Web Designers' Edge - The Self-Taught Designer's Best Friend » 2009 July 23 http://webdesignersedge.com The Place For Self-Taught Designers Sun, 23 May 2010 16:51:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 “That’s My Specialty” – Don’t Try To Be All Things To All People http://webdesignersedge.com/newsletters/thats-my-specialty-dont-try-to-be-all-things-to-all-people.html http://webdesignersedge.com/newsletters/thats-my-specialty-dont-try-to-be-all-things-to-all-people.html#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:00:58 +0000 Tim Norton http://webdesignersedge.com/issues/?p=38 ScreenShot195You might be tempted, when you are beginning your design business, to think you need to do everything. I mean doing more stuff is going to bring you more money, right?

Well yes … and no.

In the very early stages when you are trying to get things off the ground, you will be inclined to take jobs that are less to your liking and expertise. And as long as you can handle it well for the client, that’s ok.

But as time goes on, you need to define yourself so people know what you do really well.

A couple weeks ago, I said that specializing in one particular CMS of your choice was a good way to get really good at coding and theme building. Well why don’t you brand your web design business in the same way.

WordPress theme specialty? Then be a wordpress web designer. Joomla your sweet spot? Why not be a Joomla web designer.

Then, you will not have the whole world beating down your door, but you are more likely to get jobs from those who are looking for someone who has that specialty.

]]> http://webdesignersedge.com/newsletters/thats-my-specialty-dont-try-to-be-all-things-to-all-people.html/feed 3 Design Lessons For Free, And You Don’t Have To Search Google http://webdesignersedge.com/newsletters/design-lessons-for-free-and-you-dont-have-to-search-google.html http://webdesignersedge.com/newsletters/design-lessons-for-free-and-you-dont-have-to-search-google.html#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:00:06 +0000 Tim Norton http://webdesignersedge.com/issues/?p=40 One of the best websites I know of to get great lessons on web design, especially if you didn’t get a masters in design at a big name school (or a design degree at any school at all :) is Smashing Magazine.

Just do a search on their website or just browse the articles for really good insight and tips on making your design a lot better.

Here are a couple of my favorite articles:

‘Clever PNG Optimization Techniques’
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/15/clever-png-optimization-techniques/

’60 Brilliant Typefaces For Corporate Design’
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/20/60-brilliant-typefaces-for-corporate-design/

’35 CSS-Lifesavers For Efficient Web Design’
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/25/35-css-lifesavers-for-efficient-web-design/

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