There are many great books and online resources – the following are some of my favorites, including articles I’ve written. I particularly love books outside the graphic design industry that include inspirational strategies that can easily be applied or are otherwise relevant to our world. For those looking to hire, I’ve also included several online sites focused on the design profession.
- Qualifying Clients–fromClient Management
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- Client Interaction Roles–fromStaff Organization
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articles I’ve written view more recommendations
Left-Brain Staff Management Strategies for Right-Brain Firms
Design firms and creative groups continually struggle with negotiating and organizing their staff management strategies and organizational models around the most appropriate mix of left- and right-brain thinking. In this article you will learn that with the right amount of rigorous planning, a creative team with left-brain skills can function more efficiently and produce innovative solutions.
Pricing Strategies for a Value-driven Industry
When it comes to developing the ideal approach to pricing creative and design services, there is no silver bullet or magic answer. But there are industry “best practices,” or lessons that will help guide you in the right direction.
Successful Creative Briefs: Linking Business Objectives and Creative Strategies
In this article you will learn how creative briefs are best used to link business objectives and creative strategies. Alongside practical advice on how creative briefs should be used to streamline the development process, this article provides concrete tips, tools, and techniques to ensure that your organization is not only creating great briefs, but also getting the most out of them. Most importantly, the article will walk you through how to use creative briefs to tighten the link between goals, strategies, and tactics.
Getting Your Clients to Pay Up
It's not easy to get your clients to follow a consistent payment plan. The useful tips and proactive measures and precautions outlined in this article will help creative professionals develop a hassle-free payment strategy that's fair to both them and their clients. Just because we’re in a creative business doesn't mean that finances can’t be straightforward!
Listen to me hear more
Webinar Recording
Grill the Pricing Experts
Function Fox Webinar Series
Presented by myself along with Ilise Benun & Cameron Foote
Get nuts ‘n bolts answers to your most burning pricing questions. This podcast will answer questions such as: “What do I need to know before I can price a project?” And “How can I be sure I’m pricing profitably?”
Podcast Recording
The Reflex Blue Show
I was interviewed during the How Conference about my session on managing different generations as well as proposal and pricing and winning pitches
Webinar Recording
RFIs, RFPs & Creative Briefs
Sponsored by: The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario
Video Recording
CreativeMornings: Best Practices Any Design Firm Should Know
I was honored to be asked to speak at the December 2010 CreativeMornings event organized by the brilliant Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss). View the video of the entire event highlighting my advise on the the top business practices that define successful creative firms.
books view more recommendations
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Written by my two favorite columnists from Fast Company magazine, this book is great for any firm’s undergoing change. The book “addresses one of the greatest challenges of our personal and professional lives — how to change things when change is hard. In Switch, bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath tackle perhaps the single greatest issue of our lives: how hard it is to bring about genuine, lasting change, in our work lives, in our social endeavours and in ourselves.
You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation
Written by noted linguist Deborah Tannen, this classic book discusses gender-based differences that define and distinguish male and female communication. I strongly recommend this book to all business owners, as it provides insights about these gender-differences that can in turn improve how we communicate and negotiate with staff, clients, and vendors alike.
Designing Brand Identity, fourth edition
With an easy-to-follow style, step-by-step considerations, and a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity, this book offers the tools you need, whether as a brand manager, marketer, or designer, when you're creating or managing a brand. Written by my friend and colleague, Alina Wheeler, this book also includes wonderful case studies, many of which feature projects created by several of my clients!
AIGA Professional Practices In Graphic Design
This compilation of short essays written by leading designers and related professionals includes some insightful views and advice on professional practices — including, but not limited to, management, negotiating, marketing, legal topics (copyright, permissions, privacy, trademark), contracts, and ethics. Don't miss the article on Payment Strategies and an expanded resource section — both penned by yours truly!
online resources & magazines
Creative Mornings
Creative Mornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series of creative types. Each event is free of charge, and includes a 20 minute talk, plus coffee! You can currently join them in New York, Zurich, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The AIGA Center for Practice Management
The AIGA Center for Practice Management provides resources to help designers with the daily management of their studios. Those resources address a broad range of internal business and operational issues, giving creative professionals important tools for success.
For Graphic Designers Only
An online business resource for designers and creative professionals.
Design Council
This site, developed by the Design Council in the United Kingdom, provides designers with the proof and arguments they need to convince businesses to value the impact that design can have, and to use design more.
Design Coach on Call
This site, developed by my colleague and trusted collaborator, Pam Bryan, the Design Business Coach, can help you find design specific business and personal coaching, tools and information when you need it, at a price you can afford. Look for no-cost articles on the blog, news of upcoming TeleForum design business courses, and MP3 recordings and ebooks in the store. Subscribe to receive email updates under links on the blog page.
Sites with great examples of case studies:
Design Council
Design Business Association
staffing websites
The following organizations and publications have online national job banks:
AIGA
Creative Hotlist
Design Observer
Authentic Jobs
Behance Network
The following are recruiter sites:
Roz Goldfarb Associates
Wert & Company, Inc.
Janou Pakter, Inc.