Pay now or pay later. Either way you're going to pay.

The  proliferation of do it yourself websites has made it so that anyone with a computer can create their own. And with some great programs, I've seen some amazing work. For creatives they can give you a framework to showcase your portfolio. For those looking to sell online it's made the transaction process look seamless. However, there are some pit falls to the whole do it yourself idea. One is that you will be spending a huge amount of time learning, building, testing, and figuring out a system that you may abandon in a couple of years based on changing technology and needs. The time spent might have been better off hiring someone while you concentrated on getting new clients, working with current clients, or other ways to sell and market.
If time is money, than without realizing it, the site that didn't cost you any money to create, when translated to your time, just cost you a small fortune.

Just as important as the building the site is what you're putting out there. Are you writing the content yourself? Are you positioning yourself as an expert? Are you connecting to your clients? Their needs? Are you telling them about your services, and how you can help them? Are you hitting on their "pain points" or are you just tooting your own horn? Understanding that it's not about "you", but how you can help "them" is key.

Ok, so you're an expert. Tell me how that came to be. Your education. Your experience. Case Studies. Testimonials. Don't just say it, show it. Prove it. Back it up.

Ponderings from the trenches

As designers, creators, makers and individuals that get to express ideas for a living, whose ideas are we expressing? Are we really coming up with original ideas, or just recycled bits of our own lives that we get to explore? As I move forward in my education and professional career, I’m going to be much more aware of where the work I do is coming from. Perhaps an idea will be formed when I get the chance to remove myself from my surroundings, to not be so influenced. The only problem is, no matter where I go, I take me with.

Your logo is horrible

That's what I'm thinking. In my head, as I look at your company's logo. I'm thinking that the illustration of what is supposed to be an adult and child actually looks like the adult is strangling the kid. I've seem it before. An image meant to convey comfort instead looking like one of those horrible graphics you'd see on the 10 pm news. These are logos created with the right intention gone horribly wrong. Why does this happen? Oh, let me count they ways...
1. A friend did it. And you didn't want to hurt their feelings.
2. You know someone, who did it as a favor. So you don't want to hurt their feelings.
3. Your wife did it, and she studied art 30 years ago. And you don't want to hurt her feelings.

The problem is, you're hurting yourself. Because that logo, that single mark, represents your company. Which is valuable. Big brands know it. They write manuals and style guides about how it's supposed to be used. They understand that it needs to be protected. That it can't show up on an ad on a busy background. Or too close to text. Or distorted.

But the issue is different for smaller businesses. I see it all the time. An emotional attachment to a mark that might be dated, implies an unintended negative connotation. Like strangling. Or death. Or sexual favors.

As designers we understand that different colors, type, styles, and symbols come together to form a concept. It doesn't happen when someone's friend knows someone who likes art. It happens when we research, understand the business, the culture, and the intended audience in order to create the right meaning. Do yourself a favor, and don't let anyone do you a favor.