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Posts Tagged ‘creative freelancers’
The Value of Good Design
11/5/2009 10:24 AM By Sharon PotschEspecially when dealing with smaller or less sophisticated clients, a freelance graphic designer will probably need to do some work to sell the client on the idea that professional training, high-end software, and experienced visual sense are worth reasonable fees.
One experienced designer offers this idea: Create a full-color brochure for a fictional company. At each stage of the process — logo design, color correction, copywriting, final document design — take screen shots. Then incorporate these into a PDF selling tool that makes the case for skill and knowledge as essential ingredients in effective design at every phase of the process, from concept to prepress.
Label a CD-ROM with your logo and load the PDF onto it. If a client seems to need this level of education, invite him or her to go through the process with you and see the final result.
Tools like this give you a chance to shine at marketing yourself — and thus impress clients with the idea that you can market them as well.
What Are Some Guidelines for Pitching Ideas to an Employer?
6/19/2009 12:39 PM By Catherine TIn some fields, particularly writing, employers don't come to you with a job they need done. Instead, you generate ideas, and must then convince an employer that your idea is worth buying. A few tips for pitching your work: — Research the market. Publications like Writer's Market are a useful complement to your own searches of trade websites. A good place to start may be the products you already buy. — Generate ideas that are different, but not too different. You don't want to pitch a repeat of something that's already been done; at the same time, Cat Fancy magazine is never going to buy your article on golden retrievers. — Network, network, network. Most people prefer to buy ideas from those they already know. — Even if you're pitching an idea to someone you know, it's vital to compose a great query letter with an attention-getting first sentence. You may spend more time on this than you do on getting the work done! It's worth it to get it right. — If the prospective buyer has rules for submitting queries and pitches, follow them to the letter. Don't think that the sheer greatness of your idea, or your name-dropping letter, will let you get away with breaking the rules. Many companies use interns or entry-level employees to do a first look at submissions, with instructions to toss anything rule-breaking.
Where to Find Some Better Web Design Jobs
4/13/2009 10:43 AM By Catherine TFinding better web design jobs is typically dependent on, at least, three factors.
1. Your talent level. Be honest with yourself. Try to be accurate when estimating your true skill level in website design. Over- or under-evaluating your true talent level will eventually cost you money.
2. Your experience. Whether your portfolio is extensive or modest will probably help determine the best web designer jobs for which you qualify.
3. Your ability to market yourself correctly. Unless your e-mail is filled with a steady stream of offers for jobs in web design, you need to market yourself constantly – and effectively. For instance, if your specialty is flash web design, concentrate on marketing to those seeking one who knows how to design a website that features flash and animation.
Once you have established who you are and where you are, you should be ready to find better web designing jobs. The most important action plan is to look in the right places. As you must already know, there are hundreds of job boards, career sites, and other sources of web designer jobs. However, you should strongly consider the best search agencies where prospective clients can learn about usability designers.
Sources like Artisan offer a web designer some value added features that pure job boards do not. For example, you can often take advantage of Information Architect web design tips to help you become a better candidate. These web design tips typically have more relevance since they were developed for both clients and website design professionals from the search firm’s direct experience. You also feel more comfortable knowing the prospective clients are legitimate and solid. Clients also usually feel more comfortable about you and your talent level.
How Can I Best Manage My Time?
4/8/2009 1:21 PM By Catherine TBy far the most abundant resource most freelancers have is their time.
Unfortunately, it's also the one that's easiest to mismanage, either by
taking too great advantage of your freedom to spend the afternoons
watching reruns or by overbooking yourself to the point of exhaustion.
Maybe you're not too energetic in the afternoons but you get a second
wind toward evening. In that case, watching television during your
least productive time may make perfect sense. You know yourself best,
and one of the beauties of freelancing is that you don't have to follow
anyone else's schedule. You may not function well with a strict
schedule — maybe that's why you wanted to be a freelancer in the first
place — but you can look over the things you did in the past week and
the ones you have planned for the week ahead. You need time to work.
You also need time to market yourself. You need time for administrative
tasks, family responsibilities, health-related activities, and social
life. How are you using your time now? What needs more attention? What
needs less? One commitment that often gets neglected is time for
yourself. It's easy to feel pulled in a zillion different directions,
but some time spent doing nothing (and not feeling guilty about it!)
can renew and re-energize your work like nothing else.
Usability Experts Must Market Both Their Portfolios and Their Process
4/8/2009 10:47 AM By Sharon PotschHiring usability specialists is strongly dependent on their portfolios. But, suppose your completed project portfolio is not yet overly impressive. How can you get noticed by better or more well-known clients? Try impressing prospects with your usability engineering expertise and the process you’ve developed to create the wonderful website designs in your current portfolio.
Newer Interface Design professionals can win a good usability job if they convince the client prospect that their process includes –
- Learning about the client’s customers – current and potential – to create a user-centered design.
- Creating a website that makes it obvious what users should do to get the information they want.
- Effective and pleasing graphical design, but uncluttered and tasteful web pages.
- Usability testing procedures that reinforce the successful interface design or identify areas needing improvement.
- Obvious optimization of usability, simplicity, and consistent navigation processes.
- High level ability to meld pleasing aesthetics with information presentation and organization that is wonderfully user friendly.
Combining an effective display of your Interface Design portfolio to date with a presentation of your process and technique used to create your finished products should impress major clients even if your next Fortune 500 project will be your first.
Why Live in New York?
11/5/2008 9:43 AM By adminA study of happiness by the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania reported that New Yorkers were among the most miserable people in the United States. So why would someone talented and creative want to live here?
New York is heaven for someone who wants to be surrounded by the best and brightest creative professionals. New York graphic designers can draw inspiration from the ancient Egyptian temple at the Met and the latest abstract painting at the Museum of Modern Art. New York writers can find agents, editors, and publicists, all on the same street.
You may have to share an apartment to get by. But there's a good chance you'll be sharing it with other creative, interesting people, spotting celebrities on the street (but being cool enough not to do more than nod), with a huge variety of cultural, dining, and entertainment opportunities at your doorstep. The choice is yours.
Top Skills for Freelance Creative Directors
10/14/2008 10:20 AM By Catherine TEmployers who bring in a freelance creative director want someone who can implement their visions and manage the nitty-gritty of getting creative work done. Besides a great portfolio, here are some of the skills that will make you stand out:
- Expertise targeting a specific market (based on ethnicity, age, income, or geography)
- Up-to-date understanding of interactive media
- Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time and under budget
- Ability to manage and motivate creative personnel to get great results
- Strong collaborative skills including listening, teamwork, and communication
Is good work really about the whole package?
10/9/2008 8:54 AM By Sharon PotschIt’s obvious that the miserable economy has resulted in an incredibly competitive job market. The print jobs we get in at Artisan last a nano-second before they’re snatched up by our available print freelancers and our clients are being extremely selective with whom they're booking for the gig.
OK, OK, so we know it’s competitive out there but what I wonder is: does having a snazzy portfolio case really make a difference? If a designer’s work is brilliant does it matter how the designer presents his or her portfolio? Is brilliant work enough? Or do designers have to put thought and originality into presentation? A very reputable designer that I met at an AIGA Small Talk said that it doesn’t matter what the portfolio itself looks like, it’s what’s inside that counts. I countered back that it’s the whole presentation, not just the work. What do you think?
The Cluttered Marketplace
8/15/2008 9:59 AM By adminIn today's developed world, there are far more products than any individual consumer could need or want. Which brand of dog food is best for little Pugsley? Is that "healthy" pasta any better for you than the store brand? Are paper towels any better if they have pictures of vegetables on them?
We ask these questions because marketers have taught us to do so. If there were only one brand of dog food, pasta, or paper towels available, we would buy that brand and probably be content with our purchase. Because there are many brands striving for a place in our shopping carts, we are confronted with a dizzying array of packages, colors, coupons, and wrappers that scream "New!" or "Improved!"
Your job as a freelance marketing pro is to make your product stand out from its competitors. Look for ways they are alike, and seek to be different. If all the other products in your category use bright colors on their boxes, try packaging yours in white. If the grocery store isn't the best place for your healthy product, try promoting it in drugstores or health-food stores. By understanding how your consumers make their buying decisions, you can use your creativity to get their attention.
Interactive Creative Directors
6/14/2008 10:20 AM By adminIf you have strong experience in web development and design, along with good people skills, you may find work available as a specialized kind of creative director.
In some organizations, creative directors find they need experienced help to oversee the interactive side of developing products, promotions, or advertising campaigns.
As an interactive creative director, your role would involve overseeing the developers and designers (many of them freelancers) who create interactive products, while coordinating with senior executives and creative staff overseeing other aspects of the same project.
