Are You Ready to Freelance?

Even if you’re a designer, writer, illustrator or website developer working for a company, I’m willing to bet that you’ve done some freelance work on the side. I’ve yet to meet a creative person that didn’t have numerous projects going at once. It typically starts with a friend or a former colleague interested in getting just a few things done and before you know it, you’re working nights and weekends on it. Often the best part of freelancing is that it is completely different from your regular job and diversity is the heart of designing.

Your first “friendly” freelance job probably did not include a contract or proposal. You were hired and a price agreed upon with a handshake. Unfortunately, you didn’t realize the job creep that would be involved and you vowed next time to put it all in writing. Setting up boundaries through written proposals is a great way to keep a positive relationship with your clients.

Ilise Benun, co-founder of Marketing Mentor Toolbox and founder of Creative Freelancer Conference has developed, “Proposal Bundle for Designers: 25 Resources for Project-Winning Proposals,” a guide to preparing proposals specific to graphic design, logo creation, book promotions, marketing and rebranding collaboration and more.

In addition, Benun provides a pre-proposal checklist that includes following up on potential projects and what to do if you are not chosen.

There is also a bonus section on responding to RFPs (requests for proposal) and a webcast where Benun discusses proposals that get noticed.

To learn more about this incredible bundle, visit MyDesignShop.com

Landing High Profile Projects

by The Creative Group, excerpted via HOWDesign.com

If you frequently find yourself getting passed over for premium gigs, despite having similar skills and experience as your colleagues, it’s time to boost your visibility. You might think your strong work speaks for itself, but in more cases than not, you have to toot your own horn to gain recognition and move your design career forward. Here are some tips on getting noticed and securing choice assignments:

1. Step up to the plate. Develop a reputation for stepping up when others stand back. Be the first person to throw your hat in the ring when the boss needs someone to assist with a difficult new project (like rolling out a new collaboration tool), even if it falls beyond the scope of your job description.

2. Make your voice heard. Your bright ideas won’t help your employer—or you—if you’re unwilling to take risks and share them. If you have a plan that could trim expenses or attract new clients, go public with it. Also, stay on management’s radar by regularly pitching potential solutions in staff meetings and brainstorming sessions. Companies prize innovative thinkers and confident communicators, not wallflowers and shrinking violets. (You don’t have to yell the loudest in order to be heard)

3. Highlight and quantify your contributions. Quietly hunkering down and doing a good job behind the scenes is commendable, but it’s not enough to further your design career. Don’t assume your manager is keeping track of your contributions. Instead of waiting for your annual review to roll around, apprise your supervisor of your most notable achievements on a regular basis.

4. Network internally. Many designers think of networking in terms of developing outside connections for job-hunting purposes. But expanding your reach internally is just as important to your career. Try to establish strong relationships with colleagues in all areas of your organization. Sign up for cross-departmental initiatives, attend company-sponsored events, and generally aim to be an outgoing member of the team.

5. Keep growing. Ambitious designers who demonstrate a commitment to learning have a distinct edge over those who stagnate. Make it known you’re always looking for ways to expand your skills. From brownbag lunch seminars to e-learning classes, take advantage of the professional development opportunities your employer offers. Join professional associations, read trade publications and attend business and design conferences, like HOW Design Live, to keep up with the latest trends. Then, share insights with your boss and coworkers.

*******

Ilise Benun will be a keynote at HOW Design Live’s Creative Freelancer Conference. Register Now

The post Freelance Proposal Templates appeared first on HOW Design.

via Inside the Magic on Youtube.

Once an image is captured, it is sent to a 3D printer to create the figurine. 

via Disney

Back in August, Disney did the same D-Tech Me 3D promotion, but this time young girls could be princess statues:

Your Stormtrooper “experience” as Disney touts it, includes the design, application, printing and creation for just $99.95, plus shipping and tax.

What do you think about this ‘Me’ design? Cute or Creepy?

The post Cute or Creepy: You are a 7″ Stormtrooper appeared first on HOW Design.

As solopreneurs, many of us feel like we need to do it all. We try to wear all the hats, including the ones that don’t fit us so well. We feel like if we ask for help, we’ll appear inexperienced or incapable. But don’t underestimate the value of asking for help—no matter where you are in your career.

Last year, I read an article that changed my mind about asking for help: You Already Know The Right People For Your Business. In it, Caroline Ceniza-Levine explained that entrepreneurs already know the people who can help them succeed: they simply need to reach out to their existing network.

This made sense to me. I knew a lot of smart, successful people. So when I had a business question or needed advice, I started reaching out to people I knew. And guess what: I got answers! It made me realize that people—especially small business owners—are genuinely interested in helping each other (especially freelancers and members of the CFC community -- check out the active LinkedIn Group here).

So why try to wear all the hats? Got a question or problem? Reach out to a fellow solopreneur, former boss, colleague. I can almost guarantee you’ll find an answer.

The CFC Conference (June 22-24 in San Francisco) is a great place to ask for help. Reach out to a fellow solopreneur or speaker and you just might find that next great idea for your business. You can still get $50 off with "ILISE" promo code.

The post Freelancers, do you ask for help? appeared first on HOW Design.

I’m certainly not trying to diminish any of the 100 included, I just have a soft spot for the unsung heroes. Daniel Graf, Director of Google Maps for Mobile is #5 on the list and acknowledges that tapping into his team’s creative energy is what catapulted Google Maps to the number one position on iTunes.

The Google Maps application was a staple on iPhones since it launched. Last year, Apple announced Google Maps was being replaced by an Apple map app. Thanks to Graf and his team, that decision was the best thing that ever happened to Google. (Close to the best).

In the Fast Company article, Graf talks about the importance of ongoing dialogue. “While I had no experience with maps, I’ve always been focused on creating simple experiences,” he says. It was that goal that led Graf to consistently go to his creative team.

“We had design reviews every single day, down to the pixel. Everyone in the room, from the product team to the design team, would discuss features. At first you might think, What a waste of time. But that hour a day is the reason why, when you read the reviews and use it yourself, the product seems so polished.”

The redesign proved brilliant. It gave Google the ability to include more local ads and earn more revenue. Within hours of its release in December of last year at the iTunes store, it was number one.

Says Graf in the Fast Company story, “Three years ago, Google wouldn’t have done products like this.”

Integration and collaboration between in-house teams made the difference, and took Apple by surprise in the process.

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Want to Inspire your in-house team? The In-House Designer’s Resource Pack gives you seven ways to step up your A-game at just $34.99 (76% off the retail price.) Here’s what you get:

HOW SINGLES: In-House Overhaul - Learn how the National Parks Conservation Association’s in-house design team motivated their creative team to push the limits of design to become 2013′s Best in Show for in-HOWse designer team.

HOW SINGLES: In-HOWse Design Awards 2013 - Do competition winners bring out the enthusiasm in you. More importantly, does it give you ideas? Take a look at the winners for this year’s In-HOWse Design Awards.

Metrics & Trends In-House Designers Need to Know – Take time to review the results of Cella, InSource and The BOSS Group’s annual survey of in-house designers. See if your challenges and successes are the same for others in your field.

The Secret of Project Management for In-House Designers - Led by Daniel Shutzsmith, this podcast will help you set up a successful workflow from start to finish and organize your creative team.  

From Order-Taker to Business Partner, Changing the Corporate Attitude Toward In-House Designers -Bob Calvano guides in-house managers through making a creative team transformation, including snatching up the best projects typically going to agencies. “If you want the work that goes to the agency, then you need to position your team like an agency, make a transformation, and shift everyone’s mindset in the company—the design team included.”

The Corporate Creative: Tips and Tactics for Thriving as an In-House Designer - Are you looking for a book that can help you communicate with management in terms they will understand; work seamlessly across departments; motivate your team; manage your internal clients; and perhaps even cut through the red tape typically associated with in-house projects? This book has the answers.

Caffeine for the Creative Team by Stefan Mumaw, Wendy Lee Oldfield - Mumaw and Oldfield offer 150 exercises to inspire group innovation, clear out the mind and focus on the task of creating brilliant creative designs. For that kind of goal, a few exercises are essential.

The post Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People appeared first on HOW Design.

One of the people we’re excited to welcome to this year’s HOW Design Conference is writer, design management consultant and creative strategist Terry Lee Stone. Stone’s general session will explore the five key stages of a design career to help you navigate the twists and turns that lead to success. She’ll also host a bonus hands-on session to help you practice the skills involved in developing a great creative brief.

We recently sat down with Stone for a brief chat about her design career and to pick her brain for advice other designers could profit from:

HOW: When did you first realize you wanted to be a graphic designer?

Terry Lee Stone: In college, thinking I was going to be a lawyer, I was missing art. Soon after, I found out there was a thing called graphic design that was a commercial art form. I liked that idea; it seemed like a great hybrid. So I dropped out of the university and headed to design school. I later morphed from creative to business and management positions, and incidentally, I ended up very involved in legal affairs for design firms. Ah, full circle.

HOW: What was your first design job?

TLS: I was assistant to a graphic designer/illustrator named Kim Foster in Miami. Since it was just the two of us, I got to do a lot of different things. Kim was a great mentor: kimfosterdesign.com

HOW: What advice do you have for other designers aspiring to a similar career path?

TLS: Keep pushing yourself. Try new things. Expand your capabilities. Do things that scare you. That’s how you’ll learn and grow.

HOW: What’ve been some of your favorite projects?

TLS: I wrote an exhibition called “Becoming Los Angeles” for the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, which was a fascinating collaborative experience. I’ve also started doing online training courses at Lynda.com, which is always something I’ve wanted to do. They’re a great company.

HOW: What’s the most influential thing that’s happened to you during your design career?

TLS: Getting to co-author the “Logo Design Workbook” with Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka of AdamsMorioka. That project launched my writing career, and it was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. It was originally published in 2004 and is still selling.

HOW: What self-promotion strategies have been most successful for you?

TLS: Blogging. It works. There’s not always a lot of money involved, but there is lots of good exposure for your ideas.

HOW: Do you have a pet project—a side business, passion project or a charity to which you donate time or services?

TLS: I co-wrote a book called “Booze Cakes” with Krystina Castella, a product designer and fellow teacher at Art Center College of Design. (Read a nice review from Publishers Weekly.) It’s been well received and was a great creative endeavor outside my typical work.

HOW: When you get stuck in a creative rut, how do you break free?

TLS: I rarely feel stuck creatively. I usually feel squeezed because I’ve overcommitted and then have to deliver. There is nothing like a deadline to force you to break free!

HOW: If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?

TLS: In the past I would have said lawyer. Now, I’d say writer.

HOW: What does San Francisco bring to mind? What do you plan to do while you’re there?

TLS: I’m from Los Angeles. San Francisco is sometimes considered to be our rival—there is a constant Southern California versus Northern California comparison. I like SF for food. (Of course, L.A. is even better. Okay, I had to say that!)

I would like to remind everyone that San Francisco is colder than you might think in the summer. Bring a sweater.

HOW: Where did the ideas for your session topics come from?

TLS: I came up with the Design Career Lifecycle session because I’m fascinated by career trajectories. I marvel at how creative people get from point A to point B in their careers. Recently, I was commissioned by HOW to write an article on this topic, and it was very well received. I’ll expand on that piece and continue the discussion.

My hands-on session came out of my experiences as a project manager. I realized how critical it is to write a good creative brief for your team. It is the roadmap for any project. Once I began teaching, I developed ways to “un-package” the complexity and help designers create briefs that are right for their practices.

HOW: What are you most excited to share with session attendees in San Francisco?

TLS: Hopefully I can save some other designers a whole lot of trouble! I hope to provide insights and assistance on topics that can be ongoing challenges for many graphic designers. I’m excited to share my ideas and techniques because I was led to them by lots of trial and error.

Meet Terry in person at this year’s HOW Design Conference!

The post Expert’s Corner: Terry Lee Stone appeared first on HOW Design.

New from HOW Design University, our 4-part Web Design Independent Study Course is designed to teach you the fundamentals of website design and coding. And it’s a huge deal at just $299 (a nearly $800 value). 

Join us for HOW Design Live, which features a track of sessions specifically geared toward print designers looking to expand their web design skills. Learn more and register.

The post Web Designer’s Resources: Free Pattern Tool appeared first on HOW Design.

A classification system can be helpful identifying, combining and choosing typefaces. While four categories are clearly inadequate for design professionals, hundreds become self-defeating. We have put together somewhat of a hybrid system of 15 categories based on the historical and descriptive nomenclature of the Vox system published in 1954 — and still widely accepted as the standard today. Added to this, are 10 categories that are “fashion” based and show up remarkably often in Web-based, search engine requests. These latter categories will surely to change over time.

FEATURED DOWNLOAD: Looking to master type? Or, trying to better understand web typography? Get your hands on the Mastering Type Download collection.

Historical and descriptive classifications

Serif Type Styles

• Serif: Old Style
• Serif: Transitional
• Serif: Neoclassical & Didone
• Serif: Slab
• Serif: Clarendon
• Serif: Glyphic

Sans Serif Type Styles

• Sans Serif: Grotesque
• Sans Serif: Square
• Sans Serif: Humanistic

 Script Type Styles

• Script: Formal
• Script: Casual
• Script: Calligraphic
• Script: Blackletter and Lombardic

 Decorative

Fashionable Classifications

• Futuristic Fonts
• Gothic Fonts
• Graffiti Fonts
• Grunge Fonts
• Handwriting Fonts
• Scary Fonts
• Tattoo Fonts
• Textured Fonts
• Vintage/Retro Fonts
• Western Fonts

Serif Type Styles

Serif: Old Style

These are the first Roman types, faces which were originally created between the late 15th century and mid 18th century, or are patterned after typefaces which were originally designed in this period. The axis of curved strokes is normally inclined to the left in these designs, so that weight stress is at approximately 8:00 and 2:00 o’clock.  The contrast in character stroke weight is not dramatic, and hairlines tend to be on the heavy side. Some versions, like the earlier Venetian old style designs, are distinguished by the diagonal cross stroke of the lowercase “e.” Serifs are almost always bracketed in old style designs and head serifs are often angled.

Bembo

Berkeley Oldstyle

Centaur

Legacy Serif

Weidemann

Serif: Transitional

The English printer and typographer John Baskerville established the style for these typefaces in the mid 18th century. His work with calendared paper and improved printing methods (both developed by him) allowed much finer character strokes to be reproduced and subtler character shapes to be maintained. While the axis of curve strokes can be inclined in Transitional designs, they generally have a vertical stress. Weight contrast is more pronounced than in Old Style designs. Serifs are still bracketed and head serifs are oblique. These typefaces represent the transition between Old Style and Neoclassical designs, and incorporate some characteristics of each.

Americana

Baskerville

Bulmer

Electra

Perpetua

Serif: Neoclassical & Didone

These are typefaces created within the late 18th century, or their direct descendants. The work of Giambattista Bodoni epitomizes this style of type. When they were first released, these typefaces were called “Classical” designs. Early on, however, it became apparent that these were not updated versions of classic type styles, but altogether new designs. As a result their classification name was changed to “Modern.” Since they are no longer modern, they are also classified as Neoclassical or Didone. Contrast between thick and thin strokes is abrupt and dramatic. The axis of curved strokes is vertical with little or no bracketing. In many cases, stroke terminals are “ball” shapes rather than the reflection of a broad pen. These tend to be highly mannered designs, which are obviously constructed.

Arepo Complete Family Pack

Bodoni Complete Family Pack

ITC Fenice Complete Family Pack

ITC Modern No. 216 Complete Family Pack

Walbaum Complete Family Pack

Serif: Slab

Slab serif typefaces became popular in the 19th century as advertising display designs. These typefaces have very heavy serifs with no, or very little, bracketing. Generally, changes in stroke weight are imperceptible. To many, slab serif type styles appear to be sans serif designs with the simple addition of heavy (stroke weight) serifs.

ITC Lubalin Graph Complete Family Pack

ITC Officina Serif Hellenic Family Pack

Rockwell Complete Family Pack

Silica Complete Family Pack

Egyptian Slate™ Complete Family Pack

Soho® Family Pack

Serif: Clarendon

As the name implies, these are the typefaces patterned after the Clarendon type styles that were first released in the mid-19th century. Clarendons were designed as bold faces to accompany text composition. Their stroke contrast is slight and serifs tend to be short to medium length. Later, many of these designs were released as display types. Character stroke weight that is more obvious, and serifs that tend to be longer than earlier designs, mark more current interpretations of this style.

CG Accolade Complete Family Pack

Bookman Complete Family Pack

ITC Charter Complete Family Pack

Clarendon Complete Family Pack

Nimrod Complete Family Pack

Serif: Glyphic

Typefaces in this category tend to reflect lapidary inscriptions rather than pen-drawn text. Contrast in stroke weight is usually at a minimum, and the axis of curved strokes tends to be vertical. The distinguishing feature of these typefaces is the triangular-shaped serif design, or a flaring of the character strokes where they terminate. In some type classification systems this one category is broken up into two groups: “Glyphic” and “Latin.” “Latins” are the faces with strict triangular-shaped serifs.

Albertus Complete Family Pack

Cartier Book Complete Family Pack

ITC Elan Complete Family Pack

Friz Quadrata Complete Family Pack

ITC Quorum Complete Family Pack

Sans Serif Type Styles

Sans Serif: Grotesque

These are the first commercially popular sans serif typefaces. Contrast in stroke weight is most apparent in these styles, there is a slight “squared” quality to many of the curves, and several designs have the “bowl and loop” lowercase “g” common to Roman types. In some cases the “R” has a curled leg, and the “G” usually has a spur.

There are also, more modern, sans serif designs patterned after the first grotesques, but more refined in form. Stroke contrast is less pronounced than earlier designs, and much of the “squareness” in curved strokes is also lost. Normally the most obvious distinguishing characteristic of these faces is their single bowl “g” and more monotone weight stress.

Bureau Grot Complete Family Pack

Franklin Gothic Complete Family Pack

Helvetica® Complete Family Pack

News Gothic Complete Family Pack

Univers® Complete Family Pack

Sans Serif: Square

These designs are generally based on Grotesque character traits and proportions, but have a definite and, at times, dramatic squaring of normally curved strokes. They usually have more latitude in character spacing than their sans serif cousins, and tend to be limited to display designs.

Cachet Complete Family Pack

Eurostile Complete Family Pack

Felbridge Complete Family Pack

Neo Sans Complete Family Pack

Phenix American™ Regular32.

Smart Sans Complete Family Pack

 Sans Serif: Geometric

Simple geometric shapes heavily influence the construction of these typefaces. Strokes have the appearance of being strict monolines and character shapes are made up of seemingly perfect geometric forms. Geometric sans tend to be less readable than Grotesques.

ITC Avant Garde Gothic Multilingual Complete Family Pack

Avenir CE Complete Family Pack

ITC Bauhaus Complete Family Pack

Regulator Complete Family Pack

ITC Kabel Complete Family Pack

Harmonia Sans Family Pack

Sans Serif: Humanistic

These are based on the proportions of Roman inscriptional letters. In many cases, contrast in stroke weight is also readily apparent. Many claim that these are the most legible and most easily read of the sans serif typefaces. Humanistic sans serif typefaces also closely match the design characteristics and proportions or serif types. Many have a strong calligraphic influence.

Frutiger Complete Family Pack

Gill Sans Complete Family Pack

ITC Goudy Sans Complete Family Pack

Mentor Complete Family Pack

Script Type Styles

Script: Formal

These are typefaces derived from 17th century formal writing styles. Many characters have strokes that join them to other letters.

Bickham Script Complete Family Pack

Elegy™ Regular

Helinda Rook™ Regular

Mahogany Script™ Regular

Young Baroque™

Script: Casual

These are script typefaces designed to look informal or as if they were drawn quickly. Many times they appear to have been drawn with a brush. Normally, character strokes connect one letter to the next.

Brush Script (D)

Freestyle Script Complete Family Pack

Limehouse™ Script

Nadianne Complete Family Pack

ITC Studio Script Regular

Script: Calligraphic

These are script faces that mimic calligraphic writing. They can be connecting or non-connecting in design. Many appear to have been written with a flat-tipped writing instrument.

Belltrap™ Regular

ITC Blaze™ Italic

Mistral Complete Family Pack

ITC Riptide™ Regular

Vivaldi™

Script: Blackletter and Lombardic

These are typefaces patterned to look like manuscript lettering prior to the invention of movable type.

Agincourt™

Cresci Rotunda™ Regular

Goudy Text Complete Family Pack

Lombardic™ Capitals

Monmouth Regular

Decorative

These typefaces defy simple “pigeonholing.” They can look like letters cut in stencil, decorated with flowers, or appear three-dimensional. Some use unorthodox letter shapes and proportions to achieve distinctive and dramatic results.

ITC Aftershock™ Regular

ITC Airstream™ Regular

Mo’ Funky Fresh Complete Family Pack

ITC Tremor™ Regular

WacWakOoops! Regular

Fashionable Classifications

Futuristic Fonts

Futuristic fonts are almost always sans serif designs. Sometimes stroke terminals are rounded or clipped on an angle. They also tend to be based on geometric or elongated character shapes.

Biome™ Basic Family Pack

Akko™ Family Pack

Klint Basic Family Value Pack

Gothic Fonts

Gothic fonts are another name for Blackletter fonts. In addition, Gothic fonts can be designs that are hip and edgy with a heavy dose of horror. They are also fonts that would be at home in “fantasy” publications and web sites.

Beluga LT Complete Family Pack

Bludgeon Regular

Notre Dame Complete Family Pack

Graffiti Fonts

Graffiti is usually appeared as images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in a similar manner on walls, fences, highway overpasses and similar structures.

Angeleno Complete Family Pack

Chillin Complete Family Pack

Southbee Complete Family Pack

Grunge Fonts

“Grunge” was first to identify a specific type of music that originated in Seattle, a style that is influenced by punk, rock and heavy metal. Grunge fonts are aggressive, iconoclastic and often distorted designs. They are also commonly marked with a rough, jagged or distressed surface texture.

Blockade Regular

ITC Coventry Complete Family Pack

Killer Ants Complete Family Pack

Handwriting Fonts

Handwriting fonts evoke quickly written notes — but more deliberately so than a scrawl.

They are also generally somewhat less sophisticated than formal scripts – while they lack the refinement of most calligraphic designs. Handwriting fonts differ from casual scripts in that their characters are not made from flowing brush strokes.

Django Regular

Etruscan™

Trackpad™

Scary Fonts

Scary fonts look like they could have been lettered by R. Hunter Thompson – on one of his bad days – or made of scrawled lettershapes or other unsettling forms. They are edgy, sinister and generally menacing.

Goosebumps Complete Family Pack

Spooky™

Hollyweird™

Tattoo Fonts

Traditionally, tattoo fonts were Blackletter, script or simple, single stroke sans serif designs. This small palette has grown into one that incorporates virtually any kind of typeface design. The most prominent of which are scripts, calligraphic, and glyphic designs.

Linotype Textur Complete Family Pack

Snell Roundhand Complete Family Pack

Cult™

Textured Fonts

Surface texture is another variant of typeface design. Just a few of the virtually limitless surface textures are outline designs, typestyles that have the appearance of three dimensionality, incised, stenciled, Inlined, and distressed.

ITC Abaton™ Regular

Arriba Complete Family Pack

ITC Panic™ Regular 

Vintage/Retro Fonts

These are typefaces that were used for display applications between the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, and their revivals. They have a distinct feeling of “time and place.”

ITC Beesknees™ Regular

Parisian™

Raphael™ Regular

Western Fonts

Western typefaces are advertising designed first made in the mid-to late 1800. They are also known as “Circus Type.” Fonts were usually decorative, often with surface texture and adorned with large and unusual serifs and stroke endings.

Algerian™ Condensed

ITC Buckeroo™ Regular

McCollough Regular

The post Ultimate Resource: Examples of Typeface Classification appeared first on HOW Design.

The Heads of State looked to chapter four in particular for inspiration in this four-color, letterpress print of Gatsby-themed business cards.

“Chapter four of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reads like a VIP guest list of the Jazz Age. Taking inspiration from those pages, this poster is comprised of the business cards and personal stationery of the movers and shakers that attended Gatsby’s parties in the summer of 1922.”

The Dieline featured Penguin Books’ stunning design of F. Scott Fitzgerald classics, by senior cover designer, Coralie Bickford-Smith.

Or, there are these interpretations of what the book cover design could be of the classic. The first is by Thanh Vu and the second is by Aled Lewis.

If you have a hard time putting your copy of Gatsby down, why not bring it with you … as a clutch? This Book Clutch Purse is by chicklitdesigns.

Invitations by Ajalon nailed the Gatsby feel with its Chicago design, complete with gold foil.

In 2008, designer Mikey Burton was inspired by classics, like “The Great Gatsby,” and centered his college thesis around reinvigorating the books’ images to attract more young readers. He told HOW that he barely received a passing grade on the assignment. Fortunately, the story continued to unfold as the design community at large recognized Burton’s work. Out of Print clothing brought the project to life in a new was as super cute T-shirts.

This Gatsby-themed wedding shoot posted on 100LayerCake.com is making us all want to tie the knot again just so that we can have a decadent Gatsby wedding. See more photography by Lauren Scotti and design details by KM Paperie for this fancy soiree.

Do you have a Great Gatsby inspired design project? Tell us about it.

Additional Resource

Mirko Ilić is known as a creative rebel, but his reputation is equal to his talents in illustration, design and education.

Get your hands on “Fist to Face,” the eBook.

The post The Great Gatsby Inspires Design appeared first on HOW Design.

There is still space still available for the in-depth, hands-on half-day sessions with Ilise Benun and Mark O'Brien.

Monday (6/24) Morning Workshop w/ Ilise Benun: Determine Your Positioning and Find Your Target Market. You will walk out of this hands-on session with your positioning statement and a market to focus it on.

Monday (6/24) Afternoon Workshop w/ Mark O’Brien, CEO of Newfangled.com and author of A Web Site That Works: You Don't Know What You Know: Develop Your Content Strategy. You will walk out of this hands-on session knowing what your content is. (No more, “I don’t know what to say!”)

If you do both of these workshops, you'll be ready to start implementing as soon as you get home! No more procrastinating the marketing! Huge value for the price: $99.

You can sign up on site or in advance:

• If you aren't already registered for CFC, sign up here and include the post conference workshops.
• If you are already registered, follow these instructions:

1. To log into your personal registration record and add a Creative Freelancer Workshop, you will need your confirmation email; it is not possible to access your record without the link in that email. 
2. Click on the “Modify Registration” button in that email and enter your email address and confirmation number (also in that email).
3. Continue through the pages until you get to the Conference Options page where you can select the workshop you wish to add.
4. Click through the remaining pages until you get to the Payment page. You can pay by credit card here just as you did when you originally registered or you can choose the option to pay by check.
5. Which ever payment method you select, be sure to click on the "Complete Registration" button at the bottom of the page to finish the process and lock in your changes.

If you pay online with a credit card, it’s important to confirm that your payment was processed successfully. To do so, simply go back to your confirmation email and click on the “Invoice/Receipt” button at the bottom. If your balance is $0, the charge was processed successfully. If a balance due is showing, your credit card was declined and you should check with the provider to find out why.

If you have any questions or would like your confirmation email to be resent, contact Lyn at 800-436-8700 or howdesignlive@fwmedia.com and put “resend confirmation email” in the subject line.

The post CFC 2013 Day 3 Hands-On Workshops: Monday June 24 appeared first on HOW Design.

Editor’s Note: Mirko Ilić is known as a creative rebel, but this reputation is equal to his talents in illustration, design and education. A visionary, Ilić is a respected voice in visual culture across disciplines and around the world. 

Fist to Face by Dejan Krsić is a highly visual biography that examines Ilić’s formative years growing up in Yugoslavia during the era of Communism; his early comic book and magazine illustrations; and his immigration to the U.S., where he quickly achieved fame for his work as Time magazine’s international edition art director and art director for The New York Times’ op-ed pages. Ilić has always pushed himself as a designer, reinventing himself time and again.

The following article is an excerpt from Fist to Face.

What bandleader Benny Goodman said about swing can be said for Mirko Ilić’s work: “It is as difficult to explain as the Mona Lisa’s smile or the nutty hats women wear — but just as stimulating. It remains something you take five-thousand words to explain then leaves you wondering what it is.”

In the 1960s and 70s, the dominant approach to graphic design, especially in advertising, was idea-based — that is, the business problem, and not the designer’s particular visual approach, dictated the solution. Design was based on ideas, not styles. But in the late 70s, many young designers — especially in Britain and on the west coast of the United States — began to question the belief.

During the last decades of the 20th century, back at the time when Ilić was making his name, a series of famous designers appeared with distinctive personal styles. Among the first to become famous was Neville Brody with his works for the magazine The Face and independent record companies. However, in New York in the 1980s, Tibor Kalman revived the tradition of idea-based design, with work that was smart, witty, humorous, and rooted in vernacular and popular culture. An autodidact in the field of design, he opposed the conventions and the complacency of the American design scene entrenched in advertising, had very strong opinions, and did not hesitate to express them at the cost of conflict.

Kalman was also an ardent advocate of design with socially valuable content, so after studio M&Co. closed, his associates — like Stefan Sagmeister, who opened Sagmaister Inc. in 1993 — strengthened that current in the New York design. This was the atmosphere in which Ilić began to practice design on the American scene.

“It took me a long time to get design jobs,” Ilić recalls. “I first got serious jobs after I started to work at Time magazine. I partially accepted that position because I needed a break. I have never met Kalman. It was always interesting to me, I saw several projects, but until Colours, I was not engaged. It was cool, but still corporate stuff … The biggest thing he did when he closed the studio—was divide his clients between his associates. Stephen Doyle got a part, Sagmeister got his, Studio Seventeen got a part, everyone got something out of it …”

When it comes to the formal style, Ilić seems to be following Oscar Wilde’s maxim that consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. He especially emphasizes the issue of communication, in which form itself must be relative to the content.

“I would like to have a style,” he says. “It would have been much easier. Unfortunately I think that style is a pattern, you solve everything based on it and things work. It is wonderful to be a designer if you know in advance how you will solve any problem that you come across. Exactly because I do not have a style, I often make a lot of bad things. I do illustration under the pressure of impossible deadlines, other clients want something as well, so I would probably screw something up… If I had a style, it would be snap—snap—snap based on the pattern and it would be done correctly. But that’s boring to me. Things do repeat in my work, but only because I bump into a subject that requires a response similar to something that I have already made. I do not have four aces, and things are not always the same; I have some mixed cards that do not always win for sure, but combinations are more interesting. There are times when certain things begin to resemble one another, but often I make one thing and then in two years the other…”

Despite the dozens of different styles and approaches he has used over the years, Mirko Ilić’s work is recognizable more for his way of thinking than his drawing style. Moreover, some of his drawing styles seem so deceptively simple that others often tried to mimic him; of course without a whole lot of success. “It is easier to steal the hand than the brains, and thus it is easier to steal the style than the idea,” he says.

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