My background in WP is short, basically I have spent 5 years reviewing CMSs, but never used them in my projects. When needed, I coded some functionality in PHP or used some site wide functionality of my HTML editor to speed things up, but never dared to deploy a fully functional CMS. The reason: fear of loosing control over my design.

To be continued

So the term holiday is only an operative word for a simple change of pace and some really weird grinding mixes, like coffee beans, dehydrated shiitake mushrooms, vanilla bean and  dry chilli, I named it  “boredom mix” .

If there is no real break  during the year how do we, Freelancers, release the tension build up, because it does, keep smiling while your client asks if you can make their logo bigger or the grey back to red “like in the original, the one we did in MS Publisher”.

I wish I could employ a Project Manager permanently to, amongst other things, would write proposals for me and attend meetings.

I never appreciated the true value of a PM until we hired one for the duration of a big project, when he left I saw myself waving goodbye with teary eyes.Yes! they can be expensive but I was able to return, for a while, to my workho-liday mode of work, the one that makes you get up earlier and smiling comes from a pleasant emotion.

For the rest of us…Designers/managers/coders/animators/etc I recommend strong work ethics and a big portion of your time during the week to unwind through some outdoor activity, preferable one that will get your body moving again and sightseeing, walk, jog, ride, sail, kayak, surf, skate and do it for more than 2 or 3 hours.

I read somewhere about the Runner’s High a condition for which the pituitary gland releases endorphins to deal with pain and stress. Do not quote me on this but I believe that by lowering the intensity ( I hate running) but prolonging the duration you can achieve a similar effect and counteract the effects of a stressing week with a 2 hour walk or 4 hours bike ride.

In the long run, a better working style will provide a healthier outcome and you will live longer, but in the meantime I managed to bring a little summer holiday feeling each weekend no matter how much logo resizing took place during the week.

This view will heal almost anything

Two topics seem to rise to the top these days in most schools when it comes to ICT: Safety and learning to integrate ICT into their curriculum.

I believe that most school sites are missing out on the most important aspect of their function which is communication. Through sharing and publishing information, school sites should be the first port of call for teachers, students and families when it comes to information and sharing news on these topics.

I know that we as designer and developers move at the speed of the web  ( somewhere between the speed of light and the speed of our broadband connections) but we notice how slow most schools seem to be moving when dealing with technology specially the internet.

Fear and Alarmism abound, some schools are prepared to spend $50.000 on  computer labs to end up blocking Google and crippling the rest of the internet. The Australian government is attempting to filter internet content by riding the alarmist wave to the next election.

Schools must educate without censoring,  stay vigilant and protect students without patronising and train their staff so they can actually understand the world in which present students will live in.

Maybe it extends to any kind of strenuous exercise no just cycling, maybe it is the adrenaline pumping that creates an optimal frame of mind for new ideas and overall positive attitude towards design and creativity in general, but when I ride for hours I  get hours of inner dialogue that solved countless problems later on when I get back in front of my monitor.

My business is based in Melbourne, I live  20 minutes from the CBD and it takes me 4 hours for a round trip stoping at Port Melbourne or St Kilda Pier, watch the seagulls for 30 seconds and start to ride back. I do this once a week and small, more intense rides during the week.

Long rides are like  brain detox, it allows me to start fresh and deal with any old issue from a new perspective. Suburbs have diferent characteristics, weird hues on the tree canopies, shopfronts with odd decorations and some very interesting typography sculpted in iron. I stopped at a furniture shop along Riversdale Rd in Hawthorn that made me wish for a client in the sophisticated furniture business .

Now I am back, looking at the overgrown trees in my front yard, remembering already my fantastic afternoon and wishing to have another go as soon as tomorrow.

My Trusty Avanti

What happens when all that it seems that we are offering is icing and no cake? when we sell our services almost as an optical illusion, like a mirage;   Now is there, now it is not.  The honey moon of colours and Flashy ripples dissipates and there is no one there to actually pay any attention because the brand new site is not longer big news. “We have bigger problems” is the excuse you hear.

Because ‘Value’ is such an important noun in your lexicon it is imperative that you can actually understand the extent of its meaning for each client, after all nobody will resist your offer: Value=success and by contrast,  undefined value or no value equals  failure so therein lays your secret business plan:  Define Value and give it in exchange for the adequate payment. Who can resist that?

Unavoidably, “Value”  once defined, it needs to be measurable, demonstrable and predictable and here is where we, Designers slack off unless your secondary skills are that of the Project Manager.

As narrative goes, I told you about value=success and the need for a clear understanding of what constitutes value for each particular client, the next step is to explain how to structure a measurable system to take with you and share with your team and client.

When dealing with e-commerce sites, progress and monitoring can be measured by the minute, making changes to the site could mean an increase in conversions that can be measured and discussed the next day in the morning meeting. When on the other hand, your work deals with the subtleties of long-term brand building and  clients that can not measure daily increments, giving the otherwise ethereal value a more corporeal identity is crucial in your initial design process.

Let’s make a clear differentiation first
case 1: selling fruits online
case 2: Local club building a community site

Case 1: in short, re-build the whole registering/ordering area with the shortest route to order a fruit basket, up the conversion rate by at least 30% in two months.
Case 2: Re-design whole site from an 4 page online brochure to a fully semi-moderated community site with a focus on the club’s activities and offerings.

Case 1: up sales by $23.000 demonstrable after 60 days.
Case 1: ?

The interrogation mark is the mystery that we need to solve by finding a number that approximates an amount that will make us worth our while in the eyes of the client.

In order to find the number we need to understand the client’s business model and its long-term goals, we need to schedule interviews with office staff to understand at which points their daily chores could be simplified by the website or a web app.

Late in 2009 I discovered that my oldest client was actually saving $9000 dollars by switching to an online newsletter distribution. Also in 2009 I conducted a quick reassessment for the same client and found how many office hours have been saved by delivering all sorts of forms online instead of being hand it over at front desk.

I did some calculations and I found thousands of dollars being put to better used through the design of better communication with the community, better online forms, better support pages and overall creating better user experiences that will attract more clients, members and enrolments.

As previously stated, understanding your client business model is even more critical when dealing with non e-commerce sites. Can you articulate into a comprehensive re-design the “perception of Value” for  clients like: Schools, Clubs, Churches and Charity Organizations? or for small and medium size business that rarely sell online but informs and attracts future leads and recognition.

I found that there is a level of maturity in the client’s mind that needs to be assessed in order to strike the right balance in your discourse, understanding value depends on how they understand value themselves. What happens when your new client is not prepared to spend money in their logo re-design? if they don’t understand branding at their current state,  how do you talk to them and how do you then analyze the value perceived by them?

To be continued…

Resolution # 7 was to re-decorate my workplace and that will happen within the next 60 days.  I will also make a photo assignment of it and kill two birds with one stone.

And because I feel optimistic already about 2010 I will throw a freebie, I will do resolution #1 and also keep updating the development of this animated character.

The photography assignment is not without guidance or accountability of progress. I am lucky to be guided by my lovely wife during this endeavour. She is a real photographer and promised to make a better photographer out of me.

Today I had my first trial run. The assignment:  know your tools.

I will be using several cameras, the point of the excersise will not be the hardware, but the completion of a particular assignment,  however Iwill report a few observations about the camera and accessories used each time.

This pebbles are actually very small seeds, Chia seeds. Until today I had no idea they had such a beautiful random patterns in them

I will share a resolution list, while I still have a few days before I commit to a few of those, so here they are:

1. Spend 2 hours a week developing a new animated character in Flash CS4
2. Finally, take the time to learn 3D Max and design your dream spaceship
3. Go back to all previous CSS and perform a much-needed tidy up
4. Spend 2 hours a week on Photography shoots by theme or by assignment
5. Get a PHP app going and start using OO PHP
6. Get a Cintiq and stop whining about how expensive is to get one in Australia
7. Re-decorate my workplace
8. Begin “The Geeky Brethren Project” (???)
9. Buy a better guitar

I have 3 days to pick 2 out of nine candidates. Should I go for the easy one(buy stuff)? or maybe attempt the more rewarding kind (do or learn)?

Working outside the office once a week could mean a huge change

Those little  things  are not mandatory  for a professional relationship, but creates an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect adding a layer of pleasure to the job at hand.

• A great client is happy to have you and is not afraid to show it.
• A great client will make time and stay focussed during your initial meetings.
• A great client will even make jokes and make it easier for you to talk about money .

I read so many articles on “bad clients” I thought I will turn my attention on the good ones and how to honour them in return.

I am stating the obvious, but intelligence and great clients go hand in hand. Takes some degree of intelligence for a client to recognise your expertise and your competence to solve their problem.  The best way to show apreciation is therefore to recognise that intelligence and respond with honesty and…intelligently for the duration of the project and beyond.

During the first meeting and as part of the discovery process provide help in all aspects of the project,  many times you will learn from their processes and vice versa.  As anecdotes go, one that exemplifies this post is when invited the client to use  a particular collaborative tool,  2 years later I found out how much that particular tool, shown almost casually while working in the project  improved their processes. I was complimented for the sharing and why not take the compliment when they come or give them back then they are due.

Tip #1 be alert as to the many ways that you can help and when the opportunity arrives be a sharing type of person.

Tip #2 answer the phone

Tip #3 Listen and adjust your language to the level they undesrstan, don’t say CSS3 if means nothing to them.

To be continued…