The business of cards

In the 9 years that I've been a designer I've never had a business card. The general thought was that once a person inputs your contact info into their computer/phone/address book the card becomes useless. And also a little annoying. Like "what the heck am I suppose to do with this thing now?". So with that in mind I've created the indispensable business card. I'm pretty sure if you had to you could also eat it for the small amount of nutrients it carries. Now if only it could double as a jet pack!

And as the budding business owner I think this also offers a good opportunity to talk about marketing. For most of the small to medium sized clients/companies I work with marketing is something that's easily put on the back burner or just not handled well. Advertising, Website & any visual assets have typically been piecemealed together over the coarse of a few years. This is obviously never intentional. Business usually gets in the way of Business. What I do for them is help create a strong, singular visual identity that can be offered to the public. The choice of fonts, images & colors used can all work to unify the voice of a business.

So what is MY identity? What is it that makes Joshua Talbot Design distinct? There are a million designers out there. A lot of them very talented. So what sets me apart? The brainstorming has begun. More on this later. I need to get back to work!

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And it begins (or began)

I've been in business for myself for two weeks now. My original intent was to blog at least once (if not twice) a week to document this new journey. But as you know, finding the time to create articulate, coherent posts isn't always easy. So let's start there. Time.

Right out of the gate I was aware that time management was going to be key. We all know people running their own business. And a consistent thread always seems to be issues with time. Either poorly spent or just not enough of it. And with billable hours being my bread & butter it's not something I can afford to be lax about. I want the time I spend on a project to be focused & productive. And being right brained only means I'm easily distracted by anything shinny.

So a few things that have helped thus far:

1. Rescue Time

A very slick web application that will track the types of work/tasks you're doing and give you hourly updates. You can also set goals, view time spent by category and even see what sites you spend the most time on. And sign up for a single user is free. Rescue Time.

2. Scheduling

This sounds like a no brainer. But not always so easy to do. The first thing i did was by a planner (I'm in the no iphone camp at the moment). Moleskin has a very cool, cheap weekly planner that gives you room to write notes next to the day's events as well as a line list of days in the month (shown in the image above). I'll write more about project specific scheduling in another post.

3. Expectation

Not all my time is spent designing. Accounting, marketing & client relations are just a few of the things that can easily take up the majority of a day. This is one of the reasons I've resisted going into business for myself in the past. And still the reality of it was a shock. It's easy to feel like I haven't accomplished something If I'm not working the design portion of my business. So it becomes vital for me to map out my expectations for each week/day. With out this I'm a ship lost at sea.

So I'm hoping to get more in depth on these topics and other. More to come!

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BIG News!

In the last few months I've had a growing amount freelance work come my way. So much so that I've needed to put energy into Prioritizing, Scheduling & reevaluating my own processes. I've been extremely thankful for the work. And the opportunity to fine tune things has brought a deeper appreciation for the clients & peers I work with. As well as a confirmation that I've been blessed with the opportunity to do what I love!

This work has turned into something more providential than I could have ever imagined.

So it's with much excitement that I announce 1. I was laid off from O'Reilly Media yesterday. And 2. Effectively immediately, I'm putting full energy and attention into Joshua Talbot Design.

The work I've done as a web designer with O'Reilly has been invaluable. And the relationships built will no doubt continue for a life time. But in the current state of the economy the company had to make some drastic cuts. And a large number of people were let go. They also could use your prayers & thoughts.

As a friend, peer or client the relationships I've built over the extent of my career have been invaluable. I'm looking forward to what the future holds and have no doubt most of you will play a part in that.

This is a very new & exciting adventure for Nadia, Ewan & I. And I'd appreciate your prayers. Please feel free to contact me with any advice, suggestions, questions or potential work.

Looking forward to the future!

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EMPIRE

When I was in Jr. high I saw a documentary on bike messengers in NYC. And ever since I've been somewhat enamored with them. These guys are reckless, ballsy, dangerous and (to be very honest) totally inspiring.

p.s. I'm always happy to see the random fixed gear rider sporting a helmet.

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.

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Sci-Fi

Most of you (or all) know I'm somewhat of a sci-fi nerd. I came to terms with this years ago. I've embraced the nerd-dome with enthusiasm & delight. What I also find fascinating is the icon power of good entertainment. In this case it's Star Wars. But the same is true for any genre or medium.

Cedric Delsaux has created a great example of this by bringing these well known icons into an known environment. Very good stuff.

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The Law of (blog post) Undulation

It seems like every time I make an effort to post more often I end up slacking. Even the thought of posting makes me not want to. What's the deal? I do so good for a week or two and then come screaming to an abrupt halt. But alas, posting about not posting. At least it's something eh?

As most of you know I've sighed up for the old Facebook. Not too shabby. And while most of the basic functionality is the same as Myspace it's interesting to see how a few tweaks and a better user interface puts a whole new spin on things. Some of the activity notifications are a little too much for me. I'm not terribly interested if so-and-so commented of whats-her-names photos. But with that said I think the ability to comment on someone's comment to you (or even on a state update) is very clever. And they've handled the visuals very well.

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PARK

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facespace

Myspace is dead? Face what? Did everyone make a planned mass migration from one to the other? For the most part I've been disenchanted with general social network sites for sometime. But I'll have to admit, I'm a little embarrassed. It's like that time I lived in Oregon in 1992 and still didn't listen to Nirvana until 3-4 years AFTER the release of Nevermind.

But seriously, what drew you to Facebook? There are a fair number of general social networking sites out there and I'm curious as to what Facebook is doing right. I am after all a web designer (thus making this even more embarrassing). So color me enlightened. And please, don't tell my boss.

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3 Things

Over the past few weeks I've been absolutely amazed with Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast. He classifies himself not as a history teacher but a history fan. And let me tell you friends, this is fandom at it's best. Every thought about doing breathalyzer test on the major leaders in history? Sit down and try to truly grasp the effects of the "Bubonic Nukes". And don't get me started on the What ifs of 1066. This stuff is brilliant. My ears are glued.

A few weeks ago I was turned on to Horse Feathers. Not unlike Bon Iver but feels a little more on the surface. Follow the like to download their new release.

Awhile back I mentioned Field Notes. A handy little tool created by the folks at Coudal. They've also created a series of documentaries. "Each examines an artist who approaches his work in a non-traditional way". You're probably a fan of their work (or music) and might not even know it.

enjoy.

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