I did it myself!

Following on from Branding Your Arts Business we continue to explore the world of marketing and branding your business with a book review. And the book is.....
D.I.Y. Design It Yourself.



Described as a manual for anyone wanting to design their own branding and publicity materials, Design It Yourself covers a wide range of different visual media and packaging ideas. The book is a collaborative project by post graduate students from the Maryland Institute College of Fine Arts and edited by graphic designer and author Ellen Lupton. This is a soft back book bursting with graphic design ideas from Books to Zines, Blogs to Websites and everything else in between.
Who is this book for? This book is aimed at anyone who is not a graphics or design graduate but has basic idea of design and layout. Primarily, it is a book about IDEAS and is written in a style that makes the reader think "yeah - I can do that".
What about the content? The first three chapters: Why D.I.Y? D.I.Y Theory and Basic Design are a Must-Read as they delve into the Why Who and How of design - why we need design to get our "message" out, who we are targetting with our message and how we are going to create a strategy to get that message to those people. The subsequent chapters are alphabetical from Blogs through to Zines. Design It Yourself covers media design and old fashioned illustration with great promotional ideas such as making books, printing on textiles, designing logos and my favourite, making and decorating envelopes.
The layout of the book is clean and clear (which you would expect from a book created by design students) with great images and photographs. It is not a book to copy designs from - you can buy books and CDs for this from Dover Bookshop - but a book about cultivating your own design ideas and creating your own branding and marketing campaign.
So, is this a great book? Not exactly. Some of the chapters are too basic - these are the ones about on-line tools such as blogging, web design and, most disappointingly, Presentations. The ideas and advice were fairly sketchy and, if you are a total novice, you would be better advised just to follow the templates direct from the blog site or use a website package such as Websites for Artists. Plus the examples of websites, blogs and presentations weren't particularly inspiring. However, the chapters on Press Kits, Postcards, Logos and Books had plenty of information and great ideas to start the reader thinking about how they can stamp their own design style onto these promotional tools.
Oh, and check out the chapter on Brands. Mike Weikert takes the reader through the processes of branding and brand identity, using his company, Small Roar, as the example. A whole book of different companies talking about branding and marketing of their products would make a great read.
Am I glad I bought it? Yes, as a book on design and style it sits alongside The Laura Ashley Book of Home Decorating and my Habitat catalogues from the seventies and eighties, although Design It Yourself is not a design classic (and didn't set out to be one). This book was first published in 2006 and, with all books covering technology and design, will date fairly quickly. Design is about selling a life style and addressing how people aspire to live and current design trends lean more toward the hand made and vintage rather than slick design and CAD.
Jo Whitehead

The opinions and views in this book review are solely that of the author and not the general opinion of Artists in Business. Neither the author or AIB has received any payment or sponsorship in exchange for the review nor has the content of this review been influencedby any third party.

Branding Your Arts Business

Any good business knows how important branding is to a marketing strategy and we can even recognise some brands without seeing their name (Nike is a good example). Identifying your unique selling point can help you develop your brand and make your on-line arts business instantly recognisable.


Aleximo Croissant

One way to get noticed is to have a recognisable Banner or Heading displayed on your website or on-line "shop". You can also add an avatar to represent your business and reproduce it on all your marketing materials such as: business cards, compliments slips, letter heads, invoices, postcards and shipping labels.

But if, like me, you are clueless about computer design, help is at hand. Rather than displaying a badly designed, graphically messy banner, with blurry images and poor colour, you can now buy a banner or entire marketing package on-line.


Rufflemedia

What are you looking for in Branding Design? Well it all depends what you want. Retro? Vintage? Hand made? Slick? There's a design for everyone. It is cheaper to buy an off-the-peg design rather than custom made but, with custom made you can include images of your work. You can also go back to the designer and request changes until you are happy with the results.


Busy Bree

Working with a designer. If you are going to purchase a custom made design you should be clear about your requirements before you purchase. I usually approach the designer with a few questions before I buy such as, how long will it take to design? How many changes can I request? (3 is a reasonable number) and can I see examples of the designer's work?
It's quite difficult for a designer to visualise something that's in your head and you are describing with words. It's a good idea to send a link of your website and/or some images of your work. I also give a description of the kind of customer I am trying to attract which helps the designer pin-point exactly what you want from the design. Remember - a designer won't want to invest time and energy trying to create the perfect image just to have the customer renege on the deal.


Jennitoo

Don't buy and complain afterwards. If you are not satisfied with the designer's work then walk away but don't mess them around - be honest. You get what you pay for - so if you are looking for the perfect marketing material don't expect miracles with an off-the-peg image. And finally ... copyright. The designer owns that design, even after purchase. You do not have the right to use the test or rejected designs that you did not purchase and you cannot credit the design as your own.

In this post I have shown the work of four designers. They are just my personal taste and not a representation of all graphic design that can be purchased on-line.

Opportunity for Illustrators & Designers

Your Special Delivery is a brand spanking new site where artists can sell their art work and crafters can buy the images direct.

The concept is that designers have a personal page where they can display and sell their work and all work must be produced in a way that it can be sent electronically to the buyer. As the site hosts space for other designers it is a hub for different styles and therefore having something for everyone.

The site currently has two resident designers, Gina Rahman and Jenni Hamilton , and shows the two different spaces available to designers, a single shop page or a multiple category list.
Designers list items for 20p per item and if they want a multiple category shop this can be purchased for £5.00 (sterling). Each designers page has their own paypal button which means all sales go direct and not through the site owner.

For crafters it is a great place to find digital stamps, decoupage sheets, backing papers, templates and much more at affordable prices. There is no minimum spend and the item can be with you within 48 hours at the latest. As payments are taken through paypal its a secure and trusted method.

A freebie page that changes each week is also a feature that will entice people to visit and to then discover more about the designer who offers a taste of his/her work.

There is a great gallery where you can view all the artwork and even a Forum where you can chat about designs, crafts or anything at all.

So why not give it a go? Visit Your Special Delivery and see for yourself.

Social Networking For Artists

There is a plethora of social selling sites available for artists to showcase their work and most, unlike eBay, target a specific audience. If you are not familiar with social selling sites, and I'll hazard a guess that this is the minority, then take a look at Etsy, Folksy, Dawanda, Misi, Coriandr and Artfire. (Please add any that I have missed to the comments).

But, if you choose to sell on these types of sites you are not going to make many sales unless you are willing to invest some time in building up relationships - that's the "social" side of these sites. I recently delivered a seminar on internet selling and listed the different ways you can draw people to your on-line shop - Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, My Space, Flickr, Indiepublic, blogging.... did I miss any? I looked at the faces of my audience and about 20% were looking at me as if to say, Wha'....? Exactly. If you are not prepared to invest some time in promoting your on-line business then social selling is not for you, and there's no shame in that.







But blogging is, in my opinion (feel free to disagree) the second most effective way to drive traffic to your on-line shop or website. The first is to build relationships in the forums of the selling sites. People like to read insights into the person behind the business and look at colourful images, find out how things are made, share experiences. The only down-side is thinking about what to type - but this comes with practice, the more you talk about the easier it becomes to think up new stuff.


A short guide to Blogging
What is a blog? A blog is a free internet site that gives you the opportunity to publish your own words. Most people will use a blog as an on-line diary but it can also be used to promote, sell, discuss, campaign, moan and publicise. It is used by a whole range of people including journalists, political groups, media groups, social groups, subversive groups, idiots and well dodgy people!

What makes a blog? People out there in cyberspace create blogs for hundreds of reasons. Take a look at these examples I picked at random:

Pamela Angus
Kerala Life and Thoughts
Dolphin & Whale News

Some blogs are so specialist that only a tiny minority will ever read them whereas others are global and have a huge following. But blogs have one advantage over websites – they are free. Although it has its limitations a blog costs nothing but time. You don’t have to pay someone to host it, design or update it and you are not limited to how much you can post on your blog.

Creating a blog. There are several blog businesses out there but I am only familiar with Blogger so I can only help you with this particular site. As Blogger was bought by Google you will need to create a Google account using your own email address. Google accounts, like Yahoo, are free and you can receive and send email with your Google (Gmail) account. First log onto Blogger

and there will be a screen to help you set up the account. Next Blogger will take you through the step by step process of creating your blog. Before you create your blog think about the following practicalities:
Title.
Introduction.
Profile.
Links.
Advertisements?
Slideshows?
Apart from the name of your blog address, which you cannot change, anything else, including the title, can be altered, updated and deleted by you. Don’t like the font? You can change it. Background? Change it. Which colour would you like to choose for your text, background, links, headings, subheadings, borders, side bar titles etc? Blogger can do it.

Does and Don’ts of Posting. Once you have set up your blog you are ready to start posting. Here are some tips about making entries to your blog.
- Do insert at least one image for every post. Blogs about artists for artists are boring without visuals.
- Do check your spelling – typos make poor reading.
- Do avoid writing anything slanderous or libelous. They can get back at you by bombarding you with comments and dissing you on their own blogs.
- Please respect the copyright laws as it is easier for “copiers” and plagiarists to be discovered. People WILL and DO sue!
- When posting images of your work protect your intellectual property rights by adding “The images (or paintings etc) are the sole property of the artist. Please respect the artist’s copyright”.
- Do add links to your posts and also on the side bar too. By swapping links with others you will increase your visibility on the web.
- Do not use profane language or your blog will be blocked from some sites.
- Use the tags for each post wisely because search engines pick up on them therefore tags are a useful tool.
- Decide whether you want viewers to be able to comment on your blog. You can set the comments so that you can check them for suitability before you publish them.

Blogging Extras. Now you have a blog who is going to read it? Well no-one unless you tell them about it. There are a gazillion blogs out there floating in cyberspace but only a fraction are read. You need to find ways to get your blog noticed and, once noticed, to keep a balance of first time viewers and return visitors.
Consider the following: who do you WANT to read your blog? Why do you want them to read it? Where will you find these people?

Working on the basis that publicity is FREE and advertising is what you PAY for I have the following suggestions:
Registering with Search Engines – it can take up to six months for a search engines, such as Google, to pick up your site. There is a site that will add you to all the search engines Dogpile.

Joining Chat Rooms and Social Networking Sites – specialist sites, such as Indiepublic, are useful tools to promote and meet other artists. They are also time consuming.
Blog Group sites – such as Bloggernity and My Zimbio are social networks for bloggers. You will be able to view all sorts of arts and gallery blogs. They will be able to view you too.
Art Listings sites – such as Axisartists and The Saatchi Gallery are useful for free publicity.
Gallery websites and artists’ websites – ask if they will add you as a link if you add them as a link.
Business cards and articles for newspapers and magazines, both on-line and hard copy, will increase your exposure.
Advertising – you can add Google Adsense to your site. It is free but it takes Google some time to pick up what your site is about. Then they will paste ads on your site for galleries or art suppliers. Each time someone clicks on them from your site will increase your exposure. If you get enough clicks and then set up an account, you could get paid too! But there is no such thing as a free lunch – you have to pay a fee for payable Adsense and it can prove costly.
Site Counters – Bravenet will give you a site counter for free. It is a very useful tool to help you measure the number of views you received daily and can also break it down into new and returning visitors. If you just get the basic counter you don’t need to pay for extras.

This article is the sole property of Jo Whitehead. Please respect the author’s intellectual rights. Do not copy or reproduce this article in any format.

Our first interview for Artists in Business is with web designer and glass artist Patti Ursel from the USA.

My college education was in computer programming but it wasn't until the Internet came to my sleepy little town in Western New York did I find my calling. I returned to college to learn computer art and design, complimenting my programming skills to be able to enter the online world. I ended up teaching classes at the same college - Introduction to the Internet, HTML and gave seminars to local businesses on why and how to get their business online within the first year. I started my own web design company during the summer months that first year in college and by the time I finished I was doing freelance work for an advertising agency.

It wasn't long before I took the job at an advertising agency full time moving up to Senior Interactive Producer and to New York City. I worked in the world of advertising for a good number of years. I helped develop websites, marketing and advertising plans for clients including Estée Lauder, Caché, Playtex Products, TD Waterhouse, US Coast Guard Academy, MasterCard, Phoenix Wealth Management, Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Internal Revenue Service, and many independently owned companies. I have since retired from the agency and now freelance building and maintaining websites

I also like to think of myself as a glass student and artist. When I retired from the agency I dove head first into my crafts. I have always had my hand in some sort of craft from painting to knitting. I happened across a stained glass store one day and as they say the rest is history (and the store owner needed a website too).

I have been fortune to find a group of fellow glass artist in a group called the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE). I built and maintain the website for the group that has a private forum for members only where we share ideas, friendship, and complaints.

My husband, computer junkie, programmer and all around good guy, helped me develop my own e-commerce website to sell my product and have been able to provide cost effective e-commerce websites to other fellow artists.

Being self employed has its benefits and negatives and surprisingly it can be the same thing. Setting your own working hours can be a big benefit but because you can set your own hours everyone else finds ways to pull you away from your schedule. Its so easy to say yes to a coffee or shopping date when you don't have to ask a boss for permission to leave.
Being able to work until 3 am instead of a 9 to 5 seems like a treat until you MUST work until 3 am because you have a deadline.
One of the hardest aspects of working out of your home is the lack of immediate feedback and interaction.
The absolute best aspect of running your own art business is being able to create your art for a living.

The one most important tip I can give is to build a business plan.
What is the ultimate goal selling your work? Do you want to just make enough money to supply your craft or do you need to bring an income into the household. Take the time to research where and how you want to market your product. Should you be online, in galleries, or gift shops? What is your target audience and where do they shop? Do you want to be bigger than just yourself? Do the research to develop a strong business plan, in the long run it will help you have more time to devote to your art and keep you on track to grow your buisness.

Have a strong support system in place. Fellow artists you can turn to for understanding or help with something your learning. Family and friends that will help give you the encouragement to keep at it and help spread the word about what you create.

Hire help. Marketing and distributing can be a full time job in itself, consider hiring someone to do it for you. If you can 't afford a professional art dealers or marketing consultants consider hiring someone to do some of the tedious tasks like mailing and billing to free up your time to do the marketing yourself.

Patti Ursel

Getglassy.com

Getglassy blog

Getglassy on Etsy

Getglassy on Artfire