This group tutorial got me thinking about freelance work. After my placement I know that I want to work in a small studio ideally, but I want to do some freelance work with small businesses to gain experience in this area, such as creating branding for upcoming artists. I haven't done much freelance work and know that I need to be more professional with this to be able to command a higher rate.
Advice from John & Andy:
- Add past students to Linked In to gain contacts
- Add linked in to business card instead of behance
- Read the contract when you get a job
- Write terms and conditions when dealing with a client
- Send out the invoice before you send the files
- Could ask for 50% deposit before you send the work
- Agree how and when they will pay you in the official order / business contract
- Say in contract how much you will charge for changes as clients don't always know that they have to pay for this
- Record number of hours spent, take screenshots to prove how things have been amended and track changes
- Estimate up when quoting a price, show you have experience and can be trusted and also because it is easier to do this now than to change it later
- Get client to sign proofs before prints and consider insurance if freelance
- Include a charge for setting up the print
- Build up relationships with people in the industry
PPD Task
- Things you know now that you didn't before:
1. Ideally I want to work in a small studio - before I thought I wanted to be freelance
2. I am good enough - before I wasn't confident in myself as a designer
3. Simple is the most effective in terms of branding - getting more positive feedback than before
4. Need to set price before I do work, send invoices and set terms and conditions - I wasn't very professional in dealing with a client and ended up not charging as much as I should have done
5. Work placements really are useful - before I was quite skeptical after hearing some negative stories
- Things you would address differently than you did this summer:
1. More placements - unfortunately only did one due to having to work
2. More freelance work - didn't think this was a priority but need to do it just for the experience
3. More studio visits - need to see how different studios work, such as a large vs. small studio
4. Develop my personal website - I set myself this as a target and didn't finish it, but I need it complete to show studios my work
5. Attend more networking events and be confident - I have missed out on chances because I didn't feel confident enough about talking to others and handing out my business cards etc.
- Specific things you will address this term that should be useful:
1. I have a placement during reading week to gain more industrial experience
2. I will attend the web workshops to help me work on my web presence
3. I will contact studios with the hope of gaining a visit to their studio
4. I have been collecting print samples and aim to visit printers to start establishing relationships within the industry
5. I will be working on my promotional material in the hope of gaining more freelance work
- Things you feel we could address as a group:
1. How to set up invoices / examples of what they should look like.
2. How much do people charge as an hourly rate for freelance work?
3. How many placements have people had; is quantity or quality important?
4. When in life do people see themselves setting up their own studios?
5. How and where people have been networking.
- Things you feel we have not looked at in PPD you personally would like to know more about with reference to professionalism:
1. Invoices / dealing with money
2. How to professionally communicate with clients
3. How to get a job...
4. What to do if you don't get a job...
5. Tax / legal issues
(I can't think of anything we haven't covered in PPD in regards to professionalism - So all these things have actually been covered in PPD or enterprise before but are important so I want to go over them in more detail this year!)
This tutorial has been really helpful because I have some freelance work coming up in terms of business cards, and I want people to know that my time is valued and that I am a professional, so that they will have to pay for my time, and doing this tutorial has pushed me to think about writing contracts, so people think of me less as a student and more as a graphic designer.
