Graphic designers often ask how I made the switch to self-employment. Here’s a quick overview of that period in my life in 2004/05.

I was working as publications officer for Myeloma UK, a cancer charity in Edinburgh. My responsibilities included print design, print buying, and managing the web content.

In 2004 I resigned in order to travel the world. At the time I had no intention of returning my previous role, and was in fact considering a life teaching English in Asia, but in 2005 after months of eye-opening experiences abroad, and when I made it back to Edinburgh, a replacement designer hadn’t been found. So I asked the chief executive Eric Low if he wanted to hire me as a part-time contractor, working three days per week and invoicing at the end of each month.

He agreed, and we worked that way for around 18 months — until the charity grew so much that a full-time designer was again a necessity.

(The self-employment hierarchy above was created by Tony Clark, discussed in a previous post: Are freelance designers really suckers?)

Starting out with a retainer client was vital to my success, and while those three days per week brought in just enough cash to get me by, they allowed plenty of time to work on the build of my website and blog (my main self-promotion tool).

My speciality has since changed from publications to brand identity design, and although it’s been a number of years since I’ve worked with Myeloma UK, I still keep track of how the organisation is doing. It’s fantastic to see what a difference it’s making to myeloma patients.

Don’t let the naysayers get you down

When I talked to friends about starting my business, there were one or two who said I wasn’t experienced enough, and that I should stay in employment until later in life. If you’re considering making the switch from full-time employment, you’ll probably find these very same people, but don’t let them bring you down.

With passion and commitment, you can make a success of anything you set your mind to.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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You’re a graphic design student with a portfolio full of fictitious projects. You want to work with clients to build your experience, but you need a more developed portfolio to attract the clients. A classic catch-22.

That’s when working pro bono proves extremely useful.

Read on to learn why, and for a chance to win one of five signed copies of Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities.

What is pro bono?

Pro bono publico (usually shortened to pro bono) is a phrase derived from Latin meaning “for the public good.” The term is generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment as a public service.

Unlike traditional volunteerism, pro bono uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.

What business should you approach?

Contact a small- to medium-sized non-profit organisation. Larger non-profits will have a substantial budget allocated to their brand identity, and are more likely to work with an experienced professional or studio.

Conduct an online search or look in your telephone directory for a non-profit in your locality. The benefit of staying local is you can meet your new client face-to-face. Doing so will not only help build your confidence in business meetings, but it makes it easier to ensure you’re dealing with the decision-maker rather than passing design ideas through a middle-person — adding an unnecessary step to the design process.

There are further benefits with working locally. For instance, once the project is complete, you will have the opportunity to take photos of the finished design in context (e.g., on signage and stationery). It’s these contextual shots that can turn an average portfolio into an excellent one.

Additionally, you’re building your network of local business contacts, and the stronger your network, the more tools and help you will have available throughout your design career.

How to make the approach

It’s important to talk to the person directly responsible for the visual branding. In a small-sized non-profit this is likely to be the managing director or chief executive.

Call or send an email pitching yourself as a talented designer who is about to, or has recently graduated with a design degree. Say it’s your policy to devote a small percentage of time towards pro bono work (for the public good), and that your client’s non-profit mission is one you have a great deal of respect for (this should of course be true).

Detail the savings you are offering your client (your standard rate for an identity project, only discounted by 100%). Doing so will ensure the value of the outcome isn’t underestimated, and helps keep your client motivated.

Arrange a 30-minute meeting, where you will discuss the design needs and set a course of action.

In the meeting

Arrive with a list of pre-determined questions, a notepad, a pen, and your business card (which you will hand over at the end).

It’s possible your client is anxious about the process of having a brand identity created or redesigned. She may see ideas as a risk, and not as a way to secure her mortgage. So the more indepth your initial discussions, the more at ease you will make your client. It may be that it’s her first time working on an identity project, and it’s up to you to show how smoothly the process can flow.

Be sure to time the meeting, and if you haven’t finished within 30 minutes, say you have reached the end of the allocated time, and that you can call or email your client at a later date for any other necessary information — your client will be very busy, and will appreciate you sticking to your pre-arranged time limit.

Questions to ask

The crux of a healthy graphic design brief lies in the questions you pose. Obtaining the necessary answers isn’t difficult. You just need to ask.

If you want specifics, I outline a number of vital questions in chapter four of Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities, and I have five free signed copies up for grabs.

Photo by Raja Sandhu

There are two ways to enter the random draw:

1. Either upload one of your favourite self-designed logos to the Logo Design Love Facebook group
2. Or update your Twitter account with the following message:

Improve your portfolio with pro bono design: http://bit.ly/cfkg1m (by @DavidAirey)

Winners will be drawn and notified on Friday 26th February. I’ll also update this page with the winning names. Two signed copies will go to designers who upload to the Facebook group, and three to those who spread the word on Twitter. Double your chances by entering both ways.

Update: 26 February 2010
The winners have been drawn and notified. They are Alex Rogers, Alison Rowan, Wilson Almeida, Jack Franklin, and Naomi Oldfield. Thanks very much to all who entered!

If random draws, Twitter, or Facebook aren’t your thing, the book’s available to purchase now on Amazon.com (or Amazon.co.uk for those in the United Kingdom).

There’s also a free chapter here, and a few book reviews here.

How did you attract your first client in self-employment?

My first design client was actually my former employer — a cancer organisation in Edinburgh. I had been responsible for the company’s print and web management, and when I resigned to spend some months travelling the world, I returned to find that a suitable replacement hadn’t been found.

I asked the chief executive to hire me for three days per week as a design contractor. He agreed, enabling me to spend the remainder of the working week building my online presence and sourcing new clients.

Five years on, and there’s very little I’d change about the path I’ve taken.

What about you? How did your first client come about?

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(Updated following this comment from James Chartrand.)

No-one knows better than you how much talent you have, and every project specification is different. If your client is asking for a rush-job, they’ll expect to pay a higher rate.

The physical location of my clients doesn’t change what I charge, but it could alter what the client is willing to spend.

Here are some pricing articles to help.

About design pricing

• 12 Realities of Pricing Design Services, by Steven Snell
• Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price, by Collis Ta’eed
• Is Charging More the Right Thing to Do? on Men With Pens
• The Subtle Effects of Pricing on the Mentality of Clients, on FreelanceSwitch

And a few previous ones here on my blog.

• First steps to graphic design pricing
• Design pricing and when to talk money
• How 20 designers charge their clients

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Cat Wentworth, the Bangkok-based force behind NO!SPEC, has conducted an excellent interview with newly-appointed AIGA President Debbie Millman. Here are a couple of choice quotes.

“AIGA has reiterated its longtime position that spec work is not in the interest of either designers or clients and we are now redoubling our efforts to educate, inform and inspire clients and designers alike to work respectfully, intelligently and fairly.

“I am personally vigorously, passionately and fundamentally AGAINST designers being asked to do work on spec and neither I nor my firm will ever participate in speculative work. I have said it before and I will say it again: Speculative work denigrates both the agencies and the designers that participate. If we give away our work for free, if we give away our talent and our expertise, we give away more than the work. We give away our souls.”

Designing on spec leads to many problems for both the designer and client. I’ll not go into details here, because it’s all been said elsewhere.

• Don’t design on spec, by Jeffrey Zeldman
• Spec Work Arithmetic, from the Speak Up Archive
• Why speculative design is wrong, on Boagworld
• An interview with SpecWatch, on Web Designer Depot
• Spec Work Is Evil / Why I Hate CrowdSpring, by Andrew Hyde
• More logo design contest nonsense, on The Logo Factor
• Pay the Designer, on 8164
• SpecWatch on design contests, on Logo Design Love
• Why CrowdSpring Owners Should Be Ashamed of Their Business, by Brian Yerkes
• Is Tim Ferriss acting like an asshole? On ideasonideas
• The Personal Cost of Designing on Spec, by Mark Boulton

Twitter accounts worth following

• @SpecWatch
• @nospec

Debbie, I’m delighted for you and your new role with AIGA, and I hope it all works out brilliantly.

Head over to NO!SPEC to read the full chat. (Debbie Millman on Twitter.)

And a very special thanks to Cat for her tireless efforts.

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Here follows a guest post by Aditya Mahesh of AMBeat.com, a blog offering resources for entrepreneurs — advice, start-up profiles, interviews, news analysis, and more.

Now I’ve never been a graphic designer (my background’s in copywriting), but by hiring designers on numerous occasions I’ve gained insights from the customer-side that will help you satisfy your own clients. The following tips will help you keep your customers coming back.

I don’t know what I want

Chances are, unless I’m a designer, I don’t know what I want. All I know is I want something functional that looks good, is comparable with my competitors, and features constant colour schemes for branding. I’ll look at other designs that have already been created and ask for something similar. Hence, it is important that you can take the information I give and help me visualize what it is you think I want.

I need control

I mightn’t know anything about the design process, but as a customer — and especially as an entrepreneur and small business owner — I need control over every aspect of my business. Hence, to keep me happy, you need to give up control over the process. Show me samples and updates throughout to make sure you are creating exactly what I want. If I ask for a change you don’t agree with, do it the way I want and the way you think it should be done (provided it isn’t too much extra work) and let me decide what I think is best.

I’m unsure about pricing

Many businesses are willing to pay for quality but the fact is that no matter how much your time is worth, there are designers willing to put out decent quality for 1/10 of your costs. Hence, you need to ensure that your competitive advantage is significant and apparent. It might not be fair, but that’s what the web has done to the free market. Outsourcing affects everyone.

I appreciate honesty and quality

I cannot tell you how many designers have told me they’d complete a project to my specifications only to delay the delivery date and the finally deliver something completely different from what I requested. So whenever I hire a designer who is candidly honest, delivers what I want, and goes above and beyond, I go out of my way to help them in any way I can. I appreciate someone who goes out of their way to make sure I’m happy, and if you do so, most of the time it will lead to repeat and referral business.

I want you to stick around

Once you have delivered a final project, don’t simply disappear. Just because I have what I want, this doesn’t mean I know how to use it. Help me apply the designs you created. No matter how brilliant the outcome, I will look poorly upon your service if you disappear and I have to pay someone else to apply or edit the design. It also just makes good business sense to stick around after completing a job. I’m constantly looking to complete additional design projects.

Summary

Overall, I don’t want to keep hiring new designers. As long as you can provide what I want at a reasonable price, I’ll keep coming back.

Here are some related posts elsewhere

• Clients: The Problem Areas
• Who makes the best client?
• A Client’s Guide to Professional Conduct in the Design Industry
• Designers Working With Clients
• Client Week on FreelanceSwitch
• Key Thing to Ask When Hiring Designers
• The “dealing with designers” category on this website

From David:
No two clients are ever the same. For the designers amongst you, is Aditya a client you’d be happy to work with? Would you have any reservations? If you’ve previously hired graphic designers have you found yourself thinking along similar lines?

Thanks for taking the time to guest author, Aditya.

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Here’s a sadly all-too-true video that shows what I’ve experienced with a lot of potential clients. I get the distinct impression I’m not alone.

Seem familiar?

Remember, it’s perfectly okay to say “No”. In fact, it can be necessary.

Via iLT on Twitter.

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A few months ago I wrote a brief article about graphic design contracts. You offered some excellent advice in the comments, and here I feature a select few of your contract tips.

Jennifer, of Black Eye Design

We use a custom made contract based on the AIGA one (which can be found here). Theirs is an incredibly comprehensive document that runs to 20+ pages. We found the length to be very intimidating so we worked with our lawyer to develop one that had a similar spirit of fairness to both parties but that is much, much shorter (two sides).

We designed it so that we only have to sign the contract once with a client (we actually call it a design agreement) and then the specifics of each particular job are detailed in a separate proposal or each project (which also gets a signature).

Amanda, of Truly Ace Design

I don’t make my clients sign an actual contract but I do make a contract ‘in the eyes of the law’.

To make a contract in the eyes of the law you need three things. An offer, an acceptance, and a consideration.

The offer is your quotation, including any ‘terms’ (you can view the terms as your contract specifics), the acceptance is the client saying ‘yes I want to go ahead’, and the consideration is them thinking about it for a day whilst you send an invoice for the deposit.

Once they then pay the deposit you have evidence they have considered and still agreed to your terms by paying a deposit. I rarely work without a deposit unless it’s a client I really trust.

As I deal exclusively via email for quotations, when I quote I have a written record of this ‘contract’ that has been made… I have written evidence of the offer, the acceptance, and then the consideration is evidenced by the follow-up deposit after the acceptance of the terms.

Does anyone else do it this way? It’s held me in stead for many years, I haven’t had a none payer for about five years now.

I also think it’s less intimidating than an actual contract to sign. They don’t even feel like they are in a contract, though I know that they are in reality. Plus it’s less paperwork for them… also appealing from the customer’s perspective.

James, of James Kurtz III

I couldn’t afford to pay a lawyer to draft something, and I didn’t trust myself with creating this document, so I decided to go to my local University Law School and ask for help. It turns out they have a business law clinic that helps small businesses protect themselves with contracts and other legal matters. After working with a third-year law student, and one of the professors, I now have a wonderful document for my small business.

You, and your readers, may benefit from calling your local university to see if they offer any similar services.

Richard, of Peacock Carter

We work in a similar way to Jennifer: a generic ‘terms of business’ document / contract, and then have a ‘project specification’ defining exactly what we’ll do, and what we need the client to do.

We take 50% of the project’s cost up-front (although with existing clients / larger projects we’re happy to split the cost into more payments, taken at milestones defined in the project).

Lauren, of Creative Curio

The other benefit to established payment up-front is that it makes sure both the client and the designer have a vested interest in the project. Of course, even this doesn’t always work to make sure the client is serious about the project, but at least the designer gets partially paid for his / her trouble! Too many times my husband has had clients that will pay up-front and then let the project go for six months only to come back and demand it be finished in a day because, of course, he had plenty of time to finish it, being six months later and all.

Slowly, we learn from our mistakes, and our contracts get longer.

Thanks very much to Jennifer, Amanda, James, Richard, Lauren, and to everyone else who left advice on my original blog post.

I work in a very similar way to Amanda, treating the written email as indication that consensus has been reached. There’s no physical signing of any forms. Am I leaving myself open to a fall? You probably know better, but after four years in self-employment, so far so good.

If you have any additional thoughts to share, they’re very welcome, and if you’re interested in how designers charge their clients, here’s a previous three-part feature that could be of help:

How 20 designers charge their clients

1. How 20 designers charge their clients — part one
2. How 20 designers charge their clients — part two
3. How 20 designers charge their clients — part three

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Last month I asked what the difference is between hiring an agency and hiring a freelance graphic designer. The discussion that followed was great, and here I’ve picked out a few of your answers.

Jim Eaton, of James Eaton Design…

“With many freelancers working from home, they can often pass on considerable savings made through low overheads.”

It’s very tempting to use this as a selling point. But I wonder… if the end product has the same value to the client, shouldn’t the fees be the same? I’m defining value in terms of improving the client’s condition — stronger brand recognition, improved perceived value of their products/services, higher sales, looking better than the competition, and so on.

For example, if Mercedes Benz figured out a way to produce their vehicles for the cost of a Hyundai without compromising quality — wouldn’t, shouldn’t they still charge the same high prices for their exceptional product?

Seems to me if I can produce the same quality work with lower overhead, then that just means I’m running a better business than the larger firm.

Aaron, of Aaron Russell…

Collectively, a decent agency can offer a much broader skillset than any freelancer can offer — and by that I mean much more than a group of collaborating designers. For instance, in an agency you could find experts from a direct marketing background, SEO experts, branding gurus, technical web geniuses, etc. Whilst it’s plausible a freelancer could be an expert in one or more niches, it’s unlikely they can cover all the bases an agency can.

Adam Chang, of same tomorrow…

“Design revisions can frequently be made almost immediately after the request”

…I’m not too sure its a good thing, for the freelancer at least. Clients sometimes want changes immediately and it seems like they want you to drop everything to make that fix… but at an agency you would never have to deal with that part.

Christian Messer, of Whiplash Design…

Nathan said:

And although “there is often a group of designers collaborating on ideas, offering a broad range of outcomes” within an agency, this can equally restrict ideas and stifle inspiration when egos and bureaucracy get in the way.

Interesting and I agree — egos can get in the way, but there are also times when a freelancer’s ego can get in the way — it’s up to the freelancer to know when this rears its head, and to nip it in the bud. The peers I look up to, such as Jeff Fisher (of LogoMotives) and Von Glitschka, have taught me how to deal with this.

Mark, of I am Mark Cameron…

The only time I can think of going with an agency is when I would have a project too massive in scale for a single freelancer to complete.

Richard, of Peacock Carter…

As Mark mentions, the benefit of the agency is that they can handle bigger projects, though I fully agree that just because there are more people working at an agency, it does not necessarily mean the work produced is better than a single designer / freelancer.

Andrew, of Andrew Kelsall…

“Reasons to work with a graphic design agency …There is often a group of designers collaborating on ideas.”

That could also be true of freelancers, but in a different way ― via social networking.

Jeff Fisher, of LogoMotives…

The independent designer can often provide exactly the same quality (and quantity) of works as that of a larger agency. The quality of a “contract” designers previous work, and their marketing materials, is often all it takes to put their business on the same level as the “big boys”…

Abbas Arezoo, of Design Sheffield…

I’m a freelance designer, however I run a company on my own. This means I’m a director, creative director, head designer, tea-maker and courier all rolled into one. Depending on the situation, depends on which title to use (apart from the tea-maker and courier of course!).

I’ve not said I was a freelance designer since I left university.

PJ, of Hardly Square…

An agency is just a roof. Ok maybe I’m simplifying it a bit much, but if you have an extensive network to pull from there is no reason why a freelancer couldn’t include other talents (i.e. SEO experts, brand gurus, etc) within their project.

Rob, from Rob Cubbon…

…the larger bloated agencies will be slimming down… some might even disappear. And the reason is the freelancer can call on a network of other professionals in order to help with a job if it’s too big.

Alicia, from 400…

…who is best depends greatly on the project, the particular client, and the relationship they have with their designer/design consultancy. As for the small cash-strapped start-ups that George mentioned, I think that good design is an investment and it will provide a bottom line return on that investment (look at the DBA design effectiveness awards). There is always a solution — for example, sometimes designers will exchange their services for equity in that start-up business.

Thanks again to everyone who commented, and if you have any additional thoughts of your own, by all means continue the discussion.

Update: here’s an appropriate discussion from back in 2007 — are freelance designers really suckers? It focuses on the actual job titles used by the independent contractors among us.

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Lee Newham is a senior designer at London-based design consultancy, P&W. He receives around three or four CVs (resumés) every day, and here he details some tips on how graphic designers can get those CVs to the top of the pile.

CV tips for graphic designers

99% of CVs are poorly designed. It’s a struggle.

If your CV is good, and relevant to me, you have a higher chance of getting a response.

The creative director often isn’t the person to contact. Many times senior designers are the first port of call for interviews. There is no harm in sending a CV to more than one person at an agency.

Be creative, but don’t be pushy. Agencies find it very difficult to enlist good staff. That’s why most use expensive recruitment agencies.

Here’s my advice to graphic designers trying to get their CV to the top of the pile:

1. Brand yourself. Make yourself memorable. I know that some people may disagree with this, which seems to be a USA thing, but your CV is seen by a creative, not the accountants. ‘Wow’ them.
2. Be more than a sheet of paper. Most CVs are now sent by email. What can you do to differentiate yourself?
3. Don’t include things I don’t care about, like ’I once worked as a waiter’ or ’I got a qualification in chemistry’. I don’t care if you like swimming. I do care, however, if you saw the last lecture by Paul Rand before he died and what your thoughts were. Make it relevant.
4. Ensure everything is beautifully presented. Consider your kerning and double-check there are no silly mistakes — we all want to employ a safe pair of hands.
5. Follow-up anything you send with a phone call, but remember, don’t hassle, be polite. Ask them what they thought of your CV and how it could be improved.
6. Don’t try too hard. One student sent a mailer that was a fake bomb (with the tag line ’dynamite designer’. The bomb squad were called and the designer was contacted — by the police. He didn’t get the job. This raises another point — don’t boast, no-one wants to employ an arrogant designer. Never say you are the best. Leave that to Mohammed Ali.

Patience + time = job. Good luck.

Your thoughts

Do you have any additional CV tips to share?

Once your CV gets that foot in the door, Lee has also shared 15 graphic design interview tips to aid the next step in the employment process.

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Working with a graphic design agency, instead of a freelance designer, can offer many benefits, but it’s not a one-way street. Here I outline the advantages of relationships with one over the other.

As every freelancer and design agency is different, it’s impossible to cover all the advantages, so if you can add to any of these pointers, please do leave a comment.

It’s also worth noting there’s a certain amount of overlap. For instance, my first reason for choosing an agency is because they’re well versed in dealing with large accounts. The same can be true for a freelancer.

Reasons to work with a graphic design agency

• Well versed in dealing with large accounts.
• You’re not reliant on the health of one person for the successful completion of your design project.
• There is often a group of designers collaborating on ideas, offering a broad range of outcomes.
• A long list of prestigious, trustworthy clients can be offered.

Here are 10 respected graphic design agencies / consultancies.

400

Brownjohn

Chermayeff & Geismar

FutureBrand

Interbrand

Landor

Minale Tattersfield

Pentagram

Siegel+Gale

Turner Duckworth

Reasons to work with a freelance graphic designer

• From start to finish, you’re talking to the top creative designer on the job, so your project specifications don’t need relayed before action is taken.
• There are no separate account managers, senior creatives or junior designers, each with differing interpretations of the design brief.
• You’re hiring the person responsible for 100% of the graphic design portfolio
• Phone calls go directly to the person working on your project — not a sales person or account manager.
• With many freelancers working from home, they can often pass on considerable savings made through low overheads.
• Design revisions can frequently be made almost immediately after the request.
• Billing enquiries and delivery timeframes can be clarified at the same time as specific design discussions.

…it must be clearly pointed out that not all freelancers are created equal. There are too many people who label themselves “freelancers,” who in reality are frighteningly uneducated and sorely inexperienced individuals who can do a lot of damage to the creative industry. A company running into one of these designers can easily be burned, either through mediocre creative work, inappropriate and uneducated charging, or just plain bad business practices.

Quoted from Kevin Potts’ article, Selling yourself: market advantages of a freelancer, published on Creative Latitude.

Making a decision

The aim of this brief post is to look positively upon both agencies and freelancers. The fact that I list more pros for freelancers isn’t purposely because I’m a self-employed designer, but because I genuinely believe it can be a more advantageous route for clients to pursue.

Whether or not it’s the most suitable option is another question, and depends upon individual projects and needs.

Some of the worlds most respected graphic designers work in agencies, but that’s not to say you won’t find equally respected creatives working alone. Designers are successful because of a love of the craft, and as fantastic as it would be to experience working at Pentagram or Landor, I’m extremely happy working from my home office, with flexible working hours and the fortune of being able to choose my clients.

Should the advantages I’ve listed differ from your own experience, I’d appreciate your input, and if you’re outsourcing a design project, or have plans to do so, here’s an article of mine you may find useful: choosing a logo designer.

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