With the positive response to the previous article about money I thought I would make a little extra effort to cover off a few more requests as part of the feature. So the second article for the collection is going to be on the not-so-mind-blowing-but-useful topic of invoicing. To start, it’s good to note that there seems to be a lot of confusion about making such a document but the basic invoice involves just a few key bits of information. If you have these basics covered off then there is a good chance you’ll be paid without too much difficulty.

First things first. Get your document titled correctly. It’s an invoice, so it should say so nice and clearly at the top of the page. This is handy for those poor Account Directors swimming through the enormity of paper accumulating on their desk. Next up is the persons address as although we live in a digital age it is still a requirement (and good practice) to associate the invoice to an address.

Then we get to your personal information. These things are your address, the date, your bank details and the amount. Once you start operating on a level dealing with advertising agencies then it may slowly start to expand. The first slightly foreign thing to add is a ‘PO’ number. This is a ‘Purchase Order’ which means you are in their system and they have allotted your job with some money and a reference number. It’s always useful getting this at the beginning of the job so when you have to sit twiddling your thumbs for 60 days (some advertising agencies payment terms & legal obligation) it’s good to be able to date your invoice from the supplied PO number. If you are wondering about VAT then I was always told the basic rule of thumb is that if you aren’t considering buying a second car they you need not worry about it. Below this information you just need to list your bank information. For international payments you may need to stop in to your local branch to get your IBAN/BIC or Swift number. This is basically your account number with some extra numbers and letters so that any money from over seas has required information to find it’s way to your bank account.

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Open Studio Club went live last Friday. It’s a website that lets creative people swap or rent studio spaces around the world. It’s a bit like couch surfing for creative studios.

So, if you’re thinking of working for a bit in Berlin or New York next year, Open Studio Club can help find a space.

We need your support to get it going. Please upload a studio, or if you know of anyone who might be interested please pass it on.

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For the first section on this new article I thought it best not to dwell on all involved in hunting for a location but instead go back a little earlier to organising your cash. I’ve spoken to a few friends who over the last year or so who had decided to go freelance and a very small amount of them had any clue how to account their earnings. I’m not anywhere close to being an accountant but here are a few things I’ve learnt which I wish someone had told me. The first is that you don’t have to get too serious from the off. You are allowed a personal income allowance of £6,475 for 2011 and £7,475 for 2012 which isn’t the smallest amount in the world, being as us designers aren’t the richest of people. (I’m sorry this ia bit UK-centric but I’m sure similar laws apply elsewhere, or at least someone disgruntled will be happy to comment).

Although, this is legal I am a firm believer in doing it right from the beginning. So this is getting an accountant, setting yourself up with a proper trading name, re-conciling your accounts etc. etc. For me this was a terrifying prospect and for the most part, still is. Quite early on a friend told me about a company called ‘Crunch’. Now I wouldn’t really think to post that on FFF although from personal experience it is the best thing I decided to do over the last year. I paid a flat fee of around £100 and was setup as a Limited Company (Being a limited company is recommended for lots of reasons). This means you get a little certificate to say you are now a company Director. If like lots of designers nowadays you dabble in lots of projects it is worthwhile setting up as “Your Name Ltd.” which quite a few companies do even though they trade under a snazzy psueodonym. Their monthly fee is £70. This means you get to process all your invoices online and keep a record of Tax. It may sound a little daunting for the newly independant but it is certainly very handy getting a personal accountant assigned to you to ask any question you may have. As an example, I constantly e-mail mine trying figure out what I can claim for. The last thing you do is ring HMRC and say the magic words “I am a company Director” and they update your information and prepare you for self assessment.

After this. Congratulations, you are now a business.

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The good folk at Herb Lester research, write, print and distribute maps and guides to the world’s great cities. They work with many exceptional illustrators and designers (Telegramme, Lord Dunsby, Jim Datz etc.) and there’s a new little charmer added to the range each month. Buy them from their website, or better still subscribe! Hit-tip to the awesome Ace Jet 170 for the pics..

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How often do you print something out and throw it directly into the bin? Or how often do you note down a meeting or appointment on a blank piece of paper?

The guys behind RePrint believe every piece of paper landing in your bin should have had it’s purpose. That’s why they’re putting together a set of templates that you can print onto the reverse of your misprints.

To kick things off RePrint are releasing 2 quarterly calendars, a weekly and a monthly version. Download and print them as often as you want to. All for free!

Sign up to their newsletter to get an update as soon as the next monthly calendars are available for download and when they release more templates.

They are also looking for people to send us a pic of your calendars in use.

RePrint is a joint project by FFF’s own Glenn Garriock & Modus Operandi who have been using the calendars for the past 2 years now and thought they’d share them, as an early Christmas present if you like.

Each quarterly calendar will also showcase a different typeface. This first edition features the Runda Typeface by p.s.type.

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Found this great little article; A Look Inside the Sketchbooks of 12 Top Designers. Lovely images and interesting insights into the sketching habits of design icons such as Stefan Sagmeister, Milton Glaser and Pentagram New York’s Michael Beirut — taken from a new book by Steven Heller and Lita Talarico Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers. It’s all there, from loose sketches and doodles to carefully constructed layouts. Great coffee break viewing.

(via www.fastcodesign.com)

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It’s been over a year since we last introduced any new FFF authors, then two come along at once. Joining the team are Ray Campbell Lupton, currently the Digital Creative Director of D8, and Graphic and Interaction Designer, Tom Vining, founder of Tokyocube, now running More Air, London.

We’re very excited about the international and professional experience both Ray & Tom bring to the site, which can only help make FFF a deeper, better resource for you folks!

Welcome aboard guys.

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The third dimension, you’ve seen it in the cinema, it’s making its way into TV, and – in what could be a world first – it is now part of your favourite design blog.

At FormFiftyFive we love innovation and have been working with 3DTV specialists 3D-Rabbit for the past 4 months to develop the worlds first 3D website. We will be issuing our readers with special anaglyphic stereogram glasses which will allow you to see all your favourite design inspiration in luscious 3D quality.

We will be testing this new development over the next few weeks and will be launching the full 3D site and issuing our glasses at the end of April.

As an initial test, we’ve added 3D toggle at the top of the page – please let us know what you think.

Watch this space.

(RSS readers – come visit the site for a change to experience the extra dimension)

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Grafik magazine recently interviewed FFF as part of their Site Specific section. Glenn took some time out to talk to Caroline Roberts about the site, his background and why he now lives in an aircraft hanger.

Illustration by Parko Polo.

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Grafik Magazine: Tell us a bit about your background and what you do now.

Glenn Garriock: I was born in Hannover Germany and spent my childhood growing up there. My parents are originally from Scotland so when I finished School I moved back to the UK to complete my Highers and get into Art College. I studied Graphic Design at Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee and worked in Edinburgh for 3 years before making the decision to set up my own studio in Germany.

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What was the first magazine you read on a regular basis, and which ones do you read now?

I collected and read a lot of comics as a kid, so I didn’t get into magazines until later. My first regular purchase must be LoDown – www.lodownmagazine.com

These days I read anything from Grafik, Monocle, Creative Review & Computer Arts to Human Globaler Zufall, Neon, Novum & Null Acht.

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When and why did you start FormFiftyFive? 

On a cold Wednesday morning on 31st January 2007 Jack Daly and myself decided that we needed an easier way to archive all the links to exciting work that we kept sending each other. A year ago we asked Alex Nelson to sprinkle a little of his magic dust over the site and 3 years in we now have 34 contributors from around the world.

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Is it your first foray into blogging?

Yes indeed.

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How did you choose its name and how has it changed since you started it?

It just kind of happened. We try not to talk about the dark day on which I suggested to rename FormFiftyFive…

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Who originally designed it, and how often do you redesign the site?

The current site is a joint effort by Alex Nelson, Jack Daly and myself. If and when we have time we try to give the site a little facelift once a year.

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How many people contribute to it?

34 more or less.

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Do you run or write for any other blogs?

Just a personal blog for bits and pieces I find interesting or useful that don’t quite make it onto FFF.

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How often do you update FormFiftyFive and what percentage of your time is spent running your blog?

FFF is updated daily and personally I’d say I spend about 1 hour a day on the admin side.

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How do you juggle your blog and your day job?

Haha, yeah that can be tricky. My previous employer saw the benefit of me spending time on FFF and now that I run my own studio I try to force myself not to get carried away (hiding all apps with an internet connection from the dock is a good trick).

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Do you blog at the weekend or when you’re on holiday?

Weekend: Yes
Holiday: No (I’d get a slap)

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How many people look at your site on a regular basis?

We average around 5000 unique visitors a day.

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How do you make sure you get original content?

It doesn’t always have to be original, if something is genuinely good you see it spread across all the blogs in a mater of hours. And sometimes it’s nice to revisit a piece of work or a designer that we featured years ago.

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Have you ever been tempted to make FormFiftyFive into a commercial proposition?

We do have supporters that help pay us pay our ever increasing hosting costs, but other than that all additional funds are put into print projects and exhibitions.

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Have you considered doing a publication or events?

We did release a small printed publication last year called Six by Ten, which we’d like to continue… it’s just a matter of finding the time.

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Which sites do you visit on a regular basis and do you ever leave comments? If not, why not?

My GoogleReader tells me that I follow 176 sites most of which I’ll skim through. The ones I spend a little more time on include (in no particular order)…

http://www.aisleone.net

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew

http://www.designassembly.org

http://www.grafikcache.com

http://www.iainclaridge.co.uk/blog

http://madebysix.wordpress.com

http://www.itsnicethat.com

http://reformrevolution.com

http://thestrangeattractor.net

http://www.thinkingforaliving.org

http://www.archdaily.com

http://www.wearebuild.com/blog

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog

http://visuelle.co.uk

http://siteinspire.net

http://binkythedoormat.com

http://theblackharbor.com

http://www.designmadeingermany.de

http://www.grafikmag.com

http://www.ted.com

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some… apologies if you’re not on this list

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Do you ever stop thinking about graphic design?

No, but I don’t mind that. The tricky part is not to others know how obsessed you are. I try to stop myself from laying out my food in an orderly manner or writing notes in columns.

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Tell us a bit about your workspace

It’s difficult to explain in words… I live and work in Germany in one of 16 old Aircraft Hangars formerly occupied by the British Army
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenngarriock/sets/72157619194832889/detail/

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What are the best and worst things about running a blog?

+ You get to know an incredible bunch of extremely talented people that make you want to work even harder to become as great as they are.
– I sometimes feel visually overloaded.

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Where do you go for inspiration?

For a walk, a chat with my father, Berlin and of course FFF!

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What’s your favourite non-screen-based activity?

Sleeping, highly underrated.

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What’s your guilty internet pleasure?

http://www.youtube.com/show/insidegaming

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Will you be ordering an iPad?

Nope. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to own one, but I don’t see the use for me personally.

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What do you think of crowdsourcing?

There’s certainly a place for crowdsourcing in a sense of collaboration, but I’m against the use of crowdsourcing in Design. Nothing good ever comes of multiple parties competing for the attention of one client.

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What’s next for you?

Working closely with my brother on a new Gym he’s opening over the next 3 months or so. I’ll be able to live through the start-up of a company and hopefully have a better understanding of what some of our clients have to go through when they set up on their own.

After that I’m hoping to take some time to complete a few projects that have been on the back burner for a while now. One of which is of course a redesign for FormFiftyFive.

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