Design Business
How to write a Graphic Desing Business Contract
By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com
Contracts are standard operating procedure for businesses. Even small desktop publishing businesses and graphic designers just starting out need to know how to write a contract. Your contract is an agreement between you, the designer, and your client to provide design and desktop publishing services. You and the client need to be in agreement as to exactly what specific services you are providing, when you’ll finish the job, how much money is involved, and ownership of the completed work
Here’s How:
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Start with a sample contract or template.
You can write a contract on your own pulling elements from some of the samples and templates available online; however, you should have a lawyer look over any contract you plan to use. Use the contract samples to find the exact wording you want to use for the sections and clauses described below as well as a format for names and addresses, date and signature lines, which state laws apply to the contract, and other standard elements.
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Describe the project.
A part of the freelance design contract should include a Project Description of what specific services you are providing and the specifications of the final project to be delivered. The details may be included as part of the detailed estimate.
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Specify date of completion.
As a minimum the contract should stipulate the estimated Completion Date. You may also include interim production stages. This section would also describe circumstances and liability in the event the schedule must change.
120 Self Promotion Ideas for Graphic Designers & Freelancers
(1) Give Away Freebies With Your Design Business’s Name and Contact Information.
Go to where your target customers hang out and set up a booth or table. Give out some freebies and a flyer or leaflet as well. Some examples of freebies include free magnets, rubber bands, rulers, note pads, etc. All of these items should have your information printed on them.
(2) Free Demonstrations of Your Services.
Go to local print shops, office supply stores, and other local stores and offer to give free demonstrations of your services. You can also offer lessons as well.
(5) Speaking Engagements.
Contact local schools and associations about classes, colleges, seminars, lectures that you can speak or teach at.
(6) Go to Your Local Library or Book Store and Place Business Cards in Relevant Books.
This one is a little iffy. Go to your local book stores and libraries and find books that a potential customer might read and place your business card in it.
(7) Shave Your Logo into Your Hair or Get a Logo Tattoo.
Want to strike up conversation easily? Shave your logo into your hair or get a tattoo.
(6) Flyer / Business Card Exchanges.
Network with other local non-competitive businesses. See if they will display your business card or flyer in exchange for referrals, etc.
(7) Incorporate a Referral Incentive Program.
Offer your customers an incentive for referring customers to you. An incentive could be a discount on future business, a gift certificate, a gift, or whatever you decide that they incentive should be. You might also consider implementing a referral fee.
(8) Hold a Contest.
Offer a contest with a grand prize that would interest your target audience. Promote your contest through flyers, local newspapers, and local radio stations. This will get the word out about your business and will more than pay for itself. (however you have to have the startup cash to place ads in local newspapers and on the radio. If you don’t have startup cash, just use hand printed flyers and place them all over your the place (such as libraries, grocery stores, malls, etc). By holding a contest, you can also get your site listed on dozens of online contest directories.
(9) Directory Listings.
Make sure to list your company in all appropriate free directories. If you can afford it, get yourself listed in directories that require a fee (as long as you have researched that directory and it is a directory that will land you business).
(10) Wear Your Business Information.
Create t-shirts, hats, buttons, and bags with your company’s information and web site listed on them. You might feel like a walking advertisement but that is the point. 
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Inspirational Designers, and how to get recognized as a Web Designer
Want to get recognized in the graphic and web design world? Here are some tips on how to get yourself out in the design spotlight and promote your work. We’ll also be looking at some of today’s most inspiring designers, and what makes them famous.
- Focus on your strengths. Are you better at illustration? Designing web layouts? Creating graphics? Try to pick your strongest skill and use it to your advantage. This will help you stand out and better display yourself. Of course you never want to spend too much time on one thing and leave no time for anything else, but if you can use your strengths to your advantage you’ll be one step ahead of the competition.
- Eliminate your weaknesses. Surround yourself with people who are good at what you’re not. Have them help you get better in those areas. Ask for resources you can use to get better at those things that have always frustrated you. The worst thing you can do is avoid something simply because it’s challenging.
- Challenge yourself constantly. Always go a step further to learn a more advanced technique. One new technique may open up thousands of possibilities in your work. If you always take the easy way out, you won’t learn as much, and you’ll never try anything new.
- Broaden your skills. Even if you’re exceptionally good at one thing, if you don’t try to learn new things you’re going to run into a lot of walls down the line. Broadening your design skills can be an easy and fun process if you use the right resources and put your mind to it. Also, being stuck with an obsolete skill will get you nowhere. Web and graphic design is constantly changing, and if you can’t keep up, you’re going to be left in the dust.
Color Branding and Corporate Identity
Color is a very important factor in design can be quite significant in defining the identity or branding of a company. Companies use colors to brand their products so that we are reminded of the product simply by recognizing a combination of colors. Not only these large companies but many designers and small companies use colors to identify themselves to stand out. Here are some examples of websites where the color contributes to the company’s identity:
Apple
Apple has always been known for their use of silver, both in their products and their advertising. The Apple website clearly displays this by the use of a silver gradient navigation, and light grays and white for the rest of the site. With their common use of silver computer casing, Apple has indeed branded themselves with the color silver. Apple also uses bright colors for some of their product lines, including the iMac and iPod shuffle/nano.
(For an interesting article documenting the change in Apple’s design between 1977 and 2008 click here) › Continue reading
Tips on what to Include in a Web Design Proposal
A website proposal contains many aspects different from other graphic design proposals, in that technical elements must be addressed along with creative ones. While print proposals do address items such as printing procedures, website proposals must specify web hosting, systems for maintaining content, programs or programming languages to be used and other technical specifications.
Outline of Content
A website proposal should clearly spell out what will be included on the site. This can be done in a standard outline format, or visually, to show what sections and features you intend to build for the client. An outline serves to both let the client know your ideas for the site (which should be based on meetings with them) and protect you from rounds of changes and additions not initially planned for. By including the outline in the proposal and eventually the contract, you are making it clear what is included for the price and therefore what additional services can be charged for.
Method of Building Site
It is important to decide at the start of a project what system or method will be used to build the website. Some sites are built in static HTML, meaning each page is created manually, and updates are done manually as well. Other sites are built in HTML but utilize a content management system (CMS) that stores the content in a database and allows for easier updating. Sites like WordPress and Blogger offer a simple CMS included for free with your site, while other CMS packages are installed on web servers and completely customized for the project, offering countless feature options. Another option for building the site is within Flash, allowing for a rich multimedia experience and a lot of development time. Regardless of the method chosen, it should be explained in the proposal so you and your client are in agreement as to the best way to build the website.
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