ArtBistro

How Much Education? You've graduated, been out of school for awhile, and have been working out in the world. Things seem to be going pretty well. Suddenly, some things have happened in the workplace, and the world, and you feel that something is missing. What is it? Do you feel that you still know all of the things you learned in ...

If you’re a recent college graduate or if you’re just now entering the workforce, you’ve probably looked at and applied for dozens of design jobs. You’re probably aware of most of the popular job titles in the design industry including everything from junior art director, senior art director, art director and beyond; but after reviewing all the descriptions for each, you ...

If you're a freelance graphic designer, or working for yourself, it may be a little more difficult to reach your clients and intended clients through normal channels. It's important for clients to know you're still out there and available to help them out with their design problems. How do you do it without spending most of the hours of your day ...

I recently came across a book that is all about graphic design for "non-designers". At first I was a little offended. How can there be such a book? Don't they know that we designers have to go to school for quite a while to learn the basics of design and how to apply these basics to our work? How can a ...

Have you ever thought about how the city you live in affects your freelance design business? If you are like most freelance designers, you have probably fantasized about making it big in the industry. You may have seen advertising and design glamorized on television shows like Mad Men or Trust Me. You may have even thought about moving to Chicago or ...

As graphic designers, many of our projects call for creative typographical solutions. How do we do this? How do we come up with the best type - typefaces and fonts - to make the project all come together? Let's talk about it. h4. The Definition First of all, let's talk about the difference between a typeface and a font. A typeface ...

Deciding whether or not to freelance full-time after graduation is a decision that most designers face. Working as a freelancer certainly has a lot of benefits; being your own boss, working from home, and setting your own schedule are some of the perks that freelancers like to brag about, but freelancers will also complain about how hard it can be. Running ...

As designers, we're responsible to come up with graphic solutions in all of our projects. There can be many projects at once and sometimes the creative juices can dwindle. It can be hard to come up with ingenious ideas all the time. We can all get tired and burned-out at times which is pretty normal and natural in all areas of ...

Sooner or later, it’s bound to happen – that person that you’ve just been dying to have come to your studio or look at your portfolio finally does… and they don’t like what they see. But instead of being crushed by the experience, how can you respond to negative criticism in a way that turns the whole situation into a positive ...

If you've been reading, over the past few weeks we've been covering most everything that needs to be known about contracts in the graphic design profession. A lot has been talked about, from how to format the overall contract with client information to the "small print" that should be included in a terms and conditions section of the document. Hopefully, it's ...

The fall can be a great time to do an open studio. The cooler weather and its associations with going back to school can add to the sense that September brings with it a whole new beginning, and a great opportunity to recharge your studio practice. And knowing you have a bunch of people coming over to see your work is ...

Contracts are an important part of doing the business of graphic design. A good contract that details all of the aspects of the project, and the client and designer's rights and responsibilities, are of vital importance. There are certain terms and conditions that should be included in most, if not all, contracts that provide the "fine print" that is standard in ...

I was speaking recently to a young artist who asked me to take a look at her webpage. Despite having had it professionally designed and having spent countless hours getting everything about it just right, she found that nothing was really happening for her – she had no leads and had made no connections that she could connect back to the ...

So far, we talked about the overall sections that should be included in design contracts and what to offer. Of course, all of the items in a contract should be catered to the job and client at hand and customized to their needs. A template contract can be used at times when the job is a simple one, like a quick ...

If you think about it, the term “artist” is a “one size fits all” sort of category that probably doesn’t really come close to describing who you are and what you do. Damien Hirst, who famously chopped up sharks and floated them in tanks with formaldehyde is an artist; someone who makes a living painting traditional portraits is also an artist. ...

As you may remember, we started a series on design contracts and what should be included, and possibly not included, in them. Last time we talked about the ever-important contact/Client information and other, overall information that needs to be included to set the record straight from the start. Always remember to put the date on all your documents - that may ...

How to put together a killer mailing list. Whether you’re promoting an open studio event or inviting people to your next exhibition, you’ll need a great mailing list. But putting together that list might seem intimidating or overwhelming – how do you possibly include everyone you want to be there? Let’s start with some of the basic categories of the kinds ...

Whether we're working on a freelance basis or for a design firm, we need to know how to prepare and read contracts. As in all service businesses, a written agreement needs to be generated in order to get down on paper what we're offering and what we expect in return. Sometimes our work can only stand on the contract that we ...

How do you price an original painting or drawing? You’ve just completed a new work and – lucky you! – there’s someone interested in buying it. But how do you price your work in a way that’s fair to both you and your collector? There are very few hard-and-fast rules in the art world, except when it comes to pricing, and ...

What are graphic elements? We see them all the time and many of us have gone to school to understand what they are and what they're made up of. Do we all know the difference between graphic elements and graphic principles? It's always good to think about them and work with both of the disciplines to get our work and visual ...