It’s a simple concept, I know. Fingerprints to enhance the “touch” concept. But I think it’s really well done. I like the color usage, bright and vibrant, but not overwhelming. It’s simple and it’s attractive. Looks great on the white background generally used on the advertisement and collateral. I like it. :-)

Related posts:

1. Calmer Touch
2. Andrew Bannecker Illustrations
3. Why Does a Logo Cost More Than $50?

I must say, I’m not a fan of pink, but this black and white poster with a touch of pink is really doing it for me! Regardless of whether Burlesque does well, they did a great job with the design. I love the sparkles on the lettering and I thought the font was a great choice. Gives it that motel sign look, yet -dare I say- the pink and rhinestones class it up. Just a touch. It is after all a burlesque show.

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2. A Creative Moustache
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I’m thrilled to announce the newly designed Calmer Touch logo for licensed massage therapist Dana Behr. I have been seeing Dana for a few years now and she recently reached out to me for design work. She will be taking clients from her home studio and wanted to have a logo and business card that looked professional and inviting. These new business cards reflect the calming and relaxing vibe she wishes her clients to leave with after and appointment with her. And from experience, I know she’s a wonderful masseuse, very professional, respectful, and attentive to your needs.

The reverse side of the business cards have been translated to Spanish to include her Hispanic clients.

Dana is very excited about her new logo and I’m so happy to have been a part of her new venture.

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1. Hot Business Cards
2. Are You a Design Partner or a Service Provider?
3. Love the iPod Touch Logo

Mt. Sinai Child, Adolescent and Family Services has a lovely new wall to look at thanks to the wonderful efforts of Jessica Perilla and The Mural Project. The wall was donated to the hospital with the help of generous volunteers, and was filmed for Pepsi Yo Sumo’s upcoming documentary on exemplary Latinos.

I’ve uploaded a few of my photos of the event, and will update this post as soon as Jessica uploads the official photos to her website.

You can also take a look at Johnny Perilla’s awesome behind the scenes video (might require a Facebook account to view).

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1. The Mural Project Final!
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3. The Mural Project Day One

3 Signs That You’ll Probably Regret Having Taken That Project, and How to Do Damage Control. Every so often, the startling realization comes to light, “this project is going to be a nightmare!” We can sit and dwell over how miserable we’re going to be until the project is over, or we can dig our heals in and make the best of the situation.

Good LUCK!

You’ve taken on a project that was pulled from another designer (or the client told you their designer was no longer available to work on it). From what the client describes, it sounds like the designer was incompetent, but when you get an email from the previous designer sending you the files, their email messages only reads “Good Luck!”. And the files don’t look all bad. Yeah, that’s a bad sign!

Damage Control: While there are plenty of times when projects were rightfully pulled from a not-so-great designer, there are also instances where you realize that it wasn’t the designer at all, but a client that was all over the place and expected too much for very little.

You’ve already taken the project and it would not be professional to run screaming to the hills, so the key here is CLEAR COMMUNICATION. Start with an outline of the work that will be done. Discuss as much as possible up front and ever assume that because you did work outside of the project scope, the client will be more than happy to pay for your extra time. Chances are they expect the estimate to stick no matter what kind of unreasonable requests are made, so always alert them of additional costs before you make any updates.

Note For Next Time: If you know up-front that the project was already started by someone else and was pulled due to unsatisfactory work, or even if they tell you the designer is no longer able to work on the project, find out why prior to accepting the work. Try to get specific examples, dig a little if the only response you get is “They were not professional” or “I didn’t like the designs they were showing me”. If you can ask to see what they have done already that’s even better. If the work truly looks bad, then it’s fairly safe. However, if it’s no as bad as they described it, this should be a red flag.

Who’s In Charge Here?

You get a project from Joe, he briefs you on the project and you’re all set with direction. You submit the first round of design. A day or two later you get an email at from Steve with feedback, and an email a half hour later with conflicting feedback from Carol. You weren’t even aware you’d be dealing with more than one reviewer!

Damage Control: Write an email to (or call) Joe and explain to him that in order to avoid conflicting direction and/or unnecessary rounds of revisions, there should be one Primary Contact Person (PCP). Whether it’s Joe or they decide on another person to take on the responsibility, all feedback should be filtered through one main contact. This way that person can manage conflicting information before it even reaches you.

If the PCP would still prefer that you send all revisions to a group of people, that’s fine. However, just make it clear that all feedback should be filtered back to you by one person.

Note For Next Time: I always include a clause in my project agreement explaining that all projects should have a PCP. It’s a short and simple note and it really does save you headaches later on.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

You submit your first round of designs and are really excited to get feedback. You pretty much know you nailed it. Three days go by… nothing. A week passes and not even a confirmation that they received the email. You follow-up and nothing still. Two weeks later you get an email saying they were on vacation in Costa Rica and list a slew of changes, all due tomorrow!

Damage Control: If this is a one time incident with a loyal client, it was likely an oversight. I always do my best to meet their timeline even though, yes it will be at the expense of my beauty rest. Is it ok to throw in that you will have to spend all night doing those changes? Probably not, however if you plan to charge rush fees, you MUST tell them upfront. If it’s absolutely impossible for you to get all the changes done in time, write them a polite email stating that there are too many changes to get done in the time they’re requesting and that you’ll get it to them by X/XX. Most clients are reasonable and will understand.

If however, this is not a first time offense, and has started to become a pattern, it’s important to put a stop to it as early as possible. Write them a note – this should be in writing (email) so you have back-up – and state that moving forward you’ll require X days notice (whatever works for you and/or the particular project) for revisions. This way they know that it will take you that amount of time to provide updated art. Be clear on whether or not you’ll accept rush projects (anything less than the timing you provide) and whether there is a rush charges involved. In my experience a rush charge will often times make a client realize that maybe they don’t need it NOW NOW NOW!

And of course, it’s good to note that not all projects will require a rush fee even if it’s on short notice. This should be decided on a case by case basis.

What are you problem projects and how have you resolved them?
These are just three examples, but we’ve all experienced difficult projects. How do you manage the unexpected?

Related posts:

1. How to Avoid the Drama of Working with Friends and Family
2. Are You a Design Partner or a Service Provider?
3. Spec Work: Not Always Black & White