Method to the Mayhem

Niki Brown of Design O'Blog asked Calvin Lee of Mayhem Studios along with seven other top designers in the design field, what their favorite fonts are and why?

Among these top design professionals that contributed to the article included: Jeff Fisher, Jeff Fisher Logomotives, David Airey, Logodesignlove.com, Steph Adamo, StephAdamo.com, Liz Andrade, Cmd+Shift Design , Renee Rist, Ribbons of Red, Chris Coyier, CSS Tricks, and Adelle Charles, Fuel Your Creativity.

You can read the full article and discussion at Design O'Blog.

Calvin Lee, of Mayhem Studios, gives us a little preview of his thoughts on what his favorite font is and why?

"One of my favorite headline/sub headline fonts is Rosewood, which I used on a five-page article design for Create Magazine. I also used the font Imago, a san serif to balance and compliment Rosewood, a wilder font."

About Niki Brown
Niki Brown is the owner of the wildly popular Design O'Blog. Niki has be designing since she was a little kid - drawing cartoons, making fake newspapers, and planning a plot to take over the world. OK, maybe not. Niki's early interests in design were heightened when she got her first computer, it was love at first sight!

She made her first website in 1996, with the help of geocities and word-art. Now the rest is history. Fast forward to today - Niki is all grown up with a nifty degree that says "I know what I'm doing."

When Niki is not designing, eating, or sleeping you can usually find her blogging or running. She's been known to dress up in red flannel and run when its really cold outside. Niki's most recent accomplishment was completing the Dam to Dam 20k (half marathon).

Labels: Adelle Charles, Branding, Design, Design O'Blog, Fonts, Fuel Your Creativity, Jeff Fisher, Mayhem Studios, Niki Brown, Promotion

Posted by Calvin Lee at Tuesday, September 30, 2008 | Permalink | Comments

The past three months, I had a chance to work with two great interns. It was a pleasure walking them through the process of taking a project from the sketch/thumbnail stages to Photoshop mock-up, to print ready art/html/css.

Before their intership ended. I gave them a few tips on preparing for their interviews. I'm sharing the same tips here, in hopes, it may be helpful to other designers just starting out.

I would like to also thank Emily Lewis, owner of A Blog Not Limited, with additions to my list; Any Questions? and Thank You Letter, along with her suggestions.

+ Be Prepared For The Interview - Wear your best clothes: dress, dress shirt, tie, shoes, etc. Be confident, if not, act like you're. Do research on the company before the interview, Google (what they specialize in, what they are about).

+ Brand Yourself - Let employers see you as a brand/product, a total package. Everything should look similar: resume, business cards, leave behind and your portfolio pages.

+ Resume - Don't clutter your resume. It should be designed but not overly designed. Make sure it's simple and easy to access your information.

+ Any Questions? - In most, if not all interviews. You will be asked if you have any questions for them. Be prepared with a few thoughtful questions that show your interest in the job, but also your commitment to your career. Such as: "Can you give me an example of how the team/department works in terms of division of tasks?" Or: "What are the growth opportunities for this position in terms of either job growth, continuing education or both?"

+ Thank You Letter - Never forget to follow-up with a thank you letter (or email, though letter gives a personal touch). Make sure to, obviously, thank the interviewer for the opportunity. But also to reiterate how you can benefit the organization and, conversely, how the organization can benefit you

+ Portfolio - Your portfolio should have between 8-10 pieces of your best work, too many pieces will bore the interviewer. Don't put pieces in you don't like. Make sure you have nice quality printouts. Try to include a wide range of design projects in your portfolio. You can also tailor your portfolio to specific design positions like logo design or web design, only show those pieces.

+ Leave Behind - You may want to create a leave behind promotional piece; postcard or a folder with 3-4 samples of your work, resume and business card. This will keep you in their minds and give an impression that you're willing to take that extra step.

+ Website - Make sure you have a website or a place to display your work with all your information. Also make sure to have different file formats of your resume for potential employers, so they can download: pdf, Microsoft Word document, text file.

If you're not comfortable with building a website yourself. There are many free online web galleries you can upload to, below are a few.

+ Carbon Made
+ Design Related
+ Coroflot
+ Designer ID
+ Flickr
+ Veer
+ Design Hide
+ Behance
+ Logo Pond

Labels: Behance, Branding, Carbonmade, Coroflot, Design, Designerid, Designhide, Designrelated, Flickr, Intern, Interview, Student, Veer

Posted by Calvin Lee at Monday, September 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments

Calvin Lee, of Mayhem Studios, accompanied by some of the top notch blogosphere experts on the web today; David Airey, Davidairey.com + Logodesignlove.com, Brian Lovin, Elite By Design, Jeff Finley, Go Media and Ryan Downie, Ryandownie.com answers the question of "How do I find and keep a great designer?" for Fuelyourcreativity.com

It seems like a simple question, but to other small companies the task can be daunting. Even ridiculous, unless you have 100’s of thousands of dollars to throw around - you're on your own!

Calvin Lee, of Mayhem Studios, gives his thoughts on the topic, what the client should know up front.

"As a designer, I want to be honest and upfront. Let the client know what they will be expecting in deliverables and how much the project will cost. This can be accomplished with a signed contract and a 50% deposit before starting any project, with the exact details of what the client will be receiving."

You can read the full article and discussion at Fuel Your Creativity.

About Fuel Your Creativity
Fuel Your Creativity is an open site and forum where everyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to exchange ideas and tips. It’s not just for designers either. Writers, photographers, graffitists…come one, come all. There are new posts a couple times a week and sometimes more than that. Check back often. It is our hope that you will… Find your spark.

About Adelle Charles
Adelle Charles is a Designer & Blogger who runs Fuel Your Creativity & AdelleCharles.com. She is an obsessive email checker and highly addicted to Starbucks. Loves to add "fuel to the fire" any chance she gets. Her dogs Chino and Jameson jot down ideas for her while she's at work. They are obviously the secret to her success.

Labels: Adelle Charles, Brian Lovin, Business, Calvin Lee, Clients, David Airey, Design, Elite By Design, Fuel Your Creativity, Go Media, Jeff Finley, Logo Design Love, Mayhem Studios, Ryan Downie

Posted by Calvin Lee at Wednesday, September 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments