The Future of Graphic Design

MBO Partners predicts that by 2020, half the U.S. workforce will be independent contractors (feeelancers). An article in HOW Magazine makes some further predictions about what the graphic design market will look like in 2020.

David C. Baker says that design work will move from the middle in two directions. Strategy work will move to agencies and consulting firms with access to the C-level executives. Implementation will fall to in-house staff and low-paid production artists.

Designers will find themselves working more and more with technology directors instead of solely marketing directors. Technology will continue to be an enormous part of marketing campaigns. Writers and experts in non-design fields will become part of the design team.

Baker says that more and more clients will find you through Google searches and LinkedIn. He predicts that specialists will thrive, as they can deliver exactly what someone is looking for.

Established networks of professional collaborators will team up as needed to provide the right mix of expertise for a given project.

Working with clients will change from email or phone communication during business hours to a system that can be logged into at any time. This model supports the new independence of people working remotely, from different time zones, on their own flexible schedules.

Baker has also noticed that "the big reveal" is dead. Most projects will move forward iteratively with a lot of collaboration.

Designers might find product design and other 3D modeling opportunities open to them, especially as 3D printers get more ubiquitous.

Information design will get bigger as we find ourselves with more and more data and less able to make sense of it.

Plenty of opportunities present themselves in these predictions. I personally have seen many of these trends in my own work. People are finding me on web searches. I am doing more projects with an independent programming team. Much of our communication takes place on Basecamp. I have hired a part-time writer and editor to help with content creation and social media.

The Core Beliefs of the Delightfully Successful

This article by Dharmesh Shah struck a chord with me. The list is below, but read the whole article for explanation and inspiration. He has peppered the article with some well-known quotes.

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140415201420-658789-the-core-beliefs-of-the-delightfully-successful

1. They believe they don’t have to wait to be “selected.” They can simply select themselves.
2. They believe being the first matters less than being the best.
3. They believe success seems predictable only in hindsight.
4. They believe personal success comes from service, not selfishness.
5. They believe in doing a few things no one else is willing to do.
6. They believe that the depth of their network is more important than the breadth.
7. They believe ideas are important . . . but execution is everything.
8. They believe leadership is earned, not given.
9. They believe in paying it forward.
10. They believe they will make their own history. 

When Your Design Business Grows

I saw this post by Jeff Archibald of of Paper Leaf. His list of “blunt realities” is good to keep in mind as a design business grows. A successful freelancer will at some point have to decide whether to hire employees and move into more of management or creative director position. Up until now I have always opted to continue being a hands-on designer, because that’s what I love to do. When my workload is too much, I hire subcontractors. That could change. I can see myself, some day, hiring employees and will come back to reread this:

http://jeffarchibald.ca/blunt-realities-running-design-business/

Obamacare and the Self-Employed

I have been waiting to write about the ACA’s impact on the self-employed until I could find credible and understandable information. Throughout the bill’s debate and passage into law, no one really addressed how it would affect those of us with an individual policy, except for the President’s repeated assurance that “If you like your plan, you can keep it.” That turned out to be false. Luckily, my plan has been grandfathered, so at least for now, I can keep it.

This article answers questions about how ACA insurance will affect the self-employed.

As of now it is unclear how the ACA will impact Health Savings Accounts. For now, they are allowed. This article is a good summary of HSAs’ chances of survival.

I will post new information and recommendations as I uncover them.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing sites cropped up after I was already an established designer, and I have no experience with them. However, the topic needs to be addressed.

There are many websites for crowdsourced design: eLance, oDesk, 99Designs, Crowdspring, Mycroburst and many others. Some will even boast how cheap their logos are! These capture designers from around the world, including places where the standard of living is much lower than the U.S. Furthermore, anyone can call himself a designer and start producing logos. These sites are a race to the bottom for both price and quality. 

This blogger tells a personal story of how she got addicted to crowdsourcing with the same “cycle of excitement-discouragement-delight-dejection” that hooks gamblers. Best of all, she shares her methodical plan for kicking the habit.

When you are out of work, it is tempting to enter a contest for the remote chance of being paid rather than the certainty of no income. Rather than work for peanuts, I suggest you work for yourself.

1. Never forge that design is a business. Brush up on your business and marketing skills by taking classes or reading books.

2. Build your network. Yes, of course, keep your online profile up to date and work the social media. But more important are you face-to-face communication opportunities. Go to free networking events, always have your business cards on you, talk to strangers.

I can admit that this is difficult for me. As a naturally shy and introverted person, it takes a lot of energy and resolve to plop myself into a room of strangers. But once I am there and start talking to people, I realize that I am having a good time. If social skills are not your strong suit, start small and build. For example, go to one event, stay for 15 minutes, and give one person a card. Then increase your goals at the rate that you are comfortable. Professional groups can also help. Toastmasters is the most well-known public speaking group.

3. Polish your writing skills. A professional designer must be able to write a creative brief, a proposal, and justify verbally all design choices. You are a visual person, and you believe that great design should speak for itself. But your client is not, and your client might have to justify a design to her boss. Give her the tools she needs. An educated client is a better client. You should constantly be helping the people around you appreciate good design. With strong writing skills, you will be ready when you tackle that RFP (request for proposal).

4. Consult the AIGA Tools & Resources for professional guidelines. AIGA is a trove of good advice and inspiration.

Getting the ball rolling is the hardest part of the freelance life. Many of us have no choice but to do other work while we establish a client base. I believe working another job to pay the bills is preferable to giving away design work in the hopes of getting a break. Participating in crowdsourcing design sites will never give you the income, relationships, and security that a professional must have. And it contributes to the degradation of our whole industry.

If you must work for free or discounted rates to hone your skills and produce portfolio pieces, choose a worthy non-profit organization.

Decorator Tips for a Home Office

from the Wall Street Journal article by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Some home office tips from professional decorator Jeffrey Alan Marks:

• Keep your home office physically distant from where you sleep or play. 
• Your home office should be more stylish and personal than a corporate office. 
• Reduce clutter by having plenty of storage. And keep extra materials that you don't need every day in another space, not in the office.
• If you can, choose a room with a view for your home office, and position your desk so you can look out the window.
• Above all, make your office a pleasant place, so that you want to be there.

How to Build a Better Business

At the HOW Design Conference, "How to Build a Better Business" was a panel discussion with Peleg Top, Rochelle Seltzer, Kevin McConkey, and Shannon Carter. These were some highlights:

• Be prepared for opportunities. The more you prepare, the luckier you get.
• Ask for more money. Be prepared to walk away if you don't get what you want.
• Money is the currency of respect. The more a client is paying you, the less likely they will dictate to you.
• Be an investment, not an expense. Show that your work makes money for your clients.
• Build relationships.
• Narrow down your market focus not just by what kinds of organizations you want to work for, but what kinds of people you want to work with.
• Look for potential . . . the potential to do great work.

First Meetings

• Ask "what do you want to achieve and how much do you want to spend?"
• Create a human connection.
• Ask "why?" a lot.
• Focus on what's possible; get the client excited.
• Consider sending questions before the first meeting so that they have time to think and discuss.

Case Studies/Website

• Tell an emotionally engaging story.
• Highlight results.
• Speak in an authentic voice. Be real.
• Your website should tell people what it's like to work with you even before they meet you. Be personal.
• Start the conversation.

And More

• Charge for thinking, not producing. You solve business problems through design, not for producing a brochure.
• The deliverables are based on the strategy.
• Hire well and wisely.
• Be a leader, not a manager.
• You can be a designer without doing the production.