When I started my business "officially" in 2005 I was lucky enough to already have a family Accounting Firm in place. Well, not really my family, but my husband's family. They'd been using this firm for 20+ years for their own business and were kind enough to have them take care of our tax needs as well. I thought, "GREAT!" That's one thing we don't have to worry about. I kept my own books to make things easier on the Accountants, and I'll admit I find it sort of fun to keep my own books. I use Quickbooks, should any of you be wondering, and after the initial setup (chart of accounts, invoices, etc.) it was pretty easy to manage. I like knowing exactly how much money I've got coming in and going out, and I'm able to track each month and each year, and compare it with previous years. At the end of each year I know approximately how much I grossed and how much I netted, so typically there are no surprises when the Accountants come back with the final numbers.
Everything sounds perfect, right? Well... not really. Nearly every year since I started my business we've had some kind of surprise at tax time. I've tried talking to the Accountants a few times over the years and never got much response, if any, and too many times there's been stress and wonder. Worst of all, I kept thinking it was my fault. Sure, I've made a few mistakes over the years to which I've corrected and become more aware of what I should and shouldn't be doing... but to have something new come up every year which means more money out of pocket, well, that's not right.
It was thanks to another member of my husband's family who called me to tell me they'd be dropping the "family" Accountant, that my eyes were opened. Apparently they'd been having many of the same issues we had. And most of all I just never felt comfortable with them. I couldn't call and ask for advise, and not knowing how much they charged the "family", I didn't want to risk creating undo expenses. So, it was time to start looking around for a new Accountant. Someone I could talk to, get tax advise from, and who would hopefully clean up and fix any mistakes that had been made in years past.
Holy shit have I learned a lot these past few weeks. I decided to interview a few different Accountants here in town and all three asked me the same question, "Why are you operating as a Sole Proprietor?"
That's a great question, but not for someone who doesn't know the answer. As a freelancer and (very) small business, my question back to them was "Why shouldn't I be?". Apparently, as a small business, once you reach a certain level of income there are some big tax advantages to becoming what's called and S-Corporation. Huh? Let's break it down a bit.
Sole Proprietor
Starting a business as a Sole Proprietor is pretty easy. Just file a DBA (Doing Business As), grab a Federal Tax ID number (also known as an EIN Number) and you're pretty much in business. Just remember that as a Sole Proprietor you will pay (as of right now) 15.3% of your income (after deductions) in taxes. So if you have a taxable income of $50,000 per year, you'll pay $7,650 in taxes. Also, should you ever get sued for any reason, your business is YOU. Meaning, your personal property can be seized to pay off a business debt. This is putting it in simple terms, but you get the idea.
S Corporation
Now I'm not a tax professional, and should you need any tax advise (blah blah blah) don't come to me and don't take anything I'm saying here as tax advise. Every business is different and your situation may differ greatly from mine. Now that I have that out of the way, here's my understanding of the differences in an S Corporation. First off, legally, as an S Corp, the business is liable in itself for any debt and I, as an individual, am no longer personally liable. Meaning if something happens or if someone sues the corporation, they can't seize my personal assets - only those of the corporation. Pretty cool.
Next, and this is the better part, the S Corporation would pay me a "Fair Salary" to which I would pay my normal taxes as usual, and anything earned beyond that salary would be considered profit... meaning it's taxed differently (far less). I'm not gonna get into all the terminology because I still don't even understand it all, but of course that's why I (now) have a new Accountant.
So let's use the previous example of a $50,000 a year income (this is just a round figure for easy math) and we'll say you live in Lafayette, Louisiana. As a Graphic Designer in the town of Lafayette, Louisiana, the median salary is approximately $38,000 per year. The city or town you live in may be higher or lower, but we'll use this as an example for now. That means your S Corporation will pay you a monthly salary of about $3,167, and you'll pay taxes on that salary, equaling about $5,814 per year. The rest of that money is paid out as ordinary income (also known as profit sharing) and not subject to the same taxes (they're only subject to the shareholder's income tax rate), which in Louisiana is somewhere between 2% and 6%. If we round it out to 4%, then you'd only have to pay an additional $480 on the $12,000 in profit.
Confused yet? Well, here's the bottom line: With a $50,000 per year income, as a Sole Proprietor you'd pay a total of $7,650 in taxes. As an S Corporation you'd pay a total of $6,294, saving you $1,356 in taxes to Uncle Sam. Maybe not too much of a difference now, but as your business grows and you make more money, the savings can become substantial. This is something my former Accounting firm neglected to tell me, and makes me all the happier that I've fired them and hired someone new.
So, if you're in business for yourself, and you think you're doing fairly well... I might advise that you talk to an Accountant and just have them look at your company. You might be surprised at some of the things you've been doing wrong, and some of the things you've been doing right. Most Accountants will give you a free consultation and I'm here to tell you that for me, hiring a professional that is easy to talk to and appears to know what they're doing is by and far worth the money you pay them. I was also very surprised at how little the Accountant I hired charges. Funny things you find out when you actually look for them.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Office Redesign - Conclusion (for now, wink wink)
Ready for the master reveal? Those of you who've been following my path to a better home office have seen some of the before pictures and progress along the way, but now I'm happy to say that the new office is 95% complete (still need to make a few tweaks, but they're mostly cosmetic) and more importantly I'm SO MUCH HAPPIER with the finished space! Before moving on, here's the "before" office after I painted my wall:
You can see I had a fairly small amount of actual desk space. My chair, although nice to look at, was so uncomfortable that I kept it loaded with blankets. My desk was overflowing with paperwork and I had no space to spread out or do sketches (those were sometimes done at the kitchen table or after a reasonable shoving-aside of desk top items).
So as a re-cap, I decided to custom-build my desk (with the help of my dear husband). After all, purchasing a desk that I felt would be an adequate size was definitely not in the budget (we're talking thousands of dollars here), but for @$300 I could have a desktop that would rival that of any corporate executive. And here's the final product of that vision!
Now you can't tell me that's not simply glorious! Let me explain some of what's going on here. First, we have the desktop: made of three pine base "modular" pieces, measured to fit two standard-sized metal file cabinets in each as well as support the desktop. The actual desktop is made of Oak veneer over plywood, edged with oak trim and has no less than 7 coats of polyurethane encompassing the entire top. This was done to give it a maximum finish and prevent any problems should something spill. It's a breeze to clean as well, with such a smooth finish.
Underneath the desktop you'll see my uber-thriftiness at work with 5 file cabinets I hunted down and purchased from the local Goodwill and thrift shops. To bring some color into my office and keep things organized, I picked up any old file cabinets I could find, a few cans of spray paint, checked my bagua map (feng shui - I'll go into that a bit more later) and painted away. I LOVE how they turned out! Okay, so I skipped the wood one and I know more than one of you will point that out, but I didn't mind the wood so much and wasn't sure how the paint would do coating it, so give me a break there. But I think these are WAY better than the dingy old gray and beige these cabinets originated in. Plus I know that all my backup files are stored in the green cabinet, current files are in yellow, business files are in red, etc. Easy to remember when you color code (at least for me!). And of course I couldn't forget my best friend in this venture, so I left space and got a new bed for my little girl Tullia. This little Schnauzer can't be more than a few feet away from me at any given time, so now instead of sitting on my feet or getting rolled over by my chair, she has a lovely little spot of her own.
I've mentioned Feng Shui in this and previous posts. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Feng Shui is the art of organizing your environment for better health, success, etc. It involves placing certain types of items and colors in certain areas based on direction, as well as harmonizing your life by removing clutter. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it. Not only is it fun to have a sort of "guide" on how you should design your room or space, but it really gives you that excuse to finally clean out the clutter that's gathered in the dark corners. I guarantee you'll feel good once it's done.
So my first step with the office was to get out my bagua map. This is a map that tells you where certain items should be located in order to maximize your goals. Since I'm a graphic designer, I created a little layout of my office and superimposed my bagua map over it, so I could move and place things in advance and know exactly where everything should be. It didn't all turn out exactly as I show on the map, but it really did serve as a fundamental guide and ultimately made the moving-in process much faster. You'll see my map displayed to the right. Since it might be too small to see I'll break it down for you. From left to right, top to bottom, the nine squared colors represent Wealth & Prosperity (red/blue/purple), Fame & Reputation (FIRE elements, red), Love & Marriage (pink/red/white), Health & Family (WOOD elements, blue/green), Center (Chi, EARTH elements, yellow), Children & Creativity (WIND elements, pastel colors), Wisdom & Knowledge (black/blue/green), Career (WATER elements, black/blue/brown) and Helpful People & Travel (white/gray/black).
You can see now why I chose certain colors for my file cabinets... red/purple in the wealth section, pastel green and blue in my creativity and children section, etc. I probably should have painted my yellow cabinet pink or white in order to align with the map more accurately, but hey, we're not all perfect and I really like yellow! I did place all of my plants on top of a wooden chest firmly in the "WOOD" area (Health & Family), I'm still on the lookout for a mirror for my Career section and of course my main working area is smack-dab in the Fame and Reputation area. After all, a business is nothing without a good reputation, right? I have a couple of candles spread around in the Fire section, and since I'm not a fan of the color pink I thought a nice compromise would be to add a pink African Violet to my Love & Marriage area (that way I only have to see pink when it blooms). It is a lovely plant though and a nice balance for my deskspace.
Last, I replaced my chair. Comfort when you're sitting for 5 or more hours per day is an absolute must, and thanks to a good friend of mine I was pointed toward the chair you see here. As it so happens the chair was on sale and a coupon code saved me even more, otherwise the chair could likely have cost me more than the desk. But it was well worth the investment and let me tell you I couldn't be happier with it! I've only had it for a few days (hence the delay in getting this article written -- I wanted to get the chair before posting this), but it's heaven on my back and shoulders. I still have blankets around my desk, but now they're actually used for warmth instead of back and tushy adjustments. I did design my desk to sit about an inch-and-a-half lower than my old one and now I can actually rest my feet on the floor. I swear desks were not built for short or even average-height women.
If you have it in your head to build yourself a better workspace, PLEASE do it! My "Chi" flows better, I'm much more organized, I have space to spread out and my office actually feels more like an office instead of just a place I put my desk. It helps creativity, it helps workflow, and it just makes me feel more satisfied when I'm forced to be in it for the majority of my day. I hope your new space does the same for you.
You can see I had a fairly small amount of actual desk space. My chair, although nice to look at, was so uncomfortable that I kept it loaded with blankets. My desk was overflowing with paperwork and I had no space to spread out or do sketches (those were sometimes done at the kitchen table or after a reasonable shoving-aside of desk top items).
So as a re-cap, I decided to custom-build my desk (with the help of my dear husband). After all, purchasing a desk that I felt would be an adequate size was definitely not in the budget (we're talking thousands of dollars here), but for @$300 I could have a desktop that would rival that of any corporate executive. And here's the final product of that vision!
Now you can't tell me that's not simply glorious! Let me explain some of what's going on here. First, we have the desktop: made of three pine base "modular" pieces, measured to fit two standard-sized metal file cabinets in each as well as support the desktop. The actual desktop is made of Oak veneer over plywood, edged with oak trim and has no less than 7 coats of polyurethane encompassing the entire top. This was done to give it a maximum finish and prevent any problems should something spill. It's a breeze to clean as well, with such a smooth finish.
Underneath the desktop you'll see my uber-thriftiness at work with 5 file cabinets I hunted down and purchased from the local Goodwill and thrift shops. To bring some color into my office and keep things organized, I picked up any old file cabinets I could find, a few cans of spray paint, checked my bagua map (feng shui - I'll go into that a bit more later) and painted away. I LOVE how they turned out! Okay, so I skipped the wood one and I know more than one of you will point that out, but I didn't mind the wood so much and wasn't sure how the paint would do coating it, so give me a break there. But I think these are WAY better than the dingy old gray and beige these cabinets originated in. Plus I know that all my backup files are stored in the green cabinet, current files are in yellow, business files are in red, etc. Easy to remember when you color code (at least for me!). And of course I couldn't forget my best friend in this venture, so I left space and got a new bed for my little girl Tullia. This little Schnauzer can't be more than a few feet away from me at any given time, so now instead of sitting on my feet or getting rolled over by my chair, she has a lovely little spot of her own.
I've mentioned Feng Shui in this and previous posts. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Feng Shui is the art of organizing your environment for better health, success, etc. It involves placing certain types of items and colors in certain areas based on direction, as well as harmonizing your life by removing clutter. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it. Not only is it fun to have a sort of "guide" on how you should design your room or space, but it really gives you that excuse to finally clean out the clutter that's gathered in the dark corners. I guarantee you'll feel good once it's done.
If you have it in your head to build yourself a better workspace, PLEASE do it! My "Chi" flows better, I'm much more organized, I have space to spread out and my office actually feels more like an office instead of just a place I put my desk. It helps creativity, it helps workflow, and it just makes me feel more satisfied when I'm forced to be in it for the majority of my day. I hope your new space does the same for you.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Office Redesign - Part 2
Desk is nearly complete!
The new desk is coming along beautifully. In order to save money (a lot of money) as well as get the perfect amount of desk-space, size and layout, as you know I chose to build my new desk as opposed to buying one ready-made. All-in-all, the materials cost about $300 and it has seventeen feet of desktop space. You read me right - seventeen (17) feet of desktop. It's glorious!!
Simple in its design, the desk consists of three "module" bases, which both hold up the desktop as well as serve as spaces to hold up to seven 2-drawer file cabinets comfortably. This measurement was done on purpose, as I am in need of lots of file space and those grungy metal file cabinets make for excellent storage. But we'll get to those later.
Creative Space
One of the things a "store bought" desk doesn't provide much of is storage and file space. Even in a module desk you'll be lucky to get 3 or 4 drawers worth of file space, and that just 'aint enough for all the crap I've got. So I came up with a cheap, fun and surprisingly simple solution for my new desk. As mentioned above, I measured out those standard 2-drawer metal file cabinets and had the modules built around those specifications. The next step was to get enough file cabinets to fill those spaces.
Buying them new, metal file cabinets weren't as cheap as I was hoping. They go for at least $60 to $100 a piece!! Hey, I know it's a tax writeoff, but for 6 new cabinets I could be dealing out up to $600. NO WAY. So I came up with a better solution. I'd look around at every thrift store and garage sale in town until I found what I needed. And just this weekend, I found 3 in decent condition averaging $14 a piece. What a steal!
Now for the creative part. I didn't mind buying mismatched file cabinets at the thrift store because of the next step in my plan: color. I now have a nearly-black accent wall, and nothing brings out black like bright, fun color.
Even as a designer, when it comes to my home, I've always been afraid of color. I was the girl with all white walls, wood furniture, and earth-tone accents. Then one day I met a person who was not only unafraid of color, but he used it in ways I had never seen before and it looked... AWESOME. So I started taking a risk and playing with color on my walls. Turns out it looked really good! So here I am again, this time with my black wall (which I never would have done 5 years ago) and now I'm going to liven it up by using brightly colored spray paint to re-coat the mismatched file cabinets.
Take a look at two of the originals:
That's it for now. I think I'll be doing the final install sometime later this week or next weekend, so look for my next update when everything is put together and I present to you my custom home office, done on the cheap, with both form and function (as well as a little inspiration) in mind.
Friday, August 5, 2011
A Conversation About Web Presence
I headed into downtown Boise last night to check out a local artist (First Thursday's in Boise are when all the artists come out to show their stuff) and happened upon two very nice gentlemen who struck up a conversation with me. We started by talking about art and artists, then the convo merged into what we all did for a living. I was first and told them I was a freelance graphic designer.
Now, when this comes up with people I don't know it usually evolves into questions about what exactly it is I do and I typically end up explaining it in laymen's terms to keep it brief, and that was no exception here. I turned the conversation to the one gentleman, Richard, who in this case was the one probing, and it turns out he was a copywriter for twenty-some years who had worked with just about every ad agency in Boise until the economy fell 3 years ago. After some discussion we realized we knew some of the same big-shot Ad Agency guys -- pretty cool living in a small city sometimes. But he was asking me more about my life as a Freelancer because in the last few years (after losing so much business after the '08 crash) he had decided to pursue his passion of writing and developing music, and the conversation segued into marketing and web presence.
Richard was in the mindset that you had to get out and meet people personally in order to get the word out about you and your business... that's how it was done 20 years - even 10 years - ago. So now he's trying to figure out where he should move to in order to gain traction for his music. I assured him that, in my case at least, you don't have to move. You simply need a good (strike that - an EXCELLENT) web presence. I have very few local clients, and I can say that I've only met about 30% of my clients in person. This surprised him I think, but in today's telecommuting and internet-driven world I firmly believe one of the best ways to market yourself and your business (if you're interested in becoming known nationally or even internationally) is by utilizing the internet and social media outlets. I delved deeper into my reasons for this claim.
In the five years of running my own freelancing biz, I've never had to cold-call to get a client. Every client I've ever had has contacted me first. "How do they find you?" Dennis (the other gentleman) asked. Simple, they either did a Google search for "Freelance Graphic Designers" in a certain area or they found me through one of the many freelance graphic design listings or articles that I'm connected to.
It's more than just having a website - they're a dime a dozen nowadays - you need to have a good website, on the front-end as well as the back-end. You need proper search engine optimization, which means all the little bits of code and keyword copy that help you get indexed properly in the major engines, as well as a good amount of web presence on social media outlets, website listing services and in my case I also write articles for popular blogs which increases my hit-rate and boosts the popularity of my site. Without these things I would have a hard time finding clients, because they wouldn't be able to find me. These things are KEY if you're doing any kind of freelancing, whether it's graphic design, web development, copywriting, etc. There's a much larger market for these services if you go national, rather than staying local. And it's true that getting to know people helps, whether in person or online, because referrals are 50% of my business now. But starting out is the hardest part. If you don't have any clients or portfolio to being with, you're screwed. Gone are the days of being able to walk into a company and market your personality... here are the days where it only matters what you can do (aka. portfolio) and how much you charge.
Go back in this blog and you'll find other articles I've written that explain these concepts in more detail, but I think I was as surprised that someone wouldn't know these things as I think Richard was when he found out about them from me. I suppose I'm so far in the mix that I didn't realize the information hadn't fully reached the masses. Apparently that's the case.
Thank you, Richard and Dennis, for the enlightening conversation last night. It was a pleasure meeting you both, and I look forward to meeting up with you again at the next First Thursday event!
Now, when this comes up with people I don't know it usually evolves into questions about what exactly it is I do and I typically end up explaining it in laymen's terms to keep it brief, and that was no exception here. I turned the conversation to the one gentleman, Richard, who in this case was the one probing, and it turns out he was a copywriter for twenty-some years who had worked with just about every ad agency in Boise until the economy fell 3 years ago. After some discussion we realized we knew some of the same big-shot Ad Agency guys -- pretty cool living in a small city sometimes. But he was asking me more about my life as a Freelancer because in the last few years (after losing so much business after the '08 crash) he had decided to pursue his passion of writing and developing music, and the conversation segued into marketing and web presence.
Richard was in the mindset that you had to get out and meet people personally in order to get the word out about you and your business... that's how it was done 20 years - even 10 years - ago. So now he's trying to figure out where he should move to in order to gain traction for his music. I assured him that, in my case at least, you don't have to move. You simply need a good (strike that - an EXCELLENT) web presence. I have very few local clients, and I can say that I've only met about 30% of my clients in person. This surprised him I think, but in today's telecommuting and internet-driven world I firmly believe one of the best ways to market yourself and your business (if you're interested in becoming known nationally or even internationally) is by utilizing the internet and social media outlets. I delved deeper into my reasons for this claim.
In the five years of running my own freelancing biz, I've never had to cold-call to get a client. Every client I've ever had has contacted me first. "How do they find you?" Dennis (the other gentleman) asked. Simple, they either did a Google search for "Freelance Graphic Designers" in a certain area or they found me through one of the many freelance graphic design listings or articles that I'm connected to.
It's more than just having a website - they're a dime a dozen nowadays - you need to have a good website, on the front-end as well as the back-end. You need proper search engine optimization, which means all the little bits of code and keyword copy that help you get indexed properly in the major engines, as well as a good amount of web presence on social media outlets, website listing services and in my case I also write articles for popular blogs which increases my hit-rate and boosts the popularity of my site. Without these things I would have a hard time finding clients, because they wouldn't be able to find me. These things are KEY if you're doing any kind of freelancing, whether it's graphic design, web development, copywriting, etc. There's a much larger market for these services if you go national, rather than staying local. And it's true that getting to know people helps, whether in person or online, because referrals are 50% of my business now. But starting out is the hardest part. If you don't have any clients or portfolio to being with, you're screwed. Gone are the days of being able to walk into a company and market your personality... here are the days where it only matters what you can do (aka. portfolio) and how much you charge.
Go back in this blog and you'll find other articles I've written that explain these concepts in more detail, but I think I was as surprised that someone wouldn't know these things as I think Richard was when he found out about them from me. I suppose I'm so far in the mix that I didn't realize the information hadn't fully reached the masses. Apparently that's the case.
Thank you, Richard and Dennis, for the enlightening conversation last night. It was a pleasure meeting you both, and I look forward to meeting up with you again at the next First Thursday event!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wall Colors
Narrowed my new office wall color down to three choices: "Cut The Mustard", "Cajun Red" and "Black Fox". Conclusion? While I'd really like a brighter tone like Cut The Mustard on first glance, the deep contrast of Black Fox continues to appeal to me. My custom desk will have an industrial look - my plan calls for natural wood and large silver bolts for use as function as well as décor in the corners - so using something so yellow as Cut The Mustard would likely wash out the color of the natural wood, and Cajun Red might be okay, but the contrast of natural wood against the deep mossy-brown of Black Fox would REALLY look nice in my opinion.
If you've never tried it, go to the Sherwin Williams website. They have a wonderful tool there that allows you to take a picture of your room, select the areas you wish to paint, and preview your paint colors. How awesome is that? So I've attached the three shades I've narrowed it down to for my accent wall. Keep in mind I will no longer have a mahogany desk - it'll be more of a natural wood color... I'm thinking Redwood or Cedar. Your thoughts/opinions?
If you've never tried it, go to the Sherwin Williams website. They have a wonderful tool there that allows you to take a picture of your room, select the areas you wish to paint, and preview your paint colors. How awesome is that? So I've attached the three shades I've narrowed it down to for my accent wall. Keep in mind I will no longer have a mahogany desk - it'll be more of a natural wood color... I'm thinking Redwood or Cedar. Your thoughts/opinions?
Office Redesign
I bought a house last year that doesn't have any "formal" office space, so I've been working in what was supposed to be a formal living area. I've written articles and given vast amounts of advice on home office space in the past, but since moving into my (hopefully permanent) home, I have found myself living in a slight state of disgust at my lack of order and happiness with the area in which I spend 80% of my time.
So, first goal:
My office area has no doors, so I often get distracted by noise from my kids, the TV in the family room, dogs barking by the back door, you name it --- anything that comes with not having a way to close myself off from the rest of the house. So my first order of business is to get a door that I can close to the rest of the world.
My second goal is a desk.
I've been working on the same 29"x66" Manager-style desk for the last 5+ years, and it's literally ready to fall apart. The desk has always sat a little too high for my stature, making desk chairs difficult to deal with and I require a box of books to rest my feet on since they can't reach the floor. I've largely out-grown the coverage area of my desk leaving me little room to sketch only after I've reorganized the placement of my mouse and keyboard; it doesn't have enough file storage and the area where my wrists lie as I'm typing on my keyboard is covered in 3 layers of tape to prevent splinters and further rubbing (the finish on the desk has long-since warn to the bare wood). In essence, I need something bigger and sturdier that will allow for more file space, and something a little shorter that would be more comfortable for a person of my average height (apparently most "Managers" are tall and need high desks). After a year of consideration, I have come to the conclusion that this problem will require that I build a custom desk. Based on the finished product, I may invest in a new ergonomic chair as well.
And lastly, feng shui.
About a year into having my own business, while still living in Arizona, I was feeling uncomfortable and ill-at-ease in my office. So I thought I would take the time to research some common feng shui techniques and reorganize it. The difference was night and day, and maybe not only because my "chi" was flowing better, but one of the core principles of feng shui is getting rid of clutter and disorganization. I'm not necessarily a clean-freak, but clutter has always bothered me, so the principles work well for my personality.
Before moving into the new house I wasn't able to clearly gauge the amount of stuff I needed to find a home for in my office area, so I still have a pile of boxes sitting in a corner and far too many books on my bookshelf that spill onto the floor. I have a makeshift photo studio on one side of my office with no way to really store anything away when we have guests, and I have the irreparable eggshell white walls surrounding me in their stark-vomit glory. Mismatched artwork and a variety of nick-nacks don't help either. The only thing I have going for me is a beautiful bay window that allows me to get natural sunlight and a little bit of insight on the day's weather, which I do enjoy. So, my goals are to update the layout of my office space (this involves coordination with my new custom desk), add feng shui principles which include the creation of a bagua map to help with proper layout, adding color to the walls, removing clutter, and adding water/fire/nature elements in the form of color and/or objects. That might sound a little silly, but adding something simple like a scented candle or a large fern can really change the mood/feeling of any space. I've done it before, and I just can't express what a difference it can make.... at least, for me.
So those are my three big goals to complete within the next 6 months, in no particular order. I've already planned out the "industrial barn doors" to close off my office area, the HUGE custom desk will begin construction in the next week or two, and I've already got paint samples for my walls (you can see one sample on the wall above my printer, but that's not the color I've chosen). I'm including "before" pictures of my current workspace below. This is my desk area - to the left is the bay window and behind me is my pseudo-photo studio and bookshelves. As work begins, I'll be documenting my progress. Wish me luck! I can't stress enough how important a workspace can be, especially when you're spending so much time in it.
So, first goal:
My office area has no doors, so I often get distracted by noise from my kids, the TV in the family room, dogs barking by the back door, you name it --- anything that comes with not having a way to close myself off from the rest of the house. So my first order of business is to get a door that I can close to the rest of the world.
My second goal is a desk.
I've been working on the same 29"x66" Manager-style desk for the last 5+ years, and it's literally ready to fall apart. The desk has always sat a little too high for my stature, making desk chairs difficult to deal with and I require a box of books to rest my feet on since they can't reach the floor. I've largely out-grown the coverage area of my desk leaving me little room to sketch only after I've reorganized the placement of my mouse and keyboard; it doesn't have enough file storage and the area where my wrists lie as I'm typing on my keyboard is covered in 3 layers of tape to prevent splinters and further rubbing (the finish on the desk has long-since warn to the bare wood). In essence, I need something bigger and sturdier that will allow for more file space, and something a little shorter that would be more comfortable for a person of my average height (apparently most "Managers" are tall and need high desks). After a year of consideration, I have come to the conclusion that this problem will require that I build a custom desk. Based on the finished product, I may invest in a new ergonomic chair as well.
And lastly, feng shui.
About a year into having my own business, while still living in Arizona, I was feeling uncomfortable and ill-at-ease in my office. So I thought I would take the time to research some common feng shui techniques and reorganize it. The difference was night and day, and maybe not only because my "chi" was flowing better, but one of the core principles of feng shui is getting rid of clutter and disorganization. I'm not necessarily a clean-freak, but clutter has always bothered me, so the principles work well for my personality.
Before moving into the new house I wasn't able to clearly gauge the amount of stuff I needed to find a home for in my office area, so I still have a pile of boxes sitting in a corner and far too many books on my bookshelf that spill onto the floor. I have a makeshift photo studio on one side of my office with no way to really store anything away when we have guests, and I have the irreparable eggshell white walls surrounding me in their stark-vomit glory. Mismatched artwork and a variety of nick-nacks don't help either. The only thing I have going for me is a beautiful bay window that allows me to get natural sunlight and a little bit of insight on the day's weather, which I do enjoy. So, my goals are to update the layout of my office space (this involves coordination with my new custom desk), add feng shui principles which include the creation of a bagua map to help with proper layout, adding color to the walls, removing clutter, and adding water/fire/nature elements in the form of color and/or objects. That might sound a little silly, but adding something simple like a scented candle or a large fern can really change the mood/feeling of any space. I've done it before, and I just can't express what a difference it can make.... at least, for me.
So those are my three big goals to complete within the next 6 months, in no particular order. I've already planned out the "industrial barn doors" to close off my office area, the HUGE custom desk will begin construction in the next week or two, and I've already got paint samples for my walls (you can see one sample on the wall above my printer, but that's not the color I've chosen). I'm including "before" pictures of my current workspace below. This is my desk area - to the left is the bay window and behind me is my pseudo-photo studio and bookshelves. As work begins, I'll be documenting my progress. Wish me luck! I can't stress enough how important a workspace can be, especially when you're spending so much time in it.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
File Formats & Sizes
I want to thank "Lunessence" for submitting an excellent question regarding what types of file formats should be presented to clients upon completion of a project - her example was for a logo, so that's what I'll address here. I hope to answer that question as thoroughly as possible, but please leave a comment if you feel I have missed anything!
There are three types of file I always give to a client after a new logo design has been completed. They are:
This way of saving can often create a ton of files if you have alternate versions, which is often the case. To have the most thorough logo possible, I like to create a black and white version (yes, people still use fax machines and it's nice to have a compatible logo) and sometimes a logo will require CMYK, PMS Spot colors, a horizontal version and/or a vertical (or stacked) version. It can be a timely process to convert so many versions into three different file types, but I guarantee your client will appreciate it and will rarely (if ever) come back to bug you for another version of the file. Give them everything they could possibly need and they won't know what to do with it all, but at least they'll have it!
So, when I supply a file set to my clients I give them a very lamen's-terms explanation of what they can do with which files. This is my typical email:
"Please use the files labeled "web" only for web and email purposes. This will ensure the best compatibility for your website, social media and email applications and the best overall look of your logo online.
The files labeled "print" should be used for in-house printing such as letterhead printed from your home computer or Word documents you wish to distribute in-house. While that logo is high-resolution, it's saved in such a way that makes it easy for you to use in locally printed materials while maintaining excellent quality.
The files labeled "vector" should always be used in professional printing. You may not be able to open these files on your personal computer (you'll need Adobe Illustrator in order to view them) but they are the only files that should be used to make high-impact signage, large-format posters and for those materials that require the highest quality logo."
I also instruct my clients to make at least one or two backups of all of their logo files and keep them safe. I try to keep all of my client projects on file for at least two years, but I am not responsible for lost logos a few years down the road.
To address one other part of Lunessence's question, she wanted to know how the client can adjust the sizes of the files without losing resolution or image quality. The best way I avoid any problems is by the size of files I supply to them. As you'll see in the beginning of this post, I supply my "print" files at @ 6" wide/tall, at 300dpi. This will typically cover any in-house printing needs. While a rasterized image shouldn't be increased in size, you can decrease it (size it down) pretty significantly without losing quality. Same goes for the web-ready files. I supply a file that's approximately 400 pixels wide or tall - it's not often that a logo is displayed any larger than that - and it can be sized down with little to no problem. Now, if a logo has some very delicate lines or details that I know will be lost with downsizing, then I'll include a smaller version with the fileset and label it "web_small" or "print_small". You'll need to use your best judgement on when you think these smaller files might be necessary.
In many cases your client will be so happy with your work that they will have you handle all of their marketing needs and they won't need to worry about differentiating all of the files anyway. That's certainly the goal. But I also like to avoid any future nit-picking from a client about their logo, like having them come back and say "I need a black and white version" then a few days later, "I want a small version for my email" and another few days go by, "I want a version I can use for a six-foot banner". It's just best to give them everything at once. It saves everyone time and should make your client feel secure in knowing their graphic designer is so thorough that they've supplied everything they could possibly want or need.
Visit www.ellephillips.com for more information about Elle Phillips Design. Thanks for reading!
There are three types of file I always give to a client after a new logo design has been completed. They are:
- a web-ready file (typically .gif or .jpg, 72dpi, RGB with a max width/height of 400 pixels)
- a print-ready file (.jpg, 300dpi, RGB with a max width/height of 6")
- a vector/original file (since 99% of my logos are created in illustrator, this would be a CMYK vector EPS (saved back to Illustrator version 10.0 for maximum compatibility) or, in the rare case that the logo is not vector, a 600dpi or greater uncompressed .tif file
I label all the different files accordingly, by adding "_web", "_print" and "_vector" at the ends of the file names. This allows for easy understanding of which files are best for which applications. Notice I do not supply an AI file - this is because, having worked with manufacturers in other countries, an outlined legacy EPS file seems to be the most widely accepted file type. If you supply a CS5 AI file with all the fonts in tact instead of outlined, chances are high that it'll corrupt through emails or come back as incompatible for someone else. I keep the native AI files in my computer should I ever need them, but if the client doesn't have Illustrator there's no reason to give them a file they can't use.
This way of saving can often create a ton of files if you have alternate versions, which is often the case. To have the most thorough logo possible, I like to create a black and white version (yes, people still use fax machines and it's nice to have a compatible logo) and sometimes a logo will require CMYK, PMS Spot colors, a horizontal version and/or a vertical (or stacked) version. It can be a timely process to convert so many versions into three different file types, but I guarantee your client will appreciate it and will rarely (if ever) come back to bug you for another version of the file. Give them everything they could possibly need and they won't know what to do with it all, but at least they'll have it!
So, when I supply a file set to my clients I give them a very lamen's-terms explanation of what they can do with which files. This is my typical email:
"Please use the files labeled "web" only for web and email purposes. This will ensure the best compatibility for your website, social media and email applications and the best overall look of your logo online.
The files labeled "print" should be used for in-house printing such as letterhead printed from your home computer or Word documents you wish to distribute in-house. While that logo is high-resolution, it's saved in such a way that makes it easy for you to use in locally printed materials while maintaining excellent quality.
The files labeled "vector" should always be used in professional printing. You may not be able to open these files on your personal computer (you'll need Adobe Illustrator in order to view them) but they are the only files that should be used to make high-impact signage, large-format posters and for those materials that require the highest quality logo."
I also instruct my clients to make at least one or two backups of all of their logo files and keep them safe. I try to keep all of my client projects on file for at least two years, but I am not responsible for lost logos a few years down the road.
To address one other part of Lunessence's question, she wanted to know how the client can adjust the sizes of the files without losing resolution or image quality. The best way I avoid any problems is by the size of files I supply to them. As you'll see in the beginning of this post, I supply my "print" files at @ 6" wide/tall, at 300dpi. This will typically cover any in-house printing needs. While a rasterized image shouldn't be increased in size, you can decrease it (size it down) pretty significantly without losing quality. Same goes for the web-ready files. I supply a file that's approximately 400 pixels wide or tall - it's not often that a logo is displayed any larger than that - and it can be sized down with little to no problem. Now, if a logo has some very delicate lines or details that I know will be lost with downsizing, then I'll include a smaller version with the fileset and label it "web_small" or "print_small". You'll need to use your best judgement on when you think these smaller files might be necessary.
In many cases your client will be so happy with your work that they will have you handle all of their marketing needs and they won't need to worry about differentiating all of the files anyway. That's certainly the goal. But I also like to avoid any future nit-picking from a client about their logo, like having them come back and say "I need a black and white version" then a few days later, "I want a small version for my email" and another few days go by, "I want a version I can use for a six-foot banner". It's just best to give them everything at once. It saves everyone time and should make your client feel secure in knowing their graphic designer is so thorough that they've supplied everything they could possibly want or need.
Visit www.ellephillips.com for more information about Elle Phillips Design. Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)