Becoming a freelance graphic designer

Becoming a freelance graphic designer

Graphic designers work in a variety of environments. There are in-house designers, agency creatives and, of course, self-employed designers.

Many designers see self-employment as a goal which will allow them more creative control, recognition of their talents and also the freedom to concentrate on the projects that they prefer to work on. But starting out as a freelance graphic designer can also be a daunting prospect.
Pros and cons

The advantages of being self-employed are many and graphic designers become self employed for a variety of reasons. Many give up paid jobs, some voluntarily whilst others have taken advantage of redundancy packages to set up on their own.

Of course freelancing has many pitfalls and responsibilities that paid employment does not. Issues such as sales and marketing, self promotion, taxes and invoicing all become an every day part of the self employed designers lot.
Sales and self promotion

Graphic designers are experts at promoting other people's businesses, but many soon find that promoting themselves is much harder than it seems. For the first time many creatives will find themselves in the ironic position of struggling to design their own logos, business cards and web sites. And of course there is the fun, yet difficult, task of choosing a name for your design business.

There is also the question of finding the time for self promotion and marketing. It is interesting to note how many graphic designers (including some established agencies) have yet to find the time to even design their own web site portfolio.
Freelance contracting, self employment, partnerships?

There are a number of business models that designers can choose when deciding to work for themselves. Some creatives specialize in working at client's premises – usually on a short term contract basis. Others will set up their own studios - either at home or in a small office. Whilst others may form partnerships with other creatives to share skills, office rent, equipment and utility bills.
Work space, hardware and equipment

A graphic designer's working environment is not like most other office-based professions. Graphic designers need much more than simply a desk and a cheap personal computer. Equipment such as light boxes, cutting tables, spray booths and storage space for paper, boards and other presentation materials are also a requirement. It is for these reasons that many small office /home office (SOHO) designers eventually decide to find premises away from their living environment.

Creatives who are planning to meet clients on their own premises may also want to investigate the availability of meeting room space. Many shared office environments have 'board rooms' that can be booked for meetings.

And when it comes to technology, designers also have to be very careful about choosing which computer they will be using. Lots of processing power, RAM memory, large monitors and fast hard disks are all a crucial part of the graphic designers' tool-set. Deciding whether to standardize on Apple Macs or Windows PCs may also be consideration. Traditionally print designers tended to prefer Macs, but is no longer such a crucial factor.

Web designers may decide to budget for both operating systems, if only for testing purposes. Although now that Intel-based Macs can run Windows natively, this may be easier to achieve than previously.
Choosing graphic design software

Finding the right DTP software to standardize on is not an easy decision for new graphic design businesses. Graphics software is not cheap and so it is crucial for design professionals to make the right choices early on. There are software tools for converting layout files from one applications file format to another – such as Quark to InDesign – but these are never 100% successful.

The right choice of design software tools and utilities is especially crucial as a business grows and the industry changes. For example the recent merger between Macromedia and Adobe has led to the demise of Freehand and Adobe GoLive which has left many creative companies needing to re-evaluate their software strategy.

Some kind of studio management software, job timing utilities and accounting packages are also recommended. There are numerous tools available, both simple and complex. Although some freelancers find that even a well organized Excel spreadsheet does the job for them.
Keeping up to date

It is also important to keep up to date with the graphics industry. Changes in printing and web technology are frequent and so trade magazines, design forums and keeping in contact with design industry associations is always recommended.

Some time should also be allowed for researching new computer hardware technology and keeping up to date with the latest software releases and developments. Obviously keeping skills up to date with training and self education is also a necessity.
Limits of the business

Some creatives like to take the multidisciplinary design approach, exploring many diverse avenues of the industry. Others will define their terms of trade much more strictly and specialize in a niche area, either of design market itself, or a particular client industry. The first approach is obviously more involved and may require partnerships or third party contractors to achieve successfully.

Defining and promoting a unique selling point (USP) is crucial for setting a business apart from its competitors. However, sometimes circumstances dictate that self-employed designers branch out into new areas. For example a print designer may impress a client so much that they ask if they can build them a web site. And if you specialize in designing movie posters, are you going to turn down an annual report design project?

Finally, this article is only an introduction intended to give some pointers to graphic designers looking to set up on their own and should certainly not be used a 'set-in-stone' blueprint. Freelance design can be a very rewarding occupation, but it does need to be researched carefully and every designer does things their own way, with varying degrees of success. Please feel free to look through the suggested articles below and also at sources on other web sites.

And, of course, talk to other graphic designers. Most will be more than happy to give advice and personal experiences and this can sometimes be the most useful source of 'real world' advice.

You can see my Online work (Graphic/Multimedia/ WebDesigner):http://lifewithoutcolour.blogspot.com/