Save perhaps his personality, the freelance graphic designer's portfolio is, undoubtedly, the most valuable asset in his professional life. I have written elsewhere that the portfolio is the freelancer's shop window, an intimate glimpse into his or her being for all who view it. We have to love our portfolios, agonise over what goes into them, and tend and nurture them as we would a sapling we'd once planted. Nothing should be left to chance, not even tiny details, as it's these, at times, that we may be judged on. So let us not delay any longer, but instead plunge into the sober, matte black folds of the portfolio...

Prints can be anything from digital art to advertising, to layouts for magazines, posters, flyers newspapers you name it. We have scoured the four corners of Europe to find you the best of Print Designs.

The Graphic Design School have found a great list of Do's and Don'ts relating to PRE press/printing, created by Deborah Roberti of espressographics.com which should help you avoid one of these frustrating and embarrassing (not forgetting to mention expensive) mistakes when evaluating your pre print project before it goes to press and some useful tips on image formatting.

In the first of a series of lessons entitled Professional Practice, we have sourced one of todays hottest working English based freelance designers to give you the leg up on building yourself a truly professional Graphic Design practice. Look out for the following in the new series; Freelance Fee Structures & How to Quote, Project Planning (Breaking Jobs Into Milestones), Dealing with Clients, Charging & Invoicing, Law in Design Practice, The Portfolio, A Conclusion of Sorts. Being Freelance. Benefits & Pitfalls.

Providing a quote for graphic design services is one of the most difficult areas of the field to navigate. It can kind of be like going on a first date. Through working with a variety of clients, my best advice for contracting your services is do not jump in the water before you know how deep it is! By this I mean it is absolutely imperative before even agreeing to work on a piece that you know the entirety of the project. I have learned the hard way to never respond in the affirmative until you ask the right questions.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from all different professional backgrounds, and we rely on them to pay our fees. A large portion of the freelancer's life is spent looking for them, bagging them, and spending a considerable amount of our daily slog trying to work out what they want. I'm speaking of course about clients, and this article is all about working with them...

A rookie mistake in the design world is working without a contract. I too, have fallen to the sorry plight of ultimately working for free with no promise of continued work or payment on the horizon. While it is easy to scold and reprimand, it is in fact difficult to approach a new client with a contract especially when you are just starting out professionally. Be confident in your abilities.

Mention the word 'recruiter' to a creative and you'll always get a 'marmite' type reaction. You either love'em or you hate'em. Why such a strong reaction? Do you really need a recruiter to find a job, or is it better to just go it alone?

Woo hoo! You've finished college, you've put together your folio and you're ready to take on the design world. Should you be looking for permanent or freelance roles, or just try and get whatever you can? Here are some things worth considering before you decide.

Chances are you have heard of Open Source, and if you haven't you will have used it in some form or another. But what does the term "open source" actually mean and how does it relate to designers in terms of resources? Come on a sharing, caring 'open' journey with us into the world of Open Source...

Featuring in this months who's who wasn't enough, Luke Feldman generously made The Graphic Design students a tutorial using his funky design style and one of his quirky characters. See how Luke transforms a sketch into a vector character.