Archive | September, 2007

Finding Freelance Work…

I’ve touched on it before, but there are some great resources out there for finding freelance work.

So, without further adieu, I give you another list of sites with jobs for freelance graphic designers:

37Signals: Cool listings – not a lot of them, but they pay pretty well. The competition is stiff, but that keeps the quality high.

SoloGig – again, not the biggest community, but the jobs are good and varied.

Aquent – Lots of jobs worldwide. Plus, it’s free – which is ALWAYS good.

SimplyHired this is sort of an odd bird. More of a search engine aggregating searches for freelance jobs. Nice!

Project4Hire – another reasonably small site, but with good jobs that pay fairly well.

JobPile – another aggregator. Lots of stuff, including some of the more high-end design sites.

So – that should keep you busy for 10 or 15 minutes, right?

Best Freelance Tool Available

l2d.gifWell, Friday again – and I’m going a little different route. I normally talk in code and software and pixels and DPI, but today – let’s talk art. Shall we?

With a minor degree in illustration and art history, I am a bit of an art buff. As a freelance designer, I’ve found that the most cathartic thing I can do is to pick up my sketch book and start doodling. It can be a sketch for a logo or a brochure layout, or it might be a line drawing of my daughter asleep. I’ve found that doodling and drawing help me break my linear thought and help the creativity come back into whatever I’m working on. Time out of mind, to quote Bob Dylan.

Now – I understand that not everyone is as comfortable around pen and paper (or brushes and canvas) as I am, but I simply have to suggest getting your feet wet. It’s a wonderful, satisfying way to get (or keep) the inspiration and juices flowing.

I’ve found a few places that have some pretty nice tutorials on drawing and painting. Click here to dig it, or you can Google for your specific interest. This site is pretty broad – but also pretty nice introduction to technique.

Check it out – art is fun, and every tool you can add to your design toolbox will help!

Logo Design Questionnaire

want.jpgSometimes, getting information out of a client can be a little like pulling teeth. Generally, they’re not sure what they’re looking for, and they havn’t thought the project out fully. You have to do a little hand-holding as a freelance designer, and picking a client’s brain can be frustrating.

When you set out to design a logo (or anything for that matter), there are a few questions you need to ask the client – and these questions will help you avoid spinning wheels and a lot of wasted roughs. Getting as much information up front will help you keep things going smoothly, and the information will help train your client to think about their project in a lot of different aspects, which will ultimately help you knock out their design a lot quicker.

You can download a sample logo design questionnaire here. I’ve used this one on many projects, and I’ve been suprised how much it’s helped – and how much time it’s saved me.

It’s a simple form, and I’m giving you a Word version along with a PDF. Customize it and use it for your projects. It works – and it will really save you a lot of time and headache.

Please don’t re-distribute or sell it. Thanks!

Download Here

Tips for Free Freelance Designer Promotion

There are so many ways to promote yourself as a freelance designer.

Advertising, both online and in analog, is great – but it can get expensive. A simple newspaper ad can run you $1200. That’s a lot of logo work.

Link exchanges, are – at best a crap shoot. You never really know how effective they are or how targeted they get.

Traditional media (TV, radio, billboards, direct mail) can be really, really effective – but again, you’ve got to lay out big bucks to make a splash.

But there are plenty of free things you can do to promote yourself and your business. They all take a little footwork, but they’re effective – and every little bit helps out. Check out some of these:

list.jpg1. Free Work
When I started out as a freelancer, I would give work away. There are so many charities staging events who are looking for cheap or free design work – and you can often trade out some advertising or logo placement in return for your time. And the best part? These places remember you and could become a valued client a little down the line. If nothing else, they WILL recommend you. Do a good job, treat them as a paying client, and the promotional return can be huge.

2. Contact Everyone You Know
Tell your family, friends and colleagues. Let them know you’re out there and precisely what you’re up to. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve landed because a friend or family member was in a casual conversation with someone and that someone just happened to mention that they needed a design job or website done. You cannot over-estimate the value of networking – even if it’s amongst people you know. Every little bit helps!

3. Blog
I know I keep saying this – but you need a blog. Let people know what you’re up to. Rant and rave and talk about good (and bad) design. Search engines love blogs (WordPress is GREAT) and they’re free and easy. Don’t use it just as an engine for getting key words out there – make it real and fun and interesting, and people will come back. You can link it back to your portfolio (or use it as a portfolio) and you’ll build a great search engine rank before you know it.

4. Cold Calls
This one takes some chutzpah, but it can pay off big. Call ad agencies and screen printers, television stations, promotional product manufacturers, industrial establishments – nearly anyone in the business section of the phone book. Don’t call up and say “Hi, I’d like to talk to your manager and see if you have any design work for me to do, please.” Call in, ask to speak to someone in charge of marketing and promotion and simply introduce yourself, ask if it would be appropriate if you sent in a few business cards and a cover letter. Mention your site (I’m sure they’ll ask) and see if they’d like to meet in person to discuss the possibilities. There will be a bunch that shoot you down, but you might just wind up with a bunch of clients before you even get out of the “A’s.” So many businesses out there are afraid to approach a traditional agency for fear of cost – and they’ll be excited to hear that there is an alternative.

5. Partnerships
Partner up with local businesses, agencies and other freelancers. You don’t have to go it alone all the time. There are plenty of freelance copywriters out there who will know of people who are looking for design work – and plenty of I.T. professionals that can build the perfect website, but it won’t look good. Get in touch with those people who are in the ancillary businesses to yours, and beautiful (and profitable) music can be made.

There are a lot more, and I’ll be rambling on about those, too. The big key to promoting yourself as a freelance designer is persistence. Keep going, keep putting yourself out there, and the ball will be rolling before you know it.

Tips on Getting Started as a Freelance Designer

I’ve had plenty of folks ask me what it takes to start a freelance design business – and I’ve seen all sorts of tips and pages and responses about that question.

“Get 2 years of salary in the bank before you start.” Yeah. That’s easy to do, right?

“Build your client base before you leave your full time job.” A little more realistic – but also difficult if you’re working full time.

“Build a name for yourself in the industry before you start out on your own.” Again, do-able, but hardly probable. If you build a name for yourself before you go out on your own, you’re really only building a name for yourself as a proxy for the company you’re leaving.

So – my advice? Easy.

Step 1: JUST DO IT.

If you’re passionate about great design and you really want to have control over your career and your opportunities as an artist* just step out on faith.

When I started (oh, so many moons ago) I had 2 consistent clients within the first 2 weeks of my decision to be a freelancer. 1 was production work (with very little creativity) and the other was for a client that strung me along for way, way less than my market value. Neither one was terribly fun, and in the long run, I wound up distancing myself from both.

But, I didn’t have a boatload of work, and I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing – I just knew there was something better than the 9 to 5 I was pulling as a creative director in Corporate America (cue Darth Vader music.)

If you do good work, and you’re willing to put in the hours and start on some projects that are not neccessarily the best stuff in the world, you’ll make it over that initial hump. It might take some peanut butter sandwiches and ramen-noodle filled weeks, but you can make it. The sacrifice is well worth the reward.

Step 2: HAVE FUN
You’ve been given a gift. You see the design in the mundane and everyday objects. You see the world through different eyes. Not a lot of people approach life like that, and you’re pursuing that as a career. It has to be fun if you’re going to last. How bad is life if you can sit around, not shaving, wearing bad shoes and listening to whatever music you want – as loud as you want it? That’s a sweet gig – and a lot of people would kill to have a job like that. Fun and easy, however, are two different things. Don’t expect the latter – but bank on the former.

Step 3: NETWORK
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Seek out the local agencies, the local freelance designers, and the local people in the creative arts. Introduce yourself (this would be a good time to shave and wear nice shoes) and keep in contact. It might not lead to anything work-wise, but more often that not, it will. Plus, keeping yourself immersed and surrounded by creativity will keep you inspired. That’s key.

Step 4: DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
Do it for the art. Do it for passion. Do it for adventure. Do it for being able to wake up to a new job every day. Don’t do it for the money. Don’t do it to thumb your nose at the corporate world. Don’t do it for the ability to sleep late. Those are nice, but they’re a by-product of the karma you generate by doing the job the right way.

Step 5: FOCUS
stay.jpgDon’t let things distract you from your ultimate goal of success as a freelance designer. Not TV. Not your spose. Nothing. Focus and drive for what you want. Your goal is only as reachable as your focus is sharp. For someone like me with acute attention defecit disorder, it can be rough. But – define what you want out of your venture and then grab on like a starving dog latches on to a soup bone. Tenacity and focus pays off every time.

Step 6: DON’T PANIC
I keep saying this with this blog, but the most important thing you can do as a freelancer is to stay calm. It will work, and you’ll be better for it…

I’ll be adding some more concrete things you can do later (and as sub-pages on this site,) so keep checking back. Yeah, it’s a shameless way of begging for repeat traffic. Sue me.

(*Which, by the way – you are. You are first and foremost an artist. Don’t be fooled by your tools, and don’t let anyone tell you differently)

Cool Tool for the HTML Impaired

not.jpgI’m really not a huge fan of building websites. I do like designing them – but the building can be a bit of a drag. Over the years, I’ve figured out how to design around the limitations of browsers and users, but it’s a fine art (not literally,) and it can be very tedious.

I also know there are a lot of designers out there that either don’t know how to code, or just don’t have the time to code. I’m hoping to move into the latter by having too much illustration and design work to never have the time to do the coding. One day!

But – I’ve found a place that takes the drudgery out of site design. PSD2HTML.com You send a PSD of your page design, they send you back the W3C valid XHTML site. Sweet!

They’re not all that cheap, at $153 for a single page – but if you think about the time that’ll save in the building and coding, it’s well worth it. You can always duplicate the page and tinker with the code on your own dime, too. They’ve got a lot of options (like WordPress/Blogger/Joomla integration) and it’s certainly an easy alternative to sitting for hours parsing HTML and pulling your hair out.

(And no, I’m not making a penny off these guys. I don’t even know them, but I’ve seen the work and the source coding – very slick!)

Setting Goals is Fun (Sort of)

It’s been a horribly busy week for me, with a business partner flying in from Seattle and pulling all-nighters to complete a few projects. Many Red Bulls and pots of coffee later, and my kidneys are screaming at me and my head is swimming with tiredness. But, we have a great product nearly ready to roll out. Very exciting. Stay tuned for details.

Ah – the life of a freelance graphic artist. Fun with no end!

But, this week has reminded me that it’s important to dream, it’s important to reach and stretch and try new things.

For so long, I would say “I’m happy if I have electricity, a roof over my head and coffee in my thermos.” Then, it dawned on me that my thinking and words were keeping me from other, bigger things.

If I was going to be satisfied with so little, that’s precisely what I would have. So, I decided I wanted bigger things.

I’m not talking about greed. Greed only breeds greed, but a mind that desires more and is willing to attack the situation and take the steps to reach that goal is one that will be rewarded.

Set your sights high – and then don’t be afraid to stumble. Keep walking (or running) towards that grand vision, and you’ll get to it. Might take longer than you want, but if you’re persistent and faithful to your goals, nothing will stop you.

When you say “I’d like to …” or “It would be nice if…” or “I wish…” the language itself is giving you an excuse. When you say “I will” or “I’m going to” or “It’s going to be great when,” then you’re setting yourself up to actually get something accomplished.

So – go for it. Find your passion and follow it – let nothing stand in your way.

(Wow, I sounded like Anthony Robbins there for a minute. Weird)

Too Busy Making Money to Make Money

I’ve found that a lot of freelancers out there (myself included) have fallen into a trap of working too hard to make too little. Some of that goes back panic (read a little on that in an older post) and some of that goes to picking the wrong clients.

But the fact remains that if you chase too many $100 projects, you will miss out on too many $1000 projects. If you sell your services cheaply, you will be in a hole – you’ll wind up too busy making money to make money.

stack.jpgFreelancing can be a feast-or-famine proposition, and weathering the famine will make you realize that you want the feast. One way to keep the feast going is to charge enough for what you do and pick up clients that will pay you what you’re worth. If your power bill is due, you need money – but will you take a $100 logo design job in order just to pay it, when you know you should be charging $500? I know the need for money NOW – but I also know that planning ahead will help you avoid having to take a million bad projects just to keep your head above water.

What I’ve done – and I challenge you to do, too, is sit down and write out a real monthly budget. Figure out your bills – and estimate high. Figure out how much you need for groceries and entertainment. Figure out your needs for salary (yeah – pay yourself) and how much you’d like to set aside for the future. Now – add it all up and and divide that by 22, which is the number of work days in a 4 week month, minus weekends.

That will give you a figure of what you need to bank each and every day. Now, the hard part is going out and finding the projects that will pay that every day. The more realistic approach is to find the total number and then build enough projects to fit into that amount. Then, every month – try to find projects to fill that amount or more.

A little forethought will keep you from scrambling to make ends meet, and it’ll keep you from having to kill yourself and your opportunities with too many little, unsatisfying jobs.

If you can make it all with one project that will take you 2 hours – go for it! Imagine how great it would be to meet your monthly nut and have all those extra hours left!

(yeah, I’m still trying to find out how that feels, too…)

Blogging for Freelancers…

swing.jpgI’m in the process of setting up a free blogging community built specifically for freelance designers. It’ll be a simple WordPress-style setup, and it’ll be fully searchable and tied into a HUGE community of artists. Free blogs and websites (set up as subdomains) and a lot of great features that will help us all have a little bit of connectivity and another way of generating some passive income.

Which brings me to my point today. If you’re a freelance designer and you’re not blogging – WHY? It’s a great way to boost your visibility, and it’s a helluva lot more fun than message boards.

Plus, while the blog community might be a little saturated with weird and worthless sites, the opportunity to network with the few, the proud, the freelancers is real and really cool. I’ve gathered a lot of inspiration and some great tools that I use every day from blogs. There’s a tremendous amout of great content out there waiting to be discovered – and I know that there is even more out there just waiting to be published.

So – get out and do it!

As soon as the front end is ready, I’ll release the new site, and we can all start building an even better future for all things freelance!

Free Office Software

I love to loathe Microsoft, so any way that I can stick it to ‘em, I take…

But, at the same time, you’ve got to admit that they make rather ubiquitous software, and as a freelance designer, I have to keep copies of everything that clients and potential clients might use. Don’t ask me about Publisher – I won’t answer.

Microsoft Office is NOT free – quite far from it – but there are a couple of really nice, really slick and totally compatible office suites out there.

ship2.jpgFirst up is a Mac-only product – NeoOffice. It’s got pretty much anything you could possibly be looking for with the actual Office suite – word processor, spreadsheets, database and presentation software, plus it’s totally compatible with all of Microsoft’s products. You can open and save directly to Word files, PowerPoint files, Excel, etc. It doesn’t contain an email client, but there’s a million of those out there that are better than Entourage. Best of all, it’s free – and it keeps my beautiful brushed aluminum machine free of the scourge of Microsoft.

Secondly is a great free product – an open-source project called OpenOffice. It’s got versions for all the operating systems under the sun, including Sun. The only problem is that some versions require X11 if you’re on a Mac, but it’s free, it’s compatible and it’s slick. Plus, if you have a Mac, you can install X11 free anyway, and OpenOffice even shows you how.

Both of these pieces of software are funded solely by donation, so if you can afford 5 bucks for a latte and a Red Bull, you can afford to support the folks out there who support us with killer software for zilch.

Sometimes, the best things in (the freelance designer’s) life ARE free…

Click here to download NeoOffice (Mac OSX only)
Click here to download OpenOffice (All platforms)

Testing WordPressDash

Tinkering with an OSX widget to do quick posts via my desktop. Big fun!

Graphic Designer’s Weekend…

I’ve decided that the weekends will be dedicated to something a little different than my normal daily banter. I know you’ll miss it, but…

Found this little nugget o’ fun.

Have a good one!

Free Contract for Freelance Designers

sign.jpgWell, I’m finally getting around to putting up some free downloads for designers. Joy!

First up is a general contract. If you’re not using an online service that offers built-in contract protection(Guru, Elance, etc,) you MUST have a contract before you start any work. It not only protects you, but it gives your clients peace of mind that they will get precisely what they pay for.

The more detailed you can be (and you can get as minute with the project details as you want – just add more paper) the better off you’ll be, and it’ll be less likely that you run into the dreaded doing-more-than-I-agreed-to syndrome that seems to haunt us all.

The contract that’s here is, by no means, iron clad and leakproof – but it’s been good enough to get me out of more than one pinch, and usually, the signing of a contract is enough to guarantee that your client isn’t going to bail on you.

One word of advice for all freelancers – and I’ve learned this the hard way: If your client won’t sign a contract, DO NOT DO WORK FOR THEM. It’s not worth it. You might not get burned, but the possibility is increased exponentially if your client is not willing to sign on the dotted line.

Click here to download a zip file with the general contract. It’s saved as a PDF, EPS and AI file. Done on a Mac, but portable and reconfigurable. If you dig it and use it, all I ask is for a “thanks.” Links would be nice, a donation would be even better, but – that’s up to you and your conscious. Don’t sell it for profit. Cool?

Free Painting Software

Software is expensive, and as a freelance graphic designer, the latest version of the big name software might be a little out of reach at times. So, I present you with a real – and FREE – alternative to some of the really expensive stuff.

ArtRage 2.5 is a really cool program. Very natural, nice tools, pressure sensitive if you have a tablet, and it works on all platforms. And it runs smoothly without a ton of ram or the latest processor. Works on laptops and little machines. Sweet! Free!

Well – the started edition is free. The full version is $25. But the starter edition is really pretty stinking cool. It’s not Photoshop – but then again, what is? It’s got lots of tools and feels pretty natural. If you’re into painting and illustration (like I am) you’ll appreciate the ability to be fluid. I think I’m going to pony up and get the full version – just to have a little bit of fun. It’s cheaper than canvas.

Here’s a screen grab of a self-portrait in progress – click for full resolution:
me.jpg

And here’s a little detail. There’s almost as many brush strokes as wrinkles:
detail.jpg

Again – you can download it by clicking here.

As a freelance graphic designer, you can never have too many tools (especially free ones) and it can really be cathartic to push a little bit of paint around. It’s much more fun than pixels. Although I guess this is pixels. Praising painting while complaining about pixels while painting with pixels…

Man, now I’m confused.

Finding Work Online…

ww.jpgThere are a lot of great services for freelance graphic designers out there – and a lot of junk. I’ve worked with some of the best, and I’ve even dipped my toe into the pool of piranhas. Be careful of the services you align with, as you can spend a lot of dough on something that just won’t work – or worse yet – take up a lot of your time and actuall cost you more money than you make.

I’ll outline a couple here, and when I get the rest of this little site actually done, I’ll have a page with many. I’ve done a lot of footwork on a lot of sites, and I’ve fallen flat on my face on some of them. Now, you can learn from my bumps and bruises.

By the way – I don’t make a penny from endorsing or slamming any of these.

First up – my favorite – Guru.com. Really nice system that’s not over-saturated like some of the big boys. They’ve got it broken down into nice categories like graphic design, illustration, web design, copy writing, etc, and they break those categories down even further, so you can really narrow your search and find the jobs that interest you or utilize your strong suits. It costs $75 per quarter to get 100 bids monthly (you can buy more – called BidPax if you run out) and the jobs are varied and from all over the world. I’ve worked for Swedes and for people 1 town over. There’s plenty of competition, but if you bid appropriately, you get lots of work – and repeat business, which is ALWAYS good. Billing protection, 1099 service, etc make this well worth the investment.

Secondly – one of the lesser-known and less traveled – iFreelance.com. At only $10 a month, it’s really affordable, and there are a fair few jobs. Not huge, but growing. You have to handle your billing outside the system (PayPal, anyone) so there’s not a lot of protection for either party – but a good contract system (I’ll eventually put some sample contracts on this site) will keep you in the swim.

More later – but really, get out and check out some of the lesser-traveled freelance job sites. The less traffic they have, the better your chances. Plus, it’s kind of nice to design bottled water packages for a manufacturer in Belize…

The Other 90%

I am, by admission, a little hard-hearted. Generally, I don’t see much outside my world and my client list. But, I was doing some research on Wolfgang Weingart, and I ran across this site – and it got me to thinking…

61.jpg

Check out “Design for the Other 90%.” Food for thought.

“The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers. Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%.”
—Dr. Paul Polak, International Development Enterprises

The vast majority of what I do is done for the high-brows of the world – and that’s kind of sad. Why should the rich be the only ones who live with objects and products with thought and soul? Why must the poor be saddled with the purely utilitarian?

I don’t know. I’m not sure where I was going with this – but I know that we all deserve a little design in our lives. Something nice to look at. It doesn’t help all that much, but every little bit helps, right?

Sometimes, You Have to Laugh

I’ve found that the freelance life requires me to laugh. A LOT.

I think I’ll create a list (lists are a good way to keep track of things – there, that’ll serve as my info for today) to keep track of the things I should do when stresses set in.

Cable Modem Dead: Read an Al Jaffee comic.
Bad Customer Interaction: Big Lebowski
Hard Drive Malfunction: The Young Ones Box set in it’s entirety.
Losing Out on a Bid: Seinfeld or Simpsons
Client Requesting Comic Sans:

bunnypunch.png

Seriously, people – we’ve got to do away with Comic Sans. I wish we had one of those Men In Black memory eraser things so we could roam the globe and eliminate every copy of Comic Sans, then wipe free the memory of such an offending font.

Sadly, I have more than 5 copies installed. Just in case…

Hmm – maybe tomorrow we talk font management.

The Zen of Freelance Design…

I’ve come to realize that making it as a freelance graphic designer is more about being calm than it is about being a good businessman and having a lot of work. You need both – but really, you need to be at peace more than anything. After all, worrying is counter-productive.

There have been times where I’ve lived fat, and there have been times that things have been very, very lean – but the one constant has been that I’ve always made it and that there has never really been a constant. There have been times when I’ve worked under market value, and times that I’ve made more money per hour than a lawyer.

As a freelancer, you have to get into the ebb and flow of the work and the lifestyle. You have to search, and you have to stretch – but you have to keep moving. If you’re flush with work, you have to squirrel away some dough for later down the line, and if you’ve got nothing to do, don’t go out and sleep on the interstate. When things are slow, work on your own business and your own abilities. Don’t stop moving, and don’t give up.

willbe.jpgBeing calm in the face of adversity – be it too much work or too little, is going to be crucial to the success of your business, and to your general mental well being.

Work (and money and fame and fast cars) will come if you’re dedicated and work hard. But how you handle yourself in the lean or stressful times is going to determine whether you make it. Panic is not an option – nor is apathy. The work will come. It’s not going to be a constant, and if that’s the life you’re looking for, freelancing might not be for you. But it’s always interesting, and it’s a new job every day.

Give Me a Break

One of the big issues I have is taking breaks. They’re absolutely crucial, but as freelancers, we seem to kind of sweep them under the rug.

break.jpgTaking regular breaks help you avoid repetitive stress injuries (carpal tunnel, etc.,) they help you keep fresh and your ideas flowing, and they help keep you from going blind. Those cathode ray tubes and itty bitty pixels are not the easiest things on your eyes and your chair, no matter how ergonomic, is bad for your back.

It doesn’t have to be a long break, but you need to get up and walk around for a minute or two. Get a cup of coffee or some water. Go outside. It might sound odd – but do a jumping jack or stretch your arms and legs. Get the blood flowing again. If you really can’t get up and mill around, take a couple of minutes to turn away from whatever you’re doing and tense up every muscle in your body a couple of times. Tense, release, tense, release. It’ll help.

It’s always good to break the cycle of what you’re doing – if even for a few minutes. It’ll keep your design work fresh, and your body a little healthier.

Keeping Records

This might be a little base for some of you, but bear with me. This is important.

KEEP RECORDS OF EVERYTHING.

There. That’s all I have to say. Well, not really…

paperless.jpgWhen you start a job, start a folder and place your work order (you really need to start this habit,) the job contract (again – start doing this. I’ll post on this really soon, plus give you a downloadable, customizable contract) and any other preliminary paperwork in that folder. That way, when you need to reference something, you’ll know where it is.

When you’ve done that – do it again. Take all those digital files, print them and put them in a real folder. Next, print out the emails about the job. Keep the records and keep the actual paper. That way, if you’re without electricity, you can still do business. If you have a hard drive failure, you can still work. If you lose something (and you WILL!) you can still work.

Staying organized and having informational backup are the most important things for a freelance graphic designer. If that’s not your strong suit (it’s not mine) you really need to make a habit of at least starting projects with organization.

A little due dilligence to begin with will go a long, long way.

Now, I gotta go and clean up the stacks of paper and the empty Red Bull cans. Like I said – organization is not my strong suit.