Future plans and ideas

Since I decided that I wanted to be a surface designer and work freelance for the commercial industry I have been thinking also about finding a business partner, at uni, a girl in my class Nichola has a style that although quite different to mine, it seems we have something that we could both work with and adopt a working style together.  I think the nice thing is that we both admire each others work and sometimes see different ways of making designs for one another.  It really helps when someone else can see something or have an idea that you wouldn't have thought of.  With our names Nichola and Dionne, we have decided to call ourselves Neon and work a couple of days a week from a trend prediction at her home because she has an attic office with room for two desks.  I think the positives about working with someone else are the fact you can bounce ideas around, have regular critiques about design work, keep motivated, go on trips together and share the experiences and learn from them as a team, share the costs to man a stand at the trade shows, make independent contacts as well as together,  and generally feel more positive about the business being successful.

We are going to start this routine as soon as we have fully completed the degree and have a look into funding towards a stand in February at Indigo Paris, if we are unable to get funding then a second job will help us raise the money whilst we are designing for it.  The other consideration is to visit a few trade shows as soon as we can to get some experience of how they work and what type of work is their, we could set up a website which can help with building clientele (this information came from Joshua Johnson who is a freelance designer) and Alex Russell. 

Blue Orchid based around Stockport and Manchester give free business advise and run short courses in different areas depending on the nature of your business so this is something we will investigate.  

We have all the equipment we need to start the ball rolling and will use a local printers each time we have new designs for our portfolio.  I have found one that I have been using on a regular basis recently called Logoprint in Manchester and have found them to be great quality with a fast and reliable service.  I am dealt with by the same person (Dave Garson) each time which really helps because he understands what I need each time I go. 

Jessica Williams

Both images by Jessica Williams.

I was looking on a blog today called print and Pattern and came across a freelance print, graphic and textile designer called Jessica Williams who graduated from Manchester Metropolitan in 2006. She appears to be having great success designing for many high street shops such as Topshop, Next, Miss Selfridges as well as doing illustration work for places around Manchester like Retro Rehab and Trof. I was instantly attracted to the nature of her style, her use of scale and color is really interesting and exciting to look at. She has a fantastic website showing her sketchbooks, designs and prints. The unfortunate thing is that there is no contact information anywhere for her, she is based in Manchester and works both in Manchester and London, I have read on the Print and Pattern blog that she works as a senior print designer in house for different fashion suppliers, she has just recently gone fully freelance. I will research more about Jessica Williams and try and find contact information because I would really like to visit her for a portfolio visit and ask her questions about trade shows and working as a freelancer.

Alex Russell questions and answers

Being Freelance

Q What would you say are the advantages of working freelance rather than working in a studio?

A I like being my own boss (although I'm a bit of a slave driver).  My ambitions have changed a little since i started (i used to do some fine art, plus illustration that wasn't fashion and textile related), but i like the variety of working for different clients, doing (say) contract furnishings one week and high street fashion the next.  I don't think you can be nearly as flexible in a studio setup.

Q Will i have to work hard if I'm freelance?

A Be prepared to work very hard, very hard.  Think run up a degree show, add an extra bit and imagine that the whole year round, especially when you first start.  You do need to be really self motivated, especially if things aren't selling.  This isn't meant to put you off; if you love doing it, it will be fine, but unless your very, very lucky, it is a lot of work. 

Q Is it important to hit deadlines and answer briefs?

A Being able to keep to deadlines and answer deadliness is completely important-if you produce something that is too late and isn't what the client wanted anyway, they are unlikely to use you again.  

Q What made you go freelance?

A I chose to go freelance because i thought it would give me more variety and challenges.  I like working in lots of different styles and really like being my own boss.  Doing this is definitely a vocation for me rather than just a Job, I'm very lucky.  I know what i want to do, i get to spend all day doing it, and people seem to want to pay me for doing it. 

Q What advise would you give to people getting started freelance?

A To a large degree, its not what you know but who you know.  this is a cliche, but is very true.  Your address book should be one of your most prized possessions and you should always be adding to it.  

Don't wait for people to  come to you, it vital you get your work seen.  Get out there, knock on doors.  Art and design is a worldwide business, don't be afraid of making contacts anywhere.  

Don't be scared, the worst that can happen is that someone can say no, if they do, be polite and ask them if there is anyone else they know that might be interested in what you do.  

Be patient, it can take months or even years for a client to get back to you.

  

Be prepared to work very hard.  

Never, ever be tempted to mess with copyright laws.  its a surprisingly small world and if you rip some people off, others won't touch you with a barge-pole.  

Be flexible, but not stupidly so.  You should try and say "yes, i can do that for you" to as many clients as possible (especially when you first set up), but you need to be realistic about what is physically possible.

Don't waste any time doing lots of research to find the best bank; they are all pretty much the same.  if ethical investment is important, go with a co-op.  You should have a business account, but if you trade in your own name and don't tell the bank, you can just make this a normal current account and not have to pay business account charges.  

Keep on top of your books (accounts), if you don't think you can do this, or if your just starting out, get a good accountant.

Self motivation is vital; you also need to be able to enjoy working under pressure and to have good time management skills.  Finally, if you enjoy doing the designs, it will show, don't forget to have fun.  

Q What's the biggest difference being a student and working freelance?

A The time factor, generally speaking, you have to work much, much faster than when your a student and you don't have the time to explore heaps of different ideas.  Its important to get good at quickly working out if an ideas has legs (or if it good, but not right in this particular context).  Of course, this is where past experience come in handy, and these skills start to grow as a student when you have got the time.  it's not unusual for me to out together 10 or so designs in a couple of days.  

Alex Russell

I have been on Alex Russell's website because he works from a freelance design studio and this is what I want to eventually do.  His current clients are in fashion and interior, he also predicts future trends.  He has a very useful link to the most popular questions he has been asked from students like myself who are thinking of becoming freelance designers.  At the moment i am researching into how agents can be found, how to find the best trend predictions, what equipment i should invest in, how to find a business partner, what grants i can apply for and the best way to execute my designs.  I have not found all the answers on the questions and answers link but he has answered a few and it has also made me think of other things that i hadn't thought of, like other ways in which i could show my designs (on a CD) and the fact that going to trade fairs (such as Indigo) is a very good way to start building relationships with agents and can lead to making appointments to go and show them your work. He has given very useful advise about the nature of being a freelance designer which has helped me gain a better understanding of how hard it is in the beginning when things might not be selling but it takes great motivation in order to succeed.  He also talks about the importance of building contacts. 

Printsource New York

Printsource New York is a trade fair for textiles.  They hold three shows a year showing surface and textile designs from 10 different Countries.  They have a fashion review their held by the worlds leading trend forecasters. Paper and Cloth advertised on their website that they had attended Printsource New York on the 24th August 2010.  

Research into freelance work (Joshua Johnson)

I have been researching into things I need to consider for becoming a freelance designer when I leave college. How do I promote myself in order to attract potential clients? I found a website today called Design Shack, here Joshua Johnson who has been a freelancer for many years gives very useful information about how to go about getting your portfolio seen. Joshua Johnson has signed up to all the free portfolio sites, he has recommended Coroflot, krop, Sortfolio and Carbonmade. he says that online portfolios are becoming more and more popular because the more content you have on the web the more search-ability you will have.

Another good way to tell potential clients about who you are and what kind of work you do is by designing your own website. He shows how to make a single page portfolio called 10 expert tips for designing a one page portfolio. You can click on the highlighted text to have a look.

Looking for work as a freelance designer seems daunting to me as I have no experience in selling my work or who to sell it to so I am researching other designers to get ideas and hopefully get advise that can help me as a beginner. Joshua Johnson says that there are job sites such as monster and Hot jobs but because there are thousands of applicants its very difficult to actually find work through them, however its still worth applying but not for a regular income. He highly reccommends a website called craigslist, the best sources for contacting potential clients apparently come from this site, if you are interested in a job you just send out am email to the provided email address. You can send a link to your online portfolio, i can see why it is important for your portfolio to stand out because there will be thousands of applicants for one job!

Another way to search for freelance jobs is by doing a search on Google. Joshua says that he very recently used google maps to search jobs and found it to be very good, he got quite a few jobs out of it. he searched for marketing agencies, design firms and printers. he says when you click on a business you can go to there website and locate there contact information. You can then send them a friendly email to introduce yourself and your work.

Twitter has a thriving design community that can open you to opportunities and is one he uses from time to time. There are smaller job boards such as freelance switch. The smaller sites will attract less traffic which could work to your advantage.

He recommends that before you take on any work, you should know how you will be billing the client. I have found one called paypal, this is an online invoicing system set up to be safe, fast and effective. Most online payment systems are either free or very affordable.