Studio 2911

In honor of Labor Day Weekend, I would like to leave you with some inspiring words by one of the coolest CEO’s in the world. Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, teaches us “How To Live Before You Die”.  Remember… “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all. Safe travels and well wishes!

I know it’s a year old, but this video is HILARIOUS! Besides it’s made by one of my favorite bands, The David Crowder Band, who I so happen to be listening to right now. So check it out and remember: “It ruins families!”

One of the guys in the office eagerly shoved this ad in my face yesterday and said: “What do you think of this?” Do you find it to be stereotypical or racist?” The reason why he wanted my opinion is I am Jamaican. To be honest, I actually chuckled after looking at the ad. I mean, come on, “Jamaica’s finest legal export.” For those who may not get it, the other export they’re referring to is weed; or for my Uncle’s sake… Herb. (I actually got a lecture for calling weed weed.)

So back to the ad. Did I find it racist? Definitely not. Was it stereotypical? Well, it did highlight the stereotypes of Jamaica but it was all in fun, hence my initial reaction was to chuckle.

My colleague did find the ad to be racist and a bit offensive. I feel our reactions were different because he’s not the target market for the ad. Here are my opinions why:

1. He doesn’t drink liquor, but I do.
This immediately makes me more open to the ad.

2. I’m Jamaican, he’s not.
This helps with the stereotype issue. What he finds offensive I find funny. I’ve been dealing with that stereotype all my life so to me “It’s no big deal.”

3. I have a relationship with the brand, he doesn’t.
Appleton Estate is one of the staple brands of Jamaica and is one of my favorite liquors. The combination of the two gives me a sense of favoritism before I read anything.

Overall, I like the ad. It’s an excellent example of an ad that was created for their current customers and not necessarily for new ones.

I looooove me some TV. (Yeah, I said it!) One of my favorite shows is “The Office”. Whenever I need an instant pic me up I go straight to this clip.

Every now and then I am blessed to fall upon a site that adds value to my life. Clients From Hell is a site where industry professionals post their experiences. The site is full of laughs and design professionals can definitely relate.

Wal-Mart’s (now branded as Walmart) mission for having low prices made them the largest grocery story retailer in America, but should you be following in their footsteps?

When I first started freelancing I had no idea what to charge for my services. Most of the time I ended up under charging clients. At the end of the day I was barely making a living. I thought keeping my estimates cheaper, and giving clients “hook-ups” will guarantee me business. However, I’m not a grocery store chain. I’m a designer whose work has a value that doesn’t allow the prices to be rolled back. And to make matters worse, I didn’t realize this cheap mentality was helping to lower the value of the design industry.

Designers have to value their work AND know the value of their work. Recently a client compared my prices to another designer and didn’t understand why my estimate was higher. My estimates reflect my experience, quality of work, knowledge and success as a designer. But more importantly, I know the value of what I’m doing. The words “design” and “cheap” should never be in the same sentence?

So the next time you give an estimate, understand your value and the value of what you do. And stop trying to be the Walmart of your industry.

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End Note: That doesn’t mean you should be over-charging clients either. I cringe at inexperienced designers with low quality work charging top design prices.