However, thinking out of the box here is key. It’s the one thing you can do to put yourself on the map and really be one of those that really dare to be original. And original is what you want to be. Copying everyone else is just not cutting it anymore. And to be honest, doing what everyone else does is just plain boring and just puts more options on the table for the client to choose from. They want to know that they are using the best. That they will get the edge they are looking for.

Dare to be original. Dare to be the one putting your nose out there saying:

-”Hey, I am no designer. I create trends and I do it with a smile on my face and a fan club behind my back. I am just that rad!“

In this intense post I will be listing 10 ways you can really impress your clients and make them stick with you instead of looking for a new source of inspiration and gain. BUT, always remember that some clients just want the mundane and boring, chiseled in stone, creativity right out of the book. So if you’re fine with that…well, you probably shouldn’t do this.

Enjoy!

1. Name Your Dog

You just scheduled a new meeting with a client. It’s the unveiling of your work and they are coming down to your office for it. You know they have a lot of work left to be done, they just haven’t asked you to help them with it yet. If you have a dog this is a great time to benefit from it’s “cute” factor. If you have a habit of bringing your dog to work with you every day this is even better. With a few weeks of notice and scheduling you pull this one off quite easy and effective. Re-name your dog after your clients company. When they drop by, of course your dog will check out who’s knocking at the door, right? When you open and are welcomed they will say -”Aw, what a cute dog.” Here is your opening! Reply -”Yeah, “Digg” is a wonderful dog and companion. Just love him to death!” They are sure to take notice and the rest of the presentation will go as easy as pie.

2. Tattoo

OK, so this one is probably the one that has the most prolonged effect on you as a designer and it also depends on your level dedication and sacrifice you are prepared to put in to it. There is always the other approach using the rub on tattoos but that has a higher risk level. Not necessarily less humoristic but if you want to come across as a hardcore trend setter and a dare devil the second option isn’t to be recommended. Simply drag your behind to a tattoo studio, bring your clients logo (preferably a smaller sized one) and just go to town. Make sure you position it visible when wearing what you are usually wearing. When you have that last meeting to present your work make sure you make it clear where it is by gestures. When they notice, well you are hired. Either that or they think you’re nuts. But hey, you’re a trend setter, you get other clients right?

3. Base Jump

This will make a lasting impression and great publicity for your trend setting abilities. You WILL need to have some experience including sky jumping and base jumping. Don’t do this if you haven’t. Wouldn’t be a lasting promotion and your career as a designer and developer would be cut quite short. However, if you do have the skills to pull this one off it’s a major gain for you and your reputation. Pick a skyscraper in your city (if you have one). Assemble a large audience waiting on the street, including your client. Put on that jumpsuit of yours and prepare. Come up with a great and catchy line like -”We are working with the best, “Apple” is rockin’ than the rest!” Make sure you have a clear throat and that the lines are remembered correctly. When you jump, start shouting them over and over again. Everyone should now know you mean business.

4. Rock Move

Would you consider yourself to be a dare devil? Well, if you do this one is a sure winner. Anyone can do it really. If you dare that is. Create a big poster with your clients company name on it. Also create a black t-shirt with the company name on it as well. Plain white text in large letters. Now, you have to pick an event and a band with great publicity factor. TV event is to be preferred. Make sure you are there with plenty of time to spare and before most so you get a great spot and clear access to the stage. The show begins and there you are, at the peak of your scheme and ready to become a legend. At the right time jump up on the stage, hold that poster up high and your t-shirt visible for everyone. THERE! You have successfully shown your client you are the man for the job and that you will go to any extent to get them the boost and creativity they need and want.

5. Graffiti

For this one you have to be a little bit careful. It is illegal to put graffiti just anywhere but there are still places you can put it where your client will see it. First you need to create a nicely designed graffiti of their company name or logo. If they are coming to your office a good place would be in the lobby, right where they step in. That alone would make them impressed that you’ve put the energy and the dedication to pull it off. However, a much more impressive location would for example be the ad spots down in the subway, or the billboards in California for example. Make sure you book a nice restaurant where the billboard or the subway is on the way there. It is also a good conversation starter for the lunch and the continuation of your collaboration. They will sure see that you are the man for the job and start telling you about their different projects ahead.

6. Words In The Sky

If you have a big budget and want to impress a big client this option might be of great interest to you. There are a few places in the world where you can hire “Skywriters”. Pilots that skillfully puts words in the sky using smokers and a plane. The idea is to choose an outside hot spot restaurant or a cafe where you are sure your client will see the message in the sky. Schedule the date, time and location with the “Skywriter” and then make sure your client will be there on time. Let them be picked up or you go there yourself to pick them up. Whatever you can do to make sure all is in order when the show begins. Have the “Skywriter” text the company name or if it is a simple logo try and let the “Skywriter” draw it in the sky. This is a sure way to impress your client for more work. How much more creative can someone be and the publicity for the client is invaluable.

7. Toilet Paper

This goes for a more humoristic approach but with great result and probably one of the more lingering effects. What you have to do is to find a creator of toilet paper that has the option to put whatever text you want on it. When you have found one you need to do a little bit of detective work in order to pull this one off in the right way. You need to do some serious research and find out who is the biggest competitor to your client. Who posts the greatest threat for great business for your client. Print the competitors name on the a few rolls of toilet paper and put them visible and usable for the client in the rest room. When your client visits your office and ask to lend the rest room. There’s your winner strategy. He will enjoy the fact that he/she is wiping his/hers…well you get the picture. You are sure to get a laugh and a continued collaboration with your client.

8. Food Frenzy

Are you a regular visitor to a lunch restaurant right where your office is located? Well, if you have been for quite some time you are in luck. There is a great chance that you have a great friendship with the owner then. This is quite necessary to pull off this one. Schedule a lunch meeting with your client. Ask the owner of the place to re-name one of the dishes (preferably something the client might like, if you know what the client likes that is) after his company for the occasion and for the time being. Bring your client to the setup and watch him get impressed by the gesture. This also makes for a superb conversation subject and also works in your clients favor as everyone visiting the restaurant will see the name of the dish and that gives your client a bit of free promotion. This is sure to make your client see your ability to impress and will most definitely bring you two to further collaborations.

9. Client Friday

This one is plain and simple and not that much of a planner really. Just make sure you invite your client for a Friday beer at a local bar or restaurant. You should really make sure all your staff is around and available for the evening. Create some fliers and plaster it around the bar with your clients company name on them. Call the evening ““Stumble” Friday Beer” and you are all in the clear for some laughs. That is if your clients company name is “Stumble Upon“. It’s not more to it than that really. Just make sure though that you get a catchy name for the evening where their company name is embedded into a fun and interesting combination. Now make sure the client gets all the attention through out the night and that everyone is at its best mood and behaviour. This will put you in the pole position for the next up-coming project that your client is planning.

10. Trashcan Paint Job

Here is a more fun and creative approach to some impressive results. At your office you and your co-workers usually have a trash bin in the kitchen or at the some other public collective gathering place where everyone is more or less hanging around chatting or having lunch. If you do this one is great. You might need to do some research for this one as well just like the toilet paper approach. When you know your most desirable clients competitor, take the trash bin and set it up for a nice pain job that will have your client laugh out of his mind. Paint or air brush the logo and name of your clients biggest competitor on the trash bin in the style of “Microsoft Outgoing Mail” right where you put the trash. Your client is sure to notice the gesture and you will most definitely be in their inner circle of trust. If they won’t hire you for your creativity now, well then they probably just want the mundane and boring creativity never to lead to the edge of things.

So, ever so often you might think of yourself as a geek. A geek in all it’s awesomeness. (Why think otherwise?) But did you ever start thinking about WHAT kind of geek you are? Everything you do and say can be analyzed into one single, truly super powered, nerd stereotype.

Remember, there are no choosing here. You simply have to look to your characteristics and go by the charted and outlined types. Now don’t cheat!

The sky is the limit!

We have all felt it. We have all been thinking about it. The, in some cases, harmful amounts of man years we spend deciphering the ones and zeros by simple clicks on a computer screen. Too much time spent on something can drive some people to the very edge of insanity. So close to it that it no longer makes any sense. Not even in the slightest bit of clarity.

If you look at these 10, obvious, cases thinking -”That could so be me!” then you are truly in need of help. A lot of help!

WARNING: Pure Awesomeness Ahead!

Buckle up and hope for the best!

1. World of Warcraft

Do you play WoW (World of Warcraft)? Do you frenetically try to gain those extra gold bars in order to win that epic sword auction at the dwarf’s underground city? Do you crave it so much you skip a few hours of sleep just to get it. Well, in all fairness, you are safe and seemingly human. If your desk however looks like this…SEEK HELP!

2. Star Wars

So you watch Star Wars. You have seen it seeminglyendless amounts of times. You know Princess Leia’s bloodline down to her great great great grandparents birth location. You know better than to ask why George Lucas created those pre-quals that took a legendary concept into the sandbox only to be destroyed by fumbling CG artists that obviously should stay a few years in school. That’s OK! You’re in the clear of healthy. However, do you dream of making out with a Storm Trooper? If you do we suggest you call the nearest psychiatrist to schedule a session, like yesterday.

3. Doodle

Do you doodle when you are talking on the phone? Do you do those swirls and elaborate patterns only an absent and out of sync mind could ever think up? There are sure to be a science behind the doodles most people draw when stuck in a task and the only enhancing past time tools to be found around you is a pen and a pile of papers. No worries, you are absolutely normal doing it. However, if you find yourself doodling and by the end of that call your recently clean sheet of paper now looks like a drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci, then clearly you have too much time to spend and maybe you should also rethink your line of work.

4. Marathon

No restraints. No musts pinning you to the screen of your computer, You simply type away, play your favorite game or even just doing a bit of research for you school project. Sure thing can take a little longer than expected and by all means, things never seem to turn out exactly like you have planned when working with computers in the first place. You spend about 5-6 hours in front of the computer daily. No worries, you are the average. You are the norm in today’s society. However, when things start looking like this around your workstation maybe it’s a wake up call for you and you probably haven’t changed your underwear fro about three weeks! GET HELP! (Just a side note…where is the keyboard and mouse!!)

5. Summer

The birds are twittering. It’s getting warmer outside and you can feel the springtime in the air. Feelings all messed up in a favorable good way. Thoughts wonder off to the sandy beaches of the summer and you start thinking about how to take work with you outside into the freshness. Today’s cell phones or mini computers is a great way to accomplish the same tasks necessary to get that oh so important paycheck delivered to your very mailbox. All normal. However, if you find that your love for the ole stationary computer is far to great and you do just everything to get to stay at it’s side. We suggest you cancel your electricity and start living! Get A Life!!

6. Nintendo

The NES, legendary for its groundbreaking arcade feeling. Nintendo outdid themselves with that console for sure. The games were straight forward and in most cases super addicting. We’re sure that no one can even remember how much they spent on Super Mario Bros. when it came out. It was simply the best game ever. All categories.Yeah yeah, so you like playing Nintendo. You’re in the clear. The average person have at least once in their life seen or played Super Mario Bros. However, when your surroundings start looking like the largest academic library of Washington DC you probably should turn up your blinds and smell the coffee. (A side note…the banner hanging in the ceiling is just too hilarious. “You Better Get Them Before They Get You!” – In our eyes this person is already caught and way past that. LONG AGO!”)

7. Daytrading

You pride yourself by being able to sit at home day trading stocks till your eyes bleed. Every cent is important and you excessively use Excel documents to work out your profits each day of the week. Sometimes even hourly. An extra set of monitors make it easy to spot any new trends in the markets depending on the daily volume. You have full control over the madness going on in front of you on the screen second to second. All good! Congratulations to you! You are self made. However, when you start re-designing your living room into some twenty first century command center headquarters things have gone a little out of hand and it’s time for you to let go. REALLY let go. For your own good!

8. Action Figures

The endless endings you can create when playing with these puppets of men is just amazing. Their arsenal of gear is outstanding and in some cases pure ludicrous. If you have one really unique action figure consider yourself a lucky collector. Some of these wannabe heroes can be sold for quite a hefty price. Enough to actually buy yourself a life. A real one. But no worries. As kids we all wanted them and most of us played with them for hours. You’re perfectly normal. However, when your room starts looking like the plastic version of the Sistine chapel you should probably start looking for someone to tell you to get out more. If you till have any REAL friends left.

9. Power of Flight

Humanity have long wanted to dominate the skies. To feel the almost gravity free reliance of wings just like the birds. Countless flight simulators have been released for the average gamer that wants to try out their wings. To become the ultimate Red Baron of the sky. There are even joysticks to give you that extra realistic feeling. Buttons and nobs, relays and screens. You fanatically dream of controlling that aircraft yourself. Perfectly alright. There’s many with you. However, when you find yourself buying gear to build your own home flight simulator worth about as much as a real flight certificate. Well, then you should probably seek help. FAST!

10. Beer

Beer, the essence of life for many. The choice of drink at any sports event and bar for every after work pub visitor. We all more or less like beer. Some save the lids while some recycle the bottles like the good humanitarians they are. Pouring up beer in many countries are considered an art and to master it takes years. Fanatic you might say. Not at all! It’s actually what every average person would say. So you’re among the norm. However, when your hallway starts looking like a weird art piece at a surrealistic vernissage it’s time to get worried. Or rather, it’s time for you to GET A LIFE!

I was always looking at the kid next door in envy as he had one of those squared tube ones that you could really do some fancy tricks with. Well, it’s never too late is it?! I long for the day when I will step on that field with one of these accompanying me on the final day of all kites. This time I am sure to get some envy my way…right? (lol)

Now there’s only one question… What side are you on??

*Heavy breathing – “Luke, I am your father!” (Sorry, got carried away there…)

If you are like me and want to relive those days, however this time being the lord of the skies, you can get your own at ThinkGeek for the small price of $39.99 for each.

We dug up some of the most killingest computer modifications in digital history. Do you spot all the details? Enjoy!

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