Your Creative Space

Nothing is more satisfying than being comfortable in your own skin.  Being comfortable in your daily environment surely helps! The place where you spend the majority of your time has a direct impact on your ability to function, your productivity and certainly your creativity.  Here are some tips to get you well on your way to constructing a more creative work space.

Designate an Area - You may have a lot of space or you may not have much at all, but the first step in making a creative space for yourself is to designate an area, big or small. Add some sort of divider if needed so it really becomes a different place on the other side.  You are much more likely to create things if you have a space with all your stuff ready to roll!

Collect Inspiration - Gather all the things that make you smile, laugh, cry, think, aspire.  Stir emotion from within and disperse it out on your canvas, computer, notepad, whatever.  Make these things a part of your creative space.  Stimulate all the senses.  Touch, taste, sound, smell, sight.  Rather it be art, music, aromatherapy, herbal tea or a furry cat on your desk, surround yourself with beautiful things and you will make beautiful things.

De-clutter and Delete Distractions - Take the phone off the hook and take out the garbage.  Lock yourself in a room if you have to in order to push through that creative block. Limit your time surfing the web, plan your extracurricular actives mindfully.  There are many things that clutter up your time and your work space.  Eliminate them. Spend the time you need to spread out your ideas and piece them all together.  Creating a push pin board or paint a piece of wall with magnetic paint and use magnets to hang things.  Whatever you choose, find a method that keeps your time schedule and workspace in check and encourages you to create, create and create some more!

Keep Things Within Reach - Make sure that your tools are handy so that you don't have to scramble for them.  A good creative flow works best when you are actually able to flow.  You don't want an idea to slip by you because you can not find your glue gun!  If you don't like things out in the open and like your space to have a more clean look, then have cabinets that hide your most used items just on the other side.

Welcome the Light - Have fun with light.  You will always need a nice, bright work light so you can see well when you are creating things, but you can also do a lot with lighting.  Hang some funky string lights, get a cool lamp, or add lighting underneath your desk.  You can even change your lighting sources to reflect your mood and groove that day. Some people like to be by a window, but if your space does not allow for that, be creative with lighting in a way that best suits you.

Don't Give Up On Helping Your Client

All designers with a marketing heart know that when it comes to explaining to their client why you designed the piece the way you did was not because you happen to like purple stars or that you went into a trance and drew up whatever you saw in your dreams last night.  No, you actually did some research, you made decisions based on the target market's perceptive.  You came up with a design that was intellegently thought out and dispersed onto the medium before them.  Why don't they get it?  Well, we won't go into all of those reasons here, let's just say their lack of expertise in the field shields their vision past the point of the fact that they happen to like green stars.  Here are some tips that will aid you in convincing your client that your design is perfect and there is no need to go further.

1. Show NO FEAR - Clients can smell fear better than a vampire smells human blood (ok I went to see Twilight last night and I had to throw that in).  Be confident in your talent, abilities and skills.  It will make you a better designer and it will keep you from getting pushed around by the client during the design process.

2.  Remind Them You Are A Professional - There is a reason they hired you.  Remind them in ways that point to your experience in the field. Offer examples on how other routes might take the project in a different direction, not necessarily a positive one.  Use good business acumen and always be professional.  When you have the opportunity to present an explaination to a client by email, phone or in person, know exactly what you are going to say in a very precice manner.  Don't let them catch you stumbling.

3. Gain Their Trust - The best client is the one that defers to you.  After all, design is your trade and profession.  You don't see me going to my mechanic and telling them I would rather they put water in my tires instead of air.  At the end of the day, your client just wants the design to meet their goals. Keep them focussed on the goals instead of distracting factors irrelevant to producing positive results.  Be assertive in a way that is strictly business.  Do not get caught up on the design in your discussion with the client.  Explain how the design meets their business goals instead of satisfying their personal preferences.

4.  Offer A Different Perspective -  Clients have valuable information that steers you during a project.  Always listen, but recognize when they have hit the wall and are now chasing rainbows.  Demonstrate your reasoning by providing perspective that they may have not previously thought; mainly because they are only observing from their own perspective.  Show them you are a designer with a Marketing heart and you possess a strong skill in seeing from various perspectives, besides your own.

5.  Lead Them In Their Own Direction - There is no better way to simplify the process of convincing your client than to create the idea in their head for them.  Asking the right questions before and during the project is a powerful convincing tool.  Send a questionnaire before starting a new project.  This gives you an opportunity to refer back and show how your design provides solutions for the tasks your client put into writing. During the design process, keep your clients answering questions that lead to convincing themselves that your final presented design is the best choice.

Ingrain the methods listed here into your brain and practice them with every client.  You will find that you will not only have better clients, you become a better designer.

Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Stepping out of your comfort zone in your life can be a rewarding challenge.  Rather you struggle with this personally or with your business, stepping into new territory involves risk. It is the reward that drives us, it is the risk that holds us back.  How can we determine what actually makes us uncomfortable and then apply the risk vs. reward ideology to derive a path to pursue?

Get Uncomfortable - Find out what makes you comfortable.  This is usually pretty easy because it is the things you do most often; the same tired old routine or using the same methods that you insist will one day bring you different results.  Not a chance! Break away from the norm. To take smart risks, you need to get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable. When you know how to handle discomfort, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate risky choices and less likely to resist innovation.

Put Your Game Face On - Construct a game relative to your personal life or business.  Have everyone involved draw a card with a task that requires them to brainstorm and come up with an idea fast, stick to it, and build on it independently or with team members. This forces you to to think on your feet and to be open to novel ideas.  The game does not allow you to reject the idea outright, but rather to accept it and grow it.  This excercise is very helpful among peers who are usually more hesitant to offer up an idea because of fear of rejection.  During this game, outlandish ideas are welcome and you must shape it into a brilliant idea instead of shutting it down. With practice, you and your peers will sharpen a skill that boosts confidence, pulls you out of your comfort zone and proves that the reward is often worth the risk.

Wear Another's Shoes - Trading places with a co-worker or family member for just one day can give you great perspective. You will not only learn what that person does to accomplish their tasks and become more appreciative, but you can learn to work more efficiently together. Use this method to spur new ideas and encourage collaboration by showing you are willing to break the mold.

Take a Beating - Open up the floor to be evaluated and by others. There is always room for improvement right?  You are no exception.  Put down the shield and invite constructive criticism from your peers.  Ask for honesty, keep and open mind, and do not mull over every little detail. Instead, look at the bigger picture and recognize areas that you can make better.

When it's all said and done, take the time to reflect and see how the risk of putting yourself on the spot benefitted you, your peers and/or your business. Reaping the reward is one sure way to ensure that you continue to step outside your comfort zone.

FOCUS On What You Can CONTROL

The World can be tough, so can business. Keeping control over what you learn, the habits you form, and the actions you take is key to maintaining focus and achieving your goals rather they are personal or business.  Here's how . . .

Get your MIND right - Be positive. See the possibilities before you and decide what is most important for you to achieve. Don't let worry, doubt and fear rule your life.  Examine your mind and alleviate yourself from these negative emotions by practicing positive thinking. The first step in attaining a goal is telling yourself that you can indeed accomplish it.  Nothing is more important than training yourself to believe in yourself.

Keep on LEARNING - School is never out. To continue to grow as a person and grow as a business you must continue to educate yourself. Don't do injustice yourself and say that you don't have the time.  Make the time!  Rather it be reading self-improvement material, attending a workshop, taking classes, seminars or researching, find an area where you see you can gain the most knowledge and keep an open-mind for learning new things.  You can teach yourself new tricks only by being willing to learn.

Make it a HABIT - Get into a routine. After reading this if you feel that you can benefit from the practices, then make it a point to actually do them. Getting your mind right is work, you have to continually exercise your brain. To learn takes will power.  You have to force yourself to do it.  Good habit forming means you have to get organized and stick to the plan.  Stop making excuses why you were not able to do something. Bad habits equal bad results and good habits equal good results. Period.

Take ACTION - Organize and create your action plan.  Open up your calendar and start writing down reminders and tasks -daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly.   Planning ahead aids in maintaining your focus.  Ever miss a workshop you wanted to go to?  Have you reached the end of the day without completing an important task? Use whatever method that work best for you to stay on track ; voice memos, digital or paper calendars and post-its are all great planning aids. Some people find that announcing their intentions to others keeps them from sliding. Tap into your pride and use your character to your advantage.  It can keep you from failing.  Use one method, or use them all.  Whatever you choose, write it stone and make it happen!

Finding The ONE Thing That Makes You Great

There are many entrepreneurs that have very good ideas, but can too many ideas bog you down and make you unsuccessful at all of them?  Here is an article that speaks to entrepreneurs who are just starting out on their ideas.

Click HERE for full article

How To Get The RIGHT Feedback From Your Clients

Time and time again as designers no matter how much instruction we give our clients, it just isn't enough.  First drafts and comps with design concepts are repeatedly mistaken by clients as the fully developed design.  How can we as designers help our clients understand that our first drafts are just that... DRAFTS?  Getting the right feedback requires a little extra effort, but in the long run, it is worth it!

The following are guidelines to help get the correct feedback from your clients.  This is assuming you have already been through the consultation process with your client, defined the goal and message the client wishes to project in order to help you come up with a solution.

1.  Provide Instructions - Create an email that can be easily altered for each project that outlines what to look for, how to envision the design with or without certain elements, how it can be rearranged, adjusted in layout, fonts, color, size, etc.

2.  Create a List - Provide a numbered list in which your clients answer under each item.  This allows you to get the feedback you need to further develop your design. On occasion, clients will skip over questions and not answer them all.  Make sure your list is numbered and if one does not get answered, re-send it.  Let your client know that all questions much be answered before the next draft can be created. Explain how providing detailed feedback reduces error and keeps the project on schedule and within budget.

3.  Ask Questions - Include questions when asking for feedback that leads your client to answer the most important questions like:  Does this meet your goals? Is this heading in the right direction?  Does the design send the correct message? Why? Why is the most important question because it encourages your client to provide more details.

4.  Demand Honesty - Encourage your client to be honest and spare no feelings.  Nothing is more important than your clients being direct and completely honest with you. Being blunt will save a lot of time and headache.  Push your ego to the side and step up your game if you have a client that says "This sucks."

Finding Your Niche

How taking risks leads to finding your niche and how there is never a better time than NOW to fulfill your personal journey.

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