Think things through

Logo usage hint: If you're going to call yourselves "Europe Without Barriers" please don't put your logo ON barriers.

From Prague, Czech Republic via Neatorama.

Time Management

I have never been good at recording my time for projects. I would look at the clock and think, "Yeah, I've probably been working on this flyer for about two and a half hours." Then I would scribble it down on a little scrap of paper which would then get lost on my desk and I would try to dig it up whenever I remembered to bill my client.

This is not efficient. This is also not effective. This is also very poor time management.

As my client list began to grow I started thinking I really needed to get this mess under control and act like I run a real business. There's nothing more valuable to a designer than time. It takes time to do everything, doing sketches, sending pdfs, scheduling print runs, and so the list continues. If you're not keeping good track of your time then how can you put a value on your work?

I've spent the last month sorting out the mess of tiny scraps of paper and sampled three different time management applications.

1. Live Timer
Type: web application - www.livetimer.com
Price: $5 per user per month
Free Trial: 1 month, no credit card required to start
First Impression: The page looks busy and a little complicated but after further inspection I figure out how to add a new project, start the timer and get to work. Adding project times from previous days is easy and can be entered either by duration or by time of day. Live Timer has a nice iPhone-ready webpage.
Overall Impression: Live Timer is a great value for the independent designer but it is more powerful than what I need. It can integrate with multiple users on different projects.

2. Less Time Spent
Type: web application - www.lesstimespent.com
Price: $7.95 per user per month
Free Trial: 1 month, no credit card required to start
First Impression: Easy to get started. A very striped down interface makes it not only easy to use but fast. I click the only button available to create a new project, I enter the project name and immediately the timer starts running. It seems easy to review the time spent on projects and add in any related expenses.
Overall Impression: Time Less Spent is fast and efficient. It's not the most beautiful interface but its lack of fuss makes it easy to understand. Projects can be archived and brought back to life at any time and collaboration is easy with other users.

3. Let's Freckle
Type: web application - www.letsfreckle.com
Price: $12 per month for 1 user and up to 10 projects
Free Trial: 1 month, credit card required to start
First Impression: This looks fun! The friendly user interface lets me get right to work. It's easy to enter times and project names. It also has a tags field, something I didn't realize I was missing but that I really find useful. There's no timer so I need to use a separate application to count my time then manually add it each project.
Overall Impression: Let's Freckle has a very unique take on what it means to make a useable web application. The site is very thought out and has really simple but beautiful features. It's easy to use and fast.

Decision: I chose Let's Freckle. It was a hard decision between Less Time Spent and Let's Freckle mainly because Let's Freckle doesn't have an integrated timer. I did some research and Freckle has plans to add a timer in the near future. Even though it is the most expensive for a single user the interface is so modern and fresh. It's created by a group of developers that develop solutions that even Thomas deems "clever." As Freckles says in its manifesto:

Our manifesto can be summed up as software doesn’t have to hurt.

Or, if you’re a glass-half-full kind of person (and we are), good software is cheerful software: it behaves cheerfully, and it leaves you cheerful, too.

Who doesn't want to have something cheerful to deal with everyday?

Schooling: the Illustrator pen tool

The pen tool in Adobe Illustrator is the entire reason I am addicted to that program. I don't think any other tool is as versatile as and broad reaching as the pen tool. Sometimes it can be overwhelming or even frustrating with all it's little points and handles all over the place, but fret no more! You can master the pen tool! Here's three of my favorite resources for learning new techniques or just brushing up on your mad skills.

1. Zen of the Pen: If you've never picked up the pen tool, start here. Sharon Steuer's Zen of the Pen is a PDF that walk you through every thing you need to know. It's a few years old but all the information is still relevant and helpful.

2. Veerle's Pen Tool Exercises: The Dutch designer, Veerle Pieters, has a knack for beautiful illustrations that always include sweeping patterns all created with the pen tool. Her Pen Tool Exercise includes a downloadable AI file where she walks you through some of her favorite techniques. Check back to her site regularly for new, fabulous tutorials.

3. The Comprehensive Guide: Now that you're feeling more comfortable with the pen tool you can start to layer the keyboard shortcuts and various cursors associated with different functions. VectorTuts put together the down and dirty pen tool essentials in this great tutorial. Try it out, that's how you learn!

Happy New Year, 2009

I took a semi-unintentional break from blogging this holiday season because I took a very intentional break from my computer. There were several days over the course of two weeks that I didn't even give it a passing glimpse. It felt good to get away without going anywhere. But now I'm back and I hope to bring you blogs from the nonstop excitement I call my life. Ha!

Here's a start. I got the most amazing hot pink Christmas tree this year, and when I say amazing I mean don't stare at it directly because it will eat your soul.

We had a light Christmas as far as gifts go. I got a book and some new, very needed graters for the kitchen. And a fabulous new pillow that says, "Pink isn't just a color, it's an ATTITUDE." It fit perfectly under my tree.

Then the Sunday after the Christmas we declared would be "light" we bought a new washing machine on a whim. I never thought I would reach the point in my life where a new washer would make me giddy. My old washer was a scary, faux wood grain clad 1970s pumper. Have you ever seen one of those? It doesn't swish your clothes gently back and forth it jams them up and down with the fierce vigor. Great for clothing longevity. So now our clothing gets delicately coddled to cleanliness and I've washed every thing in this house save Thomas and the dogs.

A Christmas Miracle!

Let me count. Thomas and I have been together for ten Christmases and I have received my share of interestingly wrapped gifts from him. In the early years, he would convince his youngest sister Emily to wrap any gifts he had gotten me. Each year he would ask a disenchanted Emily, already tired from wrapping a ton of other presents to wrap my gifts about an hour before our gift exchange and usually while I was standing right there, next to them, in their parents' home. Then after we moved in together and Emily got married and started her own family, Thomas has been on his own when it comes to wrapping my gifts. I've had packages still in their amazon.com box that have been scotched taped back together and then stuck under the tree. One time he got a gift bag and put the gift inside but forgot the critical tissue paper step. My favorite alternative wrapping solution was the year he gave me three envelopes, regular business envelopes, which inside had a printed page with a picture of the gift. He handed them to me and said, "Pick one, only one, but let me tell you one is empty."

But this year he wrapped quite a few different gifts and tucked them nicely under the tree. I just hope there's something inside them!