"...Graphic design is a popular art and
a practical art, an applied art and an ancient art.
Simply put, it is the art of visualizing ideas....”
– Jessica Hefland's for the AIGA
info
Read information about web sites | logos | print.
I worked as an Associate Art Director and Designer for a full service advertising agency in 1999 and developed 9-VOLT Design formally three years later in Asheville, NC.
I have since lived and worked in Boston, New York, and now live and work in Boulder County, Colorado.
I provide creative services to a growing client base of over 75 small businesses and individuals across the United States.
My Work Philosophy
One benefit to having a single force behind the development of your visual identity(including your web site, logo, marketing strategy, print advertising, etc.) is 
the assurance
that your identity -- no matter where your patrons find
it -- adheres to a smartly developed and consistent aesthetic. This
is where memorable, attractive branding starts, which is
the underlying principle in all of my work.
Being nimble and listening well are traits I value and depend on during all projects, regardless of size and scope, from concept to completion. I have no trouble distilling unique, concrete, educated conclusions from abstract thoughts or gut "feelings", which is how design begins for a lot of people.
9-VOLT Design is a responsive, capable and well-resourced business with a proven track record of client successes. I deal with much less overhead and red tape than a larger creative agency, which means I can offer personalized and professional attention to every project, every step of the way at a very fair price.
My Client Base
Internet connections and cell phones make my work efficient and portable, which ensures that no matter where you live, no matter where you work or play, all projects can proceed at a good clip and will be completed in a timely manner.
I don't have the pleasure of meeting with all of my clients, but if you live in the Boulder, CO area I'd love to meet with you in person to discuss your project in detail.
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Web Sites
Information & Costs
Getting a web site up and running requires three things, all of which I can do for you. You must 1) buy a domain name, 2) pay for web site hosting so your site's live and available to the public 24/7, 365 days a year and 3) create the web site itself.
A domain name is your web address, e.g. amazon.com or www.yourcompany.net. Domain names are yours to use for as long as you decide pay for them. They cost $15.00 a year.
The advantages of hosting your web site with me are many. First off, it's easier for me to manage! You get reliability, speed and technical expertise through the larger company I contract with, PLUS responsive, personalized, "human" support through me, any time you need it. This includes setting up email accounts, dealing with web mail, domain forwarding, etc. etc.
Basic hosting plans start at $12.95/month ($155/year.) E-commerce packages go up from there. Please contact me for specific estimates, which will vary according to your needs.
I can also set up and host sites that YOU can control -- e.g. a real estate business that manages and posts their own listings. See www.ShepardProperties.com for an example of a 9-VOLT.com design that's actually maintained by a client. Prices for these types of solutions are individually quoted; please contact me for details.
No matter what you need, any domain name and hosting solution can be managed and renewed through me, annually.
Some basic hosting capabilities:
• Up to 10 gigs of disk space
• 99.9% uptime
• up to 100,000MB of traffic
• Frontpage Extensions
• Unlimited Email Accounts
• Daily Data Back-Ups
• Client-Accessible Control Panel (stats, hits, email access)
• Web Mail
• CGI, PHP, MySQL
• Spam/Virus ProtectionA few E-Commerce capabilities:
• Works for tangible products OR immediate, protected digital downloads
• Supports multiple payment processors
• Supports variants for tangible products (colors, sizes, etc.)
• Shipping and packaging calculator
• Sales tax and VAT calculator
• Inventory management
• Product promotion
• Autoresponder, updates & newsletters
• Sales tracking, built in support for Google Analytics
• Customization
• Logs & e-mail notification
Building the web site itself is a shared job. Primarily, clients organize page by page their photos, copy, forms, merchandise and any other elements they'd like to include in their web site.
While or after that's being done, I begin the work of designing and building the web site -- including any recommendations for thorough S.E.O./marketing assistance up front to help optimize or organize your project.
Initial consultations via email, phone or in person are always free and a great way to streamline your needs and determine how best we can help you. After we discuss your project, you will receive a written estimate of costs and a work summary. I ensure all terms are mutually accepted before any job begins. Once things are agreed upon,I get to work.
Because every project is different the cost of creating a web site varies greatly. My hourly rate is $95, but I've recently been offering a sliding scale. Most basic web site projects I handle come in at or around $2000, but the cost varies greatly on what kind of site you require. I request a portion of the project cost upfront to get things started. The remaining portion(s) are due upon completion.
For web site maintenance and other types of ongoing work I charge hourly at $95/hour and invoice clients roughly monthly.
Payment is expected within a week of being invoiced.
Logos
Information and Costs
Consider that your logo will become a powerful and flexible branding tool from which you'll get a lot of mileage. To a large extent, the look your logo conveys will propel subsequent projects (think web site, ads, business cards, etc.) thereby saving me time and you money.
Designing a logo is a base fee of $700.
Your price will vary depending on the specifics of your project -- I have worked to finish logos-in-process for less than $700 or created multiple, complimentary logos for businesses for more than $700. Note that these are industry "standard" prices, but sliding scale applies here, too!
The work we put into creating your logo includes (but isn't limited to) all initial meeting(s), brainstorming sessions via email or phone, and the time our creative forces spend in books, trade publications or design magazines -- all of which help articulate a notion of your identity. We designers honor the fact that inspiration comes from anywhere, anytime so we work on logos somewhat "off the clock" so to be as open to creative impulse as possible. We always urge clients to do the same.
The work of creating your logo begins afterwards.
Over the course of days (or weeks) I will sketch, design and send unlimited digital working drafts of ideas until a single "look" is agreed upon. She then makes all edits and revisions to it until a version is approved by you. Your logo is then complete.
I will (at your request) burn various versions of your logo to a CD and send them to you, or (more commonly) upload them to a secure drop box online for you to download; you'll have full color and grayscale composites saved in formats suitable for both web and print use.
Finished logos belong to you and can be used in any way you wish.
Future tweaks or changes to a logo that is completed and paid for will be treated as a new job and billed accordingly at a rate of $95/hour.
Payment is expected within a week of being invoiced.
Print
Information and Costs
I can, from concept to creation, originate your company's business cards, letterhead, a menu, stickers, tees, promotional brochures and booklets, a convention banner, etc. I will fully coordinate all aspects of your printing for you unless you would like otherwise.
I am also happy to offer editing or copy writing services.
Initial jobs for clients (new business cards, a brochure and a post card, e.g.) are typically estimated up front while ongoing jobs (weekly ads within an established campaign, e.g.) are billed by the hour at $95/hour. I send invoices roughly monthly, depending on work flow.
Payment is expected within a week of being invoiced.
How To Get Started
If you are interested in discussing a project or have any questions about how 9-VOLT operates, please contact me at your convenience.
Send Feedback!
Quick, easy and always appreciated...the 9-VOLT comment form is here.
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The following commentary is taken from artist Jessica Hefland's film: What is Graphic Design
"Graphic design is the most ubiquitous of all the arts. It responds to needs at once personal and public, embraces concerns both economic and ergonomic, and is informed by many disciplines, including art and architecture, philosophy and ethics, literature and language, science and politics and performance.
Graphic design is everywhere, touching everything we do, everything we see, everything we buy: we see it on billboards and in Bibles, on taxi receipts and on web sites, on birth certificates and on gift certificates, on the folded circulars inside jars of aspirin and on the thick pages of children's chubby board books.
Graphic design is the boldly directional arrows on street signs and the blurred, frenetic typography on the title sequence to E.R. It is the bright green logo for the New York Jets and the monochromatic front page of the Wall Street Journal. It is hang-tags in clothing stores, postage stamps and food packaging, fascist propaganda posters and brainless junk mail.
Graphic design is complex combinations of words and pictures, numbers and charts, photographs and illustrations that, in order to succeed, demands the clear thinking of a particularly thoughtful individual who can orchestrate these elements so they all add up to something distinctive, or useful, or playful, or surprising, or subversive or somehow memorable.
Graphic design is a popular art and a practical art, an applied art and an ancient art. Simply put, it is the art of visualizing ideas.”
– Jessica Helfand
Link
to AIGA and Jessica Hefland's short movie about graphic design
