5 Legal Mistakes to Avoid When Freelancing (In Order of Fatality) Articles, Resources September 26, 2012 1) Fatal: Not have a written contract. A contract is simply an agreement between two parties. A reciprocal promise: “I’ll buy you candy if you clean your room” is technically a contract (and kids are really good at arguing so beware)! Oral contracts are legally binding and can be enforced in court. The problem is they’re really hard to prove, and going to court is expensive. There are many places to get a written contract, or at least a starting point:A lawyer.Your local library or a local pro bono association like Volunteer Lawyers for the Art.Paid internet services (like LegalZoom and the gazillion others out there).Free internet services like Docracy, AIGA, orGood ol’ Google. 2) Mortally wounded: Assign copyright before full payment.
The most important provision in a design or web design contract is the one about intellectual property: who owns the final work you created? Assignment of Copyrights. 5) Deeply bruised: Forget to disclaim liability. The Hardest Part. The hardest part is not the code. The hardest part is not the writing. The hardest part is not even the work, itself. No, the hardest part, in fact, is getting out of your own way, so that you can become amazing. Time and time again, I come back to this truth. Am I really good enough to take this on? Too many “ifs” – and then, naturally, the justifications for tabling the project or endeavor begin to crop up.
Of course I don’t have time to start this project. What’s sad is that we all know that “next year” is psuedo-speak for “one day,” and “one day” is pseudo-speak for “probably never.” There’s a reason why writers will be the first to tell you that, easily, the most difficult aspect of writing a book is…starting. Why? It’s impossible for a negative comment to be posted on an article that isn’t published. So why do we do this to ourselves? Maybe if we’re honest, we all know the reason why we, from time to time, sit on our hands: putting yourself out there is really, truly scary. The Solution. Design Principles. How Real-World Designers Plan to Grow Their Design Careers. In the November 2012 issue of HOW magazine , Terry Lee Stone examines the phases of a designer’s career development in “ Design Career Lifecycle .” As part of the article, Stone asked a variety of designers, in various stages of their careers, how they plan to get to the next level of their design careers .
Hopefully their answers will inspire you, motivate you, or just reassure you that you’re not alone! “Not sure exactly. That’s my bottleneck right now.” {*style:<b>What will it take to move you to the next phase in your career? </b>*}“Experience. “I’m a senior-level talent who makes a lot of money in a faltering economy. “I recently got laid off. “Definitely more hours behind the computer and in the conference room. “Time. “Being exposed and connected to amazing, inspiring individuals doing things that I would love to explore.” “More experience and more learning.” “What we do every day at Ferroconcrete—branding clients—helps us in building our own brands. “A crystal ball. Rule Seven: Composition: putting it all together. Part Seven of Seven Easy Principles to Becoming a Master Designer. Ok Folks, This is it; part seven of seven. I’ve hopefully convinced you to limit your use of colors and fonts, taught you to provide sufficient contrast, suggested that you properly space your elements and let you in on the secrets of adding depth and motion to your design.
Now, the last principle in this rapid-fire guide to becoming a master designer is composition. In truth, the order I’ve given you these seven principles is probably ass-backwards. The composition is the first and most important part of your design. So, let’s just pretend that you are starting your design right now – from scratch. This is the point at which you want to be thinking about your composition. Each of the previous six principles dealt with very specific rules and techniques. So, what exactly is a design’s composition? First let’s review the definition of the word ‘composition.’ 1. the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole. Ok. How to find clients outside your network. Here's a guest post from a new guest posting freelancer, Gina Blitsten, who is a writer for Smartpress Booklet Printing One of the initial challenges for new freelancers is drumming up business for our fledgling enterprise.
As a freelancer myself, I know that my first writing gigs were for friends, family and close acquaintances. That’s only natural for several reasons: We announce our business first to those we know, in hopes they will help us spread the word Personal recommendations are very natural to give and receive We begin to grow our network from the inside out When I began my writing career, I wrote copy for my husband’s technical services website and for my hair stylist’s website. Initially, working with my immediate circle provided a tidy bit of work, accumulating writing experience, new skills and business know-how under my belt.
Eventually, I examined my business and discovered that my portfolio bore a striking resemblance to my contact list. Related Posts: No Related Posts. "I Draw Pictures All Day" Advertisement “So, you do nothing all day.” That’s how many people would respond to someone who says they spend the day with a pen or pencil in their hand. It’s often considered an empty practice, a waste of time. They’re seen as an empty mind puttering along with the busy work of scribbling. But for us designers and artists, drawing pictures all day is integral to our process and to who we are as creative people, and despite the idea that those who doodle waste time, we still get our work done. So, then, why are those of us who draw pictures all day even tempted to think that someone who is doodling or drawing pictures in a meeting or lecture is not paying attention?
What does it mean to be a doodler, to draw pictures all day? What Does It Mean To Doodle? The dictionary defines “doodle” as a verb (“scribble absentmindedly”) and as a noun (“a rough drawing made absentmindedly”). But the author Sunni Brown offers my favorite definition of “doodle” in her TED talk, “Doodlers, unite!” (al) (il) Advice for design students. A get a lot of emails from students asking for help. I can’t reply to everyone unfortunately, but I spend a fair bit of time publishing blog posts that answer common questions. With 700+ pages on this site, here’s a selection of content I think’s most helpful.
Advice for design students On getting hired On self-employment On learning On commercial printing I also pieced together a resources page on the Work for Money, Design for Love website. Photo by Steve Kay, thank you Related posts.