A smart new alternative for budget product photographyBeing a creator of templates has not endeared me to all designers. Some folks get itchy when you provide others with even partial alternatives to using full-blown professional services. (If they were to look closely, they'd see my templates are designed to provide a framework for designers to begin a project with, not as finished designs.) So I have some sympathy for the fallout Mariano Pastor will suffer from his venture with Via U Photography.
It's actually a pretty smart idea - a flat fee product photography service ($70) for folks who need a decent product shot but don't have the budget to hire a professional photographer with a studio.
I can see how Via U would make sense for a certain group of clients in a specific niche - the site, in particular, recommends the service for users of the Esty.com handmade marketplace. That said, if you've got ten products and the equivalent budget of $700 I'm guessing you could probably afford to hire a photographer with a small studio.
In any case, I think it's worth a look.
Here >
Describe pic link...Here >
The Via U! blog offers some ideas for do-it-yourselfers...Here >
A press release about the service...Here >
Mariano Pastor's website (the founder of Via U!)...Here >
Esty.com...Here >
What the heck, while you're at it, check out my templates...Discuss this topic here...
A timely, inside look at web developmentBook review:
A Website That Works: How Marketing Agencies Can Create Business Generating Sites by Mark O'Brien
You can't blame an author for writing a how-to book that remains somewhat generic - if you narrow your audience, you limit your sales. If you name software programs, point to online services, and get specific about technical issues you limit your book's shelf-life. If you cite too many details you're likely to raise objections.
If you do all of these things, you're clearly not writing to please everyone, you're writing because you have something to say - and that's a book worth reading. A Website That Works is a book written for a specific audience: marketing agencies, that offers a smart, detailed approach to creating websites for both the agency and its clients.
The author, Mark O'Brien, is the president of Newfangled.com, a web development company that specializes in working with creative agencies to build marketing sites. The publisher is Rockbench, a company owned by David Baker, founder of ReCourses, Inc., a management consulting firm that focused on the advertising and design fields (I've pointed you to ReCourses a couple of times in the past).
What I like most about O'Brien's book is that it maps a specific course. You can agree or disagree with any particular proposition or conclusion, but the value is in seeing, step-by-step, how one firm is developing websites 2011 - it's current, thoughtful, and easy to digest.
He look at everything from audience definition and search engine optimization to information design and lead generation. I particularly like the chapter on "persona development," - the process of creating profiles of the people who use your site. "Well crafted personas," O'Brien explains, "serve as a guide for the site development planning stages and are helpful when navigating through the trickier elements of dealing with information design, visual design, call to action creation, and content strategy planning."
The other thing I like is that the writing is succinct. It drives me nuts when authors require their readers to scour 300 pages of obfuscation for 25 pages of information. A Website That Works offers 140 pages of worthwhile, intelligent advice from an author who is clearly an expert in his field. I believe every marketer, designer, and most clients will find something significant in this book that they will use on their next project.
A Website That Works: How Marketing Agencies Can Create Business Generating Sites by Mark O'Brien; ISBN-10: 1605440086, hardcover, 140 pages, published by Rockbench Publishing, 2011
Some links...
Here >
The publisher's page...Here >
Mark O'Brien's blog at Newfangled.com...Here >
David Baker's ReCourses...Discuss this topic here...
Some of the most interesting folks I have met in my life are professional photographersLast week I spent two days art directing a photography shoot inside a steel foundry and manufacturing plant. It reminded me of how interesting the job of a photographer (and designer) can be.
In fact, some of the most interesting folks I have met in my life are professional photographers. The reason is becuase, to do the job, you've got to be confident, outgoing, opinionated, technically skilled, and able to react quickly to the inevitable changes many projects present. That combination of traits makes for an eclectic, complex, personality.
Today I want to point you to a site dedicated to photographers and the nitty gritty of their business: APhotoEditor.com. The site is published by Rob Haggart, the former Director of Photography for Men's Journal and Outside Magazine, and features topics such as business practices, legal issues, marketing for photographers, and so on.
You'll have to visit it to get a feel for what distinguishes it from other photography resource sites - suffice it to say, I think the point of view is particularly intriguing.
Here >
Real World Estimates - Bribes And Kickbacks...Here >
Reference to discussion about how photography is used to exaggerate...Here >
"The Daily Edit" is Heidi Volpe's column which points to great editorial content...Discuss this topic here...I've been blessed with great clients -- some designers have notIn fact, I can think of only a few clients who seemed really difficult to work with. I've always though it was a two-way street - if, after a while, you're unable to demonstrate your value, you're either dealing with someone who is oblivious to well-executed, smart marketing, or you're failing to provide it.
But for the moment, let's entertain ourselves with stories of those less fortunate.
Clients From Hell is a collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers. In the forward to a compilation of contributions in book form, the editors explain, "...What if the reason we were consistently running into the same issues with different clients was that we were the difficult ones?... Feeling the sting of insecurity, we launched Clients From Hell in a desperate attempt to validate ourselves."
Here >
Example 1...Here >
Example 2...Here >
Example 3...Here >
See for yourself...Here >
It's now in book form...Discuss this topic here...About the briefing
I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at chuckgreen@ideabook.com
Chuck Green
