iPad 2 for Artists

I have always been a gadget person.  My earliest recollections are as a kid visiting my aunt and uncle in California and being mesmerized by all the gadgety things my uncle had.  My latest "gadget" and source of fascination is my iPad 2 and one of my first uses for it was on a recent trip.  Shortly after the plane had taken off I promptly activated my fireplace app, propped the iPad on the tray in front of me and took a nap.

What started out as being a new gadget to play with has quickly evolved into "how am I going to implement this into my work".  In the short time I have had an iPad I have almost completely transformed it to be used in my work.  I would like to share with you how.

The first thing to consider is what type of iPad to buy.  After talking with various Apple sales people, I decided that the 16G would be more than sufficient for my needs.  Next was deciding between the white and black models.  I really wanted a white one, but after some Googling I found out that the black model is actually more ideal for showcasing photos..  The white one will you give the impression that the screen is dimmer, and has less contrast and the content won’t stand out as much  and will reflect more light outside.  


Portfolio

The iPad makes a great portfolio for your artwork.  There are several ways that you can show a potential client, gallery or...including a slideshow, video presentation or many other features that come installed on your iPad.  This is a killer way to show your work without hauling along heavy sample boards.


iPads also come with two cameras which I love for taking pictures of a clients home.  Or I can switch to video mode to film a tour of a home or business for recalling details later.


Scheduling
iPads come preinstalled with many useful apps and if that is not enough, thousands more are available through the iTunes Apps Store.  Some of the more useful preinstalled apps are the Calendar which can be updated once through any of my Apple products and will show up on all my devices.  Reminders is a great app for letting me know I better move my butt if I am going to be on time for my appointments.   


Make that Sale!

After thoroughly impressing a potential client with your portfolio, you are now ready to write up a quick quote and present them with a proposal.  Not only can you do this with your iPad, but you can actually have them sign it right on the screen!  Want to take a deposit?  One of the coolest apps I have found is Square.  Square lets you take credit card payments right off your iPad.  They will send you free a little card reader that fits right into your iPad (or iPhone) and you can easily swipe credit cards for payment, wirelessly print out or email receipts.  

I mentioned before that there are thousands of apps available for iPads.  Here are some of my favorites to incorporate into my business.  

Pages  Pages is a wonderful word pro processor app that can be used to create, edit and view documents.   It also has a cool dictation feature.

Keynote  Makes beautiful presentations right on your iPad.

Evernote   Capture notes, ideas, screenshots, and voice recordings and even tag 

your notes with geo-location information.

Houzz Interior Design Ideas  This app allows you to store idea photos locally on the device, making it simple to take the iPad onsite where a connection might not yet be present.

Flipboard  Flipboard creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you.


I know there are a lot of other great apps out there.  Let me know which ones you use.