We’re hiring! We’re seeking someone who’s interested in project management for the creative industry, particularly in the area of branding and web design. It’s currently a part-time role, but it’s growing into a larger time commitment–the more you bring to the role, the better it is for both of us!

We’d be a great fit for each other if…

• you’re interested in helping create purpose-driven design that helps independent businesses grow and prosper
• you know how to communicate high-level design and tech concepts in a way that’s easy for regular people to understand
• you’re inquisitive and ready to connect with clients and learn about what drives them, and what makes their work special
• you’re laid-back and maybe even a little geeky, but always on top of important details
• Bonus: if you have skills and experience in design or web development, we’d love to give you opportunities to get involved with design/production for our clients!
• Also a plus: you have interest in helping us develop workbooks and online courses centered around branding and web design

A taste of the things you’d be doing:

• Communicating with clients and keeping them informed and happy — strong written and verbal communication skills are a must, as is experience working with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and/or Microsoft Office.
• Gathering and sharing info and assets between clients and our team
• Setting clear expectations and keeping clients on track
• Task management — experience with Freedcamp, Basecamp, or similar is a plus!
• Helping to facilitate client consultations and face-to-face meetings
• Writing, editing and creating proposals for new clients
• Building the right team for our clients, by choosing and managing the right talent for our larger design and development projects
• Helping our clients get comfy with the WordPress Dashboard and facilitating in-person trainings when needed.
• Scheduling, photoshoot coordination, and other administrative tasks; keeping calendars up to date, invoicing and receiving payments — Quickbooks experience is a plus!
• Contributing to our blog and/or social media presence — if you have opinions about design, marketing, and creative, we’d love to have you share them!

We’d like you to be able to commit approximately 1 hour Monday-Friday mornings to the position. Your work hours may vary a bit from week to week, but you can generally expect to work at least eight to ten hours in a typical week. You’ll need to come to the studio for client meetings, so if you have a flexible schedule, that would be ideal! Outside of face-to-face meetings, this position is flexible, and much of the work can be done from your home or your favorite coffee shop, if you like. A fast internet connection is a must, however!

We believe strongly in working with local talent, and we want to grow and create opportunities in our own super-gifted Portland-y garden. With that in mind, we are only interested in candidates based in the Portland Metro area.

We’re a young company, and we have a lot of experience producing solid work, but our process is always evolving and improving. We welcome any wisdom/ideas that you can bring to the table.

So, if you’re a good listener and communicator, and this sounds like something you could grow into, let’s talk about it! Or, if you can think of a trusted human who’d be a good fit, we’d love to hear from them, too.

Rate is $18-25/hr, depending on experience.

How to apply:

• E-mail us at ask (at) upsweptcreative (dot) com and tell us why you’re awesome!
• Include your resume and any professional references you may have.
• Use the subject line: “I’m a Project Management Bad-Ass!” when you e-mail us.

Please be sure to apply by Friday, October 28th. Thank you!

It’s the end of a new client consultation. We’ve discussed your company and why you love what you do. We’ve talked about the features your new website will have. There’s just one question lingering: “How long will it take?”

The answer? “It depends.”

Not the most satisfying answer, we know! Timelines often vary at least a little, and it depends not only on the size and scope of the project, but also the flow of communication that you, the client, have with your creative team. While our creative team has internal milestones for our design and build process, there are also ways you can take an active role to help get your new website online on-time.

Communicate Your Timeline.

Have a desired timeline in mind? Let your creative team know up-front. Any good creative team will do its best to meet your timeline needs, especially if there’s a special event that corresponds with the launch of your website. Everyone would ideally like to have their website completed “ASAP”, so letting us know why ASAP is actually important to you helps us prioritize and plan. That way, we can ensure your project moves ahead at the right pace, and be certain that we’re all on the same page on launch day.

Make Time for Feedback.

When you embark on a major branding or web project, make sure you’re ready to set aside time to respond and give feedback. Your creative team wants you to go home happy at the end of the project, and that means you’ll need to let your team know what’s working for you and what needs refinement. The longer it takes for you to give feedback or sign off with your approval, the longer we’ll all have to wait before we can launch your new brand or web site.

Depending on what step of the process we’re on, you’ll want to reserve about an half an hour to an hour reviewing and responding to the work we send to you. And, if you’re the kind of person who likes to sleep on a decision before making a final call, build that into your timeline, too.

Don’t Forget About Content!

The minute you sign your creative project agreement, you should begin gathering and assessing what content you have to work with! Content is what drives any good creative project–especially when it’s a new web site design–and if you don’t already have strong photography, written copy, or content strategy, then you’ll have to create it. And, that can take way longer than you expect it to, so it’s good to start early.

Keep in mind that the content you create isn’t always set in stone–the web is a dynamic and ever-changing medium, and you can adjust content post-launch. But, if you’re able to make decisions about content early in the process, then your creative team can plan strategically to make the best use of your content. If content creation makes you feel stuck or overwhelmed, we offer copywriting, content strategy, and photography services to help you get it done right.

Going through a website redesign is a lot of work – for you and us. We know what it’s like to be a busy business owner, but ultimately, your new brand or website can’t help your business grow if it never goes live! It may take more of your effort than you’re expecting, but we’re always here to help guide you through the process. We want your business to look awesome, and we’ll be able to do that even better with your help!

Are you still struggling to get started? Share your struggle with us–we’d love to help you solve it:

Tell us about it! »

What ideas do you have to help make a timeline stick?

Have you used other strategies to keep projects on track? How do you prepare for a new project? What have you learned from past projects? Leave us a comment below and share what’s worked for you (and what hasn’t!).

Design Week Portland helped us take a break a few weeks back. This year’s opening party featured fun and games to help creative types unwind. For me, it can be hard to silence the little voice in the back of my mind, reminding me to send that email or make sure I did that thing I was supposed to do (remember that thing?!). But it was impossible to be distracted by projects and to-do lists while I was snuggling a 5-week-old puppy or defending my Jenga champion crown.

The next day, I felt a little lighter thinking of that adorable puppy and that silly 60-second portrait drawing. Those happy memories brought a smile to my face when I needed a boost, and I felt more ready to take on the creative challenges of my day. A little excitement can go a long way in replenishing those creative juices. People are like cars: we all need to stop and refuel from time to time.

This week, find time to play more. See what happens when you give yourself a recess. Does it make you a happier person? More creative? More inspired?

“The punch line is…” he said “Ethics have shifted from the tribe to the individual.”

What do donuts, ethics, and creativity all have in common? They were the bright stars of my Friday morning a few weeks ago at Creative Mornings PDX. The donuts, however, were easily outshined by the charming, charismatic speaker, Jelly Helm (there weren’t any jelly donuts, in case you were wondering).

At their core ethics and creativity seem to go hand in hand. The key to developing a creative mind, Helm suggested, lies in empathic understanding and listening. It’s as simple as noticing the world around you. If we can be alert and foster awareness, we can cultivate a sense of what the world needs. Listening is the superpower of the universe.

According to Helm, however, our happiness cannot be fulfilled by solely listening to what the world needs. It also has to fulfill our sense of purpose. Joy is the result of balancing our obligations to ourselves and to the world. He closed the morning with a poem by the Irish poet, John O’Donohue:

Beannacht / Blessing

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.