the client: Easter Seals of Birmingham

the challenge: Creating a striking graphic to get attention for a charity event with only two weeks to publicize.

the solution: The bright, trendy colors and fun text overlay icons representing food, drink and the disabled children the charity supports.

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I had a brief conversation this week about how to get more followers on Twitter. I said to someone that I have a love/hate relationship with my follower count. Sometimes I get motivated to follow all of the tips and tricks, but most of the time I just use Twitter as an external hard drive for my brain: storage for all of the little tidbits that I think are cool and would like to share. We’d all like a bite of internet fame I’m sure. But the idea of spending mental energy crafting 140 value-adding characters all day long makes me tired. I’d rather just enjoy talking and listening and RTing and trust that in the course of that, I’ll hook up with some cool folks.

Not sure that’s the best approach to take, but it’s where I am.

On an unrelated note, I found this line in a friend’s blog and it is one of my new favorite quotes:

My family doesn’t all have to be biologically related to me; they just have to be people who wear their crazy like a brand, so I can recognize it and match it with my own and know that I have people.

Check out On the Woodside for more.

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Obviously I wouldn’t trade my son for anything in the world. He’s a rockstar. And I’m lucky enough to be able to do what I do from home, which means that I get to spend plenty of time with him. But managing work and being a mom is by far the toughest hurdle I’ve had to overcome in my life. Granted, it’s not hurdled yet, but I’m making headway. So I thought I’d share some of the decisions I’ve made that are making it possible.

1. Mom comes first. I had to consciously decide that when the H-bomb is home and awake, spending time with him is my priority. What that means: I work during naps, when he’s at school, and most nights after he’s asleep. About once a week I actually stay up all night long, usually finishing up a project. Yes, there are times when I absolutely have to get something out while he’s awake, but I do everything in my power to avoid it.

2. Crappy projects get the axe. Since I have less time available for work, it’s become more important that the time I do have be spent on things I either enjoy or am making a ton of money on. Not to sound materialistic, but this is a capitalist society we live in. So projects that aren’t great financially and don’t inspire me literally aren’t worth my time.

3. Crappy clients get the axe. This is pretty much #2 all over again. Because the main thing that makes a project great or crappy is the quality of the client. Are they easy to work with? Do they appreciate my skills? Can I learn something valuable from them? Do they represent ongoing work? Will they pay me on time?

4. Yes, I can. A large part of being able to handle parenting, running a business, keeping a house, having friends and a content husband and managing to weigh less than 200 lbs is simply believing it can be done. Which does not come naturally to me, and in fact may be delusional. But I’m choosing to believe it’s possible, and some days it really is.

5. I need help. I met Florence back in November and have been meeting with her once a week since then. She is a lifesaver. She’s a mix between a therapist and a boss — we talk about practical ways to manage everything from my business to my work/life balance and she provides accountability for the things I tell myself in my head. Lifesaver, I tell you.

Again, I definitely don’t feel like I’ve got this all figured out. But every day is a step in the right direction.

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“Valentine’s Day is Sunday. That means tomorrow is the kiddo’s last school day before VD. Wonder if I should still try to make cookies like I’d thought about earlier in the week? What are the odds I can get away putting it off until next Tuesday AFTER the official day? Probably not. Well I’ll just skip it this year and worry about it next year. One year olds won’t notice anyway.”

“On the other hand, it would be nice to do something for his teacher. And one of the other moms gave the kids Christmas gifts, so I’m already behind a holiday. I’ll just make a batch of heart-shaped cookies with the cookie press.”

“Ugh, we’re out of eggs, hubs isn’t home and the baby’s already in bed. Bet I can find a recipe on the Internet for eggless cookie dough. Hmmm, this one calls for cream cheese. Got a tub but it’s open and I’ve already eaten some. But hey, it’s mostly full. I’ll just use a little less of the other ingredients and it’ll be fine.”

“Dough tastes pretty good. I should put some red food coloring in there…Of course I WOULD be out of red food coloring. Damn you peppermint bark! The kids in his class are all boys, so I’ll just use blue instead. That’s manly, right?”

Three batches later…

“Taste kind of blah. But they actually look pretty good. I can sprinkle sugar on some, and I bet they would look pretty with chocolate drizzled over them. Brown and blue is trendy. Even if they don’t taste good they’ll be gorgeous. I’ve got some leftover chocolate chips in the pantry.”

“Microwaving chocolate chips was a terrible idea. Should’ve known that wouldn’t work. Damn, I’m gonna have to boil water. And find a bowl that sits on top of the pot.”

“Holy crap, it’s 11:30. This is stupid. The kids will live without chocolate drizzling. Can’t find those cute plastic baggies I used for Christmas candy…Saran wrap will do I guess. How many do they need? Probably only four, because they’re not that great in the first place. But what if they have siblings and want to share? I’m thinking that’s not my problem. Don’t have any white ribbon to tie them up with though. Or red. Wait, I have brown raffia left over from the holidays.”

“Oh my God, I don’t have any cards to go with the cookies. I could cut hearts out of red construction paper and write on them with sharpies. What if the other moms want to keep these in a baby book or something? Holy crap. This is stupid. No cards at all. They are babies, for Heaven’s sake. Four cookies apiece in Saran wrap tied with raffia it is. I am so exhausted. I’m not cleaning this up right now. I’ll try to get it done before Rory comes home tomorrow.”

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For one thing, she’s the president of a big company in a very male-dominated industry: hardware wholesalers. The business is populated by a lot of self-made, hardworking guys who don’t take a lot of crap. Most of the big hardware distributors started out (and still are) family-owned. A lot of the people she deals with are generations deep in a business that’s resistant to change.

That’s one of the reasons I was fascinated – I’m putting myself in her shoes and I imagine it’s tough to earn respect. Being a woman is one thing, but a woman without the ability to be physically imposing is another. I’m only 5′1″ so I get it. We have a natural physical respect for tall people, and so without height you have to work harder to earn it.

Another reason was her shoes. She had on a bright blue skirt-suit and black heels with a detail on them. As we know, clothes make the man, but a man’s suit doesn’t convey much. Women’s clothes can give a million messages and looking good without looking too good, if you know what I mean, is a fine art. Being too sexy doesn’t garner respect, but blandness doesn’t either. The fact that she wore cool shoes instead of boring shoes makes me think she’s confident. I’m curious how she got to that point, or if anybody else even struggles with that.

When I was introduced to her, she was at the entrance to the company’s big, twice-a-year tradeshow and greeting each customer as they came in the door. As we chatted, my husband told her about one of the company’s customers (a hardware store owner) from our hometown who does an truly amazing job of managing his inventory, which in turn makes his business very successful. She asked to be introduced to him, and wondered if he would do a seminar about his process to help other customers.

Her first thought was to connect this guy with other people who could benefit from his knowledge. Wondering how I could apply that mentality to my business.

So I know pretty much nothing else about her and I would love to get to know her better. Not sure that will happen anytime soon. But in the meantime I’m thinking about how to be a confident, stylish, gracious and respected businesswoman. Suggestions welcome.

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So I’ve decided to choose a new name for my business. Why? Because I’ve never been in love with soulrinse. It was chosen haphazardly, back when my portfolio consisted of design AND art. The soulrinse name refers more to the art side than the design.

But I could just stick with my name, since I work for myself, right? Totally. But Ginny Shope Fowler is a mouthful, Ginny Fowler is too generic, and either way it’s not nearly as fun as coming up with something creative. Plus, branding myself around my name doesn’t leave much room for collaboration or expanding my business beyond “freelance InDesign monkey.”

I’ve always struggled with personal projects because there seem to be no boundaries – I can choose any name I want. In the world. So for this project I’m focusing on three words that represent me and my approach to business. Those words have been, well, less boundaries and more anchors for my brainstorming efforts.

Clever

I have a tendency to connect dots and details in ways that aren’t immediately apparent to other people. When I was a kid, my uncle had me look up the word “non sequitur” because apparently, I used them a lot. Even as an adult I make a point to clarify the path from one point I’m making to another, because it’s not always evident. As it turns out, that’s been a boon in my professional life because making unexpected connections can be the best way of getting in people’s heads. My favorite projects are ones where I get to be clever, and I want to do more of those. My new branding will aim to attract more of those projects.

Confident

When you own your own business, boldness comes with the territory. As my friend Florence says, it’s about settling into who you are and being comfortable with that. Putting yourself out there is the only way to attract like-minded people. My goal is to help businesses settle into who they are and assert that confidently.

Growth

No, this is not a joke about my height. My vision of the word growth has more to do with dirt and roots than pretty green leaves. It means change and progress and work. Change is an inevitability; growth is a choice. Growth also takes into account where you’ve been and builds on it. Every piece of print material, website, or ad that a company produces should be a step forward.

I’m getting closer to a new name, and gauging what of my existing brand is worth building on. We’ll see where it goes from here.

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Seven years ago, I was working as a youth minister at FUMCA. Man, they’ve redone their website since the last time I checked it out – and using Wordpress no less! I’m so proud. I designed all of my lessons and handouts in Microsoft Word, and spent most of my creative energy figuring out how to engage kids while making sure nobody broke the furniture.

Five years ago I was working at CUMC, this time as a receptionist. I was doing design jobs on the side, enjoying half-day-Fridays and being married.

Four years ago I lived in Decatur, Alabama, and worked at an ad agency in Huntsvegas. Work was awesome, but I missed having friends and family close by.

Three years ago I had been laid off and was doing freelance design work out of my bedroom/office in Decatur. I met one of my very favorite clients and learned (slowly) how to run a business and pay estimated taxes.

Two years ago we moved back to Birmingham and I set up my office in our basement.

One year ago this guy showed up and I went from working 50 hours a week to 20.

Version 2 of soulrinse.com

And your point is?

It’s this: Who I am as a person, and as a designer, has evolved and will continue to evolve. I bought soulrinse.com in 2005, because I needed a unique and memorable place to post my portfolio (which at the time included design work and “art”). My logo has gone from a group of circles, to a water droplet, to…well, not much as it stands. I’m constantly having to say on the phone “S as in Sam, O U L, rinse – like you rinse out your hair.” My sales pitch for years has been “I’m cheaper than an ad agency because I have very low overhead!”

So I’m beginning the process of rebranding: myself and my business. My goal is for the new brand to convey my personality and communicate my philosophy. I’d also like to have collateral that actually says something about me, and an elevator pitch that’s better than “I design logos. And brochures. And…stuff like that.” And because I’m doing more collaborating now, I’m looking for something that provides more flexibility than the title of Freelancer.

I’ll keep you updated as I make progress. My 30th birthday will be on July 30 this year, so that will be my official launch date. Can’t wait to get this train rolling!

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The latest problem I’ve been working out is how to add custom form fields for each product. Rickrackbaby.com offers custom monogramming, so I need a place for visitors to type in their custom text. To make it trickier, I actually need two custom fields for each product.

After weeks of going to ridiculous lengths to add two fields AND output their data to the receipt, I stumbled on the answer. Turns out there’s a tutorial in the forums that many, many searches did not turn up. Here’s hoping that this post is easier to Google than that one.

First thing is to add this line of code to product.php (I added it at line 39 after my variations):

<label>Your Name</label><?php shopp(‘product’,'input’,'name=Inscribed Name’); ?>

Then you’ll need to print the input data to your receipt.php and cart.php pages. This is the line you’ll need to add:

<?php shopp(‘cartitem’,'input-list’); ?>

Last but not least, you want to add the following to receipt.php:

<?php shopp('purchase','item-inputs-list'); ?>

And that’s it! Again, the original post is here. Happy Shopp-ing!

EDIT: That code did not work for me on receipt.php. This, on the other hand, did the trick.

<?php if(shopp('purchase','item-hasinputs')): ?>
	<ul>
	<?php while(shopp('purchase','item-inputs')): ?>
		<li><?php shopp('purchase','item-input','name'); ?>: <?php shopp('purchase','item-input'); ?></li>
	<?php endwhile; ?>
	</ul>
<?php endif; ?>

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So, inspired by Dick Hardt’s Identity 2.0 presentation I put together this little group of slides. If you haven’t seen the video of that presentation it is very much worth a watch. At any rate, the final product has little in common with Mr. Hardt’s presentation, but it was fun to throw together at midnight the night before and the kids got a kick out of it.

(Does anybody actually use picas? I threw it in for the sake of the math problem, but have never really needed to use a pica for anything.)

(And also, I blatantly ripped images from the web for this little teaching moment. Only a few images are actually my own, and if you see one of yours comment and I’ll credit you here.)

See the Math in Graphic Design PDF here.

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