of laptops lost had disc encryption, 29 percent had backup, and just 10 percent had other anti-theft features.
Industries that experience the highest rate of laptop loss are education and research; health and pharmaceuticals were next, followed by the public sector. Financial services firms had the lowest loss rate.
Laptops with the most sensitive and confidential data are the most likely to be stolen. However, these laptops are also more likely to have disc encryption.
Average loss ratio over the laptop’s useful life is 7.12 percent. That means more than 7 percent of all assigned laptops in benchmarked companies will be lost or stolen.

But Who’s Minding the Data?
Not nearly enough organizations, it appears. Given the significant financial impact of missing laptops and the vulnerabilities of stolen laptop data, it is astonishing that the majority of these companies aren’t taking even basic precautions to protect them.

The worst cost component is the data breach. A stolen laptop can be easily booted to reveal passwords, stored temporary files the user was even unaware of, and access to VPN connections, remote desktops, wireless encryption keys and more.

That’s enough reason to do something. Here are your best options for protecting your organization’s data integrity against all of that potential mayhem.

Full Disk Encryption: Full disk encryption prevents unauthorized access to data storage. Under this scenario, nearly everything is encrypted, and the decision of which individual files to encrypt is not left up to users’ discretion. But all too often, end users choose to disable the full disk encryption, probably because they incorrectly assume it significantly slows all of the processing.

Anti-Theft Technology: Laptops can disable themselves, when the hardware observes suspicious activity, if they get lost or stolen. When the laptop is recovered, it can be easily reactivated and returned to normal operation.

Data in the Cloud: Keeping sensitive material off your laptop by storing data in the cloud is not a viable solution, because that does nothing to protect the data. Such data is easily accessible by simply cracking the login credentials. Worse yet, the existence of a full backup actually increases the cost of a lost laptop, because backups make it easier to confirm the loss of sensitive or confidential data, resulting in greater expense from forensic diagnosis and recovery efforts.

Just like Smokey the Bear says about you and forest fires, only you can stop data loss.