* For Bahasa Indonesia Version click hereThings to be considered before you decide to become Freelance Graphic Designer
- Place to work
First thing first, you are going to need place to work so you can work efficiently and effectively. If you work at home, a separate room would be nice in order to avoid any other home activities. Having a room to place a set of computer is good enough, even better if you have more space to any supporting activity such as writing, drawing, printing, set up final artwork (mock up), because as a freelancer you have to do all work which is supposed to be done by more than one person. Place your telephone or fax machine near you, so you don’t have to get up to receive or make a call. It would be better if you have filling cabinet to store all your paper-works.
- You are the company (…and the company is You)
As a freelancer, you’re not only responsible for your creative-works, but you’re responsible for your marketing, briefing, presentation, accounting and filling system matters as well. You are also responsible for all incoming calls, make appointment and take any complain (if any). Being a freelance graphic designer is not only about creativity and design, but it needs strong commitment and takes a big responsibility.
- It needs a lot of patient
All the activity mentioned above needs a lot of patient. It happen so often, when you are so busy designing and need very good mood, at the same time you have to take the incoming calls from your clients who’s complaining your recent work (bad service, bad quality, etc.). Not to mentioned technical problems which occur at the bad time such as problems with your computer, paper-jammed printer, run out of paper, ink and the list goes on. Those problems will hamper your on-going project, and you have to tell your client about the delay.
- Be a professional
As a freelancer you have to be professional. You might be stressed with your on-going project, but at the same time you have to do presentation in front of your client. In this kind of situation you have to be able to get your stress out of your head and leave it at home, on the other way you need to get your concentration on your presentation. Do not let your problems home ruin your presentation. Keep your performance at the highest level, don’t forget… as a freelance graphic designer, you’re not just an artist, but you’re a businessman as well! Your performance affects how the way your client evaluate youself and how the way you run your business.
- Well organized
To run business by your self, you have to be a ‘well organized –person’. Well organized for your filing system on your computer, filing system for your paper work, graphic tools, the preparation for your presentation, etc.
- Supporting facilities
It would be the best if you have telephone, facsimile and e-mail with high speed internet connection. Set your e-mail program to receive all mails at least 15-30 minutes automatically, so you won’t miss any important mails.
- Discipline
The key of success for being freelancer is DISCIPLINE. Trust me… it’s not an easy thing to do, because you have to discipline yourself! No one would warn you but yourself! Discipline in this case consists of:
a. Discipline with your time, although you work by yourself at home, you have to work at office hours. You can’t wake up late and start working at 10-11. What would happen if your clients try to reach you at 9.00 while you’re still sleeping?! In this situation, your clients don’t care about your condition (whatsoever). He has right to call you at the office hours, on the opposite you have responsibility to serve them during that time.
b. Discipline with your money, as a freelancer you have right to own all the profit you get! But it would be wise, if you pay yourself on a salary basis. That way you will save few bucks each month, because who knows you don’t get any job later on… That happens if you don’t have strong or big market.
c. Discipline with YOUR OWN DECISION, being a freelancer is not an easy thing to do! It needs a strong commitment that you have to respect and do it consistently. You better think twice (or maybe more) before you make decision to be a freelancer, because once you jump in this industry as a freelancer, than you risk your own life and your own credibility!
By: anton ardjanggi / www.anarddesign.com
Ever wondered how some graphic designers always manage to produce beautiful looking designs for their brochures, website designs, logo designs? Talent...yes, it helps but there are a handful of more important things you can do that will have even complete beginners producing award winning design.Forget everything you've ever been told about Graphic Design. There are some hard and fast things that graphic designers will insist are to be obeyed. Only use limited fonts on a design for example or never use green on a magazine or book cover as people will not buy it. Stuff and nonsense. You can pretty much do whatever you like but you must apply these STRICT GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES and you will soon be walking away with graphic design silverware.Somewhere on the page you MUST put in a subliminal messageThis can be done in a multitude of ways for example if you are producing a brochure selling wellington boots then start every paragraph spelling out 'buy our wellington boots' or better still 'you have no choice but to buy our wellington boots now get out your cheque book and buy them - NOW!' Another crafty method is to doctor images in photoshop so that on an innocent picture of a tree for example carved into the bark is a message along the lines of 'U Luv Wellington boots' You get the idea. just make sure it's hidden away on a subliminal level and watch your sales go through the roof, quite literallyYou MUST include a picture of a pretty girl smiling on your document or webpageThis works for 95% of products. Put simply would you rather read and look at pictures of industrial machinery or would you rather look at a pretty girl? It's a no brainer right? Research has proven that mens brains are wired up to focus on girls smiles and of course their breasts and backsides. If you can somehow convince your client to put a naked girl on there somewhere you can pretty much laugh yourself down to the bank. However, never ever put a muscle bound hunk on any design thinking it will work conversely for womens products. Research has shown that womens brains are only wired to think of shopping for clothes and chocolate, so putting a bare chested chippendale on the cover is going to see your business go down the dumper. Unless your product is for homosexual merchandise in which case go ahead.Shock and Awe - the guaranteed way to get your design work noticed and talked aboutPerhaps the best example of this trick can be found widely used in the modern art world. Sharks in formaldahyde, unmade beds and plastic dolls melted together to sodomise each other. All these pieces of art have been much talked about and whether you find them to your taste or not are widely percieved as being breath takingly original. The same principal can and should be applied to your graphic design work or website design. Add a blood splattered severed willy in the centre of the page for example or how about using an excrement smear as a backdrop. Remember the important thing is to get people talking about your design work. Bad taste soon becomes acceptable once commonplace so be the first to do something outrageous and reap the rewards.If you remember to apply at least one or two and ideally all 3 of these golden graphic design rules there's no reason why you shouldn't be a millionaire/billionaire within one or two months. Now get creative! By: Horatio Farquaar / www.articlesphere.com
A corporate looking logo can effectively make you look far more important than you actually are. By adopting this simple 1,2,3 step guide we can turn your existing crummy logo into a world beating effort - garaunteed to impress the ladieees. Step 1 - Choose a dull font such as helvetica In the world of high flying executives and corporate back slapping deals done upon yachts etc. the one thing almost all self-made millionaires will agree on is that you must give the impression that your company is a straightlaced solemn outfit. Standard fontfaces such as helvetica or times will signify your ability to fit in with suits without ruffling too many feathers and will be looked favourably upon by those all important investors looking to harvest some of their cash in your business. Step 2 - Choose a dull colour such as grey Battleship grey - has there ever been a colour more appropriate for the deadening nature of high corporate investiture? No, not by my reckoning at any rate. But surely a grey logo among a sea of other bland logos is just going to get lost isn't it? Hmmm, I've got to hand it to you, you're right but do you know what - if we add a smidgin of royal blue somewhere within our hypothetical logo we achieve the type of chin stroking brilliance that committee members and associate directors can spend literally minutes debating before abstaining to the golf course and soho massage parlours. Step 3 - Choose a dull symbol such as a circle Right, this is where our creative minds get to have some fun. Do we put the grey/blue circle before the words or after? Above or below? Whatever you choose to do make sure it doesn't involve anything too clever or inspiring. Remember our aim here is to look 'corporate' and sensible not like some kind of fun loving chimps, you gets me. Right the logo should be just about complete and ready to enter the exhilarating world of corporate high life. To celebrate why not throw a lavish party inviting your corporate buddies like Dave and Steve from down the pub?To summarise, what we want to achieve is an air of 'dullness' yet reliability. Choose a dull font, keep the colour palette strictly dull- nothing too interesting and if you must add a quirky symbol of some sort make sure it keeps well within the dull spectrum of ideas i.e. a circle or square. Corporate Logo Design is not rocket science but if you want to give off the right impression you've got to go with the flow. Right now where did I leave that bowl of cocaine I'm off to a corporate party. Toodle pip. By: Horatio Farquaar / www.articlesphere.com
