But here is the thing how to do you have fun and get your mind to focus on other stuff when you have so much work to do. I can’t leave my office since I live in it. I go to drum lessons but as soon as I’m done my brains shuts down and goes straight to work. My problem is how do I make time for each and every little thing without getting behind on projects. Cause it feels like all I do is play catch up.

And when I’m away learning all this stuff and having these fun creative outlets how do I practice and focus. By doing these things I’m hoping my brain gets the jump start it needs to get my design to the next level. And in just the few weeks I have been doing this I feel I look at things different. It’s like these outlets have almost eased my mind to look at other things in a creative and different way. From the sky after a rainstorm, to the way a water looks at different angles, or the way hail falls out of the sky and leaves dents in cars.

The point is decompressing is necessary whether we want to or not. And like anything else takes practice one day at a time. So I’m hoping to learn to let go and hopefully the creativity comes on its own.

The word Pro-Bono is all about the public good. So why not more of this kind of “public good work?” Do my paying clients expect discounts because I am willing to do “pro-bono” work? I would hope not. Non-profits have always had a special place with me because for me they tend to need the most help. Their causes, their people, the work, all of it is done by passionate people trying to make a difference for peanuts. I guess for me hearing them say “this means so much” is worth not having a check in the end.

One of the first things I do is go through with these clients about why their current pieces aren’t working for them. And one of the main reasons that comes up is the clients audience. See it doesn’t matter to a point what the client wants or even what the designer wants, what matters is how it relates to the end user. So no matter how good your piece looks if it doesn’t get the point across to your end user then, well, its crap. It can’t help you in any way get clients, but the designer might win an award for it, whopee!

Now as the person hiring the designer its ok to shop around and ask questions. Things like: what do I get for my thousands of dollars besides a really cool design? How are you going to relate this to my clients? How many hours will this take? Do you charge by the hour or project? What is your process? What other companies have you done work for that relate to my field in some way? How long have you been designing? Do you charge everytime we are on the phone together? Most designers have no problem answering these questions and they shouldn’t since you are the one paying. But you must be realistic in what you ask. Don’t ask for the moon when you really only need the sky.

Think of it as hiring a nanny. Your not going to leave your kids with just anyone, so why leave your business in the hands of the first designer that comes along? If the designer is not working for you then talk it through with them. If they still refuse to listen seperate and find another designer. But always before you start any project make sure that you get your native files and codes for anything done with the design firm or agency and make sure its in the contract that you sign!!! So read carefully, some designer like to keep all rights to artwork done for you so if you ever do decided to leave they can charge a big fee for you to obtain the artwork that you have been paying for all along.