Online portfolio and Yesterday's Visitor (Andrew Fuller)

Argh I spent all evening developing an idea for my website...which went nowhere!  A whole evening wasted!!
On the bright side at least I now have a working site (I spent the last part of the evening tweaking the other idea I was working on and I think it is now usable - I am going to sort out the other pages and go from there.  There is the beauty of style sheets in one!  I'm not totally sure if the site is ready colour scheme wise - but because I'm using one style sheet for the entire site I can go back and change just that to re-theme the whole site!!
If I can find a bug-free and simple way of including it I'm also going to put in a style switcher - giving the ability to switch the orange theme for a) a green one and b) a black and white "high-contrast" type layout.

Well anyway enough annoyance and grr-ing, here's my notes from yesterday:

Andrew Fuller - Design Bull (designbull.co.uk)

Andrew started out as a bit of a "jack of all trades".  He took on graphic design jobs, illustrator-type jobs, web design and anything that came his way.  He decided (as apparently many people do after a while) that it would be more sensible to specialise in one area, which he chose as logo-design and branding.
He gets a lot of business from single-person or startup businesses and for these he does a lot of branding, websites and business stationary.
He uses a questionnaire to help him extract what the client wants - this makes the job a lot easier for him as he doesn't have to keep talking to the client constantly to ask what they want.
Out of the whole business, he said that he finds the accounting side the most difficult!
When designing websites, he told us that it often works out much easier to use CMS-type software (Content Management Systems) as this means there is less back-end work to be done, and this allows him to focus on the front-end of the website.  The only CMS I have used in the past is Dragonfly - based on PHPNuke, but I think for most clients this would be too feature-heavy and "clunky".
Andrew often uses "Light CMS" to build websites for clients, it is very easy to use and includes many pre-made templates.  The only drawback of this approach is that if you create more than three pages it charges you monthly.
A lot of people worry about losing business by giving the client the ability to update their own pages etc - but apparently this is an empty worry as 90% of clients will get stuck or require updates - which will end in them calling you back!  It seems more professional to give the client the room to do things themselves and be honest with them (train them how to use the software etc) - as opposed to the approach many people take, telling the clients the bare basics to guarantee themselves return business.  If clients notice this, it may put them off of returning to you anyway - which is pretty self defeating!
Andrew currently charges a £60 hourly rate, after starting years ago at around £10 an hour.  He said that there is no "nationally accepted" pay rate for web design, and that you basically set your own fee.  It is largely down to confidence and experience! (ie. confidence/experience = higher rate)  Although it does not hurt to research local graphic/web designers online to find out how much they charge!!

There is software available - Andrew uses one called "Billings" - that can be set up to create invoices based on your hourly rate/other fees.  He told us that with new clients it is sensible to charge a percentage up front - most commonly 50% - as this covers you if anything goes wrong.  This could be something as simple as the customer skipping your payment, or the client going into liquidation and being unable to pay.
It is also sensible to give an estimate to the client - laying out how many hours you think each part will take, your hourly rate and any other charges.  If deadlines are exceeded, it is best to be honest with the customer and attempt to explain why - if it is because of changes they have requested, then the estimate can be referred to and then modified to compensate for this.
Andrew reminded us that although it can be important to work for free at the start (to find clients and get your name out there) it is not sensible to do this as much as you become more experienced - unless it is for an impressive client!
We were also told that there are many networking/breakfast networking groups in bath that we could join.  This is apparently a very good way of getting ourselves known and gathering valuable insights and contacts.
Some of the groups in the Bath area are:

• Creative Bath -  This is a new group, it is apparently not so good for finding work, but is good for meeting other professionals.
• 4networking - This is a national networking group, but they do hold events in bath!
• Small Business Focus - Another new group, unlike many of them this group charges only for events as opposed to a monthly/yearly fee.

I asked Andrew for advice on liability when creating websites.  The example I used was if I was to create a website for a client, which later there was a fault with and they lost personal data/money.  Would I be liable and how would I cover myself against this.
He informed me that you can get insurance (called Professional Indemnity Cover) which will cover you against this sort of thing.  There are also a set of Terms and Conditions on his website which he told me I could use (obviously changing relevant names etc) to help cover myself.
Design Bull has recently become a Ltd company - this means that if anything like this does happen, the company will be penalised, not Andrew directly.  This seems like a sensible thing to do in the future!

Edit:  A few other free CMS websites I have found:
http://www.cmsmadesimple.org/ - Appears to be totally free
http://www.cushycms.com/ - Free, but charges for professional use

Interviewing a professional

A result of one of my emails asking about placement work I have been offered to meet with a local professional (in the Radstock area) for a coffee - although they cannot offer me placement work, they have told me that they may be able to recommend a few places where I could and also could answer some questions I may have about the industry.

New Website - Behind on Posts

Had a busy couple of weeks so I've dropped behind on posts...had lots of university work to do and I've been working on my website, which will hopefully become my online portfolio when it is finished.
First off the website is located at http://fruitfulcreations.co.uk - it isn't finished yet so dont expect anything spectacular!!
I really wanted to link this feed to the site, but having trouble finding a decent way of doing that - I may either use a script to publish the last post or two, or just place a link to it in my link list.
Been busy learning new skills with web design, teaching myself to create things in new ways - like using lists for links (the link menu on my site is a combination of several nested lists and a lot of CSS)
Once I've finished the basic template, I'm going to start adding the sections - one about work I have done, skills etc - and I still am going to look at migrating my blog to there (I may just install my own simple blog and just link to this one as an archive).  Unfortunately I've gotta do it along side bags of uni work...so this looks like it could be fun! :P

Anyway!  On to the missing blog posts from the last two visitors!


Ben Darby and Joe Ashford - Former FDA Digital Design Students

Ben and Joe are both co-founders of "Purple Egg Design".  They are currently working on designing their website which acts as their online portfolio - this is a popular idea with many designers and can work out to be much easier and more flexible!  When applying for jobs, they will often send a "cover letter" email, containing a link to the portfolio.
They advised us to make sure we turn up to all of the guest lectures as these talks can provide valuable information for us to learn the business!  They also said, if possible, that we should go to as many events and exhibitions as we could then document everything on our blogs as this helps not only to track how much work we're doing, but shows that we are taking our learning seriously!
They also told us that with regards to showcasing our own work, there are spaces available in places like Cabot Circus to display work which are quite cheap.
We were also told that we should apply for placements as soon as possible (obviously I need to finish my online portfolio first as the places I have asked all wanted to see one!) - and to remember that when we do apply for placements we should always get a name!  Applying just "To sir/madam" will just not cut it!
They also told us that humour and chatty language are not a problem as design is a creative business and being a quirky person can be a bonus.
The rest of their talk was focused around the third year of the course - which I did not feel is relevant to me as I am not doing it!


Louise Myers - Former FDA Digital Design Student

Louise came to talk to us about the projects last year and to give us advice on completing them well.  She told us that many of the students overlooked the point of the self-directed project - unfortunately many of them produced amazing work, but missed out the research and development side (which is one of the most important parts!).  She advised us to keep evidence and notes of everything we do as part of this final project.
Her research proposal was to look into different animators and their styles, perhaps learning and experimenting with as many of these as possible.  She did say that it felt later on that she had given herself a little too much work - which is also something to bear in mind when deciding our research proposals.
She said that it is a good idea to set dates/times to aim our work on this project for so we can complete it all in the right amount of time.
Louise then showed us a showcase of work from last year's students which was interesting to see - although there seemed to be much more focus on animation, which I haven't seen from any students on our year of the course!