What is your area of expertise as a freelance Designer? Do you have skills in other areas to offer a wider range of services?
I'm interested to know what additional services Graphic Designers, specifically those who specialise in branding design offer?
For example, I find a lot of Graphic Designers have a lot of 'areas of genius' that stretches beyond branding design (logo suite, collateral, mostly digital) like web design, copywriting, shopify, packaging, Illustration, social media etc.
Do you think it's best to have one select 'zone of genius' that you are an expert in rather than expanding across a vast range of skills? Or do you think it's best to have at least some knowledge in loads of skills so you can offer more to clients? I find clients tend to want the whole package (branding, web design, strategy - the lot) which is why it perhaps makes sense to have expertise in most areas.
Would love to know what range of services other Graphic Designers offer!
Replies7
- @Martin Reznik Yes, I agree. Sometimes easier just to explain quickly and efficiently rather than through the client!
- I did a job for the brewey years ago where the client asked me to deal directly with the printers and I must say that at first I was a bit overwhelmed by the jargon, but once I got used to, it was actually better to be able to explain to the printers what I want the end result to look like. I had print jobs going sideways because clients insisted on doing it themselves. I think it's great once you establish a relationship with few printers, it speeds the process.
- @Siobhan Johnson Hi Siobahn,Yes. Typically now, as well as previous as a more regular graphic designer I work as a specialist in the environmental design field, which means liaising with manufacturers by default a little more than before. However, in the end it just comes down to what a client needs or expects. I can comfortably liaise with suppliers and manufacturers if that is required, yet Im happy to cut that part out or work with a middleman if that is what the client wants (for example if they have a setup already in place with a manufacturer or other, and just need design files digitally supplied by myself). Part of it is also suggesting materials and suppliers in order to steer the client toward an idea or mood.
- @Neil Davies Hi Neil!Yes, I do like the idea of offering packages, I find branding bundles tend to work well.I agree. I always think it's best to be honest at the start rather than a 'wing it' or 'fake it till you make it' approach, because I don't think it will ever end well! But seems to work well for others!I think that's also the most important thing, generally knowing how things are done so we have a basic understanding of the process and how to communicate.Another question, as I see you've mentioned you work with print and materials quite a lot... do you liaise with manufacturers/printers on behalf of the client? Or do your clients usually come prepared, know what manufacturer/printer/supplier they're going for and you provide the artwork? I've had a range of responses on this, really interested on how other designers navigate this process.
- Personally I think it is best to be an expert in one field (and have some basic understanding of others) than to be a jack of all trades, master of none. However, it seems to me that the employers/clients rather prefer people with a "vast range of skills" who can offer a skill-package.I'm an illustrator and printmaker, but also a self-thought graphic designer (logos, branding, packaging, print). Nowadays clients expect from illustrators to have basic animation skills too, so I'm learning After Effects. These are 3 fields, although closely related in my opinion. It helps to get more work, eg. you are commisioned illustration for packaging, but than you end up doing that + layout + branding. More money in your pocket (if you can negotiate).The only problem is that I feel that instead of strenghtening my skills in illustration I "waste" my energy to aquire all these other skills, that I think will help me to find more jobs, vut let's face it I'll probably never be as good at GD as someone who studied it and does it full time.In the past I also did web design, shopify, html, jewellery design, had my own t-shirt printing company, an artist-led shop in London, you name it.. One day I had a melt down, because I realised that I haven't had a pencil in my hand for about six months. And you cannot call yourself an illustrator if you don't draw, can you? So I slowly dropped everything couple of years ago and decided to dedicate myself to illustration 100% and it finally starts to pay off as I'm getting some recognition for my efforts here and there.
- Certainly I think, as a freelancer, package-offering is a good idea so long as the project can be managed correctly. Be sure to have enough knowledge in the parts (or know you can work with someone that does) before offering. That said, there is nothing wrong with honesty if you are being asked to do the job of say, a seasoned programmer or other specialist.I work with print and materials quite a lot, and whilst I could make or create some of the things that I outsource, some parts of the process are not my expertise. I pass those on to a specialist, but I need to know generally how it is done in order to communicate effectively.
- Hi Siobhan,As a fellow freelancer, I tend to think that multidisciplinary is gold in general.The most important thing in my opinion is the ability to understand and perceive how a project should be done. We need to stretch our knowledge in other areas like you mentioned before.We cannot learn everything ofc, but that doesn't mean that we can't execute or manage a project that is different from our primary service.F.e I'm a freelance motion/graphic designer with illustration background who has worked in the field of advertising and communication. I mainly work on production, but my scope of work expands to social media, campaigns, 2d production and recently AR.I find that is really enjoyable to learn new things and combine past and recent skillsets to produce unique experiences & products for our clients.
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