“If you don’t make content, people won’t pay attention. If you don’t post frequently, people will forget about you. If you don’t follow through with a commitment, people will think you’re flaky and won’t listen to a thing you say anymore.” I've heard this from so many people, and sometimes I repeated it. Now, I'm not so sure it's a message I can stand behind. Read more...
Let’s not beat around the bush: my design services are not cheap. I wouldn’t call them “expensive”, but for the majority of people who might benefit from them, they’re currently out of reach. I don’t have a problem with that, as there are different designers that offer logos at different price points, so hopefully everyone can find one that’s ideal for them. But there's a huge gap between people who read my articles and enjoy my free resources, and the few people who can actually invest in my services. If I want to assist those who cannot yet afford my help in a deeper way than blog posts or free classes can achieve, I need a more affordable range of products. Read more...
Every now and then a friend will forward me a post about a design or an illustration contest. I never apply. I never forward it to my colleagues, either. Not even when it’s my friends who organize the contest. I just won’t do it because I oppose the idea of contests in principle. Here’s why. Read more...
One of the reasons why I chose to be a freelancer instead of being an employee was to have more time for my personal art and other self-initiated projects. For at least half an hour (ideally a full hour) almost every morning I draw, paint or craft something that isn’t related to my clients or my business. I believe that prioritizing my creative practice benefits not only me, but my clients as well. Read more...
Perfectionism is badmouthed on blogs and social media all the time. It's a modern boogeyman that incapacitates many creative people. But is there a good side to it? Here's how to use the benefits of perfectionism, without letting it paralyze your progress. Read more...
Throughout your life, people have probably told you “You're so good at X, you should be a [something].” If you’ve heard the same thing over and over again, maybe you’ve ended up believing that was what you should do. One thing that many people miss is that the idea of doing something is very different from actually doing something. Read more...
When I tried watercolor for the first time after elementary school, I hated them. When I tried them for the second time, I was frustrated. When I made an attempt at my third watercolor painting, I was hooked. Read more...
I talk about “creative business” a lot here on my blog, in my newsletter, in my services pages and my free offerings. My goal is to address the type of people I most want to help. Some of you may be wondering “Does my business count as creative? How do I know? I’m not an artist, can I still call my biz a creative business? Will someone get offended if I do it?” I get where you’re coming from. It’s that old “I’m not really creative” belief that a lot of people struggle with. In this post I’m going to share my definition of creative business, and what this might mean for you. Read more...
Over the years, I've offered a wide range of services, since I've had the work experience in a lot of different areas of design. I've realized that this isn't the best use of my time, and decided to cut away all the services that I'm not super passionate about. Read more...
Maybe you're in a situation where you feel like you can't say no to crappy low paid work for clients from Hell. Maybe you're hearing people's advice on turning down work you don't want to do, but you think it doesn't apply to you, because you can't afford it yet. Today I want to talk about this, since it wasn't that long ago that I was in the exact same situation. Read more...