In carving out a career in design, skill and creativity
are essential. It is also important, however, to
determine in what environment you create your best
work. Will you pursue work at a large agency or a
small firm? Or do you chart a solo route?
If a designer decides to go solo and be an agency
of one, then perseverance, energy, and a knack for
being frugal should be added to the list of essentials.
It is also crucial to define what “solo” means to the
designer. Is it simply freelancing? Or are you the type
of designer with the stamina to wrap yourself around
every angle of the business?
After some years of experience in an organization,
designers may choose to go solo since the allure
of freedom is so great—freedom to pursue work from
companies that inspire, freedom of a more flexible
schedule, and freedom to close at 5 p.m. or burn the
midnight oil in their pajamas. All seem to grace the
list of why some designers branch out on their own.
Whatever the reason, a solo designer still has the
same objective: to satisfy clients and create working
relationships that yield the most favorable results.
There may be perks, but a solo designer still has
to wear the many hats donned at a larger agency. You
can’t forgo the steps of marketing and promotion, the
piles of administrative paperwork and budgeting, not
to mention the many layers of the actual design process.
Nevertheless, more and more solo design shops
are popping up … and not just creating websites
for the hair salon down the street. Solo designers
are proving themselves just as capable of handling
projects from large clients as their larger agency
counterparts. And some, like Seattle-based designer
Terri Bassett, have an impressive (and long) client list
and have received numerous accolades—in her case,
including an Emmy.
Getting started
Bassett, the founder of Regalis, a motion design
firm, has 20 years experience as an art director for
major design firms, television stations, and postproduction
houses, and is nationally recognized as a
leader in her field. She says, “I found myself becoming
the marketing person for motion graphics, plus
the creative director, the producer, the designer, and
many other positions. I realized it certainly couldn’t
be much more difficult to work for myself.”
With a prestigious client roster including giants
like National Geographic, CBS, Warner Bros., and
ESPN, Bassett was fortunate to have a head start, due
to her impressive contacts, when she decided to go
solo. Nevertheless, Bassett says, “The worst experience
can be the down time.” However, she says, this
can be the best time for marketing yourself, since
“it’s hard to market yourself when you’re busy, but it’s
essential that you find the time to do so.”
Tatiana Arocha, a New York-based designer
who got her start in design in her native Colombia,
jumped in with both feet when she left her job to go
solo. “I didn’t have a plan, I just had to dive in—I
needed to pay my rent. There are so many talented
people doing what I do that the most important
thing was not to wait or second-guess myself. I had
to just go for it—get out there, meet people, and
work hard.”
Arocha works with top organizations that cater
to the youth market like Nike, MTV, and VH1. She
was named one of the best female graphic designers
of 2003 by XLR8R magazine and recently participated
as a panelist at ResFest 2005—the premier
motion graphics convention—where she won the
first-ever Icon Chef Challenge, one that pits two
design teams against each other in a timed competition.
In addition to running the design studio that
bears her name, she also helps manage an online gallery
she founded called Servicio Ejecutivo.
Unlike Bassett, who did not experience much
delay when deciding to go solo, Arocha says hers was
a “slow transition.” Although she had a hearty list of
contacts to start with, she chose to take some time
and pursue the companies she really admired, and
those that interested her personally. After freelancing
for a while, the momentum of word-of-mouth marketing
kicked in, and “people started recommending
me to others in the industry. I think people now
know my style, so when clients come to me, they
want me to bring that style to the job. One of the
biggest benefits of working solo is when clients come
to you for a specific thing. I don’t lock myself into
one style, but I have fun with the projects and that’s
what my clients like.”
Getting started on a solo design career wasn’t
quite so planned for Oscar Tellez from Chicago. “I
actually fell into it,” he says. “The manufacturing
company I worked for relocated from Chicago to
St. Louis, and I didn’t want to move. By that time I
had already done everything: production, design, art
direction, photo direction, illustration, and multimedia.
From my last job I had many contacts at freelance
agencies who gave me a sense of what clients
look for.” From there Tellez hit the pavement and
contacted as many people he knew (or didn’t know),
until the work trickled in. Tellez believes that beyond
presenting good work with a clean aesthetic, it has
behooved him to be flexible.
Minding the books
Accounting and all things administrative can often
be tricky for designers who want to keep their heads
around projects, but as many seasoned creatives will
agree, you can’t let the paperwork get too far behind
or it will ruin the business. Bassett notes that many
start-ups are so anxious to get business that they
don’t factor in the time or work it takes, so “they
end up taking on projects that put them in the hole
financially almost immediately.”
Arocha says she is still trying to figure out the
best methods to manage her finances, since she has
had her share of bad experiences. From not getting
paid when expected to spending too much of her
own money on supplies, Arocha says she is learning
her lessons and tries to factor into her budget all of
the materials and items needed to complete each job.
Tellez agrees it is important to be frugal when
going out on your own. He says, “I realized I could
survive on less income with less headache and stress.”
Actually, when asked about his individual techniques,
he claims “less is more,” which for Tellez translates
into more then just the financial. “I keep it simple
and my clients appreciate the fact that I simplify the
design process.”
Marketing and maintaining relationships
It is not enough to create a website or portfolio of
fabulous work. You have to pitch and pitch and
become a shrewd salesperson. Bassett admits she
should take her own advice more often, but says,
“You are your best marketer, so be as visible as possible
and go to events and get involved in organizations
that will promote your business.” She also
says she puts herself on a schedule to call or e-mail
her clients regularly and not to worry if they don’t
respond right away. “They are usually very, very
busy people and you just want them to remember
you when the right project comes along.”
Arocha believes in chemistry. In addition to
sending out her reel every time it is updated, she
says, “If you have a good experience with your clients
and there’s chemistry, then things flow naturally. I
don’t like to force relationships … when it’s right, it’s
right and that’s it.”
The final word
Carin Goldberg, a giant in the design industry who
has created a treasure chest of record and book covers
and continues to have a remarkable career today
as designer and educator, says she’d never discourage
her students from going out on their own, but she
makes certain they are aware of the very unromantic
aspects of such a path.
Goldberg currently teaches a Portfolio class as
well as a Type and Portfolio Prep class at the School
of Visual Arts in New York City. She observes that
many people go into design today without a mature
understanding of what is involved in the daily grind;
not everybody has the vision and energy it takes to
master the demands with grand results. And achievement
certainly doesn’t come from the press of a button—
a notion Goldberg claims designers must buck
every day.
Goldberg believes the best environment for a
designer is shaped by balance. “Get experience from
the pros, explore, and surround yourself with support.
It is healthier to bounce ideas off other people
and compile a network of artists, photographers,
bookkeepers,” she observes.
Just as her students enroll in her class for the
sound direction they know Goldberg can give,
Goldberg herself gains much from the younger generation.
In the face of a new project, she will bring
her ideas to the table, but also queries her students,
knowing that it is creatively essential to be attuned to
“their vision of the world.” Either way, she remarks,
when choosing a design career, solo or otherwise,
“You have to love it so much and live for it, because
it ain’t no picnic.”
Recommended resources:
Online
DGM's Design Firm Management –
twice-monthly column dedicated to the essentials of running a design shop, by Shel Perkins.
Books
The Graphic Design
Business Book, by
Tad Crawford, $24.95, Allworth Press
100 Habits of
Successful Graphic
Designers, by Plazm,
$25, Rockport Publishers
The Graphic
Designer’s and
Illustrator’s Guide
to Marketing and
Promotion, by Maria
Piscopo, $19.95,
Allworth Press
The Education of the Design Entrepreneur,
by Steven Heller (ed.),
$21.95, Allworth Press
