What to Do When They Can’t Afford Your Design

As a designer, it can be a struggle to communicate the value of your services and get paid what you are worth. What do you do when potential clients say they can’t afford your rates? I’ve had my share of horror stories, and I’m sure many of us have been approached with empty promises like “This would be great for your portfolio!” or “This will lead to more work and exposure in the future,” only to be left overworked, frustrated, and jilted in the end.

Here are some questions to ask yourself the next time this happens.

I Am Not My Job: One Designer’s Journey

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As a new year inches forward by the day, and the world cycles through the brouhaha of the holidays, many people start to get anxious about the future ahead. This time of year stirs up a range of emotions: everything from feelings of loss to facing the cold hard facts that the grand year we envisioned for ourselves didn’t go at all like we intended. As designers, individuals who work with our minds and hearts, not just our hands, all of this can start to take a toll.

Trust me. It happens to the best of us. In my mind, 2015 was supposed to the victory lap. The year before, I launched my solo design practice while working a 9-to-5. I had a few clients under my belt that paid well, and was working toward making enough revenue to justify going full-time. I was planning a big marketing campaign and launch party coinciding with my big 30th birthday in February. Then, the day after Christmas 2014, I lost my hero, and everything else went out the window. It’s taken me a good bit of the year to get back on track.

Sometimes, things happen beyond our control, but if being a designer has taught me anything, it’s how to make revisions, and forge my own path.

It’s almost Christmas 2015. About a month ago, I left my 9-to-5. I thought about making an announcement to let people know that I was back on the market. However, I quickly found that once I told close friends what happened, the most common response was “I’m so sorry!” I was a bit taken aback by all the condolences, so I just stopped saying anything. No one died. Nothing bad happened. It had been a great ride, but it was time to go.

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.)