juniorkickstart

Inspiration!

Here are some websites that I really like.

abduzeedo
shorpy
thegiantpeach
karmaloop
urbanoutfitters

Do your research.

It's good to know what your client is going to like before you spend time on a project. It's also good to take a little time to sit back and click around online to find inspiration! New things that spark interest or new trends.

Spend time on your sketch.

Make sure that you have a good idea of what you're going to do if it is a design that will take a long time. Sometimes clients ask for very specific things and you spend hours and hours and then you show them and they hate it. Sometimes, that could have been helped by showing them a few ideas before you start! If it sounds like they are going to be impossible to impress, then it may be smart to pass the job along to someone else.