What a doll she is. I am just so absolutely lovin this little girl. She is an amazing gift.

Today is the 1 week mark since her birth. She is still sleeping almost 90% of the day.

That 10% when she is awake she is either eating or gazing around taking it all in.

I call it “exploration mode” and I make sure to be around when she is up, benefits of working from home.

The sleeping schedules are getting better each day. For the first 3 days, my girlfriend and I didn’t sleep much at all.

Maybe a total of 5 hours tops.

However we are learning this little ones patterns and personality pretty quickly which makes things much easier for everyone.

I will be creating a flickr link and posting it here shortly for those interested in seeing more pictures.

• The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them: by Ilise Benun, Peleg Top

• How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul: by Adrian Shaughnessy

• AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design, Second Edition: by Tad Crawford (Editor), AIGA

The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them: by Ilise Benun, Peleg Top

If you are in the Creative Services Business, this is a must have. It covers topics applicable to all levels from freelancers to studio directors.

I really enjoy picking this book up from time to time as a re-fresher or if I have a specific marketing / pricing question. Instead of a textbook approach, the authors give real world examples on the effects of applying these strategies to real working situations which in my opinion is brilliant.

The authors do a great job of answering common questions I hear in the creative industry quite frequently which makes this book a GREAT resource.

I recently purchased this as a holiday gift for a contractor I have been working with for years and he has said very positive things up and down about the content of this resource.

Something every designer should have near their workstation to reference…

Below is a brief synopsis:

• learn which marketing tools are most effective and how to use them
• create a smart marketing plan that reflects your financial goals
• plan small actionable steps to take in reaching those financial goals
• determine who your ideal clients are and establish contact with them
• turn that initial contact into a profitable relationship for both of you
• talk to clients about money and the design process—without fear
• figure out a fair hourly rate and give an accurate estimate for a project

You can find this on Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/ybo9f89

How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul: by Adrian Shaughnessy

This book is geared to the “Young Designers” who are looking at making a career as a creative artist along with tips on how to avoid being a “hired drone working on soulless projects”.

In this book the author delves into topics such as location work, how to find work, how much to charge and dealing with irate or non-paying clients.

The book also includes inspiring interviews with ten leading designers, including Rudy Vander, Lans Emigre, John Warwicker Tomato, Neville Brody Research Studios, and Andy Cruz House Industries.

All told, How to be a graphic designer covers just about every aspect of the profession, and stands as an indispensable guide for any young designer 

I purchased this book early on in my career and find myself referencing back to it every 3 or so months for some down to earth insight on the profession. I like how it has a ring of “sharing experiences” rather then a do this and don’t do that approach. The content is as relevant today it was when the book was written so you can expect great timeless advice and insight from this read. The overall design and typography of the book is brilliant and has been an inspiration thru and thru for many years.

You can find this book on Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/yhptw6v

AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design, Second Edition: by Tad Crawford (Editor), AIGA 

I recently purchased this book after researching the topic of “Creative Briefs”, which this book covers in detail.

I am not quite finished with this book. Below is a brief synopsis collected from various reviews.

“Professional Practices in Graphic Design is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of the graphic design business, from designer relationships with clients, employees,and suppliers to management issues, marketing strategies, rights, and ethical standards.

It covers negotiation principles, setting fees, contracts,structuring the design firm, audits, insurance basics, studio safety, marketing on the World Wide Web, copyright and licensing, trademark infringement, and business ethics.

Short and long versions of the AIGA Standard Form of Agreement are included for easy reference, and a complete resources section highlights selected publications and organizations for graphic designers.”

You can find this book on Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/yzhq6x9

If you have any books you would like to share, please contact me at nicholas@nicholasnelson.net

Thank you for your time.

Nicholas Nelson Studio says,

“Goodbye San Francisco and Hello Portland”

Portland, OR

Feb 19, 2010

Nicholas Nelson Studios boutique creative arts studio has recently closed its doors in San Francisco, CA and relocated its headquarters to Portland, OR.

Nicholas Nelson Studios has been a go-to creative studio fora range of industries from start-ups and established organizations, independent artists and musicians, and to restaurants and eateries.

Nicholas and his team pride themselves on the effectiveness of surpassing the expectations of their clients, especially in tough economic times where budgets are increasingly smaller.

Portland is home to an array of attractive attributes of big city vibes with a small town feel. The art culture in Portland is alive and thriving and is home to many creative studios with impressive resumes. Combine that with the landscape and plethora of outdoor activities to help balance work/life and you’ve got all the elements to a great city.

Location, Location, Location: The Doors at Nicholas Nelson Studios are wide open to work with clients in any part of the US and beyond and not limited to the Greater Portland area. Fifty percent of our projects are managed from concept to completion utilizing today’s remote working technologies which allows us to be in two different parts of the world. We have experienced an equal success rate with remote vs. face-to-face communication.

Feel free to contact us for a free consultation for your next marketing, web or creative design needs.

Nicholas Nelson, Nicholas Nelson Studios

www.nicholasnelson.net

nicholas@nicholasnelson.net

6817 E. Burnside St. Portland OR 97215

Project:

Create a new logo / Identity system for Malama Partners "Slim Bob & Skinny Chick"  Low Calorie Margarita Mix

Target Market:

Bar Mixers in 4 - 5 Product Flavors

Happy Hour

Spas

Girls Night

Vanity Fair

The Portland Art in Hand Project

Nicholas Nelson's 8 of Diamonds

Last Nov I was selected to be apart of a great project "The Portland Art in Hand Project".
All the contributing artists were hand picked from the local Portland art scene to be apart of this amazing project.

"Art in Hand™ will be creating a unique deck of playing cards showcasing the wide range of extraordinary artistic talent found in the Portland area.  Each of the 54 cards in our deck will be transformed into a one-of-a-kind work of art by a local artist who will create a card in their own distinct style. Participating artists will not only see their work featured in The Portland Project deck but will also have a short personal bio plus a promotional link to their own website on our Art in Hand™ site.  Additionally, their original artwork will be shown around the Portland area as part of the Project launch and will be auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds going to a worthy Portland arts non-profit".
more info at www.artinhandcards.com

Hats off to ALL the amazingly talented Portland Artists that were apart of this great project.

This project was a blast to. I started with a black and white photograph I took downtown Portland.
(see below)

Then the fun began. Similar to most of my digital illustrations, I take the image down a path of all out madness.
I like to utilize PhotoShops blending modes to the max by applying them to each layer. I start by duplicating the image about 10 or so time (in this case the final had 30 layers). Each time I lay another layer on top of one another, I adjust the mode to let certain elements shine threw and others become more subdued.

Then I start to lay over multiple adjustment layers (Curves, Levels, Hue / Saturation, Threshold, Selective Color, and Exposure). Each adjustment layer focuses on enhancing a specific effect. I do this by masking the adjustment layer and adjusting the blending modes to pick up or drop out different pieces.

And the final touches... I use a lot of curve adjustment layers and on this one to get the "depth of field" right I masked out the background from my original image and added a few layer effects to the outlines that were remaining. Mainly in this case it was an outer glow, drop shadow and bevel and emboss that gave it the dramatic finishing touches.

Final Piece

Click here for FULL SIZE preview

And with the Numbers

Now I'm off to print this out on Canvas using my Epson Stylus Pro 7500 and stretch in out on bars.

This was all in all a great project and I really hope if continues to more cities across the nation.

If you are interested in viewing the entire deck of cards,
check out http://picasaweb.google.com/Driveness/ArtInHandPortlandProject#

Hats off to ALL the amazingly talented Portland Artists that were apart of this great project.

To see similar digital illustrations, check out www.nicholasnelson.net / shop.nicholasnelson.net

Thanks for stopping by!

Just because someone has money, doesn’t mean theyshould be a

client. You really should focus down on who will be agood client for

you. You can either do this by sector (i.e, you wantto work with Hotels

and Conference Halls) or by location.

There’s loads of other ways to segment your clients,but the bottom

line is that when you know who they are you’ll beable to market to

them far more cheaply and accurately.

Ask Your Clients to RecommendYou.

Most people would never think of talking about theirfreelancer. So

make sure that you ask a satisfied clients if theyknow of anyone who

would find your services useful. You can get a loadof new clients this

way.

Blogging

Clients want to know that the person they’re hiringhas the skills to get

the job done on time and with expertise. They alsowant to know that

you’ll inject some personality into the brief. Whatbetter way to showcase

yourself than a blog.

Public Speaking

I can sense the dread as you read the words ‘publicspeaking’. This

strategy is not for the feint hearted. However,hosting a free seminar

on something related to your target market is anawesome way to

showcase your skills andknowledge.

Online Message Boards

When you join a forum online you can utilise thesignature of your

posts to showcase links to your portfolio/resume. Ohand also link to

your twitter account if you have one. Make sure youare friendly, useful

and helpful on the forums though. Don’t just pushyour services, noone

likes pushy people.

Industry Events

Once you have chosen your target market. Go to eventsin your client’s

industry. You’ll be shocked how many niche eventsthere are. Make

contacts at the events and as with online networking,don’t be pushy,

just make good solid connections.

Business Directories

List yourself in business directories, online andoffline. There are many

good quality online free Directories and you can alsofind ones that

are in your chosen market.

Freebies

Give something away for free. Either through yourwebsite or by

sending something to potential clients. This could bean ebook, special

report, piece of software, or any digital info thatis of value to others

you can give it away. The goal here is to give awaysomething of real

value and get people to remember you.

Run a contest

You could run a contest which ties into yourservices. Be creative with

your prizes and your reason for people entering. Thenyou can harvest

the contacts you receive for potential clients.

Community Ads

With everyone focusing on Online Marketing, it’s easyto forget the

simple things. How about pinning up a little adverton boards in your

local area or community.

Start an Online Newsletter

Once you can get people to sign up to yournewsletter, it’s a really

quick way to get your information to your existingand potential clients.

Again, make sure it’s specific and interesting. Youcould also make

it entertaining if that’s your style.

Get Testimonials

Once you can get people to sign up to yournewsletter, it’s a really

quick way to get your information to your existingand potential clients.

Again, make sure it’s specific and interesting. Youcould also make

it entertaining if that’s your style.

Business Cards in Library Books

Bit of a cheeky one. Don’t blame me if you get toldoff for this. Find

related books and put your business cards inside themin every library

you can get to.

Free consultation

You could allow potential customers to have 30-60minutes of your

time for free. Don’t push your services, just learnto ask the right

questions. You need to setup the consultation in thecorrect way and

make sure you don’t do them with time wasters, onlyhighly targeted

potential clients.

Get on Twitter

You just need to be on twitter.com ... Build aprofile, link to your portfolio

and blog and then become a useful contributor to thetwitter community.

Don’t forget, a lot of work is passed around onTwitter.

Networking

Joining a local networking or small business groups(such as the

Chamber of Commerce) is a great way to get newclients. If you choose

the right group, you could also get free or low-costadvertising in their

publications.

Networking with Your Competitors

Don't worry if your competitors are there when youare networking. At

some point, they may need to subcontract their work.Or may be willing

to pass along your name when they are too busy totake on new

clients.

Have a Great Website

I almost wasn’t going to put this as I thought it wasa given, but you

MUST have a great website to market your business.

Market Your Website

Once your site is up, market your site like you’dmarket yourself. Add

it to all your correspondence, stationary and emails.

Get Links to Your Website

SEO is a massive subject unto itself. But forstarters, make sure you

build links to your site. One way you can do this bywriting articles

online and linking them toyour site.

Excerpt taken from www.freelanceformoney.com

Down here at www.freelanceformoney.com/resources/free-ebook/

It all started in Minnesota when I was about 17, a year before graduating High-School. I was pinning up business cards and self-promo ads on bulletin boards across the twin cites looking for people that were in need of a logo, ads, anything creative...

I went to college right after High-School (and continued to freelance) for Graphic Design and kept pushing for the life of an entrepreneur. In 2001, the doors swung wide open and I hit the ground running with the skills I needed for success under my belt (the business side of things didn’t come until later).

I stayed in MN for only a few years after graduating college, co-running a record label and design studio Echo Production in Saint Paul, MN. In 2004 my partner and I went off into different directions and I set off to The Golden State of California with my portfolio in hand and a burning desire to succeed…

It was a bit different in CA, so I had to do my tour working for various studios up and down the coast. I gained an extensive amount of experience and learned a lot from multiple mentors along the way. I had the opportunity to study with some of the top people in various aspects of the creative world where I learned an array of invaluable skills that I will carry with me for life.

The travels started in Orange County where I found a like minded person to start what later became “Amore Fashions”.An on-line based fashion and apparel company geared toward high-end women. After the company was sold to a larger competitor I went up stream a little to an architecture firm in Irvine KTGY Group Inc.

I spent the next year there climbing the corporate ladder at a rapid rate (brought in as a “Graphic Design Assistant”). After 1 year I was offered the opportunity to move up to Santa Monica and start the “Graphic Design Department” for the entire Retail Division of the Firm. I enjoyed immense success in the hot seat as a Senior Designer for 2 1/2years. In 2006, the company was feeling the housing market crash and had to downsize the “non profitable” divisions hence the design department was put on hold indefinitely.

I then decided this was a great time to expand my horizons and headed up north to San Francisco were I spent a short time in a design studio. In 2007 after disbanding from the group I decided that the time is now to put the wheels in motion to start Nicholas Nelson Studios.

The Studio got its start in the living room of my studio apartment (try living and working in a 250 sq. ft.apartment) in San Francisco. I started this company from a strong foundation in graphic design / marketing /business development. This experience has stemmed from working in various studios in a broad range of industries anywhere from large global corporations to small mom and pop print houses. I have had the chance to work with some extremely talented people along the way, some of which have taken me under their wing and been a mentor to me in countless areas of my professional and personal aspirations. From professional photographers that frequently had their work featured in Ferrari to business development / marketing gurus that have turned struggling organizations into multi-million dollar corporations.

Through the past 12 years and many experiences, I have honed my skills as an artisan. Continually developing my talents on a daily basis and thriving for excellence on every endeavor I come across.

This is what Nicholas NelsonStudios is founded on along with passion and determination to succeed in everyaspect of life, work and love.

Visit us at www.nicholasnelsonstudios.com