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Q:
What benefits are there to contracting you?
- Plan costs and reduce overhead costs by hiring for fixed time period
- Flexibility in use of resources
- Reduced benefits costs
- State-of-the-art expertise on demand
- Quick ramp up time. We are focused only on the task presented
and aim to complete your task on time.
- Frees yourself and other resources
- Free of intrusive employee problems: government regulations, withholdings
& benefits (family medical leave act, vacations, insurance, etc.)
- Free quotes & initial
consultations
- Fixed cost per job or negotiated rates
- Flexible
- Hourly
- W2 or 1099 IRS filing
Q: What
are your rates?
A: |
Rates are variable since different expertise is required in different
technical areas. Off-site work will save you money. We start as
low as $60/hour for off site work and nominally charge $70-$90/hour
for on-site depending on the job, length.
If you have a budget for a project, We will work with you to maintain
your allocated budget.
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Q: Why
pay for a graphic designer?
A: |
When you're not quite sure how to communicate your idea to the world
and you're looking for bright ideas. When you want to stick out from
the crowd and present a clear picture of your idea, service or product.
When you want to say a lot with as few words as possible. When you've
tried it yourself and you're not getting the results you want.
Time is precious these days. No one has enough of it. Do you take
time to read ads? Not unless they are compelling to do so. An appropriate
graphic or design can pull someone in to get your message. Good text
is useless unless someone reads and understands it. |
Q: Why
do I want to hire you?
A: |
We save you from making costly mistakes and wasting your valuable
time.
For the same reason people covet designs from Gucci, Ralph Lauren
and Versace. They effectively make a clear statement: I am stylish,
culturally sophisticated, polished, successful, I understand great
design and quality. That idea is transferred to you, the consumer
of their designs. It's a fact that these designers are not selling
clothes, handbags, watches, etc. They are selling an image, a feeling,
pride, comfort.
Now we get to my point, which is, you! You want to be remembered in
a positive way. You've bought your clothes from a good designer, your
shirts are clean and pressed. Your shoes are nice leather and polished,
and your colors are coordinated, so you impress people in a great
way when you meet them, and now you need a way to keep the impression
alive. You need a something that will not only allow your friends,
colleagues, prospective clients and customers to get in touch with
you, you also want them to remember you. |
Q: What are the
things a graphic designer can or will do for me?
A: |
A Professional Graphic Designer is qualified by education, experience
to enhance the function and quality of your communication media. For
the purpose of improving the quality of communication, increasing
productivity. Professional Graphic Designer analyzes the client's
needs and goals. Formulates preliminary design concepts that are appropriate,
functional, and aesthetic. Develops and presents final design recommendations
through appropriate presentation media. Reviews and evaluates design
solutions during implementation and upon completion. |
Q: How
do I know who to go to?
A: |
Easy, go on the Internet and search for logo designers or web designers
or even graphic designers. Look at their portfolio. You will find
a designer that has the look you want. You can also ask for referrals.
Look for someone you can talk to during hours, convenient for you.
Do they publish a phone number? What time zone are they on? |
Q: Why
is being on Google so important?
A: |
The obvious answer is that most of your potential customers use Google to look for
your products and services. The less obvious reason, yet very important, is that there is a large percentage
of customers who use Google to look for websites even when they know the web site address!
This means that if you're not on Google, you're not going to be found even if you advertise your
web address in print! Click here for an article on this. |
Q: Why
are designers so expensive?
A: |
They aren't: Designers save you from making costly mistakes. With
all the state of the art tools out to create cool fonts, effects in
3D designs, it's not surprising to wonder why good designers cost
so much. Your perception may be that they use something like Illustrator
and whip out a design in ten minutes. The truth is more like they
research several of your competition to see what they're doing. They
look at design trends for your industry, and then create over a dozen
of possible designs, which you never see. They refine several of the
designs they like and then ultimately show you one or possibly up
to six designs. You then get to pick out the design you prefer. Since
you miss seeing the design process, the perception is that all they
do is think of the perfect design within seconds, move the mouse around
a few times, press a few buttons, and voila! If you do something abstract
that others don't understand, you can understand the misconception.
Most people probably don't understand all the details of your job,
but then, they're not supposed to. You are!
Most customers don't have the time to look at the design process along
the way. A good designer takes the responsibility of the final design
by knowing what the effect of the design is supposed to do. Therefore
saving the customer the time from having to decide which designs are
the best for the job. Most customers appreciate this. Do you ever
go to a restaurant with a huge menu? How long does it take to order
your meal? Same thing with designs. Too many choices often creates
more confusion than benefit. Again, you're paying for the experience
of the designer to make intelligent decisions to communicate your
idea effectively. |
Q: What
is the hardest thing you do?
A: |
Understanding your goals and expectations and then taking your
ideas and turning them into information other people will understand.
The hard part is to take abstract information and make it understandable
by others. If you deal with highly technical ideas or abstract concepts,
trying to explain to others is very difficult. I specialize in conveying
these very ideas. |
Q: Why is a custom
designed logo so important on a business card or web site?
A: |
Humans respond best to images. Text requires complex thought to
process. Images are remembered much faster and longer. Plus a good
logo can convey a lot of information in a small amount of space. When
you see the logo for Coke or Pepsi it keeps the idea fresh in your
mind. Text just doesn't have the impact or power a logo can deliver.
Think of all the brands you remember, next time you watch a popular
sporting event on TV, notice how many logos you see. Ask yourself
why the sponsors pay thousands of dollars to display that simple logo.
When there is text, notice how short the text is. That's because we
can't remember it. It has little impact.
Whenever company corresponds or markets itself, whether it be through
brochures, product sheets, packaging, web presence, billboards, invitations,
annual reports, letters, envelopes, business cards, faxes, or any
form of advertising, the logo serves as a potent PR piece that builds
credibility, reinforces presence in the marketplace and encourages
sales. Since a logo represents or stands for the company, it should
speak of the company's capabilities, potential and vision. Logo is
a most central marketing tool. |
Q: Do
I need a business card in our e-world?
A: |
Yes! Business cards are still the most common way to identify yourself
and leave a lasting impression. So the question is, what impression
do you want to leave? How do you leave that impression? The most common
way is with a business card. There are other things such coffee mugs,
pens, etc. that can work, but they tend to be left at the office or
thrown away. Business cards are still the premier way to leave a lasting
impression.
You should send a card out with any correspondence you send. You should
tell all your friends and family what you are doing. Give them a bunch
of cards to give to others. Do you go to a dry cleaner? A special
car repair place? What about the grocery store, do you like to go
to a particular checker? All of these people should have your business
card, and know what you do. Your card should be simple and clear.
Most people look at a card for only 1 second! Since everyone is visual,
it should be clean: lots of space and attention should be drawn to
the most important part: your logo, then your name and then your contact
information. If you're worried about moving, then get an 800 number
and a permanent email address. |
Q: Can't
I go to the print shop myself and get business cards made?
A: |
Print shops are printing specialists. A few have designers there
to help you, but most are there to transfer the image a designer created
and turn it into hard copy or a printed page. Often, a print shop
does not have the time or staff to explain how to design a good design.
They will simply print what ever you give them. No thought is given
to what it's being used for or even if there's a better way to get
the results you want. A designer's job is to work with you to get
the exact result you're looking for. What media is best for your needs,
what costs are required, inks, etc... |
Q: Can't
I just buy some software and a sheet of cards for my printer to save money?
A: |
That depends on what you mean by saving money and what your time
is worth. You can do it for free by simply writing your name and number
on a scrap piece of paper. What does that say? For less than $20 you
can print on inkjet or laser cards. For $100 to $200 you can have
multi color cards printed on card stock. You can have cards made into
shapes, and different materials.
The next question is, if you're going to invest in your image, how
do you know what image to use? Sure you can do it yourself with pre-made
templates and stock images from Business card maker software or have
a designer create an image just for you. A reputable designer is skilled
about how people perceive images know how to turn your ideas into
the perfect image you're looking for. Another way to look at it is,
a designer will save you time and money by guiding you to what you
really want without wasting your valuable time. |
Q: I
have a small business and would like a web site. Where do I start?
A: |
Do you have a company brochure? A company logo? Anything that would
contribute to telling the world about your company? This is where
the designer starts. Typical business web site topics: Index (your
main introduction page), About Us (Company history, Awards, Testimonials),
Services (Details of the products or services), FAQ (Frequently asked
questions and answers, Customer Service help, etc...) and Contact. |
Q: Why
hire you to build a web site when I can do it myself?
A: |
Save you time and money. We have people who've learned how to use
many tools to make creating a web site work. It's much more than knowing
HTML, XML, PHP, CGI, ASP, SQL, WebLogic, .NET, JavaScript, Photoshop,
Illustrator, Dreamweaver or FrontPage, it's knowing how people will
react to your site. How your page will work on all the browsers, how
the search engine and people will find you. How the user experience
is affected when they visit your site. It's optimizing and balancing
your content with speed and performance. Will potential customers
stay or leave? It's placing the graphical elements together in a way
that makes people turn into customers who enjoy going to your site.
Keeping people who come there from using the back key. Promoting your
business or service to make you money. It's knowing what hosting plan
you need and how much it should cost. It's understanding what your
true goals are so your site meets and exceeds your own expectations.
It's knowing the abilities and limitations of technology. It may even
mean setting your expectations so you can make informed decisions.
It's experience with communications, technical aspects, it's your
business and unless you're a technical guru who loves to design web
pages, We've made all the mistakes and learned from them. In short,
you'll actually save time and money hiring us to listen to your needs
and guide you to the proper design and technical details so you can
do what you enjoy. |
Q:
Can you help me make my existing web site look more professional?
A: |
Yes, and help you make your site work for you! Simply give us a
link to your site, tell us what your goal is: to sell items, to inform
customers/clients, attract people to do business with you, etc...
Tell us what is working for you and what you want to improve. What
other web sites do you like, are there things you would like to have
on your site? Shopping cart? Search? Audio/Video? Content? It's your
site, we can help you make it do what you want. Consider that if you're
paying for a site and it's not working for you, why have it? |
Q: Will
you charge me to make minor changes to my design?
A: |
We realize that changes are part of the business and we don't want
to bother you with lots of small charges every time you make a small
change. We want to be fair, so if you request frequent changes, then
we'll let you know before we do the work that your change will be
billed. |
Q: What
web sites do you think are the best ones?
A: |
Performance is our measure and right now Amazon.com is profitable,
eBay.com is profitable. Google.com is profitable, Yahoo.com is profitable,
Expedia and so are many others. These are the examples you want to
use. Obviously, copying them isn't always appropriate, but using them
as models is. They have good techniques and design. However, many
sites have better design in terms of aesthetics or usability, it depends
on what you want. |
Q: Why
aren't people buying from my web site?
A: |
After you've discovered how to get potential customers to your site,
you need to keep them there in order to buy. People are sophisticated
these days and have short attention spans. Take a look at Amazon.com
and eBay. These are the models to follow. They are familiar, intuitive
and fast! Notice the lack of flash, animation and other distracting
graphics. Those sites are designed to get people to buy! Period.
Most people don't buy from a web site due to slow page loads! Think
about how impatient you are when you surf. How many seconds (yes,
seconds) are you willing to wait for a page to load? Bad page design
is also a reason people won't buy. Make 'buy' buttons easy to find
and don't require people to click too many times.
Ask yourself this very tough question: Would I buy from my site? Be
honest. Is your site fast? Convenient? Safe? Intuitive? If you answer
no to any of these, then it needs to be fixed. Ask a friend to have
someone they know critique your site. You can't do this yourself since
most people won't answer you honestly. Have them report back what
they like and don't like. Fix those items and do it again until there
are no more bad problems. You will see an improvement in sales. |
Q: How
do I get people to my site?
A: |
The first thing is to make sure your site is ready for lots of
hits. (See above FAQ). People need a reason to come there and then
your site needs to keep them there in order to buy. Word of mouth
is STILL the most effective method, even in today's e-world. The problem
is integrity, how do people know hype from truth. They believe their
friends. Still, the number one resource for publicizing your site
is Google. Don't waste your money on companies promising to list you
on 15,000 search engines when taking less than 30 min. yourself to
list on a few good engines is all you need. Google, Altavista and
Inktomi will get you over 90% of the search traffic. Why bother going
after only 10% when it's so easy to get 90%? There is some prep work
for your site to make it search engine friendly. This is important!
Be careful, some of your friends may not understand how the search
engines work and can cause your site to be black listed! This is death
to your site!
Remember, if your site isn't buy worthy, wasting your time in generating
a lot of hits is going to cost you money and return you nothing. |
Q:
How do I make my site search engine friendly?
A: |
Put lots of descriptive text on your page. Avoid using frames. Add
alt tags to your images. Put a carefully worded title on your web
page. Insert meta tags. Use up to 12 carefully selected key words
in your title and meta tags. |
Q: How
do I make my site get higher search engine rankings?
A: |
The most important part is key word selection. The mechanics of
adding meta tags is easy and making the page so spiders will index
it is also easy. You need to concentrate on good key word selection.
A professional is required today in order to compete effectively since
Search Engine Optimization is so important. |
Q: I
have a web site, but I'd like it to look more professional. Can you help?
A: |
Yes. A web designer specialist will examine your current site,
discuss your goals, and redesign your site. I'd like a web site. Where
do I begin? To minimize the involvement and cost of the web site designer,
supply as much information as possible. The following are suggestions
to start with: 1. Decide what you want on the web. 2. Set your goals
- What do you want to accomplish? 3. Organize your ideas into main
topics. 4. Decide what you want your web site to look like (colors,
layout ideas). 5. Do you have a web site you admire? (Always save
the URL address!) |
Q: Can
I start with approximately eight pages to my web site and add onto it
later?
A: |
Absolutely. After your web site is up and running, contact designer
with additional ideas. |
Q: What
is the difference between web design and web maintenance?
A: |
Web design is the actual creation of the initial web site. Web
maintenance is the updating and changing of content on that site.
The web design contract is separate from the web maintenance or web
master contract. |
Q: Can
I do what ever I want with the image after you give it to me?
A: |
When we create an image or design for you, the image is yours to use as we
agreed. Please understand that even though you paid for our time to
create the image, it's in both of our interests to keep the image
as high quality as possible. We would be pleased to discuss with you
any uses you have for the image so that you image looks
as good as possible.
For instance, if we give you an image designed for the web and you
would like the image to be used in print. We want your image to look
as good as possible, so we would provide you a high resolution image
suitable for printing. Likewise, if we provide a logo for a business
card, and you want to use it on the web, no problem, but scaling a
print logo for the web or a scan will not look as good as taking the
original artwork and creating it for the web. |
Q: Can
I hire someone else to change your design?
A: |
It's tempting to hire your friend or co-worker to change a design
you've had for a long time. Since it's in both of our interests to
maintain a good image. It's always faster and easier to have the
original designer make
any changes you would like. Each designer has their own vision of
how an image should look. If you feel that you'd like to hire someone
to maintain a set of images we created for you, they should simply
recreate the images from scratch and change it sufficiently so no
one will confuse their design with our design. Please call us
if you have any questions about this. |
Q: Why
should I hire Gilmore Software Development?
A: |
We can make you money: we know how to get people's attention so you
can turn that into cash. We can save you time, which is money for you.
The return on investment is high, since your paying for our expertise
and reliability will ensure best use of your hard earned money.
Our designs are effective by catching your customer's eye. We will make you proud:
your logos will be remembered; you will get compliments on your website's
good design. Potential customers will stay longer on your website,
which will translate into more sales, which makes you more money!
We will work with you to make sure your graphic and web
design suits your tastes and your purpose. |
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