Sunday, January 31, 2010

It's More Than Just Designing

I only have a few clients at the moment, but to a degree my work has picked up a little lately. One thing I must do now is better balance my homework, with regular work. Like so many other families these days we need the additional revenue at home.

I had the opportunity to write 3 cost estimate proposals since new years, one in fact came from a potential new client. A designer has to figure in a reasonable rate for his or hers time, plus balance possible changes and unforeseen costs into a fair cost estimate. My experience though is that new clients who are inexperienced in working with designers have a poor concept of the real costs involved in producing graphic design. Usually my estimates are accepted, so if I loose one once in a while I shouldn't take it personal. It does happen sometimes.

This week I will also be working on income tax, how exciting, but how necessary. True to my "do it myself" personality, I'll be using my tax preparation software to make it less traumatic.

pure-mac.com

Just about all my work has been done on Macintosh computers. Just about all my family and in laws use PC computers, so I am definitely in the minority. However, most of the time when they are having computer trouble, mine keeps running fine.

Anyway, I want to share this site with anyone who uses Macs, and want a reliable resource for freeware and shareware. Take a look at http://www.pure-mac.com, a site I found by accident years ago.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

What Do I Name This Blog? (second attempt)

One reason why this is my second attempt is I couldn't decide what I wanted to name the blog. At first I wanted to call it "SaltyD's Blog", because for years now I have used "Saltydog" as a secondary e-mail address name. It's a reference to my early enlistment in the US Navy. So for 24 hours it was SaltyD's Blog.



Unfortunately, I noticed that other people use similar names and after running across some bogus posted material elsewhere on the Internet, I thought it better to find a title more appropriate for my purpose.



Because I have more or less survived as a graphic designer and been able to remain flexible to changing technology for so many years, I decided that "Ed Lawler Reinvented Again" is more to my liking, at least for the moment.



A second reason for repeated attempts to start a blog was whether or not I should use the logo graphic I picked for my freelance business. For the one day that I was SaltyD, I used a quickly altered graphic with a similar look. But for the sake of effective and consistent branding, it is better to use my own logo. So there it is, my "L", and my first official post.



What I will talk about is my experience in WEB105 class studying Web 2.0 Technologies in business. I'll also add my thoughts on trying to restart a freelance graphic design business from my home after working for 15 years for one employer, and my experiences in expanding my skills from print design, into becoming a web designer as well. From time to time I may comment on how I apply my graphics training into projects here at home.