“Many designers dream of going freelance. Unfortunately, too many of those who’ve given it a try have found themselves in the middle of a nightmare. Beyond the creative freedom, there’s juggling clients, finances, prospecting and more – which all need to be done right alongside the design demands.”
So goes the description of Steve Gordon Jr.’s motivation for writing “100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers.” Gordon collected advice from dozens of designers who are successful “solopreneurs.”
The publisher, Rockport Publishers, was gracious enough to allow us to reprint an excerpt of the newly released book. Given current economic conditions, going solo means you’re even braver than most (and may be a necessity if you’ve been laid off) and why we chose these gems from the chapter called “Creativity on a Budget” to share with you.
What can I get for this much?
from Christine Godlewski, Genius Creative
“I work with a lot of not-for-profit clients, so I’ve got this one down to a science. If you know there is a budget, or suspect they don’t have money to burn, do your best to get a firm dollar amount up front. There is no reason in wasting your time designing something they won’t be able to afford producing.”
Budgeting a project can be a bit of you-go-first, no, you-go-first dance. The client wants you to tell them what the project is going to cost, and you want to know how much they have to spend. One way to handle this is to explain that any project, from simple letterhead to a corporate brochure, can cost as much or as little as can be imagined, and what you want to do is design the best and most creative piece possible, within the natural constraints of their budget.
Tell your client you understand that a start-up or nonprofit is going to have a different budget from a multinational corporation, and you’ll do your best work if you have some idea of the parameters up front. Even a range or a not-to-exceed amount is helpful. Explain that you can use these guidelines to schedule time appropriately, to think of effects that are manageable, and to allocate resources between creative, production and printing so everyone gets their fair piece of the pie and, most important, the client gets the biggest bang for his or her buck.”
Part Creative Solution, Part Spy Gadget
From Lizza Gutierrez, Lizza’s Room
“A designer may be able to come up with designs that provide several solutions to a client’s needs at the same time. For example, if a client has a small budget but really needs to have a newsletter and a poster, a designer may then conceptualize a piece that acts as both newsletter and a poster instead of designing two separate pieces.”
I was commissioned by Filinvest Development Corporation to design a set of brochures for Seascapes Resort Town, a beach community and resort located in the island of Mactan, Cebu, the Philippines. Each brochure showcased a product offered by the realty development, namely the beach club, the lots and the villas and casitas. Designed to market a leisure and tourist destination, every brochure incorporated a marketing teaser or mailer, which came in the form of a detachable postcard. The design and placement of the postcard was executed in such a way that the flow of the brochure’s content would be consistent and seamless whether the postcard was detached from the main brochure or not. This design integrated two collaterals into one marketing piece, which saved the client money in terms of their production and distribution costs.”
Appropriate, simple solutions like this will win the accolades of any client who has to work with a tight budget.”
Other two-for-one design ideas:
- Promotional mailer that includes a punch-out business card
- Direct mail piece that folds out into a poster
- Branded reusable “gift” items that have a subtle marketing message and contact information on them
- Any uniquely designed items that have longer usage and shelf life
Get It In Writing
from Jeni Herberger, Big Fish Creative Staffing
“Don’t forget that the smaller client with the smaller budget is many times the most difficult to get paid from. Be sure you get a deposit up front, are insistent on change orders, and hold strictly to your payment terms. Don’t do this to be harsh, but to be a professional. A better educated client is simply better next go round.”
Here are a few things to get clear on – and put down in writing – before you start to design:
- How many concepts are you going to present?
- How many rounds of changes are you going to accept?
- What are the payment terms?
- What is the timetable?
- What are the exact deliverables – final printed product or digital files, for example?
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Excerpted from “100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers” by Steve Gordon Jr. with Laurel Saville. Copyright © 2009. Used with permission of Rockport Publishers. No portion of this article may be reproduced or stored by any means for any purpose without express written consent of the copyright holder.
