post your questions right here.

Satya,
How come your avatar is so big?

Satya,
How come your avatar is so big?
I gave bribe to the moderator, lol.

>>because the format of my avatar is CompuServe GIF.

He's just happy to see you, Miles.

--Michael.

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// love what you do or do something else. //
Michael Ebert -- graphic designer, jazz saxophonist, horror movie devotee
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michael, I really liked these words.
>>love what you do or do something else.

How do we reach you? I'd be more than happy to help.

I'm with Satya, post your questions here. You'll no doubt get a lively debate going whatever your questions are.

> I gave bribe to the moderator, lol.

:-)
Some classic Old World humor.

hhp

My e-mail is hayleybranston@yahoo.co.uk I would be grateful for any help. If you get in touch I have a word document with a few questions etc.

You should edit your original post with those questions so they don't get buried in the thread for newcomers.

My answers to these questions:

1. Marketing, the ability to sell and brand yourself.

2. Check the market first. I know a lot more experienced designers who are able to freelance, than ones fresh out of design school. Freelancing for a living seems to be harder to do these days.

3. Yes and No. Yes if you (or your parents) can afford it, no if you can't. Personally, I think unpaid internships are a travesty and should be extinct. What they say is "we only want people who come from a certain tax bracket" or "your work is so valued that you deserve to NOT be paid." In competitive cities like New York and San Francisco, unpaid internships are not feasible for independently funded individuals considering the high cost of living. Only while you're in college.

4. 10 months

5. Being yourself. I've been to enough AIGA events to see the numerous smarmy, sleazy design hipsters who don't give a flying **** about anything the person they're talking to is saying...just their name and clout. While I believe it is "who you know," who you know should not be relegated to a select list of buzzworthy names you can drop in conversation. Who you know could be the guy you used to sit next to in Color Theory class who just started his own company. Take NO ONE for granted, there's something special or interesting about EVERYONE.

I was going to answer point by point but I think Terry covered it pretty well.

Freelancing is tough even if you have a solid portfolio and lots of contacts. I'm not sure it's a great idea for someone fresh out of school. My advice is to get a job that isn't going to bust your balls and try to build up a freelance clientele on the side so that in a few years when you are ready to strike out on your own you already have the connections to hit the ground running.

1. The ability to help clients from the ground up by clarifying their message before design starts. I freelance in nonprofit precisely because my clients are open to basic communications planning with me.
2. You never start as a freelancer; start with a studio that gives you access to a nice mix of clients who will follow you later. Or, like me, work in-house for a good nonprofit and then use that background to spin off. Staff first, freelance later.
3. You only intern for free while in school, never after. Avoid the plentiful free-for-exposure come-ons; they're all BS.
4. You canvas the market while training, so you're ready to pounce and get the job right after. Sometimes your design teachers will hire or refer you to those hiring.
5. Any way you can meet potential clients face to face will serve the networking goal. How depends on your location and the market.

Question 1: Apart from being a good designer what other skills do you think a good freelancers needs to have? Solid knowledge of media production (whether print or web), you can't rely on clients all the time.
Question 2: What is the one piece of advice you would give to a graduate wanting to become a freelancer? Get an accountant, maybe join a collective, having somebody to bounce ideas off is sometimes helpful.
Question 3: Would you advise working for free when starting out? Never when starting out, pro-bono later in your career can be worthwhile, you should also think hard before doing free pitch work.
Question 4: After graduating how long did it take you to get regular work? 2 months holiday then to the grindstone.
Question 5: What do you think is the best way to network? Network with fellow designers or with potential clients/employers? Fellow designers can have information about vacancies and opportunities.

Tim

Regarding the work for free question - I'd only do it if it would provide an amazing show piece for your portfolio.

I didn't know they edited your posts here...

1. The more, the better. Marketing, especially branding, can be very useful if you're working with corporate identities and such. Programming, or at least the basics of it, will help you if you need to do any kind of web design (or even typeface design, these days). But the most important is certainly communication skills: being able to listen to your client, find out what they really need or want (which is not always what they say they want), and explain to them why this might work better than that etc.
2. Concentrate on finding yourself one client, no matter how small. Do the job well done and you'll have another, then another...
3. Well, you don't need to worry about working for free: when you first start you'll probably be working for almost nothing anyway... ;-)
4. Graphic Design is my third career, so I'll pass on this one.
5. Become involved in some sort of organization, offer to help (for instance, I suppose you could offer to be a moderator on this board).

Question 1: a) good interpersonal skills as you will need to deal directly with clients that change their mind all the time (I don't think there's any way to prevent this, if there is please someone let me know...). Basically: a lot of patience!
b) Good organisational skills: a methodical approach that allows you to respect deadlines and deal with administration and financial stuff yourself.
c) obviously good marketing skills (but I think this is included in "being a good designer"!

Question 2: Freelance straight after graduation is not a great idea. This is something you do when you are a little bit more experienced and "streetwise". If you do it, make sure you have some kind of support and that you're not completely on your own.

Question 3: Unless it's for charity or for a cause you support I don't see any reason for doing it. I guess it's ok if the job you do for free gives you exposure or any other benefit (awards, etc.)

Question 4: Usually it also depends on how you graduate. Degree show, D&AD New Blood etc. can do great things for you. Difficult to say because I was working as designer before I decided to get a degree (shame on me...) but I guess I could do little jobs immediately after graduating and I was never short of things to do (but that included copywriting,etc.) I'm still waiting for the big jobs though!

Question 5: I guess it depends on where you are (also for the points above) and what kind of person you are (which are your interests, etc.). Always keep a business card in your pocket, attend conferences etc. just in case...

Hi Hayley.

There are some very good answers here already. I think you can gather a consensus of opinion about the value of working for free, and/or doing internships. As someone who recently organised a graduate internship, I think it's fair to say that payment issues need to be addressed at the outset.

What are your other (remaining) questions? For the five you posted, here's my tuppence worth;

Question 1: Apart from being a good designer what other skills do you think a good freelancers needs to have? Sense of humour. Communication skills*.

Question 2: What is the one piece of advice you would give to a graduate wanting to become a freelancer? Don't do it. Work for someone else first.

Question 3: Would you advise working for free when starting out? Freebies are for family and friends only.

Question 4: After graduating how long did it take you to get regular work? 2 months holiday then straight to work. It wasn't a graphic design job – it was the first job I could find.

Question 5: What do you think is the best way to network?By doing this assignment on a face-to-face basis rather than online.

*In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the assignment question is designed to force you to network and practise some peer-to-peer communication; typophile and deviantart are great, but they're not appropriate for what the question requires... so pick up your phone directory and start speaking to local designers.

Hello Hayley,
It is nice to meet a fellow deviant here. :-) I will do my best to answere your questions.

Question 1: Apart from being a good designer what other skills do you
think a good freelancers needs to have?

answer: Your client will not pay you because how skilled you are, He will pay you only because you can do the job. Based on that fact I would say you have to be able to know what your client need exactly.

Question 2: What is the one piece of advice you would give to a graduate wanting to become a freelancer?

answer: Make a long term plan, like what will you be within 5 years. Know what kind of client you can work for, and what type of design are you going to provide ( web/ print/ illustrations ) - because one of my problems at my start that I first went to wrong clients. Have also your own website and learn how to show your portoflio over there.

Question 3: Would you advise working for free when starting out?

answer: It can be happen; to build a portoflio.

Question 4: After graduating how long did it take you to get regular work?
answer: few months. It was very hard perioud of my life.

Question 5: What do you think is the best way to network?

answer: If you know the kind of client you prefer to work with, you ofcours know how to find them. It is important to put your self in their place: How do you want your designer to deal with you.

And above all I have to say the end of freelancing story will be when you make your own office, so start to design your logotype now :-)

Ahmad Shawkash

Question 1: a freelancer needs to have discipline. If you are working for yourself nobody is going to be telling you how to manage your time. You need to be able to do that successfully or else you'll find yourself in your pajamas at 4pm realizing you've just spent 3 hours on You Tube and the job no closer to finished.

I also recommend you find a productive way to spend your down time, because you will have down time and as above, don't want to end up noodling on the internet all day. I'm a painter and that is an excellent motivation to get my work done - so I can get to my studio.

- Apart from being a good designer what other skills do you think a good freelancers needs to have?

You have to be good at shaking hands, drinking cocktails, talking about yourself, handing out business cards, etc. (ie, network, network, network, network...)

- What is the one piece of advice you would give to a graduate wanting to become a freelancer?

network

- Would you advise working for free when starting out?

Never. Except for when the opportunity makes sense. ;0)

- What do you think is the best way to network?

Networking is less about quality and more about quantity.

Put it this way: the alternative to networking is notworking.

Brilliant! So when even networking isn't working for you, it's nœtworking.

hhp

Work for free: yes, for grassroots causes you believe in. This will ween you of your more impractical creative impulses. And when you put that stuff in your portfolio, it will hook you up with paying clients who have similar interests.

Good call Nick: I stand (or sit) corrected.