The past 2 months or so have been very busy. With summer in the air and longer days you would think that gives me more time to update my blog, be more active on Twitter and take on more projects. Not so.
I also, decided to touch on how to hire and work with a designer. For days, I worked on nothing but this presentation. Perfecting it, the graphics, slides, the story etc. The image above was my cover. It had to be just right and it had to make sense. I was selling design and educating on what’s involved in a working relationship with a designer.
The day came.
The Experiment
For the sake of my talk and to prove a point, I decided to conduct a quick experiment. One of the companies I was talking about was Starbucks and the exceptional experiences they offer. I popped by the nearest Starbucks. Congratulated and thanked the manager on doing such a fine job with her staff. I then proceeded to tell her about my talk (that was to start in approx. 15mins.), and asked if she had any coupons or the likes that I could pass on to my audience during that point. Unfortunately, she did not have coupons to offer, but she had coffee.
So while I jabbered on about design and branding, my audience was sipping on some hot coffee, that came in a well designed eco friendly travel container – complete with sections for milk and cream and sugar. I loved it! And so I was able to experience another Starbucks moment and share that with others. Talk about branding!
The Slides
My Microsoft Powerpoint slides did not work. Despite us using the facilities at a Microsoft store(ironic huh?). But had they not worked, I wouldn’t have been in a “sink or swim” situation. And boy, did I ever swim! I realized, I really loved talking about branding, experiences and how it tied in so perfectly with design. I loved narrating inspirational stories of Dieter Rams and Gabrielle Chanel a.k.a. Coco Chanel. So in an oddly weird way, thank you Microsoft. 🙂
Topics
I touched on branding, but I also touched on how to work with a graphic designer. It also included on how to look for one that meets your requirements. Having had the pleasure of working with many different clients, I’ve realized many of them had never worked with a freelance designer before and therefore had no idea how things worked or what to expect. I feel like there should be a manual on this. And there is, sorta. Mike Monteiro’s book, “You’re my favourite client”. It touched on pretty much everything a person would need to know about finding and working with a designer.I walked away that day feeling even more passionate about what I do and this simple realization…
If you love what you do, the passion will reflect in your communication, you’re interactions will be genuine and people will find you helpful. Do what you love. Love what you do!
