Design software does not guarantee a beautiful design. Photoshop will not provide you with a good piece of artwork, successful web design or a perfect logo design. Many times people approach me with the mindset that I know how to use and operate a set of tools, and therefore, I am just like any other designer. People assume that every designer is the same because we all use Photoshop. People assume that the only difference between designers is their price range and hourly rates. What they fail to realize is that they are completely wrong. Every designer is different and those who strive to refine their process, get better at their craft and generally work hard are the designers who deserve to be recognized for the value they provide to their work, regardless of the cost.

Design is not encompassed within the ability to use a piece of software. A set of tools does not make you a craftsman. What people fail to realize is that a design is contingent on the ability of the said designer to think analytically, critically, and creativitly about reaching a solution that is best meant for a project. This is generally reached through a process that the designer uses. Each designer has their own process and a general idea of how to move through the process, but things change and evolve and get better and the process is always changing, just as the designer's ability to design is always improving.

Good designers realize their strengths and weaknesses. Good designers strive daily to get better. Good designers take on projects with value. In this industry, good design isn't cheap and cheap design isn't good.

Part of this business is the ability to turn out work at a timely rate for clients who need it now, because if you can't do it, they will find someone who can, and willing.

Yes, things take time to custom tailor a clients needs for various projects, but when its a pretty cut and dry  project where the client, content and brand has already been established, you have to recognize the time to not try and reinvent the wheel and instead, put out good work with a quick turnaround.

As clients approach me for fast work when they need things done in a quick manner, I am ready for them. I am ready to take them on, dig into the project and turn out a product that they need and I can be proud of at the same time. It's a difficult balancing act to handle, but worthwhile if you can have your ducks in a row. This doesn't mean that you should cut your rates or sell yourself short.

For clients who need larger projects done, a lot of customization for a proposal goes into the process based on what clients need, but a lot of times people approach me with work that needs to be and is a pretty small project to take on, considering the types of projects I regularly work on. These projects are great to take on to fill the time when the larger projects are in a time of waiting. Sometimes, depending on the client, a project moves into a "hurry up and wait phase" and taking on smaller projects, I have found, is a great way to keep working, become more efficient, and get better at your craft on smaller scales.

Normally, for larger projects, I charge an hourly rate and base that rate on what information clients have presented to me, my knowledge of my work process and how long certain projects take, but for these smaller projects I base pricing on a flat rate. Anything that falls under the scope of work that needs a lot of attention and a large creative process to have a great outcome needs a proposal, meetings, and a lot of research before beginning the actual design and end product. But sometimes a client approaches me with more production-style work, and for those projects, I have decided to take them on to fill my already intense work schedule and at the same time, provide a reasonable service to clients who need quick turnaround for production work.

Here are a few things I have realized that help me pump out this work on a very timely basis is to keep a few key things in mind....

Focus
First and foremost, when going into a project that needs a quick turnaround and done really well, it takes focus. It takes a lot of focus. Every distraction under the sun can slow you down or cause you to lose precious time that you have allotted for this client and this project. Get rid of every distraction. Find a quiet place and a good timeframe where you can work uninterrupted for long blocks of time. 

Organize your resources
Having your resources of textures, fonts, patterns, code, snippets, etc well organized will help you work faster as you can pull the pieces you need together to quickly turn out a project where a brand and content has already been established.

Streamline your workflow
As you work on projects, take mental notes where you need more time, what goes quickly and where you get hung up in the process. For me, most of my time is spent in the smaller details as I have many game plans for layouts on a grid-system and typography.

Turn off your phone
I absolutely refuse to answer my phone when working. If it's an emergency, I'll get a text or an email. Corresponding with clients via email for changes and updates is much better than having a client call you every day or twice a day or, even 5 times a day while you are trying to pound through some serious work. Having a Google Voice number really helps because I can have the voicemail transposed to text and then emailed to my inbox where I can quickly scan over a recent call without being interrupted.

Know your priorities
Major projects require the utmost attention for great outcomes and amazing results. Working on these projects are very mentally draining. It can become exhausting at times. Having these smaller projects at a flat rate are a great way to take a mental break from larger projects, but you're still making an income, working on your craft, and practicing efficiency. But the key thing to remember is your priorities. Your larger projects need more attention than more production-style projects, and therefore you need to focus all of your attention on those projects when the time comes. Use your smaller projects to take breaks from the larger ones, but remember your priorities to your clients and deadlines.

Charge a rush fee
For smaller jobs that can be taken on, I charge a rush fee for these projects. Plain and simple, I don't have to take on these projects, but I will schedule them in my workflow at an additional percentage cost for that client. Since the smaller project is usually a smaller budget, it's only fair to charge a "rush fee" to get this work done.

I have enjoyed taking on smaller projects and being able to pump out good work for clients who need production-style work at a reasonable cost. Not every project can be a $10,000+ project when you are a one man design studio, but to fill the time between larger clients, I have truly enjoyed taking on the smaller projects and have the ability to turn them around in a timely manner.

Many people call themselves designers, graphic designers, web designers, etc. But, the true value of being a good designer versus a professional designer extends far beyond owning a copy of Photoshop or designing a logo for friend. Good design comes with experience, but also revising and taking your time.

Design isn't about owning a tool on your computer or having a folder full of free fonts. Design is about taking an idea and creativity communicating it to your audience. This article will describe a few key steps that I take with every design I work on and how I revise my work.

Design, to me, is about finding solutions to problems and challenges that may arise. These challenges are usually faced with how to properly communicate with a target audience in the most effective way possible, while at the same time, having the ability to evoke some kind of internal emotion from the visual way these things are communicated.

Similar to writing an essay or thesis, design should be approached in various steps. Before opening up any program and starting to throw fonts, layers and textures around, it's best to do your homework. Research is the key to beginning a successful piece of design. You should ask yourself these simple questions:

1. What is the goal I am trying to communicate?
2. Who is this for?
3. What is the target audience?

Outline
Once you have a good idea of the goals for your design piece, you can then enter the creative part of the design. This is what "separates the men from the boys" in the design world. Taking the goals and what you are trying to communicate into perspective and having the ability to successfully execute a design to not only communicate, but evoke some kind of emotional response with your audience will set your design, your client and yourself apart from the competition.

If your design doesn't properly communicate the goals of the design, then it is not good design. Period.

Rough Draft
Write down a few key things that the design will include. Start with a few visual elements such as textures, photography. Find out what kind of color scheme would work well with this design, maybe it calls for a warm color palette or some very modern bright colors. I use colorlovers.com to quickly find color schemes. It's an easy way to visually see colors and palettes....

Last, but definitely not least, you should be able to decide (or have a rough idea) about what kind of typography this design needs. If it calls for a classic feel I usually find a nice serifed font like "Hoefler" or "Mrs. Eaves" or "Rockwell". If the design leans more towards a modern feel, I usually think about popular clean typefaces such as "Helvetica" or "Futura" or "Franklin Gothic". Depending on the type of design, sometimes I will work with a typeface in Illustrator and customize the typeface depending on what the design calls for.

Revisions
You might be one of those people who can sit down, knock out a design on the first round and think "Man, this is awesome" and you're done. I used to think I was that person. The truth is, everything can always be better than what it currently is. Always revising your design isn't just a good thing to do, it's necessary. The truth is, I will get into "design mode" for a few hours and come up with something that I really like. But I will save out that file and come back to it in a few hours or a few days and critically look at what I have done.

I usually ask myself these questions:
1. Is the composition correct?
2. How is the spacing throughout the piece?
3. Are the colors too strong or distract from the message?
4. Is the line height, font size, and typography working well?
5. Do the margins provide enough "breathing room"?
6. Do the textures distract from the piece?
7. Is the imagery/photography appropriate for this design?

Final Draft
Beautiful design doesn't always happen on the first stroke of genius. Keeping in mind that revisions are necessary to find a solution to a problem (design) will help you be a better designer. Always ask yourself questions and try to find solutions to the challenges faced in any design.

Keeping these questions in mind, understanding your audience and realizing what you are trying to communicate are the core components to developing a design that is functional, communicates properly, and will make you a better designer.

As a designer, it gets hard to become inspired. It's one of those constant struggles where you look and search and seek to find inspiration in every place around you. This post is about how to find inspiration and what I do, personally, to become inspired. Hopefully this may, ahem, inspire you to find some inspiration as well.

I work on the computer constantly. This is my playground, my workstation and pretty much my life. Hours and hours of staring at the screen, looking over pixels and gazing at typefaces can become mundane and stale. Like most designers, musicians and artists, creative blocks happen all the time. Sometimes more often than we wish. But I have been doing an experiment for the past few months and I think, personally speaking, that I have found where my inspiration lies. I have found, specifically related to finding inspiration, that I need to get off the computer. I need to get out of my office. I need to get away from the coffee shop. I need to step out of my comfort zones and experience life and nature and be surrounded by things that have truly helped to inspire me.

I have made it a point to get outdoors. Go kayaking, fishing, hiking, put my feet in water and climb mountains. The inspiration in nature and our world is truly beautiful and organic. The past few months I have found that my level of inspiration with design has grown immensely since making an effort to get off the computer, turn off my iPhone and go experience the things that most of us find inspiring as we view it on our monitors or phones.

These experiences have influenced my recent work and helped to bring back memories and references of things I see in the natural world around me. My personal design style has a very natural feel to a lot of my work and being submersed in these settings and atmospheres have really caused the creative juices to flow and the distance between my creative blocks have diminished greatly. I encourage you, whether you are a designer, artist, musician or just looking for new things to experience in life, to get off the computer. Nothing is as breathtaking on a screen as seeing it in real life. There is something powerful about being in a kayak and watching bald eagles fly overhead while being followed by seals in the water. It's amazing. Inspiration is out there; sometimes you have to go find it.

When people ask me what I do for a living, I usually tell them I'm a graphic and web designer, which, most assume it's about making things look attractive and hoping people will notice. I guess saying "I'm a graphic and web designer" is much easier than saying "I visually manage the balance between form and function to convey messages and emotions."

Being a designer is not about making things look good. Sure, it's about 50% of the equation, but designing is more about recognizing what needs to be communicated and the proper way to convey that communication in a well-thought out manner to get the message of the project across to audiences while evoking an underlying emotion to that audience.

The true test of design is evaluating it's form and function. The fluidity of the two should be seamless and feel like air. Design shouldn't be forced or distracting. Design shouldn't be so beautiful that it doesn't communicate what it should, unless that's the goal of the piece. But in the ever-changing world of marketing, web, e-commerce and sales, making something functional and beautiful to look at should have an even balance between the two.

Jeffrey Zeldman, renowned designer, says, "Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it' decoration." Which, I fully agree. Design without substance is merely a distraction and does nothing to communicate or provide anything to the audience. Design is tough. Real tough. The challenge isn't about making things look beautiful, its about finding the balance between form and function and understanding how to speak to people the right way.

Throughout my life I learned a few important things. One of them that always has stuck with me is the idea of the importance of the process. No matter what you do, how you do it and how you get there is just as important as the end result.

The process is just as important as the product. Learning about yourself, taking risks to fail and understanding those around you are just as important as the final outcome of a project.

For me, my creative process is one of the most important assets that I have. With years of education in communication and design, I realize that the process to develop a creative strategy is just as important as delivering a final product to a client.

The Process
While I can't give away my ingredients for success, because, they are tailored specifically for how I work and what I have personally found to be a successful process for myself over many years; I can provide some kind of advice about this topic.

Start with Research
Develop a process that seeks to understand, evaluate and provide adequate research for whatever you are doing. Research is very important before embarking on any project. Again, let me say this. RESEARCH IS VERY IMPORTANT BEFORE EMBARKING ON ANY PROJECT. By understanding your client, what needs to be accomplished and the goals that need to be met, you can set proper rules and guidelines for yourself and provide your clients accurate expectations that they should have for you and your work.

Let them know
Once you have done your research, let your clients know what you plan on doing. This can be done through a variety of techniques. From wireframes, mood boards, creative strategies and proposals, you can provide your clients an idea of the summarized research you have done. This will provide a mutual understanding of the direction you plan to go in order to reach a successful outcome.

Execute with what you know
Next is execution. With all the quantitative and qualitative data acquired, meetings, proposals, phone calls, emails and understanding of what you plan on doing - you can now execute all of this to your final outcome.

Developing a great final product is what you get paid for. You are being paid to do something others cannot. But, you also need to lay proper groundwork to reach that final outcome. Take pride in the process. Nurture it. Revise it. Constantly evaluate how you do things and how you get the final outcomes and you will continually make your clients happy and build long-lasting relationships.