I was born in Aberdeen in Scotland, but I grew up in the Hague in Holland, then I spent most of my school years in Manila in The Philippines.

How long have you been working as a designer?

Well I started drawing like most kids at a very early age, then got myself into all the advanced art classes at school. Designing was really just the next step up from that as I already had a very comprehensive background with computers (it runs in the family). Professionally speaking I’ve been doing paid design work for about 5 years now.

What kind of art do you prefer?

Great question, I’m not actually sure! Art has always frustrated me because of its lack of a (fixed) meaning. Almost everything to do with art is open to interpretation, but I really prefer stuff to have a set message – which is why I love design. In terms of design style across a range of mediums, I’m a big fan of modernism and minimalism but neither of those translate across to the art world, where it all starts getting very abstract.

Freelancer or professional webdesigner? May you give us your opinions?

I don’t really consider myself to be a freelancer. While I do most of the client work that comes my way, and I work from a home office – I’m also incorporated as a limited company, and I regularly contract/subcontract/employ other people. Eventually I’d like to grow my business(es) to a size where I have an office and full time staff, so I’d say that I’d describe myself as more of an entrepreneur.

Have you ever use a stock photo? Where have you bought it?

I have occasionally bought a few icons from istockphoto.com – usually I buy stock as and when it’s required for a project. I also very much enjoy taking my own photos, so I try and do that whenever possible.

What are your plans to the future? What work are you going to?

I have a lot of client work on at the moment, so much in fact that I’m getting very little sleep. For the rest of 2010 the plan is launch a side-business that I’ve been working very hard to get off the ground. Eventually I hope that will become my main business and main source of income, but that’s about all I can say about it right now.

And last an easygoing question. What meaning do photos have for you?

I think that this depends a lot on the photo, but generally speaking I love them. In the world of web design it certainly makes a big difference when you come across a site with professional photography.

Special bonus 2010

“Help us spread the word! Pixmac has an amazing new affiliate program! You will earn $100 for every affiliate you refer to Pixmac that generates $100 profit!”

1. Revenue share

For those of you that want to profit from every picture download.

40% – 60% of Pixmac’s share with every download from your affiliate referral for 4 years.

There are 3 levels of commission rates for Revenue Share:
40% when your profit reaches $0 – $1,999
50% when your profit reaches $2,000 – $9,999
60% when your profit reaches $10,000 and more

2. Fast money

20% – 40% of gross sales beginning with the very first purchase from your affiliate referred customer. Earn more with more clicks!

There are 3 levels of commission rates for Fast Money:
20% for 1-500 clicks,
30% for 501 to 5000 clicks,
40% for 5001 + clicks.

The level is always applied to the next month.
Cookies are always tracked for 30 days and payout begins after $50.

What do you like about our new affiliate programs? What do you dislike? Please comment with your tips and ideas! We promise we will consider your suggestions when we create the new Pixmac Affiliate version 3.0!

Pixmac offers an image collection of more than 10 million pictures, Fotolia, Dreamstime, Image Source, Corbis, Image100, Zefa, Moodboard, Somos, InsideOutPix, and Imageshop all on one site!

With the new Visual Similarity search tool, you can rapidly search through the mammoth Pixmac collections and instantly find the perfect picture!

Pixmac in cooperation with the Ximilar initiative created a Visual Similarity tool so there is an optimized, fast, intuitive, and accurate way to search millions of images rapidly based on image attributes like composition, shape, color, texture, and objects.

Designers, creative agencies, universities, writers, publishers, advertising agencies, media, marketing and business professionals who need legally licensed images and don’t want to waste time with endless keyword searches can use the Visual Similarity tool at Pixmac and find exactly what they are looking for instantly.

1) Visit Pixmac  www.pixmac.com

2) Locate an image

3) Click on the Pink text Similar

4) Try Visual Similarity today!

http://www.pixmac.com/similar/000009203746

http://www.pixmac.com/similar/000014008347

http://www.pixmac.com/similar/000001634829

How long will it take till China terminates the Pixmac.cn domain?

Our tips:
Víťa: 5 days
Martin T. : 2 weeks
Michal : 3 days
Martin V. (Charlie): 2 months

Comment with your tip and win a free monthly subscription in total value of $199.95. The nearest vote is the winner.

Thank you for supporting Pixmac and Tibet!

Pixmac, one of the world’s fastest growing microstock agencies with an collection of over 10 million royalty free stock photos and images is now a certified TRUSTe sealholder and a verified VeriSign company.

Pixmac is committed to providing customers with the absolute best in consumer privacy and secure online protection. The TRUSTe Privacy Seal and the VeriSign verification are two of the most trusted communication and commerce seals to acquire. Pixmac has completed a rigorous certification process that includes a TRUSTe approved Privacy Statement and verified consumer information practices that follow the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair Information Practices.

To display a TRUSTe Privacy Seal, a company must successfully complete a full audit of all Privacy practices and agree to disclose all consumer information gathering and usage practices. TRUSTe requires that companies give their customers access to their personal information and the ability to modify that information. TRUSTe also requires a company to provide their customers with the ability to Opt-In or Opt-Out in regards to the use of their personal information.

VeriSign is one of the most trusted companies online that verifies online identities and encrypts personal information.

Pixmac is committed to maintaining the continued safety and security of customer information required by TRUSTe and VeriSign.

Pixmac introduced it’s ‘picture market’ in September, 2008 from Prague- the capital city of the Czech Republic and now operates in 9 major world markets, including the USA, UK, Russia, Spain, Finland, Poland, Netherlands, and Brazil.

Pixmac strives to provide an outstanding customer experience and is constantly improving Pixmac.com. Pixmac pioneered the innovative’ one stop shop’ microstock buyer concept which is the ability to visit one site, search images from the world’s largest image collections, purchase and download the perfect picture instantly without registration.

How all that begun

How did the people at Pixmac get together? What is so magical about them?

There were a few successful companies in the microstock industry which began in 2001. The market potential seemed big enough that even a small company could make a pretty nice profit. It really was that simple. For me, it all started in June 2008. I was invited as a designer to help create a nice looking site. After a few weeks, I found out that it isn’t just about beauty; it is also about the user experience, stability, and a bit of management. After a few months our team launched the site officially and we have been working on performance, content, and marketing continuously ever since.

Pixmac website in June 2008

The marketing

Ok, so I’ve learned something about design, webdesign, and user experience but what about initiating a comprehensive and successful promotional strategy for an international company? Well, this has been a challenge. I have used all of my previous experience and I have had to improve and learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. Key characteristics of a successful product for me are quality and user experience. But then you realize that nobody knows about this great, super thing that you have built. You need a team. That is the crucial thing that I have come to realize. You need to find the people that will do more than just a regular job. You need people that believe in the product and think about it every day and invest their energy and creativity like it was their own product. That is what we have created at Pixmac. We call it the Dream Team. Michal and Martin are programmers creating systems that average programmers couldn’t begin to create or manage. Charlie (another Martin) is managing all of the online marketing and advertising better than I have ever seen or even imagined. Lucie manages customer service and takes care of our Pixmac customers every day.

Outdoor advertising in 2009

Believe me, there were and are many others that have helped Pixmac become the successful company that we are today. Another part of the story is the Territory Manager team, as I call this extraordinary team of professionals. These people living in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa are bringing fresh ideas about what we do. Pixmac is achieving great things because of this great international team. I like to say: “Pixmac is local while being international” and that is the whole concept! Pixmac has great content, a outstanding team and a great customer base that we are learning from every day.

For example. This text was checked by Cathy Mason, living 9 hours away from Prague. Near Bellingham, WA.

WebExpo event in 2009

Milestones of Pixmac

Well, now it seems easy but it wasn’t always like that. When the project was launched it was under development for 12 months and there wasn’t any light at the end of the tunnel. We knew we needed content and we didn’t have it yet. We knew we had really strong competitors. We also knew that there is always space for something better.

So, thanks to Ondrej’s experience at Miton, we set milestone goals for the Pixmac team to achieve. The first milestone was the first purchase at Pixmac, October 5, 2008 and we had a nice party. The next milestone was achieving a $100.00 daily sales goal and we reached that goal 45 days later, November 18, 2008. Then we accomplished the $800.00 daily goal and many other milestones since.

What’s next?

What’s ahead of us? That is easy. I want Pixmac to be a friendly company with the perfect product that keep growing. This begins with outstanding customer support but we also want to help our partners grow with us. I see something like a mix of the brightest sides of companies like Apple, Google or BMW. A great inspiration for me is the success story of Zappos or John Vanhara, Czech entrepreneur living in USA.

We apologize for the inconvience and we will be back up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for visiting Pixmac and we hope to see you back again soon.

Maximilian Bartel
Location: Alfeld (Leine), Germany
Work: Passionate freelance web designer, developer & aspiring photographer
Interests: Art, Music, Travel, Movies, Snowboarding & Football
Website: http://www.indiqo.eu

For those who are not familiar with you or your work yet, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your background as a creative professional?

I’m a 24 year old freelance web designer from Alfeld (Leine) which is a rather small city in the heart of Germany. I spend most of the day sitting in front of my iMac to create visually appealing websites, to help my clients if they should need me and of course to make sure business is running just fine. I don’t have a formal education in web design and also think that it’s not necessarily a requirement for those who are truly passionate about learning something they really like on their own. This said, I immediately started my career as a freelance web designer after graduating from economy school almost 5 years ago now and so far can’t think of any profession I’d rather like to do.

How did you get into web design at all?

I remember that quite a long time ago when we’ve been introduced to the internet for the very first time in school, I’ve been immediately fascinated by the infinite possibilities it offered back then. Basically it was nothing compared to the internet we know today, but for some reason it really thrilled me and so I just couldn’t resist to create my first own website for a school project almost exactly 10 years ago now. I absolutely enjoyed that process and since then continuously tried to learn new things and improve my skills which is often incredibly interesting and one of the things I like most.

What is it you most like and dislike about being a freelancer?

Believe it or not, but I love being responsible for myself. Even though this surely can be difficult from time to time and consumes a lot of time and energy, there’s just nothing better than being able to decide on your own in which direction your business should go. There’s always an idea I’d like to realize, a new challenge to take, interesting people to meet or something new I could learn and that’s exactly what keeps me motivated and ambitious. Of course, I work longer than anybody I know on a daily basis and constantly have to keep up with emerging trends to make sure clients keep coming back to me in the future, but in comparison with the advantages mentioned before it’s just great to be a freelancer.

What or maybe even who influences your work the most?

Well, I listen to music all day long which often is a huge source of inspiration because it frequently gets me into the right mood for design, but I also try to get out into the nature to take photos in order to see things from an entirely different point of view. In addition, I try to see different places and countries every now and then or attempt to learn new activities whenever I can. Just a few weeks ago I started snowboarding and overall it’s such a great experience to be outside in the snow just spending time with friends and enjoying this sport.

Things like that always influence my work in a certain way and aside from that, they also remind me that it doesn’t matter how often you fall as long as you get back up again in order to move on.

Is there an interesting project coming up in the future?

I think personal projects are essential for anybody who commonly tries to realize other peoples ideas and so I’m currently preparing the launch of a new blog which will be available soon. Furthermore I got the chance to work for various clubs, djs and discotheques in the past months and so me and a business partner are currently founding Radiant Loop , a web design company focusing on nightlife and entertainment marketing.

Pixmac Contributing Photographers will donate 100% of their commissions and Pixmac will donate 100% of Pixmac commissions for these same images to the following emergency support and relief agencies in support of the Haiti Relief Efforts beginning Sunday Feb 14, 2010 – Wednesday Feb 17, 2010.

• Doctors Without Borders Haiti Relief
• Red Cross Haiti Relief

Visit the Pixmac Pictures of Hope from the Heart for Haiti Collection or any of the Contributing Photographer and Designer Pixmac pages listed below beginning Sunday Feb 14 -Wed Feb 17 and buy one these legally licensed pictures for your blog,website, next company newsletter, direct mail marketing project, brochure, menu, Valentine’s Day card, best friend’s birthday card, wrapping paper, postcard, love-letter, weekly email to Mom, dorm room wall poster, locker, desktop screen saver, cell phone wallpaper, refrigerator, bumper sticker, Vespa, tee shirt, tattoo, bike helmet, snowboard, skateboard………there are 1000′s of ways to use one of these affordable, heart-felt, life-saving, and hope -filled images. Prices are as low as $1!

Pixmac Pictures of Hope from the Heart Collection

Are you a Pixmac contributing photographer or designer that would like to donate your images for Haiti?

Check out how to sign up here.

Thank You for partnering with Pixmac to help the millions of Haiti survivors in our own humble way.

Pixmac Contributing Photographers and Designers Donating to the Pictures of Hope:

• Roberto Marinello rmarinello
• Todd Arena graficallyminded
• hmkphoto
• poco_bw
• Katya Mikhlin seattlephoto
• John Dickinson ChickenScratch
• Dee Boldrick
• Estike

LogoBee is one of the most famous online logo design companies, which has been in the business since the year 2000 and has won multiple awards. Whether it is logo design, web design or stationary design you need, Logobee is the place to go. Why? Because Logobee creates a logo personalized just for you. To do so, Logobee entertains an intricate relationship with the client. Thus, for every project, the project manager gathers info from the client, about his tastes, priorities and details. Also, he does an online research in order to get a better understanding of the company’s field of business and requirements. Even after the initial logo package is complete, the client can still impact on the creation of his logo by selecting elements from different logos and asking the company to combine them into one logo, or he can submit his own ideas that might have come to him on the basis of the initial samples. Furthermore, all designers at LogoBee are working in-house, in order to guarantee a better service and customer support. Over the course of its existence, Logobee has created logo design for more then 10,000 companies, and most of their customers now are returning, or have been referred by previous happy customers.

LogoBee has a website, where clients can find useful information about logo design, branding and marketing, as well as a logo design blog, where they provide various tutorials and templates for the design community.

Logobee also provides one with the opportunity to make some money by joining their affiliate program. Anybody can earn a $20 referral fee, and referred clients will be motivated to use their coupon because they will also receive a $20 discount on their logo design purchase. Clients also get 500 business cards printed in CMYK for free upon ordering a stationary design.