Break Time
Posted 06 Sep 2010 - One gratefully received comment
The wonderful thing about life is how things never seem to stop! Being busy is the most wonderful problem a freelancer, or any business, can have.
This means that because of time constraints over the next few weeks I will not be posting as regularly as I have been for the past year or so.
Change is always an exciting thing, I don’t really get people that fear it. So I’m very happy to be moving home in the near future. It’s not a big move, I’m staying in the same town, just upgrading my flat.
So in an attempt to juggle work, moving home, freelance clients and blogging, one of these activities will have to give way for a short time. That activity is my blogging, which is a shame, but it simply can’t be helped!
I plan a 2 or 3 week break, but hopefully it won’t be a complete void. I’ll leave you with one more comic strip on Thursday, then hopefully there may be one or two guest articles from other designers and freelancers until I return.
In fact if you have an article that you’ve been looking to get published somewhere online, feel free to submit it to me via my contact page.
As I mentioned previously I have been blogging for a while now so there is a sizable archive of content that you are free to browse. I’ve picked a few of my favourite articles from the archives to give you an idea of what you might have missed.
A while back I started a series of posts that would walk-through my creative process and business practices.
I’m about half-way through the series so far, about to embark on the real design work. You can catch up on the series so far here.
My Life as a Cartoon – Comic Strips
A collection of graphic design based comic strips featuring myself and others. There are over 30 strips to read through, more than enough to waste a lunch hour as one reader informed me recently!
7 Tips for Freelancers Arranging a Holiday
A post suggesting some tips how freelancers might prepare for a holiday.
The Great Design Myth – Exposure
This is an article where I outline my mistrust of anyone that requests cheap or free design work in exchange for that most elusive of things, exposure, and of course more work as a result of it! What are your thoughts?
- leave a comment!Is Design Becoming Invisible?
Posted 02 Sep 2010 - 3 Gratefully received comments
A while ago I re watched one of my favourite films, ‘The Usual Suspects,’ it’s a very quotable film and memorable in many ways. However one line has stuck in my head.
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
I’ve been mulling it over and I wonder if Kaiser Soze was, in fact, a graphic designer?
I apologise now if you haven’t seen the film I’m referring to, if that’s the case give it a watch!
Basically, the character of Kaiser Soze is a master criminal who is utterly ruthless and without conscience, but he is also very cunning. He completes his work through tricks and shadow games, so much so that the world does not believe he actually exists.
If Kaiser Soze does his job properly nobody notices him. I think that good design can sometimes suffer the same fate.
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My Life as a Cartoon #35
Posted 30 Aug 2010 - 7 Gratefully received comments
The Great Design Myth – Exposure
Posted 26 Aug 2010 - 12 Gratefully received comments
Just you wait kid. I’m gonna make you a star!
I wonder how many bright eyed young starlets were lured into the clutches of an unscrupulous agent with those very words?
I also wonder how many young designers have undertaken unpaid work with the promise of that great design myth ‘exposure?’
The idea of exposure is the design equivalent of a unicorn.
To assume that you will do some work for a company free of charge, and it will be so well received that you are bound to get more work from it is fanciful, and not based in reality.
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My Life as a Cartoon #34
Posted 23 Aug 2010 - No Comments - leave yours now!
Why I set up a Facebook page for my Business
Posted 19 Aug 2010 - 7 Gratefully received comments
When it comes to social networking I’m not what you’d call a trendsetter. I’m not the first to try something new and plough the furrow for others to follow. I hang back to see if something works well for others before jumping in myself.
This might seem cowardly, but it makes perfect sense to me. I like to know what I’m getting myself into before deciding whether I can commit to it or not. After much deliberation I’ve finally decided to set up a facebook page for my little freelance business.
You may ask why I had to think about it?
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Finding First Gear – Returning to Work after a Holiday
Posted 16 Aug 2010 - 2 Gratefully received comments
Do you remember that feeling of waking up on the first morning of a new school term? The anxious lethargy that accompanied the fact that the holidays were over and it was time to get back to work. I don’t get that anymore, but that doesn’t mean going back to work isn’t a struggle.
I generally accept the fact that I’m a bit of an odd person. I had a great holiday, but I struggled to let go. Admittedly I stuck to the terms I set out for myself when I planned the break, but I couldn’t quite let go mentally.
I may not have physically completed any work, but I got quite a bit done in my head.
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Ken Reynolds is a graphic designer, illustrator and blogger. Contact me if you'd like to work with me, ask any questions or just say hello.
Recent Articles
- Break Time
- Is Design Becoming Invisible?
- My Life as a Cartoon #35
- The Great Design Myth – Exposure
- My Life as a Cartoon #34
- Why I set up a Facebook page for my Business
- Finding First Gear – Returning to Work after a Holiday
- Kustom Graphics – Book Review #7
- My Life as a Cartoon #33
- 7 Tips for Freelancers Arranging a Holiday
Recent Tweets
- New Blog Post: Break Time! - I'll be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. http://fb.me/FjooVmR0
- New Blog Post: Is Design Becoming Invisible? - An article with plenty to think about, but very few conclusions.... http://fb.me/I6H6ZDyv
- Morning all, hope you are all well. Hope to hear about my new flat today!
- @designthatrocks @print24 @ukgraphicdesign @topleftdesign Thanks for the RT's
- New Comic Strip: What does a designer do, anyway? - http://bit.ly/bsg1cq - Please RT if you smile!
- @Designbloguk @tbwcf @imrogb @78Degrees_US @trotz98 @Readysalted A few people I connected with last week.
- @Designbloguk Thanks for the RT!
- New Comic Strip: What does a designer do, again? http://fb.me/DQPn6emF
- You can see this comic on my website and add to the comments thread if you like it.... http://fb.me/FBueHaID
- Blog Post: The great design myth - exposure - interesting comments thread developing, please join in! - http://bit.ly/9RimrO
I'm a freelance graphic designer living and working in Suffolk.
I've been using Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign & Quark Xpress since 1999 but I've been using pens, pencils, paper and most importantly my imagination for a lot longer. I'm always looking for new clients to work with and interesting projects to work on.