I had to diverge from my planned post, Part 2 of Setting the Right Price, to express some deep felt emotions. As my blog post title indicates I Hate Internet Explorer 6.
It seems that no matter how hard you try to make your web sites browser compliant, IE6 just works hard to destroy all your work. You might think that after so many years, finding answers would be simple, but they aren't.
As the newer browsers continue to implement new standards and the W3C makes improvements, using IE6 should become less of a concern. If I had my way I would not even care what my web sites look like in IE6. But sadly there are some clients that still use Pentium 1 technology and find Windows 98 to be so much better than Windows XP (or Win 7 for that matter).
These lovely, well-paying clients, insist that they be compatible with a tiny segment of internet users, so they inhibit the creativity and interactivity that can come with using newer browsers. There is even a hint that using Flash will make their web sites less compatible so its back to animating GIF's.
Well, as I think about it, maybe this post is about setting the right price. These kinds of Client-Side influences can be costly. Troubleshooting a page to make it IE6 compliant could take hours (especially since most solutions seem to be dated 2008). The time you need should be compensated so set that price up front. Making a web site Internet Explorer 6 compliant should cost extra.
Oh and if you are interested in seeing statistics to help prove my point, check out:
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
Internet Explorer in all its forms has lost its grasp on browser users (only 30.7% use IE in August 2010).
Okay, I feel better now, I can breathe--out with the bad air, in with the good air...aaaahhhh!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Setting the Right Price - 1. Know Your Worth
For over 15 years I have always dreaded one part of website and graphic design, and that was setting the price for a client.
Not only is creating an estimate terribly labor intensive (because design has so many components), but mostly because it moved me away from creativity and brought me into the world of stodgy Dollars and Sense. How do I set the right price for me, so I can pay rent and live comfortably, and for my client, so that they can, first hire me with a deposit, and second, pay me when I am done?
Setting the Right Price is never easy (unless you're a one price kind of guy/girl, then you can skip this blog) but with a little work and knowledge, both you and your client can be happy with the price you set and they pay.
What's the Big Deal?
If you are like me, no two websites (or graphic design projects) are the same. Some are big, others are small. The big websites pay out big, but the headaches can compound; restrictive creative control and tight deadlines. The small websites pay out little, but I might get greater creative control and work at a more reasonable pace, less stressful pace.
Whether the website project is big or small, the Proposal/Estimate takes the same kind of preparatione. Now for the Steps:
1. Know What You Are Worth
This Knowledge of your Value is crucial to helping you start pricing your web design and it is the hardest. If you are like me you know you are worth a million bucks, but you haven't found the right person to pay a million bucks for your work. So what am I really worth? Am I only worth the sum of my bills?
Make a decision: I am worth $25 per hour (or $50 or $100) and stick to it. Tough words? Yes, but it beats the feeling that you've undersold your time and given away much more than you wanted. I hear designers constantly complaining about how they lost money on a project or felt like the client stole something from them. That is untrue if you gave them a price and they paid (gun pointing would be the exception).
You set the standard, You set the price, You do the work. The client pays for results and if they can't afford your results then make the tough choice to live without them or lower your price.
On a Personal Note: Most every job that I have done in the first 8 years of my design experience was undervalued. Hey, I needed the work, I needed the experience and I needed a break. So I took whatever, for whatever. But once I put some experience under my belt and had a portfolio I was able to leverage my experience to increase my value and get the price I want.
Next Blog: Setting the Right Price - 2. Count the Cost
Not only is creating an estimate terribly labor intensive (because design has so many components), but mostly because it moved me away from creativity and brought me into the world of stodgy Dollars and Sense. How do I set the right price for me, so I can pay rent and live comfortably, and for my client, so that they can, first hire me with a deposit, and second, pay me when I am done?
Setting the Right Price is never easy (unless you're a one price kind of guy/girl, then you can skip this blog) but with a little work and knowledge, both you and your client can be happy with the price you set and they pay.
What's the Big Deal?
If you are like me, no two websites (or graphic design projects) are the same. Some are big, others are small. The big websites pay out big, but the headaches can compound; restrictive creative control and tight deadlines. The small websites pay out little, but I might get greater creative control and work at a more reasonable pace, less stressful pace.
Whether the website project is big or small, the Proposal/Estimate takes the same kind of preparatione. Now for the Steps:
1. Know What You Are Worth
This Knowledge of your Value is crucial to helping you start pricing your web design and it is the hardest. If you are like me you know you are worth a million bucks, but you haven't found the right person to pay a million bucks for your work. So what am I really worth? Am I only worth the sum of my bills?
Make a decision: I am worth $25 per hour (or $50 or $100) and stick to it. Tough words? Yes, but it beats the feeling that you've undersold your time and given away much more than you wanted. I hear designers constantly complaining about how they lost money on a project or felt like the client stole something from them. That is untrue if you gave them a price and they paid (gun pointing would be the exception).
You set the standard, You set the price, You do the work. The client pays for results and if they can't afford your results then make the tough choice to live without them or lower your price.
On a Personal Note: Most every job that I have done in the first 8 years of my design experience was undervalued. Hey, I needed the work, I needed the experience and I needed a break. So I took whatever, for whatever. But once I put some experience under my belt and had a portfolio I was able to leverage my experience to increase my value and get the price I want.
Next Blog: Setting the Right Price - 2. Count the Cost
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Client walks into a Bar and Says...
Vizual definition’s philosophy is simple: Communicate and define the world visually. The eyes are the gate to the Soul. Seeing is believing. You’ve Got to See it to Believe it! And the clichés can go on for days.
Ultimately, as a designer, I am looking to capture ideas and present them in the form of visual communication.
Here is how the story goes:
Client walks into a Bar at 9AM and says to the web designer: I need a dynamic, awesome, interactive website. I need it fast and want to keep it simple and cheap (free if possible).
A slight pause.
He continues: How ‘bout it?
The web designer, who is in the bar at 9AM because of clients just like this one, finishes his (fill in your favorite brand of poison) and says through intoxicated lips, “Sure when can we begin.”
Thus begins the journey (or nightmare, depending on your outlook).
I know the story usually doesn’t involve alcohol, but it almost always include a client with high expectations and low buy-in.
More for Less and here lies the problem: How can I give more and get less?
How can a web designer answer all the needs of the client for less?
Answers to questions like this is what this blog will attempt to answer...with help from you also.
Let’s Begin!
Ultimately, as a designer, I am looking to capture ideas and present them in the form of visual communication.
Here is how the story goes:
Client walks into a Bar at 9AM and says to the web designer: I need a dynamic, awesome, interactive website. I need it fast and want to keep it simple and cheap (free if possible).
A slight pause.
He continues: How ‘bout it?
The web designer, who is in the bar at 9AM because of clients just like this one, finishes his (fill in your favorite brand of poison) and says through intoxicated lips, “Sure when can we begin.”
Thus begins the journey (or nightmare, depending on your outlook).
I know the story usually doesn’t involve alcohol, but it almost always include a client with high expectations and low buy-in.
More for Less and here lies the problem: How can I give more and get less?
How can a web designer answer all the needs of the client for less?
Answers to questions like this is what this blog will attempt to answer...with help from you also.
Let’s Begin!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Welcome to Vizual Definition’s Blog!
What are my hopes for this blog?
First, to provide other designers with an opportunity to expand their knowledge base. Google-ing-it isn’t enough! Web designers, Programmers and others spend too much time searching the internet for resources and there are more Misses than Hits.
Second, to have a good time. This blog should be light-hearted, yet potent. Opinions will be expressed with humor. Concepts will be explained in detail and with verification that they work (nothing is worse than spending time coding and only to find out that it doesn’t work, hasn’t worked or is missing an important element).
Third, to give solutions. I enjoy it when a problem is solved! (And exclamation marks, can never have enough of them). Have a web design problem? Let us know and we will hope.
This isn’t just a platform for Vizual Definition to get more clients, it’s a resource for clients and designers and web searcher-ers to use and consume and enjoy (A purposeful run-on sentence).
First, to provide other designers with an opportunity to expand their knowledge base. Google-ing-it isn’t enough! Web designers, Programmers and others spend too much time searching the internet for resources and there are more Misses than Hits.
Second, to have a good time. This blog should be light-hearted, yet potent. Opinions will be expressed with humor. Concepts will be explained in detail and with verification that they work (nothing is worse than spending time coding and only to find out that it doesn’t work, hasn’t worked or is missing an important element).
Third, to give solutions. I enjoy it when a problem is solved! (And exclamation marks, can never have enough of them). Have a web design problem? Let us know and we will hope.
This isn’t just a platform for Vizual Definition to get more clients, it’s a resource for clients and designers and web searcher-ers to use and consume and enjoy (A purposeful run-on sentence).
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