Designer/Illustrator:  Andy Quick

As you know my job is portfolios. I eat and sleep design portfolios all day, every day. Sounds boring? Not in the least. I love seeing new portfolios and exploring a new designer's creativity. But there is a catch - I have an ulterior motive.

I look for things that are effective portfolio design. Effective from a usability and marketing perspective. I mean at the end of the day isn't it all about getting new clients? My routine is that when new designers sign up on Styleapple I do a quick once over of their portfolio on the site as well as their external portfolio. Make a decision fairly quickly whether or not I'm a fan.

I am by no means absolute judge and jury when it comes to portfolio design but I'm no different than the next guy. Some I'll like and some I won't.  So let's get to it. Andy Quick is an illustrator from the UK. I like the way his portfolio summarizes.

Thumbnails with description... cool. Thumbnail opens up seamlessly into a larger image of the project... very cool. All projects place on one page for easy scrolling and quick viewing... sexy. Quick previews of the projects cycling through on top.... very sexy. Great job Andy and welcome to Styleapple.

As far as my blog title goes... after finishing my post I realized that maybe what I do is not that random and maybe I wasn't looking for something else. But hated to get rid of it... so there I said it. Oh I also wanted to piss off the SEO voice in my head who kept telling me that the title was way too long... Sometimes you just gotta live a little :)

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It's Official, Styleapple - The Branded Designers Social Network Has Launched

We have arrived.  Our website is now live and we are so excited.  After several months of very hard work, I am happy to announce that we are officially "open for business"  If you haven't already, remember to create your designer or design company profile on the Styleapple website.  Our appetite for helping designers "Get Branded" are bigger than our stomachs, so don't miss this opportunity to partner with us on our mission to get you branded.  

Thank you everyone for all the support and hard work you've put into this project. 

I've included our press release below:

btw:  Our release is also on Yahoo News, please buzz us up: Here is the link: LAUNCH SPRING 2009:  New Social Network Launches To Get Designers Branded   

Thanks again guys.

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(1)   Differentiate: Focus. Focus. Focus - Who are you? What do you do? Why does it matter?
(2)   Collaborate: Your brand is not what you say it is, it's what they (clients and customers) say it is. 
(3)   Innovate - Creativity is what give brands traction in the marketplace. "How do you know when an idea is innovative - When it scares the hell out of everyone." 
(4)   Validate - Feedback. Feedback. Feedback. Bring your audience into the creative process.
(5)   Cultivate: Brand building is a process, not an entity. A living brand is a pattern of behavior, not a stylish veneer.

"The challenge is no longer only about finding a creative vision, it's now more so about bringing that vision to the marketplace successfully," explains Calvin.

As Styleapple continues to develop a network for design firms to successfully market their brands. They are adamant about the development of effective social media tools that will expand their members brands seamlessly across the web, ultimately and intuitively reaching their demographics while separating them from their competition. As is evident from the Styleapple tag line: STANDOUT-- Get Branded.

"We are very excited about bringing Styleapple to the design community. Our mission is to provide the marketing (tools, space, resources, framework) that enables designers to be successful at what they do best," concludes Calvin.

ABOUT STYLEAPPLE
Styleapple Is The Branded Designers Social Network. Styleapple is a social network developed for creative professionals seeking to effectively promote and market their design businesses, whether you are a novice freelance designer or an established design firm looking to build your brand.

Founded by Calvin Cox, a former New York Fashion Designer and a Fashion Institute of Technology Alumni, Styleapple's global design community boasts a cross section of creative pros with backgrounds in art, advertising fashion design, industrial design, interior design as well as interactive design, illustration, animation and web design to name a few.

Our goal is simple, to develop a platform that will effectively utilize social networking and inbound marketing techniques to promote and build your design company's brand. For more information please visit styleapple.com

Source: Styleapple, Inc
http://www.styleapple.com

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We hear these words tossed around the marketing round table all the time; branding, logo design, typography, personal branding, brand you, brand me, brand us. But what exactly does that mean to you. Well frankly it should mean a lot to you. With the introduction of the web base economy a company's logo design and branding are probably two of the most important factors in achieving success in today's highly competitive market.

A lot of us choose our company names way before we know what products the company will sell or what kind of service the company will offer. Our logos are based on the hottest trendiest typography that just hit the graphic design scene. We hire a graphic designer who's ‘up' on the newest trends and pay for a cool trendy logo that looks great but says nothing about our product or service.

WHEN TRENDY ISN'T COOL:

This is not an uncommon practice, especially for designer entrepreneurs. Our background in design makes us an easy target for this kind of short term thinking. Let's take the idea one step further: So you've designed your killer logo and created your website around it. 6 to 8 months later it's no longer cool to use the '28 Days Later' font for anything but a reference of what not to use. But you -Genius, you have this font in your logo... oops. Yes, my thoughts exactly. you have two options: keep the dated logo, which will more or less create an old image for your company and brand (not recommended) or redesign your logo; which will set you back about 8 months of your company's branding campaign; not to mention all the time and money that went into the logo design, business cards, marketing materials and... oh yeah, the company coffee cups.

HERE'S A BETTER IDEA:

Take a breather and think about your company's name, the product or service, your target market and your competition. Ideally you'd like to create a synergy between all these factors: The company name speaks volume about your product or service, the logo pushes that one step further, your image logo marries well with the former two and the product or service simply brings it to life and finally all together marries well with your target market.

THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE:

Please don't take what I'm saying so literal as to call your company DAN'S COW HOUSE, have a logo design with a black and white cow skin color typography and have a branded cow as your image logo, selling to local farmers. Depending on your market you may have to employ more forward thinking exploring out of box abstract ideas and concepts when branding. Remember that your design should be centered around your number one priority, your customers. Knowing your customers habits and thought process will help a great deal. Companies that have created a brand around names that may not seem literal are of course Apple, Google, Nike and Yahoo. Their vision and market shift thinking contributed greatly to their successes. I came across a cool website that gives you an idea of what people think about some of the more popular brands in the marketplace. Take a look, it may inspire you when considering your company's logo and branding strategy. And finally make sure when your logo is finally finished that your gut agrees with the decision your brain made. Happy Branding, CHEERS.

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I was recently talking to a friend of mine about freelancing and how one can successfully transition to becoming the highly sought after, genius, guru, freelance designer guy or gal that everyone wants to be like. Well a few years back I started freelancing and my idea of freelancing was to simply sign up with a few fashion temp agencies, sit back and have them call me when new projects came up! (yes I was that guy) Surprisingly enough it worked for a while... BACK THEN. Today we're in a recession. We have to be alot more proactive when decided to take the freelancing route. I've outlined a checklist that will help make your transition as smooth as possible bacause I would hate to see you prematurely go out there, find yourself in financial trouble and end up begging for your old job back... not cool.

The Recession Proof Freelance Designer Check List

1. Are you business minded?
2. Are you currently working full time?
3. Are you freelancing on the side right now?
4. Do you have customers that can transition to a full time gig if you quit your full time job?
5. Do you have savings to help you with your transition to freelance?
6. Do you have a list of potential clients [contact names and numbers] that you know can get you freelance projects (at least 15 contacts)?
7. Is your Design Portfolio up to date?
8. Do you have a freelance website and blog?
9. Have you discussed your plans with your wife or significant other?
10. Is the quality of your work/design portfolio competitive in your field?

If you've answered yes to the above questions, kudos to you, you're ready to rip the chains off your neck, flip your boss the bird (not recommended) and get on the highway to financial independence. On the other hand, if you didn't answer yes to the above questions, you might want to hang around for a little longer; prepare yourself by making sure you're well equipped to weather the first 3 months on your own. Preparing for freelancing is like anything else, if you're not well prepared you may not be successful. I've noted a few articles and websites that will help you with additional questions. As I find them I'll update the Freelance Designer Wall. Please don't sit and wait for temp agencies to find you work; go out there, be proactive and demand the work; excel and show your clients that you are serious about your business; once you've done some amazing work for them; that guarantee repeat business and referrals coming your way. Happy Freelancing. Cheers.

FREELANCE DESIGNER WALL [Articles, Advise and Projects]

• Freelance Switch is a great resource for Finding Freelance work as well as getting some valuable advice; I found topics such as 101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads to 101 Essential Freelancing Resources.

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Anyway, I've never claimed to be the guru of social networking protocols or SEO optimization; but what I do know is that the businesses that adopt to this wave of marketing are the only ones that will survive going forward; so it's always daunting to meet designers; even website designers who are still behind the eight ball when it comes to creating a successful online presence. I was talking with a very talented designer the other day who was looking for ways to gain more exposure but refuses to start a blog as a step 1. I was talking to another business owner who I literally had to threaten to start blogging as a way of advertising her services. I recently did an article about Google search stats in which Google made up about 70% of the web traffic to a given website. With the change in consumer habits regarding email and intrusive advertising techniques,  business marketers are starting to shift from outbound marketing to more inbound marketing techniques putting the blogosphere and social media networking front and center.

A social media site that should be taken seriously is Twitter - an under estimated, over evaluated socially invading gold mind. I've embedded a video I found on Hubspot; an internet marketing company about the social media factor in a successful marketing campaign. It's a bit long for us who have an attention span shorter than a typical YouTube Clip, but worth the sit down. I came across 2 great articles that will assist in maximizing your marketing efforts when using twitter: The 35 twitter tips from 35 twitter users and 50 Easy Ways To Improve Your Twitter Experience. You should check them out!

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My Creative design Portfolio of the moment is from designer Dave Werner. His design portfolio does an amazing job outlining his work, his thought process and creative perspective. The layout while creative still lends an easy navigation and thorough overview of his work. He provided a taste of his dynamic talent and included examples of his vast creative reach. Great Job Dave; you are my creative Pro of the moment.

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Coca Cola is probably the single most branded product in the free world. Just think when you're in a restaurant and you ask the waiter for a drink; 9 out of 10 times it's a coke you're asking for or for some of you- a rum and coke... Anyway, for a company to maintain any kind of success; they need to be first successful in branding their product or service.

Another company that does an exceptional job of branding is Apple Computers. When the iPhone was introduced, it literally blew all other phones available in the North American region out the water; even with a price point of $600, the phone was a must have.

Now why in the world would someone buy a $600 iPhone when they could just as easily buy a blackberry for half the price or even get a free phone by simply signing up for a cell phone plan.... BRANDING, that's why! Steve Jobs has delivered what Tom Peters calls the "brand you" strategy;

1) Developing Your Brand,

2)Packaging your Brand and

3) Communicating your Brand Effectively.

Steve Jobs and Apple have created a cult-like following by implementing these basic principles; I should know- I'm a cult member :)

Just recently Apple introduced the new iPhone 3G; At the same time, Sprint introduced its competitor, the Instinct - the Instinct if you haven't seen the commercials does everything except the dishes; As an iPhone user there are many options that the iPhone still does not currently have even with the new release- so why don't I switch? - simple, I've been APPLE BRANDED

Now some of you might already have a great brand for your design services or product. To verify your assumptions, take my

iPhone Brand Test:

#1 Are your customers completely obsessed with your product or service that they camp out for hours to see new product releases?

#2 Are your customers recommending your services to everyone they meet and blurting out random love phases about your product or service ?, e.g. ‘Boy, that iPhone sure is special!!!'

#3 Do your customers trust your product or service to the point of cult -like behaviors?

#4 What is it that your design service or product offers that make it different from your competition?

Becoming Branded it not a short term project; it's a long term commitment. It can literally take years; but when you're branded your golden. You develop a loyal fan base that will stick with you through anything which easily translates into steady and increasing income.

So how do you become branded? Well I've listed a few great articles and personal brand websites to get you started on your way. I hope I've pumped you up enough for you to take the plunge; get started, get going. As T Harv Eker, author of "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" once said " Get in the corridor of life" and start walking to the light... paraphrasing of course.

And remember "if you're going to be a brand, you've got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, that you're proud of, and most important, that you can shamelessly take credit for." Tom Peters CHEERS ;)

By the way let me know of other resources that I can add to the brand illumination wall.

THE BRAND ILLUMINATION WALL:

1. Fastcompany.com - The Brand Called You, by Tom Peters

2. Fastcompany.com - The Brand You Survival Kit, by Tom Peters

3. GarrReynolds.com - Brand You

4. Personal Branding Blog - Navigating You to Future Success

5. All About Branding Dot Com - Allaboutbranding.com

6. Brand Channel - Brandchannel.com

7. Tom Peters! - www.tompeters.com

8. SEOBOOK - Brand Building Tips (On A Budget)

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Many of you are probably thinking the same thing. I'm a designer... not a blogger. The reason I know this is because I'm also guilty of saying the same thing until I became aware of the overwhelming benfits of blogging.

I recently did a post on the reasons designers fail and one of the points I talked about was the misconception of a saturated market. A market only becomes saturated when clients see no difference between you and your competition. Blogging is great way to set you apart by simply allowing your clients to get to know you, first as a person and then as a designer. Trust me the pros in your industry have no trouble finding work.

This is why I recommend that designer start a blog first; then work on your website. Another option is to create a design portfolio on styleapple.com, where you can use your personalized URL they provide to link to your blog or website. I've outlined 5 compelling reasons to support my position on designers blogging:

SIDENOTES & UPDATES:

I recently came across a well done interview of Jacob Cass, a talented and respected Graphic and Web Designer done by Andrew Houle of MyInkBlog where Jacob explains his blogging impact on his freelance business. Here's an excerpt:

 Andrew: How has running a successful design community blog helped you land more freelance work?

Jacob: By having the blog that I mentioned above, it has brought me higher search engine rankings and it has put my name out there in the design community which in turn means more visibility... My work is 40% local, 10% national and 50% international which shows just how varied the work is.

To read the complete interview check out Andrew's Blog Post "Interview With  Jacob Cass"

Ok... here are my top 5 reasons:

1 NO EXPOSURE NO CLIENTS

I think one of the most difficult things to get as a designer is exposure. We are talented and broke, usually due to the lack of exposure . When you're blogging about what you love, people will visit and read your point of view; some will like it and tell others about it, giving you the necessary exposure you'll need to grow your business.

2 TRUST IS THE ANSWER TO THE 'WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?' QUESTION

Trust is the answer to the ‘ why should I hire you ?‘ question your clients will ask themselves. By blogging about creative design topics that you are an expert, allows your potential clients to get to know you personally before they consider working with you. When they are ready to hire someone for a project; chances are, you'll be on their short list.

3 DRIVE MORE WEB TRAFFIC TO YOUR SITE

Most of your business as a designer will probably come from the internet. If your website is not changing constantly, chances are your traffic will decrease over time. Blogging allows for new content every time you post a new article, the search engines are happy because they have new content to index, your potential clients are happy because you're talking about a topic of interest, and you're happy because your traffic continues to increase from all the fresh content you are posting.

4 BRANDING COMES FROM FAMILIARITY, TRUST AND QUALITY OF PRODUCT.

Branding as you know is a long term endeavor. Branding comes from familiarity, trust and quality of product. It is very important that your content is true and valuable to your visitors. Your goal should be to provide useful information even if it isn't directly related to your creative design services. When you stick to providing quality content you start to build a following, once you've gained the trust of your readers it will translate to them patronizing your services, hence growing your brand.

5 HERE IS THE REASON LOGO DESIGN DOES NOT COST $5 DOLLARS

Blogging about what interest you is great; Ideally you'll want to blog about the services or industry that you're in. For example, If you're a trusted graphic designer and you're talking about the reasons logo design does not cost $5.00, and you do a great job explaining why; your potential clients will consider you an expert and may look at you favorably when seeking to hire for their next design job or freelance project, hence allow you to indirectly market your product.

Continuing to build relationships through blogging is an excellent marketing resource all designers should be using.

What are your thoughts on creating your freelance design business around a blog?

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