to all you freelance graphic designers/artists

[Angel_Valkyrie]

hello!

I've been thinking of becoming a freelance graphic designer/artist whose services include designing posters, flyers, brochures, stickers, tickets, etc. However, since this is something new to me, I'd like to hear some tips and advice from those who've been down that road or those who are still at it.

One of my problems is that i don't know how to price my services. How much would a full color poster filled with images cost, for example? Does the price depend on the number of colors used or how big the images are or etc, etc? I don't want to price my services too high for they might scare the customers away, or too low for i wouldn't earn much (duh).

looking forward to your advice and tips :) thanks alot!

[husky150]

Hmm have you had previous work experience in an ad agency or a graphic design shop? Kasi the exposure really helps a lot, both in terms of the technical aspects of production, as well as the business side (pricing, downpayments, collecting, etc.)

I did agency work for 10 years before deciding to go into business on my own. It helps to have that kind of background because then you'd have a long list of contacts : both suppliers and colleagues who can refer clients or subcontract work to you.
You'd also be able to determine how to price projects in terms of bulk as well as who the client is (may may kliyente kasi na sobrang kulit, kaya dapat medyo mas mataas ang presyo para di ka lugi :D )

Good luck!

[cupcake]

husky150 ok ba naman *** naging result ng business mo? **** ko rin magbusiness kasi.....:)

[Angel_Valkyrie]

thanks for the respose husky! Appreciate it :)

the thing is, I'm not planning to make a big business out of it, and in response to your question, I havent had any experience in an ad agency or a graphic design shop. However, I'm totally familiar with various programs like adobe photoshop or adobe pagemaker for example, and I took up graphic design in first year (I'm second year now). I'm not showing off or anything, but in all honesty i know that i'm really good at it considering that i have an artistic streak since childhood :)

I just want to get into it so I could get a little money on the sidelines, and i know alota people who are always lookin for someone to design posters, stickers and the like. Besides, i wanna make use of my talents instead of always working my *** off for other people and not get anything in return (even if they ARE my friends, a person's wallet can get pretty lonely :p)

looking out for more advice :)

[husky150]

Angel_Valkyrie: All right, it's very good that you're familiar with Adobe, which is practically just about the only program graphic design professionals swear BY instead of swearing AT :D

Naturally, technical expertise is a MUST, and having an artistic eye is also essential, so you're in the right direction. The tricky part, of course, is how to get clients. This is where the contacts I mentioned come in. Because I've had the fortune of having done agency work, I've rarely had to do sales pitches to get new accounts: the bulk of my current clients have come from referrals, both from existing clients and former industry colleagues. Ad agencies and graphic design boutiques normally set billing quotas before they consider handling a client. In other words, potential clients must generate enough billing in order to cover agency expenses such as rent, salaries, and, in the case of multinational shops, the set quotas they must remit to head office in New Tork or London. Those small clients and projects that agencies turn down are what we freelance professionals live on. What may be crumbs for a million-peso agency can be a big cash cow for a single proprietor like myself and others.

I assume you're still in school, so as early as now, why not make use of your existing contacts such as friends, family, and schoolmates? Get the word out that you do posters and other collaterals: like you said, there's always somebody who needs some art work done. While you're at it, why not expand your design talents into web design as well, and put up a webpage that showcases what you can do?

I mentioned in one of the threads that these are wonderful times in terms of what kind of work we can do. Unlike, say, ten years ago, if you started out as an accountant, you would probably be an accountant all your life. But in this age of downsizing and redundancy, you have to be prepared to be able to do more than just ONE thing. Fortunately, technology has taken great leaps and bounds, so we have the tools that we need in order to reinvent our working selves.

A favorite phrase in ad agencies is "Think outside the box." It helps to apply that to life, as well. Have you considered doing illustration or layout work for a magazine? There are many local glossy rags these days, and the experience (and again, contacts, which I cannot stress enough) you get from doing even piecework with them may prove invaluable to your career as a freelancer. Likewise, the beauty of being in a creative field is that you can apply your graphic design skills to many things aside from boring collaterals: you can branch out into production design, illustration, photography, T-shirt design, industrial design, comic books - hell, the only limit is your imagination.

And cupcake: Yes, I've done rather well for myself, I think. Been on my own for five years now, and what they say IS true: There's nothing like working for yourself. Thanks to God and my ever-helpful circle of contacts, I've been able to replace my old car with a nicer one, and I can justify spending on PCs and other equipment because I also use them for work, as well as play. This doesn't mean it's all roses, though. Being in a service-oriented industry which caters to manufacturers means you are also at the mercy of the ebbs and flows of the economy. There are certainly lean periods when no work comes in, so you have to keep an eye on your cash flow, unlike when you're employed and have a 15/30 paycheck to count on every month. But the fringe benefits I get - the option to wake up at 10am every day, calling my own days off, and basically getting to live an actual LIFE instead of slaving away for someone else all day (and, in the case of agency work, all night, as well) - far outweigh the drawbacks.

Again, good luck to you both *okay*

[Angel_Valkyrie]

wow you actually took time out to explain all that! thanks a bunch, it's very insightful and eye-opening. :D I've been asking around the net for advice and you're the only one who bothered giving me (and cupcake) a long and satisfactory answer. I'll start working on a web site then to serve as my portfolio for my work :)

Yeah, I never really liked the idea of working in a nine-to-five job for a big corporation...i dunno...it just seems very limiting and tiring to me.

again, thanks so much! ey, if ever i hav any troubles again in the future, can i look forward to your assistance again? :D

[Angel_Valkyrie]

oh and speaking of comic books, to create my own is one of my goals in life that I want to achieve hehe :D (others are getting a book published or seeing an article of mine getting printed on the newspaper haha!) the thing is, i never get to see it through to the end, it's either due to writer's block or just plain and simple boredom *sigh* oh well. and anyway, local comics aren't really that popular...are they? I know alot of Filipinos are artists for big time US comics like X-men etc. etc. but again, i don't like the idea of working for someone else other than myself

[husky150]

Angel_Valkyrie: At this point, I think you could use all the experience you can get. I know there are several independent comic book publishers (can't recall the names at the moment, though) that do Marvel/DC-type books. It would be nice to get your feet wet with these guys before you pitch an application for the big boys in the States. And working for a comic book, for me, isn't really work as much as it is play. Sabi nga nila, find something you love doing, and you will never feel like it's work.

By the way, are you a gamer? That's another area you might want to explore - creating 3-D gaming characters and storylines. Look at the success of Ragnarok: who knows, you just might be the next Gaming Wizard. :wink:

[Angel_Valkyrie]

wow are u a psychic or something? I AM a gamer! hehe and i used to draw and design characters for my imaginary RPGs, dreaming that it might become one of the greatest RPGs of all time haha! I even think up the storylines as well ;) god knows, as well as everyone, that there are alotta RPGs out there with awesome graphics but pathetic shallow plots.

The only experience that i have with video game programming is with this really easy program called Adventure Maker (go ahead and scoff! haha!). It's used for making point-and-click games like MYST and I created my own 3D rendered backgrounds for it using Blender Publisher. But it was shortlived cos it was just a trial version and couldn't be bothered to purchase a real copy of Adventure Maker :p so sue me!