She believes that creativity is a common denominator of humanity and she is passionate about educating individuals and organizations about how to develop this uniquely human gift. Berc emphasizes that many of the creative thinking processes that a scientist, a CEO, and an artist go through are extremely similar, even though the outcomes are as different as can be. In 2000, she left academia to dedicate herself wholly to The Creativity Workshop, which she founded in 1993 with Alejandro... CONTINUE READING

The 2012 Creative Freelancer Conference (CFC), held in Boston made a huge impact on me as well as many of the people I spoke with (readers can get the recap here) as evidenced by the number of them who were repeat attendees. This year CFC is set to take place in San Francisco, CA and promises more of the proven advice, inspiration and networking opportunities attendees have come to expect. We spoke with Ilise Benun; founder of Marketing Mentor... CONTINUE READING

A conference like that is worth any ticket price since the experience and knowledge gained can take your career to new heights. And, not to oversell it, but Adobe Max did a fantastic job of achieving this rare form of conferencedom. In March, Adobe reached out to myself and my business partner, Nick Grant, asking if we could speak at Max about infographic design. Honored for the opportunity, we gladly accepted the assignment… and the 8:30 am Tuesday morning... CONTINUE READING

Beyond that, having the ability to back up your designs with solid research enables you to offer authentic solutions that are truly strategic. Clients tend to like that. It moves your work from the “pretty pictures” arena into the world of sound, effective business tools. It helps to position you as a valuable partner rather than simply a rented pair of hands and a keyboard. The information you gather will allow you to much more accurately make sound design... CONTINUE READING

Check out Part One if you missed it 6. Handwriting Changes of Contact Information on Old Cards Giving a card to someone with an updated change in handwriting not only destroys and pollutes the design of your card it also shows a lot about your business ethics. People will automatically assume that you procrastinate and “Design New Business Cards” has been lingering on your to-do list for too long. Make sure you have new ones with the new information... CONTINUE READING

1. Too Much Information This isn’t a website, it’s a very small business card meant for networking, not telling your whole life story. Whoever is picking up your business card should immediately be able to find your website, email or phone number without searching for it. 2. Starting a Font War Too many fonts are never a good idea, especially if you are using more generic font choices. Don’t mix between bold, italicized and highly stylized fonts. While I... CONTINUE READING

It’ll also give your portfolio a foundation from which to build. In addition, you have the opportunity to learn and grow within a community of other practicing designers while learning the skills needed to succeed in the industry. On the other hand, those who bypass a degree and go straight for the bright lights of the corporate world have the opportunity to learn from seasoned veterans from the get-go. These aspiring designers dive head first into the industry, offering... CONTINUE READING

“Our development of Pro Tools was driven primarily by user feedback,” explained chief marketing officer, Jeff Titterton when asked what role user feedback played in developing Pro Tools. Titterton elaborated, “We interviewed hundreds of our advanced users and these features were consistently requested.” Notably among Pro Tools’ services are enhanced privacy features such as private contests, that are hidden from search engines and the general public—though still viewable by the 99designs community under a non disclosure agreement (NDA), and... CONTINUE READING

Our friends over at Vitamin Talent have recently been offering creatives tips to revitalize their resume. Useful articles such as 9 Mistakes You Find on Design Resumes and 5 Tips for Making Your Resume More Engaging provide job seeking design talent with a comprehensive guide. Citing a U.S. News & World Report article as their source, Vitamin T state that in order to deliver a winning resume, individuals need to do the following… 1. Get over yourself 2. Answer... CONTINUE READING

Many monopolizing companies end up in a feud between each other because quite frankly, they’re in a league where they only have one another to compete against. In my opinion, the key here is to focus on keeping the market to themselves and keep more companies from joining their circle but these companies take stabs at each other year after year through comparative advertising. Here are our Top 3 Ad Campaign Attacks of All Time: 3. Burger King vs.... CONTINUE READING