Success is such an intangible concept! How do you even define success? Is success based on how much money you make or is it defined by the satisfaction you get from your work? Lauren Marie and Tara were discussing the concept and decided to start a meme about it. Basically, they want to know “when do you consider yourself a successful designer?”

Personally, I am extremely flattered that I was tagged twice for this one, because there are days where I seriously doubt my title of “designer”. Thank you Tara and Lisa Sabin-Wilson for the tag.

1. How did you get started in the business?

At a former employer, I was known for irritating the publications department to no end when I refused to follow their boring WordPerfect guidelines. I was a rebel and used Microsoft Word - I added white space, graphics, changed up fonts - real cutting edge stuff, you know.

Once my first child was born (almost 11 years ago) I couldn’t bear the thought of putting him in daycare so I decided to find a way to work from home. (read the entire saga here) I did a lot of MS Word document support, desktop publishing and a bit of logo design. Mind you I was completely self-taught (just like Lisa).

As my client list grew and the internet became more popular, I started to build web sites, too. When challenges arose, I did the research and found a way to do it myself. Like anything else, the more you do something the better you get at it.

2. What kept you going in those early years?

In the early years I kept going by taking a variety of projects - many that I didn’t really enjoy, but they were projects I could do from home at my own pace and they paid the bills.

The other thing that has always kept me going is just the desire to keep trying new things and the challenge of a new project.

3a. Did you ever feel like you weren’t good enough or you would never make it in this industry?

Absolutely.

3b. How did you work through that?

One of the things that has helped me get through times of self-doubt is my constant need for learning. I try to take client criticisms and tweak requests as opportunities to learn. For a time I kept a folder of designs and ideas that I liked. It really helped me get focused and develop my own style.

4. Do you look at others today and think “Wow, I wish I were that good”?

Everyday. But then I step back and remind myself that we each have our own style. I know my clients and what they need. If I don’t feel that I can give my clients the level of design that fits their specifications and budget, I have a list of other designers I can call on for assistance and/or collaboration.

5. How do you measure success?

Measuring the success of a designer is so tough. If the client or audience you are designing it for is happy, then you have been successful. If you continue to get requests for work, then you must be successful. Awards and accolades from your peers are nice, too. And of course, if you can make a living as a designer, then success is the right word.

6. By your standard, do you think you are successful?

I have been very fortunate to develop a steady flow of clients and work over the past 11 years. Due to my skills, I have been able to work from home and make more money than I could working for a local employer. Since I have reached the point where I could not afford to STOP designing and working from home, I must consider myself successful.

Everyone is welcome to join in this meme, but there are a few other designers I am going to personally invite:

• Randa Clay
• Sarah Lewis
• Dawud Miracle
• Brian Gardner
• PopStalin

From time to time I get clients who have logos or print materials that have specific PANTONE® colors associated with them and they want those colors portrayed in their web color scheme. I just started a project that fits this bill and went looking for a conversion tool this morning.

PANTONE® has a product that will allow you to enter a Pantone color and retrieve its RGB, CMYK or Hexadecimal code, but it is $49.95. I’m too cheap and impatient for that today.

Instead, I found a convenient chart at Sandaleo that lists the PMS color, the RGB components, the Hex # and shows the color all in one place.

While there is no guarantee on the exact color match due to monitor settings and the nature of the web in general, this is a pretty handy tool for quick references.

Other tools in my color toolbox include ColorSchemer Online and Kuler. Do you know of any others to add to my collection? If so, please leave a comment and let me know.

Oh, I had better start saving my pennies!! Adobe is releasing Creative Suite 3 today with orders beginning to ship at the beginning of April. The new version is their most dramatic release in 25 years and CS3 will be available in a variety of configurations to best suit users’ needs.

I am so excited because all my favorite tools will be together as one giant package! I will get Fireworks and Dreamweaver along with Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Contribute and Flash. I will be getting the upgrade for my Mac version of CS2 so instead of setting me back $1500 - it will cost a mere $500. I am sure I will get my money’s worth, though.

In reading Adobe’s press release, I am most excited about the cross-platform capability:

The majority of Adobe Creative Suite 3 editions will be available as Universal applications for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs and support Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista™. Customers will experience increased levels of performance and speed running Creative Suite 3 natively on Intel-based Macintosh systems and the latest Windows hardware.

“Creative Suite 3 is the biggest launch in Adobe’s 25 year history and a milestone for the creative industry,” said Bruce Chizen, chief executive officer at Adobe. “This release reflects the powerful integration between Adobe and Macromedia and how our products bridge the gap between designers and developers. With new workflows that streamline collaboration and impact the development of rich content, designers and developers now have the creative license to engage audiences across virtually every medium.”

If you don’t already have an Adobe/Macromedia product to use for the upgrade, I recommend purchasing an older version (legal copy) off eBay and then using that for the upgrade purposes.

Has anyone been involved in the Beta testing of this product? I would love to hear your insights. Is it as good as it sounds?