Design Domination (Colleen Gratzer)

#168 Accessibility company Level Access has warned against website accessibility overlays in the past. So it shocked the accessibility industry when they announced plans to acquire UserWay, known for its overlay. Find out what this potentially means for the industry.

#97 Do you think tracking time on a project is tedious, will distract you or and make you race against the clock? Find out 5 reasons graphic designers and web designers should track time and how it will help your creative business.

#140 Medical insurance for self-employed freelance designers can be cost prohibitive. Find out some affordable health insurance alternatives that will save you money along with what to consider before going with one of these options.

#134 Sarah Masci of Day Rate Mastery joins me to talk about how graphic designers can increase their profitability by charging day rates instead of hourly rates or value-based pricing and how she went from charging $50 per hour to $10k months working less.

#127 By screening prospects and asking strategic questions, designers change the conversation from design to problem solving, get more respect and increase the perceived value of their work. Find out what questions a graphic designer should ask clients.

#110 Sometimes it can be hard to get clients or coworkers to take you more seriously as a graphic designer instead of seeing you as an order taker. Find out 8 ways to get taken more seriously as a designer and treated like an expert, not an order taker.

Is having a website worth it? Where should you create your design website? Where should you post your portfolio online? If you’re serious about building a freelance design business, find out why you should have your own website.

#159 Do you design or remediate accessible documents and find some of the PDF work to be tedious and time consuming? Find out five Acrobat preflight fixups that will speed up your accessible PDF workflow when it comes to artifacting, hyperlinks and more.

#96 Excessive design and text edits from clients can be frustrating and a time suck for graphic designers. They can derail a project and make it less profitable. Find out 9 ways to reduce client revisions and have a happier client relationship.

#103 Find out how graphic designers should respond when clients can’t afford you, or they say it’s over their budget or you’re too expensive. Also learn why this happens in the first place and 4 things not to do when they say this.

Graphic designer Adrienne Johnston shares how she went from being stressed out and overworked in a $60k-a-year creative business to working less and without stress making more than $200k a year by focusing on presentation design in PowerPoint.

#125 It's easier to get graphic design work from existing clients than from new clients. Find out 11 ways to keep clients coming back that will impress them, help you have a good experience working together and get work from them in the future.

As a graphic designer, you may run into a situation where the client wants more than one of your designs. Should you provide the design free? Should you charge for the additional design? Find out what to think about and how to figure out how to price it.

#152 A design brief, or creative brief, helps you get more respect and be seen as an expert as a designer. Find out how to write a creative brief and how it helps not only you but the designer-client relationship and the design process.

#161 Do you spend a lot of time explaining what you need to clients? Tired of clients sending you the wrong files or not following your processes? Find out how to get what you need from clients to make for a smoother client relationship and more profitable projects.

#155 Learn how to work more efficiently in Adobe InDesign with these time-saving 10 tips about features that most graphic designers don’t use. The more you know InDesign, the easier it is to incorporate accessibility into the layout process too.

#93 Learn how to price design work and how to use some types of pricing strategically, so you can have a more profitable freelance creative business and get more respect as a designer. Also find out some pricing pitfalls to avoid.

#112 A lot of graphic designers aren’t thinking about accessibility. But there are many benefits for you as a logo designer, print designer or web designer. Find out 8 reasons designers should care about accessibility.

#126: Find out how Kyle Van Deusen went from graphic designer to web designer and how he built the business of his dreams by leveraging website maintenance packages for recurring revenue in his web design business.

#153 Ensuring that hyperlinks are accessible for all website visitors increases the accessibility and usability of a website. There are functional, cognitive and visual factors to consider. Find out 9 tips for creating accessible hyperlinks on websites.

#91 Have you ever sent off a design proof only to have the client not like it and ask for a bunch of design changes? Find out what to do when a client doesn't like your designs.

#167 Get the scoop about what happened with Adobe acquiring Figma and what it means for designers.

#108 When making PDFs accessible for Section 508 or ADA compliance, there are some tools you can use that make the process a lot easier and faster. Here are my top 21 InDesign and PDF accessibility tools for making accessible PDFs.

#139 Pantone color books are being phased out of Adobe Creative Cloud, greatly impacting many graphic designers. Access to all Pantone libraries will require a paid Pantone Connect subscription. Find out what you need to know and what options you have.

#132 Renowned artist/illustrator Don Bolognese joins me to talk about how it's the designer’s talent—not the tool—that’s vital for a successful creative career. He shares interesting stories and insights from his 67-year career and how it evolved over time with changes in technology.

#101 Some designers prefer subcontracting for design agencies or other designers, while others prefer having their own clients. One may be a better fit for you based on your personality and goals. Find out 9 differences between them and what to expect.

#131 When you take on work that isn’t a good fit with your skills and expertise, it can result in a bad testimonial, no referrals and the work not being profitable. Find out when graphic designers should turn down work from a prospect or existing client.

#121: Eric Holter of Cuberis talks about how their niche of designing websites for museums has helped the creative business get work easier, be more profitable, be memorable and be seen as industry experts. He also talks about how he gets clients.

#162 Get a plain-English summary of the 9 new success criteria in the WCAG 2.2 guidelines, so that you can make your websites more accessible.

#175 The WebAIM Million provides insightful data on the top 1 million web pages. Find out what you need to know as a web designer or developer about the state of website accessibility in 2024.

#158 Find out the top 10 logo design podcast episodes from Design Domination and other podcasts that talk about understanding more about logo design, how to design a logo, how to price a logo, how to get clients and which file formats to create for a logo.

#166 Thinking about sending a client a gift? Find out what to consider before sending a gift to a client, when to send a gift, what to send clients as a gift and more.

#124 Learn how to get clients as a freelance graphic designer by standing out from other designers, getting noticed and building your authority—and not in a salesy way. You’ll maximize your marketing efforts and get in front of lots of potential clients.

#116 John Falke, web design business owner and Agency Mavericks coach, talks about how he went from a two-person web design business to having a dream team. Get lots of tips you can use when hiring someone, including a template for the hiring process.

#106 When it comes to page layout programs for graphic designers, for some it comes down to Adobe InDesign versus Affinity Publisher. Find out the key differences between InDesign and Publisher and how to decide which page layout program is best for you.

#137 Many graphic designers give away their advice, expertise and ideas in the sales process for free. Learn what to stop doing on consultation calls and how to get paid for discovery calls, so you get more respect and are more valued as an expert.

#99 When you design for print and the web, if you only export your layout files to low- and high-resolution PDFs, you're not providing a better user experience and a higher value to clients. Learn how to make PDF and print documents more user friendly.

#89 Are you making any of these common creative business mistakes that most freelance designers make? Find out if you’re making any of these 11 mistakes that hurt your freelancing business and how to fix them.

#113 Here are 5 ways to make it easier for clients to say yes to working with you. These things will also help you get more respect, enhance your value and charge more for it, and stand out from other designers.

#117 Graphic designers love or hate Canva. Does Canva hurt the design industry? Is Canva a threat to graphic designers? Will they lose work? Can designers leverage Canva as an opportunity to get more work? Here's why designers should embrace, not hate, Canva.

#163 Chris Hinds of Equalize Digital shares their story of going from generalist designers to web accessibility specialists, giving them clarity and a competitive edge, winning clients more easily, improving their processes and making marketing efforts easier.

#150 Having a client who makes up a large portion of your income is a blessing and a curse. They keep you busy, but you lose focus on your freelance business. Find out if you have any gorilla clients, or high client concentration, and what to do about it.

#114 Find out how to reach out to potential clients the right way as a freelance graphic designer. Learn how to start building relationships and maximizing your marketing efforts, so you get more clients and more work and make more money.

#165 APCA calculates contrast differently from WCAG and is expected to be part of WCAG 3. Find out from APCA creator Andrew Somers the problem with WCAG contrast ratios, why APCA is more accurate and how you can make your colors more accessible.

#88 Many designers rely on Acrobat’s accessibility checker to determine whether their PDF files are accessible or not. But that checker has limitations and can give false positives. Find out some things to look for and how to ensure your documents are accessible. 

#128 Graphic designers often get ridiculous or demanding requests from clients. We can laugh at some, but others are cringe worthy. Find out 11 ridiculous client requests and how to respond to them, so that you leave your dignity and respect intact.

#151 Learn how to leverage the About page on your website so that you stand out and increase your chances of getting new clients. Find out tips for what to include and how to write a good About page even if you find it hard to talk about yourself.

#122 A lot of creatives struggle with creating content for social media, blog posts or marketing emails. Here are 15 social media post ideas for graphic designers that will inspire you.

#154 Providing good customer service doesn’t mean you have to be at the whim of every client request or that the client is always right. In fact, if you do that, your business will suffer. Find out why people pleasing is bad for your creative business.

#144 Raising your prices as a freelance graphic designer is vital for a viable, profitable creative business. Find out when you should raise your rates, how to raise them, how much to raise them and what to do if clients react negatively when you do.

#177 A lot of designers think having big clients is the key to making more money in their creative business. But that is not the case, and there are many pros and cons to working with them. Find out the advantages and disadvantages to working with big clients versus small clients and which ones you should work with.

#123 Did you get into freelancing to focus on design, not business tasks? Do you dread the administrative tasks you have to deal with as a freelancer? Hear from Dominique Falla how creatives can spend less time on tasks they don't like and more on design.

#136 Just because graphic designers put up a portfolio website doesn't mean potential clients will find it or contact you. Learn strategic steps to get people to your site, keep them on your site and taking action, so you build a profitable creative business.

Graphic designers, want to spot a bad client before working with them? Watch for these 17 potential red flags for bad clients, so you can avoid taking on bad clients, have more pleasant client relationships and a better freelance design business.

#94 If you rely on automated web accessibility tools, you’re doing it wrong. A site could pass an automated checker and be filled with major accessibility errors. Find out 12 issues automated web accessibility checkers can’t detect.

Improve the accessibility and usability of the websites you design by adding a skip navigation link for keyboard users. Find out why skip links are important, who they help, how to check for a skip link and how to add one to an existing website.

#135 Find out what books are on my list of top creative business books for freelance graphic designers to help you with starting your own business, sales and marketing, getting clients, positioning, pricing and profit, confidence, mindset and more.

#182 Find out about why it's important to understand the difference between accessibility compliance versus conformance when doing accessibility work.

#156 The web accessibility community is in an uproar about the AudioEye lawsuit against 30-year accessibility champion Adrian Roselli for his criticism of their overlay product.

#129 Hear how Kelly Irvine went from being an in-house graphic designer to a freelance textile designer, creating exclusive prints for the fashion industry, and how she makes passive income with her designs in online stores at Spoonflower and Society6.

#157 Thinking of going out on your own as a freelance graphic designer or web designer? Find out the pros and cons of being a full-time freelancer versus employee and some points to consider before working for yourself full time.

#95 Find out why client testimonials are important for freelancers and creative businesses, how to get good testimonials from clients, where to put them and how to get a competitive edge over other designers.

#90 Do you have trouble charging more for your work? Does the sales process make you nervous or feel sleazy? Do you need more confidence when talking to prospects? Nick Gulic talks about his sales process and selling by helping.

#107 Many graphic designers suffer from business issues that are actually symptoms of a bigger issue. Once you realize this, you can transform your business. Find out 5 business lessons I learned the hard way, so you hopefully don’t have to.

#141 As a graphic designer, document designer or web designer, understanding the WCAG color and contrast accessibility guidelines will help make your designs more inclusive and accessible to sighted individuals with or without a visual disability.

#100 Confused by Alt-text for images for document and web accessibility? Find out which images need Alt-text, how to write good Alt-text, how long it should be and how to add it to web and InDesign images. Also find out lots of Alt-text tips.

#138 Getting content from clients is definitely high on the list of complaints from graphic designers. Find out 12 ways to motivate your clients to get you content, so that you get projects done on time and profitably.

#85 Situations may arise when designers work with a client that make you feel like you’re on two different sides. But the client is not the enemy. Find out how to deal more effectively with situations that make you feel like you’re on two different sides.

#142 Want to make $100,000 a year as a full-time freelancer? Find out what I did and what you can do to make 6 figures as a self-employed freelance designer, even in your first year of freelancing full time. Also find out what to do before you do it.

#130 Many web designers and developers think using an accessibility-ready WordPress theme means a website will be accessible. But many themes have accessibility issues, and there is more to building an accessible website than using an accessible theme.

#109 Other designers and creative agencies are often looking for freelancers. You can stand out and get hired over and over—and charge more—by proving to be a reliable and trustworthy. Here are 9 ways to be a successful subcontractor.

#173 The WebAIM 2024 Screen Reader User Survey provides insights we can use to perform better web accessibility testing and to understand more about screen reader users’ behavior and preferences.

#133 Find out important reasons why freelance graphic designers should use contracts for design work in their creative business, including some surprising things you may have thought of.

#179 Adobe’s latest terms of service updates have caused an uproar in the design industry, with designers saying they are leaving Adobe once and for all. Find out what you need to know—from a lawyer—about Adobe’s terms of use.

#84 If you send messages to prospects that are all about you and your services, you’re turning them off. Stop spamming prospects and seeing what sticks. Learn the right way to reach out to prospects and how to send cold emails that will help you get noticed.

#98 Many graphic designers avoid using InDesign’s automated table of contents feature. But there are several problems with creating a table of contents manually. Find out 6 reasons designers should use InDesign’s automated table of contents feature.

#143 Google reviews are a free tool designers can leverage to make the marketing and sales process easier. They help you get new clients. Hear how Google reviews have helped John Falke's design business and how to get Google reviews from clients.

#105 Find out what graphic designers and web designers should consider when looking for images and how to choose the best images for your design projects to have the most impact. Also find out where to find stock images that you can legally use.

#181 Do you think accessibility doesn't apply to you as a designer? Are you trying to get others on board with it? Here are 10 things you should know about accessibility in 5 minutes.

#87 An inspiring story of how Lisa Prince Fishler, a creative with a cause, went from having a photography business to starting a nonprofit based on her passion for saving shelter animals, how they are making a difference and how you can help.

#164 One way to make your documents and website content more accessible is to use an accessible heading structure. Find out some common mistakes when styling headings, easy, actionable tips for how to create accessible headings and tools to check them.

#171 There are so many places where you can find clients who need your accessibility services. Many of them are already knowledgeable about accessibility and understand they need it and are even easy to find.

#174 The news of Canva buying Affinity and its parent company Serif has shocked and outraged designers worldwide. Find out more about the Affinity acquisition and what it means for designers.

#147 Many freelance designers struggle with creating and enforcing boundaries with clients, taking on and putting up with bad clients. But setting boundaries means you're in charge, work with good clients and have a more profitable creative business.

#86 Does putting pricing on your website help or hurt creative freelancers when it comes to getting new design clients? Find out the pros and cons to help you decide if you should put pricing on your website.

#102 Whether you're looking for freelance design work or contract work or a part-time or full-time job as a designer, find out how to respond to a job ad the right way. This will help you stand out and get the best chance of getting a new client or a new job.

#172 Shannon Mattern of Web Designer Academy talks about how personal discoveries and coaching helped her stop undercharging and overdelivering and actually create a more enjoyable, profitable web design business.

#104 A lot of designers use PDFs for design proofs, but you may not realize some of the helpful features Acrobat offers. Here are 11 cool Acrobat tips for designers that will save you time, improve your workflow or let you do some really cool things.

#92 Many designers who think they’re creating accessible InDesign files and PDFs really aren’t. Other designers, who are looking for help with document accessibility, don’t understand the process. Find out 9 InDesign accessibility mistakes and how to fix them.

#83 Do you unknowingly take on liability with privacy policies? Find out your responsibility with website policies, common mistakes web designers and developers make and how to make recurring revenue in this chat with Donata and Hans from Termageddon.

#149 Are you looking to have the accessibility conversation with clients or coworkers but not sure where to start? Have you tried but gotten resistance? Find out 10 common objections to accessibility and how to overcome them to get others on board.

#111 Some graphic designers have misconceptions about outsourcing work vs keeping it all in-house. Find out common objections designers have about outsourcing and how outsourcing can help your freelance design business.