Episode 191: Logo Designing with James Martin

Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:00] Huge “Thank You” to the listeners today!
[2:00] Tom welcomes James to the show and invites him to share how he got started.
[3:10] James shares how he fell off the rails early on and his decision to go to college.
[4:00] Digging deeper into James’s backstory.
[5:00] Transitions are never easy.
[6:00] James always knew he could do better and finally flipped the switch.
[7:00] Through the drugs, beer and girls, creativity always remained.
[8:30] The moment that pulled James into the darkness.
[9:00] James talks about abuse by his teacher at the age of 11.
[10:00] Getting out before abuse destroys.
[11:30] James believes abuse was the catalyst that started the spiral.
[12:00] James is putting the REAL back into REAL LIFE on social media.
[13:10] Tom talks about being a piss head as a teen.
[14:00] Ambition sometimes grows from wasting time early in life.
[15:00] What doesn’t break you makes you.
[16:00] James talks about the pro sports fork in the road.
[17:00] Why James decided to run far and fast from pro sports.
[18:00] Rejecting authority and working for the man.
[19:10] James absorbed knowledge from agencies to build a foundation.
[20:00] Surround yourself with these three people.
[21:00] Are you a goal getter or a habit maker?
[22:00] The value in atomic habits.
[23:00] The future will always be unknown so steer your ship based on the now.
[24:00] Be patient with today; tomorrow will be here soon enough.
[25:00] You don’t have to become everything tomorrow.
[26:00] Relax, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
[27:00] Why you can count on James like Saturday morning cartoons.
[28:00] James’s YouTube is his extended playground for in-depth design content.
[29:00] Survivorship Bias.
[30:00] You only hear the advice of those who make it.
[31:40] People are too lazy to figure out their own style.
[32:00] We have no excuses now with all the information we have available.
[33:00] People are being so so lazy and want you to spoon feed them.
[34:00] The crazy idea of responding to 1000+ DM’s.
[35:10] Sending DM’s is not an interview, people.
[36:00] Tom asks James what has worked for him to drum up work.
[37:00] When you first enter the industry, start by telling everyone.
[38:00] One of James’s first free clients has returned and spent thousands now.
[39:00] James sees his clients as friends not monetary transactions.
[40:35] Early on James got taken advantage of a lot.
[41:00] If something doesn’t feel right, don’t take the job.
[42:00] Tom felt like he became the dreaded client while working with James.
[43:00] Pride yourself on getting it right for your client.
[44:00] Free work goes out into the world and will come back to you.
[45:00] Volunteering vs being asked to do free work.
[46:00] Creating a design and delivering it for FREE.
[47:00] Say yes to everything.
[48:00] Stop being afraid of failing and just say yes.
[49:00] James does 100 out of 6000 logo requests a year.
[50:00] Nailing down your process is key to finding your success.
[51:00] Feeling bullet proof to burnout.
[52:00] Full 8-10 hour creative days.
[53:00] Bumble bee creative.
[54:00] Constant performance kills creativity.
[55:00] Balancing deadlines while working on multiple projects.
[56:00] Turning a DM into a paying design job.
[57:00] Mood boards, briefs and paper trails.
[58:00] Layout all the packages available and everything you do.
[59:00] Offering bespoke packages and agency work.
[1:00:00] Get the project on the calendar.
[1:01:00] No contracts. Great terms and conditions allow you to move on.
[1:02:00] 75% upfront and 25% upon completion.
[1:03:00] Lay your prices out and clients will know if you’re a good fit.
[1:04:00] It’s important to be in control and have no hidden agenda.
[1:05:00] People want to work with people they like.
[1:06:00] Does James ever budge on price?
[1:07:00] Have wiggle room for projects you want to work on.
[1:08:00] Difficult client tax.
[1:09:00] Giving back with good design.
[1:10:00] Tom believes this may be his favorite episode to date.
[1:11:00] James felt very comfortable sharing with Honest Designers.
[1:12:00] Find James at @madebyjames.
[1:13:00] And that’s a wrap!

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