Month: June 2020

Degree in Web Design
Design, Web

How to Get a Degree in Web Design

Degree in Web Design

Are you looking to pursue a career in web design? You would need a college degree to increase your chances of rising to the top and securing juicy commissions.

However, there is no direct way of getting a degree in web design. You first have to obtain a degree in computer science, and then pursue your career as a web designer. In this article provided by Joan Young, a professional essay writer from Advanced Writers writing company, we will take you through the processes of pursuing your career in web design. Sit tight!

Why Do You Need a Computer Science Degree as a Web Designer?

Getting a computer degree will go a long way to refine your web design skills. Computer science opens you up to different opportunities by first taking you through the rudiments of subject areas like machine learning, network and system theory, pattern recognition, and computational theory.

You would also learn more about the importance of computer science to society at large. The course outline will take you through the history of the course and its relation to the current situations on the ground.

Another benefit of taking on computer science is that you would work on so many expository projects with fellow students to broaden your knowledge of the field.  You would also link to real-time business partners in the industry, and you would work directly with businesses and gain the right experience to practice in the future.

As the learning curve increases, you will get exposed to several skills that would equip you for the future. You need skills like software product engineering, signals and patterns, data structures, and complexity theory. These skills increase your chances of employment and make your portfolio more attractive to potential buyers.

Related article : 6 Sections You Need To Write In Your Website Design Proposal To Land A Client

A computer science degree lets you put your knowledge to practice through your final year project.  The opportunity is huge as your university may link you to partners and industries to help you gain more experience as you put your knowledge into practice.

You can also take up internship opportunities in the relevant sector and rack up professional experience while you leave college. This would go a long way to boost your resume and put you in the light when you leave college.

Requirements for Getting a Degree in Computer Science

Aside from the zeal to take on the course, you have to be excellent in math. It would help if you also have a big nudge of creativity and be comfortable with IT-related courses, physics, and math. If you have good experience with these courses, then you have a high chance of blending into the system as your background would boost your chances of getting into a good university.

However, you should know that your chances of getting into a reputable university do not solely depend on your bedroom coding skills. You may have prior experience with web design and development, but there are specific requirements you need to prepare your mind for a while you get into college.

It would be best if you brushed up your ability to meet up with academic workloads and assignments, logical reasoning, and the ability to solve problems and a good eye for details. These skills will improve your chances of gaining admission and overall success in college.

Benefits of Getting a Computer Science Degree

If you are wondering why you shouldn’t go solo and learn web design on your own without a degree, here are reasons why you need a computer science degree.

More Opportunities

Web design is no longer a high sort, and you can get all the qualifications to increase your opportunities in the industry. While you can cleanly break even from the comfort of your bedroom and become a self-taught web designer, a degree in computer science is a big add on that would increase your chances of landing juicy offers and working with experts in the industry.

Exposure

The university will expose you to several career paths you can’t possibly learn while you hit it out on your own. You get to meet like minds, gain more knowledge in the industry and shape your web design career while you add another degree to your portfolio.

Practical Experience

Do you know that getting a computer science degree as a web designer increases your chances of gaining practical experience with the big players in the industry?  Your university may link you with big companies during your final year project, and you can sign up for an internship after your degree. Here you would pick up valuable experience and set up a robust portfolio.

Grabbing a computer science degree as a web developer will help boost your chances of succeeding in the open market. You will gain the rudimentary knowledge of computer science, and the exposures come with many benefits listed above.

Credit image: freepik.com

Crowdsourcing Platforms
Business, Design, Web

20+ Crowdsourcing Platforms Where Freelance Designer Get Their Jobs (Part 1)

Previously we’ve discussed about places or websites where designer & artist can sell their vector arts. It called marketplace, or creative market where designers & artists earn money by selling artworks and buyers come to find and buy creative arts they upload. The digital artworks can be resell many times and designers or artists can make money with it as a passive income. In contrast to it, crowdsourcing platforms provide the native way or the active income method on making money, which is still the #1 choice of freelancers.

Here we will find out which crowdsourcing platforms offers the best to both for the clients & freelance designers especially. Basically crowdsourcing platforms offer registered freelancers to grab jobs or projects posted by clients and will be paid by the registered clients through the crowdsourcing platform itself.

The advantage and how it different with selling artworks on marketplace is the price offered by crowdsourcing platforms are usually high and attractive, even though it’s just a one time job. While selling artworks or images on marketplace depends on the quantity of sale you made. The price per artwork is usually very low and it will need hundred or thousand of sale per artworks to be achieve satisfactory income. And the competition is much higher.

At the other hand, freelancers who choose to find online job offers with crowdsourcing platforms should be willing to give full commitment once they got the job. Fulfill all the client’s requirements and must complete the job on the time given. Failed to do so, most probably it will be a disappointing effort and more worse, no payment.

But once you got the job done in crowdsourcing platform with client’s satisfaction, the reward is lucrative enough, not comparable to selling artworks method on marketplace.

What is Crowdsourcing Platforms & Which are the best for freelance designer?

Crowdsourcing Platform is a hub just like Marketplace website, where there are supply – freelancers offering services and demand – clients looking for talents (freelancers) to be hired to complete their projects.

For that reason, we find out and listed here among the most popular design crowdsourcing platforms that offers skilled freelancers, specifically designers and businesses as well. We only highlight the top sites that you might looking for lucrative offers.

We also provide user’s review rating from Trustpilot, a top global review site where people freely give review & rating based on their experience with the company that they worked on. Alternatively we use Indeed.com as the review, if Trustpilot not avalable for that specific company. Therefore, you may have the basic info on how the expectation of every marketplace platform listed below. So check them out..!

Table of contents

  1. Freelancer
  2. Dribble
  3. Designhill
  4. Upwork
  5. Fiverr
  6. Toptal
  7. People Per Hour
  8. CoWorks
  9. 99designs
  10. Guru
  11. Robert Half
  12. FlexJobs
  13. Crowd Content

Design Crowdsourcing Platforms List

1. Freelancer

Crowdsourcing Platform Freelancer

As the name given, they’re the one of the most popular freelance hub for designers and businesses looking for skilled services as well. Based in Sydney Australia, Freelancer.com has 43 million freelance expertise in variety of categories to serve businesses. While registered businesses is about half of it.

Freelance.com is an award-winning world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing platform so far. Basically freelancers or designers will bid for a specific job posted by a client. The best bid will be chosen by the client. And freelancers will compete in a design contest by clients and the best will win the job.

As designer, you’re free to sign up to be the Freelancer. Create your profile, select skills of projects you are interested in, upload portfolio, receive project notifications, discuss project details with the employer, bid on projects (free members receive initially 8 bids per month) and enter contests. Besides design category, you may also find other categories such as writing services like domywriting to serve your requirement.

  • User Rating: 4.4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 5,532 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

2. Dribbble

Crowdsourcing Platform Dribbble

Being one of the most popular designer’s – hub or community where they showcased their portfolios, socialize, get hired and for creative agencies searching for right creative talents. Designers can get short term job or permanent career as well.

Recently Dribbble has reportedly acquires CreativeMarket a well known marketplace site. But they both remain to operate as independent company as they claimed. The acquire is believed to benefits both parties as they may make use the full potential of a popular marketplace – CreativeMarket and famous crowdsourcing platform – Dribbble itself.

With both companies combined, they have over 12 million monthly active users in more than 120 countries. You designers should look no further, go join them..!

  • User Rating: 3.3 ⭐⭐⭐ | from 11 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

3. Designhill

  • Crowdsourcing Platform Designhill

Founded on 2014, Designhill is a New Delhi, India based company. It is one of the world’s top website platform known for design inspiration, design jobs and competition. Designhill is a graphic design platform for designers to earn, participate, work and share their works. Designhill is also a one point stop for business owners to source high quality designs.

Designers are welcome to join their creative marketplace to offer creative skills to the public worldwide. Basically designers can earn from Design Contest, Designer’s Gig and from PrintShop, where you can sell your ready made arts.

For business owner: Designhill – Book A Free Design Consultation Today!

  • User Rating: 4.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 1,797 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

4. Upwork

Crowdsourcing Platform Upwork

Upwork is like searching a job in a marketplace, similar to others freelancing sites. As a skilled designer looking to earn money online, you search for the best job on Upwork.com that suits your skill and you bid on that project. You know that you can do the job according to the budget and time span given by the buyer.

With Upwork, it may took much time to get the jobs. The commission deduction on Upwork applied at both party, 10% from customer side and 10% from seller side. If you have lot of time and you want to earn big, Upwork should be in your list.

  • User Rating: 4.4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,719 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

5. Fiverr

Crowdsourcing Platform Fiverr

Registering with Fiverr is like opening a shop in online marketplace. You as a designer (freelancer) called Seller, create your potential services, wait for a prospect, called Buyer to come and buy your service, called Gig.

Fiverr get 20% commission from your earning, even still you get $5 order or get $5,000 order, Fiverr still cut 20% from total. So, you’re probably earn little considering your time effort to complete the job in Fiverr, compared to others.

There are couple of ways freelancers may generate income withe Fiverr; Join Fiverr as freelancer and start offering your services. Or freelancers may also learn more skills in Fiverr to upgrade your level and being Pro Seller.

If you intended to focus more on your skilled works to serve your clients as you become Pro Seller, you may start to use their ‘smart suite’ to build, manage and grow your business without headache with all the documentations & paperworks. AND.CO may help you prepare and manage your works, so be your own boss.

If you just want to get services from Fiverr you can join as a new buyer with $100 free credit for you.

  • User Rating: 4.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,183 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

6. Toptal

Crowdsourcing Platform Toptal

Toptal is a specialized freelancer platform, as they claimed. Toptal which stand for Top Talent, initially specialized in software developers, but have now branched out into finance & accounting, project management and design categories as well.

With their motto, ‘Hire the top 3% of the freelancer talent’, they are serious in screening talent application process to identifies experts in their categories who have the passion and drive. And generally the numbers are 3% and below, according to them.

This means, their client portfolios are mostly from high standard and the projects that you as freelancers may expect are ‘mission critical’ projects.

So be prepare to apply with Toptal, to make sure you’re among the top 3% talent expert. After hardly passed the screening process, you may expect good earnings based on hourly rate or weekly rate depends on part-time or full-time you are and projects you handle.

  • User Rating: 4.7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 1,140 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

Related article: 5 Creative Ideas Using Stock Images for Your Marketing

7. People Per Hour

Crowdsourcing Platform PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour, a London based crowdsource company, offers a big platform for businesses to find any kind of freelance expertise. They have quite big amount of freelancers, almost 3 million (at today’s date), surely have the ability to offer 1 million registered businesses. The ration 3:1 is perfect for freelancers looking to find good job offers.

Besides London, they also have branches in Greece and India, (I think their startup company is from Greece, because most of the team’s name sounds Greek :). Anyway, compared to top 3 or 5 company listed above, freelance designer should try this company,

  • User Rating: 4.1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,131 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

8. CoWorks

Crowdsourcing Platform CoWorks

Coworks is the easiest way to find and hire top freelancers and is the number 1 freelance work platform for brands and agencies. Here they called clients or business owners as Employers and freelancers as CoWorks. Their basic concepts are the same as the above companies we have discussed. Employers finding services and CoWorks offering services.

  • User Rating: Not available
  • Affiliate: Not available

9. 99designs

99designs is an another freelance designers hub looking for client’s job. And clients or businesses to find creative talents as well. Based in Melbourne Australia, it allows businesses to post jobs and get a range of designers pitch for the work.

Since 2008, 99designs has grown from a small, online forum into a global community of talented designers that is now the go-to solution for businesses, agencies and individuals. Freelance designers..! This site should also be on your bookmark.

  • User Rating: 3.9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 674 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

10. Guru

Crowdsourcing Platform Guru

Guru is one of the oldest online startup company specialized in higher-end consulting and freelancing platform. Founded in 1998 the same year Google was incorporated. It lists over 3 million professional freelancers and almost 1 million employers all around the world.

The site interface is simple and straightforward, ‘Find Jobs’ – for freelancers, ‘Find Freelancers’ – for employers. For both options, you will see a comprehensive Search tool with ability to choose Jobs Category, Locations, Employer’s Amount Spend or Freelancer’s Earnings, etc.

Basically they don’t charge employers for joining and posting jobs, employers’ jobs will be quoted by freelancers later with ‘handling fee’. Freelancers have option to participate as their freelancers, either as free member (with limited job offers) or with membership plans (extra benefits).

  • User Rating: 4.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 7 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

11. Robert Half

Crowdsourcing Platform Robert Half

Robert Half, is a company that helps to find part-time or full-time professionals for another company and to helps solve their business challenges. As for professional workers looking for a job, they will assist you in locating a career for you or for a short term job that may fit your skills.

Their Creative Group offers sophisticated matching technology and a personalized approach for freelancers or if you looking for better full-time job. Not to forget, as for businesses looking for perfect candidates for your incoming project, this site is worth to be check it out.

  • User Rating: 3.9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 12,151 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

12. FlexJobs

Crowdsourcing Platform FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a platform that connects people wanting access to flexible jobs, to prospective employers. It is not just an ordinary online job-seeker site, rather FlexJobs specialize in job search for remote working, part-time, freelance and many flexible working conditions. That’s how they come up with the name.

There are variety of categories offered for job seeker or freelancer available including creative industries. Hence, we see many good reviews about them and they’re one of the good crowdsourcing platforms for famous employers as well.

  • User Rating: 3.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 21 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

13. CrowdContent

Crowdsourcing Platform CrowdContent

This site specializes in providing qualified content writers, within a curated and managed delivery platform. They don’t offer specific design category, so if you (designers) want to try your talent in writings, perhaps design related article, just like we do :) this CrowdContent should be in your list.

  • User Rating: 2.6 ⭐⭐ | from 7 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

Number 14 and the rest to be continue in Part 2 later. Please feel free to comment and add us lists that we might be missed.

Design in Marketing
Design, Marketing

The Impact of Design On Your Marketing Activities

Design In Marketing

Most people will readily agree that communication is most effective when done with some visual representation. That is why design is a huge part of current marketing initiatives. Businesses are always on the lookout for more customers and more sales.

This fact means that marketers have to find a way to make an impression and keep a prospect’s attention on the first try. However, this search is almost impossible without incorporating compelling design into all the visual elements of your marketing and branding efforts.

People subconsciously lean more towards brands that have leveraged effective design strategies in their brand image. Your marketing design should include your apps, websites, social media ads, exhibit stands, magazine ads, tv commercials, and everything else.

As it concerns the companies on the S&P Index, companies with an impactful design strategy across their marketing efforts perform 219% better than companies without it.

Successful business owners are well aware of this statistic and just how much it impacts a prospective customer’s decision-making. Maggie Hanna is the Head of Quality Assurance Department at a paper writing service review company, Online Writers Rating. She says,

“Your website design should make your site visitors feel like they walked into a castle for the first time and are awed by its rustic appeal”.

Without that instant feeling of satisfaction, the probability of going on to browse your site goes down significantly.

Maggie’s statement is strengthened by the results of a survey by Tyton Media. 48% of survey participants admitted that their number one factor for determining a business’s credibility was website design.

We’ve rounded up a few reasons to motivate you to approach your marketing design intentionally.

#1 – Good design communicates your brand’s persona effectively

Essentially, branding is the way that current and prospective customers think about your business. This is like asking customers to define your company and what it represents using a few short words. Be rest assured that whatever words they use in their description represents the vibe they get from your company’s poise and offering.

They could describe your business with any combination of words: luxury and exclusivity, quality and affordability, value, and comfort. They could also use some less than favorable terms like rigid and apathetic. Either way, whatever they say is tied directly to what your brand positioning and marketing effort feel like to them.

The feeling they get has a lot to do with your marketing design across your website, blog posts, newsletters and brochures, product/service design, Google and social media ads, and other offline marketing channels.

Generally, if the words people are using to describe your business do not align with the core messaging of your brand, something is most likely amiss with your design. Fix this anomaly immediately so that your professionalism, positioning, and quality can shine through.

#2 – Good design boosts visibility

People tend to make snap judgments when they are deciding if a person they see for the first time is attractive or not. Interestingly, they do the same thing when they come across a brand’s design for the first time.

Attractiveness and uniqueness must be non-negotiable attributes of your web design and other marketing design efforts. First, your marketing campaign will need to stand out from the sea of competing marketers, advertisers, content creators, and more in your niche. It then has to leverage the attractiveness of its design to capture and hold the interest of your ideal prospective customers.

To get your design right, you have to prioritize insight from your target audience’s design preferences and the objectives of your marketing campaign. The design speaks much louder than any bland content, so doing it right can only mean good things for your brand visibility and reach.

#3 – Great design is a huge conversion booster

Donald Fomby, Head of Marketing at essay writing service review company, Best Writers Online, knows all about the union between web design and marketing success. In his words, “more than half the battle of content engagement is won with an excellent design that drives interaction and comprehension of the content, and then compels action.”

Fomby’s assertion plays into the efforts put into every other channel of your marketing campaign. The thing about design is that its impact happens at the psychological level. The font choices and styles, page/content layout, positioning, color choices, photographs, and videos all work to evoke emotions and drive action that has both been predetermined by the marketing designer.

Whether it’s an ad, web copy, blog content, or anything else, great design can light a fire under any content. Such a design will significantly shape a prospect’s experience with your campaign. Then it will skillfully direct the prospect towards the intended action, consequently boosting conversions.

#4 – Good design boosts engagement with your marketing message

A top-notch marketing design drives home your messaging, many times better than the copy itself. This benefit is similar to the one that shows how design helps to communicate your brand persona. But beyond giving prospects the right outlook for your brand, great design goes further to compel a response from the viewers.

Related article: 5 Creative Ideas Using Stock Images for Your Marketing

Let’s say, for instance, that you own a brand that’s trying to raise funds for a community project or to raise awareness about the company and what it does. It won’t matter if you craft an exhaustive copy to this effect that says all the right things about your company the right way. Prioritizing the design – using the right images, fonts, layout, color tones, and more – can hit home for your audience much more than any copy.

Good design acts as a verb. It doesn’t just trigger the right emotions; it is the vehicle that massages your audience’s emotions and intellect to spur them to take a favorable action.

Final Word

Remember that customers’ attention span is shorter than it has ever been in the history of the internet. Take the case of logos, for instance. It takes the average customer around ten seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo design. It will take the same customer between five to seven sightings of a logo to trigger recognition.

These statistics suggest just how vital getting your marketing design right can be. For most brands, the bulk of their design work will lead off and back to their website, making website marketing design critical. However, your website design and marketing efforts beyond your site should all form a cohesive story that drives home your brand identity, boosts customer engagement, and evokes action, including sales.

Consider hiring a professional marketing design agency if you have problems developing a design voice and identity. They can help you understand the various aspects of your design’s creative process. The right agency should also teach you to see your design through the lens of your brand objectives, and not just for design’s sake.

Handle your brand design in light of the revelations in this article. This way, you will have a better chance of burning your brand image into the minds of your customers and bringing in more business and revenue.

Credit image: Business vector by vectorpouch – freepik.com

Web Design Proposal
Design, Web

6 Sections You Need to Write in Your Website Design Proposal to Land a Client

  • Website Design Proposal

No matter whether you are a qualified web designer or a newbie who is just starting out, you should know how to market yourself to potential clients. And you should know how to write a winning website design proposal.

A web design proposal can be formatted in various ways, but it should always include the following six sections. Let’s talk about them in more detail!

1. Focus on the client’s wants and needs

All humans are inherently selfish. They do not really care about someone else’s problems. They are focused on their needs, wants, and personal issues.

Therefore, if you want to win your clients’ attention, talk about them and the things that resonate with them. Instead of writing about your services, write about the benefits your clients will get using your services.

The best way to start a website design proposal is to compliment the client for something he did right and then specify an issue that can be fixed. Here is a short example of what you can write in your proposal:

“The loading speed of your website xyz.com is high, and that positively impacts your SEO. You are one step away from getting your website to the top of Google search results. All you need to do is to fix two small issues: design a new easy-to-navigate menu and get rid of overused stock images. These small (yet important) web design improvements will help you to attract more customers and boost sales”.

2. Provide a solution

In the next section, you should provide your client with a specific solution. You need to explain in detail what steps you will take to fix existing web design issues and how the final version of the website will look like. Take a look at the following examples:

“Currently, your website has a giant drop-down menu that looks out-dated and is hard-to-navigate. The new version of your website will have a simple hamburger menu. Your website’s design will look more stylish and better matches the minimalist concept of your brand”.

Your task here is to find the right words to persuade clients that they will get exactly what they want if they work with you. If you are not good at persuasive writing, don’t hesitate to get professional help. Consider using writing services like TrustMyPaper, SupremeDissertations, and GrabMyEssay.

3. Present yourself

Before, we’ve mentioned that you shouldn’t include too much information about yourself in a proposal. So let’s make it clear what you should and shouldn’t write about yourself:

  • Specify your qualification level and your skills that are relevant to the project.
  • Mention a few similar projects you have recently completed.
  • Make sure that your website design proposal includes only that information that adds value to potential clients. Please, don’t overload the document with facts from your biography.

“Clients do not want to know who you are as a web designer and as a person. They only thing they want to know whether you a perfect fit for their company and whether you have enough skills and knowledge to make their project a success,” says Estelle Leotard, a writer at WowGrade.

4. Specify the deadlines

Clients want their projects to be completed as soon as possible. For this reason, they tend to hire web designers who promise to deliver the job in a shorter period of time.

Your task is to estimate how many days and hours exactly you will need to improve the design of your client’s website. Please, be honest and realistic in your estimation. Don’t write that you can complete the project in two days if it takes you two weeks.

Well, such a little lie might help you to land a client. But it will not help you to achieve success. If you miss the deadlines specified in the website design proposal, your client will not pay you for your work.

5. Deliver the cost

In your website design proposal, you should set prices for each of your services and indicate the total cost of the project. For instance, you can specify how much you charge for building a graphic user interface and for designing icons and buttons.

Also, you can offer your client a discount if he pays for a package of your services. Or, you can provide some extra benefits that will make the client interested in long-term collaboration.

6. Explain the next steps and add a Call To Action

In the last section of your proposal, you need to explain to your potential clients what steps they should take next: call you, write you an email, or reach out to you on social media.

You should encourage your clients to take action right here and right now. Your writing should sound enthusiastic but not to excess, proactive but not pushy.

Besides, you should remind your client one more time about the benefits he will get from hiring you:

“Do you want to take your business to the next level? Drop me a line at wedfesigner@gmail.com. Let’s discuss how you can improve the design of your website and start making more money”.

Five tips on how to write a perfect website design proposal

Here are five general writing tips on how to create a winning proposal:

  • Keep your proposal short. The fewer pages you create, the better.
  • Present your ideas clearly. Don’t repeat the same statements twice.
  • Proofread the final document. Use proofreading services like Studicus, Grammarly, or BestEssayEducation to ensure that the text is free of grammar errors and typos.
  • Be honest with your client. Don’t lie about your skills, previous experience, as well as the estimated project’s deadlines and budget.
  • Show your clients that you do really want to help them to accomplish their business goals.

Wrapping up

You don’t need to be a professional writer to create a winning website design proposal. You just need to have a clear understanding of what your clients want to achieve.

So focus on your clients’ needs, and you will craft an irresistible proposal with ease.