Recently, we were asked to submit a bid for a decently large-scale design job. The job entailed design work for 2 campaigns for the University of Alberta – two campaigns focused on sustainability. These campaigns needed branding as well as a variety of print and digital design.

The question we had was how to properly respond to a bid for a job focused on sustainability. We could go the paper route and use FSC-certified paper, but we decided to go one step further and create a one-page website as our “Expression of Interest”, or proposal. Our thought was to create an environmentally friendly proposal, and no printing = no trees. Our hope was that it would set us apart from the other design studios asked to bid on the campaigns, as well as showcase the fact that we’re already thinking environmentally.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The job went to another design group in Edmonton (I’m not sure whom, but I’m sure it was well-deserved).

These things happen with RFPs and the like; what can you do! Good news is, we thought that our web proposal was interesting enough that some of our readers might enjoy it; if you’re one of those people, click here to view the sustainability web proposal.

As you can see, we went with a natural/”green”-inspired design. We used some textures and distressing to replicate the look of print, combining that with some jQuery Tooltips to bring the interactivity of the web into play. We’ve stripped out personal information and numbers, but everything else remains unchanged from the proposal we sent in. Have a look and let us know your thoughts and what you might have done differently!

Happy birthday, us! That’s right, today marks Paper Leaf’s first birthday as a business, and we couldn’t be happier with how the first year went. We did a ton of work to be proud of, got to work with some awesome clients, and have developed a loyal readership on our blog. So, all in all, we have to thank all of you – both readers and clients – for making our first year so great. Thus, we’re running a month-long deal!

We are offering the following for the month of September:

20% off any 1 design service (50% deposit must be paid prior to Sept 30)

A free design evaluation/consultation of your choice (for example, let us look at your current website and we’ll suggest ways to improve it)

If you’re interested in either of these promotions, please jump on it quickly! We’re a small team and so we can only offer as much as we can keep up with. If interested, email us at info@paper-leaf.com.

You might also have noticed we refreshed our logo and have updated our print, web, and identity portfolios. It’s a day of celebration, that’s for sure. Thanks again to all of you, and back to regularly scheduled blogging this Friday for Found Fridays!

Welcome to September! My birth month, as well as the intro to winter. Time to update your desktop wallpapers and get with the now – download and install the September 2010 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper below!

The one and only September 2010 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper is available in 2560X1600, 1920X1200, 1680X1050, 1440X900 and 1280X800. Enjoy & please share!

The print-only freelance designer is a dying breed. There, I said it. If you’re a freelance designer who doesn’t have web-related skills, you best add that arrow to your quiver or you’re going to be left in the dust. Now, it’s worth noting that I’m not saying “print design is dead” or “identity design is dead”. As long as there are businesses, artists, musicians and the like, graphic designers will be needed. However, freelance designers who only operate in the print realm aren’t long for this world.

The digital realm is growing and spreading, and at the expense of the print world. As the opportunities for print work shift over to digital work, so do those print jobs. The numbers show the shift: Amazon sold 143 ebooks for every 100 hardcover books in the second quarter of 2010.  In the music industry, album sales fell 12.7% in 2009 while digital singles rose 8.3% and digital albums rose 16.1% (source). These are only two industries, but two big ones – and they point towards the growing trend towards digital over print. It should be noted that overall, people still currently buy more physical albums and physical books, so it’s not like we should erase the section of our brains that holds our print design information right now. However, the numbers don’t lie: digital is growing, print is declining.

Hit the jump for the full article!

Back in the day, print design was king. We started with cave drawings in rock and moved on to books and other print design. In 1991, the Internet was introduced and in 1993, the first proper web browser was introduced; but with the Internet in its infancy, print design wasn’t really threatened. In 2010 however, the large majority of the Western world uses the Internet on a daily basis, plus we have amazing digital devices like the iPad, Kindle and so forth. This explosion and continued upward trend in digital use means that more and more people are consuming information via digital means, which means that freelance designers need to be able to feed that frenzy.

There are a couple routes designers can take: we can be print & web/digital designers, or we can be web/digital designers. We can’t solely be print designers any more. While there are still plenty of print jobs out there, more and more of these jobs will have some sort of digital tie-in – for example, the magazine you lay out must have an interactive digital copy as well. The album art you design and supply must be print-ready but also work in the iTunes store; perhaps the artist wants an iTunes LP as well. We’ll be seeing more and more of these combination print/digital jobs taking the place of what were formerly print-only jobs, and if you are a designer with no digital or web skills or knowledge, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. Who do you think a client would rather work with in the aforementioned scenarios: a designer with zero digital/web design knowledge, or a designer with both?

The Solutions

There are two routes you can take to broaden your skill set and offer digital design services. First: partner with a developer (or two), learn the basics of the digital realm you want to expand into (web, iPad, software GUI), and stick to designing and letting the developer bring the designs to life. If you go this route and stick to the web design field, for example, I’d suggest researching web standards and developing a knowledge base in areas like a) common screen resolutions, b) max widths, c) the grid system, d) web safe fonts and e) usability. This will give you the basic knowledge base to design well for the web and provide implementable, cross-browser friendly designs to your developer.

Alternatively: learn the actual development side of the area you want to expand into, and offer both design and development. Sticking with the web design example, this means you know the previously mentioned areas and can design to those requirements, and you can take those designs and turn them into valid CSS/HTML. This is a little tougher and requires more time, more study and more practice; however, the benefits are equal to the workload.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these routes: advocators and opponents to each side. However, the underlying principle is that you know the basics and can offer services in the digital realm as well as the print realm. Once you’ve learned the basics, commit to staying on top of your new field of choice – digital is a quickly moving world.

It’s not just animals, humans & plants that need to evolve. Designers do as well. The world changes, people change, clients change and demands change. If you want to be a freelance designer – one who doesn’t live in their parents’ basement and eat Kraft Dinner every day – it’s best to accept the truth: the print-only freelance designer is dying. It’s time to jump into the digital deep end and start swimming if you want to keep your head above water.

Volume 23 this week. Michael Jordan. It’s gorgeous outside and I want to go for a bike ride, so that’s as good an intro as you’re going to get. This week: Twitter background designs & best practices, a great typography mug, 10 places that can turn your designs into actual things, a cool office that’s been made to look like an old cottage, and a fun website with ridiculous “I can’t come to work” excuses. Read on, readers!

Twitter Background Design – Great Tips & Gorgeous Examples

Twitter seems to be here to stay – so, if you’re a Twitterer (Tweeter? Twitterionian?), best make your background look as dope as possible lest the Internet mock you for lameness. Here’s a great article on how to do that. PS follow us!

Font Me Typography Mug

Thanks to swiss-miss for the find; I’m always up for a good nerd-style coffee mug.

10 Services That Turn Your Designs into Real Stuff

There’s a ton of sites out there that offer one-off printing or construction of your graphics and ideas. It’s like a new revolution! Check these sites out if you’re the creative type.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty Offices

I love cool offices; these guys went off in their own direction and turned the inside of their offices into an English-style cottage.

I Can’t Come to Work

Some light Friday reading for you – ridiculous excuses from people as to why they can’t make it into work. Example: “Due to heavy rain and high fever I am suffering from, I’ll be in once rain stops.” Yup.

See you next week!