Rookie Designer Podcast

Rookie Designer 118 – Content Management Systems

Episode  |  October 3rd, 2009  |  48 mins 16 secs

In this episode I will share some of my knowledge of Content Management Systems including WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. We will focus on the definition and purpose of CMS tools, as well as how they can be very useful in helping you design for your own business as well as others.

Rookie Designer 117 – Is Part Time Freelancing a Business

Episode  |  September 10th, 2009  |  36 mins 5 secs

Again our topic comes from one of the listeners and the question is this: "Do you HAVE to own or run a business to freelance? What if you just do a few projects every now and then, as a side thing apart from your full time job?." We'll talk to several different subjects as related to the "casual" or "part-time" freelancer, and what needs to still be covered, even if freelancing is not your primary job.

Rookie Designer 116 – Freelance Payment Options & Intense Audience Research

Episode  |  August 21st, 2009  |  56 mins 40 secs

A question from one of our listeners sparks a conversation on accepting cash as payment for freelance work. We also take an in-depth look at research techniques for learning more about how customers/audience members use an application.

Rookie Designer 115 – Internship Problems?

Episode  |  July 16th, 2009  |  47 mins 1 sec

Have you thought about an internship to finish out your educational career? Do you know some of the challenges that you might be faced with in an internship? We'll take a look at these topics as I answer some internship questions from one of our audience members.

Rookie Designer 114 – Research and Planning

Episode  |  July 9th, 2009  |  42 mins 40 secs

More life (and career) lessons from my work experience to you! We'll discuss the lack of research and how it can foil your designs before they even get started, and some of the important information that you definitely want to pick up before you even start a project. We will also dive into the core values of Scrum and how those directly relate to a workflow that can help any designer to end up with the design result they are looking for. We'll also touch on client relations and a state of mind that can help you relate to your clients and understand better what their goals are.

Rookie Designer 113 – What To Do With Your “Free” Time

Episode  |  June 22nd, 2009  |  42 mins 40 secs

Its 12 o'clock and you break out the sack lunch, but you still feel the need to be productive with your hour away from work. Are there things you can do to further your career in design? Of course, but what can be done in an hour to bolster your skills and design savvy?! In this episode we'll take a look at some of the things you can do with your "free" (and i use that term loosely) time to help you bone up on your application skills and possibly get a leg-up on the thousands of other designers out there.

Rookie Designer 112 – Should You Hire a Salesman?

Episode  |  June 3rd, 2009  |  42 mins 35 secs

Possibly the most difficult part of moving from the "safe confines" of a full-time job into a freelance situation is the ability to keep clients and projects coming in. The logical answer... hire someone who excels at selling to come in and do it for you. A sales person on your team would mean more time for you to do what you do best, design, and less headaches related to obtaining and maintaining clients... right? It sounds great in theory, but I'll use this episode to explain why I think it might not be such a match made in heaven.

Rookie Designer 111 – Organizing Folder Madness and Flash Grows Up

Episode  |  May 25th, 2009  |  48 mins 30 secs

Will the REAL episode 111 please show yourself... sorry for the slip up to those of you who were expecting a new episode, only to find yourself listening to 110 for a second time. Here is the real deal!

Social media is a movement that has been building for sometime and now appears at every corner, in your personal life and in business. There is no escaping the technology as it is being utilized by companies to steer marketing campaigns for everything from music to household products you use every day. The good news... you now have a voice and a forum in which to express your opinions. The bad news... everyone is listening, whether you want them to or not. We'll discuss some of the ramifications of social media on the design field and how it may be affecting you.

Rookie Designer 110 – Social Media and Business

Episode  |  May 7th, 2009  |  39 mins 2 secs

Social media is a movement that has been building for sometime and now appears at every corner, in your personal life and in business. There is no escaping the technology as it is being utilized by companies to steer marketing campaigns for everything from music to household products you use every day. The good news... you now have a voice and a forum in which to express your opinions. The bad news... everyone is listening, whether you want them to or not. We'll discuss some of the ramifications of social media on the design field and how it may be affecting you.

Rookie Designer 109 – A Better Quality of Freelance Client

Episode  |  April 9th, 2009  |  47 mins 47 secs

When you start putting yourself out there and share your talents on a freelance basis, your going to come to understand what many before you have already... its HARD to find high quality clients. Its relatively easy to find clients who want you to work for next to nothing, get the work done yesterday and don't appreciate the quality of your work, but this is not what we want. In this episode we'll talk about some ways to make your journey into freelancing more successful and hopefully end up with clients that are willing to pay what your high quality of work is worth.

Rookie Designer 108 – Speaking at SDSU and Speaking in Public

Episode  |  March 24th, 2009  |  41 mins 14 secs

There was some good and some bad about my speaking engagement at San Diego State U, but all in all I think it was a good idea for me NOT to record it (haha). No, instead I'll just be recounting some of the highlights of the evening, and sharing some of the questions that came from the audience. Presenting in front of groups is also something I'll touch on in light of the fact that I think I too need more work in that area.

Rookie Designer 107 – Design Theory and Rejuvenation Through School

Episode  |  March 10th, 2009  |  35 mins 20 secs

When you're in design school, a lot of theories, rules and patterns are being thrown your way, and it doesn't always make a lot of sense at the time. Is there really a point to all this reading material? Will it somehow impact your career in a meaningful way? We'll try to make some sense of it all - AND - if you hit a creative roadblock, or find yourself unmotivated at work, have you ever thought of going back to school or just taking a class to pull you out of your funk. It may be more effective than you think.

Rookie Designer 106 – Tax Time Again & Are You Prepared for Unemployment?

Episode  |  February 19th, 2009  |  36 mins 48 secs

Its that annoying time of the year again, when the state and fed government ask us to tidy up their tax bookkeeping. We'll cover a few things you may be able to write off as a freelancer that you didn't know about. Also, living in this unsure economic time can leave us with questions about our job security. Don't be left out in the cold without a job and even worse without a plan. We'll look at a few tips to be ready for that depressing day, should it come.

Rookie Designer 105 – What Are YOU Afraid Of?

Episode  |  February 4th, 2009  |  34 mins 34 secs

What fears do you have that are related to your profession, or the profession that you plan to enter? Do you face these fears or shy away, and is there a way to turn them into a productive tool for your success? We'll discuss some examples and possibilities in this episode.

Rookie Designer 104 – Getting Freelance Clients to Pay Up

Episode  |  November 13th, 2008  |  39 mins 39 secs

On this podcast, inspired by an entry on our forum, we will discuss strategy for avoiding a situation where your freelance clients are paying you for completed work late. There are several methods we can use in this fight against late payments and most of them revolve around the creation and implementation of a contract agreement. Other topics covered include selling of source files and finding resources for building your own contract.

Rookie Designer 103 – Deadlines and Dealing?

Episode  |  November 6th, 2008  |  36 mins 8 secs

Deadlines are something that we all must deal with and that's not going to change anytime soon! They can be good though, for prioritization, motivation, and just plain getting stuff done. There is a conversation that should take place before the setting of these deadlines though, that can result in a smoother course of action, because let's face it, when deadlines don't get met problems and hard feeling are many times to follow. I have a personal example of a deadline that went wrong, and how i think this sort of thing can be remedied, including how to deal with the people involved so there are (hopefully) no hard feelings between you and the people you must continuously work with.