Today, more and more graphic designers are traveling abroad, and getting into selling freelance design because it opens the door for better opportunities. If you are interested in offering freelance design, then you should familiarize yourself with the basics of freelance design.
1. Know when to say "NO." If you are into the field of freelance design, the first thing you need to learn is when to say "no" because this will create a great impact on the project output later on. If you don't like the suggestion given by the client, then you should learn how to decline politely.
If the client still persists, learn how to use the art of compromise not to surrender. If you know how to manage persistent clients and know how to compromise, then you can create a harmonious working environment. But then again, there will always be clients who are not willing to compromise. If you encounter these kinds of clients, then it is best if you know how to get out of the situation because they are not worth all the trouble you are about to experience.
2. Always be polite, persistent, and positive. If you are dealing with clients, make sure that you always communicate in a very professional manner. Always exude an air of politeness by listening intently to your client, be persistent if you must because this is one way of educating your client and always be on the positive side.
3. Make sure that you constantly strive in increasing your level of skill and expertise. Learning is a never-ending process. If you are in the field of freelance design, then you must always strive to learn and grow as a professional.
4. Take time to relax and boost your self confidence. The primary reason why you have gone freelance is that you would want to veer away from time constraints and hectic schedule. So take time to relax. If you are relaxed, then you could have enough self-confidence to do the job.
5. Make it a point to have fun even if the going gets tough. It is a must that you love your profession in order to enjoy what you are doing.
6. Always have a personal life. Make it a point that you enjoy a personal life so when you experience stress and problems in your work, then you will always have a fallback.
7. Always practice honesty and ethics. If you can't keep a promise, don’t give it. Always be honest if you can't deliver what the clients want. Never compromise if you can't follow the agreement and always be ethical in conducting business arrangements.
8. Try to be a good businessperson. Being a freelance designer means that you are running your own business. Being the boss of your own so-called "company," means that you are expected to know the ABCs of the business. As a freelance designer, you should always inform yourself about your rights.
Protect it by keeping abreast of the recent ethical standards, laws and tax reforms. You should also be updated with the current pricing guidelines, effective negotiation skills, ways of maintaining excellent records and paper works and the organizations where you can join.
9. Never take any rejection personally. Always maintain a sense of professionalism by not taking rejection and criticisms personally.
10. No matter how busy you are, never ever miss a deadline. Being a freelancer doesn’t mean that you can miss a deadline because you are your own boss. If you have a habit of missing a deadline, chances are you will find yourself losing clients along the way.
The Internet has also opened up a lot of doors for freelance artist. Today, if you're an artist and you want to make a great income and be profitable, freelance art work is the best path to get into. Aside from freeing you from all the restrictions of full time job, freelancing will also enable you to conduct business with as many clients as you can for as long as you don’t sacrifice the quality of the service you offer and you don’t miss any deadline.
Artists are known to express specific and unique visions and visual representations through different mediums such as painting, sculpture, drawing, graphic designing or mixed media. In order to improve their inherent skills and talent, many artists take time to attend workshops, shows, seminars, and even conducting research in order to improve their profession.
In fact, some artists even use their specific set of marketable tools to become freelance commercial artists and produce work on consignment basis while some their skills in order to produce their own work.
Being a freelance artist opens up a great deal of opportunities. In fact, some of the fields where freelancing pays a lot is in the world of commerce, computers, electronics, publishing houses, online services, advertising, promotion, product design and software companies. These freelance artists are hired as consultants because of their aesthetic sense and representational skills.
BECOMING A FREELANCE ARTIST
Aside from giving you freedom to choose your projects, being a freelance artist also allows you to handpick jobs that are within the bounds of your talents and skills. Most experts agree that if you are an artist, freelancing is the best way to go because you can be your own boss.
All you need to do is to understand what your potential clients want or customize it to their liking. If you are an aspiring freelance artist or designer, there are some things you need to do in order to be successful in the freelance and online world.
1. Set your goals. Before finally jumping the bandwagon of freelancing, make sure that you already set your goals and you know what you really want to do. Try do develop a business plan and figure out where you are good at.
2. Build a good portfolio and develop a good presentation. Your portfolio will serve as your "calling card." Make sure that you build up a good portfolio because it will be the first thing that your clients will see. If you plan to conduct business online, then it is a must that you develop an online portfolio that is organized, clear, and professional looking.
3. Ensure that there are thumbnail links and that they are working and easy to use. To ensure that the thumbnails that are easy to use by writing descriptive text for each addresses. Also ensure that your site has a good representation because it will reflect your own skills.
4. Try to build good working relationships. Working online means that you only conduct business virtually. Since you don’t get to meet your clients face-to-face, it can be hard for you to establish good working relationships.
But, don’t let virtually hinder you from establishing good working relationships with your clients, try to be always available in case they need to set a meeting with you. Also make sure that you always open communication lines with them.
5. Try to educate your clients. Don’t let your clients dictate you what they want the output to be. Since you are an expert in your field, teach them about the updates in designing and try to give them feedbacks what is latest in the field you are in.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy