My beginnings as a freelance design artist were humble to say the least. My very first design project was a Christmas newsletter. I was working with a Sony Vaio at the time, and my paint shop pro trial had expired. I began scouring the Internet for design programs. Like many of you reading this blog, I eventually came across Photoshop. I downloaded the trial, and was able to complete my Christmas newsletter. It was mediocre work – but hey, we all have to start somewhere.

My design career began in April of 2008. I was a new freelance designer, looking for ways to market my work, connect with new people, and find clients. I was still new to Photoshop, and Illustrator was practically a word from a foreign language. With time, I became more involved in the design community. Clients began to come my way as more people saw my portfolio.

I have since compiled a list of great ways you can get started on making a name for yourself in the design industry. If you’re a struggling artist looking for work, here is a great list of job boards that will help you find clients and get your name out there!

Job Boards

Charity / Pro Bono

If you can’t seem to find a job willing to pay, it can help to try working with local charities. This is a great way to get your name out in the local area. Often times charities are able to pay you, but I would recommend you give them a discount or offer to provide your services for free. Charities often have a limited amount of resources, and they prefer to focus those recourses on their efforts. Do some good and help out a local charity. Their referrals are a big key to success in the pro bono area of work.

Showcase your work

Showcasing your work has many benefits. It’s a way for you to receive feedback on your designs and figure out how they can be improved. It’s also a great way to drive people (hopefully clients) to your site. Showcasing your work improves your search engine results, and it can really help potential clients find your work on the web. Here are a few sites I’ve been a part of that have yielded significant returns whenever I’ve posted work.

Design some made up companies

If you’re having trouble finding new work or have some concepts laying around, here are two awesome sites you can post unused concepts. I have had some success selling brands on brandstack.com.

Get known locally

Marketing yourself locally is a big way to gain and retain clients. There are many ways to do this – here are a few to get started.

Social Exploration:

Social networking is all the rage. Not having some type of social networking presence is unacceptable. You must have a facebook and twitter account. No excuses.

Talk to your friends and family. Referrals are huge in this industry. They’re even better when your clients start referring you to people who own other businesses.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you are a experienced designer and have some ideas for finding design work, comment below on help out some designers new to the field of freelance.

If you’re a logo designer, appreciate your God-given creativity.  It is a blessing that most times can’t be learned through a text book.  Being able to develop a single image to depict an entire business is not an easy task.  We need to cherish our creativity and embrace our ability to accomplish this task.

Sometimes we as designers can feel like there’s nothing left in the tank, yet creativity doesn’t go away one day and come back the next day.  Often times it’s the briefs, restrictions, guidelines, deadlines, and even procrastination that gets in the way. If your process for designing has been successful, stick with it despite these roadblocks until it becomes like second nature.  Adapt a new strategy only when you are currently doing is not working.

1. Price / Statement of Work

My projects start off with first determining a price point.  If you don’t establish this up front then it can get messy later on.  I require a 30% deposit to ensure the beginning of my work (details below) is compensated.  Some designers I know require half upfront and some require nothing (silly).

Here’s a free plug for my invoice system.  I use curdbee for my invoicing system.  I pay $5/month for the pro version so I don’t have to have a curdbee logo on my invoices.  Other benefits of this version include overdue reminders, thank you’s, and dedicated customer support. The free version has a lot of the same features but the curdbee logo appears on everything.  Curdbee is the most user-friendly invoicing site I’ve come across.

2. Brief

After the deposit has been made for the project, I send my clients a questionnaire that once completed will help me identify their specific needs.  The more detailed responses they provide, the more detailed I can be with the logo – it works both ways.  It’s very important to collect as much info as possible and do as much research as you can for a project before the pencil hits the moleskine.

After I read over the questionnaire, I’ll email the client to verify anything any information provided that’s not clear.  The most critical areas on the questionnaire in my opinion are the responses to “state a single sentence to describe your company” and “logos you like and dislike.”  From these responses you get a sense of how they perceive their company’s image and what style they like.

3. Research

I am usually able to grab a few key words to start my work.  I take those words and write them down in mymoleskine under the new project headline.  After that I use the dictionary and thesaurus to research the words definition and meaning.  More times than I can remember, the client gave me some words that I couldn’t draw anything up with but after using the thesaurus, i was able to come up with more descriptive/ visually stimulating words.

Afterwards I use the dictionary and thesaurus to research the words definition, origin, and alternate meanings.  More times than I can remember, the client gave me some words that didn’t conjure up any ideas, but after using the reference tools, I was able to come up with something descriptive and visually stimulating.

When word mapping is complete, I start researching the competitors and similar sites in the same industry.

4. Sketching

After looking at other logos, I determine how to make the new client stand out will start sketching out ideas freely.  I normally sketch until I have no more ideas during the initial sitting, then take a break and try to come up with a few more ideas during the next few days.  It’s important to try new things here.  This is where you can really let your creativity loose.  Try things on paper that you aren’t comfortable with and wouldn’t necessarily try in illustrator.

5. Comps and Mocks

When satisfied with my sketches, I’ll circle my favorite 3-5 designs and open up illustrator and photoshop.  Sometimes I’ll scan the sketches in so the drawing looks like the sketch and other times I’ll just look at it as a reference.  Sometimes being able to deviate from the initial sketch make it better on the computer.

Once I complete the digital mock ups, I’ll present them to the client in a presentation format including the full color design, the grayscale, and the black and white.  I’ll also explain the rationale behind each decision and explain why it would work well for their company.

6. Revisions

The price point and statement of work determined at the onset will determine the amount of revisions allowed.  If you are allowing unlimited revisions initially, you should change that practice immediately.  Allowing unlimited revisions is a recipe for disaster that will end up costing you time and money.

Revisions should never be a bad thing but something that is done in moderation.  Often times, clients can be “that guy” and start fussing over small things like wanting to see every possible sans serif font to make sure the one shown in the comp is the right one.  The best thing to remember when dealing with revisions is to think of it as a refining process.  More often than not, feedback from the client may help improve the logo… at least in their eyes.

I hope this gave you a little insight into my logo design process.  Check out the  portfolio to see the work.

For those of you who don’t know, Gamers Outreach is an organization that actually creates programs which use interactive entertainment in ways that improve the lives of others.

The organization works on a few different projects. They send video game care packages to soldiers serving overseas. They host online gaming tournaments to raise funds for other charity organizations. But the initiative I’ve become most interested in this year is called Project GO Kart, a program that supplies portable video game kiosks to children’s hospitals.

From now until December 25th, I’d like you to be a part of the project with me.  I just recently purchased an Xbox 360 for the organization’s first gaming cart, which was donated to Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’m also donating some new Xbox 360 games, but we are asking for old or new games.

Brandclay is hosting a game drive! I’d like to ask everyone reading this post to donate 1 game that you don’t play anymore. Seeing this organization’s work first hand has been an incredible experience. The joy they bring to kids who are going through treatments in hospitals through something as simple as video games is truly inspiring. We’ll be delivering all of the donated games to Mott Children’s Hospital near the end of December.

The hospital the organization is currently working with has a wide range of patients who vary in age (from preschoolers to 18 / 19 year olds). Any game rated E through M can be donated. If you would like to participate, please follow these easy steps:

1. Package your game so it doesn’t get damaged.

2. Mail the game(s) to: 127 Fieldcrest Street, Suite #203, Ann Arbor, MI 48103.

3. Send me (sean@brandclay.com) an email with your logo (589px by 200px) and a link to your website so I can include you in the list of people who’ve donated.

4. Receive a warm feeling in your stomach for helping out.

We’ll include pictures of the donation ceremony and update you with the progress of the new GO-Kart.  If you don’t have any used games, but you’d still like to get involved, you can donate directly to the organization by visiting their website at www.GamersOutreach.org (still under development).

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Designers who have already decided to give:

Josiah Jost (Siah Design):
NHL06

Jared Lunde (LUNDE):
COD4, NCAA Football 2008

Nathan Sarlow (Cobalt Cow):
Tony Hawk’s Project 8, NFL Street

James Bruno (Jeiji)

Originally, I was going to input the explanation behind the madness, but due to time constraints, I was unable.  To those who wrote me one, thank you, it was great reading your insight and helped me get to know you a bit better.

Rob Alan:

Larkef:

David Airey:

Jared Lunde:

I Am Garth:

Chris Young:

Clashmore:

Blake Stevenson:

Coin Tilt:

Leighton Hubbell:

Nathan Sarlow:

James Bull:

James McDonald:

Shane Guymon:

Sneh Roy:

Troy Osinoff:

Vonster:

Brian Tom:

Brian Potstra:

Dayane Straube Rotating Desktop:

Mike Martin:

Stephen Olmstead:

Mike Kamanski:

Nick Sloggett:

Rod Ligtenberg:

Mabu:

Matt Klaman:

Courtny Cotten:

Design that Rocks:

Paul Le Comte:

Tim Mather Work/Personal:

Richard Scott:

Razvan:

Brian Gray:

Nani:

Matt Dunn:

Fashionably late is Raja’s:

And lastly here is mine and my wifes,

Brandclay:

Katie Farrell (she’s very festive)

Hope you enjoyed this post and the insight into other designers/developers desktops.  I have to say, out of all of these, I am most surprised with Von’s… that is one crazy desktop.

Leave a comment about which one you like the most, and the winner will receive a $20 gift card to starbucks.  We all could use some starbucks this time of season…

His name originated like this: ‘GLENN’ from ‘NZ’ = GLENNZ.  That is his username on Threadless.com, which is where this all started.  That is the name a lot of people associate his work with, so it made sense to use it there.

Here is some of my favorite work for sale on his website: Glennz Tees

Direct Line:

Social Hero:

Refill Required:

In Disguise:

Pet Store:

Roadside Hit:

Macgyver’s Mailbox:

Suggestion Box:

Its a Bottle Jim:

Payback:

Plastic Surgery:

Breakout:

Slowing Down:

Evidence of Homework:

And one of my favorites:

Biblical Disaster:

After having many shirts printed on threadless – Glenn decided it was time to focus a bit more on designing tees and teamed up with some friends in the US to start this range of T-shirts, calendars and laptop skins.  He also uses his designs on greeting cards and artprints which you can buy from my NZ site.

Hope you enjoyed the post and be sure to visit his site, I’m definitely putting some of the shirts on my wish list this year for Christmas.

God Bless and Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

In a couple of days it will be my birthday and in order to help my closest friends get something that I’ll actually like or use.  Now everyone says I am very hard to buy for, so I always end up getting gift cards to restaraunts or some known electronic store.  Not anymore!  I have created the ultimate graphic design wishlist.  Hopefully my tastes appeal to other designers, so have a look and enjoy the merch.

Exotique H Mousepad: $10

“We have previously made claims that our mousepads afford the finest human interface device tracking service in the business, but customer comments and our own research and development teams have determined that this is indeed not the case. Further investigation show that the curves in the mousepad artwork were drawn with such care that they created a harmonic imbalance at key apex points, causing infrared interference throughout the user’s effective pointing zone. Ironically, the result was much like when all of that nasty gunk from your desk plus a few stray hairs got caught up in your old school ball-tracking mouse. But this one still looks cool, no?”

A great addition to any office, don’t you think?

Small Neutraface Slab Pillow, $45

“Type designers Christian Schwartz, Kai Bernau, Susana Carvalho, Ken Barber and Ben Kiel spent countless hours seated at their desks and toiling over our forthcoming Neutraface Slab font collection, so we designed this type-patterned pillow to remind their respective lumbar areas that typography can provide visual and physical comfort.”

Start dreaming of typography here

Cast Aluminum Ampersand, $195

“Can’t take the weight of a solid piece of iron typography? Think the ferrous version will tear out the bottom of your messenger bag or absorb so much magnetic energy that it’ll erase the hard disk on your laptop? Try this beautiful cast aluminum specimen! With more than a 60% weight savings, you can conserve fuel when transporting it home after charging it to your boss’s corporate American Express card. Each sculpture is individually sand cast, hand selected by a qualified House Industries staff member and assigned a unique number. Remember that each of these have eclectic nuances and will differ from the photograph. Made in the USA.”

This can be used for many things… the possibilities are endless.

Mens Typographreaks Tee, $20

“When the Fast Company editors asked us to do a headline for their “Typographreaks” article on us, the House Industries inspirational compass pointed toward Rick “Super Freak” James and his red patent leather thigh boots. The weight of Mr. James’ legacy drove our pencils and pens to new heights of self-licking lettering innovation. Now you can relive this magical musical era while showing the world your true appreciation for our spirit of typographic invention.”

Start looking snazzy today, buy one here!

I Draw Pictures All Day Tshirt, $22

“It’s word association. You say “I’m a designer,” and they hear “I draw pictures all day.” It would take too long to explain what you really do, so take the words right out of their mouth and wear them proudly. As rumors go, this one isn’t half bad. Perfect in army green, for soldiering through misperceptions. Set in Nick Shinn’s wonderful Goodchild.”

I have one and you need one, get it here.

Woodgrain Portfolio, $179

“Turn heads before the cover even opens. This handmade aluminum portfolio is styled with a rich cherry veneer cover. Reddish brown with a tight, straight grain. A strong screw-post binding holds your 11″ x 14″ pages in place, with 10 included to get you started. Stows away in a charcoal gray sleeve with a quaintly sewn Veer logo, each one lined with a unique interior fabric.”

Customized for Veer by Shrapnel Design

Start showcasing your work in something that will get the clients attention.  Buy it here.

Secret Order Sketchbook Set, $29

“Pssst. The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding exists to encourage and celebrate creativity at every opportunity. Nothing encourages creativity like a blank page. Or, better yet, 144 blank pages (72 unruled sheets) of 80-lb stock. Suitable for all creative jottings: Doodles. Designs. Diabolical improv theater group manifestos.

Comes as a set with an updated version of the I Draw Pictures All Day Sketchbook, same size and page count.
The Very Secret Order Member Sketchbook is emblazoned with the Order’s glorious crest. Both sketchbooks feature coil binding that lets pages lie flat and tidy. Text stock is FSC certified and contains 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. 7 1/8″ x 8 1/2″. Covers are of fingerprint-resistant textured stock.”

Get one for your loved one now here.

Logo Design Love Book, $25

In Logo Design Love, Irish graphic designer David Airey brings the best parts of his wildly popular blog of the same name to the printed page. Just as in the blog, David fills each page of this simple, modern-looking book with gorgeous logos and real world anecdotes that illustrate best practices for designing brand identity systems that last.
 
David not only shares his experiences working with clients, including sketches and final results of his successful designs, but uses the work of many well-known designers to explain why well-crafted brand identity systems are important, how to create iconic logos, and how to best work with clients to achieve success as a designer. Contributors include Gerard Huerta, who designed the logos for Time magazine and Waldenbooks; Lindon Leader, who created the current FedEx brand identity system as well as the CIGNA logo; and many more.
 
Readers will learn:

•    Why one logo is more effective than another
•    How to create their own iconic designs
•    What sets some designers above the rest
•    Best practices for working with clients
•    25 practical design tips for creating logos that last

Pre-order the book now here.

TSOVET Limited Edition AT76 Watch, $1,250

Now yes this is pricey, and yes it’s something I’ve wanted for a very long time.  I am not a fan of the everyday watches you see nearly everywhere nowadays (fossil).  I love the uniqueness of this — From the site:

“If you’ve been captivated by the dark, technical style of vintage aircraft gauges, then the TSOVET Limited Edition AT76 Watch ($950) will appeal to you. Inspired by the precision and style of avionic gauges, the AT76’s water resistant housing is made from aerospace-grade stainless steel, has a PVD-coated dial, an anti-reflective and scratch resistant mineral crystal face, and a non-corrosive, brushed satin finish. Internals are driven by the Rhonda 515, a Swiss timepiece with accurate quartz movement, indicating the time and date with luminous hands and markers.”

Visit TSOVET to find your dream watch.

Macbook Pro Ram Upgrade, $50

“I just purchased the 4gb ram for my macbook pro and I can’t begin to describe you how fast it is.  I run about 10 apps at a time and handles it like its nothing.  Check it out.”

2GB, 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-8500 memory module
CT898332

•    Module Size: 2GB
•    Package: 204-pin SODIMM
•    Feature: DDR3 PC3-8500
•    Specs: DDR3 PC3-8500 • CL=7 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1066 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64

Visit Crucial.com to upgrade your macbook pro.

MacStyles, $19-29

“MacStyles.com offers a variety of high-quality, customizable vinyl skins made exclusively for Mac notebooks. Whether you are looking to create an intense new look for your laptop or provide simple, clean protection, MacStyles.com has you covered.”

MyFonts Gift Certificate, $_______

“Myfonts.com is a great site for buying individual fonts.  MyFonts is a division of Bitstream Inc., located in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA. Our mission is to make it simple for everyone to find and buy fonts. In pursuit of this mission, MyFonts has pioneered new ways to search for fonts when you don’t have an exact font in mind, including…”

•    More Fonts Like This, to find related fonts using a particular font as a starting point
•    WhatTheFont™, for instant automated identification of the font used in a photograph or scan
•    WhatTheFont™ forum, to enlist help from font experts for hard-to-match font samples
•    User-provided tags, harnessing the power of thousands of users to help each other categorize fonts

Go to myfonts.com to find out more information

Postbox Email App, $39

“Email is our command center for getting things done. But let’s face it, email tools haven’t kept pace with the practical ways we use our inboxes — storing files, managing information, reminders for things to do, etc.

Postbox lets you work with email the way you’ve always wanted. Powered by an ultra-fast email engine and a sharp-looking, intuitive interface, Postbox will help you focus, save time, and get more done.”

See more at postbox-inc.com

Things App, $49

“Task management has never been this easy. Simplicity, however, is not achieved at the expense of powerful features. Download your free trial today and start getting more things done with less effort.”

See more at culturedcode.com

Intuous 4, $229 – $789

“Intuos4 redefines the Intuos pen tablet experience, thanks to a new design and new features inspired by members of our professional creative community.”

Find out more about the intuos product line here and see whats right for you.

Typetees, Various Shirts, $15

Check out threadless and type tees for some of the funniest shirts ever.

Adobe Design Premium CS3, $800

• The ideal solution for creating pages for print, designing pages for the web and mobile devices, editing photos, and creating illustrations

• Deliver innovative ideas in print, web, and mobile design

• Enjoy a unified, integrated design experience with new self-adjusting panels and other shared interface elements for maximum productivity

• Combines full new versions of Adobe InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, Flash CS3 Professional, Dreamweaver CS3, and Acrobat 8 Professional

• Combines all-new versions of essential tools for producing everything from professional page layouts to rich interactive experiences in a unified, intuitive environment

Find it on amazon here.  Or buy the CS4 (newer version) here.

Star Trek Blu Ray DVD, $19

“Leave it to LOST and Alias mastermind J.J. Abrams to reboot one of sci-fi’s most beloved franchises without too much bitching from the diehard Trekkies. Star Trek ($13-$20) was easily the year’s best science fiction film, and one of the most successful re-launches in recent history. Travelling back to before Capt. James T. Kirk was even in Starfleet, the new…” — Read more on uncrate.com

Buy it on amazon in Blu Ray format here.

Hitachi SimpleTough 500mb External Hard Drive, $115

• Plug n’ play simple for instant USB drive access
• Keep your data intact and no reformatting required
• Rugged pocket-sized design
• Velvety smooth texture for a secure grip
• Durable and made for travel

Buy it on amazon here.

There are many more things out there that would definitely make this list, but for now, this will have to be good enough for you all to get started.  Now if you want to get anything on this list and send it to me, that would be fine.  Enjoy and God Bless!

Resources:

Amazon.com

Houseind.com

Uncrate.com

Apple.com

Intuos.com

Threadless.com

Culturedcode.com

Postbox-inc.com

Myfonts.com

Crucial.com

Macstyles.com

Veer.com

Davidairey.com

Tech:
Sommet, $21.99

Sans Serif:
Uni Sans, $29

All Caps:
Carrosserie, $19.50

Fun:
Grilled Cheese BTN, $12.99

Slab serif:
Aviano Slab Regular, $21.99

Clarendon Light, $24.75

Museo 300-700, $FREE

Script:
Satisfaction, $12

Retro:
Coquette, $29

Grunge:
Pound, $8.95

I hope you enjoyed this post.  These are some fonts that I use on a daily basis for all types of different projects.  If you have any comments, please leave one and I’ll respond.

God Bless

Resources:

Myfonts.com

Linotype.com

Typography.com

Veer.com

Fontshop.com

Houseind.com