1. Request an ill conceived idea for a book
My client X, requested that I prepare an ebook with title X, I thought the title was a poor idea but I don’t judge – I do what I’m requested, in the time frame specified by the client.

2. Provide ghost writer with Zero content for the book.
Client X, provided me with ten chapter names and not a single point under these chapter names, leaving me to “create” all of the content of the book.

3. Refuse to provide feedback – although the client requested the product on a deadline, there was no communication whatsoever regarding the created content UNTIL I submitted my invoice for services, several days after its completion. It’s not so ironic that the client did not like the product after being requested to pay for it. Perhaps client X decided the project was actually ill conceived.

4. Inform ghost writer that she does not pay for services until they are performed – that she NEVER pays for a product which she is not completely satisfied with – and refuse to communicate specific items within the content that she desires to change.

5. Tell ghost writer that she will call and not call. This really pisses me off. I’m an easy enough person to work with – don’t tell me you’ll call and don’t call. Client X actually emailed me on two separate occasions that she’d call me “tomorrow” when she had a “wondow”(sic) of time in her busy life. Meanwhile, I’m acutely aware that I cannot complete the project to client’s satisfaction without specific feedback and the entire debacle is intended to deprive me of my time, talent and rightful income. Nobody works for free.

Now, I pride myself in taking ghost writing literally. I have never publicly outed any person that has asked me for content. They put their name on it and becomes their intellectual property. I’m appropriately compensated and happy to fade off into the next project, or my own project allowing them the opportunity for residual income from my work. This is how it should be. However, I am at the point where I am going to publicly air this dispute – in the Court of Public Opinion so to speak. I will email client X the link to this post and update you whether I’ve resolved this matter sufficiently or my next post will contain all of the exhibits to support my claims.

Review

“The book’s 115 entries cohere into a buzzing collection and will likely raise waves of nostalgia for their exuberance when future designers crack the spine.” I.D. Magazine, New York”

This compendium showcases the extraordinary cutting-edge work of 100 of the world’s most progressive graphic designers, from the hard-hitting political messages of Jonathan Barnbrook to the lyrical digital compositions of Peter Saville to the iconoclastic imagery of Stefan Sagmeister. Alongside the array of visually stunning and thought-provoking advertisements, CD covers, posters, packaging, websites, and corporate identities are texts by each designer expressing his or her individual approach to graphic design pr (more…)

The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White’s The Elements of StyleThis book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space.Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a “visual language,” and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly.This book is a fun and accessible ha (more…)

Review

“Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips introduces key concepts of visual language in graphic design.” –Publishers Weekly, January 21, 2008

Review

“A tome on the basics of form. (Graphic Design:The New Basics) illuminates the gray areas between software and visual thinking, and as the introduction states, shows ‘how to build richness and complexity around simple relationships.’”

See all Editorial Reviews
(more…)

Review

A significant attempt at a comprehensive history of graphic design…it will be an eye-opener not only for general readers, but for designers who have been unaware of their legacy. — The New York TimesWith this book, Meggs made it easier for designers to envision their work in terms of history. The final pages of each edition attempt to put young designers into historical context, perhaps before their influence can be accurately assessed. Although some may argue that it’s an effort to control history rather than report it, this book makes for a lively debate. A History of Graphic Design, now in its third edition, stands as a monumental contribution to the field. — Critique Magazine, Pamela Williams, Spring 1997
— (more…)

MasterPhotoshop CS4 with this visual, hands-on guide to using layers, under the expert guidance of digital imaging specialist Richard Lynch. Layers, Photoshop’s most powerful feature, is the core of a nondestructive image-editing workflow.Step-by-step instructions and practical examples illustrate how to. * Polish: correct and enhance color, fix composition problems, and repair damage or flaws * Manipulate: isolate image areas for changes, adjustments and experimental concepts* Understand: use all forms of layer blending, including transparency, clipping masks, opacity/fill, layer masks, layer modes, channel targeting, Blend If, and Effects/StylesThe accompanying DVD comes complete with a generous library of practical actio (more…)

Make magic happen in your digital photography and graphic design.  This book is an indispensable tool for digital photographers and graphic designers.

alleged ghost picture

 

To demonstrate this photoshop job, I quickly cloned out the ghost here: 

Ghost cloned out of photo

Next, find the source of the ghost and this ghost came from an urban legends post that had gone around the internet some time before. Here is the photo the ghost was lifted from:

Here’s the photoshop steps:
1. Open the photo without the ghost in Photoshop then open the photo of the urban legends ghost.

2. Using the lasso tool, make a quick selection around the urban legend ghost.
3. Grab the move tool from the palate and move the selection into the window. Control-T to use free transform and size the ghost into the window.
4. Set the blend mode of the layer to soft light. It appears that the blend mode was left at normal in the original photoshop job but I think soft light works better to blend the selection.
Here’s the final image:

Ghost photoshopped in window

1.  Credit Amnesty.  Over the past couple of years, many of our economy’s best spenders have gotten themselves into credit problems which have helped to slow down the amount of loans.  Credit amnesty could be offered as a one time economy stimulus, letting those in the credit doghouse, back into the marketplace to spend their hard earned dollars.  Let’s face it, credit reporting has become a bit of tool for credit providers to charge a higher interest rate but that profit isn’t coming back into the economy.  It’s going right into fat cat’s pockets.  Get credit back in the hands of the middle class with credit amnesty and watch purchasing grow back to 1980’s levels of spending.

2.  Lie to people about the state of the economy.  I know this sounds funny but what everybody hears right now is that this is a horrible economy.  What do people do when they hear this?  They clamp down tighter on their money than a bum on a ham sandwich.  This economy depends on consumers purchasing consumer goods and nobody feels like spending.  Tell the folks that your experts say the recession will officially be over on March 1, 2010.  It could even be true because people will believe it and release their death grip on the cash thereby stimulating the economy in all the ways that flowing money creates.  This combined with credit amnesty will have people thinking about buying Escalades again.

These are just a couple of ideas as what you’re doing now just doesn’t seem to be working.  But hey, what do I know, I’m just a silly blogger.

Franklin Mint die cast sold on eBay for profit

You’ve seen the show American Pickers, they scour the country looking for lost treasures.  The funny thing is that they seem to run into hoarders.  We discovered that people who hoard possessions tend to have storage units.  We love the show because we used to do this for a living, and let me tell you picking is one of the funnest things we’ve ever done.  When you discover that you bought an old painting at a garage sale for $5 and can sell it for $5000, it’s hard to describe the thrill that brings.  We were small time pickers in comparison – we didn’t have a warehouse, in fact, we had our house stuffed to the gills with treasures we had found.  We picked everywhere but our favorite and by far, the most lucrative picking anywhere is the storage auction circuit in Las Vegas.  See, there is a mini storage on every corner in Las Vegas and they routinely auction the contents of these storage units to the highest bidder.  We were storage pirates and it was the funnest time.  We once picked up a small unit – from outside the unit, all you could see were stacks of white boxes.  They were neatly stacked and it raised the interest of several Las Vegas storage pirates.  The bid went up to $600 and I was just praying that they weren’t empty boxes and sweet Jesus, the boxes were full.

These three 10x15 units sold together for $2000

We had a container full of Franklin Mint die cast cars.  As we unwrapped the pristine packages and started to get to the bottom of this mystery storage unit, it turned out it was inventory from a Franklin Mint dealer and he was getting divorced and his soon to be ex-wife didn’t pay the storage bill.  Ouch.  We sold each of those cars 75 cars on ebay with prices ranging from $50 – $150.  We made at least $4000 profit off that one storage unit.  Another mysterious unit – that made us instant eBay powersellers was another strange story.  A woman in Bakersfield hired a moving company to deliver her household contents, including art, antiques, jewels, and other treasures back to their family home in New Orleans.  While the truck was in transit, Hurricane Katrina hit and her treasures were loaded into three storage units in Las Vegas.  She paid the storage bill for quite some time but fell ill and while in the hospital, her children drained her bank account and the storage bill went delinquent.  It was a strange day in Las Vegas as her storage contents came up for auction.  All the main players were at another auction!  We bought her treasures for $3,000 and resold the contents for over $20,000.  We sold antiques, art and collectibles all over the world.  It was truly exciting and we were the Las Vegas storage pirates!

Here’s the thing about American Pickers.  They do this thing where they pick an item, say how much they paid for it and what it’s valued at but what you don’t see is just how hard it is to sell this stuff.  There’s picking and then there’s selling.  Selling collectibles and antiques can be very challenging.  There’s an enormous amount of research involved and finding a “real” buyer versus a reseller is extremely challenging.  It’s a fun business and easy to get into as there are these little treasures everywhere.  Susan bought a hot-wheels car for .05 cents and sold it on eBay for $100.  I bought a first edition hard cover book at a garage sale for $1 and sold it on eBay for $100 so it is something absolutely anyone can get into.  But the research is crucial and I took the time to lay it all out in a book, specifically about buying and selling.  This is a must read for anyone considering entering the picking market.  Get your copy of it today and you’ll thank me later.