15 insider secrets for industry success
The Professional Photoshop Book 9
- HOW TO APPROACH A CLIENT BRIEF
When you are first starting out in the creative
industry, one of the things that you need to learn,
quickly, is how to approach a brief, work with a
client and deliver the work that is to the right
standard, but meeting all of the requirements
initially set up. Graphic designer and digital artist
Nikita Gill (www.nikitagill.co.uk) talks us
through her best practice.
“When I am working with a new client, I usually
ask to speak to them over the phone or on Skype
so I can get an idea of what they need, because
emails can be quite impersonal.
“I always ask my clients the following
questions: What are three keywords you would
use to define your brand? What colours do you
see your brand in? What is your target audience?What is the brand’s story? After this, I send my
clients four different types of logo in a single
presentation file using the information they have
given me, as well as the information I have gleaned
from my discussion with them. After this, we take it
forward depending on what the client likes from the
logo set.
“If you’re a new designer, I strongly recommend
that you always organise a meeting with your client
where you either video conference them or speak
over the phone or, better yet, meet them with your
sketchpad. Set terms down with the client at the first
meeting so you are both clear on the process.
Develop a strong relationship so you can have an
ongoing interaction even after the completed product
has been received.”© Nikita Gill 2015PHOTOSHOP EXPERT DEREK JOHNSTON
(www.derek-johnston.co.uk)
EXPLAINS HIS TOP FOUR TIPS FOR BECOMING
A SUCCESS IN HIS INDUSTRYBuild a personal website:should be your absolute number one. T “Last, but certainly not least; this his is your chance to
say to everyone, ‘internet’. Make sure you’ve got really clear information that Hey, this is me and this is my bit of the
flows from one page to the next. Don’t make it difficult for users to navigate or find information. Have a great Info and
About page, with a picture of yourself. People need to know who you are and how to get hold of you.”Be on Behance: “I suggest you check it out Behance; it’s
is a great way to showcase your work and discover some amazing other talent from all over the globe and even in
your own city. Iother creative individuals on there, and also had some ’ve personally met and discovered a lot of
client work from this website. Iway to show off your talents [or] skills, which could lead t’s fantastic and is a great
to other teams or creatives wanting to work with you.”use Y outube: “Get on and create a YouTube channel.
Provide quick tips, little tricks, behind-the-scenes videos and even full-length tutorials. You don’t even need much
equipment. and so do most smartphones. TMost DSLRs have great Hhey’re decent enough to D video capabilities
get you started. Icapture my voice via mic input and S use an app called iTalk on my phone to creenflow app to
capture my screen. Keducational and make your viewers want to subscribe eep your videos interesting, fun,
and come back for more.”have a Facebook profile: “The dreaded Facebook. But in all
seriousness it is still a great tool for getting and talking to potential clients. Whether you love it or hate it, the fact
remains that everyone uses it. Just remember to be professional. Your online presence is essential on there. Use
it strictly for your profession. Don’t complain or moan. Never talk about clients, no matter how bad. Keep political
views to yourself and definitely don’t get into an argument.”- GET YOUR
WORK NOTICED - THE PROS AND
CONS OF FREELANCING
When it comes to deciding whether you want to
go it alone, or take a studio job, you need to look
at both the advances and disadvantages to make
the right decision, as freelance illustrator Ben
White (www.behance.net/nvlnvl) explains: “I
have a really hard time staying focused. I
constantly get distracted with new ideas or
indulging in personal projects, and so have had
to develop some self-discipline that isn’t really
innate. The other thing is being comfortable with
those bumps in the road, going from low
amounts of work incoming to suddenly being
swamped. Freelancing can feel very rewarding,
in terms of having a certain level of autonomy
and the satisfaction of having entirely overseen a
project, but it can also be extremely demanding
and spill too much into time that should be for
recharging your focus. If you can be flexible and
adapt quickly [freelancing] will give you an
amount of control, but if you value stability,
working in a studio might feel better.” © Ben White 2015