working for yourself. (client services)

It seems that a majority of clients looking for some design work to be done will look to freelancers over big design agencies due to financial reasons and to get a more personal experience. If you are looking to be a freelancer, you can expect some clients looking to take you for a bit of a ride and try and squeeze a lot more work out of you than they first requested. So make sure that everything is clear between you both before you begin your deisgn process and mention that if any more work needs doing that the amount they pay you will have to be increased. In some cases especially if its a big job with a great deal to do you should consider taking a deposit to show they are committed completely and to protect yourself.

working for yourself. (job bags)

Job bags can be anything from a folder to something digital, basically it's a place were all the infomation is kept from a job that has been completed. The details normally present in a job bag will include phone numbers, emails, notes, invoices etc. They are there to help freelancers keep track of previous/present clients and the design work they have done for them, it also gives them the option to contact them in the future about for example more possible design work or even just to ask how their design work has helped the company, brand or service.

working for yourself. (setting up as a freelancer)

Unlike in an agency you're on your own as a freelancer so all responsibilities will be your own to deal with. Firstly you would have to think about gathering a reputation for what you do, it is essential if you're looking to be a successful freelancer to promote what you do by creating business cards and an online portfolio. Work won't always come to you, so to get things rolling you may have to make a few calls requesting any design work that a company, brand or service may want doing. In this business it defiantly seems to help if you have contacts that are already established in the design field.

working in an agency. (internal culture)

The internal culture at every design agency will be different, it's just down to you as a designer to be confident that you can work in the environment supplied. Other empolyees at the agency, where abouts its located and what sort of equipment you will be using are a few things which may effect how successful you are at the work placement. It is key that you can still be creative and produce work to a high standard.

working in an agency. (briefs)

Many designers would prefer a written brief over a verbal one because in a sense half of the job is already done with a written one, all you will have to do as a designer is bring there brief to life. Were as with a verbal brief it is down to you to gather the infomation through a conversation(s) with the client demanding the things you want/need to know to begin your design process. This can prove very difficult if the client is unclear with what they want and struggles to hold a conversation. With all briefs it is good to create a proposal which you feel would be more successful than the one stated in the brief, this gives the client another option because not always will they know what they actually want themselves.

working in an agency. (account teams)

It can prove very hard for a desinger especially a freelancer juggling all the financial aspects of working with a client as well as being creative and delivering a design outcome that will fit what they requested. A number of freelancers have looked to hiring an accountant or even an account team to deal with the financials so they can obviously concentrate more on what they do best, designing. Many clients will also have a great deal more confidence in you if you use an accountant/account team.

working in an agency. (timekeeping, dedication, professionalism)

Timekeeping, dedication and professionalism, all three are as important as one another and without these three aspects/skills you will not be a successful designer. Timekeeping is essential because without the skill to meet deadlines and achieve whats been asked of you to a high standard will result in a very unhappy client. As a designer you need to schedule what you need to do by breaking the design work you have recieved into sections, giving yourself enough time to complete it in and well, making sure any possible problems or unexpected issues have been considered. Your dedication will be tested without a doubt at some point as a designer but it will be down to you to reinvent and inspire yourself, you need to enjoy it or your outcomes will start to suffer. Professionalism should be key at any work placement because it will always be expected that you work to the best of your ability. By coming across like this to a client as a designer without a doubt the client will put all their confidence in you to create something that will push forward their ideas and plans for their company, brand or service.

working in an agency. (the importance of communication)

Communication is a skill needed with any occupation but it is key if you're looking to be a successful designer. If you're looking to be a freelancer then you will be your own director so if the client you're dealing with doesn't have a set brief you'll have to speak with them and get the information you need to get on with the job. A client will respect a designer with good communications skills and will without a doubt return if any more work needs doing if the experience with working with you was a pleasant one.

general work skills. (c) presenting your work

Before Presenting your design work to a client about doing some work for them or even landing a job placement, you will have to sit down before the meeting/interview and put some major thought into how you are going to presentate your creations. The client will be able to tell instantly if you are not prepared, you should be ready to answer anything they throw at you clearly and confidently. It's not always about answering questions they have asked well or correctly, sometimes they just want proof that they can form a relationship with you and converse with no problems.

general work skills. (c) typography & grids

Typography and Grids are both key aspects of design and if used together successfully can make for very impressive design. Typography plays the biggest role in comminucating with the reader/costumer, you may not be aware of it but bad typography even if you are not trained in design can easily be ignored and make you unaware of the message that is trying to be put across. Grids on the other hand are there to help designers organize the artwork and typography to make the final product flow correctly.

general work skills. (c) art direction

If you are a freelance designer it will be down to you to direct yourself but in an agency they will normally have an Art director. Art directors are there to help guide and structure the design process in a project, they are the one with the idea and it will be down to you as the designer to make it reality and bring the clients needs alive.

general work skills. (c) copywriting

Copywriters are not used as much these days but can be very useful to a designer to avoid any mistakes in type and its grammar so they can concentrate more so on the deisign side of things. In a design the spelling, grammar etc of type is key and any mistake made will cost you greatly say neither you or the client you're working with notice and it goes to print. It's looked upon as very unprofessional and you don't want to as a designer looking to be succesful loose clients over something so basic.

general work skills. (c) the psychology of marketing

There are a range of different methods that companies and businesses use to sell a service or product. There are a range of examples of marketing on television, you will often find the serivice/product they are looking to sell reflects the audience that would be watching a certain program or even just be watching tele at that particular time. So what they do to take full advantage of this they will scatter advertisements around it and in some cases even sponsor the program itself.

general work skills. (c) speed skills

The ability to work fast is an essential for a designer especially ones working as freelancers. Freelancers don't just have the concern of creating the artwork they have everything else that comes with working with the client, such as sorting the financial side of things and keeping them up to date with what stage you're at with their brief.

general work skills. (b) paper

Paper now comes in a range of different sizes and textures. There are 3 groups which are A, B and C with 11 different sizes to each, for example A0, A1, A2, A3, A4 etc. The paper can be either coated or uncoated and come in three different types, which are gloss, silk and matt.

general work skills. (b) colour

Colour is one of the most important aspects of design, it can make or break artwork completely thats why special care needs to be taken when selecting what colours you use etc. There are two different colour systems firstly 'CMYK' which is made up from Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Key (Black) this is the most popular system in design, the colours are produced by colour seperation and are able to reproduce both colour images and black. The other system is 'RGB' which is made up from Red, Green & Blue the basic primary colours, this system of colours is used for on screen design, for example in websites and on computer software.

general work skills. (b) the balance between craft and technology

In this day and age the designer will normally go straight to the computer/Mac to create artwork, the traditional ways seem to have died out and digital has taken over. The trick is to get a good balance between the both of them because there are a range of things which you still just can't do on screen, there are no limitations when it comes to crafting. Ideas should be sketched out on paper and final artwork should be created on screen when it is clear what your expectations and plans are.

general work skills. (a) commissioning suppliers

The relationship between the supplier and designer are not always great, they have been known to blame one another if there is any sort of issue. To aviod any conflict the trick is to form a relationship with the supplier and let them do what they are paid to do by not getting to involved with the process. Give them the instructions then forgot about it, any mistakes can therefore be blamed on them.

general work skills. (a) proofs and press passes

Press pass is the process of studying the quailty of the prints against the proofs. This invovles checking a range of different aspects to make sure it is perfect and reflects what you created on screen well. To amend any problems you would have to speak with the press minders who would be able to fix the issues you have. A lot of designers choose not to get involved with the printing side of things and just create the artwork, because it can be very time consuming . To make sure what you have created looks its best, you are recommended to visit the printers as the work is being printed, then you can study the prints as they are being printed and be there if anything goes wrong and needs adjusting.

general work skills. (a) print specification

Print specification is everything the client you are working with will want and need for their deliverables. Deliverables can be final print outs, a file/files or in some cases both; when sending your work to the client always make sure you have converted the file/files to a 'PDF' that way even if they don't have the required apllications they will still be able to view your outcomes no matter what. Print specification also inculdes infomation about the colour requirements, dimensions, bleed measurements, contact details etc.

general work skills. (a) formats

Format is the final shape and size of whatever a designer has been designing towards, this could be a book, magazine, flyer etc. Format is no longer much of a concern for a designer thanks to the ISO paper series, these guidelines are the traditional sizes used throughout and will normally give the client a good idea with what they should be thinking size-wise to match up with the job they need doing. Rarely will a client want a magazine for example to not be the regular size for a magazine.

general work skills. (a) budgeting and quoting

A question asked regularly by new designers "How much should I charge the client?" The client wants to pay as little as possible for your services, it's down to you to persuade them otherwise by saying how your design work will help to bring their company forward and achieve the goals set by the client.
Make sure if you decided on a sum before you begin the design process that the client is confident that all he has asked for initially is all that needs doing, and if there turns out to be more they will be expected to pay for it.

general work skills. (a) scheduling and planning

It is key to manage your time well when juggling a number of design jobs or even just breaking up one to make sure you have enough time to create all the elements. Creating a simple table marking down when you have received the work and when the deadline is etc will help a great deal with keeping yourself on top of things.

getting a job. (following up, staying in touch, schmoozing)

As a freelance designer you should always stay in touch with previous clients you have worked with for the possibility of more work in the future. Try and build a relationship by giving the client a ring or sending an e-mail every few months, this will keep you in their minds and if they enjoyed the experience with working with you before they will most probably opt to use you again if they needed any more work completed.
There are a range of benefits with keeping not only in contact with not clients but with your fellow class members/students also, especially those that specialize in things that you do not. This will help in the future so you have the option to pass work on that you are not comfortable or confident you will achieve to the clients expectations. This way you will not have to say 'No' to a client and possibly keep a relationship there for the reason that they may want some design work done in the future that you are confident with creating.

getting a job. (targeting employers or clients)

If you are a designer looking to start yourself of as a freelancer it is essential to target employers and potential clients because not always will the work come to you. It's your responsibility to attract attention and bring in the design work so you can not only build up a reputation but earn yourself a living. This does not apply so much for designers working for companies because usually they are supplied with the work.

getting a job. (creating your portfolio)

A portfolio will normally be shown at the interview with the employer, It should include the work you are most proud of and what you feel shows them best what you are all about as a designer. It shouldn't just include final pieces, thumbnails and rough ideas are appreciated also. Depending on what sort of company they are your portfolio may have to be rearranged and have work removed or added to, because you don't want to present for example illustration work to a company that works strictly on computer based design.

A great deal of opportunities and design work now come from having an online portfolio because most clients/employers looking for a designer will go to the internet to begin their search before anything. I already have a sort of temporary portfolio on Behance but I am looking to have a website of my own up at some point this year so I can establish myself in advance before finishing up with education.

getting a job. (creating your cv)

A CV is often produced and given to a company or employer with possible job opportunities to give them an idea of what sort of person you are and what qualities you have. Ultimately if they like what they see, you will be offered an interview. 

A CV needs to have the following:

• All your details (name, address, phone numbers, emails, etc)
• Show all your grades, achievements and awards.
• Show previous work placements/experience.
• Look to get a reference from a past employer.
• Create a little write up about yourself, include things like your hobbies and interests.

getting a job. (end of year show)

End of year shows especially after a BA/Degree course are a great way to get in industry and land some work or even a permeant position. I will have to present a piece or number of pieces of my design work which I have a great deal of confidence in, which will show off my ability as a graphic designer at its highest standard. I will converse with clients and hand out business cards with my contact information and a link to my online portfolio. I need to stand out from my fellow classmates and make sure if clients are looking for designers that I'm the one they present with opportunities.

flux pavilion flyer design.

Here is a flyer design I created for Flux Pavilion, It's promoting an up coming tour of his named 'The Addiction Tour'. I thought I'd keep the theme around addiction with the release of the single 'I Can't Stop'. The photograph is one I took of a neighbor of mine smoking, I feel this has worked very well as the front of the flyer with the abbreviated logo present on top of the image with the opacity turned down a touch. Originally for the back of the flyer I created some type for the dates, but after applying it to the flyer it seemed unclear so I decided to go with Avant Garde which I feel works perfectly.

flux pavilion website design.

After creating business cards I thought I would design a layout for a possible website for Flux Pavilion. A majority of artists, bands and producers have websites to help promote themselves, promote up coming releases and sell merchandise, albums, singles etc. After looking at some existing websites in a similar genre to Flux Pavilions, I understood the requirements and designed this layout. I feel it would work well and defiantly bring the Dubstep producer/DJ forward.

flux pavilion business cards.

Here are the business cards I designed for the dubstep producer Flux Pavilion. My original idea was to have the business card cut into the actual shape of the logo but after looking over a range of existing cards it became clear why companies, artist etc go for a more traditional shape/size. It seems that with business cards its more about functionality than the actual design of it. I feel the final outcome has been very successful and would work well.

final aquant advert.

This is my final advert design for Aquant. I decided I wanted to keep things simple with the design by not adding to many elements and just having the essentials present. The slogan 'Water never tasted so good' is from an old Volvic advert which I felt fitted in perfectly with my product because of the simplicity and to-the-point nature of it. I feel everything has worked well and the advert has been a great success. 

final aquant packaging.

This the the my final packaging design for Aquant, I feel the outcome has been extremely successful. Originally I played around with the idea of having some mountains/hills present under the logo but after doing a great deal of experimentation it seemed best to just have the logo on its own. The vector mountains/hills I created seem to distract attention from the logo. To make the packaging complete I created a 'Typical Analysis table with all the information about the content, A little write up on how the water should be kept and stored and few other essential elements.