Task two:
To promote myself properly, i must ensure i am well advertised with my skills as a designer. I should promote myself in various places and use different mediums to try and sell myself. The bare minimum now i think is to at least have a published website featuring galleries, contact information and showreels etc. Many people now though think that is the only thing they can do to promote and sell themselves however other mediums can definatly benefit us as designers. Ensure oyu have a professional business card can definatly help to ensure you sell yourself and also meeting people/networking at different events and festivals allows you to be able to offer you services via networking at these events. I think these methods are much more effective than for example flyers which people tend to just throw away. However you could advertise in specialist magazines such as computer arts and Digit. Doing this would allow other professionals to see your advertisement and allow you to gain business perhaps by that method. This also means that the advert is seen on a national and sometimes international scale and therefore promoting your skills outside of your local area. This will be very usefull to have effectively communicated ntionally as many of the top design agencies do reside in London for example Psy-Ops, a visual effects company. I think this way of communication via these different mediums will really help promote myself to the most cost effective and beneficial way.
Task3:
I briefly spoke about the ways i would promote myseld in the previous task but i can now exapand on my ideas as to how i would do so cost effectively and which would be the most beneficial for my area of business. Definatly having a professional looking website which is clear, readable and you can view my work on is essential for any company trying to look into me for a job. Ive been looking up hosting and domain names for my company as a freelance artist and photograpgher and have found a really cheap hosting site based in Norway which i think only cost $24 for a year which would be very very cost effective . Business cards are a must, it gives probably the most professional look to the client if you have a well designed, clear business card which states what you do and how to contact you. The only problem is that these cost money to produce and cannot always be of the highest standard. I think Moo-cards.com offers relatively cheap and high quality for business cards. The cards themselves need to be sharp and to the point with contact information and names and what you do. Nothing more is needed as the clients will not want to take the time to read all different techno-babble about what you do and what software you can use. My unique selling point however will be that i can offer a range of services from visual effects to photography. Making me more unique than the people who can only do 1 thing, and that 1 thing only.
Luckily for me i have experience already in the design world as i have published a book titled SlashTHREE: Expressions (The Art of SlashTHREE) which is a design book for the collective i work for. slashTHREE is one of the world’s biggest online digital art collectives and so i have met various people, learnt new things and been given opportunities such as the book to be able to understand the design world more. Since i was young i have used various art related web galleries which are a great way for people to see your work and to network with other people and businesses via collaborations or just talking to fellow artists. Examples are DeviantART, the ever growing Behance Network which I was a member of during the BETA stage and which is now one of the biggest galleries out there, and also the new Artician website which again is a great way to put yourself out there. I think its definatly the best idea to already have an idea of how the business works and so you don’t get lost along the way. These places can help get a foothold into the business but also helps build up a reputation amongst fellow artists.
Task 4:
There are always threats and opposition to your freelance business as it is a dog-eat-dog world when it comes to design. The clients want a quality product for a relatively low price. This being said i think a weakness to having a website is that so many other designers have them. It’s almost mandatory now with the ease of quick cheap internet access and hosting. It’s how you manage your site that will directly help you reel in the clients as opposed to your opposition. Using appropriate feature to make your search engine results the most positive is a big thing when clients are looking to find a designer. They want to see what they are looking for straight away and so with this feature (keywords etc) you can make your result be the top of the list. Thousands of students graduate from design related courses per year and like everyone else are looking to go straight into the design world. So you really have to make yourself unique and standout from the rest of the crowd.
To evaluate, you must understand the business and how it works in order to have a strong foothold into the design world. Having methods of promotion such as business cards, flyers, ads etc are needed to ensure people see your work and know what you are interested in working for them. You must have an appropriate USP to make you different from the norm. You must construct your pitch with consideration of your strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities which may arise.
