Last week I completed the first class of my “Basic Marketing for Artists”… it was a class that was specifically related to how an artist can use Twitter as a tool for research, networking, promoting their work, and even finding deals on equipment and gear. As I drove back home, I was reflecting on the class; did I cover all of the important bases? I thought up a quick list of things that I stressed when I was teaching the class, and thought I’d throw them up here. If you’re looking for a “how to get a bajillion followers on Twitter” article here, turn back now. This list is a few common sense ideas and techniques to keep Twitter engaged as what it should be…. an effective tool.

1. Security- Yeah, it’s important. Choose a password that is safe, sound, and secure. Don’t share it with anyone. Ever.  The damage that can be incurred by a stolen Twitter account username and password can add up quick, with the added danger of RT multipliers. Be careful. Use at least 8 characters, uppercase and lowercase, and numbers. Mix it up, and make it hard.
2. Follow users with similar interests, or at least those that interest you – take a minute to validate the person you’re about to follow.  What is the ratio of interesting vs. uninteresting Tweets? Is this a person you want filling up your Twitter page with tweets? Yeah, you can always cull your list and adjust, but you can save time by paying a bit better attention to who you’re actually following.
3. Thank followers - let them know that you are happy that they’re interested in you and your work. It’s a little courtesy, why not. Better than no response at all. Don’t immediately Direct Message them or auto DM them as soon as they follow you.  That’s bad form, no doubt. Keep DM’s as a special tool.
4. NEVER use a “get a ton of followers” pay service- it’s spammy non-engaged crap, and has proven to mean squat in the real world.
5. Be polite… – Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean that there aren’t penalties for acting like a jerk, being rude, or offensive. Humor is one thing. Being a snarky jackass is completely different. Be nice. You’ll get much further. Think about the fact that your Tweets really do have reach, and what you’re saying.
6. RT - Make sure to reference the original author when you RT, and make sure that you say something on your own as opposed to simply RT’ing everyone else all the time.
7. Offer value, provide your own insight -  Is what you’re saying valuable? Engage your followers, and reap the benefits. When you have insight into a certain topic that has been Tweeted, make sure to “@” the author, let them what you think, and make sure to hashtag (#) your post so that you get better reach. Stay on topic.

Overall, these are just a few examples that help make your Twitter account more valuable, and more effective.

Stay honest, offer value, give credit where credit is due, stay engaged; Twitter rocks.

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You’re a client.  You need some design work done, and a designer has expressed interest in doing some work for you. 

Maybe you need some print work done, maybe your website needs to be freshened up, maybe you need an annual report put together for your company.  Whether you’re a small business owner, or pull in creative talent for projects tied to a huge mega-corporation, there are some simple rules to follow to make sure that you get the most out of your designer, save time and frustration, and heaven forbid – actually save some money. This is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but can definitely help out folks that are looking for a designer and expect quality results. Think of this post as nothing more than a designer (me) offering some tips directly to you from experience, error, and success.

Pre-Project : Do you have a brief prepared?

More often than not, it’s important to prepare a brief for your designer. A brief is a document (or collection of documents) that are  incredibly important for a designer.  It creates a set of guidelines for your designer to follow, can help answer important questions, and can provide information that can help a designer further tap into his or her creativity to really make your project shine. Without getting into a horribly deep and dark granular description of all of the things that make a brief work, I’ll lay out the most important elements of a brief in my eyes.

1. Project description – including a title, which can be as simple as “Monkeycorp June 2010 Direct Mail Postcard”… or something like that. Give it a bit more than just  “Postcard.”
2. Goals and Guidelines – again, without getting to deep into the muck… it’s very important to let the designer know in the brief what you’re trying to say, what your goals are,  and who your competitors are. This intelligence allows the designer to truly engage his or her creative side and get the ball rolling.  The more information provided, the more a designer has to work with, and will undoubtedly result in a better proposal/quote.
3. Timeline, and budget – When do you need it by, and do you have a budget?
   Note - The budget game, or “how much can you spend” is a sensitive game to play. If you’re working with a designer that you’ve never worked with before and has no references, it’s perfectly fine to be guarded. A good designer will be transparent in their pricing.  They will be up front with their costs, and will not be ashamed to tell you right off the bat what their hourly rate is, or what an average project cost range might be. As the client, you need to be honest as well.  If your budget reaches the red zone at $1000, or $10,000, then let them know, or at least give them a friendly hint. Be aware, that a designer takes a good amount of time to get together a proposal. Drafting a solid proposal for a client takes significant time, effort, and in many cases, research. A good designer will also look at a brief, and then at the budget, and if they think it’s out of line, they’ll be more than happy to let you know.  A good designer can look at a budget range, and create a good,better, best scenario for a client. Honesty on both sides – the designer and the client, generally will result in a higher level of comfort, and a smoother process all around.
4. Project mechanicals – are you using a printer or that has specific measurements or format that they need you to follow? If you don’t have them, please attach a contacts list with the printing house and point of contact so that the designer can reach out and get that information.
5. Inspirational References – are there things that you’ve seen elsewhere that you like, and might be good to have the designer review? Send some links over with the brief.  This can help a designer in his or her initial conceptual stages.

A great article on design briefs (if you’re interested) can be found here.

I highly recommend clicking the link to the right to download your own easy-to-use basic brief development template that I whipped up.  Just a little friendly document that might help you get dialed into your creative project with a designer that much easier. It’s not perfect, it’s not a solve-all-your problems solution… but it can help. Download it, fill it out, and get some work done!

During the project…

So you’ve reviewed the designer’s proposal, said yes, signed the contract in blood, and had a group hug… now what? If you’ve followed the rules above and the proposal is solid, there’s a good chance that you’ve got some deadlines for delivery of conceptuals, revisions, finals, and the like. Do you want to make sure that things are going to go super-smooth?  Here are some tips…

1. Give your designer some space – You’ve hired a designer because you looked at their work, liked their style, were impressed by their ideas… now let them do what they do best; create. Give them some space to flap their creative wings. Some helpful guidance is one thing, micromanagement is another.
2. Offer insight and revisions that make sense – After you’ve received your first round of conceptual work from your designer, you’re free to make comments as appropriate, but make the comments easy to understand.  Simply drafting an email with the subject  “I want it greener” and no explanation really doesn’t help. As a client, you are going to be living with the final artwork, and you’re going to have to do some work.  You’re going to have to spend some time in the process. Don’t be afraid to use the phone, and follow up the conversation with an email filled with the bullet items. Which leads to my next and most important tip for clients.
3. Clients, be prepared to do some work – Just because you’ve hired a designer and paid them some cash doesn’t mean you’re off the hook as a client. As the client, you need to be responsive to the designer’s requests; you’ll undoubtedly have to provide some clarifications. Drafting documents and doing  a bit of running around may end up being part of your job. Requests from designers for more information, content, or clarification means that they need more information to complete your work.

Red Flags

(or what to watch out for when looking for a designer)

1. No portfolio or references- Kind of self explanatory. A designer unable to provide a references, a  portfolio, or examples of his or her work really shouldn’t be considered for any project, period. There’s not much more to say than that.
2. No proposal – It’s not a good idea to engage a project without the designer producing a proposal that identifies what they’re responsible for. This puts you, the client into a situation where your i’s and t’s are not dotted and crossed, and critical aspects of the project (including items related to the final deliverables) can be overlooked.  Better that you stick to the brief/proposal/contract/professional gameplan. Always remember, a proposal is not a contract. Proposals are simply documents written by the designer to convince the client to choose them over someone else, and to outline the work that is going to be done.  A good proposal identifies the designer’s strengths, areas of expertise, project deliverables and more.  A proposal does the demands on the client. The proposal and what it contains for content will be quite a bit different than the legalese that is in the contract. Keep them separate.
3. No contract – This one is huge for me.  A designer without an appropriate contract puts the client and him or herself at risk, period. When a designer presents you with a standard contract/terms document, it is more than a simple legal document. It’s the expression of the true commitment between client and designer, and more importantly is designed to protect both parties in the unfortunate event that something happens (sometimes unavoidable) that results in the termination of a project or litigation (yuck). If you’re uncontrollably enamored by a designers’ work, and they prefer to work without a contract (chills running down my spine right now), prepare an appropriate contract of your own (yes, you may need a lawyer), and get it signed. We all want to live in that warm and fuzzy world where you can trust everyone, everyone meets deadlines, and no one drops the ball… but that’s just not the world we live in.

With this quick little article, I hope that I have might have given you (whether you’re a client or a designer) a bit of insight into how to make things a bit easier within the process. Understand… I’ve been on both sides.  I’ve been a client working with a designer, and I’ve been a designer working with a client. I only wish that someone had pushed an article like this in front of me 8 years ago… I would have probably saved time, and a good bit of money. Thanks for reading. Make sure to follow me on Twitter, and subscribe to my newsletter to get non-spammy tips, news, and updates like this moving forward.

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Just sending off a quick link to you all.  Anne and I had a talk about this recent experience she had today… thought I’d pass it along.  Good stuff.

Click here to read it.

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I got a call from Erin Bott the other day.  She’s got a rockin’ band called JUG. She needed to get some new shots of the band, and we scheduled some time. We decided to shoot in a dusty old barn… complete with big hairy barn spiders. I set up (with a little help from Logan D.), and we got to the big action. Tons of fun, and no spider bites! Here are a few previews.

Check out Jug’s website here.

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Happened upon a really cool video (originally posted on Bitrebels)

Check this guy out.  He’s Diego Stocco, and he’s got the right idea.  Rethink, innovate, and create.

Download an MP3 of the song here.

Diego Stocco – Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

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Fiona, my Daughter put me on the spot for the interview part… I may sound a bit unprepared. What a nice walk.

Make sure to check this out in HD, where it shines in all it’s 720p glory.

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Sometimes it starts simply.  One artist (or client), one designer, and a lot of ideas.  We get together with some paper, some pens and pencils, and our respective tools.  This time around, the project was something my dear friend (and client) Jason Rosen needed to get rolling on.  With his incredible project Monsterwood gaining momentum, he needed to develop some collateral that was going to rock publishers, and keep their eyes on the project and his development blog. Starting a project in an organic fashion often tends to bear sweeter fruit.  There’s an open, frenetic exchange of ideas; what can be done, what can’t, and realistic assessments of budget and time.

The process.  All parts of the process with Rovettidesign are managed like mini-projects.  It’s a fantastic way to manage the variables that pop their heads up when you’d least expect it. You can rest assured that if you’re working with Rovettidesign, you’ve got your bases covered, and your project is going to be handled the right way… from start to finish. The process that we employ to manage projects has been developed from over 8 years of  “in the trenches” design and project management experience. We do it right, we meet deadlines, we save you money, and most importantly… we treat you right.

The design and project development process is something that needs to be enjoyed.  If it isn’t fun and inspiring, you’re doing something wrong. Keep it light, work smart, and work hard. Whether you’re in a board room, or a cozy studio, Rovettidesign can hook you up.

Here are some links that you might be interested in..
Jason Rosen’s Monsterwood – An incredible project that you need to check out.
A quick few shots of Jason’s Studio – Totally cool.
Here’s another link highlighting a more recent bit of work… “The Watcher”

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So here it is… the new “Rovetti Print” font.   I have huge respect for type designers.  It’s truly a completely immersive experience to actually produce a font.  You get into it.  This font contains all alphabet characters, standard punctuations, numbers, brackets, and more.  As this is the beta, it obviously doesn’t contain many of the more obscure characters.  In a nutshell, you can most definitely write a letter to your friends, or design something cool with it, with very little frustration.

Feel free to download it, install it, and use it for whatever you want… have fun!  Let me know if you use it in any of your projects! Just drop me a line at rovettidesign @ gmail.com

Click here to Download Rovetti Print Font (TTF)

Any noobs to this can contact me for installation help… it’s pretty easy to do.

How to Install a font…
Unzip the files you have downloaded, then :

Rovetti Print by Rovettidesign | Stephen Rovetti is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.rovettidesign.com.

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