I found Shopify, a hassle-free solution, based on Ruby, a solid platform for apps like these. All I had to do for this was understanding the themes, and Shopify would take care of the rest for me. Sure, it might not be the cheapest to run and it’s not for every business, but I’m convinced it’s so user friendly, pretty much anyone can use it and it’s fairly complete.
Another thing that won me over was the fact that the head office is in Canada. Although Ottawa is about 3000km from here, I still like supporting “local”

I finished my first design for a client’s Shopify store* a few days ago. The structure is based on the ripen theme, and I’d like to create my own theme framework eventually. My client is still filling in the blanks, but you get the idea.

* = Just because I made the theme doesn’t mean I endorse the product. Before you start calling me names: I’m a vegetarian..

My cousin Kim and her hubby Gerr had a design for a card in mind, and found a very small image of a card that they liked online. They asked me if I could make something like it and make it so that the printer could print a good quality card out of it. I based this design on the image they sent me, and sent them the .PSD, to forward to the printer, so they could edit the final text on the card (like name, weight, length and of course, date).

They were kind enough to send the finished card over the big pond to announce the birth of their second girl: Isis. Congratulations!

Here’s the result of my design.

Although I love working for my clients, and they’re all awesome to work with, I’m not designing “for fun” anymore. You know, having a baby project, or a poster for an event that will never happen, or even designing a button-set nobody is going to ever use. Silly? Perhaps, but I’d like to get back to that. So, from now on, I’ll try to dedicate more time to “design for fun”. Hopefully it wil trigger my creative juices into a new stage of awesomeness.

This probably sounds easier than it is, but I’ll prioritize, and hopefully, I’ll be posting at least 1 new item per week. This means, I have 1 week to complete a design, that I’m designing just for “shits and giggles”. I would really appreciate your support and feedback on the items I’ll be designing.

Subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter, and I’ll keep you updated on my situation.

</mark> <!– That was really cheesy –>

To make money?

If I did that, I’d create illusions for myself. Only the really great designers make good money off designing (I’m not talking blogging, just designing). Sure, I think I’m creating nice designs, but I’m not fooling myself by saying I’m great.

My boss?

Good thing I don’t have one. The reason why, is because I don’t want to be a pixel pusher, working for someone who tells me what to do, even though I know it’s wrong. I rather sell electronics during the day, and design websites for MY clients in my spare time (I used to do this).

Impressing someone?

Sure, I love hearing clients go: “Oh, that’s perfect”, but I know they don’t have a clue how much effort I put into that tiny little detail on the left they never noticed. Creating a web site for a client is filling their need for a good looking website, but even if you skip insane details only other designers would recognize, you’ll still impress them.
Speaking of other designers; I’m not convinced that I’m the designer other people look up to, and sure, I probably created something other designers can pull inspiration from, but impressing them? Nah, there are tonnes of designers out there that are truly inspiring to others. I’m just another web designer looking forward to create another new design, which brings me to my final statement.

For myself?

Yes, I’m designing for me and only myself. This might sound egocentric, but it’s true. I got into this business well over 10 years ago because I was intrigued by designing stuff on my computer. I started off designing ASCii-art. The stuff you see on Twitter now is not even getting close to the awesomeness we created at the end of the 90′s. We formed groups that would “release” ASCii-packs to show to the world through BBS.
Then came the internet available at my parent’s place. A whole new world opened up and I started fiddling around with web design. You know, with tables in Frontpage. I got degrees, recognitions and pads on the shoulder for finding something I really liked doing, and I kept pushing forward into making my career out of it.
Now, about 10 years later, I’m still planning big things for my company, but I will always be designing. Either for web or for the next generation of the web (whatever that may be). I just enjoy doing what I do.

What about you? Who are you designing for?

Happy Camper

Recently I had a conversation with a young designer who told me something like “When my client approves my design, I’m happy, even when I know it can be better”. This inspired me to write this post, because I think he’s wrong.

The client

Usually, clients hire you, because they can’t design their own website. This can be for many reasons like, no interest in computers, not having an internet connection (trust me, it happens), they lack creativity or they simply don’t want to learn. They come to you, because you’re an expert in your field, or at least, that’s what you made them think, ’cause why else would they choose you over someone else? Anyway, they chose you, because they trust you doing a better job than they could.
A happy client is someone who likes what you create for him, but better yet, likes the results, like having customers that tell him “I found your place through your website”.
The other category is the client that was being pushed into getting a website by others, but doesn’t really want one, because it’s costing him money. This is the client that’s likely to tell you “yes” to whatever you design for him.

Both these categories are valuable clients!

Show others

9 Out of 10 times I run my designs through other designers to make sure I didn’t miss crucial design elements. When another designer tells me something is wrong, or there’s something that could be better, I change it, even if my client approved the design already. Of course, I show the revision as well, making sure he still likes it, but a designer’s opinion is worth at least as much, if not more than the client’s.

Why, you ask? Simple: clients don’t see the difference between 10% opacity or 15%. They don’t notice the 1px width-difference. If their site generally looks alright, they’ll be fine with it. Now, again: why is designer-feedback so important? Because it makes yourself grow as a designer, it makes you more of a professional, and your next designs will look better because of the feedback you get from your colleagues. It also makes you more credible as a designer. When you put the site in your portfolio that’s “meh..” because one client thinks “it’s good enough”, other clients may notice the flaw(s) in the design and will not hire you because of it.

Paul Boag mentioned one time: “It’s simple to ask the client for his opinion, but that’s irrelevant. You should ask what his target audience will think of the design”.

Like Andrew Locke says: “Marketing is everything, and everything is marketing”, and that is so true. People can’t tell you’re a great guy to work with from looking at your portfolio. You have to impress them first. Once you’ve achieved that, Mr. Nice guy kicks in.

Let me know how you handle critique from clients and other designers. Do you show your designs to others, beside your client?

Now, I can start a whole lentghy blog post dissecting sites like Crowdspring or 99designs, but I won’t. I’m just going to say why I don’t do spec work as a designer. I respect the people that do as well as the clients that create competitions on sites like these to get their work done.

Here’s why

I don’t do spec work because, in short, my time is too valuable, and it adds no value to my learning curve. Popping (no pun intended) out designs for a project that I might not even get to work on is not my idea on learning more about design, clients and skills. I design sites because I understand my client’s business.

Learning curve

“Throwing it against the wall and see if it sticks” doesn’t teach me anything. Sure, I can create web templates and post them on one of the sites mentioned earlier, but if I don’t win with that design, who will tell me the reason why it didn’t win?
That’s why I like The Web Squeeze. It’s a group of really talented people who are willing to help each other and really pointing out strong and weak points on designs. I’d rather design a template without a client (and no pay) and show these guys getting some constructive criticism than “trowing my designs against a wall” without feedback.

Value

Time is money, and although I value experience more than money, I have to make a living. Creating spec designs, hoping someone will “bite” is a waste of time to me. Ok, if I win every top-dollar competition on Crowdspring, it will bring in money, but it will not make me a better designer and it’s very unlikely to happen.

Clients are stupid

Before you say “Mark is an ass”, I’d like to say that I’ve heard this one time and time again, and I DON’T agree with it. Clients aren’t stupid at all (ok, some are, but those are exceptions). They probably, and hopefully, know more about their industry than you do, that doesn’t make you stupid, does it?
Why do I address this? Because most clients that use sites like Crowdspring or 99designs simply don’t know how to find a good designer, and assume they are getting their money’s worth by using one of these sites. Here’s where your marketing comes in. I could focus all my attention online, and trying to get clients online, but instead, I’m focusing on my local market. I’m trying to create a buzz locally, so I don’t have to use spec work. So far, all (except one) my clients are local and I got them through word of mouth. I was able to talk to them in person and really sit down with them to get the same vision as they have as for where they want their business to go. Because of that, I have happy clients who are willing to pay an extra buck or two for me to get their job done.

Your turn

How about you? Do you do spec work? Tell me why, or why not.

I thought that was a great idea, and I started investigating if I could get Skribit on my site. Turns out the service is free! (well, unless you want pro-features like modify your own theme and moderation).

So, please, if you like reading my blog, and have suggestions for me, for let’s say a tutorial, review or any other kind of article, let me know through that little tab on the right side of the site. Thanks.

Overall I had a lot of fun doing this, and the final result didn’t disappoint me at all..

What I’ve learned: More pen tool and how paths work in Photoshop.

The final result:

Sources:
The tutorial: Tutorial9

What I learned from this tutorial: how to master the pen-tool in Photoshop, and how to apply blending modes to textures.

Here’s the result, a 1680 x 1050 wallpaper for The Web Squeeze:

Sources used:
Tutorial: PSDTuts

I’ve decided that I should push harder, learn more, invest more time in learning. So that’s what I’m going to do. My goal is to pick a tutorial every day (business-days, that is) and follow the tutorial, top to bottom. I will show you all the things I’ve made, and all the resources I’ve used, so hopefully you learn something from me too.
The end-results may not be perfect, as I’m learning new stuff all the time.

Yesterday I came across this tutorial about making a professional looking ad for a laptop. This is the final result. Click to enlarge. All the resources are at the bottom of this post.

Sources used:
Tutorial: PSDFan
Laptop: Sxc.hu
Image on laptop: Sxc.hu
Texture: Sxc.hu

I like comments