Tag: creativity | Page 10 | Artisan Creative

Pinterest for Creatives

Thursday, March 1st, 2012|

I keep reading about Pinterest and so, of course, I started wondering…

Should I join?
What do I do with it?
Will it help me with anything or just be another social platform?

So I started my boards and took a look around, but found myself still a bit puzzled.

Pinterest is basically a photo-sharing platform. A place to “pin” images of things you like and are interested in. You can put a button in your browser’s toolbar that will put almost any image you see online on one of your pinboards, with the opportunity to make a comment on it. These could be your own images or those of others that you see when you are browsing. You don’t have to download and upload as you do on other platforms.

Pinterest is definitely great for businesses that sell products. They can add a “Pin It” button to images of their offerings and customers can add those things to their pinboards, which will be seen by everyone who is following them. That’s a lot of free advertising!

Pinterest is also good for service businesses which use a portfolio of work to increase their client base. Web design companies can certainly benefit from having a pinboard of their work available here.

For the same reason, Pinterest may be a good platform for freelancers and entrepreneurs. You can pin your latest work from all different sources into one board and use that as your online portfolio site. Web and graphic designers, photographers, and artists especially will benefit from having pinboards of their work available on this platform. You can also find other people on Pinterest with similar interests that you might want to connect with. Some people are also pinning their resumes, especially the new infographic styles.

Why might Pinterest be better than other photo sharing sites? In my opinion, the advantage lies in the board concept itself. Rather than looking one at a time at photos on Flickr, or a giant page of uncategorized photos, pinboards are collections of related items. Someone who is checking out your design aesthetic can get a good overview of your logos, for example, with one click. And knowing who else likes the same thing you like might be an excellent bit of information.

I’m still a newbie at Pinterest and have been pinning mostly knitting patterns so far. I would love to hear what you think of Pinterest and if you’ve thought of any great uses for creatives, so please let me know in the comments!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Why Aren’t You Blogging Yet?

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012|

Pretty early in the life of this blog, I wrote a post on why you should be blogging.

Did you pay attention?

Did you start a blog? Did you ever write a second post?

Or a first?

Excuses, Excuses! Why not?

I don’t have anything to say
Actually, the bar here is pretty low. Do you talk? To anybody? About what’s going on? Anywhere? Excellent. Post.

Now, of course, we’re talking about a blog that has some value – to you and to your readers. Random thoughts won’t work forever, but I’m willing to bet that if you try this 2 or 3 or 4 times, you will start coming up with relevant ideas. And guess what? You can go back and get rid of the early stuff later!

Remember – you don’t have to write an essay. Think of your first few posts as updates, just like Facebook or even Twitter. A sentence or two, a paragraph. Put your toe in the water.

I’m not a writer
Believe me, most bloggers aren’t “writers” either. They’re not perfect and they’re not any better than you. They just post anyway. (Shh, they often don’t even proofread!)

A good way to get started is by doing some curated content. Find some articles that you think are interesting or relevant or well written and pick out your favorite quote. Explain why it’s your favorite and what drew you to the article. You look smart without doing much of your own writing!

Remember that you MUST (was that loud enough?) hyperlink to the original article in your post.

I don’t have time
Do you have time to update your Facebook status? You have time to blog.

Do you have time to Tweet? More than once a day? You have time to blog.

Guess what? You can use the content from your Facebook status or your Tweets to get your blog started. What are you writing about today? Make it a little longer and post it. See, you are a writer! That information was already out there in public, this is just another venue for it.

I don’t know-how
Technology can be intimidating, but blogging has been around long enough to have some great resources for you to get started. Here are three of my favorites:

Blogger.com is a free site which walks you through the blog creation process step-by-step—my 10-year-old has a blogger blog. Blogger is part of the Google family of products so if you have a Google account, it’s even easier to start a blog there.

Tumblr.com is another free site for creating a blog. Tumblr blogs are usually shorter-form and might be less intimidating. Tumblr has lots of fun themes and also walks you through the process of creating your special place to post.

Livejournal.com is another free blogging platform that is easy to use. Commenters on Livejournal have to register, but if that doesn’t bother you take a look at this platform.

If you’re still nervous about blogging, write a few draft posts on whatever you want. Don’t publish them until you feel good about them.

A company blog, an industry blog or even a personal blog is an important part of your brand, whether you are an executive or a freelancer. Stop making excuses! Blog!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Brainstorming: Important Factor in Company Culture?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012|

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about brainstorming:

How to brainstorm better
Brainstorming isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
It’s okay if you’re not good at brainstorming
Our kids are being trained to brainstorm instead of think up their own ideas

Brainstorming, like every idea-generation technique, has its place, certainly. I have a friend who sets up great brainstorms for a very large multinational corporation, and they definitely get some wonderful ideas out of that process. They also get some lousy ones. But everyone agrees that making time for that process – coming together to “be creative” is what makes all of those ideas – good and bad – possible.

However, if brainstorming sessions are not run properly, it is remarkably easy for brainstorming to turn into groupthink without anyone realizing it. Groupthink has the negative connotations that brainstorming escapes: people getting together and forming a mob, not really a consensus. If everyone is thinking the same thing so it must be a good idea, right?

Utilizing brainstorming best practices to properly structure a brainstorming session – going for as many ideas as possible, allowing one speaker at a time, deferring all judgment during the session, allowing “builds” and visuals, and ensuring all ideas are documents – groups can avoid the pitfalls of a groupthink session.

While there’s a lot to be said for working in small groups to throw ideas back and forth, many also argue the more solitary ways of coming up with ideas as well.

Recent research studies are showing that although we need criticism to improve our ideas, we need solitude to come up with them in the first place. Socializing during the creative process can help to refine ideas, but at the same time, true originality comes from one person trying to solve a problem.

When it comes to problem-solving, all companies have their own culture and ideas about brainstorming. Understanding this process – especially as it relates to creative idea generation – is certainly an interesting question to ask at an interview. Knowing how you would be involved with presenting your ideas and/or editing those of others could be a big factor in whether a company’s creative or marketing department is right for you?

What are your thoughts on brainstorming? Do you prefer solitary or group settings? Hours or short bursts?

Whatever the answers, knowing how you like to tackle problem-solving – and the way potential companies choose to handle it – could be more telling about a long-term culture fit within an organization than we realize.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Unlimited Vacation?!

Thursday, January 19th, 2012|

Good and Bad by vees via Flickr Creative Commons

Have you heard about the new trend in vacation policies? Unlimited vacation has taken off quickly, being put into practice at some major companies: Netflix, IBM, Morningstar, and Blue Wolf, according to this article at The Grindstone.

Sounds great!

Also known as a “results-only work environment,” for a self-motivated employee who gets their work done and finds themselves with time on their hands at the office, this could be a great part of a benefits package.

But is it for everyone?

US workers get fewer paid vacation days, on average than workers in any other First World country, with only 13 days. Here is a helpful chart I found on infoplease.com:

Italy	42 days
France	37 days
Germany	35 days
Brazil	34 days
United Kingdom	28 days
Canada	26 days
Korea	25 days
Japan	25 days
U.S.	13 days

Clearly, the US has a way to go to become competitive with these countries and there is no doubt that US workers could use more time off to spend unwinding and recharging, not to mention developing their creativity.

Of course, unlimited vacation sounds wonderful and for many workers, it is a great benefit—increasing productivity and efficiency, while boosting morale and reducing turnover. But there are some potential downsides:

If you are a natural workaholic, you might not ever feel like you are truly “off” if you can work whenever you want.
If you function better with more structure—and many of us do—you might find it difficult to get your work done without daily the daily accountability that comes with being in the office.
Employers save money on recordkeeping, but they don’t pay for any accrued vacation if you leave your job—use it or lose it for real!
Dynamics with co-workers can suffer if you get to leave when you’re done, but they can’t because they still have work to do. If you are very efficient, you could go home early every day while the methodical person in the office next door has to stay.

Unlimited vacation sounds to me like getting some of the benefits of freelancing without the disadvantages: work on your own schedule but still have health insurance and paid days off. Then again, I’m fast and disciplined about getting my work done.

How do you think you would do with unlimited vacation?

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

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Jumpstarting your Creative Process

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012|

I read an interesting article in The Atlantic last week, and it got me thinking about my creative process and the creative process in general.

Then one of our Facebook friends was talking about how he didn’t understand how anyone could work before 8 am and that was why IT people weren’t creative. I had to disagree.

Every job, no matter the industry, takes some level of creativity.

The roles we place at Artisan Creative, of course, all involve a great deal of creative thought, but even people who work in creative fields have trouble getting started—and finishing—at times.

Once your problem has been clearly defined, the following are the stages of the creative process that can apply to literally any role:

Step One: Saturation

For me, this step is research. If I’m going to write about the creative process, I need to determine what has already been written about the topic? I have to immerse myself as much as possible in what is already out there, partly to avoid being obvious and derivative, but mostly to make sure I know what I’m talking about and that the conclusions I will draw are my own.

For a Web Designer, this could mean looking at a lot of websites in the same industry as the client for whom they are planning.

For an Application Developer working on a new app, it could be making sure they are familiar with the apps that already exist to accomplish similar tasks.

Step Two: Incubation

Sometimes this seems like procrastination – and it is hard to do this step properly because of that. You want to be working on the project, but it’s hard to get down to it. Maybe you haven’t let it grow in your mind—even in your subconscious—long enough yet.

A lot of people do some physical activity to help their incubation process. I like to knit or read fiction. Sometimes even clean the house or do laundry! Walk away from the project and let it grow on its own.

When I’m writing a blog (like now!), by the time I reach this stage I have an outline, sometimes even only a title and the background information, and I go do something else for a while. It is incredibly easier to write after the time away. I’m always surprised, but it always works.

Step Three: Illumination

The solution often comes to you while you’re thinking about something else or doing some other activity. Most creative people would think of this as the moment when creative thought is really going on—when they get that brilliant idea. But creativity is going on all the time or you would never get here.

Many people think they are not creative because they never have this experience in their day-to-day lives, but it is more likely that they are not allowing the process to take place!

Step Four: Verification

After those moments of illumination, creative people rush back to their workspace and get to it. It is always very exciting at this stage. An artist gets focused on work until it is as perfect as possible. A musician will practice until they can interpret a piece exactly the way it sounds in his or her mind. A Web Designer will tweak a site for hours until it is clean and user-friendly. They “make it work,” as Tim Gunn would say.

This is the satisfying part of the creative process: when you are making something unique, putting your own spin on something you understand thoroughly, expressing yourself as only you can do.

Every time we have a problem to solve, whether it is a personnel issue for an HR professional, a difficult passage of Mozart, a perfect seasonal design for a website, or even a blog post to write, we are engaging in creativity.

Isn’t it nice to know a way to get there every time?

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Creatives and Business Meetings: 5 Tips on How to Stay Engaged

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012|

Creatives are not known for being comfortable in a formal business setting. Suits and ties and long strategy sessions are not their normal M.O.

But freelancers do end up going to business meetings or formal pitches and it is important to stay involved in the material and remember what was discussed, since they will probably be sent home to work on the project at hand.

Some meetings, sad to say, are not as interesting and exciting as they could be and creatives may very well have trouble staying engaged. Here are some tips to keep you looking and feeling like you are fully present at your next formal business meeting:

1. Active listening—When someone is talking, we all receive much more information non-verbally than verbally. Put your attention on the body language, facial expression, and tone of the speaker. Concentrate on how that information adds to (or detracts from) what is being said.

2. Look at the speaker—Making eye contact will make a good impression on your meeting leaders and keep you on track. Your mind is bound to wander if you stare at the table or out the window.

3. Don’t chat with your neighbor—Although it is a good idea to sit near someone of like mind at a business meeting, don’t start side conversations while the main speaker is presenting. Not only is it bad manners, but you will miss the main points of the presentation.

4. Take notes – During any meeting there are bound to be hundreds of topics (big and small) discussed. No one could remember them all. By continuing your active listening, noting key facts or action items on paper, you can stay more focused on the topics being discussed. Because you’ve written them, you will also be more likely to remember them later as well.

5. Ask questions—If you have trouble keeping your mind on the topic at hand, while listening, think of a question to ask. When there is an opportunity, ask them. A good question can help a presenter further engage with his or her audience and enable all to remember the material better if a discussion occurs as a result.

We’ve all been to meetings that seem like a waste of time, led by unskilled presenters, or the coverage of information we already know. They can be very frustrating. Best advice for dealing with these types of meetings: find a way to get something out of the meeting, whether it be a lesson in reading body language, making a positive impression on a manager or adding value to a presentation by asking questions or offering your own expertise as a resource. Any meeting can be useful, even if you have to set your own agenda.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Artisan Holidays: Past and Present

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011|

As work finally winds down for most of our clients (and for us!), we thought it would be fun to ask our team for their favorite Winter Holiday memories as well as where they’d be celebrating this year.

Their responses were a lot of fun…

“The Best Holiday Gift I ever received…”

My parents made me go with them on a ride. I threw a fit. Didn’t want to go. As I cried my way to the car, they said that I’d like where we were going, and if I don’t like where we were going, I’d NEVER have to go with them anywhere again! About a half-hour later, I was standing face-to-face with our first and only great dane, Babar. Needless to say, my parents and I have traveled together since.
Kevin Kahn, Talent Manager

Seriously, I loved them all. I am an easy person to get things for, so keep them coming!
Katty Douraghy, Managing Director

The gift that still stands out the most was my first “big kid” bike. It was blue and had a blue and white floral banana seat. It didn’t have training wheels and my dad spent the next few days teaching me how to ride it. This was essentially him running alongside me while I pedaled and after a bit he’d let go. I think I was about 6 or 7 years old. Honestly, the bike was cool, but I think fondly back at my dad running alongside me quite a few times before I was able to balance alone and what a gift that was. As a parent now it’s always a good reminder that the gift of time, teaching, and interacting with your kids or any child for that matter, is worth more than any material item.
Jamie Grossman, Creative Recruiting Manager

The best holiday gift I’ve ever received was the year my in-laws got together and bought me a spinning wheel. Yes, I really have a spinning wheel and I use it all the time! They were skeptical, of course, but they know me and my passion for all things fibery. Every time I sit down at my wheel, especially to make gifts for others, I thank them again!
Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant

Going back to my childhood, I will never forget when I got Barbies Dreamhouse…it had an elevator and all. I am a real girly girl…so I never had enough Barbies.
Laura Burns, Talent Manager

My Grandma bought me EMU boots for Christmas one year. These are sheep-skin, similar to UGGS. I was vegan at the time. This created a huge conflict for me or rather was a huge eye-opener. As I thought about what to do with these boots and how distraught I was about the whole thing and how excited my Grandma was to have bought them for me and how very cold my feet were, I realized that I almost all of my tennis shoes, loafers & heals were leather or suede and that I was in fact not as “vegan” as I thought. It caused me to stop and look at all the aspects of my life that fall into “being vegan” and “not being vegan” and one by one I made individual choices for myself, based on what I wanted to do, not decisions based on the technical definitions of “vegan”. It was a surprisingly life-changing gift.
Stephanie Jacobs, Accounting

The best gift for me has always been the gift of sharing time with family.
Jamie Douraghy, President

It’s funny. Thinking back I know I was always blessed with a number of wonderful gifts at Christmas. My brother and I always seemed to get everything we wanted and more. But when I try to remember the “best gift”, all I can recall are all the fun (and crazy!) family traditions that made the holiday so special. Now that I have passed many of them onto my own family – they mean even more.
Jess Bedford, Marketing & Project Manager

I have not exchanged gifts with friends or family in many years. It is now our family tradition to make a donation to any deserving group or individual, rather than spend $$ on each other when we truly are blessed and NEED nothing more.
Ana Rubio, Accounting

Staycation or Getting away?

• Kevin – Celebrating the holidays at home

• Katty – In Vegas with family for Christmas Eve and then up to SF on Christmas Day to see her inlaws and brother.

• Jamie G – Spending the holidays at home, seeing some family and friends and relaxing

• Wendy – Spending their family’s second Christmas at home, instead of heading back East to see extended family.

• Laura – Will be doing a lot of traveling – New York City, Long Island, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge!

• Stephanie – Early Christmas in CA with family and then going to West Virginia with her boyfriend to celebrate with his family.

• Jamie D – Will be with his parents and brother’s family in San Francisco

• Jess – Off to Arizona to see family and enjoy some R&R

• Ana – Spending the holidays with her mom and siblings in Escondido

Whatever you plan to do this holiday – we wish you and your loved ones a very joyous season and a peaceful and prosperous new year!

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Reflections: Is it Time to Quit Your Job?

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011|

The other day I was looking back at my writing of a year ago and realized it has been exactly a year since I quit my job.

Yes, I quit. In a terrible economy, with high unemployment, I willingly chose to leave.

I have never regretted quitting, but even now it’s interesting to look back on why it was the right decision for me at the time.

As a new year approaches, there are probably many people out there working in jobs they don’t love and wondering if there isn’t something better somewhere else. Before quitting, however, it’s important to properly evaluate whether it’s really time.

Is your job making you sick? Some jobs, for various reasons, are so stressful that they cause you to have medical problems like headaches, back pain, reduced immunity, and sleeplessness. If the health issues are inhibiting your creativity or stopping you from enjoying your life outside of work, it might be time to look elsewhere.

Has your employer downsized your job too much? Many employers have reduced hours, and pay, in recent years, especially in creative fields. They are not investing in as many new projects and don’t feel that they need as many staff hours. Downsizing can be good for your work/life balance or it could mean you have to add another part-time job to your schedule. Remember–you’re investing your “time capital” in your employer. If it becomes a money-losing proposition, put your capital into a better investment.

How is your relationship with your Manager? If this relationship has somehow been damaged beyond repair, there is very little likelihood that your situation will improve or they will recommend you for a promotion or transfer to another department. If your ambitions rise above your current role, you need to find somewhere you can grow.

Dread. If you start every workday with a shudder and a sense of impending doom, leave.

Have you learned everything you’re going to learn? This is the one I realized was true after I had already decided to quit. I would have spent my remaining time in my role doing the same projects over and over. Easy, yes. Also boring and a waste of time and talent. That “time capital” is not endless—don’t waste it!

With the holiday season already upon us, it is a great time to evaluate your situation at work. If you find yourself thankful for the relationships you have built, for the rewards your job offers, for the opportunities for growth and learning that it brings, stay where you are. But if you are suffering, you can take your talents to freelancing, to entrepreneurship, or to another role that offers you what you need to flourish.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011|

Hard to believe another Autumn is upon us and the beginning of the holiday season already here.

This Thanksgiving our team is especially grateful for so very much:

Jamie D: This year I am most thankful that I have been able to collaborate with people who are focused on making a difference in the success of others.

Jess: I am most thankful for the love, support and health of those family members and friends who mean so much to me.

Ana: I am grateful for the realization that I can begin again in every moment – drop the past and BE present!

Margaret: I am most grateful for having such a loving husband who is so good to me! I am also thankful for my mom who is 82 and for the most part healthy and happy.

Stephanie: I am grateful to be working with Artisan!

Laura: I am grateful for my family and health…might seem cliche, but it’s so true!

Kevin: I am thankful for massive snowfall at Heavenly (and Mammoth), getting to work with reasonable & ethical partners, my dogs, being able to so easily describe myself as “short and bald with glasses”, my always-accommodating and welcoming immediate family and extended family all over the USA and Black Label.

Katty: I am thankful for the Love and Support of Family and Friends. Definitely came in handy this year!

Wendy: This year I am most thankful for the support of my friends and family. I made a lot of decisions that were very risky and they have all worked out beautifully, but I never could have arrived where I am without the inspiration, encouragement and acceptance of the people in my life.

From all of us at Artisan – we wish you and yours a very Happy (and tasty!) Thanksgiving Holiday!

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LinkedIn for Creatives

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011|

We’ve written quite a few articles on how to use LinkedIn for your creative job search and thought it would be helpful to put them all in one place.

LinkedIn is a necessary social media platform for anyone in today’s workforce, whether working, looking for work, or freelancing. It is where business people are looking to get details about our lives and interests before they interview (or decide whom to interview) and where we can find commonalities with those who might be looking to hire us.

It also provides opportunities for us to help one another by introducing people we trust to other trusted professionals who would never have had the chance to meet without our assistance. We have all heard of a friend who is looking for work and would like to be able to help them but don’t know what to do. LinkedIn is a place to do something tangible for the people we care about.

Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile: Getting Started

This post discusses why to join LinkedIn if you are in a creative field and gave tips for the initial sign-up process as well as pitfalls to avoid. We also talk about the importance of telling your story and how to adapt the information on your resume to make it work for you on this platform.

Maximizing LinkedIn: Connections

In this article, we help you decide with whom you want to connect. There are some simple questions you want to ask about each person you are considering and those who invite you to be in their network. I also tell a personal story about how LinkedIn provided me with amazing opportunity!

Maximizing LinkedIn: Groups

Here we talk about why you should join LinkedIn Groups, how to find Groups that are valuable to you and what to do once you are a member. The interaction that happens in groups is very important to using LinkedIn to promote your brand and your expertise.

Maximizing LinkedIn: Job Search

Finally, we brought it all together to highlight how LinkedIn can help creatives in particular in their job search process. We offer many ways LinkedIn can give you an advantage, help you do better in your interviews and feel empowered.

Being a member of LinkedIn has definitely been an advantage in my job search journey. I am grateful to my coaches and colleagues for pushing me to use it often and well. I hope our articles can help make LinkedIn a valuable part of your job search process!

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

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