Set your work apart

[arobbert]

So, in the modern world we live it, what are you guys doing to set your work apart? I know some people, who use Revit Architecture to do construction documents, and they are dabbling in the Revit's render feature. The work they are doing is mediocre at best, but the company's they work for, see it as a viable solution for architectural illustrations. We have an architectural intern and she did an animation in SketchUp. The animation was bad, but the director of architecture was impressed. Also this past week, the owner of the company I worked for, asked me to do a rendering for a project we are designing. The owner of the company I work for is neighbors with this client, and was personally interested in them understanding the design, but the architect said that there isn't a budget for that. We are a high end design/build firm, but we think Revit and SketchUp is good enough.

Do we need to be sales people as much as, if not more than, illustrators? How do some companies get top dollar when other company's, who might do much better work, can't sell a job? We paid over 100 grand for our website, and recently had the web develop company make some minor changes, and the bill was over $7000.00. If you charge more do people think they are getting more? What is the social science? Is are industry shooting ourselves in the foot by advertising renderings starting at $295.00?

What are your thoughts?

Is the intern hot? That may affect the guys perception.

Sales skills are everything (being hot helps). That's how people sell lower quality for more money. A lot of customers can't see the difference between good work or bad work and respond better to schmoozing. Just like everything we buy, customers are buying the product or service based on a feeling that you sell them. There are thousands of talented artists out there who can't sell their work. It's the guys that know how to market themselves that make the good money. This is not second nature for most creative people. They feel that their work should be valued based on it's quality. Unfortunately being able to produce quality work is only about half the requirement for making money.

[glyph]

The nor-son website is funky but I went to the gallery and couldn't get back to the home page..
(man that's a bit too many pictures on some projects..) ..I recognise quite a few of the images Bobby!
A lot is built in Flash and Flash pages can cost more to build as they take longer to put together.. but that price is over the top, no two ways about it.
Sometimes people want to feel they are buying the Rolls Royce option.
I bet their sales people were damn hot - got any pictures of them?

[glorybound]

I fought against the flash, tooth-and-nails, but I lost. I touch almost all the projects that come through the door, so you might see a lot of museum board renders, that I have posted here. I'll look at not being able to get back to the home page, from the gallery, you should be able to get back. BTW.. that flash gallery wasn't part of the web build

[AJ Jefferies]

Please, please, please tell me you are joking about paying $100k for that site.

You are joking, aren't you?

[rivoli]

Please, please, please tell me you are joking about paying $100k for that site.

You are joking, aren't you?

not only that one, any website..

[glorybound]

nope... I am not joking. it was designed, and developed, by Space150

[Neilg]

oh man. they've got some cracking quotes on their site too.

[BBB3]

That graph is seriously ridiculous. I think I'll save it and keep it.

[AJ Jefferies]

Amazing...