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Best podcasts about mb subscribe

Latest podcast episodes about mb subscribe

Robohub Podcast
ep.354: Autonomous Flight Demo with CMU AirLab #ICRA2022, with Sebastian Scherer

Robohub Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022


Sebastian Scherer from CMU's Airlab gives us a behind-the-scenes demo at ICRA of their Autonomous Flight Control AI. Their approach aims to cooperate with human pilots and act the way they would. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPsJ4ArdtTk The team took this approach to create a more natural, less intrusive process for co-habiting human and AI pilots at a single airport. They describe it as a Turing Test, where ideally the human pilot will be unable to distinguish an AI from a person operating the plane. Their communication system works parallel with a 6-camera hardware package based on the Nvidia AGX Dev Kit. This kit measures the angular speed of objects flying across the videos. In this world, high angular velocity means low risk -- since the object is flying at a fast speed perpendicular to the camera plane. Low angular velocity indicates high risk since the object could be flying directly at the plane, headed for a collision. Links Download mp3 (19.3 MB) Subscribe to Robohub using iTunes, RSS, or Spotify Support us on Patreon

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW M05x2 Achtung Baby 30 year anniversary

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2021 119:05


In honor of Achtung Baby's 30th anniversary and as a US Thanksgiving gift, enjoy the reminiscence about U2's Achtung Baby, yet another iconic piece of music from 1991.   While we each come at U2 from a different angle, all of us agree: if you get an opportunity to see them live, do so – they are amazing. And check the show notes, there are links to every piece of music, including all of the live tracks that we talk about. Immerse yourself. 67 music clips went into this episode Special thanks to Diane Michalski for analysis Special thanks to Dan Brownfield for bringing U2 to our attention in the first place   Achtung Baby talk begins at about 41:00   File length 1:59:04 File Size 109.0 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Robohub Podcast
ep.337: Autonomously Mapping the Seafloor, with Anthony DiMare and Charles Chiau

Robohub Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2021


Robohub Podcast · Autonomously Mapping the Seafloor Anthony DiMare and Charles Chiau deep dive into how Bedrock Ocean is innovating in the world of Marine Surveys. At Bedrock Ocean, they are developing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that is able to map the seafloor autonomously and at a high resolution. They are also developing a data platform to access, process, and visualize data captured from other companies at the seafloor. Bedrock Ocean is solving two problems in the industry of Marine Surveying. 1. The vast majority of the seafloor is completely unmapped 2. The data that is captured from the seafloor is not standardized or centralized. Seafloor data conducted by two different companies with the same or different hardware to capture the data can vary significantly in the calculated seafloor profile Anthony DiMare Anthony previously founded Nautilus Labs, a leading maritime technology company advancing the efficiency of ocean commerce through artificial intelligence. While at Nautilus, Anthony helped global companies solve challenges with distributed, siloed maritime data systems and built the early team that launched Nautilus Platform into large publicly listed shipping companies. Charles Chiau Charles, Bedrock's CTO, was previously at SpaceX where he helped design the avionics systems for Crew Dragon. He also was a system integration engineer at Reliable Robotics working on their autonomous aviation system and was the CTO of DeepFlight where he worked on manned submersibles including ones for Tom Perkins, Richard Branson, and Steve Fossett. Links Download mp3 (48.0 MB) Subscribe to Robohub using iTunes, RSS, or Spotify Support us on Patreon

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 414 Synchronic

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2021 77:11


Brothers Drew and Eric discuss (and spoil) the latest Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead movie Synchronic. It's great. Along the way the brothers discuss hallucinogens, synthetic copycat drugs, the V/H/S anthology films, and Moon Knight. And at 1:03:45 we have housekeeping and Drew's weight loss journey with WondR Health. File length 1:17:10 File Size 55.6 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW Vote In A Creepy Way 2020-01

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2020 57:18


We break our political talk away from the main show so if you don’t want to hear it you can easily skip it. But it's surprisingly fun.    Note: this was recorded before the networks projected Biden and Harris as the winners.    File length 57:17 File Size 41.8 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com  

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 209 rerun Outbreak and Contagion

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2020 102:57


Due to the global pandemic it might be a good idea to revisit this gem from July of 2017.   Glove up folks, tonight’s double feature is Outbreak and Contagion. Eric loved Outbreak, Jason liked it, but Drew HATED it. Contagion, however, proved to be a hit with all the brothers. Drew tells an Agent Orange Story from 31:00 to 39:00 Contagion talk begins at 43:00 Jason has a car story at 1:30:00 The brothers reference Richard Preston’s “The Hot Zone,” and “Demon in the Freezer,” World War Z, The Real Wives of Orange County, Spaulding Grey, and the Weekly Infusion podcast. References: Logan Lucky trailer Weekly Infusion episode 30 with Dr James Fallon File length 1:42:30 File Size 94.1 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Filmed in Canada, a podcast about Canadian movies.
VIFF 2018 Pt.2 - Filmed in Canada Ep.70

Filmed in Canada, a podcast about Canadian movies.

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2018


The 37th Vancouver International Film Festival closed Oct. 12 but Chris and Alexander still have thoughts to share on some festival films that will return to various screens in the future. Hear them muse on Sharkwater: Extinction (in theatres Oct. 19), Finding Big Country (at the Rio Theatre on Oct. 21), Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (available for pre-order on iTunes) and The Hummingbird Project (due to release in 2019). Download this episode here. (45 MB) Subscribe through your preferred podcast app. Tell your friends to tell their friends.

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 260 Into The Wild

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2018 68:54


The story of Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp is something most Alaskans consider a cautionary tale. Jon Krakauer and Sean Penn treat it as a romantic tale of the spirit of idealistic youth. The brothers have opinions. References: Canned Heat - Going Up The Country Rush - Tom Sawyer Supertramp - Dreamer Missing Anchorage Woman - KTUU.com Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike The Doors - The End File length 1:08:53 File Size 63.3 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 259 Tropic Thunder

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2018 52:17


Comedies are hard to discuss, mostly because if one doesn’t find something funny the first time one sees it, a hearty discussion rarely changes that view. Tropic Thunder tickled the funny bone of Eric and Drew but Brother J remains unimpressed.   Along the way they discuss Richard Cheese and Drew tells a talk of pediatric x-rays. Housekeeping starts at 38:20   References: Richard Cheese - Closer Richard Cheese - Welcome to the Jungle Richard Cheese - Pour Some Sugar On Me File length 52:16 File Size 48.3 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 253 Dr Strangelove and the end of the world

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2018 82:48


Lennie Bruce might not be afraid but two of the Anderson bros sure are about the end of the world. We talk about Dr Strangelove again after viewing it with new eyes. Then talk turns to the excellent book The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy References: R.E.M. It's the End of the World as We Know It The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy File length 1:22:47 File Size 76.0 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 251 Children of Dune

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2018 98:15


Brother J once again does the heavy lifting, trying to explain the continued Duniverse of Children of Dune.   WARNING: From 47:00 to 59:00 there is a spoiler for the future Dune books   In housekeeping the bros speak of the woes of home maintenance.   References: Macho Man - The Village People   File length 1:38:14 File Size 90.1 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

Not In a Creepy Way
NIACW 248 The Dark Crystal

Not In a Creepy Way

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2018 70:14


The Dark Crystal is one of Drew’s favorite movies. It’s also quite scary for a kids movie when you view it through modern eyes. References: Riverbottom Nightmare Band George Zamfir - Chariots of Fire Jim Nabors The Dark Crystal for Apple II The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy The Demon in the Freezer File length 1:10:13 File Size 64.6 MB Subscribe to us on iTunes Listen to us on Stitcher Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Send your comments to show@notinacreepyway.com Visit the show website at www.notinacreepyway.com

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Big 100! A Live Meetup Event with guests Rashan Casseus & Gabby Wallace

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2017 67:53


That went quickly! Listen in to our live event where we commemorate 100 episodes of The Busy Creator Podcast and remark on the journey. This event was a crossover with the New York City Podcast Meetup, recorded at Small City Co-working space in Brooklyn. Joining Prescott on stage are musician Joaquin Cotler (@ShinyIslands), UX designer Rashan Casseus (@rcassues) & video publisher/entrepreneur Gabby Wallace (@GabbyAWallace). Together we discuss daily practice, creating projects and nurturing them over time, and our own experiences with podcasting. Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 100 (MP3, 1:07:53, 32.7 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 100 (OGG, 1:07:53, 35.9 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes, on Google Play Music, on Android, on iHeart Show Notes & Links Small City co-working space in Brooklyn Joaquin Cotler, musician, journalist, composer of The Busy Creator Podcast theme song Paul Shaffer, Clark Terry, Questlove — late night talk show band leaders through the years New York City Podcast Meetup Joaquin has appeared on The Busy Creator Podcast episode 41 John Lee Dumas & Kate Erickson, guests on TBC episode 50 "It's a great time to go to Puerto Rico if you already have a lot of money." —Joaquin Cotler Tweet This Creighton Mershonn & Jessi Arrington, proprietors of Small City and past guests on TBC ep 92 Vector Media Group, our default host of the NYC Podcast Meetup Nick Spriggs, partner at Vector, guest on TBC ep 91 New York City Podcast Meetup is one year old  New York City Podcast Meetup on Twitter  New York City Podcast Meetup on Facebook Prescott removed Facebook from his phone, sleeps better  The Busy Creator Podcast made it to 100 episodes — they're all here Jonathan Coulton, and his Thing A Week podcast project JoCo Cruise, featuring Aimee Mann, et al "Busy is a four-letter word." —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This “Busy Beaver” is an English-language idomatic expression MIT's mascot is Tim the Beaver, nature's engineer Tim The Beaver Buzz The Busy Beaver is the mascot of The Busy Creator Podcast, but not modelled after Prescott #HumbleBrag, a definition The Busy Creator Podcast started as bi-weekly, went up to weekly, then returned to bi-weekly Bi-Weekly vs. Fortnightly vs. every-other-week, semantics TBC by the numbers: 3 years, 106 episodes (including B-Sides), 98 unique guests, 15 single-topic episodes, 4 monologue episodes TBC by the numbers, best single day downloads: 567, 11 January 2017 TBC by the numbers, best monthly downloads: 10,148, November 2016 TBC by the numbers, lifetime downloads: 103,279, as of 16 January 2017 Marc Maron's show received nearly 750,000 downloads in 24 hours when he interviewed President Obama Casper Mattresses, not a sponsor #TBC100 and #NYCPodMeet to see photos from the event Rashan Casseus, NYC native, FIT Grad, currently a Senior UX Designer Rashan & Prescott met at a fan meetup for Keith and The Girl R & P participated in The Cinnamon Challenge The Ice-Bucket Challange, The Mannequin Challenge, etc. Ice Bucket Challenge Emeril Lagasse "I make digital tools easier to use." —Rashan Casseus Tweet This "UX is the thought process of how a human being gets from point A to point B." —Rashan Casseus Tweet This MailChimp, and their mascot Freddy Disembodied Monkey Hand, the name of Joaquin's new punk band Microcopy, the words around the site on buttons, short messages, etc. Eat24, and their “hungry” shopping cart 90Elm, Rashan's cousin's t-shirt company User Stories, User Interviews — tools of planning a site Sayba Naturals, Prescott's mother's soap brand Squarespace, also not a sponsor "Websites are never finished, they are only abandoned." —Prescott Perez-Fox, paraphrasing Leonardo da Vinci Tweet This "Your website is done when you run out of time, or when the client says 'I want it up now'." —Rashan Casseus Tweet This Museum of Arts and Design, NYC Gabby Wallace, YouTube producer, teacher, online marketing coach — hates headphones!  Keith Richards Gabby defines herself as a creator. Simple. "I create something every day. Most day, many things." —Gabby Wallace Tweet This Prescott & Gabby met at Podcast Movement 2014 Gabby was a podcaster, has moved back to YouTube. GoNaturalEnglish, a video show to learn to English Friendtor, teaming up with people of complementary skills Adrienne Stortz, Katie Quinn, cooking video producers in Brooklyn Matt Cremona, woodworker "I reject all that quality and editing because it takes forever!" —Gabby Wallace Tweet This Keytar Gilmore Girls, and the revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Gilmore Guys podcast The Town Troubadour from Gilmore Girls Joaquin attended CUNY J-School, earning a Master's in Multimedia Journalism Atavist, easier to use than Squarespace or WordPress Roots on The Record, Joaquin's graduate project speaking to musicians and  Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Marian McPartland, 1918–2013 The Nerdist Podcast Alicia Witt, and her episode on The Nerdist The 101, traffic magnet in Los Angeles Studio 360 Kurt Andersen Ashley Milne-Tyte, previous guest on TBC ep 8 WBAI, the liberal talk station which plays Latin Jazz Ray Barretto "Way more fun than playing music is listening to other people play." —Joaquin Cotler Tweet This The Busy Creator Podcast is switching from bi-weekly publication to a seasonal format 9 Habits of Highly Creative People Zapier, upcoming episode for season.next Hulse Durrell, upcoming episode for season.next Vancouver Olympics New brand and website for The Busy Creator coming in the spring SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets), better than CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)  Rashan Casseus on Twitter  Rashan Casseus on Facebook  Rashan Casseus on Instagram  Rashan Casseus on LinkedIn  Gabby Wallace on Twitter  Gabby Wallace on Facebook  Gabby Wallace on Instagram  Gabby Wallace on LinkedIn  Gabby Wallace on YouTube  Joaquin Cotler on Twitter  Joaquin Cotler on Facebook  Joaquin Cotler on Instagram  Joaquin Cotler on LinkedIn  Joaquin Cotler on YouTube Tools Jira Slack Squarespace Google Docs Atavist Techniques Name buttons on websites in an intuitive way; say “conclude” or “done” Consult a designer even when using a templated system like Squarespace Take team outings as a way to get to know each other Post a common planning document to keep your team accountable Share your core message; if you don't have it defined, go back to square one Mix your “main bit” with casual, less rehearsed pieces When discussing an “album”, call it a “record” to be more generic Habits Keep your skills up with family and community projects Find the intersection of your creation and what people need Post helpful content and videos; people will ask for your help Constantly learn from others via podcasts, videos, blogs, books, etc. Return to a consistent format to avoid rehearsal SaveSave

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
There and Back Again, Craig Ward Discusses Joining A Large Agency After Years of Successful Solo Practice

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2016 47:06


Craig Ward (@MrCraigWard) is a designer, art director, typographic artist, and author currently living in Brooklyn, NY. A UK native, he came to New York in 2009 shortly after being selected as an ADC Young Gun. As a solo act, Craig created projects for Adobe, Squarespace, Calvin Klein, Google, Nike, and host of other large brands across entertainment, fashion, media, and consumer products. Lately, he's rejoined the agency world. In this conversation, we discuss the culture clash between a large company and a solo practice, the economics behind design (large and small), and where agencies can still innovate in spite of their size. Catch up with Craig on his personal website, Words Are Pictures. Cover photo by Jonathan Pilkington. Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 99 (MP3, 47:06, 22.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 99 (OGG, 47:06, 24.9 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes, on Google Play Music, on Android, on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the finest free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links Prescott and Craig have been pals for several years due to the NYC design scene Joaquin Cotler, a guest on The Busy Creator episode 41 and composer of the theme music Craig is ok being called a “designer & art director”; he's also directed music videos and earn other titles by action Solo practitioners are a “one-man army” due to their multiple facets The US O-1B Visa, for people, like Craig, “who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement … and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements …”  How a Bill Becomes Law   "Solo practice is very liberating, but brings its own problems." —Craig Ward Tweet This "When you work for someone else, you can spend almost 100% of time working on projects. For yourself, it's maybe 50%." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This "When freelance work became my full-time job I suddenly had free time." —Craig Ward Tweet This Popular Lies About Graphic Design by Craig Ward on Amazon Craig's first solo show "I didn't think at all about the financial aspects of solo work." —Craig Ward Tweet This Grey advertising "Big agencies are designed to spin wheels." —Craig Ward Tweet This "If you're a creative person, you're not supposed to be good at business stuff." —Craig Ward Tweet This Intellectual Overhead vs. Property Overhead: anxiety, distraction, etc. rather than dollars "When you work solo the highs are higher, but the lows are lower." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This “Make hay while the sun shines” and other farming metaphors Pentagram Eddie Opara, digitally-savvy partner at Pentagram Douglas Davis, previous guest on TBC "In so many ways it's a holiday to have a team." —Craig Ward Tweet This "At a certain point, agencies stop being creative companies and start being corporations." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This Denise O'Bleness "Clients get the work they deserve." —Denise O'Bleness Tweet This Deutsch "The answers are not found in the office." —Craig Ward Tweet This "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." —Seneca Tweet This Mother, an agency which has Design and Advertising within it The Shadow Cabinet, in Parliament Skunk Works "The barrier to entry to experimenting is lower than ever." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This "I worry that I'm spreading myself too thin, but I'd rather have a go than not." —Craig Ward Tweet This Extrude nodes, chamfered edges – jargon of 3D printing and modeling "We ran out of stuff to talk about … so we had a kid." —Craig Ward Tweet This "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." —Pablo Picasso Tweet This "There's real beauty in an eclectic team." —Craig Ward Tweet This Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)  Craig Ward on Twitter  Craig Ward on Instagram  Craig Ward on Facebook  Craig Ward on LinkedIn Tools Maya Techniques Use your “free” time for other long-term projects, like writing a book Keep “swiftness” in mind; build momentum at the start of projects Take on an agent to help even out the workloads Encourage your team to get out of the office and see things around the city Create a job number for excursions so you can track it; give yourself a time-budget per month Visualize your projects internally, and sketch when you have an idea in mind Habits Be a “restless creative”, always be making something Aim for one fully-fledged, start-to-finish project in your portfolio per year Allow for Unconventional Inspiration (one of The 9 Habits of Highly Creative People) Build in separation between your home and work life; force a commute and specific hours  

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Practical Typographic Advice and Building an Education Business Alongside a Design Firm with Michael Stinson

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2016 52:40


Michael Stinson (@MWStinson) is a veteran designer, educator, and business owner. In addition to his work as a professor of graphic design, he also runs Ramp Creative, a branding studio in Los Angeles, as well as Type Ed, a dedicated typographic education business which helps creative pros return to form in the fields of typesetting and layout. Together in this conversation we unravel some of today's worst typographic habits, and how to overcome them, share a few tips that all creatives can use to improve their type usage, and discuss some processes for working with clients. Catch up with Michael on his website, MichaelStinson.com, or through Type Ed.              Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 97 (MP3, 52:40, 25.4 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 97 (OGG, 52:40, 22 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes, on Google Play Music, on Android, on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the finest free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links Michael is the first person from Los Angeles to join The Busy Creator Podcast Ramp Creative handles a lot of variety — digital, print, mobile Type Ed is an Education Organization, founded 2012 UI/UX design has eroded traditional type study High School scribbles are largely typography Michael was taught both ends of the type spectrum — hand lettering and typesetting (3 words or 300) "I'm not training you to be designers; I'm training you to be Creative Directors some day." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Phonetics Whiskey Labels, an underrated technical as well as artistic challenge "Everyone likes to do logos but wordmarks are extremely challenging." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Chronicle Books Typography for Lawyers, great site for anyone, not just lawers "Designers these days don't like process. They want to jump to making it look good." —Michael Stinson Tweet This "If you get your process in place, you can design anything." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Michael is a former Aerospace Engineer; Prescott studied Mechanical Engineering Prescott — in spite of the hyphen in his last name — doesn't like to use hyphens in his paragraph text "Imagine if you're reading War & Peace in all caps — how far would you get?" —Michael Stinson Tweet This Milton Glaser's Bob Dylan poster Bob Dylan by Milton Glaser Michael was accepted to study Physics at Berkeley, but received scholarships in Art "The beauty of graphic design is that it works both sides of the brain." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Additive & Subtractive Colours Lithographic printing Calculus Ramp Creative is 2 principals and 1 designer "If you follow the right words the path will take you to the promised land of the visuals." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Different methodologies — layer cake vs. pay-as-you-go Lots of Jewish families in New York City worked in the garment industry "You're an actor, you're a leader, you're an entrepreneur, you're a psychologist, you're a therapist ... all at the same time." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Building Brands, a Step-By-Step Guide for Creative Pros to Develop Strategy and Design Identity — original eBook by Prescott Perez-Fox Building Brands eBook "You're not going to use a crescent wrench for a hammer. Right tool for the right job." —Michael Stinson Tweet This "Never stop noticing design." —Michael Stinson Tweet This The most stringest morning routine ever described on The Busy Creator Podcast was that of Michael Bierut Reading in The Brain by Stanislas Dehaene on Amazon The Intellectual Devotional by David Kidder & Noah Oppenheim on Amazon and on Audible "Type isn't all about the characters themselves, it's about the space they take up and the negative space that's left." —Michael Stinson Tweet This Michael defines himself as an introvert Douglas Davis, another educator to appear as a guest Cat Rose discussed creative introverts on The Busy Creator Podcast  Type Ed  MichaelStinson.com  RampCreative.com  Michael Stinson on Twitter  Michael Stinson on Facebook  Michael Stinson on Instagram  Michael Stinson on LinkedIn  Type Ed on Twitter  Type Ed on Facebook Tools InDesign Basecamp Harvest Techniques Use Tables in InDesign for grid-based layouts (restaurant menus) Build type hierarchy from the body copy up (subheads, etc.) If you're setting more than 35 words, don't use All Caps, Italics, Centered Don't be afraid to use hyphens, but with discipline. (e.g., don't use hyphens in the first line) Don't use more than 13 words on a line (left-aligned), or 7 words on a line (centered) Aim for 50-70 characters per line (type size in points x 2 = measure width in picas) Don't build websites in Photoshop — it's not made for layout Habits Keep the reader in your mind. Think of them first. Always take clients through a verbal discovery phase first before visuals Give your print partners multiple files — flattened, outlined, original files, native links, etc. — make their lives easier Constantly observe and comment on design around you Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Intellectual Devotional Modern Culture: Revive Your Mind by David Kidder & Noah Oppenheim as a free audiobook   

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Becoming a Multi-Faceted Creative, and The Movie-Making Process with Filmmaker & Podcaster David Power

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2016 44:01


David Power is a multi-purpose creative pro based in Brooklyn, NY. Since moving to New York, he's worked in music recording & production, written several business books, penned screenplays, and helped write and perform in comedy films. His latest project is a podcast documentary of how a feature film is made. Our conversation covers creative practices and routines, as well as the often-nebulous world of film & video, including how to collaborate on a script and using crowdfunding to launch projects at scale. Catch up with David on his website, DavidPower.com, or through his show, SureFirePodcast.com Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 96 (MP3, 44:01, 21.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 96 (OGG, 44:01, 24.9 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes, on Google Play Music, on Android, on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the finest free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links David's office is a multi-purpose room (writing, video editing, audio recording, podcast production) Acoustic paneling GIK Acoustics Reverb Anechoic Chamber David started making films based on his own whims and desires The Lonely Island Saturday Night Life D*ck in a Box David is currently podcasting the production of a feature film Michael Goldburg & Dave Chan, filmmakers Iron Mule Comedy Film Festival, NYC Seed & Spark, film-based crowdfunding platform Transcontinental Railroad Contractions (in dialogue) David's podcast episode on crowdfunding Crowdfunding article on The Busy Creator blog Kickstarter and pitch videos which now are their own project and format Cathryn Lavery on The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 65 American Sign Language (ASL) Does Google Docs have an offline version? Centered, Courier text for screenplays. Why? David has assembled a 3-monitor desk setup over the years Island of Misfit Toys Crysis Ivy Bridge, Intel's best chip from Spring 2012 David worked in a corporate environment for many years; no longer uses an alarm clock Prescott watches one event on broadcast TV each year: The Oscars Presidential debates in 2016 were streamed on Twitter DavidPower.com Sure-Fire Podcast  David Power on Facebook  David Power on LinkedIn Tools Trello Slack Google Docs FinalDraft BitBucket (on the web) SourceTree (on the desktop) Dropbox Paper Dell PC Tower from 2009 VEGAS Pro by Sony Magix Cakewalk by Sonar Hackintosh Mac Pro Techniques Soften the corners of a room to dampen reverb/echo Develop characters first, give them a voice and backstory, and then place them into a three-act structure. (Or not). Collect all notes and ideas; save them for later and vetting each one before writing Build a project management software workflow that actually reflects the way you work Don't store files in Slack; that's not the place for permanent items Use Plain Text formatting as a universal standard Build a Hackintosh if you can't afford a Mac Pro (which you probably can't) Habits Cross-promote, tag, and share your social links with your collaboration partners Exercise first thing in the morning Meditate, eat, drink coffee before starting work Use a floating lunch hour Wake up without an alarm Don't actively seek out news (minus industry happenings) Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Finish the Script!: A College Screenwriting Course in Book Form by Scott King as a free audiobook   

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Business Lessons for Creative Entrepreneurs & How to Launch an Online Community with Designer, Writer, and Podcaster Kathleen Shannon

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2016 52:25


Kathleen Shannon (@AndKathleen) is a graphic designer and brand strategist, and co-founder of Being Boss, a podcast and community for creative entrepreneurs. Kathleen began as a staff art director, but learned entrepreneurial habits working on her side projects and blogging. She's now seeking to become a media mogul and serve the creative community. In this conversation, we discuss the origins of Being Boss, how Kathleen learned systematic behaviour and stays organised, and the common mindsets of creative entrepreneurs. Catch up with Kathleen on the Being Boss website or that of her agency, Braid Creative. Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 95 (MP3, 52:24, 25.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 95 (OGG, 52:24, 24.4 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes | on Google Play Music | on Android | on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the best free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links Prescott had a classmate named Kathleen, who went by Kate. Her mother, also Kathleen, went by Cassie. Kathleen was almost named “Cinco”, born May 5 Prescott is born May 6, making the two both Tauruses Kathleen describes herself as a “truth seeker & dream (job) chaser. Tea drinker & good food eater. Risk taker, magic maker & booty shaker.” AndKathleen.com, Kathleen's personal site and retired blog “Creative Horcruxes”, websites and projects where we divide our passions, time, and attention Kathleen co-owns Braid Creative with her sister Tara Braid Creative is “Branding and business visioning agency for creative entrepreneurs” The Being Boss podcast started in 2014 as a way for Kathleen to “grow the top of her funnel” Emily Thompson (@EmilyM_Thompson), Kathleen's partner in Being Boss Prescott kept hearing about “your audience”, which sparked him to start The Busy Creator Prescott admits that Being Boss is “ahead” of The Busy Creator in terms of spawning multiple forms (books, events, community classes, etc.) "Show notes are a great way to increase search engine optimization." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This The aim is transform Being Boss from a podcast into “multimedia conglomerate” Chelsea Handler, Kathleen's hero for hosting a tv show Kathleen & Emily recently submitted a book for publishing (due out Spring 2018) FreshBooks was a sponsor of Being Boss almost since the beginning, because they align Being Boss Facebook Group, 17,000+ members strong, has grown almost beyond control "How you feel at work affects how you feel at home, and vice versa." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This "We didn't want to sully the waters with money." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This The Being Boss Clubhouse is a year-long community learning course with coaching, and more. Will Hudson, early guest on The Busy Creator, ep. 12 It's Nice That and its sister agency, Anyways Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio have both been on TBC, separately, eps. 3 & 84 Brand New Conference, Brand New Blog Kathleen started writing on LiveJournal in 1999 Kathleen worked as an Art Director for advertising while blogging at home The Etsy–Pinterest Boom Kathleen attracted freelance design projects from posting her wedding invitations "First, you have to be dedicated to your craft." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This 10,000 hours “Fit of Entrepreneurial Passion”, as described by Michael Gerber "Nothing kills creativity like desperation." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This Kathleen learned Project Management skills at her ad agency job Charlotte Hornets "You can only connect the dots looking backwards." —Steve Jobs Tweet This Steve Jobs addresses Standford class of 2004 2005 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo on Amazon and on Audible Prescott's grandfather collected his lifetime's worth of business cards 9 Habits of Highly Creative People (free eBook) Kathleen & Emily met as internet blogging pals Emily pitched the idea of a podcast, along with responsibilities Kathleen is the editorial lead; Emily handles web and tech "I didn't know this thing would need its own bank account one day!" —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This 7 People are involved with the production of Being Boss, including an editorial assistant and an audio editor The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber on Amazon and on Audible "Most people are still in their struggle. There's never a 'there'." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This "Your goals mean shit if you feel like shit along the way." —Kathleen Shannon Tweet This Emily only uses list view in Asana; Kathleen only uses calendar Prescott prefers Kanban view, where that's available Ramit Sethi Kaizen, continual gradual improvements over time Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott on Amazon and on Audible Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson on Amazon and on Audible Daring Greatly by Brene Brown on Amazon and on Audible Martha Beck  BeingBoss.club  Kathleen Shannon on Twitter  Kathleen Shannon on Facebook  Kathleen Shannon on Instagram  Braid Creative on Facebook  Braid Creative on Pinterest  Being Boss on Twitter  Being Boss on Facebook  Being Boss on Instagram  Being Boss on iTunes Tools Being Boss Podcast Facebook Live FreshBooks Acuity Scheduling Asana CoSchedule Notebooks, Post-Its Evernote Google Docs Slack Techniques Ask your audience what they want, to create new content Put in your 10,000 hours before becoming an entrepreneur; become a “confident expert” Build a bridge before leaving your full-time job Aim to replace your income before taking that last leap Ask to be in client meetings; see the process up close Share your process as you're in it — publish along the way Codify your methods, translate them to an e-course  Find a “business bestie” and have “Skype dates” Use your existing resources to bolster your side projects Create an org. chart to plan future expansion, duties Know every element of your business, and only outsource as needed When overwhelmed, write top 3 items on a Post-It Be a little more casual with your team when chatting on Slack Habits Drink Coffee and Tea every morning Broadcast on Facebook Live a few times a week Make decisions, whether they're right or wrong Respect your future self (through systems) Have empathy for others and what they struggle with — it may be different from you Put everything in Google Calendar Work out first thing in the morning Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Daring Greatly by Brene Brown as a free audiobook 

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Methods and Mindsets for Successful Web Design Projects with Agency Boss Ben Seigel

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2016 54:50


Ben Seigel (@versastudiollc) is a web designer and developer, and head of Versa Studio. In addition to managing projects and writing the necessary code for client sites, Ben has examined and written about the underlaying value of design, how small businesses and design agencies can work together toward successful ends. In this conversation, we dig into content management systems on websites, discuss managing remote teams, remark on transitioning from a pure developer to a business owner, and share some common ailments of working with small businesses on their brand and web design projects. Website Planning for Small Business Grab Ben's eBook, Website Planning for Small Business, and catch up with him via the website for Versa Studio.   Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 94 (MP3, 54:50, 26.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 94 (OGG, 54:50, 26.2 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes | on Google Play Music | on Android | on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the best free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links Versa Studio is a distrubuted team, building websites & brands for small business and non-profits Ben previously ran a lawn service and worked internally in the insurance industry HAM Radio Commodore 64, Prescott's first computer The Internet of Things Versa Studio works with ExpressionEngine and Craft, exclusively WordPress Nick Spriggs, previous guest on The Busy Creator Podcast Vector Media hosts the New York City Craft Meetup Register for a temporary live installation of Craft Ben manages projects, but also still writes code and works on the sites Ben runs the Madison Web Design/Development Meetup Big Data Periscope Ben's eBook, Website Planning for Small Business "If someone wants to spend $20k on a project, but won't take 2 hours to read a plan ... they're not going to be a good client." —Ben Seigel Tweet This Prescott's eBook, Building Brands "You need a 'minimum viable brand' before any website." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This Prescott wants the “power of suggestion” as his business superpower. Ben prefers a version of ESP. Request for Proposals (RFP) "(an RFP) is a really great way to waste a whole bunch of peoples' time." —Ben Seigel Tweet This Brennan Dunn, Roadmapping A “Warm RFP” has a higher chance to succeed "You can read four proposals. You probably can't read 19." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This Current (October 2016) Facebook image guidelines Full Employment Act Bespoke aka custom-built Tim Ferriss "We're not built to sit all day. We're also not built to stand. We gotta move." —Ben Seigel Tweet This Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin Graceland by Paul Simon on Amazon Derek Sivers Versastudios.com/now — what Ben is doing now  Versa Studio  Versa Studio on Twitter  Versa Studio on Facebook  Ben Seigel on LinkedIn Tools ExpressionEngine Craft CMS Photoshop Sketch HeartMath Techniques If given the opportunity, build a new platform fresh without links to the past ten years of legacy code Connect with people in person rather than social Break a project into steps/phases, so you can learn about the client as you go Build a “Helvetica-Vanilla” version of your website while you test-and-iterate on brand, content, visual styles Counter an RFP with an honest, candid phone call or conversation Ask about the competition for proposals/pitches/tenders Review a project through a post-mortem Auto-answer common email questions Pomodoro Method Habits Create a “framework” for your projects; share it with clients and industry Start projects with an “assembly line” for beginning a project Call Templates “Starting Documents” Be flexible on your standards and workflow Save code snippets and text macros as you work on projects; you'll likely need to use them again. Always move during the day Work toward your daily practices Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business by Jane Applegate as a free audiobook  Join the Discussion Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Balancing a Design Practice and Co-Working Space in New York City, with Jessi Arrington & Creighton Mershon

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2016 59:17


Jessi Arrington (@JessiArrington) and Creighton Mershon (@Cr8tonMershon) are the founders of Workshop, a Brooklyn-based creative agency, as well as the proprietors of Small City, a new co-working space and home to dozens of independent creative pros. Alongside their design practice, Jessi & Creighton have grown their co-working experience by taking on more responsibility across three different spaces in Brooklyn. In this conversation, we discuss the oddities and challenges of New York real estate, the financial and logistical efforts needed to run a co-working space anywhere, and a bit about balancing family life with all manner of creative and business tasks. Catch up with Jessi & Creighton on their websites for Workshop and Small City. Cover photo by Bekka Palmer Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 92 (MP3, 59:17, 21.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 92 (OGG, 59:17, 26.1 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes     Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes | on Google Play Music | on Android| on iHeart Sponsor Freedcamp, the best free online project management software Bandwidth for The Busy Creator Podcast is provided by Freedcamp, Group Efforts Made Effortless. Freedcamp is best free online project management software available. By using the built-in functions and additional tools like time tracking, invoices, milestones, file storage, and more, teams can customise the software for the task at hand! The Busy Creator Podcast itself is managed and operated on Freedcamp. Get started for free on Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links In Fall 2007, Prescott ran the Philadelphia Marathon but also discovered that he didn't know any peers in the design biz Jessi and Prescott in Debbie Millman‘s class at SVA in Fall 2007 Jessi & Creighton met in the “New York Design Scene” Jessi & Prescott, being young and wild J&C have broadened the definitions of “Design” "A shared word does not mean a shared definiton." —Debbie Millman Tweet This "Design is about intention. We're trying to live a designed life." —Jessi Arrington Tweet This Parsons, The New School for Design Jessi & Creighton founded Workshop in 2005 (and married in 2006) Jessi & Creighton recently celebrated their ten-year anniversary Workshop now practices “in-person experience design”, which encompasses physical spaces, graphics, and time (how a person moves through a place) "I like to think about our projects and ask 'What happens when we press play?'" —Creighton Mershon Tweet This Rainbow Parade "Nothing like your job to get in the way of your work." —business adage Tweet This Workshop is currently three partners: Jessi, Creighton, and Casson Rosenblatt TED "Keeping it small has been good for our business but bad for our personal lives." —Jessi Arrington Tweet This The Hollywood Model, a definition Co-Working, a definition Small City is a converted industrial space in Gowanus, Brooklyn The decor is very un-office-like Big Reuse Brooklyn Beta Comedy Hack Day Before opening Small City, J&C ran two prior co-working spaces, allowing them to become familiar with security deposits, etc. Desks at Small City cost $550/mo. (get yours) "Airbnb is a real estate play." —Prescott Perez-Fox Tweet This DUMBO, Brooklyn (which used to be a very scrappy, creative ‘hood is now too expensive for upstarts like Workshop) HOW Magazine Different professions need different square feet per employee (call centers need 90; architects need 600) Airbnb One aspect of gentrification is desk workers replacing industrial workers Coney Island, as far as you can go in Brooklyn Popular Science magazine (and its predictions of the future) Will self-driving cars transform commuting, and thereby the suburbs? Sheepshead Bay, Ridgewood, Castle Hill — New York City neighbourhoods outside of Manhattan Jessi & Creighton sold their Brooklyn condo and bought a building in Louisville, KY as part of a future project and for the ability to live in multiple cities Some folks are commuting to Small City from Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn Commuting is tolerable if you have a nice “work neighbourhood” The Internet of Things ACH Carting Companies, independant, for-profit companies a commercial space must use to collect garbage “Who's dealing with the trash!” Adobe MAX Prescott's family comes from the Recycling industry P&L = Profit & Loss WeWork Will co-working spaces offer childcare and other services? "Us being happy parents involves a certain amount of chaos." —Jessi Arrington Tweet This The Gowanus Canal (not for swimming) Jessi gave a TED talk AIGA & AIGA/NY  Workshop  Small City  Jessi Arrington on Twitter  Jessi Arrington on Facebook  Jessi Arrington on Instagram  Jessi Arrington on LinkedIn  Creighton Mershon on Twitter  Creighton Mershon on Instagram  Creighton Mershon on LinkedIn Tools Quickbooks Google Sheets Station Wagon Found objects Reused furniture Techniques Keep your company small enough so you don't have huge overhead Look for other ways to keep a network alive aside from conventional employees Use co-working studiomates for accountability and courage Find and reuse furniture or items, especially when found on the street or at flea market Use your existing resources for client events and experiences (no rules against that) Build a culture where people “take out their own recycling” Work up little by little into bigger spaces, which in turn allow you to save more and more money for future use Schedule a day each month to create the necessary invoices Keep separate bank accounts for different areas of operation (client services vs. renting desks) Habits Work to improve stopping and documenting projects and process Keep your company small if you're not an effective or natural manager Always consider the trash situation following an event! Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto as a free audiobook  Join the Discussion Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
How Debbie Millman Balances Everything to Produce Design Matters (and Run a World-Class Design Agency) - The Busy Creator Podcast 18

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2015 57:54


Debbie Millman (@DebbieMillman) is a design and branding industry impresario. She will, at any given moment, be involved in a multitude of projects and roles across the profession. For nearly 20 years, she's been the President of Sterling Brands, a design and brand strategy firm based in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Since 2005, she's hosted Design Matters, one of the most successful radio shows (now podcasts) about design and creativity. She also founded and chairs the Master's in Branding course at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and has authored numerous books. In this episode, Debbie speaks about the structure and workflow of Sterling — now a corporate agency, how she stays energized across her many endeavors, and how she's still working to overcome awkwardness in her life and career. We also get to hear the story of how Debbie and Prescott first met.   Show Notes & Links Design Matters was recognized as an iTunes Best of 2015 show. Amazing achievement. Design Matters is among the iTunes Best of 2015 Prescott discovered Design Matters while working a crappy job working for a startup marketing firm. Helvetica, by Gary Hustwit Prescott is standing on the shoulders of giants with his podcast Debbie describes herself as a brand consultant, wannabe artist, and chair of the MFA Master's in Branding at SVA Debbie and her partners at Sterling sold to the business Omnicom in 2008 Sterling defines itself as a Brand Consultancy with three disciplines – Design, Strategy, and Innovation DeeDee Gordon runs Innovation from Los Angeles; Austin McGhie runs Strategy from San Francisco Sterling acquired Philippe Becker in San Francisco, joining that to their studio. Simon Lince is Sterling's Chief Creative Officer in New York, with four Creative Directors under him. Same with Philippe Becker in SF. Sterling consciously went to the traditional advertising agency model, rather than a “bullpen” model, with lots of cross-disciplinary work. It was “less deliberate”. “Institutional knowledge” is important for growth within an agency. Helps to serve clients year-on-year. Design strategy entails asking questions: What is the brand? What is the criteria for success? What is the “whitespace” we want to uncover? Can we own that space? What is the dynamic for change within an organization? etc. “Common vocabulary does not always equate to common behavior.” —Debbie Millman  Tweet This “The only people that really like brand design changes are brand designers.” (joking/not joking) —Debbie Millman  Tweet This “Ambiguity is never seen positively.” (e.g., ambiguous emails) —Debbie Millman  Tweet This Package design is a “very specific language.” One must know the grammar of a language, but not necessarily all the dialects, which are learned on the job. Design Matters is a cultural force, whether Debbie thinks it or no. Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, 2011 Bill Drentell Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss), Swiss Miss Maria Popova (@Brainpicker), Brainpickings Debbie does “an exhausting amount of research” for Design Matters interviews 20-50 pages of notes for each guest, reduced to 5 pages of questions Lining Up a Shot Design Matters on SoundCloud “I don't even know that I was a fully formed human being when I was 30.” —Debbie Millman  Tweet This All The Wrong People Have Self-Esteem by Laurie Roselwald Adult Onset Awkward “Getting your first job out of college is like starting kindergarten all over.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellent, then, is not an act but a habit.” –Aristotle  Tweet This Babson College Omnicom University Nancy Kane, from Harvard Business School Information Recreation Design Observer Brand New (and all the UnderConsideration blogs) Design*Sponge HOW and Print The New York Times CNN The Wall St. Journal The New Yorker Vogue Harper's Bazaar Scientific American / SciAm Mind on airplanes, where it's quiet(?) “Multitasking is the enemy of focused creativity.” —Debbie Millman  Tweet This Debbie is now ashamed of her past pride as a multi-tasker “When the going gets tough, we go to Facebook.” —Debbie Millman  Tweet This Multi-tasking is usually “rapid-switching” Lisa Grant, Debbie's better half at Sterling J'aime Cohen, original SVA dir. of operations Mark Dudlik, current SVA partner in crime Curtis Fox, producer for Design Matters Energy management is more important than time management. Tools SWOT analysis for brands Facebook (the default distraction; internet background noise) Twitter Instagram To-do lists (for things with deadlines) Techniques Copy the habits of small studios and create “in-house studios” within the larger agency Allow strong Debbie Millmanality to exist and thrive in a company; build a culture as such Prepare strategy and challenges during proposal/pitch stage. Don't wait until you've won it. Want something done? Ask a busy Debbie Millman — they have less time to procrastinate. Learn what you're good at. Production/details? Coming up with ideas? Habits Celebrate small victories, such as winning a new project or client Sleep a lot. 8 hours at least. Eat better. (better than soda, candy, cigarettes, that is.) Read constantly. Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits by Debbie Millman as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 18 (MP3, 58:09, 27.9 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 18 (OGG, 58:09, 26.74 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Importance of Sales & New Business in Creative Agencies, with Dan Fields - The Busy Creator Podcast 68

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2015 51:42


Dan Fields (@danthebeast) is a Vice President of Operations at Aarra, an interactive management firm based in New York and Chicago. Once a humble Flash developer, Dan has moved into a sales and new business role, building relationships with large agencies and small shops alike. Our conversations discusses the need for sales and relationships in creative businesses, how Dan made the transition to new biz, and some of the challenges facing the ever-changing advertising industry. Catch up with Dan on his personal site Danfields.com or via his podcast, Save It For The Show. Show Notes & Links Dan is “no expert” but is a working professional with a passion project on the side. (Aren't we all?!) Dan is a New Business & Strategy agent for a number of design & interactive studios He started as a Flash developer, gaining an understanding of the creative process  Matt Keefe, Josh Miles, previous guests on the Podcast The challenge is now “How do you get potential clients into the room?”  “You have to have the work in your portfolio.” —Dan Fields  Tweet This Dan studied advertising and journalism at University of Nevada, Reno, (where previous guest Mignon Fogarty is now a professor) “My work ethic was high enough that I could fake being a decent designer.” —Dan Fields  Tweet This BKWLD, a digital agency in Sacramento — Dan's first job, and where he met Ben Borowski Dan's background as not-a-traditional sales guy is “a feature, not a bug.” The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss On Amazon and On Audible Secrets of Closing The Sale by Zig Ziglar On Amazon and On Audible Save It For The Show, Dan's podcast and creative outlet Ad Agencies like Goodby Silverstein, Weiden+Kennedy come up with good ideas, but Dan needs to find the folks who actually produce it. Old Spice Terry Crews (and his muscles) Facebook apps were everywhere, often because agencies would come up with wild ideas HTML5 Getting Things Done by David Allen On Amazon and On Audible The pronunciation of GIF Emoji icons “Interesting” means “Not at all interesting” to Britons, especially in a business context How To Get Your Client's Budget And Not Die In The Intent “You can be on the phone all day, up to date on your email, or you can actually get things done.” —Dan Fields  Tweet This “At some point advertising forgot that it's supposed to sell something, not just win awards.” —Dan Fields  Tweet This “Advertising is weaponized media.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This Brands saying “Bae” (@BrandsSayingBae) on Twitter Eat24 – an online ordering service with a very funny persona (@Eat24) Oreos “You can still dunk in the dark” Rutheford Gold Foil Experiment aka The Geiger-Marsden Experiments, conducted between 1908–1913 at the University of Manchester; led to the Bohr Model of the atom (Nobel Prize, 1922) and Frank & Hertz's work on electron impact (Nobel Prize, 1925)  Volkswagen “Milky Way” spot for Cabrio, by Arnold, 1999 Volkswagen “Sunday Afternoon” spot for Golf, by Arnold, 1997 “Every time you do something creative, you're buying a lottery ticket.” —Dan Fields  Tweet This Straight Outta Compton meme on Instagram Pinochle, the card game for old ladies Lucy Kellaway once remarked on hobbies outside of work — CEOs used to have them, now they don'tcan't Kiwanis Club  Dan Fields on Twitter  Dan Fields on Facebook  Dan Fields on Instagram  Save It For The Show on Twitter  Save It For The Show on Facebook  Save It For The Show on SoundCloud Tools Highrise, from Basecamp Salesforce Daylite Evernote Follow Up Then Siri Slack An actual calculator, like a TI-83 Techniques If you're a creative who's shy, you need to push yourself Create a side project or “fake” projects to build your portfolio Force yourself out of your comfort zone, especially for things like cold-calling BCC “2weeks@followupthen.com” on your emails to receive a reminder to your inbox Ask Siri to set reminders Keep an open internet chat for goofing off; helps build office culture Use video chat to supress miscommunication in email-writing shorthand Don't hide your budget — don't waste each other's time by keeping it secrets Learn small talk, it's part of relationship-building Habits Find a way to remind yourself; you won't remember Keep a running list of jokes or notes Get ideas out of your head and into some kind of system Drink coffee, don't sleep (a by-product of children) Avoid social media; it feels productive, but it isn't. Focus on email only for an hour; block off everything else. Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 68 (MP3, 51:56, 25.1 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 68 (OGG, 51:56, 25.3 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Productivity Habits: Examining Ourselves and Taking Steps Toward Better Effectiveness with Author & Consultant Ben Elijah – The Busy Creator Podcast 66

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2015 50:42


Ben Elijah (@inkandben) is a consultant in the productivity sector and author of the book The Productivity Habits. In this conversation, we dig into the productivity sector as a whole, and discuss his origins as an author and as a not-very-productive person. The Productivity Habits, by Ben Elijah This episode is oddly self-referential, as we, two productivity nerds, talk about how bad we are with our own habits, and about how we continually struggle to stay productive — at least in our own eyes. Ben writes and speaks about the topic, which is an ongoing struggle for all of us. You'll learn some of Ben's tested habits and techniques you can use to get started down the road toward better effectiveness. Catch up with Ben via his site, InkAndBen.com Show Notes & Links In case you've forgotten, The Busy Creator discusses Tools, Techniques, and Habits Ben admits that he came to focus on productivity because he's “very bad at it” Getting Things Done by David Allen On Amazon and On Audible The Productivity Habits by Ben Elijah On Amazon Ben observes some of the same routines everyday in creative pros Ben and Prescott are prone to “depressive cycles of thought” “Really creative people care about things … but do they deploy passion the right way?” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This Maslow's hierarchy of needs Is your pensivity turned up to 11? A problem that affects [young] people is their inability to plan “Education is serial; in work, things come in parallel” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This “Who am I going to disappoint today?” —Merlin Mann  Tweet This Merlin Mann, productivity writer According to Ben, there are no “high habits” to which we should all aspire to “There isn't anybody talking about this that isn't also a student” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous small improvements “It takes a certain amount of self-awareness just to begin” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This “The world that the human brain has created is very ill-suited to the human brain.” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This “Your brain is for having ideas, not for holding them” —David Allen  Tweet This The Ether Make sure you're doing productivity, not “pornography” Memento The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg On Amazon and On Audible Reddit, a classic time-waster The Cult of the Morning Routine, see also: The Busy Creator Podcast ep 65 w/Cathryn Lavery Ben hates the word “productivity” because it encourages the “easy-answer people”  Prescott hates the word “branding” “For me to become even moderatel effective has taken nearly 10 years of blood, sweat, tears, and constant failure.” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This [n] ways to [verb][problem] — solves the wrong problem Clickbait Context, in the David Allen sense, is something that constrains us “A context is a function of space, time, and thought.” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This “Switching between tasks has overhead” —Ben Elijah  Tweet This Ben prefers a state of flow over rapid-switching You can't go “from zero to Ninja” Sixth Form Makes Its Own Gravy Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule by Paul Graham  Ben Elijah on Twitter Tools AquaNotes, a waterproof notepad for your shower In-baskets, for a paper-full office OmniFocus Squarespace Techniques Experiment with a “system” for recording ideas, thoughts Build a habit by using the Trigger/Reward/Routine approach Observe your situation — mood, energy, time, equipment Work out of order, depending on what's appropriate to the situation Create tasks that are “granular”, and cannot be broken down further Habits Carry a notebook and record ideas Build the routine of reviewing your notes Wake up at 5:30 to write, prepare, workout Eat a high protein breakfast Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 66 (MP3, 50:55, 24.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 66 (OGG, 50:55, 21.5 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Designer & Entrepreneur Cathryn Lavery Shares Her Personal Productivity Habits, Tactics for a Successful Kickstarter Launch - The Busy Creator Podcast 65

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2015 48:33


Cathryn Lavery (@CathrynLavery) is an architect-turned-designer, entrepreneur, and maker. After leaving architecture, she created Calm The Ham, where she designs and sells posters and other products. Cat's next project is The Self Journal, a printed, bound journal with templates to help you craft a productive morning routine and accomplish your quarterly goals. Our conversation covers Cat's productivity habits, especially as they relate to morning routines, how she leverages her passions for design but leaves the marketing duties to other people, and how she takes a systematic approach to launching on Kickstarter by manipulating her media contacts. Catch up with Cat on her personal blog, LittleMight.com, or via CalmTheHam.com and TheSelfJournal.com Listen Now [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/busycreator/TheBusyCreator_65_CathrynLavery.mp3" color="3E3315" image="http://busycreator.com/images/TheBusyCreator_2_80x80_buzz.png" title="Ep. 65 w/Cathryn Lavery" artist="The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox" ] [caption id="attachment_2565" align="alignnone" width="452"] The Self Journal, closed[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2566" align="alignnone" width="411"] The Self Journal, open[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2567" align="alignnone" width="411"] The Self Journal, open[/caption] Show Notes & Links Cat studied at Glasgow School of Art, and trained as an architect Cat describes herself as a "maker"; it's on her business card She abandoned architecture after discovering that the job becomes less creative as the years endure Cat's design company, Calm The Ham, produces posters and other design goods The initial investment for Calm The Ham was essentially the cost of a nice printer Cat began working on websites because people asked her The Foundation, a course to build SaaS products Clinic Hero, Cat's software for Chiropractors/Physical Therapists Groupon "Decision Fatigue" is to be avoided Nate Voss, guest on a previous episode, described team-ups as "forming Voltron" "California doesn't have a water problem, it has a people problem." —Cathryn Lavery Tweet This Fart apps "You don't want two designers starting a business together. You need someone doing the marketing & sales." —Cathryn Lavery Tweet This The metaphor of "The Invading Army" vs. "The Occupying Army" Coffee-flavoured Doritos Cappuccino-flavoured Lay's (yes, this is a real product) [caption id="attachment_2556" align="alignnone" width="250"] Cappuccino-flavoured Lay's[/caption] "Do the things you love to do to keep your batteries charged." —Cathryn Lavery Tweet This The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod On Amazon and On Audible Cat installed multiple habits simultaneously early in January Bulletproof Coffee Hurricane/Super-storm Sandy The Self Journal, Cat's new product, launching on Kickstarter 19 Aug 2015 The brain's Reticular Activating System Getting Things Done by David Allen On Amazon and On Audible "You want to make it look like Apple created it." —Cathryn Lavery Tweet This Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday On Amazon and On Audible QNS Collective, co-working space in Queens, NY Cathryn Lavery on Twitter Cathryn Lavery on Facebook Cathryn Lavery on Instagram Calm The Ham on Twitter Calm The Ham on Facebook Best Self Co. on Twitter Best Self Co. on Facebook Tools Clinic Hero The Foundation LeadPages Medium 7-Minute Workout app on iTunes app store The Self Journal Techniques Share how your projects are made Learn from people outside your industry (e.g. digital marketers if you're a designer) Listen to your audience for advice on what to create next Research a market, pre-sell a product, and then look for a developer to make it happen Look for people to buy in to your project; folks to be invested not just have a job Leverage parts of the project you most enjoy, and give the other elements to other people Don't try to do everything yourself (e.g. marketing, content, design) Align your skills/passion with the sort of work that suits you (long-term vs. short-term) Hoard water in buckets if you live in an area prone to droughts Limit yourself to three targets for the day (not a huge to-do list) Practice a gratitude habit in the morning Get things out of your head and into a system Create a high-quality video on Kickstarter, even for a print or physical product Create professional image assets for your project Build a media list for future outreach - Cat's blog post on her Kickstarter methodology Use Google Images to search for articles covering a specific product Use a Virtual Assistant to build your spreadsheet and take care of research tasks Impose deadlines on yourself, if only to keep things fresh! Habits Develop a morning routine. Here's Cat's Meditate first thing in the morning, or move it around to whenever it fits best Do a quick workout before your [ice-cold] shower so your body is warm Use a journal to plan your days, and your goals for the quarter Tell your story of how you develop a product Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 65 (MP3, 48:46, 23.6 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 65 (OGG, 48:46, 23.4 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android Join the Discussion Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Freedcamp CEO/Co-Founder Angel Grablev Shares the Company's Origins and Methods for Project Management – The Busy Creator Podcast 63

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2015 52:30


Angel Grablev (@AngelGrablev) is the CEO and Co-Founder of Freedcamp, an online project management and collaboration application. Angel began Freedcamp as a side project, but has since built a global distributed team, and now works full-time to improve project management for thousands of customers. Our conversation covers Angel's previous work as a web developer, Freedcamp's origins and intents, as well as the trouble faced in conventional project management. We also discuss management style and company culture more generally, as it relates to measured results and keeping your co-workers informed. Sign up for Freedcamp, for free, at Freedcamp.com Show Notes & Links Freedcamp is a collaboration system which helps any team work together on any sort of project. Prescott learned about Freedcamp from Bryan Orr, when he appeared on Episode 31 – Project Management Tools & Collaboration Software FTP, the best way to share files not that long ago Jack Johnson Lenny Kravitz Angel's former employer introduced him to Basecamp UCSB – University of California at Santa Barbara “No team is alike.” —Angel Grablev  Tweet This Angel got the idea for Freedcamp after attempting to organize a camping trip on email “Underdo The Competition” — Basecamp's tagline iPhone 1, started with basic apps, but the App Store added tons of functionality “No one is interested in paying money to organize a camping trip.” —Angel Grablev  Tweet This Freedcamp boasted 30,000 users in its first year Some use cases include hurricane clean-up efforts, parent-teacher associations, university students ADHD & Dyslexia led Angel to becoming a web developer with design skills Angel built the first HTML5/CSS3 framework, 52 Framework Santa Barbara City College  Freedcamp's team lives in California, Australia, Ukraine, and Netherlands Eating your own dog food GitHub Agile Development Scrum Waterfall AMC, users of Freedcamp A gaming studio used Freedcamp's Wiki application to plan an entire game The Wall, a social, less formal place to have conversations within Freedcamp Reddit Animated GIFs & Emoji — adding flavour to group chatter “The biggest gift I have is the people I work with.” —Angel Grablev  Tweet This The One Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan On Amazon and On Audible Angel broke the daily habit of drinking a Monster Energy Drink each morning bacn, the newsletters and other stuff in your inbox that isn't quite spam Ramit Sethi‘s example of Flossing One Tooth “Take one step, everything else will take care of itself.” —Angel Grablev  Tweet This  Angel Grablev on GitHub  Angel Grablev on Twitter  Angel Grablev on Facebook  Angel Grablev on Instagram  Freedcamp on Twitter  Freedcamp on Facebook  Freedcamp on YouTube Tools Freedcamp Gmail Google Docs Basecamp Jira from Atlassian Trello or Asana, competitors to Freedcamp Adobe Photoshop PNGHat & CSSHat, plugins for Photoshop XAMPP, to run local servers JQuery & Angular.js frameworks Skitch, for screenshots Sketch, for interface design Fireworks, InDesign, for vector-based design Techniques Reduce email; get everyone on a project mgmt. app as soon as possible Don't build a huge feature list; go for simple and easy to use Think about where your product can grow Find a technical co-founder; don't suffer alone with skills you lack. Go for 80% functionality and create a workaround for the final 20% Be flexible with how you use any tool Use [brackets] or #hashtags as a DIY way to have tags/categories Create a catch-all “bucket” of to-dos for your company. It deters meetings & email. Discover what works best for your team Write down decisions made in [daily] meetings Skim, don't read, email. Just look for critical things. Pause and look for the “most important thing” Break down a project into two-week increments Habits Track time to get an accurate picture of your week, and to send invoices Be social with your co-workers on the Wall Establish a daily standup meeting to discuss what you're working on Follow-up and share results for projects or tasks Continually gather ideas from your team Use three monitors for Photoshop, Code, and Browsers Quit Caffeine (be prepared for headaches) Avoid email first thing; instead do your most important work first Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 63 (MP3, 52:35, 25.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 63 (OGG, 52:35, 26.3 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Programmer & Developer Ben Borowski explores the creative side of software and shares his recent personal projects – The Busy Creator Podcast 62

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2015 46:17


Ben Borowski (@TypeOneError) is a software developer and programmer based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In past years, Ben run a small studio doing web development for top agencies, but has recently made a move to create his own project, and is working on that full-time. Ben is one half of Oki Doki, along with Designer & Digital Strategist Marie Poulin. Together, the duo are hard at work on Doki, a web platform to build and run online courses and communities. In this conversation, Ben discusses the creative side of programming, the definition of a “coder”, and the challenges of putting aside client projects for the endeavor of building your own app. Catch up with Ben on his site, Type One Error, or check out Doki.io.   Show Notes & Links Marie Poulin was a guest on The Busy Creator Podcast last year Ben defines himself broadly as a web developer, but more specifically as a programmer in Ruby, and other disciplines TWiT – This Week in Tech Ben doesn't subscribe to the idea that “Coders aren't necessarily programmers”  If Statements, For Loops – essentials in programming Mark-up is code “I've met many computer science guys … who are completely stumped by CSS.” —Ben Borowski  Tweet This “If you're building a website and you write HTML tags, you're a coder.” —Ben Borowski  Tweet This Markdown, the coding format for Reddit comments Dustin Hartzler, WordPress Engineer and host Your Website Engineer Podcast Podcast Movement Conference “Programing is more technical … but making software is creative.” —Ben Borowski  Tweet This Product Designer, as the term applies to web design, can incorporate development/programming Open-Source, a place for inspiration Ben consults and develops cross-platform games, and other projects Doki, currently in development as a consulting platform and will be a public product soon Previous guests on The Busy Creator Podcast have discussed online teaching, such as Karen Marston, Steve Dotto Javascript framework Ember.js (similar to Ruby-on-Rails for the front end of the website) Prescott attended Drexel University, a school set up on the quarter system. Alpha testers You can't have nine people make a baby in one month. —productivity adage  Tweet This Unit Tests or Feature Tests are useful for programmers when merging code and error-correcting Material Design, from Google — hard to describe because it's almost like a framework … for design Facebook asks developers to work on the main product in their first week Gone in 60 Seconds, writing on the walls in detergent and using a blacklight Type One Error Oki Doki  Ben Borowski on Twitter  Ben Borowski on Facebook Tools HTML to Markdown converter Markdown to HTML converter WordPress Jetpack, the official suite of plugins for WordPress Infusionsoft MailChimp Google Analytics WishList for WordPress Platform-as-a-server Amazon web services Heroku EngineYard 9Folds Sit or Stand adjustable GeekDesk MacBook Pro SublimeText GitTower, a GUI application for managing Git projects  iTerm, Terminal replacement for Mac Homebrew, a Ruby Framework Vagrant, custom virtual machines on your system Teamwork.com EcoStatic Slickynotes Techniques Write your WordPress entries in Markdown — it's fast and simple Examine where you can reduce lines of code, load time, etc. Launch first, and then go back and optimise More team members always help the progress of a programming project Give your team the building blocks, for design or programming alike Develop a naming and organization system — any system — for your team to follow Require new [programming] employees to push live code to the site on day one; this teaches them the entire process Head to a coffee shop or co-working space 2-3 days/week even if you prefer to work from home Keep a clean image of your system after a fresh reinstall If you can, go full-time toward developing a product rather than try to cram it in “after hours” Habits Jog or Rock-Climb Take breaks to walk (or wrestle with) the dog Do some exercise in the morning, even stretching Drink and eat in the morning (write it down if necessary) Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Healthy Programmer by Joe Kutner as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 62 (MP3, 46:17, 22.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 62 (OGG, 46:17, 39.8 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Woodworker & Furniture Maker Matt Cremona discusses self-teaching and doing a solo video show - The Busy Creator Podcast 61

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2015 51:38


Matt Cremona (@MattCremona) is best known for his woodworking video channel on YouTube. Primarily self-taught, Matt challenges himself to build beautiful furniture, going so far as to cut and prepare the timber, documenting the forest-to-finished-piece process along the way. Matt's background is diverse, with previous work in software development, interface design, and economics. Together we discuss wood, carpentry and essential tools, and producing a weekly video show. Check out his videos and some of his work at MattCremona.com Show Notes & Links  Woodworking with Matt Cremona on YouTube Matt calls himself a “furniture maker” because he doesn't focus on pure design Matt, a former software designer, learned to build and maintain homes by working for his landlord Unlike most woodworkers, Matt will take a piece from forest to showroom. Adam Smith wrote about the input of labour into the cost of goods Matt studied Business Finance and Vertical Integration “Everything I have that's useful in my day-to-day life … I taught myself.” —Matt Cremona  Tweet This Autodidact “Every time [timber] changes hands, the cost doubles.” —Matt Cremona  Tweet This Dovetail Joint & Half-blind Dovetail Joint Dovetail Joint Half-Blind Dovetail Joint Matt's Shop Update — published every Monday, after four hours of production Matt learned video editing in the high school A/V club, and returned to the practice years later Lindsay Katt, quotable past guest on The Busy Creator Podcast Calculus “Geometry plays an incredibly large part in what I do.” —Matt Cremona  Tweet This Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle Is this a Rhombus or a Kite? Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and other electronics Modding XBOX to build a Linux web server, for example Prescott aspires to 3D model and print his own steampunk outlet covers Drywall anchors, tile spacers — can be 3D printed Drywall anchors, will be 3D printed as needed in the future The original Metre was just a brass bar with two chinks in it (now it's the oscillations of a Krypton ion) The First Metre A Foot is actually defined by its proportion of a Metre — .3048m exactly Chroma keying (green screen) Slabbing up a 6000-lb red oak log Matt's Cherry Cabinet project Selecting the panels for the doors  Matt Cremona on Twitter  Matt Cremona on Facebook  Matt Cremona on Instagram Tools Milling machines such as jointers, planers YouTube, for learning just about anything A second monitor (the best tool for a digital workflow) Display Fusion, and other Taskbar management apps for dual monitors Evernote Adobe Premiere Stabilization Plugins Saws – hand saw, circular saw, mitre saw Techniques Examine your material costs and where you can save money by producing your own Hire a guy with a saw mill, rather than try to do that part yourself Look for trees that have already fallen or been damaged Publish a weekly update to force yourself to do something each week Fight to have everything square from the start Keep an old computer in your shop and look at your notes Shop for used equipment, build your workshop slowly Arrange your workshop around your workflow; place first-run tools closer to the door Pick a first project before you choose your first tools Bring a camera and record events … you never know when you'll need the footage! Learn to use the grain of the wood Habits Combine power tools with hand tools Find the time that's most productive for your (midnight–3:00am for Matt) Prepare and eat pancakes every day Answer email and connect via social early in the morning, get it out of the way Map out “main goals” for each day Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 61 (MP3, 51:37, 25.1 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 61 (OGG, 51:37, 42.5 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Copywriter, Author, and Journalist Kristen Fischer Discusses Life as a Freelancer – The Busy Creator 60

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2015 51:35


Kristen Fischer (@KristenFischer) is an independent copywriter, author, and journalist living and working at the Jersey Shore. Following a stint as a cub reporter, she turned to freelance writing, making efforts to diversify her professional practice along the way. A proponent of freelancing and professional issues around independent creatives, Kristen co-hosts Freelance Radio and has written When Talent Isn't Enough, a business guide for creative professionals. Our conversation covers writing tactics, the relationships between designers and writers, and how Kristen balances client work with authoring books. We also discuss the emotional trials of freelancing and some of the mistakes made and drama faced in her earlier years. Catch up with Kristen via her site, KristenFischer.com   Show Notes & Links Kristen describes herself as a copywriter, journalist, author Part of being a business writing is taking less-than-brilliant assignments at times Two camps of copy — white papers, articles, and other long-form vs headlines, lead-in paragraphs, and short forms Kristen teams up with designers; the best relationships work when writers think with design in mind and vice-versa Kristen approaches a project as a journalism, getting right to “the gist”  Prescott wrote for The Triangle, the student newspaper of Drexel University Kristen studied Environmental Science … naturally. As a freelancer, Kristen, like Prescott, has worked part-time jobs to cover the gaps Previous episode with Jeff Goins, author of The Art of Work “Sometimes freelancing ‘on the side' is very difficult to manage.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This “Don't ‘take the leap', instead ‘build a bridge.'” —Jeff Goins  Tweet This The Art of Work by Jeff Goins On Amazon and On Audible Kristen worked as a night editor for a year while she was building her freelance practice “The first few years [as a freelancer], I was a hot mess.” —Kristen Fischer  Tweet This Freelancers typically struggle with one of three things: Staying energized, staying motivated, staying organized Kristen struggles with long-term vision and emotional context, Prescott struggles with focus hour-by-hour Our previous episode on Mind Hacking with Sir John Hargave Kristen has a dedicated home office, where her four cats make themselves comfy Creatively Self-Employed by Kristen Fischer On Amazon Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes by Kristen Fischer On Amazon When Talent Isn't Enough by Kristen Fischer On Amazon 50 Shades of Grey began life as Twilight fan fiction  Kristen Fischer on Twitter  Kristen Fischer on Facebook  Kristen Fischer on Instagram Tools Microsoft Word Galaxy Note Lenovo Yoga II Docking station iPod Mozy, for backups FitBit Techniques Keep an email headline to 50 characters Marketing messages differ from subject matter messages Concentrate on the gist, and add tone after Write using an “Inverted Pyramid” for articles — if the bottom gets cut off, it doesn't matter The order of writing: Intro — Need — Call to Action. But that might change depending on the client and medium. Keep asking yourself “why am I doing this?” and purse the long-term goals Learn to develop a thick skin as a freelancer, not to take things personally Habits POP your troublesome tasks. (POP = Procrastinate on Purpose) Schedule admin tasks like invoicing Schedule time within the routine to work on your book or side project; a big block of time won't appear Stay “old school” with software and office tech Clear your household to-do list so it doesn't interfere with your business tasks Give yourself permission to have a flexibility schedule (gym in the morning, when everyone else is at work) Use Sunday as a Writing Day — go to Starbucks Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Art of Work by Jeff Goins as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 60 (MP3, 51:34, 24.9 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 60 (OGG, 51:34, 43.6 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
Prepare to Share, methods and mindset for bringing others into your projects – The Busy Creator Podcast 59

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2015 17:09


For a full text transcript, see the show notes at http://busycreator.com/59   Tools Corkboards Dropbox Google Drive Asana Freedcamp Bounceapp Harvest Freshbooks ScreenshotMonitor Skype DesignSignOff Pinterest IFTTT Zapier Niice Dropmark Techniques Imagine an ideal workflow before you start sharing it Store all files in an agreed-upon place, preferable automatically backed up Use a tasking app for simple items Review work online and be clear in your writing Back everything up! Habits Track time and report daily or weekly, if not continually via a system Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 59 (MP3, 17:09, 8.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 59 (OGG, 17:09, 15.2 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 58 w/guest Karen Marston

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2015 36:56


Karen Marston (@KarenMarston) is an independent copywriter and the founder of Untamed Writing. Dissatisfied with her earlier roles, Karen took to writing SEO-focused articles and now works with clients writing bold, memorable copy for websites and other projects. Her latest project is a foray into teaching. She now instructs others how to be effective, productive freelance writers. Our conversation discusses her personal workflows and habits, as well as her outlook on teaching and client project management. Show Notes & Links Karen describes herself simply as “a writer” Karen started writing SEO-optimised articles — 500 word articles heavy with keywords to bring attention to the clients Lately, Karen is taking on personal writing JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has a higher net worth than Queen Elizabeth II Karen now earns more from teaching than from writing Organisations struggle to have a voice, even though they talk about “brand voice” and whatnot “As much as graphics and photos are essential on the web, it's still mostly a written medium.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This “A brand is the human component of a non-human entity.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This Eat24, Mailchimp — brands with personality, especially in their written voices “Serious and professional are not the same thing. You can be professional without being serious.” —Karen Marston  Tweet This Part of being a professional means pushing back against clients Scrum-Sprint Methodology A number of Karen's students have self-confidence issues, which inhibits their careers as a freelance writer The Top 3 Things that Stop Talented Writers Making Money “I'm a best-selling author, not a best-writing author.” -Robert Kiyosaki  Tweet This Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki On Amazon and On Audible Untamed Writing School  Karen Marston on Twitter  Karen Marston on Facebook  Untamed Writing on Facebook  Karen Marston on Instagram Tools Facebook groups, especially if it's your group Location Rebel, and its forum Trello, for to-do lists Paper “catch-all” notebooks Evernote MacBook Air StandStand Kneeling Chair, as used by Lisa Simpson Lisa Simpson uses a kneeling chair OpenOffice Dropbox Techniques Drop the serious, professional, corporate persona and write like an actual person Be surprisingly human in your writing Keep projects to two week periods: first week is planning, strategy, and first draft. Second week is for editing. Allow unlimited revisions … but limit the time of the overall projects Don't specify to clients why you're unavailable, just say when you can fit them in Offer to connect a client with another writer (or designer) Participate in a community and observe the questions being asked … then seek to answer them. Habits Cross a big diagonal stripe across a paper to show that everything on it is finished Don't get out of bed until getting 8 hours sleep Take time on Mondays to plan the week [Try to] work out everyday, perhaps taking a 28-day challenge Avoid the supermarket on Sundays (take advantage of your own schedule) Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 58 (MP3, 37:06, 18 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 58 (OGG, 37:06, 31.4 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 57 w/guest Eric Peterson

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2015 30:11


Eric Peterson is a veteran cartoonist & artist who worked across a variety of industries and niches, through advertising & commercial art, and now as a independent artist. Eric has developed a signature style, based in abstraction and surrealism, and referencing silkscreen and printing techniques of centuries past. Catch up with Eric and see some of his work on his Facebook page. The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 57 with Cartoonist & Illustrator Eric Peterson 2015.05.11/0 Comments/in Podcast Episodes /by Prescott Perez-Fox Eric Peterson is a veteran cartoonist & artist who worked across a variety of industries and niches, through advertising & commercial art, and now as a independent artist. Eric has developed a signature style, based in abstraction and surrealism, and referencing silkscreen and printing techniques of centuries past. Catch up with Eric and see some of his work on his Facebook page.  Listen Now THE BUSY CREATOR PODCAST WITH PRESCOTT PEREZ-FOX Ep. 57 w/Eric Peterson         Eric Peterson's artwork Eric Peterson's artwork Eric Peterson's artwork Eric Peterson's artwork   Eric drawing a character, without formal sketching Show Notes & Links Eric describes his work as strange, surreal Eric's influences were comic books and book illustration Dr. Seuss Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak On Amazon and On Audible Block-printing and engraving, methods of reproducing illustration in centuries past Example of an engraving illustration Cross-hatching, a shading technique Crosshatch styles Gray's Anatomy, originally published 1858 Dr. Henry Vandyke Carter, the unsung illustrator for Gray's Anatomy Eric worked in advertising in the 80s, but didn't find creative satisfaction Stream of consciousness Zen Canadian publisher taking on Eric's next comic project “A true artist does things that are organic or abstract.” —Eric Peterson  Tweet This Silkscreen “There's something that happens in spontaneity that lends a huge visual aspect that fine-tuning just doesn't have.” —Eric Peterson  Tweet This Joel Duggan, cartoonist & illustrator, appeared on The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 2 “Coffee and drawing is perfect.” —Eric Peterson  Tweet This Art methods of old The Learners by Chip Kidd On Amazon and On Audible Brazil, The movie, written by Terry Gilliam  Eric Peterson on Facebook Tools Drafting table India Ink No. 2 or No. 4 Watercolor brush Japanese brush pens Red photo pencil Techniques Allow the writing to lead the art, as well as the art lead the writing Take a break — perhaps even months or years Keep your pencil sketching loose, let the inking process take the lead Procrastinate on purpose, to take meaningful break Embrace creative distraction Habits Sketch ideas as they pop into your head, don't let them vanish Wake up with coffee and enjoy the rituals of all its sensory aspects Carry a sketchbook at all times! Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Learners by Chip Kidd as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 57 (MP3, 30:19, 14.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 57 (OGG, 30:19, 22.8 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes  Join the Discussion Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.  About the Author  Latest Posts About Prescott Perez-Fox Prescott Perez-Fox is a New York-based graphic designer and brand developer with 14+ years experience in branding, packaging, graphic design, and web design. He runs The Busy Creator. Pro Tip for Keeping Your Portfolio Up To Date - 2015.05.07 The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 56 – Mind Hacking with Sir John Hargrave - 2015.05.04 The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 55 with Designer & Illustrator Nate Voss - 2015.04.27 Tags: advertising, art, brush, cartoon, commercial art, Eric Peterson, illustration, ink, printing, silkscreen, sketch     You might also like The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 47 with Digital Strategist & Author Lucy Leiderman The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 48 with Commercial Artist Eric Kass The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 2 with Illustrator & Cartoonist Joel Duggan The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 12 with Co-Founder of It's Nice That and Design Entrepreneur Will Hudson The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 27 with Video Producer & Director Christopher Sharpe Field Report: How Armin Vit & Joel Duggan Structure Their Mornings RECENT BLOG POSTS Pro Tip for Keeping Your Portfolio Up To Date The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 56 – Mind Hacking with Sir John Hargrave The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 55 with Designer & Illustrator Nate Voss The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 54 – The Art of Work with Jeff Goins The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 53 with Designer, Developer & Entrepreneur Matt Keefe Software Tools For Designers to Stay Organised and Focused CATEGORIES Field Report (2) Habits (7) Level-Up Strategy (3) Podcast Episodes (57) Pro Tip (6) Quotes (1) Resources (2) Techniques (15) Tools (10) BLOG ARCHIVES Blog Archives  Select Month    May 2015  (2)    April 2015  (5)    March 2015  (5)    February 2015  (6)    January 2015  (5)    December 2014  (6)    November 2014  (7)    October 2014  (10)    September 2014  (9)    August 2014  (6)    July 2014  (3)    June 2014  (2)    May 2014  (2)    April 2014  (3)    March 2014  (6)    February 2014  (2)    January 2014  (3)    December 2013  (1)   More Where That Came From Join the mailing list to get new articles and content delivered right to you

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 56, Mind Hacking w/Sir John Hargrave

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2015 37:18


Sir John Hargrave (@SirJohnHargrave) is the CEO of Media Shower, a content marketing and media company. Following a background as a high profile internet prankster, he has examined the conditions and obstacles that modern professionals face — many of which are mental. His upcoming book Mind Hacking discusses techniques for training a stronger mind and overcoming these obstacles. Our conversation discusses the symptoms that affect creative pros and how we can hack our mind with simple, daily techniques and habits. More information about the book is available at MindHacki.ng. The book isn't published until 2016, but previews and digital versions are available on the site. Show Notes & Links Sir John Hargrave is a renowned Internet prankster Boston, Lincolnshire John is the CEO of Media Shower, a content media company “Sir” John received his knighthood by way of a name-change at the local county courthouse Queen Elizabeth II and her many, many titles The requirements to receive a knighthood (or a MBE, OBE, CBE, etc.) Mind-hacking came about from John's work with clients and employees, many of whom are creative and seeking peak productivity Hacking, in the sense of tinkering, not infiltrating The brain is not the mind Most of our problems are based in the mind Classic creative problem: procrastination “[Mind-Hacking] is a bit like training a disobedient dog.” —Sir John Hargrave  Tweet This New Age Vibe “We need to de-mistify meditation. It's strength training for the mind.” —Sir John Hargrave  Tweet This Creatives can be precious, and it stops us from making decisions The January Joiners “Install” a habit (again, the computer metaphor) A university study of quality over quantity, life drawing — two groups, who improved more The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg On Amazon and On Audible An experiment revealed that Professors who wrote a little each day reached tenure faster The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin On Amazon and On Audible Ben Franklin's Schedule “Address powerful goodness” -Ben Franklin 3MIT — Three Most Important Things “Eat That Frog” methodology, introduced by Mark Twain Eisenhower Methodology for Urgent vs. Important Limbic System, a component of our “Lizard Brain” El Coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui), a tiny frog native to Puerto Rico El Coquí Research shows that multitasking is less effective Multitasking is usually “Rapid Switching” “When you split an atom, energy escapes. When you switch tasks, focus escapes.” —Prescott Perez-Fox  Tweet This Programmers get in the zone (hence the headphones) It can take 15-20 minutes or more to get back in the zone after a distraction Psychic Exhaustion, when you feel mentally depleted Manager's Time vs. Maker's Time, by Paul Graham The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber On Amazon and On Audible Entrepreneurs have to make the thing, manage the business, and build the business Mind Hacking is expected to drop July 2016, but previews are available now Mind Hacking is available as ePub, PDF, and Kindle format  Sir John Hargrave on Twitter  Sir John Hargrave on Facebook  Sir John Hargrave on YouTube Tools Post-Its Coach.me, an exercise app with goals, etc. Mind-Hacking program on Coach.me includes a 21-day plan Techniques Learn to detach from your mind, to observe moments where we stray and get distracted Concentration Training aka Mindfulness aka Meditation Treat Concentration Training like a video game. Award yourself “awareness points” whenever you bring your mind back from distraction Replace “All or Nothing” thinking with “Habit Formation” thinking Set up a queue and a reward for each [desired] habit Keeps rewards positive and healthy (smoothies, relaxing with a book) “Eat a frog” early in the day Reduce Multitasking, Increase Focus Mental Decluttering: look for alerts and distractions you can shut off Habits Produce something everyday; eventually your quality will improve as well as quantity Make list of “Positive Loops”, small goals which help your practice and life 3MIT methodology Get mental rest during the day, not just at the end Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Power of Habit by Charles Duhig as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 56 (MP3, 37:28, 18.2 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 56 (OGG, 37:28, 30.2 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 54, The Art of Work w/Jeff Goins

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2015 28:37


Jeff Goins (@JeffGoins) is the author of a new book titled The Art of Work. In researching the book, Jeff has realised that the subject is bigger than a book, and has already moved into creating a movement, branching out to online communities and training to help people find their calling at work and in life. Our conversation discusses the origins of the The Art of Work, the trouble creative pros face at work, and some of his writing methodologies. Catch up with Jeff on his many social media platforms or via website, GoinsWriter.com. The Art of Work is available now in print and digital formats (Kindle, ePub, PDF) and will be available soon as an audiobook. Check out ArtOfWorkBook.com for all info.   Show Notes & Links Your life's work, a huge topic “I didn't try to talk about [your life's work] with authority, I just tried to talk about it with curiosity.” —Jeff Goins  Tweet This Jeff is now a full-time entrepreneur and writer The Art of War by Sun Tzu On Amazon and On Audible The War of Art by Steven Pressfield On Amazon and On Audible The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton On Amazon and On Audible Todd Henry, author, speaker, and past guest on The Busy Creator Podcast Writers writing about writing, aka meta-work Many creatives and artists are approaching their work the wrong way — it's not all about passion “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” —Frederick Buechner  Tweet This “You can only connect the dots looking backwards.” —Steve Jobs  Tweet This “You've got to do some dot-collecting before you can do some dot-connecting.” —Lindsay Katt  Tweet This “What if hidden in your difficulties are opportunities?” —Jeff Goins  Tweet This “Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I need to listen to my life telling me who I am.” —Parker Palmer  Tweet This Jeff studied Spanish and worked as a musician before becoming a marketing copywriter within a non-profit (naturally.) Prescott hates the phrase “side hustle” 87% of the world's workers are disengaged from work, according to Gallup Making money from blogs first seemed to Jeff like “catching a Unicorn” TribeWriters, Jeff's first course which grew from his first eBook Forbes predicts “by 2020 over 50% of the US Workforce will be freelance” Jeff tries to [only] write 500 words per day, but consistently  Jeff Goins on Twitter  Jeff Goins on Facebook  Jeff Goins on Instagram  The Portfolio Life w/Jeff Goins on SoundCloud  Jeff Goins on YouTube Tools Notebooks Evernote Techniques Listen to your life, look for themes and threads Don't “take a leap”, instead “build a bridge” to your next role or job Do an “internal pivot”, find a new scope of work in your current organisation or help create a new department Change the way you're approaching today's work in preparation for what's to come Listen to your body (pain, rashes, etc.) Use teaching to make an impact, connect with community Use the Three-Bucket Method (Notes/Ideas, Drafts, Edits) to write a book Use the Five-Draft Method to go from manuscript to completed work Habits Take your ideas “up” rather than kvetching to co-workers who can't make changes Use your “byproducts” — your blog posts and speeches can become a book if the ideas are sound Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 54 (MP3, 28:45, 14 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 54 (OGG, 28:45, 25.4 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 53 w/guest Matt Keefe

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2015 42:05


Matt Keefe (@MKeefe) is a multitalented designer & developer, and the co-founder of PixelBit, a design and development agency. PixelBit has no particular home base, with staff spread out all over the world. Managing this requires systems and good communication, which Matt discusses in this conversation. We also cover tools and methodologies that change over time, sometimes very quickly, balancing client needs with constraints of deadlines and technology, and leaving life as a freelancer for one of a business owner.   Show Notes & Links Matt and Prescott met via the Photoshop Cafe forum c.2001 Prescott bemoans the end of forums in general Colin Smith, founder of Photoshop Cafe Facebook groups are nearly impossible to search Matt helps “clients create products and expand on their brands” PixelBit was founded in 2011 by Matt Keefe and Philip Neal as a mobile and app development team Matt was a freelancer for ten years PixelBit will partner with larger agencies when they're at capacity “We're like an outside force inside their business” —Matt KeefeClick to Tweet Apple Watch, less of a consumer product and more of a new brand platform Those guys who grow enormous pumpkins, and how they prune Blackberry and Flash, once prominent now all-but-abandoned Developing for Android is often overlooked, but it can be a powerful boost to your brand The balance between intuitive apps that look like the OS, and user discovery from innovative new UI “Being a freelancer is like being Batman; one day you're called on to save the world, but the next you're an orphan.” —Prescott Perez-FoxClick to Tweet “Freelancing is all about the journey because there is no ‘freelance destination' ” —Prescott Perez-FoxClick to Tweet “As a small business owner, you have to wear 57 different hats.” —Matt KeefeClick to Tweet Matt is [still] a programmer, but has moved away from design “You don't have the money not to market your company.” —Matt KeefeClick to Tweet PixelBit didn't find success with Twitter or Facebook ads; it's hard to sell services in 140 characters Von Glitschka, Illustrative designer on Dribbble Vijay Mathews, past guest on The Busy Creator Podcast “There's never too much communication … unless it's by email” —Matt KeefeClick to Tweet Henry David Thoreau, and his rural Massachusetts lifestyle Autocross  Matt Keefe on Twitter  Matt Keefe on Facebook  Matt Keefe on Instagram  PixelBit on Twitter  PixelBit on Facebook Tools Slack Flash iOS, Android, Windows Phone OS – mobile operation systems WordPress Sortfolio (formerly Haystack), a directory for agencies Dribbble or Behance, portfolio sites Dropbox InVision to screenshare with clients Trello Jira for bug-tracking Basecamp Harvest Agile workflows Quickbooks Online Xero Ikea desks Techniques Use Slack to maintain a group community (instead of Facebook) Reconnect with previous clients to introduce your new capabilities or team Acknowledge where your skills are best utilized — design vs. development Post work and engage on Facebook, but don't expect an ROI and real project works Create a Trello board for design and development ideas Implement a “ground game” at local Chambers of Commerce and other groups Include the client on ideation Never be in a position where the client asks “what's the status?” Write-off the square footage of your home office, but only if there's a door! Habits Always have a staging server so the client can see the project status Use milestones and formal meetings, because some clients prefer it Wake up at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, especially to chat with team members in different timezones Keep a structured eating schedule, especially when you're deep in a project Maintain hobbies that are entirely separate from computers and technology  Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 53 (MP3, 42:17, 20.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 53 (OGG, 42:17, 36.0 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 52 w/guest Adrienne Stortz

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2015 37:17


Adrienne Stortz (@xoxoadrienne) is the creator and host of xoxo cooks, an online cooking show featuring good food you can make at home. She also consults on digital marketing strategy for classical musicians, helping them craft messaging and promote events. Our conversation discusses the balance between client work and a passion project, how she arrived in both the classical music and online video sectors, and how the premise of experimentation and continual improvement can be powerful for freelancers and businesses alike. Catch up with Adrienne on her xoxo cooks YouTube Channel, or on her consulting website, AdrienneStortz.com   Show Notes & Links Adrienne runs xoxo cooks, a weekly cooking show on YouTube, and works as a digital marketing strategy consultant for classical musicians Adrienne studied classical piano and Music Merchandising rather than video production or cooking Her previous employers include Carnegie Hall, where she learned to “sell tickets” “Musicians are amazing at what they do, but that doesn't always apply to writing a good email.” Business card with a photo (like a real estate agent) Adrienne is adept at working with “artists”, which includes musicians who don't always make natural clients Prima donna, a term adopted from Opera Earn1K, a course from Ramit Sethi Adrienne is working to serve up-and-coming musicians, essentially her peers “Layer Cake” pricing vs. three wildly different offerings “Adult Onset Awkwardness” as discussed on The Busy Creator Podcast, Episode 18 with guest Debbie Millman xoxo cooks originated from a desire to master YouTube strategy first-hand An early video from xoxo cooks, admittedly “a little rough” but “still interesting” Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson On Amazon and On Audible “It doesn't matter what business you're in, you're actually in the sales business.” —Michael Masterson ← Click to Tweet Adrienne films right in her own kitchen That scene from ET where they tent the house Adrienne doesn't yet film in batches, largely due to space constraints John Lee Dumas edits 8 podcast episodes in 90 minutes, according to his appearance The Busy Creator Podcast, Episode 50 Katie Q, fellow YouTube cooking show host Katie Q's production workflow Prescott watches a ton of woodworking videos on YouTube (and isn't sorry)  Adrienne Stortz on Twitter  Adrienne Stortz on Facebook  Adrienne Stortz on Instagram  xoxo cooks on YouTube Tools YouTube Tripod Phone-to-Tripod adapter DSLR Camera: Canon T3i VideoMic Pro Compact VMP Shotgun Microphone iMovie Final Cut Pro Three-point lighting setup Techniques Collaborate with agents and managers, who are used to marketing language and operations Get people on the phone, ask questions, and talk about their needs Don't start from scratch; borrow from your earlier proposals Look for custom offerings with clients rather than fit them into packages Use your network! Reach out to former clients and contacts. If you're interested in something, like a new social network, just start making something Be mindful of your video's sound — it's just as important as the lighting or picture quality Plan your content around the calendar (e.g. holidays, seasons) Examine Google Trends to time your content and events  Prepare your foods in advance to avoid cutting/chopping on the video Habits Continue to improve, embrace incremental improvement Learn about sales and embrace selling in your own practice Get comfortable with experimentation, being slightly sloppy while putting yourself out there Wake up early and hydrate Avoid caffeine if it makes you insane Clean up the house as part of your wake-up or morning routine Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 52 (MP3, 37:27, 18.2 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 52 (OGG, 37:27, 31.6 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 49, Salary & Fee Negotiation w/guest Jim Hopkinson

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2015 51:13


Jim Hopkinson (@HopkinsonReport) is the author of the book Salary Tutor: Learn The Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You. His website, SalaryTutor.com, offers free resources and online salary negotiation courses to help creative professionals, students, and freelancers increase their confidence, develop a negotiation mindset, and get paid what they're worth through effective negotiation. This conversation discusses how creatives can use their natural abilities to get the job, how to negotiate for a top salary or raise, and how freelancers can approach fee negotiations for project-based work.   Show Notes & Links Jim Hopkinson, The Salary Tutor Salary Tutor: Learn the Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You by Jim Hopkinson On Amazon and On Audible FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) A previous blog post about The Humble Coloured Folder Jim's first few negotiations were on the employee side, but while working at a small startup, he had the opportunity to act as the HR side, which gave him both perspectives Jim worked at ESPN and Wired The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss On Amazon and On Audible Jim wrote The Hopkinson Report blog and hosted a podcast for five years (iTunes link) 10,000 hours Creatives don't necessarily approach negotiation from a different perspective Creatives have advantages built in: standing out through design “Everyone has the same boring Microsoft Word resume template; designers have an opportunity to stand out visually” –Jim Hopkinson ← Click to Tweet Having “something to show” is a strong negotiation or job-hunting tactic Put your research into a well-designed graphic layout, don't just do the research or memorize the figures “How you do anything is how you do everything.” ← Click to Tweet “If you want to be, do.” ← Click to Tweet On getting a raise for a current job, “it's about proving your worth” A montage showing “war” Creatives should find the analytics; other folks should make it visual A portfolio example might show adding a Facebook widget to a website, then detailing the before-and-after statistical impact on traffic and revenue Top Performers can earn more than regular employees Verbal hacks: “how can we …”, “let's look at this together”, “compensation” (instead of fee) Vanessa Van Edwards, body language expert Your benefits can be worth up to 1.4x your base salary (article source) Use an appropriate response for different scenarios (non-profit, new job, big company, etc.) There's now a culture of “Double your rate!“ “It's not coming up with a specific number, it's coming up with a framework for how you work with clients.” —Jim Hopkinson ← Click to Tweet How Much Should I Charge, a talk at SXSW by Jim Hopkinson M.Y. R.A.T.E. (Mindset, Yes or No, Research, Adjusting, Techniques (like “anchoring”), Experience/Execution Value Pricing, a different way of calculating things “V&A” pricing (Value + Agony) 5% is considered a “big raise” on a year-by-year basis; according to Jim, 2-3% is standard (article source) Special landing page for listeners of this podcast: salarytutor.com/busycreator  Jim Hopkinson on Twitter  Jim Hopkinson on YouTube Tools Free introductory course on The Negotiation Mindset by Jim Hopkinson How to Negotiate a Raise or Promotion by Jim Hopkinson How to Negotiate a New Job Offer (Professional Edition) by Jim Hopkinson Techniques Create a website if only to take over your Google search results Use your creative and design skills to make your resume/case studies/portfolio look like a sharp project Work on your mindset before you even attempt to negotiate Use a Past/Present/Future model to address your value for a current job Use goal-setting as part of an overall negotiation Continually gather praise, evidence, portfolio samples Demonstrate that you're already doing the role of someone higher Make a pie chart or visual reference, especially for a before-and-after Grab newspaper headlines to illustrate the landscape of your industry Bring your design work back to the bottom line. Show that your work has context, not just the work itself. Get the timing right — both during the week, and during the calendar year (know your company's budget cycle and overall financial health) Do not reveal your past salary!! Never lie!!! (It'll come back to haunt you) Try hourly billing for new projects or loosely-defined scope For a new client, start hourly and give them a “homework assignment” such as gathering logos, copy, etc. Habits Continually gather evidence of your work; numbers are best, anecdotes are useful as well. Always observe the market and know what your industry is doing Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Salary Tutor: Learn the Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You by Jim Hopkinson as a free audiobook Get the Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 49 (MP3, 51:27, 24.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 49 (OGG, 51:27, 41.2 MB)   Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 47 w/guest Lucy Leiderman, part I

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2015 33:08


Lucy Leiderman (@Lucy Leiderman) is the Director of Digital Strategy for Toronto-based agency Pilot PMR. Here, she advises clients on content and social media strategy, oversees promotion and advertising across new media, and writes on a number topics related to internet and technology. Lucy is also a published author, having written the Seven Wanderers Trilogy, a series of novels in the historical fiction/fantasy genre. This conversation is split into two parts, where the first discusses her work as a digital strategist, and the second speaks more to her personal habits and her workflow as an author. Catch up with Lucy on her website, LucyLeiderman.com Show Notes & Links Prescott and Lucy know each other “from the internet” Directors of Digital Strategy need to have the “widest toolbelt” of digital knowledge, to always offer fresh, innovative, custom solutions – there is no more “cookie cutter” approach Agile Methodology “Project Managers have become Scrum Masters”, says Bob Calvano during his episode Scrum Alliance and their certifications “The Scrum Master is, above all, a facilitator.” ← Click to Tweet “At the end of the day, [we]'re all in the business of marketing. We're trying to get people to do something.” ← Click to Tweet Traditional can be contemporary — living as if they're in 2008 Lucy writes numerous articles Growth Hacking Internetalia — is that a word? “We're all psychologists now.” ← Click to Tweet “The Free Market is as active online as it is anywhere.” ← Click to Tweet Instagram gets bought for $1 Billion Instagram needs to solve its multiple login problem The Busy Creator on Instagram — completely locked out and can no longer be updated When Instagram first came out, it didn't have a web presence  18-year-old Instagram celebrities/millionaires Patagonia on Instagram Zildjian on Instagram “Login Fatigue,” when you have too many damn accounts and log-ins Coca-Cola's social media “happy” campaign backfires Kim Kardashian's twitter goof during the Aurora, CO shootings Wrong Aurora DiGiorno Pizza during The Ray Rice scandal — hashtag #WhyIStayed You Had Pizza “With analytics, anything can be good or bad. It's up to you to frame it.” ← Click to Tweet The problem with blue light “I started writing because I ran out of reading material.” ← Click to Tweet Lucy's first books were set in the world of Celtic Mythology Lucy does not take inspiration from Russian Literature, in spite of her heritage Originally, she wrote for children, but her work ended up a little more mature Only about 30% of a story plan actually comes to be Prescott thinks stories are like trees, or spiderwebs. Lucy says they're more like a tapestry (with threads woven through) “Writing a book is committing yourself to always feeling guilty.” ← Click to Tweet NaNoWriMo – National Novel-Writing Month “I love the finished product, but the process is hard.” ← Click to Tweet Lucy never took courses in writing or studied the craft Average sci-fi novels are 100,000+ words It can take 25 minutes to get back on task following a distraction, according to an article from The NY Times, which cites a study from UC Irvine Lucy has never had a full cup of coffee, prefers tea McDonald's + Shazam ad – did it work?  LucyLeiderman.com, an About.me page  Lucy's Author Page  Lucy Leiderman on Twitter  Lucy Leiderman on LinkedIn  Lucy Leiderman on Instagram, mostly her dogs Tools Google Analytics Radian6 Buffer HootSuite Google Drive/Apps for Work Workamajig Basecamp Balsamiq, for wireframes InVision, also for wireframes Slack Microsoft Word Facebook, and its ever-changing nature Techniques Don't create content for it's own sake Don't waste a call-to-action and spend money when it doesn't drive sales Use data to show how campaigns are effective Get immersed in the community; go to events/Hackathons, watch TED talks Use the channel itself for full analytics; don't trust third-party sites for data collection Factor “the environment” into your channel-planning Ask questions in your story plan (e.g. “why does this person think this?”) Have a publisher or editor kick your butt a little Use Post-Its to highlight points-to-make Keep a plan for the next 5000 words, and another document for the actual text Build a nest of pillows and stay deep for 5-6 hours of work Allow your daily routine to flex with the day (and the dogs' breakfast schedule) Read case studies rather than opinions, especially for continued growth/learning Habits Editorialise and examine your data; never show raw numbers to a client Don't email when voice communication is faster and more direct Acknowledge your inner emotions when writing a book Build a comfortable setup and work in spurts Take breaks and go for walks (with the dogs) Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 47, part I (MP3, 33:17, 16.0 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 47, part I (OGG, 33:17, 26.0 MB) Subscribe to Get New Episodes Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes  

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 45 w/guest Frank Truglio

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2015 34:48


Frank Truglio (@IamPeritus) is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of a new website, Peritus.nyc, which connects creative pros to companies and agencies seeking talent. Peritus is unique in their use of technology, creating a detailed information profile for candidates in their database, and indexing creatives based on their characteristics and experiences. In this conversation, Frank discusses the founding of Peritus, how his team used off-the-shelf software to quickly build their first version, and how he keeps thing organized while developing in sprints and working double shifts.  Listen Now         00:00   00:00       Show Notes & Links Peritus.nyc Peritus means “Skilled” in Latin Peritus is an “invite-only platform” Frank has spent the last few years working in ski & snowboarding retail Peritus was created to solve the problem with seasonal and on-demand recruitment “Partner with us when all your other options fail.” ← Click to Tweet Most recruitment websites are “repackaged job boards” “We're a team of two, but we have the backing of 253″ ← Click to Tweet The Everything Store by Brad Stone On Amazon and On Audible “Every new startup is a technology company operating within.” ← Click to Tweet HEX, Peritus's six-point indexing system Pandora, creators of The Music Genome Project Frank focuses on business relationships, back-end technology; his co-founder focuses on content, social media, and marketing SEO & Web Optimization Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Drop-off rates/Bounce rates → target of 40% Vanity Metrics Aimee Mann has twice favourited tweets from Prescott “Get it out quicker than you can build it” ← Click to Tweet Loops and Arrays, in programming Object-oriented programming SQL and MongoDB vis-à-vis  Pertius on Twitter  Pertius on Instagram  Email Frank with the subject line “Prescott's Podcast Rocks” Tools WordPress CMS Google Analytics Bootstrap with PHP and WordPress Dropbox Google Drive Zapier TypeForm for registration MailChimp Basecamp RelateIQ, CRM service which is the core of Peritus Techniques Use APIs to integrate point-of-sales technology with your CMS and software Don't get buried in KPIs; find a few important ones to monitor Create a Google Sheet to track your metrics; update monthly Avoid Vanity Metrics Regarding features, ask “Do we need this now?” Use Zapier to stitch together various web apps and services Use Agile Methodology & Sprints to develop features Find your passion; no energy will come without passion Habits Continually update content on your site, adjust your AdWords Wake up at 6, check the calendar to plan the day Check email, but don't let it derail the day Chunk the day; interviews from 10-3, client discussion after that, then more email Avoid coffee to keep energy constant; avoid spikes Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get The Everything Store by Brad Stone as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 45(MP3, 34:57, 17 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 45(OGG, 34:57, 27.8 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 44 w/guest Taylor Mathis

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2015 40:07


Taylor Mathis (@taylor_mathis) is a food photographer turned entrepreneur based in Charlotte, NC. Taylor has built an online following in the food photography industry, and authored several books. Lately, he's turned to online entrepreneurship and helping fellow photographers earn steady income through his new venture and podcast of the same name, Business of Creatives. This conversation covers his origins in photography, the challenges of shooting food, and how he transitioned into different business areas as a creative pro. Check out Taylor on his sites, Photographing Food , Taylor Takes a Taste, and Business of Creatives, as well as his book, The Southern Tailgating Cookbook. Show Notes & Links Taylor describes himself as a “content creator” Comes from a family of entrepreneurs  His food photography is run through his blog Taylor Takes a Taste Does some commissioned work through his blog producing recipes and photos Tabasco Fresh Express Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board Taylor graduated in 2008 with a degree in finance but due to the state of the economy decided to go back to school for photography He attempted wedding photography in fall of 2009 but found more of an interest in photographing food  Created his blog in January 2010 with his mother, who happens to be a professional recipe developer, as a way to improve his food photography  Over the next couple of years his business became centralized around food; people were asking “how'd you do that?” This lead to the creation of his site Business of Creatives where he teaches people how to use their creative skills to make a profit Taylor traveled to 25 College Football games over 3 seasons, and wrote a book about it Crush It! by Gary VaynerchukOn Amazon> and On Audible Developed the educational side of his work through the questions that he was getting from the people who visited his blog This led to the creation of his Photographing Food series ebooks Growth Hacking Instagram Snapchat Facebook, now pay-to-play Life lessons helped to refine his business Patriots vs. Seahawks, the recent Super Bowl contenders Color Gamut & White Balance Taylor found a way to create recurring income through things such as workshops, leasing stock photos, etc.  Bill Gates still does the dishes by hand every night For recipes visit Taylor Takes a Taste For tips on improving food photography visit Photographing Food For tips and information on being an entrepreneur and creating your business visitBusiness of Creatives He can be found on instagram as @TaylorMathis Tools Pinterest, which can drive ridiculous amounts of traffic Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop Paypal Pen and paper Online scheduling systems Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, and ScheduleOnce Google Docs/Drive Google Analytics AWeber Techniques Use a simple flash with modifier for straightforward food photos at restaurants Use fluorescent continuous lighting for video recording; they stay cool Use a macro lens to capture the details of food. Building an email list is very important; more important than social media platforms Use Split Testing, aka A-B Testing, for email subject lines Set reminders in your calendar for your side project Get an accountability partner to kick your butt a little Habits Write three posts a week for the first two years of his blog, consistency is key. Create an Editorial Calendar, plan out what you are doing a head of time for organization and to create viewer interest.  Block out days in your work schedule. (ex. weekends are always for weddings, posts every Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Find the work schedule that is most productive for you.  Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 44(MP3, 40:18, 19.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 44(OGG, 40:18, 33.2 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 43 w/guest Bob Calvano

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2015 67:46


Bob Calvano (@bobcalvano) runs the digital media & design studio for A+E Networks, and oversees the development of mobile apps, websites, interfaces, and a variety of other design elements for A+E's brands. This conversation discusses his origins in digital and traditional design work, how he manages a diverse team of designers and programmers, and the challenges of working in the always-changing business of television and entertainment. Show Notes & Links TV is the first screen; computers are the second screen; mobile is the third screen Bob describes himself thoroughly as a husband, father, son, brother, drummer, speaker, friend, designer … at different times “Proudly hyphenated” A+E, Lifetime, History, FYI — television networks under the A+E umbrella Basement storage racks Bob started as a fine artist & illustrator, later worked as an in-house designer for Panasonic An early business found Bob and his partner painting & airbrushing motorcycles, boats, etc. Oxygen Network R/GA, digital agency To move from creative agencies like media to less-creative agencies like pharma, banking, etc. The Narcissism of Minor Differences Bob's team focuses on “digital execution” of many different projects “mobile-first” mentality for the websites “watch” apps for Android and iOS (for watching, not timepieces) XBOX 360 Roku AppleTV Amazon Fire TV “media agnostic” — problem-solving is more important than a particular execution “integrated branding” or “360 campaigns”, putting all the pieces together Erica Heinz, previous guest on The Busy Creator Podcast (episode 10) A+E's studio is packed with “Product Designers” “It's a designer-slash-developer world.” ← Click to Tweet Waterfall method, sort of outdated but still in use in many agencies/teams “A show idea could come from anywhere.” ← Click to Tweet Duck Dynasty, not-so-accidental smash hit Netflix Original Programming Amazon Original Programming Vimeo Original Programming A+E Studios, upcoming original content producers Forthcoming Apple Watch Responsive design vs. breakpoints Microsoft changes rendering engine for Outlook Vikings, on The History Channel The History Channel app for iOS No traffic department We did an entire episode about Project Management Application & Collaboration Software Vessel “T-Shaped People“, originally an IDEO term T-Shaped skillset “The Static Photoshop Comp is slowly becoming extinct.” ← Click to Tweet “Photoshop is a “mullet-shaped” tool; 90% of the users only use 10% of the features.” ← Click to Tweet Vijay Mathews was a previous guest on The Busy Creator Podcast (episode 32) Designers should have a background in Calculus (jeez, what a cranky bastard) Google Ventures design sprints Lifetime app for iOS Oxygen app for iOS A&E app for iOS All the networks have social media followings (too many to list, in fact) Tools Blank paper (for sketching during conversations) “watch” apps History Here app for iOS Jira by Atlassian Freedcamp (a free version of Basecamp) Trello Sketch Techniques Use Agile framework for your design+development projects Use Scrum framework to keep teams together Kanban board to manage project stages Mine your own data Set up “teams of three”, where Art Directors work closely with a UX/UI designer and a developer Turn your Project Managers into Scrum Masters on a Product Team (same thing but on a different model) Use an all-digital workflow Hire T-Shaped People and encourage them to grow Present clickable prototypes rather than flat comps — it yields better results, even if it takes slightly longer Use transit time to prepare for, and recover from, the working day. Meditate or at least mentally plan.  Habits Sketch during conversations; think out loud Capture and measure all possible statistics; use data & metrics to inform decisions Don't base everything off data & metrics; trust your gut as designers  Keep your finger on the pulse of design & digital media by going to conferences, taking classes, subscribing to magazines, take field trips Wake up at 5:45 Eliminate Gluten & Dairy Take the stairs! If you're a commuter, they're always right there. On weekends, sleep as late as kids & dogs will allow Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Scrum Essentials by Troy Dimes as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 43(MP3, 1:08:05, 32.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 43(OGG, 1:08:05, 56.0 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 42 with Artist, Designer, Illustrator, Animator & Writer Laurie Rosenwald

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2015 49:38


Laurie Rosenwald (@RosenWorld) is an artist, designer, illustrator, writer, and all-around creative spirit. Throughout her careers, she's managed to fly under the radar of New York's design and publishing industries and still be recognised for her distinct style and wit. Our conversation focuses on her origins in the creative fields, her working style, and her new workshops. See some of Laurie's work on her studio page, Rosenworld.com.   Show Notes & Links Amazon refers to Laurie as a “professional nonconformist”  Intergalactic Arms Dealer, Bill Doran, previous guest on The Busy Creator Podcast Rosenworld, Laurie's studio, which governs animation, design, illustration, and anything else “So I Fired The Shrink”, animation by Rosenworld Shouts and Murmurs, in The New Yorker Laurie splits her time with 20% dedicated to each painting, writing, illustration, design, & animation “The portfolio generation” The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine Laurie did the Target billboards in Times Square Thomson travel (UK) Bob Gill, founding member of Pentagram Forget All the Rules You Ever Learned About Graphic Design: Including the Ones in This Book by Bob Gill on Amazon RISD Fiorucci, cool jeans from the late 70s Lunch at the UN by Bob Gill Email is, frankly, a disadvantage. Email replacement software — could be anything that gets folks to stop emailing Laurie's name came up on a previous podcast episode with Felix Sockwell Laurie never had a normal job At The New York Times Magazine, Laurie was “like a mascot” Antonio Lopez, the fashion illustrator Jean Paul Gaultier Jessica Lange Coffee Shop in Union Square Vogue Italia Condé Nast, on and off, but never on a masthead “I would do a whole bunch of layouts and then leave” ← Click to Tweet GQ Mademoiselle Magazine Paul Rand Alexey Brodovitch Zeitgest Purple + Teal, a definitive colour scheme of the early 90s Free electrons “I like to do the work itself … everything else, I have avoided.” ← Click to Tweet “My days are spent making stuff. Sometimes I get paid for it; sometimes I don't” ← Click to Tweet New York Notebook by Laurie Rosenwald on Amazon Chronicle books, San Francisco And to Name But Just a Few, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue by Laurie Rosenwald on Amazon Barnes & Noble “Creating a book is organic. It happens because it has to happen.” ← Click to Tweet Bloomsbury All The Wrong People Have Self-Esteem by Laurie Rosenwald on Amazon “Everything is middle school.” ← Click to Tweet Abrams How to Make Mistakes on Purpose, forthcoming book based on Laurie's workshops Post-It Notes, Penicillin, Viagra … all created by accident*  Adam Harrison Levy, Producer/writer for the BBC and [previous podcast guest]  Parsons, Pratt, NYU, CalArts, RISD, MICA — design schools in the US Camberwell — art & design school in London Jennifer, and extremely popular name in the 20th century AIGA, Art Directors Club, Google, Starbucks — places where Laurie has conducted workshops Erik Spiekermann, type designer in Berlin Laurie can't type. She “hunts and pecks and suffers.” Marian Obando, up-and-coming designer and Laurie's assistant Laurie Rosenwald is on Facebook, as a brand and also as a person Amy Porterfield is an expert in Facebook marketing and fbinfluence is her course  Encaustic Challenge for the new year: make money “Have your cake and eat it too … and then have more cake.” ← Click to Tweet Tools Squeeze Bottle Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Freedcamp (now with Kanban view) Mod Podge, brand of glue  Techniques Use email to flirt Go on instinct (if your instincts are good) Write down ideas and save them for later Make something first, and find a place for it later Don't start with a blank page: Make a blob or something Make your own pigments, paint, and gesso Draw with a squeeze bottle Photograph collages at various stages to add a digital component Use Photoshop & Illustrator in the most “baby” way Rent out your apartment when you're traveling! Habits Floss and use toothpicks (or those bristles things) Wake up early and enjoy being home Ride a bike whenever possible  Retreat to a secret place, perhaps a library, for writing Write or paint to fill time between client projects Never sketch Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get Miss Mapp by EF Benson as a free audiobook Or try the Ladies of Letters series by By Lou Wakefield, Carole Hayman (Narrated By Prunella Scales & Patricia Routledge!) as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 42(MP3, 49:51, 23.9 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 42(OGG, 49:51, 41.4 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 41 w/guest Joaquin Cotler

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2015 60:42


Joaquin Cotler (@ShinyIslands) is a musician based in Brooklyn, NY. In the ten years since finished his degree in music, he's discovered the many strange sides of being a working musician, from recording and gigging with bands, to writing and performing solo, to teaching and conducting workshops. This conversation covers the music industry, the struggle of working musicians, how YouTube is changing the game, and how musicians across the spectrum learn, perform, and produce music. Catch up with Joaquin via his website, JoaquinCotler.com Check out our episode below, as well as some of his tracks embedded after the jump.   Show Notes & Links The Busy Creator is recorded at a standing desk BBC Radio mounts their microphones in the ceiling BBC Radio 1 Shure SM7B mic Blake Stratton, [now retired] singer-songwriter, appeared previously on The Busy Creator Podcast “Musician” is an all-encompassing trade, according to Joaquin Joaquin and The Hot Knives on Facebook “Creative-class Hustler” who is part of “The Portfolio Generation” Squarespace can be frustrating Disney used to have working musicians, so did Warner Bros. Not so much anymore. Carl Stalling, composer for Warner Brothers The Red Hot Chili Peppers needed a guitar player for their tour Mark Wahlberg, played the lead in the film Rock Star Sir George Martin CBE, legendary producer for The Beatles  Ringo got sick, and was briefly replaced by Jimmie Nicol “Ringo isn't the best drummer in the world. He isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles.” —John Lennon Jasper Carrott “Baby Blue” by Badfinger Cher Steely Dan Michael McDonald, legendary studio musician Sound City, documentary by Dave Grohl 20 Feet From Stardom, documentary about backup singers WTF with Marc Maron Podcast The Beach Boys The Laurel Canyon Sound Bob Marley Burning Spear Stax Records Motown Records Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Gold Records & Platinum Records Spotify Pharrell not happy with his $3000 check from Spotify Gain Slapback Demo Tapes Casio Keyboard Sly Stone Rhythm Ace or Rhythm King drum machine Charles Penn's previous appearances on The Busy Creator Podcast — episodes 1 and 17 Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull Auto-Tune Anthony Kiedis Ke$ha Dr. Luke Max Martin, Swedish songwriter who dominates the pop charts “If it's annoying enough, it'll be a huge hit.” ← Click to Tweet Performance Art All the songs from 70s sound alike Girl Talk Pitch Perfect Anna Kendrick, my crush Anna Kendrick Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off” Toni Basil, “Hey Mickey” Bulldog Pitbull, a singer, apparently Accounts Payable Dribbble, and how designers just flood it with junk Vine, not just for twerking videos “toiling away in obscurity” “Wake up early and work hard all day” —Philip Glass ← Click to Tweet Benjamin Franklin Amelia Earhart Johnny & June Carter Cash Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, forthcoming Spike Lee Joint, out Feb. 10 (Soundtrack on Epic Records) “Space Patrol” by Illegalize : song on iTunes “Doggies Don't Ride The Train” by Chickentown : album on iTunes Joaquin and the Hot Knives on SoundCloud Ratfink on SoundCloud Chickentown on SoundCloud Illegalize on SoundCloud Joaquin plays at The Manhattan Inn, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn Tools Pro Tools YouTube iPhone, or handheld recording device Techniques Diversify as much as possible; don't rely on one source of income or type of practice (gigging vs. recording) Learn to speak “Pro Toolsese” with the studio engineers; acquire as much technical prowess as possible Best way to record drums is in a natural room sound. Create a room-within-a-room, and them mic that Connect your social media accounts  DON'T conduct your job interviews by asking candidates to record themselves on YouTube Change your routine and creative Habits Be reliable. Deliver the goods, consistently. Practice on your own. All the time. Wake up early. Drink coffee. Backup your phone; download your recordings and whatnot Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 41(MP3, 1:00:59, 29.4 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 41(OGG, 1:00:59, 52.7 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 40 w/guest Jay Seldin

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2015 54:45


Jay Seldin (@phototraveler8) is a fine art photographer, photo travel entrepreneur, and instructor. Jay has spent the bulk of his career as a teacher, whether teaching graphic design and photography at the high school level, or more recently conducting workshops and photo tours all over the world. This conversation tracks Jay's early career and how he got into teaching, his accidental discovery of the Macintosh, how he transitioned into leading workshops and tours, and how Prescott learned the graphic design trade in 1998–99 as a high school senior. Environmental Portraits in Cuba, by Jay Seldin Show Notes & Links Jay defines himself as a teacher, a photographer, and world traveler. He is a curious person and a teller of tales. His style can be defined as an “environmental portrait photographer” Jay Seldin on YouTube Jay's photo career began when he was required to take a humanities class in college. That class was an introduction to Black and White Photography. Developing a print in a darkroom was Jay's “lightbulb moment” (and that lightbulb was probably amber) When he was 18, Jay did his first cross-country road trip to San Francisco On The Road by Jack Kerouac on Amazon and on Audible Jay earned 60¢/hr at his first photo job, working in a photo studio in New York Photography was considered “Industrial Arts” and “Art” depending on the school, and the state Jay taught at West Orange High School, Dwight Morrow High School, and later Columbia High School Ansel Adams, famous landscape photographer Mary Ellen Mark Eugene Richards Lucien Clergue Michael Kenna Ruth Bernard Apple Lisa & Apple Mac — The big decision in Jay's teaching career c.1984 Floppy disks “That mouse made all the difference in the world.” ← Click to Tweet The Original Apple Macintosh Adobe Photoshop 4.0 QuarkXPress 4.1 Aldus (later Adobe) Pagemaker Mac Draw Mac Write Matt Kushner, now an animator Sally Warner, now an oceanographer Prescott credits his time on the newspaper staff as his first true graphic design role Bluelines Guildscript, Columbia High School's literary magazine Columbia High School had the first computer graphics lab in the state of NJ Continuous Tone Print Jay's purpose-built studio above his garage Jay Seldin in his studio, surrounded by gear and his work In addition to printing, Jay also does mentoring/tutoring in his studio The principal activity is [still] teaching The workshop trips gained momentum slowly, with interest among friends ICP asked him to run programs It takes a year for Jay to put together a good workshop The Newark Museum Cuba Cultural Travel “When you go to a museum, there's no Cuban art. Because of the Embargo.” ← Click to Tweet Locally grown Cuban coffee The environmental footprint of coffee Cuban-American relations are approaching normal, whatever that means. The Cuban Free Internet, still to be determined Cuban Baseball League? Maybe. Cuba, The Accidental Eden, from PBS “Nature”, not the BBC The Royal Ballet in Cuba, from Channel4, not the BBC Jay and Not-So-Silent Bob on Facebook Tools Mac, printer, scanner — basically the same basic arrangement since the mid-1980s Epson Pro Stylus 9600 first large format 44″ wide-format printer Adobe Photoshop, even in Cuba A Map with marked locations of places to go 1966 Corvette Convertible Techniques Learn on your own, and then teach it to others Get a local “guide” who knows the area you're looking to photograph Gather ideas from your past students/attendees Habits Travel with someone who's part of the “system” as well as some who aren't Wake up early, have coffee, and read the [physical] paper Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial Get On The Road by Jack Kerouac as a free audiobook Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 40(MP3, 54:45, 26.5 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 40(OGG, 54:45, 48.2 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 38, The InDesign Episode w/David Blatner & Anne-Marie Concepción

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2014 37:35


Show Notes & Links David Blatner Anne-Marie Concepción Previous 3-Way Episodes on The Busy Creator Podcast #4 and #11 Three-way Calling InDesign Magazine Anne-Marie had aspirations to become a teacher … until she met Mac LaserWriter Font/DA Mover ClarisWorks “As a teacher of software to adults, you could charge whatever you wanted.” ← Click to Tweet Design Geek, an early newsletter-turned-blog from Anne-Marie David is an author, but NOT a novelist QuarkXPress, powerhouse page layout software in the 90s  Aldus PageMaker, predecessor to InDesign Armin Vit's episode of The Busy Creator Podcast Remote Keyless Entry on your car S-Shaped Curve aka Sigmoid Function, for learning “The hardest part is not learning the feature, it's remembering to use the feature.” ← Click to Tweet The Paint Format tool in MS Word Pet Peeve: Using Character Styles where a better tool is more appropriate Paragraph Styles panel should be called “Text Styles”  Unsharp Masking or Appearance Panel — wishlist features for InDesign Smart Objects created in InDesign should be placeable in Photoshop ePUB – the open-source standard for ebooks “Dangling Modifiers” Prescott's name for features unbuilt or errors-not-fixed since 1996  Gradient Mesh or 3D Revolve in Illustrator Prescott is a member of the Pre-release Team for Illustrator Scrubby Sliders in InDesign – an oft-requested feature from Photoshop Anne-Marie invented “Mr. Spanky” aka Pan Tool “The Donut” aka Content Grabber Real World InDesign by David Blatner Lynda.com videos Tools Adobe InDesign A two-button mouse The Apple Menu Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop Elements, Muse Adobe Dreamweaver, which can't open ePUB files, btw InDesignSecrets.com has a ton of resources, downloads, tutorials, videos, forums, etc. Adobe InCopy InDesign Secrets Podcast, and the Obscure InDesign Feature of The Week! Techniques Use the Text Frame in InDesign rather than an image frame Utilize GREP styling and Text Styles more generally Use Quick Apply Remove Character Styles and replace with Paragraph Styles for longer passages of text Use InDesign for page layout … NOT ILLUSTRATOR (Japan) and definitely NOT PHOTOSHOP (psychopaths) Learn ePUB from Anne-Marie, she's the best (fixed-layout or flowable) Habits Repeatedly use features so they become a habit Continue to learn by watching videos, experimenting, reading articles Try Audible.com Free and Register with Bluehost.com Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free Audible trial Register your website with Bluehost.com Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 38(MP3, 37:45, 18.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 38(OGG, 37:45, 33.1 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 37 w/guest Felix Sockwell

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2014 36:39


Felix Sockwell is an illustrator and graphic designer based in New Jersey. Following a storied early career in some of New York's top agencies, Felix changed direction to pursue his solo practice as an illustrator. For him, setting up outside the City didn't mean obscurity; instead, he's developed a unique signature style and works with a varied of high-profile clients like Facebook and The New York Times. See more of his work on his website, FelixSockwell.com Audio Player       00:00 Use Left/Right Arrow keys to advance one second, Up/Down arrows to advance ten seconds. 00:00   Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.       Felix Sockwell for WQXR, his signature continuous-line illustration style, click to enlarge Show Notes & Links Felix describes himself as both a designer and illustrator, from a family background in design, illustration, and advertising “Illustrative Designer” Von Glitschka East Texas State University, Felix's almost mater DDB Needham/Tracey-Locke, ad agency in Dallas The Richards Group, communication agency in Dallas Brian Collins Ogilvy‘s Brand Integration Group (BIG) in New York, known for their 16-hour days Rick Boyko Laurie Rosenwald Luke Hayman Tom Vasquez Alan Dye Felix's style is continuous vector line illustration Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall, cover artwork by Felix Sockwell T.S. Monk — one of Thelonius Monk's similarly-named sons — lives in South Orange, NJ  Charles Anderson Eric Johnson Starwood Hotels Le Méridien, a Paula Scher/Pentagram client at the time  Christine Blackburne, photographer and previous podcast guest Highlights Puzzle Pushpin Studios, an influence for Felix Prescott worked with Seymour Chwast Norman Rockwell‘s style Joe Marianek, formerly of Michael Bierut‘s team at Pentagram and past guest on Design Matters with Debbie Millman. (Bierut and Millman have both been guests on The Busy Creator Podcast, by the way) karlssonwilker Paul Sahre South Orange “feels like Williamsburg, Brooklyn” (according to Felix, at least) Felix's recent calendar poster for NPR –  Jonathan Selikoff, founder of Vote for Letterpress in South Orange, NJ “Squirrels are our friends” Kyle Webster, illustrator Tools iPhone Adobe Illustrator (not Photoshop, not InDesign) Techniques Work with a rep/agent only when it's a really big job Habits Save tedious or intricate pieces for yourself, for later use (ex. drawings of hands) Embrace the slow evolution of your own style Build a personal zone, which can involve coffee, music, or weed Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 37(MP3, 36:49, 17.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 37(OGG, 36:49, 32.3 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 36, Intellectual Property & Legal Issues for Creative Pros with Attorney & Educator Kelley Keller

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2014 58:38


  Kelley Keller (@KelleyKeller) is an Intellectual Property Attorney & Education, and founder of The Keller Law Firm. She's also the creator of Innovation to Profits, an online educational resource for anyone with creative, valuable ideas. This legal-focused conversation discusses the types of IP, how portfolios must be handled, competition in the age of the Internet, Fair Use, and other legal matters important for creative pros in business.   Show Notes & Links F.U.D. Intellectual Property, a definition IP is “controlling the movement of knowledge throughout the marketplace” ← Click to Tweet Types of IP: Brand Names/Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, Trade Secrets The Coca-Cola formula, the world's most famous Trade Secret The Portfolio, a body of work for a creative pro Work-for-hire relationship (common for employees) Employer owns the work, employees need permission Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are governed by Employment Law, at the State level “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ← Click to Tweet Brand X As for your original logo, you have responsibility to protect and to police The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and its Takedown Notices The US Copyright Act of 1976 says, essentially, the moment you create something, you own the copyright (assuming it's copyrightable (original, independent, etc.))  The difference between a “trade name” and a Trademark. The trade name is the legal name of your business at the State level; Trademarks are marketplace identities, and must be cleared on the Federal level.  1099 and W-9 forms, Tax forms for outside contractors Nissan Motors v. Nissan Computer Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk And The Flash Combined Apple Computer v. Apple Corps Records aka “Why aren't the Beatles on iTunes?” US Olympic Committee v. Olympic Gyro Colleges Tell High Schools Logos Are Off Limits Agents and officers seize more than $4.8 million in fake NFL merchandise and seize 307 websites during ‘Operation Fake Sweep' Washington Redskins Mascot Controversy Washington Redskins Change Their Name To The D.C. Redskins Redskins defend name, ask federal court to overturn trademark decision USPTO Design Codes Lady Gaga stole the song “Judas”, claims singer/songwriter Tools USPTO.gov, the website for the US Patent & Trademark Office, where you can do a search. Behance, which hosts portfolios Copyright.gov Techniques Be proactive with new contracts and agreements; get an attorney to review  Set up Google Alerts for brands/trademarks Hire a junior staffer to search for your brand online Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 36(MP3, 58:54, 28.3 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 36(OGG, 58:54, 48.1 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 35 w/guest Betsy Helmuth

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2014 47:18


Betsy Helmuth (@BetsyHelmuth) is an interior designer & decorator in New York City. Her company, Affordable Interior Design, offers exactly what is says on the tin. Over the years, she's designed rooms in over 1,000 apartments, allowing her to create a systematic approach to working with busy clients. Betsy's latest book, Big Design, Small Budget, is available Dec. 11, 2014. Pre-order a copy and give it this holiday season to the interior design geek in your life. Big Design, Small Budget by Betsy Helmuth Our conversation centers on the eccentricities of New York City apartments — and apartment-dwellers — as well as the systems Betsy has used to build a thriving business.   Show Notes & Links Betsy is the first Busy Creator representative for the Interior Design industry. People who shop at Ikea and Target are Betsy's key customers New Yorkers feel a lot of anxiety about their space, and their storage (or lack thereof) New York City apartments can be “insultingly small” “Small is a relative term.” ← Click to Tweet Betsy has worked with over 1000 apartments; each year she works with 250 clients “It's a cookie-cutter plan, but within that there's a lot of individuality” ← Click to Tweet West Elm Betsy has developed a core 20 questions to determined how her clients live in their  “After 1000 apartments there's no judgement. I've seen it all.” ← Click to Tweet Client On-boarding/Discover Process Best business advice Betsy every received: “If the name of your business doesn't say exactly what you do, change it.” The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch Clients find Betsy by Googling “Affordable Interior Design” The Ikea Effect — If you built it yourself, you create an emotional investment “Never ever ever, ever, build your own Ikea (unless you're a professional)” ← Click to Tweet 80/20 rule applied to Ikea (80% crap, 20% gold) Japanese school of thought for actors who clean their own stage, it builds awareness of the world “Honor your space”, give it attention “Your space is like committing to a partner”  Multi-variable Differential Equation “not-yet-ness” “The limitations define ‘the box', and that's where the magic happens.” ← Click to Tweet Eames Chair with Ottoman Cable Management is key; get a “raceway” Prescott's new desk (forthcoming blog post) CableOrganizer.com Our previous podcast episode about Project Management software and collaboration Tools StarTech 2×2 Open Slot Wiring Raceway Cable channel Techniques Develop a core series of questions to ask your new clients Offer plans or packages so clients can choose based on their need  Build your room around an “inspiration item”, especially one with three or more colours Mix woods within colour families Get a storage unit if you need to hold on to something Utilise open-close storage, such as a desk with cabinets and drawers Staple cables to walls and furniture to keep them out of the way Re-evaluate your workflows around your growing and changing business Habits Locate outlets when you enter a room, especially in NYC Answer your own phone Work late hours, after the kids to go sleep Get to the coffee shops where you can get stuff done Turn the TV on (in the background) for creative flow Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 35(MP3, 47:31, 23 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 35(OGG, 47:31, 38.5 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 33, Creative Career Q&A w/guest Lisa Cummings

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2014 44:17


Lisa Cummings (@LisaCummings) is a corporate consultant and trainer, and host of the Careers Q&A Podcast on PinchYourselfCareers.com. She offers insight and advice to job seekers and people at all stages of their careers, answering questions about office culture, hiring, money, and other career-related topics. Today's conversation borrows the format of her show, answering user-submitted questions specific to the create professions.   Show Notes & Links On quantifying your work: put it in their perspective, be able to communicate your successes, make it all about the company. Also, get those figures wherever possible. Present a business case rather than ask for stuff On “creative” resumes: The content has to be solid, they don't have to be infographics per se, inject your brand and personal style, show precision and attention to detail “Your resume is the first piece in your portfolio” ← Click to Tweet A resume is for 3–5 seconds. A hiring manager may only see your resume 30 seconds before they meet you. On learning in preparation for quitting: present your case as a learner and leave the quitting part out, get the knowledge elsewhere by training outside the studio, take advantage of the business's need for “utility men” “Open the Kimono” On declaring your [small] role on a project: be honest in describing your role and the other people involved, spin your part as a learning experience, describe the new skills learned, don't lead with the shortcomings Two (or Six) Degrees of Kevin Bacon On reading books to learn business skills: learn the people skills (you'll need them), also check out courses (online or off) To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Influence by Robert Cialdini 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy The Essential Principles of Graphic Design by Debbie Millman The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley The Long Tail by Chris Anderson Onward by Howard Shultz Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson On being hired without a prestigious background: you can't go through the front door, Lisa's podcast episode about job descriptions, network like crazy,  Big Spaceship, AKQA, RazorFish – well-known web design agencies On building your portfolio as a young creative: Do self-initiated work, do projects for community organizations, family or friends, take on a before-and-after, plan your time for taking on projects “for fun” “Spray and Pray“, the wrong approach to job-hunting Tools Resume and Portfolio Techniques Chronicle everything. Get co-workers testimony, get figured & statistics Use your promotion opportunities as a chance to update your portfolio. Keep things fresh. Ask for feedback following an interview, don't accept “you need more experience” Habits Save your praise, especially in a corporate environment Bring two copies of your resume to any interview, on the paper that you chose. Control that experience. Always be networking Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 33(MP3, 44:16, 21.4 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 33(OGG, 44:16, 38.3 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 23 Building a Business While Traveling The World, w/guest Christina Canters

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2014 39:18


The Busy Creator Podcast ep. 23, Building a Business While Traveling The World, w/guest Christina Canters Christina Canters (@cjcanters) is an architect-turned-entrepreneur who left her native Melbourne, Australia to travel the world as she builds her new consulting and teaching business, Design Draw Speak. This conversation focuses on travel, as well as the mindset and preparation required to build a new business on the road. Christina and Prescott share their war stories — and fond memories — from travels and studies abroad, and commiserate about the prices of certain goods in different places. Keep up with Christina and her travels via her blog,Kips and Kale.     Show Notes & Links Christina is on the road, speaking from Austin, TX. As of publishing, she's in Thailand. Podcast Movement Design Draw Speak, helps architects become better communicators Christina is a former architect Design Draw Speak started as a podcast, and has branched out to coaching and teaching Social Media Marketing World Tropical MBA Podcast Cost of living for cities around the world “Your job is a Horcrux; you're dividing your soul.” How are you going to pay the bills on day one? Melbourne is 12% cheaper than in New York City, according to Expatistan Transportation of goods over land and their costs, as discussed in The Wealth of Nations Couchsurfing Prescott watches a lot of HGTV and DIY Network How to repair a crack in the drywall, on YouTube The Australian Diaspora, mostly in the EU, UK, and US Meetup.com Spirit Airlines, the worst according to The Consumerist Tools Evernote Dropbox Skype Call Recorder Logitech HD Webcam C310 Techniques Before you leave for a trip, transfer stuff to cloud storage and get rid of a lot of your crap Travel light. Literally, and spiritually. Don't mind the clunky video edits Go to lots of events, especially in a new city Habits Wake up early, before the world is up Celebrate what you got done by mid-day Eat right and exercise, even from the road Build a workflow you can torture-test. Print receipts, save a PDF, keep backups. Save multiple copies and don't rely on a single point of failure. Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 23(MP3, 39:18, 38.2 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 23(OGG, 39:18, 36.4 MB) Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator 17, Music Streaming Apps & Websites, w/guest Charles Penn

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2014 57:36


Charles Penn is a musician and music producer based in New Jersey. Together with Prescott they discuss the state of music on the Internet, including listening, buying, sharing, and the potential to collaborating world-wide. The conversation moves to music promotion and tactics for artists starting out. Check out Charles's music on his website, The Sounds of The Underground.         00:00   00:00         Show Notes & Links First episode recorded face-to-face. Skype is awesome, but it's nice to see people in real life. Coverville In The Groove, Jazz and Beyond YouTube (yes, for music) Prescott [still uses] an iPod Classic Bob Marley on iTunes Google Music Juicy, by Notorious B.I.G. on iTunes Pandora, for streaming Music Genome Project Sade on iTunes Beats Music Service Services are too associated with Social Media (Rdio and Spotify, especially) Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne — all artists which Prescott has never heard of Daley Robin Thicke 45 Record Singles Beatles-a-Rama Apple Records iTunes v12 coming soon (to your Mac) Google is Skynet DRM .Mac and iDrive (c. 2001) CD Quality is 16-bit 44.1Khz Stereo PCM Justin Bieber, discovered on YouTube Gabrielle Aplin, has been playing her videos from her bedroom for years and is now a big star Points on the back-end Finding Llweyn Davis Tools Rhapsody Spotify Rdio Shazam Pandora iTunes internet radio ACB Radio for the Blind The Halls of Ivy (every episode available for download) Amazon Music Google Wallet YouTube, for sharing your music Weebly, for website templates ReverbNation SoundCloud, for home-grown artists Techniques For Pandora, only vote songs down. Otherwise, you'll hear the exact same song again and again. Search for stations on the Internet Radio stream. Discover something unexpected. Exchange features with other up-and-coming artists, then cross-promote for each other Habits Search randomly. Don't “plan” your music. Give away your music to build a fan base. The money will come. Get The Episode Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 17(MP3, 57:36, 55.7 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 17(OGG, 57:36, 54.7 MB)   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox
The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 7 with Designer & Blogger Courtney Eliseo

The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2014 43:08


The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 7 with Designer & Blogger Courtney Eliseo Prescott chats with Courtney Eliseo, graphic designer and founder of the popular design blog Design Work Life. They discuss keeping organized as a solo designer, the workflow of writing blog posts, and the balance of running a content business while staying relevant as a practitioner.   Show Notes & Links Seamless Creative, Courtney and her husband's design practice Graphicology Design Work Life on Pinterest Courtney on Skillshare perez-fox.com, Prescott's design blog (since January 2006) Prescott went to grad school RSS, for reading blogs The “brass ring” is clientless work Courtney lives by her to-do list Design Work Life is a show-and-tell blog. No problem with that. Both Courtney and Prescott use Harvest for time-tracking Omnifocus for to-do lists. Good because it's based on GTD Courtney's husband is a web developer Past Busy Creator guest Armin Vit is half of a husband-wife team Prescott's grandparents are a husband-wife team, married for 70 years. Paul Graham, from Y Combinator wrote about Maker's Time vs. Manager's Time Customizing Apps in Podio Work.com and Do.com, both by SalesForce Asana, a checklist turned project management app “It's impossible to find the perfect handbag.” —Jill Fox Software as a Service AJAX “… emailing back and forth — especially files — especially MS Word docs — it's just terrible.” Jackson and Graham, contributors to Design Work Life Courtney wants to experiment with a virtual assistant Courtney is up at 6:00; at work by 7:30 Businessology, with Jason Blumer & Dan Mall Tools Skillshare Harvest Omnifocus Teux Deux Podio ScheduleOnce Google Calendar Asana Zirtual Press This, WordPress bookmarklet Photoshop, and Photoshop Actions Techniques Dedicate one day to separate aspects of the business (client work, blog, finances, etc.) When designing a brand identity, think of digital from day one Use the to-do list over the calendar Build workflows and automation for recurring tasks, such as resizing images for your blog Listen to podcasts while you work Habits Stick to a plan Meet with your boss every other week, review time Generate a time report in Harvest Create a “Dollar Jar” at work. Give $1 every time you email about a project instead of post on Basecamp (or your tool of choice) Wake up early. (oatmeal optional) Get The Episode       00:00   00:00       Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 7(MP3, 41.8 MB) Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 7(OGG, 42.3 MB)   Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes   Something to add? Leave a comment below to participate in the conversation.