Can’t Have Too Many
Posted by micfunk | Filed under Advertising, Design, InsightStudio, Social Media
Something I just can’t get enough of are new Photoshop brushes. I love them. Here are some recent additions thanks to designfeed on Twitter.
Abstract Brushes 13 http://tinyurl.com/crwtsq
Ink Scribbles: Free Hi-Res Photoshop Brushes http://tinyurl.com/db6un7
Burnt paper brushes http://tinyurl.com/dgeok3
Radial Brushes http://tinyurl.com/ckr3cg
Crack Effect Brushes http://tinyurl.com/dz3fx9
Recent Reading:
You Might Not Love the New Facebook, But Brands Should (Mashable)
A New Policy for Internet Use in the Workplace (Ad Age Small Agency Diary)
Design Links
Posted by micfunk | Filed under InsightStudio, News and Notes
Busy today. Worth a visit, if you haven’t seen them already.
http://www.phirebrush.com/
http://www.rootmagazine.org/
http://www.techcrunch.com/
http://thinkvitamin.com/
Learning on the fly …
Posted by micfunk | Filed under Uncategorized
Great article from Design Reviver, 10 Things They Don’t Teach You in Design School. I didn’t go to design school, so I can’t speak to whether they do or don’t teach you these things or not. But I can vouch for learning most of them the hard way. My personal favorites:
4. You must be able to handle irrelevant criticism - “You can be sure that you’ll hear some insane things and have to deal with it.” My experience is that sometimes this comes from clients. But the most frustrating thing is it often comes from your non-creative type colleagues. Who work in essentially the same industry, and should know better. This makes it even more frustrating.
9. Being a good designer is not only about talent - “As a designer, you need to read, work and experiment constantly, it is the only way to let your natural talent explode.”
I would add that, especially for the many many freelancers out there, succeeding in the field of design is as much about personal relationships, etc. as it is about actual design talent. Certainly at the margin this falls apart - if you are riciduclously talented, you might be able to get a job despite being a jerk. But for most of us, it ends up being some blend of being a good designer, being easy to work with, and, for freelancers, having some business savvy.
Social Media Experts …
Posted by admin | Filed under InsightStudio, Social Media
Many people claim to be social media experts. But if it takes a few hours a day, 6-7 days a week, to become an expert over about 10 years, doesn’t that make everyone under the age of 30 or so a social media expert?
Marketing Profs Daily Fix: How Long Does It Take to Become a Social Media Expert?
Seems to me that remains one of the major challenges of social media marketing. The Zeitgeist is always just a little bit ahead of you. Which, of course, also explains the huge potential in social marketing - if you can tap in.
More reading material from Forbes:
Skittles’ Stupid Social Media Trick
Twitter Land: Does Your Brand Belong There?
Tags: Skittles, Social Media
Getty Images launches a Flickr Collection
Posted by admin | Filed under InsightStudio, Social Media
Brilliant. Really.
Mashable article: Getty Images launches stock photo collection found on Flickr.
See the Flickr collection on Getty Images.
Tags: Flickr, Getty Images
Why Clients get Bad Creative Solutions
Posted by micfunk | Filed under Advertising, Design, Work
Why Do Clients Deserve the Advertising They Get? This is why. I’d say that extends to most creative projects, not just advertising. While something like a business card doesn’t necessarily have the conceptual baggage of advertising, it can suffer from an even greater level of micromanagement.
I’ve always maintained that working with and manging creative people takes something of a light touch. In many industries, emotion, mood, etc. don’t particularly play a role in your job. If you are an accountant, the numbers add up the same way rather you are happy or emotionally unstable.
My New Blog
Posted by admin | Filed under General
Welcome. This is my first post in my adventure into blogging. I figure any self-respecting web designer needs a blog. I’d like to make it look nicer, but as a tortured artist, I figure if I wait until I get a design I’m happy with, it will never launch. Better to just jump in. Check back for thoughts on design, finance, art, politics and anything else that catches my interest.