Are Co-Working Spaces For You?

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Co-working spaces are shared office environments where people pay rent for table or office space. Unlike typical office environments, most people using co-working spaces do not work for the same organization. However, co-working spaces can provide opportunities for collaborating and networking with other independent professionals. In addition to providing many of the amenities of a traditional office — Wi-Fi, a physical address, meeting spaces, etc. — co-working spaces also host fundraisers, happy hours, networking mixers, and other special events as a way for people to socialize with others “after work”, so to speak.

Why are co-working spaces important specifically for Black designers and developers? Experts predict that 40% of the American workforce (about 60 million people) will be freelancers by the year 2020. Research from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation revealed that over 64% of African-American millennials want to start their own businesses. As more Blacks around the world become entrepreneurs and freelancers, co-working spaces can become a valuable option.

Using Design to Promote Activism and Action

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The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and countless other Black men and women have sparked protests around the world. These protests also bring a number of other issues to the surface that disproportionately affect Black people throughout the United States — most notably, police brutality.

Design activism has a long history of helping spark change. Design can be used to highlight root causes to issues and help attract attention and evoke emotion to create a visual identity behind a shared cause. How are designers helping with activism efforts?

Top HBCUs for Aspiring Designers and Developers

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As of late, encouraging diversity in the fields of graphic design, web development, and web design has become an important topic of discussion. There’s a focus on what’s known as the “pipeline problem” for elementary, middle, and high school students, but where do HBCUs fall along this pipeline?

For prospective students, it may be difficult for them to find the best ones that offer the types of programs they need to get into these industries. With a little research, I found several HBCUs with strong design and development programs. Take a look at the list below and let me know your thoughts.

How AIGA Is Increasing Diversity In Graphic Design

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According to the United States Census, we are expected to have a minority-majority population by the year 2043. With these inevitable demographic changes, workplaces will have to reflect this overall shift. However, many industries do not have workforces that reflect this.

In graphic design, about 86% of designers are Caucasian. As recently as 1991, 93%cof designers were Caucasian, so there has been very little minority growth in the field in almost a quarter of a century. AIGA, the premier professional association for graphic artists, is looking to tackle this issue with a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. Led by graphic designer and illustrator Antoinette Carroll, the Task Force consists of a diverse array of graphic designers, communication professionals, and students throughout the nation from different backgrounds and experiences. (Full disclosure: Revision Path’s founder and EIC Maurice Cherry is also a member of this task force.)

Five Tips To Writing Successful Proposals

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As a freelance web professional, writing proposals is an essential part of bringing in business. A well-written, persuasive proposal that lays out the concept of a project and shows you understand the client’s business requires a nuanced approach and a gift for storytelling. The suspense of whether or not a prospective client approves or rejects that proposal can be stressful, but it’s a necessary evil.

Writing a proposal can be a chore, but it has to be done! And lucky for you, I have a are a few tips that can help you not only become better at writing proposals, but also increase your proposal acceptance rate.