Checking against the brief

It’s not a totally unrestrained part of the creative process though; throughout you’ll have to check your progress against the original brief. Not doing so can result in a wrong turn and the possibility of that cardinal sin: not meeting the needs of the brief! Working on a project in the early stages of my career, I took a pretty erratic divergence from what was discussed in the early meetings and, predictably, was pulled up short by the client. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the work I had submitted, it just didn’t answer the brief.

So…

Let’s return to the brief I provided as an example last time. In it, it is stated that the desired aim was for the new entity to look fresh and crisp, though in a sense established. Some sort of visual link to the existing (and already very well established) accountancy entity would also have to be provided. Reconciling these two demands was the unique question I was being called upon to answer.

Establishing a link between the new company and old was easy; the existing corporate burgundy, when modified, was a strong and appropriate colour choice, so I carried it over into the new identity and introduced a secondary pallet of autumnal colours to be used alongside it.

But back to research…

Indeed, which as I described above is one of the most fun parts of the job. My particular client was based oop north in Manchester, a city famous for its bygone docks and textiles industries, and more recently its newly redeveloped Salford Keys district. I thought these aspects of the city offered enormous graphical potential, and put it to the client that any new identity conceived should have at its core something uniquely Manchester about it. This accepted, I threw myself into finding out everything about England’s second city I could, and quickly found my mind swimming in imagery of iron girders, spinning wheels, cranes, looms of silk, rainy cobbles and steel rivets; more than enough material to make a start with.

And make a start I did, experimenting with every possible shape, type treatment, colour combination and these elements’ juxtaposition as I thought might work. It’s unlikely you’ll do quite as much sketching and brainstorming as during this stage of the creative process.

The key to my particular project lay in the personality of the city in which the company was born, so my research largely sprung from this starting point. But factors will vary project to project. Other good areas to consider and questions to ask are:

• The sector your client belongs to. Research how your client’s competitors have handled their branding and identity — then look for a way of treating yours differently and creatively.
• The themes and messages your client wants to project. Try to obtain keywords and qualities off them and look for ways of exploring these. If solidity and straightforwardness are important to them, you might explore building/masonry type shapes and concentrate on producing concepts shorn of superfluous ornament. If tradition and establishedness is a must, then heraldry might be a good place to start, and so on.
• It’s best not to bombard your client with too many concepts —even at an initial stage— so I chose from my dozens of vector sketches six or eight marks which I thought had the strongest potential for development. ‘Pearls’ to paraphrase Alexander Dumas. ‘Rough, shapeless pearls, of no value, waiting for their jeweller’.

Mind Mapping

It’s a good idea to discuss mind mapping here, as it can be an invaluable asset at this early stage of throwing ideas onto the page. Mind mapping is a graphical variant on brainstorming. The method was developed by the Englishman Tony Buzan in 1974, and is based on insights from research on the human brain. He used his research to create a presentation method that addressed both the right and left-hand cerebral hemispheres equally by combining linguistic and logical thinking with intuitive and pictorial thinking. The typical structure of a mind map resembles a tree structure, where the subject is written in the middle of a sheet of paper. It’s best if a succint, slogan-like word or caption is used here; lengthy sentences aren’t as effective at this stage. These keywords should trigger associations and chains of association by linking impressions, feelings and ideas. The keywords which spring from your central theme are written on lines which form the maind branches, and which can then branch further for subsequent sub-concepts.

If further variations on these ideas come to mind, an additional branch is added to the appropriate main branch. This then produces further little branches on the existing main branches. The resultant mind map can be re-organised and re-structured at any stage, as it may not be clear at the outset how the map will develop, and in what direction. Use this highly effective technique when embarking on your research!

For a more in depth look at mind mapping see our fantastic mind mapping blog article.

In sum…

In carrying out exhaustive, though tightly-focussed research and using mind mapping to help you conceive your ideas —not forgetting to check your progress against the original brief— you’ll maximise your chances of presenting something your client will see potential in and want to see developed — and help you to avoid getting told off for bouncing off on a tangent!

Quality

As mentioned above, some clients brief their designers verbally, others will supply a detailed written document, and some do something in between (an initial chat over a pint, some follow-up emails, a telephone call).

Whichever way your client likes to deal with these things, I’d suggest always at least trying to obtain a written brief. It adds clarity to things and gives the designer a document to return to if unsure of the client’s intentions. Let’s assume you’ve got what you want, a written brief from your client. The next thing to consider is quality. Whilst a hastily-scribbled couple of sentences torn from a ring-bound notepad and pressed into the designer’s palm can result in mistaken instructions, general confusion and, ultimately, a solution which falls short of the client’s expectations, a detailed, structured and rational document, supported by meetings and telephone calls, can provide the designer with a sound understanding of what the client wants. The better the briefing, the more intuitive this understanding will be, and the greater the chances of you delivering a solution your client will love.

An example of a good brief

Shown below is an example of a well-written brief commissioning the work of a branding exercise for a new financial services company based in Manchester, England (the name of the company has been obscured). The client has tried to be as helpful as possible in providing the designer with all the information he’ll need before he starts the project, including company history and values, objectives, instructions on the tone of voice and visual image the company would like to project, and an informal ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ to help steer the designer in the right direction. Little, if nothing, has been left unclear. A brief like this, outlining exactly what the client wants, doesn’t want, likes and doesn’t like, gives the designer a flying start when beginning a project.

Dear Lord, I never knew that…

The word briefing comes from American military language and means a deployment discussion with a short description of the situation and explanation of the aims of the operation, and a detailed strategy. The term was introduced into advertising by the American advertising executive Rosser Reeves and the copywriter David Ogilvy, and was then adopted by marketing.

Top Tips

• If your client is reluctant to provide you with a written brief, offer to write one yourself and supply it to him. If he’s not keen on the idea, alarm bells should start ringing
• Examine, prod, probe and jab at the brief until you know it inside out
• If unsure of anything, ask the client
• Develop a sixth sense for recognising a bad brief. If you come across one you can walk away from it, or suggest you re-write it

Receiving the brief

Once you’ve received your gleaming and faultless document, the creative process may begin! The first responsibility of the designer is to understand the brief, so be sure to go over yours with a fine tooth comb until you’re confident you fully understand your client’s aims, objectives, needs and desires. If unsure of anything, don’t make assumptions on behalf of anyone else, but get back in touch with the client and ask for further clarification. Bring to bear what you already know about the project and your client and try to read between the lines. In short, do as full a job as possible on understanding the brief.

The re-briefing

In addition to the chief document you will have received, an initial conversation will have taken place where the project will have been discussed and the commission offered. Much can be learnt at this (usually informal) stage, especially if the conversation happens face to face. Use the time to delve into your client’s thoughts, share concerns if there are any and try to gauge his intentions.

After this initial chat, your receipt of the brief and examination of it, a re-brief might be necessary. The re-brief affords the designer an opportunity to go over any corrections and seek further clarification after the commission has been accepted. This re-briefing can be a valuable stage in the process, a time for discussion and for the designer to present the basic idea for his concept to the client, before time and money are invested in the implementation phase.

Summary

This might all seem a lot to take on board, but to secure yourself, then scrutinise, the document which holds the key to you delivering your best creative response is really common sensical. Succeed here and you’ll be ready to begin the fun stuff!

Elephant

Images © Elephant

Ah, the excellent Elephant magazine. Elephant is a new publication which focuses on art and visual culture. The magazine is divided into five parts: meetings, research, studio visits, economies and cities. Of the many new titles currently to be found out there, Elephant —still new on issue #6— looks set to establish itself in the visual culture sector.

Dapper Dan

Images © Dapper Dan

Dapper Dan is a brand-new men’s magazine that is “interested in inspiration, not novelty”. It is created in Athens, Greece and published twice a year, spanning fashion, culture and philosophy through striking photography and thoughtful texts. According to their website, “Dapper Dan is for the man who doesn’t feel he should have to be like everybody else.”

File

Images © File

File Magazine is a bi-annual publication featuring a broad selection of visual communication in the fields of graphic design, art, photography, fashion and moving image. Beautifully presented in a 30 x 39cm hard cover with a full-colour 96pp newsprint inner stitched inside. Recognising the potential synergy between print and moving image, each issue is accompanied by a full-screen online player, screening in full each issue’s short films, music videos and documentaries. A magazine to both watch and read.

Futu

Images © Futu

An award winning design, fashion and luxury publication from Poland, Futu aims to highlight the positive aspects of material culture and promote a certain mode of creative living. The typography is highly accomplished throughout each publication and much thought goes into substrates used for each issue. Most interestingly, each month a single design studio is chosen from across the world to design that month’s issue.

It’s Nice That

Images © It’s Nice That

It’s Nice That is another one of those independents which looks set to stay. It showcases work from the fields of graphic design, product design and illustration, publishing exciting practitioners both on and offline, and directing that talent to produce creative projects for brands. The physical journal is published every April and October as an archive for the most interesting editorial from the last six months. For those who find relentless advertising a turn-off, each publication is entirely advertising free.

Territory

Images © Territory

A design magazine in the pure sense, The Malaysian Territory was first published in 2004 and has since then become an important journal within the Asian design scene, some heralding it as the first of its kind in the region. Since first publication, Territory has evolved its own peculiar trippy aesthetic, setting it apart from similar journals who are often concerned with modernism-like design or a more European style of illustration. Territory claims to constantly work to discover fresh talent, helping up-and-coming designers carve their identities in the international arena. Not a bad thing at all.

The Ride

Images © The Ride

One of the loveliest new publications out there, The Ride truly is something special. Born of an idea to create an all-encompassing journal for riders who do not wish to be categorised as commuters, bmxers, track racers, freeriders and so on, The Ride exists to give something back to the riding community. Each issue contains riders’ tales and stories, and the publishers have been wise enough to pull on board some first rate artists, illustrators and designers, all of whom have contributed to giving The Ride the highly memorable visual style it has.

Summary

With all the iPad-inspired talk in the air of the death of print (a topic that refuses to die) it’s deeply heartening to find so many people so ready to launch their own titles, a fact that seems nicely to counter the prevailing prognosis for the publishing industry. That the industry has changed a great deal is not in doubt, and the dispiriting state of several first-rate established titles is a genuine concern. Perhaps though we’re witnessing not the death of an industry, but its metamorphosis into something different. As Jeremy Leslie of the excellent magCulture blog wrote in a recent Creative Review article, “It’s the tangible, physical medium of print that people turn to for self-expression.” There are no signs of the medium loosening its hold on the creative industry’s imagination. Beautiful magazines are here to stay.

Author: Abby Holmes for The Graphic Design School The Graphic Design School offers vocational training graphic design courses. Delivery is online, affordable and open to students all over the world to study in the comfort of their own home.

Recruiters – Do you need them to land a job?

What’s the job of a recruiter?

A recruiter is basically the middle man between you and an employer. There are many recruiters that deal specifically with design and advertising agencies. They’re in close contact with a number of employers, so they’re often the first to know about freelance and permanent jobs that are coming up. They also know exactly what’s going on at a large number of agencies; who’s hiring, who’s firing etc.

When a job brief comes through from an employer, a recruiter kind of does the ‘screening process’ for the employer, sending them what they consider to be the top candidates for an interview.

Recruitment agencies also have a wide network of contacts. So even if an agency doesn’t have many jobs on the books when you meet them, they may be able to get you in front of potential employers with a lot more ease than you could if you had to contact them yourself.

Should you get a job through a recruiter, they will also negotiate your salary and day rate, as well as all the details regarding your contract.

Whose side are the recruiters on? Image used with kind permission of Pogo. www.wemakepogo.com

Do I need to use a recruitment agency?

You may be looking for your first job. Or even a new job. Where do you start? It’s rare that you’ll find design jobs advertised. The advertising and design industry just doesn’t work that way. The industry is quite small, so often if an agency needs someone, they’ll ask people in the agency if they know anyone. Or they’ll go through recruiters.

This is not to say that you can’t get a job without using a recruiter. Many people ‘cold call’ agencies, asking if they can come in and show their folio. It’s a foot in the door. An agency will often say, ‘You can come and see us, but we don’t have any jobs’. Don’t worry about this. If they really like you, they might be able to find you some freelance, or maybe even a full time gig. Or if there’s really no work going, they’ll keep you in mind when a job does come up. After ‘cold calling’ a number of agencies and going into show my folio, I was offered two jobs in two weeks, just weeks later.

Throughout my career, I have used recruiters on a few occasions. A recruiter once found me a job interstate, which would have been very difficult for me to do on my own. And when I decided to go freelance in 2007, I found recruiters very useful in finding jobs, as they are the first people to get contacted when freelance work comes up. However, the majority of jobs I have found on my own. Once you’re in the industry, you build up a network of contacts, so you often find out jobs through word of mouth. And if mates in the industry know you’re looking, they’ll think of you when a job comes up. As soon as friends knew I was freelancing, I would be recommended if work came up at their agency.

Things to consider when working with a recruiter.

The most important thing to remember is – never rely solely on a recruiter to find you work. Going in and showing your folio to a recruiter and then sitting back waiting for the calls to come flooding in is not the way to go. You could be waiting a long, long time for that call. A recruiter may see your folio, but have no jobs at that moment. Then when a job comes in, they may call the person they’ve just seen and forget to call you. Or it could be a long time until the right job comes up. Maybe you slip their mind. Maybe they didn’t like your folio. They could have left the agency. Who knows? Perhaps you do get a call, but the job is totally unsuitable. Put yourself in control of your destiny. Don’t leave it in the hands of someone else.

Why? Because no one cares about your career like you do. Don’t think for a minute that anyone else but you truly has your best interests at heart. It sounds harsh to say, but it’s the truth.

A recruiter can help you get the job you want, but maybe they won’t. You need to be out there actively ‘cold calling’ agencies, working up your folio, showing your folio to as many people as possible and utilising all your contacts to get that dream job.

A recruiter is not a designer.

Sounds obvious huh? But think about this. Whenever you go and see a recruiter, they are judging your folio from a designers perspective. Then, based on this, they are putting you forward for jobs they deem you are suitable for and that they consider you have the talent for. Whilst some recruiters have worked in advertising or design, it’s mainly on the account service side. So the vast majority of the time, your folio is being judged by an untrained eye.

There have been countless times I have gone to see a recruiter and they sit there flicking through pages and it’s blatantly obvious that they’ve missed the whole idea or concept of an ad or piece of work. This is frustrating to say the least, as you know that a designer would never miss something like that. Recruiters just don’t ‘get’ your folio like a designer would. So in my mind, they shouldn’t be judging it as if they do. But they do and based on what they ‘see’, will put you forward for the jobs they deem you suitable for. This means you have no control over how you are been represented. Another reason why it’s dangerous to solely rely on recruiters to find you a job.

Does a recruiter see what a designer sees? Image used with kind permission of Irina Vinnik http://vinnik.net

Can I see more than one recruiter?

Yes. But how many all depends on the size of the city where you live. In Melbourne, approximately three to four recruiters is more than enough. In London, I’d say five at a minimum. If you register with too many, you will find that you end up having recruiters applying for the same jobs for you, which can get a little bit tricky. That’s because an employer will often give a brief to a number of recruiters, so every recruiter in town could be touting for the same job. You don’t want your CV to be put forward by two different recruitment agencies, as then there’s a dispute about who gets the fee. It can get very ugly.

Read the contract carefully.

A recruiter has scored you a freelance gig for few weeks. After being there a few weeks, they decide to keep you on indefinitely. Fantastic.

A couple of years ago this happened to a creative team I know. What started off as a great gig eventually meant they were let go to make way for someone they had found without a recruiter. Why? So the agency didn’t keep having to pay the fee to the recruiter on top of the freelance day rate they were paying them.

What they hadn’t done was read the contract closely. The contract stated that as long as the team kept freelancing there, the design agency had to keep paying the recruiter a fee for one year. This seems an awfully long time to keep receiving a fee, relative to what the recruiter has actually done. To add insult to injury, it was the recruiter that contacted the Art Director and in fact the Art Director than found a copywriter to work with. Yet, the recruiter got the ‘finders fee’ for both! After four months of working at this very small agency, the director just couldn’t afford to keep paying the day rate and fee to the recruiter for both the Copywriter and Art Director. So they were ousted for a team the agency found themselves. If I had been in this position, I would have tried to negotiate 3–6 month, rather than a year.

The point is, read the contract carefully. You can have a say about what is being negotiated. After all, it involves you!

It’s all up to you. Image used with kind permission of Victor Oritz. www.iconblast.com

Working with the recruiter to get the best deal for you.

Like an employer, the recruiter is trying to get you at the cheapest fee for their client. You in turn are trying to negotiate the highest salary you can. How do you get the best deal for you?

If you get freelance work, recruiters will ask what your day rate is. Tell them what it is, maybe leaving it open, with a ‘I usually charge round .….’. This tells them that you’re flexible to taking on the work at a slightly lower rate. Sometimes the client won’t pay more than a certain rate, so it’s better to have the gig at a reduced rate than not at all. But do not take work at a rate that is significantly lower than what you’re worth. The recruiter will think they can always secure you at this rate. And if it turns into a long time gig, you will quickly resent the pay you are on.

If you’re currently in a full time job, the recruiter will ask you what you’re on. Generally, people give a slightly higher figure than they’re already on. Then they will ask you what you want to be on — which is something around 15% more than that.

When I moved from my first to my second job, I effectively ended up doubling my salary. How? Basically, I had been in my first job for three years and was underpaid. So the salary I told the recruiter was what I really should have been on at the time. The recruiter was then able to negotiate a salary higher than this again, meaning I could move agencies and start moving up the career ladder.

You must do this with caution though. A couple of years later, a recruiter called me about work and asked what I was currently on. I stated a figure that was quite a bit above what I was being paid. As the recruiter knew the market value of someone in my position, he knew I couldn’t possibly be on that much and was none too happy that I had lied to him. You can exaggerate a little, but don’t push it.

A good tool to have.

So, back to the question of whether to use recruiters or not. Well, as you can see, they can be very useful to find work. They have inside knowledge of the industry, many inside contacts and the ability to negotiate your salary and contract for you. I guess, I like to think of them as one tool to use in any job search. In the end I think the best person you’re ever going to find to help you search for a job — is you.

Contained Therein: What to Include

What graphical wonders might reside within…

What should a freelance designer’s portfolio contain? For starters, it should include no more than 6–10 projects. Any more and you risk your interviews dragging on and prospective employers and clients hurrying you along whilst glancing at their watch. Try not to include two too similar projects, even if you’re equally proud of both. Each piece in the portfolio should come with its own unique narrative. There is an exception to this rule; it can be ignored if you have a series of projects designed for a certain client, say a triptych of biannual trade brochures, which together demonstrate the development of a concept or narrative and can be presented, from your point of view, as a single project.

Your portfolio truly is your shop window to the world, offering others a glimpse of your priorities, competencies, predilections and professional level. Sweat blood over it. Image courtesy of © Juan Pablo Cambariere.

For traditional ‘paper’ portfolios, high-quality printouts of uniform size are recommended. These printouts could include developmental and conceptual work alongside the final solutions. Attempt to inject a dose of uniformity into things; it looks neat and consistent and your efforts won’t go unnoticed by those on the opposite side of the table. Just be sure that each project tells its own unique story, and go to brow-furrowing lengths deciding just what to include, and the order in which you present them. Print-based designers will naturally enough want to include finished printed pieces, but these may still be combined with printouts explaining the ‘journey’ of each project. Exactly the same rules described above apply to web-based designers. They can, if they choose to make use of printouts, show frames from websites they’ve designed, which can in turn accompany actual visits around the websites themselves, if a laptop is present.

A dazzlingly original portfolio concept. A series of perfect-bound books contained within a slipcase and all bound with an elastic band. Image courtesy of © Zoo Press.

The Receptacle Itself

A great alternative to the traditional “paper” portfolio, the laptop is an increasingly appealing method for showcasing one’s work. Image courtesy of © François Proulx.

“Don’t fret, it’s what’s inside that counts” we are told by our mothers when spurned by a playground sweetheart. But with regard to the portfolio, the exterior, the actual, physical receptacle you carry your work around in, matters a great deal too. The slim black case, once beloved by all, has, over the decades, become ubiquitous and predictable. It has an evergreen appeal, in the same way that gallery spaces’ white walls and beech blonde floors do. Because of its very ubiquity though, here in the 21st century, the slim black case is no longer going to raise any eyebrows or get hearts a-thumping. Employers will have seen thousands of them. Therefore, I’d advise you to think about something a little different. The key here remains discretion; a receptacle whose appearance visually or tactilely overpowers the work contained within has failed in a basic aim, much as a gallery in charge of a Mondrian retrospective would if it hung the great Modernist’s canvases on garish flock wallpaper, if you can imagine so undesirable a thing.

Photographers’ archive boxes make handsome receptacles for a freelancer’s portfolio. They are sturdy, protecting, beautifully made from acid-free materials and discrete in their design, much in the same way the slim black case is. Their self-folding covers carry just enough weight for them to open and lie flat with a pleasing ‘clunk’. Also of immense value, they allow the freelancer to carry his work around loose-leaf fashion. To carry your work loose-leaf is an infinitely more desirable system than having a ringbound portfolio, which requires the designer to frequently turn the case around and (if the case is on the larger side) awkwardly turn the plastic sleeves as he goes. Loose-leaf printouts allow the freelancer to pass them around to those they’re presenting to, and this is A Good Thing.

“Thou shalt not use Powerpoint to present thy portfolio”. Image used with kind permission of © Ian Ruotsala.

If you have a laptop, you may wish to make this your main portfolio receptacle. Laptops are good for this, and a modern, not-too-scuffed Apple laptop can help make a slick impression on others. Be sure to have all the technical bases covered before presenting; arriving to a meeting with an uncharged laptop, sans mains charger isn’t going to impress anybody. Choosing to carry your portfolio on a laptop allows for expedient and rapid updating of work. You can shuffle things around, add and omit projects as you see fit and effectively tailor your body of work to suit each new meeting and interview you bag. You can of course do the same with a traditional paper-based portfolio, though high-quality printouts can represent a not negligible expense. A final word on using laptops, if you do choose to pursue this route avoid using Powerpoint in your presentations; everybody by now should know that this software is the last word in corporate uncool.

This Is The Modern World

Portfolio site of successful designer Fabien Barral.

Of course, most freelancers with a decent body of work nowadays will also have an online presence, used, in the main, to display their work. Take as much care with your online portfolio as you would your physical one. Strive for a uniformity and dynamism in your photography of projects, and make sure that images and pdfs saved from the computer are of sufficiently high and consistent resolution. Write concise, foolproof explanations to accompany the work and organise it all in an intuitive level-based fashion, much as you would a website. Sites like Flickr and View Creatives go some way to aiding the freelancer in this professional-feeling endeavour, but you’ll still need to pour energy and vim into the whole enterprise to create the right appearance.

A Dynamic Process

Don’t, through neglect or complacency, allow your portfolio to become stale… “Retro” bedroom image used with permission of © Steve Collins.

If not tended regularly, and updated at least periodically, portfolios can make their owners seem stale and static-seeming, much as a restaurant that hasn’t updated its menu or decor since the 1970s would appear. Your relationship with your portfolio (for that’s what it really is), should be a dynamic process which engages your thoughts and labour continuously. A portfolio assembled two years in the past may have once seemed the sexiest thing alive, but if not updated and cared for as and when necessary, projects may become vaguely dated, printouts and interleaves may ‘stick’ together and, if you spend a lot of time carrying them around, projects inside the portfolio may become dog-eared and crumpled. Keep things shipshape and Bristol fashion as best you can. If printouts look a little worse for wear, replace them. Rotate, add and omit projects when desirable.

Useful Top Tips

• Keep things small. A portfolio any larger than A3 is really too big
• Keep things clean & uncrumpled
• Loose-leaf sheets are better than ring-bound sleeves
• Assembling a portfolio should not be a one-off exercise, but a dynamic and continual process
• Request and absorb other people’s comments and allow this information to flow back into the way you maintain your portfolio
• Interleave your loose-leaf sheets with a bold and dazzling substrate, though choose something that doesn’t overpower the work contained within
• If you choose to carry your portfolio on a laptop, for pity’s sake avoid using Powerpoint in your presentations!

The “restless and questing” disposition of the freelancer when putting together his or her portfolio is an asset, not a fault. Image courtesy of © Humminggirl.

Keep things on the smaller side; a portfolio any larger than A3 for the graphic designer is, nine times out of ten, unnecessary. Image used with permission of © Stefho74.

In Sum

A restless disposition when it comes to the freelancer’s personal portfolio is, according to Adrian Shaugnessey, a strength, not a weakness: “Designers are never happy [with their portfolios]. I’ve known many competent and talented designers who’ve begun portfolio sessions with an apology: ‘I’m just about to redo it,’ the say; or, ‘Sorry, it’s a bit out of date.’ It seems to be a designer foible that the portfolio is ‘never finished’ and ‘never representative of current work’. Yet far from being a sign of weakness, this is a good sign: It indicates a restless and necessary desire to improve and develop.”

To reiterate what I stated at the top, your portfolio is your second most important asset after your personality, and thus requires the thought, care and attention this level of importance deserves. Like a Savile Row tailor, your success as a freelancer may depend on tiny details, and the portfolio is a complex enough animal to through up lots of details-based challenges. Pour thought and care (not to mention funds) into things, leave nothing to chance and be unswerving in your commitment to the upkeep and presentation of your portfolio. Perhaps most important of all, remember that each project included should not be composed of merely an arresting image or piece, but tell a compelling story about you as a designer and the process you went through. This is the key to an effective and resonant portfolio!

Aim for your portfolio to make a spectacular impression on others. Image used with kind permission of © Guiniveve.

First Things First

In•voice:: noun:: a list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due for these; a bill

This week’s article is all about bills, no pun intended, honest… Platypus image © Jersey Shooter.

Detailed, ‘transparent’ and designed inbrand. Example of invoice © Hotson Studio.

Let’s get some basics out of the way. Your invoice’s list of services should correspond directly with the services you agreed to carry out at the start of the job. Additional good practice would be to include the original contract offer (in whatever shape or form) itemizing the services you’d agreed to for your client’s comparison. Your invoices should contain the name or studio name (if applicable) of the person providing services, which, for the freelancer, usually means himself. If you haven’t already provided your client with your bank details, include them somewhere on the invoice.

Be scrupulously transparent about costs, both forseen and extraneous, and leave nothing hidden when invoicing your clients. Image used with permission of © Jen Hamilton-Emery.

More than One Way to Skin a Cat…

It’s perfectly reasonable to design a billing template yourself using a package like Adobe InDesign, (see example above) then generate your invoices from this template whenever you need to bill someone. If you care about how your invoices look and work (you should do; they’re part of your suite of materials) then this method allows for the greatest creative control and freedom. If you feel this is the way to go then take as much time over it’s design as you would your letterhead or logotype.

Increasingly though, people are using other means to generate their invoices. MacFreelance is a piece of invoice and billing software made especially for creative professionals, and can allow freelance designers to create very professional-looking templates. MacFreelance and its competitors all come with features for including your own logotype and allow some, limited control over the design of documents. Many are also laden with additional bells ‘n’ whistles for monitoring project developments and carrying out billing administration.

Subernova offers users a “simple and enjoyable way to create and send invoices and estimates.” I’ve used it in the past. It’s not half bad.

Subernova, ‘project management and team collaboration’ software gives users the chance to create ‘insert here’-style invoices super quickly and like MacFreelance comes with additional features for setting project milestones, tracking time, keeping tabs on late payments, setting deadlines and more. A recent development also worthy of note is that Subernova is now syncable with iCal.

For freelance designers who receive most of their money through PayPal, you can now create and save billing templates and store them within your Paypal account. These work in much the same expedient ‘insert here’ way as Subernova.

Extraneous & Unforseen Costs

Picked up any extraneous costs on your journey? Image © Tom Skinner.

Certain extraneous costs should be carefully listed, firstly in the original service offer or estimate, then relisted in the invoice. Extraneous costs, or ‘further expenses’ can include courier/delivery fees, model fees and proof purchasing expenses. To the extent that not all expenses are foreseeable, when embarking on a new project you should also try to negotiate that the client assume all responsibility to remunerate extraneous costs. You might word this line into your original service offer: “The client or commissioning party has to reimburse the commissioned party for all extraneous costs actually incurred.”

Setting Deadlines & Client Transgressions

Educate yourself as to your legal position, but treat late-paying clients with courtesy. Image © Mark Flisher.

The persisting problem of late payment is probably the largest non-creative cause for concern experienced by the freelance graphic designer. Freelancers are unlikely to take legal action against corporations for obvious time-based and financial reasons. The freelancer might also ask himself “why risk losing the potential repeat work by being litigious?” Safe in this knowledge, clients need not worry excessively over paying you on time and in accordance with the terms laid out on your invoice.

Exceeding payment deadlines can put a strain on a small freelance business, not to mention the strain placed on the client/designer relationship. Freelancers need cashflow to survive just like any other tradesperson and chasing after late payments is a regrettably guaranteed part of the freelancer’s lot.

A slow response to pay a freelancer’s fees from a seemingly lackadaisical client can leave many a designer stressed, frustrated and unsure of what action to take. But there is a system to follow. . ‘Lackadaisical client’ image used with permission of © Chelsea Steed

The time period you should allow to elapse before sending out your first reminder shouldn’t be all that long, between 2–4 weeks after the exceeding of your payment deadline is about right. It’s good to know where you stand from a legal perspective, though difficult for me to look into every country’s law practices. In Great Britain, one month after receiving an invoice and having not paid, a client goes into arrears and is obliged to pay the designer for damages caused by delay. Should a disagreement arise, the designer will have to prove the successful delivery of the invoice. The damages, with regard to defaulted payments, is the interest which the designer must pay to his bank throughout the duration of the late payment and for the amount owed. Legal counsel costs may also be charged for here.

It’s important to outline the legal implications above, but reaching a hostile legal situation can more often than not be averted, or wholly avoided. In ‘How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing your Soul’ Adrian Shaughnessy advises freelancer’s to handle the unfortunate chasing role not with aggression, but with courtesy and respect. “…Approach the individuals concerned with the utmost politeness; make friends with your clients’ finance departments, they are rarely the villains. When you get a cheque in the post call and thank them. Designers like to have their work praised, and so too do clerks in accounting offices.” His quote pertains to style over law, but both are worth paying attention to in equal measures.

Repeat: “courteous not agressive, courteous not agressive…” Image courtesy of © Keri Minard.

Summary

The more precarious position experienced by freelance designers over full-time employees, within the context of getting paid, is part and parcel of the life we have chosen for ourselves. For those who send out invoices, benefits include the ability to charge higher design fees and a sympathetic attitude from government tax departments with regard to our annual expenditure and investments. Impediments include a less predictable financial life and, the big fly in the ointment, the tiresome task of chasing late payments.

When it comes to billing your clients, project as professional an appearance as possible through the design of your invoice, include all your relevant terms & conditions and make it a rule to be wholly transparent about costs. Keep track of invoicing dates and deadlines, and should any late payment situations arise, remember to handle your clients in a well-mannered and friendly attitude. It’ll more than likely never happen, but you’ll have recourse to the law should you need it. Follow the advice above and you’ll be doing all you can to ensure a financially secure existence with good clients on board who pay on time, conditions necessary for producing great design and being a happy bunny!

Learning to invoice professionally whilst being aware of where you stand legally makes for happy freelancers! Image courtesy of © Flavita Valsani.

Pros of freelance

• Freelance can be an attractive proposition to an employer, as they are not tied to keeping you on. When you’ve just left college, you haven’t established yourself in the industry, so it can be seen as less risky to an employer to take you on to do some freelance work and see how you go.
• Often freelancing can be a foot in the door to a permanent job, a sort of ‘try before you buy’ for the employer. You get to suss them out too!
• Freelance can be a fantastic way to work for a number of very different clients.
• You will be able work with lots of different designers and have exposure to many different design styles.
• Not sure whether you’d like to work in a design agency, advertising agency or even in-house? Freelancing gives you the opportunity to try a bit of everything out.
• You get to choose when you want to work.
• You’re not tied to any employer.
• There’s less chance of getting involved in office politics. You’re not going to be there for long, so why do you care? You can just go in, do your work and leave.
• If you don’t like the job, it’s easy to move somewhere else.
• There’s the chance to earn more money per day freelancing than in a permanent role.
• You may be able to work from home.
• You’re your own boss. There’s a definite feeling of autonomy and independence.
• You get to meet lots of people and build up your contacts in the industry. Once you start building a reputation for yourself, you may find that you don’t have to seek out work so much, but that you get called back by the same places when they are busy time and time again.
• It’s easier to take longer periods off to go on holiday to pursue other creative projects. This can be great if you’re also a budding animator, photographer, illustrator…
• You can negotiate your own rate. Once you start gathering experience, you can up your rate accordingly.
• You can sometimes charge for overtime – depending on the employer. You must pre-negotiate this before you start.

Working at a great agency can make all the difference, photography © Lincoln Barbour

Pros of permanent

• You know where you’re going to be working every day of the week. No job is ever stable in this industry, but there’s definitely a feeling of more stability.
• Once you’ve been in your job for a while, you will be given bigger briefs and more responsibility.
• You will be mentored by your creative director. This is particularly important when you’re straight out of college and you’re still learning the ropes. By the same token, you may be given a fair bit more leniency than you would in a freelance role, where you would be expected to perform without ‘learning plates’.
• You will form close friendships with the people around you. Being permanent means you’ll be part of all the social events, Friday night drinks, award nights etc. You’ll really feel like part of a team.
• You’ll have greater creative control over your work and a greater say in how it evolves. As time goes on, you’ll have greater say in how the agency runs and you could be given more leadership responsibilities. You may also start to mentor and manage other designers.
• You know what you are going to be earning every week. This makes it easier to plan your life, paying bills, getting a loan, buying a house. You are considered more stable to a bank.
• A permanent role can look good to your next permanent employer.
• You’ll be able to build up a portfolio of work that you saw through from conception to completion. This will be work that hopefully you’re really proud of.
• You will be able to work and develop a brand over time. You will get to evolve campaigns and have a real creative say in the brand.

Cons of freelance

• You are often called in because an agency is really busy, such as in a pitch situation. This can be pretty intense.
• You don’t get any real downtime or ‘quiet days’ like you would in a permanent role, as if you’re not working, you are costing the company money, so they won’t keep you on.
• It can be hard to plan holidays and other stuff, as you never know when you’ll be working.
• You could be called in to work all weekend and lots of late nights, especially in a pitch situation.
• As you’re often moving around from agency to agency, you often don’t get to bond with co-workers and you always have to get to know new people and suss out how they work. You can consequently always feel like the ‘new kid at school’.
• You may not have such a large say as a freelancer. You can always have a creative opinion, but if someone in the agency doesn’t agree, you often have to go along with what they say, as you are in effect ‘the hired help’. If you become too disagreeable, they can just get rid of you. This can be frustrating, as you often just have to follow other people’s ideas, against your better judgement.
• You can sometimes have less creative input, as you are seeing someone’s idea through.
• You often start a project and you may not get to see it all the way through, so it can be harder to build up your folio.
• You are almost certainly never given the briefs that others in the agency would want. More often than not, you are given the briefs that no one else wants to work on. I once came into an agency for a freelance gig to work on a weight loss client. The creative director had sat on the brief for 5 weeks in the agency, as most of the creative’s were guys and they didn’t want to touch it. Finally my partner and I came in one Thursday and were told we had to present three fully developed concepts to the US heads of this company that flying to Australia for the meeting on Monday morning. Needless to say, we did not get much sleep on Sunday. We charged for 18 hours of work that day!

Cons of permanent

• Sometimes when you start off somewhere as a junior, it can be hard to move up the ranks as you develop more experience. In some ways, you will always be thought of as a junior. I stayed in my first job for just over three years. After asking for pay rises and only getting very minimal jumps, I decided to move agencies. Even though I absolutely loved where I was, I just knew I wasn’t going to be able to move up the ranks there. By moving agencies, I doubled my salary and my seniority.
• Sometimes the demands of the job can be so much that you feel like your job is your life. There can be this feeling that you must stay late every night even if you’re not busy, just so you seem devoted to your job. Some people can thrive on this, but most of us like a little balance.
• It can be harder to take holidays. I remember going to ask for a month off to go overseas and I was told ‘there’s never a good time to take a holiday, so it’s always a good time to take a holiday’. There also used to be this running joke in a few agencies that I worked in that if you went on holiday, you’d be lucky to come back to a job. I know a few people that did lose their job after going on holiday. One poor girl happened to bump into her boss at an airport whilst on holiday and wondered why he was acting so strange and not looking her in the eye. Then the day before she was due back at work, she got a call from someone at the agency saying ‘don’t bother coming in tomorrow’. No wonder her boss hadn’t been able to look her in the eye.
• As you’re on a permanent salary, most likely you won’t be entitled to overtime. Long hours and weekend work can be expected for no extra pay.
• Starting salaries can be low and as you’re just out of college, there’s no room for negotiation. You basically have to accept what is offered to you. Sometimes employers take advantage of this and offer really low salaries. Sometimes you have to weigh this up with the great experience you’ll be getting, especially if the agency is highly regarded in the industry.
• You may only be working on the same two or three clients. In fact a few times, I’ve only been working on one client. This can be creatively mind numbing after a while and once you’re deemed as the so called ‘expert’ on that client, it can be hard to move onto other clients.

As you can see, there are great things about freelance and permanent. It’s up to you to decide what’s right for you now. I started off in permanent roles for the first seven years of my career and then decided to go freelance. Both have been fantastic for many different reasons. Good luck with the hunting!