Posts tagged ‘tips’
Things Lebanese Clients Say
I’ve been blessed with some really great clients in Lebanon, keeping me busy with new projects every few weeks (knock on wood) but even the most well-meaning of clients will every now and then say something that makes me think “WHA?”. Maybe it’s the Lebanese business mentality, the tone of voice that comes out in emails sometimes or simply translating Arabic phrases into English so they sound a bit more stern that usual.
Allow me to elaborate with a few examples:
“We’re looking for something *Flashy*” – This tends to ring true for many Saudi-based projects surprisingly. Funny, we never took “Flashy”-ing your designs in Graphic Design school. Clients tend to think “Flashy” is a sufficient brief.
“Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed.” – The same client from above, wanting something more “Flashy” bling-bling. So I bling-ed it up and they were impressed (but I wasn’t). Clients aren’t too familiar with constructive criticism and this phrase tends to be the worst to hear – for any designer no matter how experienced or talented. How about elaborating on why “you weren’t impressed” or suggestions for ways to improve the designs? I certainly appreciate honesty and directness from clients, but designers have feelings too.
“Seems you were on vacation.” – As a follow-up less than a week later with no deadlines set or deliverables I had to send. Not to mention I DO have other clients. I get some clients try to be “cute” or break the ice by hinting at something indirectly, but that’s borderline presumptuous (I so WISH I was on vacation!). I would much rather hear “Any updates?” or “When can we expect so-and-so design? We have this-and-this deadline we’re trying to meet”.
“We want something great, but understand we’re also under a very tight budget. And oh yes, we need it in three days.” I work by the brilliant design philosophy I once read in a design business guide – ask the client which of two of the three qualities are more important to them: fast, cheap or great design. They can have it fast and cheap, but it won’t be great. On the other hand, they can’t have fast and great for cheap.
“Can we try some options ourselves on the Illustrator, Photoshop, etc (other software) you are working on?” I’ve received this question a few times and my only answer is a polite “no”. Clients test the waters for this kind of thing and if you accept once, they’ll expect you’ll always do this and there goes your business. Do you ask a mechanic if you can borrow their tools to work on your car? Or a chef to give you their blender to try out their recipe? Graphic design is no different though the “tools” change. For cases where the client requests the original files for website build-out or printing, then that’s a different story.
I can probably think of a few more, but would love to hear others’ own Lebanese clients’ expressions they’ve heard working on the job to compare notes.
Lessons from My Little Sister
More often than not, it’s the big sister passing along advice to her little sister – but in our case, it goes both ways. I love my little sister to bits and I’m so proud of the woman she’s become (and is still becoming). Now although there’s an 8 year age gap between us, it no longer feels as much since she entered college.
Spot any resemblances?
Every now and then, I reflect on things she’s taught me and how being the youngest sibling of 4 has entrusted her with life lessons I’m still learning. Never underestimate your youngest sibling, they know a surprisingly lot more than you did at their age! Perhaps that’s the benefit of being the youngest: you get to watch your older siblings screw up and learn from that without having to go through it yourself.
I tried my best to compact what I’ve learned from her in 10 tips (but I’m sure there’s more if I think about it longer):
1. Take life in stride.
2. Don’t settle for less.
3. Hug my family more.
4. Be more patient with my mom.
5. Expect respect.
6. Sleep more than 6 hours a night.
7. Drink less Nescafe.
8. Hand-make little birthday cards (or for any day) and write cute messages in them.
9. Master the art of posing for photos (stand upright with front leg slightly lower, put on the right smile, keep eyes slightly closed).
10. Take care of your hair.
If any of you reading this are have younger brother(s) or sister(s), did you learn anything from younger sibling? Share please 
The Form of Life
Barron’s doesn’t design the sexiest test-prep guides. The colors are obnoxious and don’t get me started on their bland typography. But, their SAT and SAT II books got me into college and I tend to be a loyal customer when something works for me.
Now with the GMAT’s a few days away, I’m in intensive revision mode. Think monk (or nun to be sexually-correct) with a calculator. Pages I’d neatly labeled with neon pink stickers are being taken more seriously, and each highlighted word bursts like a camera’s flash.
The first section of the GMAT will be writing two 1,000 word essays. Each in 30 minutes. It takes me more time to write a blog entry. The secret, my good friend Barron advises, is to take an otherwise intimidating topic (like alcoholism or democracy) and narrow it down to a personal experience or specific incidence. For example, a definite topic for an essay for alcoholism would be “The experience of Jane Doe, the daughter of an alcoholic”. The less abstract the idea for the essay, the easier to write in 30 minutes.
Testing this theory, I attempted to write a short essay based on this topic:
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Some cultures view life as a line, extending from point A to point B. Others view life as a circle.Explain which of these two views coincides with yours. If neither, what shape or form would you propose? Please explain.
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Pertaining that this is a blog, meant to light, fun reading, I’ll spare you the complete essay. But do think about the question. Do you view life as a line or a circle or something completely different? I’d love to hear your answers.
Given some thought, I’d say neither a line nor a circle fits. Both shapes assume a predetermined path. Something rigid and out of our control. The idea of a circle just makes me dizzy. Think a person walking around and around, carving a deeper circle in the ground and going nowhere.
Life isn’t like that. Life is all about choices and each choice takes you on another path forward. I believe in fate, but also, that we can control it. We can change the path fate takes at any pivotal moment. Then that path leads to other choices, that lead you somewhere else.
So to me, the closest shape, or form, that I envision when it comes to life would be: a tree. A tree evolves and grows from the bottom up. Once you’ve traversed the different forks in the branches and have no where else to go, you’ve arrived. You’re at the furthest point in your life.
And hopefully, closer to heaven if the branches’ path has led you all the way up.
And study.
Fashion shot by Graziano Villa
If Graziano Villa could give aspiring photographers one word of advice, it would be: study. Study the great photographers. Buy a book with the work of Annie Leibovitz (who, by the way, he is friends with and has photographed). Save that money you’ve been saving for that trip with your boy/girlfriend and invest it in some good photography books (his actual words). Get up close and personal with the photos. Look at them once, twice, ten times. Learn all about your camera. Learn about what makes it tick and how to make the most of it. But remember, in the end, no matter the type of camera you use, it is just a tool. Your mind is what controls the outcome.
And do more dark room photography. Ideally, developing black and white films. He once took a photo of a black woman, wearing black, against a black background and still achieved contrast. I’d like to try that.
Photography is visual play. The more you do it, the better you’ll get and the louder your artistic voice will be. Last word of advice from Graziano Villa: stay humble.
And study.
Check out his work here. He’s currently working on a book about champagne.
The 3-Month Rule
To all of you frustrated with your jobs, feeling like it’s going nowhere, want to try something new – be sure to leave with the right expectations (especially if you really mean it). A lot of people complain about their jobs endlessly but never end up doing something to fix their situation. This post is not for those people.
I’m all for getting out of a rut and working at a job you not only like, but LOVE. A job that you can look forward to in the morning and one that you feel is helping you get better as a professional as well as a person. Character-building emerges on the job as one learns to overcome different obstacles and difficult people.
On the flip side, some people end up losing that spark. A friend of mine recently gave in her one-month notice. She’d been stuck in a role she thought would be temporary and it just got to the point (one year later) where she hated her job. She stopped learning anything new months ago and couldn’t see her managers promoting her any higher since she did her job so well. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but let me clarify. Her job as administrator had no promotional positions and since she was such a terrific administrator, they wanted to keep her there. Thankfully, she didn’t want to be stuck filing papers and answering phones all day. The day she told me about her decision to leave, I felt so proud of her. I wish more people who felt this unsatisfied at their jobs did something about it!
The only word of caution I’d give anyone about to do this is make sure you have a back-up plan and some moula ($) for the 3-months prior to leaving. It’s the “3-Month Rule” as I like to call it. That’s how long it took me to find my first job and that’s how long it took me to find the job I currently hold. Even other friends of mine have had similar experiences. It may be less time if you’re super-lucky and super-unpicky – but who wants to settle, right? Prepare for the worst and let the job hunt play out naturally. Your schedule is going to be so full of interviews and secondary interviews and networking sessions – that before you know it, you’ll have that offer to consider right in your hands.
Most people won’t leave a job before securing another one – and that’s the healthiest approach to take. No one wants to be stranded without a job or money. Looking for another job while already working tends to take longer for some reason since rather than focusing solely on job-hunting, you have other priorities to tend to. However, sometimes you’re suddenly offered another job which is wonderful and easier to deal with.
For us younger people with no families to feed and with some support from our parents, leaving isn’t as scary if the job really sucks and you want out. Just be prepared and do the right soul-searching in between job to avoid hating your next job. Hey, travel in between! That’s the time! Before you know it, you’ll be back to salvaging any vacation day you can get. Good luck to anyone who’s about to change jobs!
