I remember my first client meeting…even though it was quite long time back, but the whole episode is still a distinct memory. Not because it was my very first client meeting, but the anxiety and nervousness that besieged me was unforgettable. Trembling hands, shaky knees and sweaty forehead…altogether it was a nerve-racking experience. I am sure most of the newbie graphic designers face the same situation in their first meet-up with clients.

However, this was just a onetime incident for me because with time I grew stronger in confidence after each client meeting. Having gone through the pains and troubles of trying to carry out an ideal client meeting, I have learnt a lot of things that are necessary to keep in mind. You must prepare yourself wisely for every situation in order to attain perfection as a graphic designer. Hence, today I wish to give a few pointers that are essential in meeting the client for the first time.

1. Prepare Yourself:

The first and foremost thing that you need to do before meeting a client is to prepare yourself. This involves physical as well as mental and psychological preparation. You must remember that your “first impression is the last impression” on your clients, so make it count. Looking professional is imperative especially when you are meeting a client for the first time. But equally essential is to sound professional which is possible only if you are mentally and emotionally fit. Never build on the pressure of a client meeting, hold onto your emotions and simply think of it as a normal routine task.

2. Research The Client:

I’m sure most of you have experienced the situation where your client is telling you about his business and you have no clue of what he’s talking about. This is a clear case of ignorance for graphic designers where your lack of knowledge and preparation may lead to embarrassment. A prudent tip is to research your client beforehand so that you are on level terms with your client during the meeting. Search about their company and its operations, its competitors and gather all other relevant information. A client will be impressed if you know about their business.

3. Organize Design Brief:

Going unprepared on a client meeting is the worst graphic design mistake you can commit. Some graphic designers stutter during the client meeting and are bogged by several unanswered queries in their mind. This happens when you don’t prepare a design brief in advance. Prior to your first meeting with the client, organize a design brief containing all possible queries and questions you may have regarding the project. This should include the design requirements, details and other fine points that will assist you the endeavor.

4. Arrange Your Portfolio:

Since it is your first meeting with a client, you must prepare your entire arsenal to impress them. For a graphic designer, their portfolio is a compilation of all previous design works that they have accomplished. You can either arrange your portfolio in a file folder or simply present it to the client on a laptop. But be sure to take out the best samples on your first meeting.

5. Engage With The Client:

In most cases, the first meeting with a client is always mired by instances of awkward silence. For example, when the client is going through your graphic design portfolio on paper, you are sitting there idle. Instead, we must engage with our clients and be proactive. Rather than sitting awkwardly, take the initiative of guiding the clients through your portfolio and work experience.

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Creating artworks using traditional and conservative formats isn’t such a big deal these days. A true artist is one who can create an artwork out of nothing, someone who has the creative ability and talent to put life into dull objects. One such artist that lives amongst us is Terry Border, who creates fascinating bent objects using metallic wires and other scrap metals. He has a blog where he displays some very enjoyable examples.

Terry Border is a commercial photographer by profession, but creates wire sculptures as hobby. His unique creation of bent objects involves turning a still life object into real life using wires and creating artwork created from junk. Each creation of bent objects made by Terry has a deep and conceptual story to it. Some of these creations are funny and hilarious while others are sweet and innocent. I had the best time watching his amazing artworks and look forward to his future creations as well.

Today, I would like to share 30 of Terry’s amazing bent objects creations with my readers. I am sure that graphic designers like me will find them inspiring to watch. Don’t forget to let me know in the comment section which ones you liked best.

1. Sleeping Pills

2. Bad Cheese

3. Zombie Nuts

4. Yoga Candle

5. Persius Potato

6. A Young Prince

7. Leaving

8. Dancing Queens

9. Musical Fruit

10. Horse Cork

11. Banana Peels

12. Peanut Butter & Jelly

13. Children of Candy Corn

14. Attack of the Fruits

15. Coffee Rings

16. Elf Killer

17. Party Cupcakes

18. Hamlet Was Nuts

19. Raisin Experience

20. Daddy Long Legs

21. Honeymoon Sweet

22. Macaroni Murder

23. Mother Egg

24. Pirate Marshmallow

25. Pear Fear

26. Pickle Kombat

27. Crab Fries

28. Lighter Dragon

29. Missing Oreo

30. Brush Basketball

There has been a longstanding debate on whether graphic designers should follow design trends or pursue their own design aesthetics. Some people profess that creating a trendy design will make a sudden impact on the market since it is in vogue. These trend enthusiasts are of the view that a particular design that is in style will appeal to the target audience more effectively. But this assertion is true only to an extent.

In contrast, the detractors of trendy designs emphasize that the impact is temporary and lasts only for a short period. They bielieve that the technique of following design trends has been overused so much that a modish design is now tantamount to boring. So the question that remains to be answered is…should graphic designers believe in creating trendy designs?

Let us first analyze the banes of following this particular trend and see what harms it has for graphic designers:

1. Creates a Short-Term Impact:

When you are designing for a client, the sole purpose of your designing efforts is to create an everlasting impact. Whether you are working on a brand identity or business cards, your final creation must have a deep and long-term impact on the client’s business. However, with a trendy design, the impact is only short-lived as trends come and go. Take the example of the hallmark Nike Swoosh that represents one of the most illustrious brands in the footwear industry.

2. Builds a ‘Me-too’ Brand:

Has it ever occurred to you when following design trends that you’re not the only one doing it? Since many other graphic designers also prefer to create modish designs, there is an increased likelihood that you end creating a ‘me-too’ brand for your client. It is alleged that South Asian market in actively involved in counterfeiting products and trademarks. We have many clear examples of ‘me-too’ brands in Automobile Industry. For instance, the Chinese car manufacturer Jincheng has adopted a lookalike logo resembling the Japanese car maker Toyota.

3. Kills Your Distinct Qualities:

Being cognizant of the current developments in the field of graphic design is a good thing. But being overly reliant on a fad to develop design concepts is risky business. Not only does it limit your ability to think individually, it also kills your designer personality of being a unique and distinctive designer. All the famous designers had their peculiar way of designing and that made them stand out from the crowd. Take the example of legendary designer Paul Rand, who was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design.

4. Develop Complications:

Following design trends is not as easy as it may seem. There is so much ebb and flow in fads these days that it is hard to comprehend them quickly. Not only does it consume your time, it can also create complications when you employ too many trends together. For instance, if a designer employs a contrasting combination of web design trends, it will yield an unpleasant outcome. We can take the example of popular online sites like Mashable have a clean design free of any complications.

Being imperfect is part of being human. Even though an idea or a concept may be flawless, but its execution will always be full of mistakes. Similar is the case with graphic designers, who strive for perfection but seldom achieve it in their endeavors. But the truth is…if you don’t make mistakes, how are you going to gain experience? In the words of Oscar Wilde:

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”

Particularly when you start as a newbie designer, the horrors of graphic design are uncountable. But as you progress in the field and experience the practical side, you learn from your mistakes. Here’s a look at some common mistakes that designers tend to make:

1. Deviate from Target:

You must have come across a website that is extremely attractive in appearance and look, but fails to highlight the product or service in focus. No matter how fantastic the appearance is, it will deviate from the point if it does not accurately emphasize the entity. Even in identity development, there are some logo designs that look outstanding from the outside, but fail to hit the target audience because of lack of substance. Consider the example of the identity below which was designed for Burnley City. At first instance, you might be amazed at the vividness of this logo, but with no particular meaning within, it deviates from the core purpose.

2. Creative Overdose:

"Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction." These were the words of the great philosopher Plato on the use of excess in everything. You must also have come across various designs and artworks that are flamboyant and creative, but just aren’t effective. This is because excess of everything creates a mess. Similar is the case with creativity. Sometimes, graphic designers make a mistake of indulging in creative overdose. In the process of showing off, they end up adding too many elements and spoil the beauty of the design. Even though you explained the core purpose of the design, it creates confusion and irritates the audience.

3. Working for Self Interest:

If you think that work should look good in your portfolio rather than for the client, it is time to re-think. These types of selfish designers seldom make an impact on their clients and don’t last in the long-run. When you design just for the sake of building your portfolio, you fail to fulfill the client brief in the right way. You must not sacrifice the success of client’s business just for the reason that your graphic design portfolio should look impressive.

4. Over-reliance on Inspiration:

In most graphic design endeavors, designers frequently seek inspiration to come up with concepts. This can be accomplished through various online resources, design books or discussions with others in the creative circle. Sometimes, designers are exposed to so many elements that it generates a bundle of dissimilar contradictory concepts. This happens when you rely overly on inspirational sources to generate concepts rather than use your own creative instincts. It also dampens your originality and ability to work independently.

5. Gaining Negative Publicity:

The job of a graphic designer is to perceive the facts of their clients and convert it into a meaningful visual representation. This can be accomplished when you accurately follow the design brief provided by the client. One of the biggest horrors for a graphic designer is to gain negative publicity for his work. Take into consideration the London 2012 Olympics Logo. Designed by Wolff Olins, this logo caught the attention of the world for all the wrong reasons. Because of its inappropriate references to several taboo subjects, it was highly criticized on the blogosphere.

No profession in the world is devoid of risks and fears of failure. You must be ready to face the shocks and setbacks that come in your way. Instead of crying over spilled milk, you should take lessons from your mistakes and prepare for future challenges.

Roughly a year ago on 29th September 2010, Graphic Design Blog launched its very own Graphic Design Forum. In this brief yet adventurous time, our forum has achieved a milestone of 5000 active members. This signifies the level of usefulness and entertainment that we provide to our readers and members on the forum.

Our 5000 members include professionals like graphic designers, web designers, logo designers and other graphic design fanatics and fun lovers. Sighting the immense response from our esteemed visitors, we decided to launch a new “Infographics section”, where you can learn how to make interesting infographics by watching, reviewing and submitting your own creations.

• Interesting Discussions:

We have a lot of healthy discussions going on at Graphic Design Forum that you would enjoy participating in. The most recent topic on Steve Jobs (Late) will let you know amazing and unknown facts about this Apple mastermind. Although I did an obituary post on Steve Jobs revealing some unknown facts and pictures, but I have been learning even more through contributions of members on Graphic Design Forum.

Here, for my readers, who are really inspired by Steve Jobs and his amazing achievements, should check this quick video on YouTube channel of Graphic Design Blog. I created it to display the not-much-seen aspects of Steves life.

• Useful Tips and Tricks:

Over at the learning sections, you will greatly benefit from all the tips and tricks submitted on the forum. If you have some questions about graphic design, then you can find the answers on our forum. There are a lot of popular tutorial in our Tutorial section that will help you in your graphic designing.

For us, this is not the end of the road as we strive on building an even larger forum where everyone can hold healthy and useful discussions. Our next target would be to achieve 10,000 members, so come along guys and join us.