PSD to HTML Reviews & Tutorials

We designers- the community of creativity, how often have thought about a forum or marketplace where quality of work is placed on top, where people do not compare the bids, but take credibility as a measure of comparison to assign the projects.

Amateurs, bidding at low price, who do not even have enough experience also claim themselves an ace designer. This makes those who are looking for quality work at low price fall for them leaving the real time professionals empty handed once again.

There is nothing more that a designer can do instead of trying in some good job boards forums, marketplace or communities. You can also increase the numbers of marketplace joined, this will increase the probability of you getting a project somewhere at least.

1- SensationalJobs.com – http://www.sensationaljobs.com/

2- Smashingmagazine – http://jobs.smashingmagazine.com/

3- Freelanceswitch – http://jobs.freelanceswitch.com/

4- Designm Job Board – http://designm.ag/jobs/

5- Jaysonng – http://jaysonng.com/jobs/aggregator

6- AuthenticJobs – http://www.authenticjobs.com/

7- Krop - http://www.krop.com/

8- Sitepoint Marketplace – http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/categories/looking-to-hire

9- Fresh Web Jobs – http://www.freshwebjobs.com/

10- Coroflot Job Board – http://www.coroflot.com/public/jobs_browse.asp

11- ProgrammerMeetDesigner – http://programmermeetdesigner.com/

12- Contractedwork – http://www.contractedwork.com/

13- The Designers Network -http://jobs.designers-network.com/

So if you have not tried any of these platforms yet, then try some and write your feedback and experience to share with others. Or if are already a member of some of any job board then do enlighten our fellow designers and share your thought over the relevancy of these job boards in getting some valuable projects.

As designers, artists and illustrators, we all need some inspiration from time to time. It’s what makes us creative people. We take in the things around us and our brains process it, turning what we’ve seen and heard into thoughts and ideas.

If you work as a professional designer, there will probably be times when you are bereft of ideas and need some help. Turning to the coffee jar is going to make you buzz, but this doesn’t necessarily create ideas. What you need, is inspiration…

Take this scenario for example – your deadline is in the morning, its 3am and you’re struggling to get down a design concept for a new website. Where do you turn? You’re tired and the creativity just isn’t flowing.

I’ve been here many times before, and I find the best way is to relax and forget about it while I browse other websites. Subconsciously, I take in the design and functional elements of these sites I visit. My brain processes this and before I know it, I can apply this array of ideas to my own work, within my own context and utilising my own initiative.

Another great way of getting some help is to ask for feedback from your peers. You can post on related design forums or ask a friend over Messenger. If you receive professional and constructive feedback, this could be absolutely invaluable to creating a successful design.

Never be afraid to ask. A lot of people don’t like criticism because it can dent their self-esteem but if taken on board, it really can make a difference. I learnt this in my first job. I designed email newsletters and every time I submitted a piece to my boss, believing it to be finished, she would nearly always make comments. Two or Three renditions later, and taking on board the bosses comments, I had a piece of work that I could truly be proud of.

This article was written by Matt Saunders. Matt runs Creative Feedback, a design community website designed to give you constructive feedback and design ideas.

As any successful business will tell you; planning is key to success. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future strategies, and what better time to put some new ideas into practice than over the Christmas/New Year period?

Many companies and individuals suffer from a lack of appropriate planning and decision making. This leads to an anti-climax in success and in turn, a big drop in enthusiasm for what was once a thriving project.

If you run an online business, set yourself some achievable goals for the New Year:

• Get more targeted traffic – explain how you intend to do this and stick to it. For example, you may want to obtain one new backlink from an authority domain every month for the first six months. Just putting this on paper makes it seem a little more within your reach.
• Improve areas of weakness – ask for customer feedback, ask the opinion of a designer or simply view your stats. Is your delivery policy a little confusing? Maybe that’s putting people off – write a new, more reassuring one!
• Looking to expand your operations? Look at hiring salespeople on a basic fee + commission basis and offer structured bonuses. Alternatively, look into affiliate programs and expand your reach this way.
• Trouble keeping hold of your customers? As long as you’ve captured their data, you can win them back with a nice offer and an intelligent email marketing campaign.
• If you simply need more sales, look at offline avenues such as networking events and cold calling. Whilst these methods are more long winded, they help build relationships, which is a crucial factor in success.

These are just a few ideas that transcend various website purposes. Be specific to your own business and even if your growth plan is relatively small, it’s a step in the right direction.

This article was written by Matt Saunders, owner of Leeds web design agency Northern Web which specializes in intelligent and responsible web design and marketing solutions.