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Let me have it both barrels please

Locals Find!

New Member
Gary, How is this one? I mad the shapes myself. Didn't use any stock panels.

Changed out the font for one that was less squished.
 

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Locals Find!

New Member
Last one for the day...I am going to buy the book later. So, no more about the books Ok?. They are on my to do list.
 

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cdiesel

New Member
Funny how the Times New Roman in this last one looks normal.. not squished. You must've stretched this one, right? :rolleyes:
 

Locals Find!

New Member
Funny how the Times New Roman in this last one looks normal.. not squished. You must've stretched this one, right? :rolleyes:

Damn! I didn't notice. That font does look really damn close to times new roman. It was listed as Oxford in my font list. I don't know where I got it but, it appears someone knocked it off. That one is going to have to go.
 

iSign

New Member
Back to pencil sketches Addie ...I owe you some thumbnails, because you did one batch... But I've been burning the candle at both ends running up to my snowboarding trip...

...but the whole point of quick sketches is to nail down the basic form...

You've started down a different path from the last sketches... Why not sketch again?

Also, I don't feel like going looking again, but isn't the space you have to fill about 2 or 3 times wider than the available height? That latest panel isn't so just checking...
 

signmeup

New Member
Back to pencil sketches Addie ...I owe you some thumbnails, because you did one batch... But I've been burning the candle at both ends running up to my snowboarding trip...

...but the whole point of quick sketches is to nail down the basic form...

You've started down a different path from the last sketches... Why not sketch again?

Also, I don't feel like going looking again, but isn't the space you have to fill about 2 or 3 times wider than the available height? That latest panel isn't so just checking...
Why do you think the idea I submitted was long and thin? :thumb:
 

Locals Find!

New Member
Hi Guys, Been away from the computer last few days. Closed the job on Friday with the client. He changed up the parameters entirely.

Got some good advice and kinda ran with it. Showed some mock ups to the client to show him what I was up to. I also had a conversation with him about hiring Dan. Which went right in one ear and out the other. He decided on one of my mock ups and said "That's the one I want. Go make it"

Will post the pics of the design he went with and more details later.

Suffice it to say I know it could have been better but, for now the client is happy and I will keep playing with the design to improve my skills none the less.
 

ForgeInc

New Member
BOTH barrels, here goes.

Oh addie, why will you never learn? Like others have said in this thread, in the past I have seriously tried to give you the best, most solid piece of advice I could give you...and that is to quit wasting your time trying to be a designer. You have to face the fact you will never learn, you will never improve, and you will never be able to give your customers a quality, creative product if you try to design it. I don't care what book is recommended to you, what client says they love your layouts, what cousin of yours say their sign looks great, or whose best friend of your mother tells you they love your cards, your designs are garbage and they always be. Your clients have no taste either. Sorry for my bluntness, I am trying to get through to you.

You seriously need to hire someone to do the design for you, and focus on what your strengths are! I have read enough of your posts to know that you are actually a decent salesman, with a fair bit of business acumen (though I think you feed off family contacts quite a bit, that's beside the point) and you do offer clients a reasonable service. That service is sourcing quick, down n dirty, cheap, inexpensive signage and printing that allows you to make some off the top. Many rail on you for it, I say it's fine...keep going...grow it! I got nothing against brokers as long as they offer something.

But focus on the sales more, you are good at it! PLEASE give up any notion that you will ever be a good graphic designer or you will improve. If you continue down the path of doing the creative yourself and fail to see the benefit of trying to offer a higher quality product, you will allays be the sole broker guy, with a desk in your mom's office or some other 400sf sh*t hole...trying to feed your family and eek a living out of marking up 18x24" coro sign, flyers, and business cards.

Think bigger! Get someone young, who's hungry with even a bit of talent, and pay them what they want, mark it up like anything else then use the heck out of em. Let the designer make all the creative decisions, that is the only way to keep em happy. Build up a decent batch of work that is actually impressive, not piece of garbage real state signs. In the meantime, hit the streets and sell! Work in conjunction with someone better than you on the creative side. The best thing a business owner can do is hire people better than them. Make that be your strength. Sales and BUSINESS! You have to trust me, I am trying to do you a solid here.

You will start to get so much more respect from members here if you respect our business a bit more and focus on quality, and not trying to impress us with your design skills cause it'll never happen my friend.
 

Justin

New Member
I'm not sure what's going to come from that post, but I mean everyone can learn. I don't know why you think he/she can't.. of course it may be your past experiences, and history from being on here that I don't know about.

:popcorn:
 

Locals Find!

New Member
Oh addie, why will you never learn? Like others have said in this thread, in the past I have seriously tried to give you the best, most solid piece of advice I could give you...and that is to quit wasting your time trying to be a designer. You have to face the fact you will never learn, you will never improve, and you will never be able to give your customers a quality, creative product if you try to design it. I don't care what book is recommended to you, what client says they love your layouts, what cousin of yours say their sign looks great, or whose best friend of your mother tells you they love your cards, your designs are garbage and they always be. Your clients have no taste either. Sorry for my bluntness, I am trying to get through to you.

You seriously need to hire someone to do the design for you, and focus on what your strengths are! I have read enough of your posts to know that you are actually a decent salesman, with a fair bit of business acumen (though I think you feed off family contacts quite a bit, that's beside the point) and you do offer clients a reasonable service. That service is sourcing quick, down n dirty, cheap, inexpensive signage and printing that allows you to make some off the top. Many rail on you for it, I say it's fine...keep going...grow it! I got nothing against brokers as long as they offer something.

But focus on the sales more, you are good at it! PLEASE give up any notion that you will ever be a good graphic designer or you will improve. If you continue down the path of doing the creative yourself and fail to see the benefit of trying to offer a higher quality product, you will allays be the sole broker guy, with a desk in your mom's office or some other 400sf sh*t hole...trying to feed your family and eek a living out of marking up 18x24" coro sign, flyers, and business cards.

Think bigger! Get someone young, who's hungry with even a bit of talent, and pay them what they want, mark it up like anything else then use the heck out of em. Let the designer make all the creative decisions, that is the only way to keep em happy. Build up a decent batch of work that is actually impressive, not piece of garbage real state signs. In the meantime, hit the streets and sell! Work in conjunction with someone better than you on the creative side. The best thing a business owner can do is hire people better than them. Make that be your strength. Sales and BUSINESS! You have to trust me, I am trying to do you a solid here.

You will start to get so much more respect from members here if you respect our business a bit more and focus on quality, and not trying to impress us with your design skills cause it'll never happen my friend.

I have tried to hire designers. They are about the same as programmers. They don't show up, they don't return calls, they f-up my deadlines. I don't have time for coddling some Prima donna designer. I have a business to run. I sub out what design work I can when its necessary. This job I honestly thought it was necessary. I was continuing playing with it for my own personal gain and not the businesses.

Thank you for saying I am a good salesperson. That is all I ever wanted to be. I started doing the design because, I had work that had to get done. The few designers I have met worth there salt who actually want to work are way out of my area's budget or I can't get it through to my clients why they should hire a professional like Dan.

I spent 2 hours on Friday trying to convince this client that he should hire Dan to do what he needs done and just use my stuff as a band aid in the meantime. Well, that didn't work. My advice was ignored. So, I gave up and gave the client what he wanted. I didn't want to lose the sale to the Signarama two blocks down the road by refusing the work.

I know at the end of the day what I turned out isn't nearly the best. However, the client is satisfied and I am getting paid. I have learned that sometimes you gotta just take the check and STFU. Well, this was one of those times.
 

CES020

New Member
You keep saying that you keep telling the customer to hire Dan, but yet you take your sketches to them and they like them. Do you really think they will be hiring Dan when you're doing work for free?

You have constantly said you're not doing this for the customer and it was just a learning experience. You repeated that many times, yet you took your designs to the customer for approval.

I'm cringing at that statement. What you say you are trying to do and what you are doing are two different things.

By showing them that stuff, you just dropped yourself into the very bottom tier of the market, in my opinion.

Guess what you'll never get from those clients. Good referrals for design work. Guess what you WILL get from the. More free design work clients.
 

Locals Find!

New Member
Here is the chosen design. It will be going on a window and going on a backlit sign face. The client has procured the sign from someone else. It is used. I will simply being attaching the graphics to the face itself and he will be putting it back together and arranging his own installation. I don't touch those in anyway I don't even sub them as I would have to change my insurance etc..

I still have a few vehicle wraps to take care of in the next few weeks and will hopefully find someone to design those as I have never designed one and don't plan on even trying to tackle that one.

So, at the end of the day this will be a simple job of removing the old 12+ year old vinyl from the window and applying the new graphic.

Let the name calling, and abuse begin!
 

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Locals Find!

New Member
You keep saying that you keep telling the customer to hire Dan, but yet you take your sketches to them and they like them. Do you really think they will be hiring Dan when you're doing work for free?

You have constantly said you're not doing this for the customer and it was just a learning experience. You repeated that many times, yet you took your designs to the customer for approval.

I'm cringing at that statement. What you say you are trying to do and what you are doing are two different things.

By showing them that stuff, you just dropped yourself into the very bottom tier of the market, in my opinion.

Guess what you'll never get from those clients. Good referrals for design work. Guess what you WILL get from the. More free design work clients.

This client stopped into my office to see me about a project I have him working on (some mold removal and remediation) and saw the work up on my screen. He asked to see it I told him I was just messing around with some ideas. So I showed them to him. He is paying for the design now. I told him clearly if he wanted it he would have to pay for it.

That is also when I decided to show him Dan's portfolio and the work he has done for other trades recently and explained to him how he could get a much better company image for a fair price. Considering a Kitchen and Bath Remodel averages $60,000 it would be money well spent. Well, he totally ignored my advice. So, I did my job and sold him what he wanted.
 

CES020

New Member
This client stopped into my office to see me about a project I have him working on (some mold removal and remediation) and saw the work up on my screen.

That is also when I decided to show him Dan's portfolio and the work he has done for other trades recently and explained to him how he could get a much better company image for a fair price.

You've said all along that you were telling him to use Dan, but now you're saying he stopped in and saw it on your screen and THEN you decided to show in Dan's stuff?

Which one is it? Were you trying to get him to use Dan all along or not? Sounds like not, based on your own recount of the timeline.
 
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