PATOLEARY.COM.AU – NEW CMS AND GALLERY SITE

Here is a recent project I completed for friend and Sunshine Coast surfer Pat O’Leary. The site is set up so he can update his own results, gallery, videos, blog and even add custom background images at the drop of a hat. This project was some good fun for me too as surfing has always interested me…whether I bother to surf more than once a year or not!
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BEAUTIFUL YOU WEBSITE

The Beautiful You site is up and live! Please give it a warm welcome to the web and drop by for a look at www.beautiful-you.com.au. I designed this site last week for Debbie Clayton a very special lady and the founder of Beautiful You. A program that aims to provide practical, financial or emotional support for women suffering cancer. Debbie has a fantastic energy that she shares with everyone she meets and it was essential the website reflect her personality and the program’s positive vibe.

The design process for this site happened quickly (such a rarity for me, it was fantastic!). I knew I wanted to keep the style light and feminine. A happy place. I wanted to play with textures and objects that reflected the efforts of the program and its members. I really enjoyed the conceptual stage and planned it out so thoroughly that the follow through into Dreamweaver was relatively easy and painless. All in all this project was such a treat to work on! Great client, great subject, fun design. What more could a designer ask for??

5 TIPS FOR SELF BRANDING FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Self branding as a graphic designer can be torturous. You can’t tell if your working for the best or worst client you’ve ever had. You have full creative control and your timeline is flexible. On the other hand, you never get a specific brief, work hours on end, and never produce anything satisfactory. You chase that elusive ‘perfect’ outcome and drag yourself over hot coals trying to get there.

Though the process isn’t the same for everyone, this was my experience. I recently rebranded and took quite some time doing it. I’ve certainly learnt a few tricks to make the process more enjoyable for next time. For now, 
here’s my two cents on how to make branding or rebranding a touch easier for yourself:

SPEND SOME TIME NAVEL GAZING.
Work out which qualities best represent you and your business. Before you even start sketching, its best to start writing. It may not be as in depth as a business plan, but at least consider the who, what, where, why and hows and the way they can be represented in your logo or collateral materials. This is a helpful reference point if you get stuck or lack direction in your design later on.

SKETCH IT OUT, PLAY, MIX IT UP.
Let your design process take over, and develop your central idea thoroughly. Everybody has their own methods of logo design so I wont delve that far, but designing for yourself may be one of the only times you can exercise full creative control. Enjoy it. It wont last long.

SET A TIMELINE.
It’s easy to get carried away designing myriads of concepts, tweaking them until you think you can tweak no more. You’re not working for a client and so have the freedom to work til your little heart’s content. To save you from floundering, give yourself a deadline to work towards. Make a celebration of the day you achieve your goal as extra incentive. Go out to dinner, have a party or buy yourself something as a reward of a job well done. It’s a little like bribing yourself into action but hey, whatever works.

PERFECTIONISM IS A KILLER.
Along the same vein as setting a timeline, perfectionism can get in the way of action. And its action that’s going to get you where you need to be. A great quote I heard the other day: “Don’t let perfect get in the way of better” is a great motto for designers. I’m not professing that you don’t strive for the best, but the longer you concentrate on finding the ‘perfect’ look for yourself, you miss out on opportunities to work for others.

NOTHING IS SET IN STONE.
As digital media continues to overtake traditonal print media it can take little investment to make small changes to rebrand your image if you’re not 100% happy with it first time round. Your look will mature over time, so be proud of the work you have done thus far and look forward to improving it in the future.

You really could work forever on your own identity and miss the point of why you started in the first place, to promote yourself! To get out there with an image and start attracting clients. Keep the big picture in mind and dont get weighed down in indecision and perfectionism. 

Happy designing!
Andy