Free fonts are available for download on a number of websites. Fonts are the cornerstone off all effective communication design elements so an excellent font library is essential for all graphic design professionals. Designers need a good range of fonts ranging from serif, sans serif, classic/traditional, script, decorative, serif, sans serif, etc.

I recommend that designers start with a good set of original classic fonts. The free font sites will not have original versions of classic fonts. These fonts will need to be purchased from font sites like ITC (International Typeface Corporation), Fonts.com and Linotype. Several fonts come pre-installed on many computers or installed at the time a software application is added, as in Microsoft Office. Check your computer’s font list to be sure you don’t install duplicates. Purchasing fonts from these premium websites can be expensive, but well worth the investments, since these fonts will contribute to  the majority of your design efforts.

Once a collection of classic fonts is established, use the free font sites listed here to add to your collection. Look at the different categories of fonts and make selections. Also be sure to read if there are any usage limitations for the font. Some fonts are full public domain/shareware and can be used for commercial purposes. Other fonts may be limited to personal use only. Some excellent sources for free fonts are:

1001 Free Fonts
Acid Fonts
Ace Free Fonts
dafont
Font Squirrel

Take a look at your font collection. Chances are that you will benefit from having some additional font options. As with any font, readability is essential. Even though some fonts are free, it does not mean you should spend time downloading all of them. Be selective with your font collection. Free fonts are fast and easy to preview, download and install and a great way to add secondary fonts to your collection.

An effective email marketing campaign

HootSuite is a powerful free tool for managing social accounts. FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Ping.fm. HootSuite manages multiple accounts in one interface. There’s also an iphone app for HootSuite. The full version app for iPhone costs $2.99

Powerful features such as RSS feeds to your posts, post scheduling and url shortening make this free application a must have for anyone managing multiple social accounts.

Combine your Facebook and Twitter accounts to optimize your social media exposure and to save time. There is no denying that Facebook and Twitter offer graphic designers a great way to network and search for work opportunities. Build your fans and followers gradually and you will be rewarded with a valuable social team.

Here’s how to combine Facebook and Twitter accounts:

While in your Facebook account go to http://www.facebook.com/twitter/

Follow the steps and log into your Twitter account. Enter your twitter username and password in the required fields to link Facebook to your Twitter account.

You’ve combined your Facebook and Twitter accounts! Now you can make Twitter updates to show up in your Facebook account. You have options to display only certain Twitter content. Status updates, photos, links, notes and events can all be synced. You selected categories from your Twitter account will now display in your status on your Facebook account.

This simple process makes your social network more united and will drive more traffic from one account to the other. The time savings are huge in terms of saving the duplication of effort.

A great free tool for managing social accounts is HootSuite. Set up a free HootSuite account and your social media world will feel much more organized.

Backing up work files is a must in any business. I had a nightmare of a situation when my dog (yes I know) ran past my computer cables and dragged my work hard drive crashing to the floor. 500GB worth of work, gone. I tried different recovery methods, but they failed. The worst part of the story was that I had no current back up of the files contained on the hard drive. I was a victim of the “it will never happen to me” syndrome. I was able to recover all of the data, but it was expensive and I had to do with my files for a few days. If this happens to you, take your damaged hard drive to the best recovery lab in the business: http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/. They calmed me down and did a great job of recovery. When you rely on the files as much as graphic designers do, you want to go with a company you can trust.

Now I back up my files on a regular basis. I still use external hard drives for my work files. I like to keep my work files and operating system files on different drives. I can also take my external with me between my studio and home. For my back up, I have additional hard drives which back ups are copied to and I use a remote back up service. The remote back up service is the ultimate peace of mind, since there is no hard drive to fail or DVD to scratch.

The online service I use is SugarSync. You can try their service for free. They have automatic sync and you have control over sharing your online files with clients and collaborators. This feature comes in handy with the large nature of graphics files. They even have a free mobile app for your phone.

Which ever method you choose for back up, just do it. It will save your sanity and give peace of mind.

A website is mandatory for every self employed graphic designer. Even if you’ve never created a website before, you can create a professional looking website using the WordPress  platform. Many people think that the WordPress platform is strictly for blogging. The fact is that a WordPress site can be created to look like a non-blog website. Once a WordPress website is created, updating is very simple. Just log into your administrative panel and add or change content.

There are thousands of WordPress Themes to choose from to get you started. Many of them are free! I’ve learned from experience that most of the free themes are not properly structured for optimal SEO and some have functionality limitations. However, if you’re interested in free themes, you can start here. Premium, or paid WordPress themes have built-in features and offer better SEO structure. Most are very affordable, under $75.00 which is a small investment in a tool that will generate endless promotion for your business. To explore the best premium WordPress themes click here.

WordPress plug-ins are widely available to extend the functionality of your WordPress site. Portfolio or photo plugins allow a gallery type display of your portfolio. There are also contact form plugins, anti-spam plugins, mapping plugins and many more that will add valuable tools to your website.

Take advantage of the online surge of create your own apparel. Design and market t-shirts, shoes, caps, and other items and sell them on supplied e-commerce sites. This is a booming industry with sites like this one leading the way.

With the popularity of the internet, there are more opportunities than ever for designers to make money using their talents. Designers that once were looking for full-time employment, are now enjoying the flexible schedule of working on freelance jobs. Not many design firms are hiring full time designers now anyway. There are many online freelance site who are looking for talented designers to create designs for clients.

Designers can bid on projects and work directly with clients. Make sure you do your best work and keep the clients happy. When they have a good experience, they will request you again. This is a great way to build your freelance graphic design client base. Check out oDesk, they are easy to work with and guarantee a quick payout. Also 99 Designs is a great resource for work.

As designers we are in a great position to reap some financial benefits from our talents. Take some action and start earning today.

Graphic designers need every advantage they can get in our competitive field. When choosing a graphic design school, do your homework and choose the best match for your unique situation. Get the most from your graphic design degree. Here are some qualities to look for in a design school:

• Find a design school that is career oriented. They offer a graphic design program that prepares you well for the workforce. They have professors that have worked in the field of graphic design and have been working in the field recently. As you know, the field of graphic design changes continuously!
• Find a design school that has a great reputation. Many schools have specialties. They may be stronger technically than creatively. Choose your graphic design school based on their strengths.
• Choose a school that offers hands on learning. Confirm that their projects are assignments that will actually happen in the real world. You want to gain experience as a student working on projects and having to please a client (teacher).
• Make sure the design school you choose is a state of the art facility. Confirm that they are working with the latest software and have work computers that can get the job done. Do some research to see what software packages graphic designers are using in the field. Confirm that the school offers training on the software.
• Take a tour of the design school. Schedule a tour of the school. Touring a school through orientation or a scheduled appointment is a great way to feel out the student life and schedule. Are you stimulated in the setting? Are the students excited about what they are doing? Do you like the projects they are working on and the work they are producing?
• Ask successful graphic designers where they went to school. Talk with professionals in the field and ask for their recommendations. If they are successful, chances are that they went to a school which prepared them well for the graphic design field.
• Choose a school that is convenient for you and works with your schedule. Do they offer online classes? Are the convenient? You will spend countless hours working on class assignments, you do not want inconvenience to drain away the hours in a day.
• Choose a design school that will line up internships. The internship is a valuable part of your education. Good design schools have internship programs set up with local design firms and advertising agencies. Talk with them about their internship programs before it’s time to start your internship. You don’t want to be caught at the last moment without an internship placement that fits your skills.

A good design school will put you on a successful career path. Choose them wisely and you will be rewarded with a successful graphic design career.

Graphic designers are in a great position to earn additional income by working as freelancers. I started freelancing on some projects that would naturally come to me since friends and associates knew I was a graphic designer. Since I worked full time at an advertising agency, I would work on these jobs in my free time, usually at home. Eventually these freelance jobs increased and I found it harder to complete my assignments in my spare time. As a result, I left my full time job and freelanced full time. My former employer, with whom I had worked for 6 years, was supportive of my move. So much so that they were my largest client for my first couple of years!

When I started my graphic design business in May of 2000, I was thrown into a new world of business administration. Business taxes, records, articles of incorporation, client billing were just a few of the new responsibilities I was inheriting. When I started my business, there were not nearly as many online resources to guide my way. Today there are many online solutions to these initial and ongoing tasks of running a graphic design business.

Here are some valuable online resources for making the transition to setting up your own graphic design business:

Taxes

Banking

Billing

Legal

Business structure

Insurance

Health Care

Set up your graphic design business the right way and you’ll be rewarded with a