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Freelancing

WorkSnug – Finding Places To Get Design Work Done On The Go

Share WorkSnug is a really cool augmented reality iPhone app that enables you to find great places to work nearby, from cafes to coworking spaces, complete with reviews.


Maintaining Business Standards As A Freelancer

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Share Freelancing is very different to the majority of other businesses due to its innately personal involvement and attachment to every aspect of the business. Maintaining objectivity and a decisive decision process can be hard as your personal feelings begin to creep into the equation.


Essential Resources For The Starting Freelance Designer

Share Hi all, thought I would share a list of resources which help me along my way. From business to the theory of branding, there is a lot contained within these great resources by their respective authors. Take the time to have a good read through them and if you find the list useful make [...]


How to Avoid Over Working Yourself As A Freelancer

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Share When running your own business it is very easy to run yourself into the ground as it feels like there is always something that needs to be done…


Designers – Maximising The Value Of Your Work

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Share We here have been looking at developing a CRM system here, and as such we got talking about customer service and its relation to our business. Importantly, our pricing.


5 Free Non-Disclosure Agreements

Share Non disclosure Agreements are something that comes up at some point in time. Especially, say you are outsourcing a part of a project to another freelancer or design agency. Over time – I have compiled the following samples that helped me create my own tailored NDA. Thanks to their authors. If an download errors pop-up, please [...]


Factors To Consider When Pricing A Project – Part 2

Share Hi all, this is a follow up to a post I made not long ago about factors that we often forget to factor in when we price projects. See that post here: Factors To Consider When Pricing For A Project Excerpt: We all remember to bill for the design work we do and the [...]


Freelancing From Home and Staying Productive

Share If you have chosen to work from and not from an office, then you are probably faced with the same problems that I am, most notable is the problem of staying productive! More experienced freelancers have probably long tamed the beasts that tempt us when working from home… how do you stay productive at [...]


Long Term Freelancing Success – Part 2 – Marketing

Share Welcome to the second installment of this series – Marketing. You can view the other parts here: Long Term Freelancing Success. Marketing is one of the key elements of any business and as a freelancer it should be a huge part of your strategy towards growth and success. So in this post I’m going [...]


Does a successful freelancer have to be a good sales person?

Share When starting out, when your down in the trenches fighting against the colossal agencies and your fellow freelancing kin, do you have to be a good sales person in order to secure projects? Do you feel freelancers need to be sales orientated? Are you a good sales person? The internet has given clients information [...]


General Rules For Doing Free Freelance Work

Share Every now and then, hopefully not too often something may come along whether it is for family / friends / a charitable cause / a non-profit organisation etc where you make the decision to waive your normal fee for your services. I have been in a few of these situations and I have learnt [...]


Interview With Will Kay of OddKingdom – Becoming Your Brand

Share When first starting out in any of the creative arts as a freelancer or sole designer; marketing is one of the biggest concerns. Getting clients, letting people know that you exist. Many of us started out and drudged through the first year or so through referrals, family and friends and exhausting every contact we [...]


Factors To Consider When Pricing For A Project

Share One of the things I suffered from in the beginning when pricing clients is often forgetting to bill for all aspects of a project and thus half way through I was feeling cheated or clients were commenting on how remarkably low my prices where in comparison to other quotes they had received. We all [...]


5 Essential Books For Running A Successful Freelance Design Business

Share Christmas approaches as does the end of the year, below are 5 great gifts you can get yourself. These are books that I have personally read, so they definitely are receiving my full recommendation – full of tips and great answers towards running a successful business and making money from what you love doing! [...]


Long Term Freelancing Success – Part 1 – Dedication

Share Hi all, welcome to what I hope to be a series about some factors I think will be key to long term success..The first is to address your working discipline. Read many interviews of freelancers and a common answer to ‘what do you love about being a freelancer?’ – one of the expected answers [...]


Competing Against The Agency – The Freelancer’s Epic Battle

Share As a ‘noob’ to the freelance design industry in what I would consider a truly professional manner; I was somewhat naive as to how hard it would be to find clients. After the initial shock, I found myself confronted with one monumental competitor that seemed like Goliath; leaving me feeling like David (without his [...]


10 Ways To Score and Evaluate A Client

Share My past two posts have covered how to deal with non-paying clients and clients who want to become the designer. Good clients do exists and for the most part form the majority of your clientele; in a book I read through the idea of evaluating your clients. Times are hard, sending christmas cards to [...]


How To Deal with Non-Paying Clients

Share At some point you will come face to face with the worst type of client. The client who despite numerous attempts on your behalf, is refusing to pay outstanding fees on a project. As a business you will at some point have to go after a non-paying client, and as such should be prepared [...]


When Your Client Wants To Become The Designer

Share Every now and then you receive a client who gets involved in your end of the deal, and is questioning / making firm suggestions about directions to take. This could be due to their eagerness, misunderstanding of professional boundaries or personality; but it needs to be addressed when they begin to intrude too much [...]


Your Quote is too high! – Charging/Negotiating for design work

Share It is inevitable and if it hasn’t happened to yourself yet, it is not far round the corner especially in the economic times were in. Quite often, a potential client will challenge you on your pricing. i.e your rate per hour, total price etc The first time it happened to us, we were hit [...]


Designing With Distractions

Share “To choose art means to turn one’s back on the world, or at least on certain of its distractions.”  Melvin Maddocks Designing with distractions. Maybe this doesn’t only apply to freelance designers and illustrators. I think it’s probably a conundrum that faces people in every walk of life, particularly as they progress through student [...]


Creative Block – Beating It – Fresh ideas and inspiration

Share So your self-promotion has worked and you have that all important new client. The project itself has scope for you to add some personal style or artistic flair to it as well. After the initial brainstorming, research and sketches you are nowhere – with nothing visual to guide yourself. Creative block! We have various [...]


What is the best 22″ 24″ 28″ 30″ graphic design photography monitor

Share Whilst searching the web for a comprehensive resource to help me to decide what monitor to buy, I came across this great thread on the AnandTech Forums: Best Monitor for Purpose The thread is segmented into different purposes you may require monitors for. Here is the section related to Design:


Interviewed by Crazy Leaf Design Blog

Share Hi all, recently we had the opportunity to respond to some questions put forward by Alex from Crazy Leaf Design… you can read the interview here: Interview between Crazy Leaf Design Blog and Acuity Designs