Creativity on a Budget
Vootie (150 points) | Wed, 2009-07-22 14:06
Freelance designers offer potential clients the very real bonus of great creative work at affordable prices. Not only are freelancers likely to charge less for their own time than a head honcho at a large firm, but they have lower overhead and less expenses to cover. This is not an excuse for freelancers to offer budget-basement prices and thereby drive down the value for top-level creative work, but clients will expect a one- or two-person shop, just starting out, to be a little hungry and a little less expensive then the guy with the receptionist and tassel loafers.
Here’s the rub with the clients you’re likely to attract when you first start out: Not only do they want to pay you a little less, they also have a little less to spend on materials and production. This presents an opportunity not for you to hone your begging skills as you try to convince them that they really do need eight colors and specialty varnishes for their first brochure, but for you to find interesting ways to create bigger impact with fewer dollars. Do this a few times, help them become more successful, and as their budgets grow, they’ll reward you for being there for them when they were just starting out.
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True statements in there. The clients that I've worked with, more often than not, know almost nothing about design, but they all became easier to work with when I explained why I designed something the way I did, or how I did something. Communication is important, but remember, you're likely doing work for someone who doesn't know how to design, that's why they found you. Don't just tell them what you're doing, let them know how you come to complete your work, and you'll have a more patient and understanding client, and better references down the road.
That is/was a huge issue of mine as well, I was working with people who have no taste is design and wanted really ugly things done and I had to help them realize that it wasn't a good direction, but its a toughy.
One thing I would make all future clients do is sign off when they are moving to the next step of design, otherwise they might be like lets start all over at stage 1, and then you can say well since we are going to back to stage one, so is the pay.
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