design reverb

Well, looks like I finally get to take a few days off. After the last couple of months of late night coding and design, it will be nice to finally get away from the keyboard. Gonna hit up the slopes for the first time this season. I can’t wait. Got my board all tuned and ready to rock! I’ve been snowboarding since 1988, and no, I’ve never ever been skiing. Hence the great saying below.

The pics below are from around 1992, when I lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. I worked nights so I could board during the day. The right pic is me at Brighton, one of my favorite places to board. My buddy and I took a pre-season hike up Alta (left pic) and did some backcounty boarding. It was awesome, at least till they kicked us out. Luckily they didn’t confiscate our gear, but just told us to go home. Alta, you see, is a snobbish “Ski Only” resort, but they have some really nice hits and cliff jumps.

I really love to go backcountry, and love to go full speed, while still hitting every hit/burm/jump I see. So here’s hoping the coverage is good, so I don’t come home tweaked. Heard good things from my cousin about the conditions at Brighton and SnowBird in Utah, and well Big Bear in So Cal, is well, So Cal, so I will hope for the best there.

How much time it takes for a design, a graphic, or even coding is often irrelevent to how much it is worth. Designers often take years fine tuning their style, methodology, their “craft”. Clients are not just paying for the designer’s time, they are paying for their knowledge and experience.

Ellen Rohr has written a good article on how to charge clients. Good read for those just starting out.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him. “It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

Read my other article regarding how some clients react to design charges here.