Inside Freelance Design

Issue #7
September 08, 2005

Welcome to Inside Freelance Design (IFD), your free, bi-weekly e-letter from American Writers & Artists Inc. Every other week, you can receive this special alert with secrets, tips, and insights from AWAI's graphic design pros to help you improve your skills and reach your goal of becoming a professional graphic designer in the fastest time possible.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Valuable Success Advice From Pro Designer Rob Davis
Quick Tip: Making Comments on PDF Files, Part 1, by Kammy Thurman
The IFD Mailbag

Valuable Success Advice From Pro Designer Rob Davis

Between building your graphic-design skills, juggling projects, and finding new clients, don't be surprised if you sometimes feel discouraged. It's not uncommon for people who make any career change to hit a low – no matter how disciplined they are and how hard they work.

To help you get over the inevitable “humps” when you're just starting out, we asked master designer Rob Davis for some advice and encouragement. Here's what he said:

I think the best advice I can offer to folks trying to break into direct-mail design is to stay committed to your dream and don't give up. Period! Achieving long-term success in this business is a real and definite possibility, but it takes time, dedication, and perseverance.

So here are a few words of wisdom I'd like to pass on, based on my own early years as a freelancer:

1. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!

Real success in direct-mail design is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash. You will need a consistent source of income while you learn your craft and build your client base. Worrying about how you're going to pay your electric bill on your freelance income will definitely hamper your creative energy.

I worked for a company as an art director before I went freelance, so I had access to their computers and design software. This was good, because I was too broke to afford my own computer! During the day, I would work for them for a salary. However, I worked out an arrangement with my employer whereby I would use their equipment after work to do freelance assignments – and split any income I received 50/50.

Even if you don't have such an ideal set up, it's important you keep your current job until you are able to make a clean and relatively stress-free break.

2. NO JOB IS TOO SMALL.

At this point in your career, it's all about learning the business. In my early days, I took any job I could get my hands on: logos, T-shirts, whatever. This approach led to some pretty weird assignments, but it was great experience.

I didn't make much money, but I learned how to use Quark, Photoshop, and Illustrator, and deal with deadlines, people, service bureaus, and printers. If people like what you do, if you're pleasant to deal with, if you work hard and fast, they'll remember you and recommend you to their associates. And the next time, instead of a logo, they may give you something a bit more complex with a higher paycheck.

Don't stop learning. Read books, talk to people in the business, get to know some copywriters. In short, become a professional, so once you're given that big opportunity, you'll have the knowledge and the tools to make the best of it. Do that and the money will follow.

3. USE THE INTERNET

Back when I started out, we didn't have the Internet. It was difficult to get the things I had done in front of potential clients. Today, with the Internet and Adobe Acrobat, you can send PDFs of your work to prospects all over the world in a matter of seconds. You can establish a website, where interested individuals can log on and look at your portfolio. It's an incredible tool that shouldn't be ignored for generating workflow.

4. STAY POSITIVE

There IS a demand for freelance designers. I currently have a completely full schedule of design jobs and I get emails every week from publishers who want to get on my schedule.

Newsletter and book publishers are an absolute goldmine for freelance designers and copywriters. Publishers must mail constantly to stay alive. They are on a never-ending quest to beat their current control, which results in aggressive mailing schedules and lots of work for freelancers. Most publishers have in-house design staff, but they are generally devoted to producing and maintaining the editorial side of their publications. There's just too much work to be done for in-house designers to cover both the editorial and promotional schedules – thus the need for outside designers.

Publishers love freelancers because they pay us our fee, we do a job, and we go away until they need us again. No insurance, no overhead, no workers' comp. It's a win-win situation for everyone and it's the wave of the future.

Becoming an established design source for just one direct-mail-savvy publisher can make a career. Hook up with three or four of them and you've achieved your dream!

You've taken the first step. Now keep walking ... and keep your eye on the prize!

Editor's Note: Lori Haller and Bob Bly will be giving step-by-step advice on launching your careers and finding clients at FastTrack to Graphic Design Success. If you haven't ever been before, I strongly encourage you to join us this year. Click here for all the details: http://www.awaionline.com/graphics2005/

* * * * * * * * Highly Recommended * * * * * * *

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?

Will I need a license of some sort to start my business?
What should the legal status of my new business be?
How will my tax situation change?
What about contracts?
What home-office equipment must I have?
What kind of records should I keep?
What's the best computer and software for me?
How do I negotiate my fees?
How should I manage my time to maximize my income?

Get the answers to these and hundreds of other questions about starting and running your own profitable design business: http://www.thedesignerslife.com/getanswers/

Quick Tip: Making Comments on PDF Files, Part 1
By Kammy Thurman

Adobe Acrobat now lets you add comments directly to PDF files.

First, you'll need to make sure you've enabled “usage rights” in your Acrobat software. (Search for “usage rights” in the Acrobat Help menu.) You can then add notes, highlighting, and other comments directly to PDF files. This makes the review process much less confusing, and saves time for everyone involved.

If you have been sent a PDF for review, find out if it's enabled for comments by clicking on the left side of the status bar at the bottom the Adobe window. If the Document Status dialog box doesn't include Review & Comment, Fill In Form, or Sign, you will not be able to make comments directly on the document.

* * * * * * * * Advertisement * * * * * * * *

The Fastest Way to Get Your Graphics Freelance Business Running

Click the following link to learn about a shortcut that will shave months or years off your learning curve: http://www.awaionline.com/fasttrackgraphics/

FROM THE IFD MAILBAG ...
by Kristin Schwarz

Hello, everyone! Let's see if I can answer some of the questions about being a graphic designer that might be on your mind too. First, this one from Jamie ..

When doing a financial layout, who supplies the charts and graphs?

Sometimes, the client will give you a chart ready to place into the layout (maybe from an outside study or report or from something that was generated by one of the company's departments). But often the client will supply you with the raw data and numbers and you'll have to turn that into a graphic that fits the design you are working on.

If the client supplies you with an image of a graph or chart, make sure the resolution is high enough to print (usually 300dpi).

If you are supplied with raw data, confirm with your client the kind of graphic he wants (pie-chart, line or bar-chart, etc.) and how detailed it should be. Provide a headline for the chart and a legend (large enough to be read easily) that explains what it is illustrating. Always ask yourself if you have displayed the data in the most effective and easy-to-understand way.

Generating good charts can be quite time-consuming, although you will become faster with practice. Make sure to take this into account when calculating how much time you expect to spend on a project.

And Hans has two questions for us ...

I just read in The Golden Thread that it's a good idea for copywriters to include their contact information (name, address, etc.) as a header on each page of the promotion. Please advise me if I should do this for my graphic design assignments, since I am just beginning to work on send-in assignment #3 for the Graphics Design program.

Another question: On page #1 of the “Main Street Millionaire” spec assignment, it says under the heading of Materials, “CRE: Standard with or without message burst.” Could you please clarify what CRE stands for, as well as the meaning of the rest of this information? – Hans S.

You're going to like the answer to your first question, Hans. Putting contact information on every page applies only to copywriters, not graphic designers. Just provide your contact information on the cover sheet.

Now, for your second question ...

CRE stands for “Customer Reply Envelope.” This is the envelope that accompanies some sales package. It's provided to make it easy for customers to return the order form. Usually, the CRE is pre-printed with the address. Sometimes, it has a message burst like “For Immediate Processing” or “Rush” to make it look more important or urgent.

Check out the post office website for helpful templates and info regarding different envelope specs and sizes:

http://www.usps.com/directmail/welcome.htm?from=home&page=directmail

That's it for now. Until next time ...

Kristin Schwarz
Graphics Program Director
AWAI

[Ed. Note: If you have a question or comment for Kristin, please send it to:
insidefreelancedesign@awaionline.com, Attn: Kristin Schwarz.]

EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities for AWAI Students

GRAPHIC DESIGNER -- Linens 'n Things seeks a graphic designer to work in their Clifton, New Jersey office. You'll be part of a design team work on a variety of marketing materials. You should be able to contribute fresh, creative ideas and work comfortably in Quark and the Adobe design suite. You'll be handling several projects at a time, often under tight deadlines. Send your resume to Audra Perlstein at apearlstein@lnt.com.
DESIGNER -- Entrepreneur Media, Inc, publisher of Entrepreneur Magazine, has an opening for a designer. They want someone with strong creative skills and who brings good energy to the projects at hand. You need to know QuarkXpress, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver. Flash and PowerPoint will give you an extra advantage. You'll create sales materials, advertisements, and more. Send your resume and salary history to resume@entrepreneur.com.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER -- The Goldman Group, a publishing company, needs a graphic designer with magazine layout experience. You'll work on ads, brochures, logos and more. You'll need to understand the printing process and be proficient in QuarkXpress, Illustrator, Acrobat, and Photoshop. Web experience will give you a distinct advantage. Send your resume and 4 pdf samples to apply@ggpubs.com.

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

Choosing the Right Printer (More is not always better.)
Quick Tip: Making Comments on PDF Files, Part 2

* ABOUT INSIDE FREELANCE DESIGN *

Inside Freelance Design is a FREE bi-weekly newsletter from American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

ARCHIVED ISSUES of Inside Freelance Design can be found on our website at www.thedesignerslife.com/insidefreelancedesign.

To ADVERTISE in Inside Freelance Design or send comments, news, research, or story ideas, email Kristin Schwarz at graphics@awaionline.com.

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Issue #7 September 08, 2005