NOTE: This method of estimation does require some level of experience with SharePoint

SharePoint branding is no small undertaking.  I have been through many of these projects and have quoted even more and over time you begin to get very comfortable with the elements that constitute a page in SharePoint.  Each one of these elements must be considered when trying to determine the scale of your project but once you have mastered all the pieces you can used them to your advantage to more accurately quote a project and break down your work into parts that are much easier to digest.

In order for this method to work for you, it’s necessary that you have enough experience with SharePoint to estimate how long it might take you to build each one of these items.  It also requires that you understand design process.  The list of required deliverables for a SharePoint branding project is not long and not rocket science but you need to understand how the design process will wrap around these deliverables and how much time must be allowed for these activities.  read more…

SharePoint is a widely used web and intranet platform across all industries and while there are many people out there who are SharePoint Experts in one form or another, I find the branding community is still quite small.  My theory is that being really good at branding SharePoint requires a unique mix of design skill, development savvy, usability chops, consulting acumen and an extraordinarily high tolerance for pain.  Okay, that last one is just me poking fun at the platform.  For those of us who have made a career of branding this wonderfully complex product, the challenges can be extreme but the potential rewards are great.  read more…

Ever want to start a new project but come up short on inspiration?  There is always the overused game and sci-fi themes or perhaps the hotrod and chopper style that we see over and over again on computer projects.  As a designer I think there are many many more places to find ideas than these overused and, dare I say, cliche sources.  With very little stretching you can explore all kinds of things to find forms colors and textures that might work on your next project.

Wether you’re working on a new art piece, customize computer, web site design…whatever the project, there is inspiration to be found all over the web.  Make sure to check out my tip for using Flickr to catalog your muses as you find them…at the end of this post. read more…