Etiqueta: Vandelaydesign.com/blog

5 Tips for Handling Pricing Objections

One of the most difficult aspects of business for many freelancers is the pricing of projects. While some designers offer package-based pricing, most will have to provide a custom quote for every new client. Making an accurate estimate as to how much time will be required is often a challenge, but for many freelancers what is even more difficult is closing the sale and getting the client to commit by signing a contract and agreeing to the price.

By nature most designers are not interested in sales, but it is a necessary part of being a freelancer. Of course, the more demand you have for your services the easier it will be, and the less pressure you will have to land each potential client. But in reality most freelancers today are not in a position to lose out on projects if it can be avoided.

In this industry pricing objections from potential clients are relatively common. Maybe the client doesn’t have much knowledge or experience in the area and they have unrealistic expectations of what is involved in the process and how much work is required. Or maybe they have a friend or family member who claims they can get a website for much cheaper somewhere else. Whatever the case, freelance designers never enjoy dealing with pricing objections.

In this article we’ll look at a few key things that you can do when you are in a situation where a potential client is hesitating to move forward due to price. While there will always be some clients who expect a top notch website for a bargain basement price, most clients are very reasonable and effective communication can often lead to some way to come to an agreement.

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One of the most difficult aspects of business for many freelancers is the pricing of projects. While some designers offer package-based pricing, most will have to provide a custom quote for every new client. Making an accurate estimate as to how much time will be required is often a challenge, but for many freelancers what is even more difficult is closing the sale and getting the client to commit by signing a contract and agreeing to the price.By nature most designers are not interested in sales, but it is a necessary part of being a freelancer. Of course, the more demand you have for your services the easier it will be, and the less pressure you will have to land each potential client. But in reality most freelancers today are not in a position to lose out on projects if it can be avoided.

In this industry pricing objections from potential clients are relatively common. Maybe the client doesn’t have much knowledge or experience in the area and they have unrealistic expectations of what is involved in the process and how much work is required. Or maybe they have a friend or family member who claims they can get a website for much cheaper somewhere else. Whatever the case, freelance designers never enjoy dealing with pricing objections.

In this article we’ll look at a few key things that you can do when you are in a situation where a potential client is hesitating to move forward due to price. While there will always be some clients who expect a top notch website for a bargain basement price, most clients are very reasonable and effective communication can often lead to some way to come to an agreement. Leer más “5 Tips for Handling Pricing Objections”

30 Examples of Mega Menus in Web Design

Mega menus are often used on large sites that have considerable number of pages for users to navigate. Rather than just using a dropdown, the mega menu opens up a bigger area that offers more options. While mega menus can make it easier for users to get deeper into the site with fewer clicks, the huge amount of options can also potentially overwhelm some visitors. For this reason, great care should be taken to make mega menus as user-friendly as possible. In this post we’ll look at 30 examples of mega menus in action.


http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/mega-menus/Mega menus are often used on large sites that have considerable number of pages for users to navigate. Rather than just using a dropdown, the mega menu opens up a bigger area that offers more options. While mega menus can make it easier for users to get deeper into the site with fewer clicks, the huge amount of options can also potentially overwhelm some visitors. For this reason, great care should be taken to make mega menus as user-friendly as possible. In this post we’ll look at 30 examples of mega menus in action.

Columbia

Columbia

Callaway

Callaway

Rip Curl

Rip Curl

Puma

Puma

Bras N Things

Bras N Things

OfficeMax

OfficeMax Leer más “30 Examples of Mega Menus in Web Design”

Personal Websites: 25 Examples for Your Design Inspiration


http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/personal-websites/

Personal websites are becoming increasingly popular and they are often provide an excellent source of design inspiration. In this post we’ll feature 25 examples of well-designed personal websites. This showcase presents a variety of different styles. You’ll see mostly blogs and/or social streaming sites, but there are a lot of different approaches and design styles.

Noah Stokes

Noah Stokes

Christopher Calicott

Christopher Calicott

Min Tran

Min Tran

Francesca Battistelli

Francesca Battistelli Leer más “Personal Websites: 25 Examples for Your Design Inspiration”

5 Steps to a Stronger Social Media Presence

Social media and social networking sites present tremendous opportunities to all kinds of business, including web design. If you’re not currently active with social media you are missing out on one of the best methods for networking and for free or low-cost marketing.

Many designers who are using social media are not getting the most out of it. In this post we’ll look at 5 simple steps that you can take to improve your effectiveness with social media, regardless of whether you are already a user or if you have not yet gotten started with social media.
Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Priorities

It’s important to set a solid foundation for your efforts with social media by first defining what you hope to get out of it. This is a critical step that many designers and freelancers overlook. Yes, social media can have a significant impact on your business, but you need to have some direction or else you will be wasting your time.

Some common goals or priorities for designers who are using social media include finding new clients, networking with other designers, increasing traffic to their website or blog, improving name recognition and branding, finding a new job, and simply enjoying activity with the community of users. It’s possible to improve your business or career in any number of ways with social media, but you need to be aware of what is important to you because it should shape the way in which you use social media.
Step 2: Target a Few Specific Social Media Sites…


http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/social-media/stronger-social-media-presence/

Social media and social networking sites present tremendous opportunities to all kinds of business, including web design. If you’re not currently active with social media you are missing out on one of the best methods for networking and for free or low-cost marketing.

Many designers who are using social media are not getting the most out of it. In this post we’ll look at 5 simple steps that you can take to improve your effectiveness with social media, regardless of whether you are already a user or if you have not yet gotten started with social media.

Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Priorities

It’s important to set a solid foundation for your efforts with social media by first defining what you hope to get out of it. This is a critical step that many designers and freelancers overlook. Yes, social media can have a significant impact on your business, but you need to have some direction or else you will be wasting your time.

Some common goals or priorities for designers who are using social media include finding new clients, networking with other designers, increasing traffic to their website or blog, improving name recognition and branding, finding a new job, and simply enjoying activity with the community of users. It’s possible to improve your business or career in any number of ways with social media, but you need to be aware of what is important to you because it should shape the way in which you use social media.

Step 2: Target a Few Specific Social Media Sites… Leer más “5 Steps to a Stronger Social Media Presence”

5 Steps to a Stronger Social Media Presence

Social media and social networking sites present tremendous opportunities to all kinds of business, including web design. If you’re not currently active with social media you are missing out on one of the best methods for networking and for free or low-cost marketing.

Many designers who are using social media are not getting the most out of it. In this post we’ll look at 5 simple steps that you can take to improve your effectiveness with social media, regardless of whether you are already a user or if you have not yet gotten started with social media.
Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Priorities…


http://bit.ly/bxpV2J  |  Business, Social Media

Social media and social networking sites present tremendous opportunities to all kinds of business, including web design. If you’re not currently active with social media you are missing out on one of the best methods for networking and for free or low-cost marketing.

Many designers who are using social media are not getting the most out of it. In this post we’ll look at 5 simple steps that you can take to improve your effectiveness with social media, regardless of whether you are already a user or if you have not yet gotten started with social media.

Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Priorities… Leer más “5 Steps to a Stronger Social Media Presence”

10 Extremely Useful Time Management Tools

Web designers, especially freelancers, face the challenge of effectively managing their time while juggling a lot of different responsibilities. There are a number of online apps and tools that can help you to take control and make the most of your time. In this post we’ll look at 10 that may be able to help you. This includes calendars, to-do lists, time tracking, and project management tools. If you have a favorite please feel free to share in the comments.


//vandelaydesign.com/blog

Web designers, especially freelancers, face the challenge of effectively managing their time while juggling a lot of different responsibilities. There are a number of online apps and tools that can help you to take control and make the most of your time. In this post we’ll look at 10 that may be able to help you. This includes calendars, to-do lists, time tracking, and project management tools. If you have a favorite please feel free to share in the comments. Leer más “10 Extremely Useful Time Management Tools”

Tutorial: How to Create an Adobe Illustrator Brush

Both Illustrator brushes and Photoshop brushes can be extremely valuable resources for graphic designers, whether you are creating your own or using those created by someone else. There are several good tutorials out there for creating various types of Photoshop brushes (see How to Make a Photoshop Brush Set), but unfortunately there are not very many tutorials for creating Illustrator brushes.

If you’re more familiar with using brushes in Photoshop as compared to Illustrator the first thing to understand is that there are a few different types of brushes in Illustrator. For this tutorial we will be creating “art brushes”. In Illustrator you can apply the brush to a path that has been created. It could be a straight line, the outline of a shape, or some other type of path. This makes Illustrator’s brushes very versatile.


Both Illustrator brushes and Photoshop brushes can be extremely valuable resources for graphic designers, whether you are creating your own or using those created by someone else. There are several good tutorials out there for creating various types of Photoshop brushes (see How to Make a Photoshop Brush Set), but unfortunately there are not very many tutorials for creating Illustrator brushes.

If you’re more familiar with using brushes in Photoshop as compared to Illustrator the first thing to understand is that there are a few different types of brushes in Illustrator. For this tutorial we will be creating “art brushes”. In Illustrator you can apply the brush to a path that has been created. It could be a straight line, the outline of a shape, or some other type of path. This makes Illustrator’s brushes very versatile.

In addition to art brushes there are also calligraphic brushes, scatter brushes, bristle brushes and pattern brushes. We’ll really only be looking at art brushes in this tutorial, but for more on the various types you can see An Overview of Brushes in Illustrator.

Here is a look at the brush that we will be creating in this tutorial:

Tutorial: How to Create an Adobe Illustrator Brush

This brush is part of a huge set of 55 brush strokes brushes that is available to Vandelay Premier members. Leer más “Tutorial: How to Create an Adobe Illustrator Brush”