SMART Goals vs. Dream Big

This is the time of year when many people are asked to set New Year’s Resolutions for the coming year. Many more do a more specific job by setting Goals for the year. I’m no different, but I use a system that I first learned about when I was a member of Toastmasters International several years ago. This system has actually been around for over 20 years, in the context of project management and more recently, personal development.

The system I’m referring to is “S.M.A.R.T. Goals.” The letters in “SMART” help you remember the attributes of goals that have a higher likelihood of being met. And that’s important, because everyone knows someone who has failed to meet their goals, or New Year’s Resolutions, because those goals were unrealistic or not planned well.

The letters (usually) stand for the following: S=Specific, M=Measurable, A=Attainable, R=Realistic, and T=Tangible.

A Specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and work out 3 days a week.”

A Measurable goal is one where you ask such questions as “How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?” And when you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement.

An Attainable goal is one where you can put yourself in the right place at the right time to develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You see opportunities to bring yourself closer to achievement, where once you might have overlooked those opportunities.

A Realistic goal is one that is set at a level at which you are both willing and able to work toward. The surprise is that a high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. If you truly believe your goal is realistic, it probably is.

A Tangible goal is one you can experience with one of the five senses: that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. (Intangible goals are your goals for the internal changes required to reach more tangible goals.) When your goal is tangible, or when you tie a tangible goal to an intangible goal, you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

There are articles about this system that go into more detail, but I’m sure you get the idea. There is one more concept I want to bring up, though, and that is the now-popular advice to “Dream Big”. How can you do this if you’re trying to pay attention to “Realistic” and “Attainable”—Don’t they contradict one another? Well, I’m not saying you can’t do both, but at this point I should mention another bit of advice regarding goal-setting: Breaking down larger goals into smaller goals. You can indeed Dream Big if you’re willing to do the thinking and the work toward breaking down that goal into its component steps. Then make each step a SMART goal!

So, what are your goals for 2011? I’ll divulge one of mine: I’m planning on doing a massive update to my web site this year. More on that in another post...

The Ethics of Using Pictures Off the Web

When I was growing up, I did a lot of research using the family set of encyclopedias on the bookshelf. These days we are just as likely to do our research online. It’s not hard at all to find written information about your topic, but what if you also want to see a picture?

For that, many folks go to Google Images and conduct another search. That often yields good results. But have you ever noticed more than one instance of the same picture from different web sites? Why is that?

It could be because more than one person purchased or licensed the same image from a stock photography service’s web site for their own use. That’s fine. It’s just as likely, however, that the picture was copied off the web—that is, pirated.

Are You Guilty?
When Google indexes web content, it doesn’t check whether that content is copyrighted. There is a disclaimer when you click an image on the search results page that “This image may be subject to copyright,” but that’s as far as it goes. If you save an image from another web site to your own computer and then use it for your own purposes without permission, you may very well be violating copyright restrictions. Unless you’re invited for a “free download,” the images are likely protected by some sort of intellectual property rights. Just because an image turns up on a search results page doesn’t mean it’s available for anyone else to copy and use freely as they please. The images are not necessarily in the “public domain”—so copying and using them for your own purposes is unethical and probably illegal.

Unless you want to encourage people to use and distribute your own work for free, it’s wise to be careful about posting original images on your web sites or blogs, as you never know where they’ll end up. Many folks embed a watermark or a copyright tagline right on their images, so that if they do show up in search results, potential pirates can see that the work is protected.

Licensing Terms
So you really have only a few choices. You could create your own original images and protect them, or gain permission from the owners, or purchase usage rights for images from a stock image provider. Licensed images are usually reasonably priced, and they are available in various sizes and resolutions for print or web—something you can’t count on with pirated images, which may lead to substandard visuals (for example, in the case of using a pirated image off the web for a print piece, where the resolution is too low to look professional in a print publication).

What do I mean by “usage rights”? Stock image providers provide their images under various licensing options, all of which start with a basic purchase price. You’re purchasing a license to use, not a license to own; the image is still not “yours.” Additionally, some images are “rights managed,” where you’re allowed a one-time use or “royalty per use,” and an additional use requires an additional license. Other images are “royalty free”, with either standard licenses, where you have the right for limited usage with few restrictions (for example, up to 500,000 impressions), or higher-priced “extended” licenses for unlimited usage with virtually no restrictions.

The point I’m making is that images on the web are not free for the taking, just because you know how to “save image as.” Viewing them online may help your research, but unless you’ve purchased them or have the owner’s permission, best to view them and then leave them alone. Remember, the person who produced those images may depend on the income their work produces—please support them by appropriate purchases, and avoid pirating.

The Value of Mastermind Groups

I belong to a “Mastermind Group.” What is that, you ask? A Mastermind Group is basically an informal association of several persons who commit to helping or supporting each other in reaching their goals. Some groups are quite large and quite formal; mine consists of two other freelance graphic designers besides myself who otherwise tend to work alone. But size doesn’t matter – purpose does.

So what is our purpose? Each of us creates lists of monthly goals and we are kept accountable by sharing and reporting our progress to the other two. We give advice and information when solicited, from feedback regarding each other’s work, to sharing knowledge of techniques and software, to handling clients, vendors, and contracts, to congratulations when a project goes well.

And how do we do this? Well, we do send e-mails sharing pertinent articles we’ve read or asking for feedback on something we’ve just designed. But we also have regularly-scheduled 3-way sessions with an agenda. Since the three of us live in 3 widely separated states (we met at a conference several years ago), we come together by telephone conference call for about 90 minutes every other week. And if we need to, we can log on via the web to a computer-sharing program and see what is on each other’s computer desktops, too.

I think you can guess some of the benefits of a Mastermind Group. We’re more than just a support group for each other; we’re all helping each other succeed. We get the benefit of other points of view, we have a chance to share our background and learning in the context of a project or goal, we get inspired by other approaches, and we do this freely and unconditionally – there are no jealousies or hidden agendas. We value and respect each other’s strengths and differences. And the contributions we give are as fulfilling to the giver as they are helpful to the receiver.

And the grand result of all this is that we are able to move ahead with our goals and stay focused on them. I’d say we all consider this activity to be an essential part of our “success plan,” and I say that because we’ve often commented to each other that we’re getting real value out of our sessions. Far from wasting time every other week, we all feel we’ve invested our time wisely.

If you’re a freelancer or know someone who is, I think you’ll find value in a Mastermind Group. They come in all types and sizes, so shop around to find the best fit, or start your own. And start reaping the benefits!

Business Card Readability

Remember the days when a business card was just black letters on white cardstock? It carried contact information that consisted of a person’s name, title, company name, address, and phone number. And that was it.

Over time, additional information was added, such as a logo and a fax number. As time went on and we entered the Technology Age, we added mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and web site addresses. Cards are printed on both sides now. My own card lists my services on the back. Others list a company motto or tagline. Many cards also include the links to a LinkedIn profile or social media addresses such as Facebook or Twitter.

And the card itself is rarely a plain white card anymore. We went from white to colors. First we saw a band of ink in the corporate color along one edge. Then we went from a plain or solid background to including a headshot, and then to creating a full background from a photograph. Some have “foil” or embossed finishes. Some are even no longer in the rectangular shape but die cut into interesting shapes, or folded, both for impact and to create more surface area for information.

I’ve watched these changes take place over the last couple of decades. Most of the new designs are creative and eye-catching. But more than a few suffer from one glaring difficulty: they are difficult to read.

A truly talented designer takes readability into consideration. But so many designers ignore “best practices.” Their first priority is to make the card either pretty or attention-grabbing. In so doing they may make the following mistakes: they choose a font that has too many thin strokes that don’t show up well, particularly at small sizes. Or they are so concerned about cramming lots of text into that standard 3.5” x 2” space, that the size of the fonts are reduced to a size too small to read on the fly. Or they want a jazzy photo behind the text that is either too busy for the text on top of it to be read easily, or similarly, they choose a font color with insufficient contrast against the background image or photo. My own pet peeve is white lettering at 8 points or less against a busy photograph that isn’t dark enough for good contrast. Except for a tagline, I believe no text should be set at less than 10 points, even on a plain card.

When I taught design in another field, one of the models I used to teach my students was the concept of “Simplify and Exaggerate.” At high speed or great distance (both of which are characteristic of today’s society), it’s important to distill the most important aspects of a design to its simplest elements and then play up those elements so they get noticed and the message is transmitted clearly. Business cards should observe the same concept if they are to properly serve their purpose well.

I’m not saying some of the creativity I mentioned shouldn’t be used at all. But the point is not to over-design a business card. Let it speak for itself. Let it “breathe.” Most of all, make it readable.

Hiding Your Light Under a Bushel

What's the title mean? I first heard that phrase in Sunday School. It means don’t be bashful about your skills and talents, but display them to the world.

How does that apply to my message today?

Many professionals have more than one particular business skill or service they offer their customers, often several. But the main ones are the ones they emphasize and advertise the most. They are the ones their customers think of first. And after a while, the emphasis on those special skills overshadows other skills and services the business may offer, to the point they may be either hidden or forgotten. Perhaps the business sees certain skills as their strengths, or the ones most in demand, or their biggest money-makers. After all, a business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is what sets them apart from their competition and they want to highlight those differences, to put themselves ahead of their competitors in their prospect’s minds.

After a while, a pattern of using or offering or spotlighting certain skills—to the exclusion of other skills—may emerge. It’s easy to forget those other skills, and after all, why mess with success?

I believe that from time to time, you should remind your customers and prospects of the other skills you can provide. You don’t have to hit them over the head with this, but casual conversation sometimes opens opportunities to mention other services. For example, my contacts know I specialize in design for direct mail, web sites, and newsletters. The other day at a networking meeting I mentioned I can also do the designs for catalogs, and within minutes I had a referral from a friend who had a side business with her family that could use my expertise. I had planted a seed, and she responded.

So, don’t hide your light under a bushel—let it out and let it be seen. It can lead you in new directions!

Why Hire a Professional Graphic Designer?

Believe it or not, it’s more cost-effective in the long run. Professionals work more skillfully and generally faster than do-it-yourselfers. They make far fewer mistakes, saving you time and money. They use high-end feature-rich professional software packages and resources, and are trained in their use, rather than cheaper or low-end resources. The results always look better, and in the case of printed materials, are also much easier for a print house to handle the resulting graphics files for the project. In the case of web design, professionals don’t allow what we call “garbage code” to creep in and slow down your system, or make the code hard to read for other developers. Their code is “validated” to make sure it meets minimum standards for use on the web or in emails.

Put another way, here’s what you get with a professional: You will get more efficiencies. Efficiencies in asking the right questions. Efficiencies in proper training. Efficiencies in using more proven marketing tools and techniques. In the end, you will pay to do it right, instead of paying more to do it over.

On the list below are the elements to analyze when making your choice for a designer. Analyze these elements in light of the specific project, budget, and timeline you have in mind.

• Experience (not just years, but industries, teams, roles, and ability to ask the right questions) Paula Scher, principal at Pentagram Design was quoted once as putting it this way, “It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds.


• Design Style (impressionistic, web vs. print, bold vs. delicate)


• Disciplines (print, packaging, promotions, trade show collateral, logo design, illustration)


• Marketing (strategic vs. tactical, knowledge of target market, ability to suggest alternatives)


• Good Communication (follow-up, status re: timeline and budget progress, relationships)


• Professionalism (from the contract to handling problems to final product)


• Portfolio (what does it demonstrate/why included, and is there more to the story of each piece? Range of work presented? Consistent in quality?


• Price (don’t choose on price alone. Yes, you will likely pay more for an experienced designer, but what are you really paying for?)

So, do yourself a favor and hire a professional. You won't be sorry.

Top Eight Ways To Get The Most From Your Designer

Are you giving your graphic designer the background information they need for projects? At the first meeting with your graphic designer, you should come prepared to answer some basic questions. When you come prepared, you streamline the process for the designer, and get better (and faster) results because there is a fuller understanding of you, your company, your product, and your audience. Have answers ready for these top eight questions:
*1. What is the purpose of this project? What is the message?
*2. Let me know as much as you can about your “target audience,” be they clients, customers, prospects, colleagues, or employees.
*3. Clarify the project scope. Is the project for print or the web?
--If in print, does it require 2-color or 4-color printing, or does it use “spot” (PMS) colors? How about the format, size, or assembly of the new piece(s)? What quantity do you need? Do you have a paper preference? Do you have a favorite printer you’ve worked with before, or shall I recommend one?
--If it’s for the web, how many pages do you need, for what purpose, and how do they function?
* 4. What is your timeline? When do you need it completed?
* 5. What is your budget? Printing methods, paper selection and sizes, even cutting and folding can have an impact on the final project cost. There are many ways to approach a project, some of which you may not have thought of before, and I’m here to make helpful suggestions.
* 6. At our first meeting, please bring previous “business collateral” — for example, brochures, flyers, newsletters or business cards you’ve done in the past, especially if there are elements you want to re-use. Is there copy to re-use, or shall I write new copy for you? Do you have original electronic files?
* 7. Also bring any photos, illustrations and/or logos you’ve used before and want to re-use. They are best in electronic format at high resolution (300 dpi or “dots per inch”). If you have original AI or EPS vector files, that’s best, otherwise PSD format is the next best. (Other formats are TIF, JPG, GIF, and PNG). If you need photography, will you supply it or do I need to find stock photography for you? If you need a logo used, will you supply it or do you want me to design a new one for you?
*8. It’s great if you have information or collateral about your competition. What makes them similar or different? What makes your business unique or sets you apart?

Many clients have a file they keep with this type of information, and it’s easy to just pull it out for the meeting. But if your company hasn’t assembled such a file, be prepared to spend some upfront time talking over these points. Ensuring full understanding at the beginning goes a long way to ensuring a pleasing result at project completion!