Running a design business, either as a freelancer or a small agency, is a big challenge. Getting the most efficiency out of your time is essential, but it’s also very difficult for those who wear many different hats, like freelancers. One of the most common ways of dealing with this challenge for efficiency is to outsource work to others. It could be anything from design work, front-end development, back-end development, marketing, to anything else that needs to be done.

There are some very strong reasons for outsourcing, and likewise the are some equally strong reasons against outsourcing. In this article we’ll look at those pros and cons, which will hopefully prove to be helpful to those who are trying to decide on whether or not to outsource.

Pros of Outsourcing

1. Leverage Your Efforts

Whether you are a part-time freelancer, full-time freelancer, or you run a design agency, the business aspect of your work is just as critical to your success as is your ability to design and/or code. One of the principles that is key to growing a business is that you need to be able to leverage your time and efforts. As a one-man operation you will only be able to earn money for the services that you can provide to clients yourself. But by expanding your business, in this case through outsourcing, you can leverage your efforts and make money based on the work of other people as well.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-outsourcing.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/15-amazing-twitter-tools-for-increased-productivity.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/15-amazing-twitter-tools-for-increased-productivity.html#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:07:26 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/15-amazing-twitter-tools-for-increased-productivity.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

Twitter provides designers (and other service providers) with the ability to communicate and network in a way that can be really productive for business. However, spending too much time or not having a specific purpose with social media can become a major drain on your time. There are plenty of tools and resources available that can help you to get more out of Twitter in less time. In this post we’ll profile 15 of those efficiency tools for Twitter users.

Connect with us on Twitter: @vandelaydesign.

HootSuite
HootSuite allows you to manage multiple social media profiles from one dashboard. It integrates with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and more. You can schedule tweets to be sent at a specific time in the future, monitor mentions, send and read direct messages, see how many people click on links in your tweets, and more. The features mentioned above are all available on the free plan. A premium plan is also available for $5.99 per month that ads features for teams and provides Google Analytics integration.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/15-amazing-twitter-tools-for-increased-productivity.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/design-inspiration-blog-design-showcase.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/design-inspiration-blog-design-showcase.html#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:20:52 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/design-inspiration-blog-design-showcase.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

Creating a quality blog design can be a significant challenge, because the design should add to the usability of the blog and should not overpower the content. Browsing through examples of beautiful blog designs can provide inspiration that can be put to good use in your own design work. In this post we’re showcasing 25 outstanding blog designs from various designers for your inspiration.

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]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/design-inspiration-blog-design-showcase.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/20-of-the-best-jquery-slideshow-plugins.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/20-of-the-best-jquery-slideshow-plugins.html#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:11:06 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/20-of-the-best-jquery-slideshow-plugins.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

jQuery sliders, slideshows, and galleries are extremely common on a variety of different types of websites. Portfolio sites, blogs, e-commerce sites, and about any type of site can make use of a jQuery slideshow. Fortunately, there are a number of great plugins already coded that make it easy to add a slideshow in a matter of minutes. Each one offers different features and has it’s own style. In this post we’ll showcase 20 jQuery plugins that you may want to use for adding a slideshow in your own projects.

Slides
Slides is a jQuery slideshow plugin built for simplicity.Features include captions, multiple slideshows, and more.

]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/20-of-the-best-jquery-slideshow-plugins.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-design-a-dribbble-style-homepage-layout.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-design-a-dribbble-style-homepage-layout.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:10:17 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-design-a-dribbble-style-homepage-layout.html

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The popular design network Dribbble has grown substantially in just a few short years. Graphics designers and illustrators from all over the world have flocked onto the web seeking invites. But aside from the exclusivity their layout design has become a prominent factor of the entire branding.

I love the simplistic nature of their gallery-style photo boxes. It matches well with a community of designers excited to share their latest pixels with the world. In this tutorial I’ll go over techniques for constructing a similar design in HTML5 and CSS3. You can build a very similar page structure with just bare-bones essential CSS. Yet when we can utilize new browser-supported properties like box shadows the process becomes much more captivating.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-design-a-dribbble-style-homepage-layout.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-create-a-set-of-highlighter-brushes-for-illustrator.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-create-a-set-of-highlighter-brushes-for-illustrator.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:35:07 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-create-a-set-of-highlighter-brushes-for-illustrator.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

A few months ago at Vandelay Premier we recently released a set of highlighter brushes for Adobe Illustrator,and in this tutorial we’ll show how you can accomplish the same thing on your own. We’ll scan some lines made by a highlighter and that will give us a nice brush for using whenever highlighter or marker effects are needed.

What you will need to complete this tutorial:]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-to-create-a-set-of-highlighter-brushes-for-illustrator.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/ultimate-roundup-of-photoshop-custom-shapes.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/ultimate-roundup-of-photoshop-custom-shapes.html#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:11:56 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/ultimate-roundup-of-photoshop-custom-shapes.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

Photoshop presets like brushes and patterns get more attention, but custom shapes can be equally useful. Because custom shapes are vectors, they can be scaled to larger sizes with no decrease in quality.

In this post we’ll link to some of the best custom shapes sets that can be downloaded for free. As always when working with freebies, be sure to read the terms of use or license details to make sure that you are using it in accordance with the designer’s guidelines.

You may also be interested in:]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/ultimate-roundup-of-photoshop-custom-shapes.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/showcase-of-outstanding-portfolio-websites.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/showcase-of-outstanding-portfolio-websites.html#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:13:05 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/showcase-of-outstanding-portfolio-websites.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

Portfolio websites are a major marketing tool for most designers and design agencies. The portfolio site allows you to showcase your work, provide information about your services, and receive inquiries from those who are interested in your services. Portfolio sites are often examples of quality design work, as every designer wants to make a positive impression through the design and usability of the portfolio site.

In this post we’ll showcase 30 fresh examples of well-designed portfolio sites for your inspiration.

Aylis]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/showcase-of-outstanding-portfolio-websites.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/25-amazing-nightscape-photographs.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/25-amazing-nightscape-photographs.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:20:14 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/25-amazing-nightscape-photographs.html Get a free icon and vector bundle (worth $54) just for subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

The same scene captured in a photo at night will have a completely different feel than one taken during the day. Night photos can be intriguing and amazing, but the low levels of light make them a challenge to master.

In this post we’ll showcase 25 examples of beautiful nightscape photos taken by various photographers. To see any of them in a larger size simply click on the image to be directed to the source.

You may also be interested in Showcase of Night Photography.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/25-amazing-nightscape-photographs.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/31-super-unique-and-functional-website-navigation-menus.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/31-super-unique-and-functional-website-navigation-menus.html#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:12:43 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/31-super-unique-and-functional-website-navigation-menus.html

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Web navigation is a vital piece to any layout. Designers have known this for decades, but not all menus are built equally. It’s very important to distinguish between design and functionality. Some web designers understand this and attempt to better their own skills. Meanwhile the cream of the crop can incorporate both design and functionality with ease.

I have collected this brilliant set of 31 website menus with amazing UX and aesthetics. You need to capture your visitor’s attention and offer them a simple solution for navigating your pages. I hope this collection can provide inspiration for upcoming web designers in the field of user experience.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/31-super-unique-and-functional-website-navigation-menus.html/feed 0