Business

I see too many designers relying on other sites to host their work and conduct business, and I think it’s a mistake — a mistake I made and paid for myself in the past. You may not think you need a website to conduct business as a graphic designer, and technically you don’t, but I’d like to shed some…

When you’re doing business on the internet, you’re usually dealing with strangers. It’s very easy to be scammed if you’re not careful. I’ve been hustled a few times in the past myself, but I’ve learned from those mistakes, and in this post I’m going to share my tips to avoid being scammed as a freelancer.…

A common idea that I often see discussed in the design community is that Fiverr is bad — outright evil. It drives down the price of creative work for everyone else in the industry, and people are going as far as giving up on design as a career choice because the future of the industry looks grim.…

I didn’t realize this much time had passed, but this November will mark 5 years that I’ve been in business as a freelance graphic designer. In 2011 I discovered a site known as Elance (at the time,) and decided to try it out and see if my design work was worth paying for. Fortunately, I…

If you currently use Upwork, either as a client or a freelancer, it may be time to start making other arrangements. According to some data I’ve recently seen in a very interesting article, the company isn’t doing too well and Upwork going down may be a very real possibility. Upwork was formed as a result…

Spec work is a very polarizing subject among designers and creative professionals. Personally, I think it’s far too complex and ambiguous a topic to speak definitively about, so I’d like to discuss this in detail and go over the various types of spec propositions I’ve received as a designer and offer my own personal insight…

For most of us, graphic design starts out as a hobby, but as our skills progress over time we can’t help but be intrigued by the prospect of using it in commerce. Creative/digital media, graphic design services in particular, are a highly valuable and sought after skill that’s always in demand, and it can be…

Everybody talks about the design software, everybody talks about design principles and best practices, and everybody talks about how to find clients. Not many people talk about the little things, though – those in-between resources that are not only helpful, but necessary to help get you through your work day as a graphic designer. Allow…