Why join Twitter?

Twitter is a great social networking tool, it allows you to post short status updates and links to a wide range of people. It can make it much easier for people to find you online and see your design portfolio website and get to chat to you in an informal way.

How committed do I need to be to Twitter?

People who do well on Twitter post often and to a regular pattern. The exact number of tweets vary between users but you do need to be consistent to a certain degree. Posting a hundred one day and nothing for the next few weeks is unlikely to gain you loyal followers. Think of your stream like a newspaper, whether you post a few times a day or 20 times a day – you need to find a pattern that works for you and your followers and stick loosely to it.

Do I need to post constantly? Is quantity better than quality?

Quality is always better than quantity – the same as whittling down your design portfolio to the best pieces gives a better impression than throwing every piece of work you’ve ever done into a portfolio, tweets need to be interesting. If you have ten things to say one day and nothing for the next 5, space your tweets out rather than bombard the stream before vanishing. The only exception to this is if you are covering a specific event and tweeting live for the duration of a conference or event, in which case warn your followers up front of the coverage and ensure as always to post relevant tweets.

Does my account need to have a purpose?

You can tweet about yourself and your work, or cover industry events, tweet advice and be a expert resource on a particular topic or a combination of the above. Think about what interests you personally as well as what you think will interest other people following you. You need a balance of something you enjoy tweeting about and which other people enjoy reading.

So I want to get a job – should I tweet about how great a designer I am?

Well you could, but who would want to read a constant stream of adverts? You can of course post about your own career and achievements, post links when you make site updates or link to a project you have worked on you are particularly proud of. The trick is to make sure your tweets are more than just trumpet blowing. Share your work and let people make up their own mind. Better yet, write articles and helpful posts which show your expertise and tweet about them. That way you can help people and show you have a good understanding of your topic.

So can I tweet whenever I am looking for a job asking people to hire me?

You can say you are available for work, however a constant stream of ‘please hire me’ tweets is not interesting to read and will have people clicking unfollow if you do this too often. I think if you are a graduate or looking for your first job it is more approproiate to say you are looking for a job, however be careful how you word these tweets and how often you send them. If you are a junior looking to move job, be aware how your tweets look to your current employer. Remember as well that agencies will often post when they are hiring on Twitter giving you an edge to reply speedily with your CV. It isn’t all about them finding you, you can use Twitter to find vacancies to apply for as well.

So should my tweets appeal to designers? Or business owners?

Well it could be either. If you are a junior or graduate it will often be a senior designer or design director employing you so there is no reason why tweeting about design cant help you get a job directly. You can also use Twitter to read about and comment on work by companies you would love to work with. Say you want to work in a very niche area – say animal charity design, then perhaps your love of this area will come out in your tweets rather than them being about general design topics, but that will be natural for yourself as your love of the topic will be why you want to work in that specific environment.

About content… can I tweet about my nights out? Relationship breakup?

People take very different approaches to what they tweet. Some are very personal and some are very businesslike. If you plan on using one Twitter account for both personal and business use be aware that the people who want to read about how ‘wasted’ you are on a Friday night might find it funny, but potential employers may look differently on this… Equally those design tutorials you are retweeting might bore your pub friends. Which leads us into…

Should I have one or two accounts?

Well personally we recommend being wary of anything you post online which can be traced back to you. Tweeting about your old ‘hag’ of a boss or how much you drank the day before you ‘pull a sickie’ can land you in a lot of grief and once posted is online forever. You may wish to have two accounts to keep business contacts and personal chatter separate, however bear in mind people can put two and two together and view your other stream if they so desire. If you really want to let loose on your Twitter account between friends consider making your tweets private.

These accounts… what should I call them?

This depends on how you plan to use your account. Is this account about you (personal), you (as a designer), your company or a specific purpose? For example: Say you are logo designer… maybe you want to tweet exclusively about new logo designs and logo design events as a resource for other designers, you may want to call yourself something very different to if the status updates are about yourself.

For personal accounts you may want to use an internet handle, something familiar to friends but not your actual name. This avoids the issue where an employer googles your name and immediately sees all your personal tweets, this can be avoided by using the private setting on Twitter BUT as well as it being potentially troublesome in future to tweet under your full name, it can be potential beneficial to use it for business tweets for exactly the same reason. If your name googles and brings up relevant intelligent tweets on graphic design, this can be beneficial to your career. You can also use your business name if you want to setup as a freelancer and create a professional image.

If you want to work for another company you can also use a name such as YourName_Design or similar to take advantage of keywords. For any Twitter name we would say as a general rule: avoid cheap puns, avoid terms that may be misconstrued, avoid swear words or drug words (it may be funny to your teenage mates… but your employers might think differently) and remember the name needs to give the impression you set out to achieve. If you are an email design expert then EmailExpertLondon might be perfect (as long as your tweets ARE about email) so brainstorm ideas before you set up that account.

So, I have a name, an account and I am tweeting regularly… how do I get anyone to follow me?

Part of the fun of Twitter is that people will stumble over your tweets and add you. There are of course a large number of ways you can gain and keep followers. Firstly: Share your @name and URL on appropriate sites and forums in your signoff, add it to your email signature, put it on your business card, add it to your Linkedin page and website. You can also often add widgets to your site to show recent tweets which can be a great way to gain new followers.

The other most important thing is to realise Twitter is a multi-directional communication tool. It is designed as a way to talk to other people. Rather than write tweets and expect everyone to retweet and link to you, retweet pother peoples content if you think it’s great. Send the occasional FF (follow Friday) list of @names of people you follow and think your followers would like. Talk to people. Add people relevant to you who you want to read about. Twitter is more than a tool to shout into the net and more of a way to talk with others.

OK, so now how do I get a job?

Tools like twitter help build your online presence. They can provide a way for you to soft-sell yourself to potential employers by talking to them in an informal setting. Tweets can also provide a way for people to easily stumble upon and share your work with a very wide audience. Twitter (and indeed anything else) are just useful tools which can help people find you and show your expertise and elements of your character to potential employers.

At Blink we have had 3 projects come in to date directly due to our Twitter account. However we have no specific targets for sales via Twitter or heavy game plan for pushing people from followers to leads. People can tell a salesperson a mile away and sales copy is as boring to read as it is to write. If you decide to use Twitter as part of your plan to land your first graphic design job remember to use it as just part of your arsenal, still put effort into your all important portfolio, website, CV and how you present yourself at interviews. And above all, have fun!

Note: Graphic property of QuickCert

Site’s such as Wikipedia, Boinboing, WordPress, Flickr, Mozilla, Reddit, Wired and many more started controversial strike action yesterday blacking out their sites and replacing them with a strong anti SOPA and PIPA message. Sites such as http://sopastrike.com/ sprung up to share ways to black out websites with site owners as well as a list of other sites on strike.

The acts allow anyone found owning a site which streams copyrighted material without permission or sharing links to such content to be removed from the web in the US. This would see America creating it’s own ‘Great FireWall of China’ as it intends to use the same ISP immunity technique which would effectively make them “disappear” from the internet. They will be able to do this based on ‘credible evidence’ which makes it tempting for sites to falsely report rival companies. Something they say they will screen for but will in practice be very hard to implement.

Here at Blink we are in favour of protecting copyrighted material from abuse, however, as stated by Steven Fry; “Art flourishes in ages of soft copyright & dies with none or over-strict copyright”. No real understanding has been made in this bill that many areas are grey when it comes to copyright infringement.

Quite often sharing something not for profit is a neutral or good thing rather than a clear cut crime. Ever uploaded a music video to Youtube to help promote your favourite band? A movie trailer of an upcoming movie? Or shared a link to such material? These videos are not being sold by the copyright owners and you are not selling them. In fact this is free marketing for the band/film in question something they should be happy to know they were reaching a wider audience. AMV’s are another grey area, these are home made music videos using animated materials from TV shows by individuals to create their own piece of video to their favourite song. Often they list the animations used and the band responsible for the music – technically copyright infringement but also an artistic expression and free viral marketing for the music and shows. Another very grey area are fan-subs; Small groups of people band together, faithfully translate TV shows with no subtitles and release in their native country and share the files at no profit, many also remove their files if an official version is released. These acts seem to allow a certain degree of interpretation which could potentially make the ‘perpetrators’ of the above and those who shares links to their sites criminalised and have their sites blocked without trial.

The internet is rife with people illegally sharing movies and music against the will of the copyright owners, it is also full of people sharing grey area media, linking to sites which may contain either or the above and young people linking to all these sites. Some are definitely malicious, some are definitely not, many are in between. Either way, everyone deserves a fair trial and chance to have their say and correct their actions before being punished.

These are just some areas to think about and we hope these bills go through some serious revisions before they are passed. We feel they are too all-encompassing and heavy handed. We hope a compromise can be met which not only helps protect copyright holders from infringement but also upholds free speech and implements a fair system of investigation and punishment for any guilty parties.

Supporters of the bills include television networks, music publishers, movie industry bodies, book publishers and manufacturers.

Critics include Google, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo, eBay, LinkedIn, AOL and Zynga.

You can read up more on SOPA and PIPA at the following links:
BBC explaination on SOPA and PIPA
BBC article on the blackout protests

Freecom decided to upgrade their flagship site’s 5 page shopping cart experience to improve their conversion rates. Based on the response to the changes Blink designed for the UK site the new design will also be rolled out to all their other language sites globally.

Freecom needed the new shopping cart to work with their exisiting site, be easy to understand and navigate, give the user more functionality to edit and understand charges on their order as well as look more appealing and reassure users of the security fo the site. Blink, in conjunction with Digitial River, reviewed the exisiting user experience and the pain points of their customers. Based on this we came up with a list of improvements we could make. Blink then managed the redesign process resulting in a new design which satisfied the points raised. The new cart is much easier to understand and use with helpful tool tips and higher contrast on text colour. The new cart layout is clearer where in the process you are, the security of the site, has a cleaner more modern look which complements the main site and is already having an impact on cart conversion rates.

Freecom is a global provider of stylish and reliable USB external storage devices and hard drives.

Vivastreet France wanted to launch and promote a new ‘Services’ category for their website allowing their users to find local services and promote their own local services. The sub-branding needed to be vibrant and fun showcasing a range of services and using the parent brand colours and overall style. We created a range of materials including exhibition stands, flyers, emails and the main landing page.

Vivastreet operates in the UK, Europe and South America allowing users to buy and sell items and services.

CONTEXT is the GTDC’s sole Database Partner outside North America and we track IT sales in 18 countries in EMEA and pricing in 35 countries globally. Established in 1983, they have over 25 years experience in tracking the international ICT Distribution market and working with the world’s leading IT vendors and channel partners.

Vivastreet uses a range of themed campaigns to highlight events and occations for their european user base – from animal themed promotions for local pet shows to tongue in cheek Valentines campaign where we learnt the Italian term for being ‘dumped’ is to be ‘planted’ complete with comedy visuals!

We have also put together accompanying landing pages, micro-sites, banner ads and flyers to work alongside these campaigns.

Vivastreet is a friendly online community where people can buy and sell their unwanted items for free.

Here at Blink we have chosen to become a corporate sponsor for I CAN as our chosen charity for 2012. As of today we have adopted the word ‘Blink’ as part of I CAN’s Adopt A Word charity scheme. By adopting a word as a corporate sponsor we are able to help I CAN with their mission is to ensure no child who struggles to communicate is left out or left behind in school.

Why I CAN’s work is important:

The ability to communicate is a fundamental life skill for all children and young people. Without these skills, children will struggle to learn, achieve, make friends and interact with the world around them.

In classrooms across the UK, there are over a million bright children who are anxious, frustrated, isolated and misunderstood. They have an underlying problem communicating which is largely invisible. The potential of these children is masked by their communication barrier. The right help can unlock it.

In an average class there are 2 or 3 children with communication difficulties that will often persist throughout their lives. These difficulties cannot be prevented. And children with them need lots of help to join in and learn. There is no magic cure, but with the right help, their outcomes can dramatically improve.

In socially deprived areas there can be more than 17 children in each class with language skills below average for their age. In extreme cases, some start school with the language skills of a 2-year-old. These difficulties can, for the most part, be prevented. And, if identified early, they can be fixed.

Why Blink has chosen to sponsor I CAN as our chosen charity for 2012:

We wanted to support a charity championing one of the most important aspects of our business… communication.  From discussions between us and our clients, to the way our design work communicates a clients message to their customers, communication is at the heart of what Blink does.

On a more personal note, Bex White, Blink’s founder, grew up in a time where dyslexics like her siblings were heavily discouraged rather than supported.  Once being told by an English teacher it was a ‘made up disability to make lazy children feel better’, making I CAN’s work a cause close to her heart.  Thankfully times have moved on, but understanding of how to teach children with communication difficulties still varies greatly from school to school.  I CAN seemed the perfect choice to help the next generation get the most from their learning.

See our corporate sponsor page on the Adopt A Word site here.

Want to help children with communication difficulties get a head start in life?:

I CAN accepts both corporate and personal word adoptions. Personal adoptions give you the chance to own a bit of the English language for just £15. All proceeds help children who struggle to find the words they need to communicate. You can adopt as many words as you like or give words as a gift to friends. You will recieve a certificate for your word and the knowledge that you are helping a good cause.

Adopt your own word and help children today at http://www.adoptaword.co.uk/

Become a corporate sponsor:

Corporate sponsors help I CAN with not only their financial donations, but also help spread the work of the charity through their network. If you are a manager of a company or think your boss might want to find out how they can help I CAN please send them to the corporate sponsor pages here.

Find out more about I CAN and the work the charity does at http://www.ican.org.uk/

Enjoy!

So, how do you achieve this? Simple; clear communication and always putting everything in writing.

> Have you read their brief and clarified it?
Many clients give short written or verbal briefs, write down what you understood from these and confirm them in an email to ensure you are both on the same page.

> Have you quoted clearly?
When you quote for a project always let the client know either the number of hours or the included number of designs and revisions included to keep things on budget. That way if the client asks for more rounds of amends than on the quote you can let them know the additional cost and avoid surprises for them when the invoice comes in later.

> Have you agreed to hand over full copyright to the work?
When you quote on work including illustrative and photographic services ensure you have stated for each item whether the client is buying the full copyright or a licence to use the images. If possible give them both options on your quote so they can make a call. Also, do explain what the terms entail and if selling a licence let them know if it is exclusive or time limited.

> Has the client given you an NDA? Have you read if fully?
Many clients will get you to sign an NDA agreeing not to disclose the work or any sensitive data they give you. If the wording doesn’t clearly state either way always ask if you are ok to use the project on your portfolio after it launches. Most companies are fine with this but it is polite to check before doing so.

> Have you broken larger projects down into stages with milestones?
Give the client a heads up on where the key signoff points are – this avoids them asking for major design changes during the development phase of a site or asking for a redesign of a flyer when you have already prepared it for print. If they still need these changes you can then explain you have to redo a stage and that it incurs an additional cost and give the client the choice to proceed or keep with what was agreed.

> Do you take deposits? Need payment on one milestone before starting the next?
Then include that in your quote – break down the project with dates and payment amounts so the client is expecting to receive the work and invoice at that time. They can be ready to sign off the work and send payment so you can both keep on track and the client can be clear when their actions are required.

> What else do you need from the client?
If you need assets from the client state them clearly and the dates you need them by. When the date approaches send a friendly reminder to the client to politely let them know the assets are essential to the deadline and ask if anyone else at the company can help if your contact seems too busy. If they miss deadlines on signoff or assets submit a new series of dates so their expectations are up to date.

> What are the deliverables? Have you spoken in layman’s terms?
List the deliverables in a way the client can understand. Include tech speak where necessary but accompany it with a basic description of what this means to the client. The deliverables need to both clearly state what you are delivering and what that means. A client may not think they need a backend ecommerce system, but they may wish to sell products online! This also applies to print work; if you are supplying print ready PDFs the client needs to know they need to either come back to you or to purchase the Indesign files and have a designer on hand if they need it altered at a later date. Similarly with logo design let the client know if they can edit the file fully or whether you are supplying multiple versions such as a one colour version or horizontal and vertical variants. Stating things clearly ensures the client knows what to expect beforehand, which can only be a good thing for all concerned.

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These are just a few of the more important aspects of managing client expectations and projects. I hope they help you keep your projects on track. If you have any more ideas to add or any personal experiences which relate to the points above please do share them below.

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Note: This article was originally published on
Freelance Advisor on 21st Sept 2011.

See the original article here.

This is just a little post to say ‘thank you’ to all our clients. Also wanted to say thanks to all those who have supported the business since its tiny beginnings and have been there to watch it grow into something so much more.

Also, times like this remind us that this is still only the beginning and that Blink has a lot more potential and growing to do!

So, here’s to the last fabulous year and also looking straight ahead to all the great things in store in the future.

Thanks guys!