Showing posts with label link. Show all posts
Showing posts with label link. Show all posts

Monday, March 12, 2012

A huge thank you to Betsy Lynch for her workshop on The World of Publishing



Last Friday, March 9th, FRC² members were treated to a great workshop that dove into the depths of the publishing world.

During the first half of the workshop, Betsy spoke to the group about the 12 myths of publishing (more on that soon!) Betsy also gave us the opportunity to get a taste of what it's like to to part of the publication process. And if you're looking to get your book published, Betsy suggests that you might want to get yourself an agent!

After separating into two groups, participants chose to be an editor, graphic designer or various other roles that are part of a newsletter's design process. In the time-limited exercise, both groups were given the same set of various articles and pictures with which they were to create a two page newsletter. The purpose of this exercise was to illustrate what it's like to work in the industry with deadlines and differing views as to what's more important: design or content?

Here's what the two groups came up with during the exercise:


Betsy also mentioned a few sites as great resources, so check them out!

Mr. Magazine
Matthew Curtis

And here are some sites where you can get your book self-published!

Lulu
Blurb

FRC² would like to say thank you to Betsy Lynch for all her hard work and effort. Thanks for making this workshop fun!




Friday, September 16, 2011

A partial video of the "Marketing yourself" event with Toolbox Creative
September 9, 2011

Click image or copy & paste link to view:  http://frc2.org/videos/toolbox-video_2011_09_16_01.20.37.avi

(Thank you Rory, for your help uploading this!)



Toolbox Creative
A few additional notes from the evening...



Regarding: PORTFOLIOS
  • When showing your portfolio, don't tell people how you did something, instead, tell them WHY. If they want to know how, they will ask.
  • Create projects outside of the class assignments, do work that you are passionate about... it will show.
  • When Toolbox Creative goes through a hiring process, they hardly ever look at whether or not someone has a degree. "It's all about the portfolio" and the personal qualities that show through in your work and your presentation of it.

Regarding: MARKETING YOURSELF
  • Be as persistent as you can, without being annoying.
  • Do your research, be inquisitive. Check out your potential employer or client's website and work. Get to know them.
  • Create a great cover letter. Something that may spark their interest. Show that you know something about THEM.
  • Avoid doing spec work. Instead, do work for a non-profit agency. *see below...
  • Never burn any bridges.
  • Approach a potential client or employer with a solution. Determine what it is they need from you, and "solve their problem."
  • Show people how you think. Show them your personality.
  • "The problem is rarely ever the problem, it's how the problem is handled."
  • Look at unemployment as an opportunity!

RESOURCES

Visit the Toolbox Creative website here:  http://www.toolboxcreative.com/

* A good definition of spec work (and a handy PDF file to use in case you need to inform a client as to the definition of spec work): http://www.aiga.org/position-spec-work/

A website listing several non-profit organizations in our area (be sure to click through as there are several pages): http://fortcollins.citystar.com/mall/non-profit_organization01.html

Behance - a free online portfolio website for creatives (note; if you are an AIGA member, your Behance portfolio can be utilized as your portfolio on the AIGA site too): http://www.behance.net/


YOUR TURN

Did you attend the Toolbox Creative evening? If so, tell us what piece of advice has stuck with you the most?...

Friday, June 24, 2011

Some Useful Links

Here is a list of a bunch of blogs, sites, tutorials etc that I have found very helpful. Hopefully they will be as helpful for you, too!

Websites:

Computer Arts
This is the site of a UK magazine that you can buy at Barnes and Knoble for an arm and a leg, or just go online and get lots of tutorials and articles for free!
Design Melt Down 2010
Creative Pro
Not just for graphic design; tons of useful tips, articles
Logo Pond
A great site to check out when you need inspiration for a logo
Gomediazine
A beautifully laid out site, with tutorials, articles, freebies
Logo Design Love
A site about the design of logos and brand identities
You The Designer
Articles, tutorials, freebie downloads
Wordle
A really cool and inspiring text cloud generator

Blogs:
Core77
Designers Who Blog
For graphic designers, photographers, marketers etc...


Tutorials:
Spoon Graphics
Tons of trendy tutorials, great for inspiration.
Worth 1000
Photoshop tutorials on Worth 1000, a great site not just for tutorials!
PSD Tuts
As the name implies, tutorials for Photoshop
Html Dog 
Tutorials on CSS, HTML from beginner to advanced.

Well, I think this is a decent amount to get the creative juices going!