freelance – ira f. cummings

Here it is: the doldrums of summer. The air is ripe with the hum of cicadas and the smell of charcoal. It also signifieds the first six months of my freelancing career, so this seems as good a time as any to take stock of where things are and what the future may bring.

Are you taking notes?

I'm sure that different people approach it in different ways, but I sort of jumped into the freelancing thing. I knew that I was going to do it, I did as much planning as I could, and just rolled with it once the beginning of the year came around. To help me keep track of how this whole thing is going, and what I need to do to keep on track, I started writing a business journal. It's not much of a structured thing, but I try to write in it every weekday while I'm drinking my coffee. I sum up any project developments, and usually jot down thoughts or feelings about how things are going.

I've never been much of a journal guy. I think that I had one for a while--maybe for a month in middle school--so it's a new thing for me. I'm going to try to do it for a full year and see how it goes. Many people have suggested it, so I'm interested to see what particular relevance it has to me.

Getting down to business

Finding things to do since the beginning of the year hasn't been too difficult. I've even done some work that I'm really proud of. As I tell people what it is that I do, I'm getting more comfortable in talking about the things that I'm good at and the things that I like to do. It may sound weird, but that sort of thing is really difficult for me. Where I grew up, having a big ego is rarely the way to make friends, and talking about my work still feels like showboating to me.

As I start to find my groove with running my own business, I'm becoming more confident in the work that I've done. It certainly helps that I'm now more able to take on projects that appeal to me and that I am more invested it. It really does help to have a say in the type of work that you take on.

Like a Glove

There's a lot to like about the freelance life. I wouldn't say that it's an easy life, necessarily, from the standpoint of putting on the cruise control and taking it easy. It's a way of working--and living--that instills a need to be frequently re-assessing what you're doing. It also means that the walls between work and not-work start to blur noticeably. This is good for some people, no so much for others. I'm adjusting to it, but the main upshot is really feeling like this is a good fit. The way of working and the feeling of pride in seeing something that I've done makes up for the times of agonizing proposals or longer than normal hours.

One thing that has made this easier is the fact that I have forged some relationships with clients that have been really supportive of what I'm doing. They appreciate the work that I'm doing, and in turn I hope that I'm contributing to their projects in a substantive way. I also like that I don't always have to work in isolation, and there are times when I can bounce ideas off of folks pretty quickly.

It has also been really great to meet cool people who have started their own design businesses and have been really helpful with advice and guidance. Whether it's a networking event, or just meeting up in person, people in this field have been really generous and open.

Boldly Onward

As I continue along this little journey, I definitely have some direction in mind. The first thing I want to do is take it to the next level. I really enjoy branding work, but I want to keep pushing it. Where else can the logos that I've designed live? 3D? Motion? Retail? Installations? I'm not sure, but I want to find out.

I would also like to do more UI/UX work. I used to do a fair amount of it, but started working in some shops that focused on print work. Print is great, but I love the challenge of the web. It's a big problem, and it's a really exciting time to be working on those projects. It's great to tickle that part of the brain and I hope to do more of it.

Other than those two things, I'll take the challenges where I find them. It's certainly an exhilarating time.

Post script

Just a quick thank you to some of the people who have taken their time to talk with me directly. They're great individuals and extremely generous.

Mike Kivikoski at Atedrake
Dan Perrera, Amy Parker and Marc Amos at The Outfit
Adam Larson at Adam and Company
Todd Parker and Patty Toland at Filament Group
Fritz Klaetke at Visual Dialogue
Javier Cortes at Korn Design

Tags: business, freelance, recap

It's been a month of rather intense change for me. The biggest change has been a decision to quit my current full-time job and begin freelancing full-time. This hasn't been an easy decision for me—as you might imagine—with the job market being pretty poor and a lot of people still out of work. There are a few reasons why I decided to make a move, but I'll only get into a few of them here.

A Rolling Stone…

…gathers no moss, or so they say. It became abundantly clear to me, especially over the past 9–12 months, that I wasn't growing. I felt like my skillset was stagnating, and I could read articles and self-educate all I wanted, but the types of projects that I wanted to work on just weren't coming in. I wanted to work on a project that would challenge me and really push the limits of what I felt comfortable doing creatively. I wanted to think big and I wanted to get crazy. None of these things would happen at my previous job.

Some designers, especially these days, take this opportunity to create their own projects. This is great, and some amazing stuff has come of these kinds of ventures. For me, at this point in my life, I find the external stimulus far more motivating than self-defined projects. I'm not great at defining constraints for myself, so I find client work more rewarding.

One More Time, With More Focus

Some of the clarity that I've gained over the past 18 months relates to the type of work that I want to do. I realized that at some point, I got away from what I want to be doing. My first passion in design is Branding. The thrill of connecting with people and (positively) impacting their lives through my work is exciting. Branding is one of the things that I do best, but I want to do more of it, in a different way and bigger.

I'm also really excited with Interaction design. I've always loved technology, but I think that we're getting to a point where the technology is starting to disappear. By this, I mean that designers (and engineers, programmers, etc.) are creating systems that people can interact with on a complex level with minimal interference. This dove-tails with wanting to relate to people through my work, as well as engage them in a shared experience. All exciting stuff that I want to do more of.

In Which a Garden Analogy is Used

Even though I've had the pleasure of working with some really great folks over the past nine years, I realize now that I've hoed a pretty narrow row. I have worked primarily in small firms for much of my career, and so the type of work that I've done has been small firm work. That's not to say that there are benefits to the small firm environment. The relationships with clients, the accessibility to your boss, the ability to have some say in the direction of the company; these are all great things. For my immediate future, however, it's not what I want. I want bigger and I want different.

As a freelancer/sole-proprietor, I want to work as part of a large campaign or bring my services to a company that might not be able to use them otherwise. I want to do important work and meet a bunch of different people. All-in-all, I just want to get out there and see what's available to me.

So What Now?

Well, I'm not entirely sure. I suppose that I will more or less figure that out as I go along. What I do know is that I will feel a lot more in-control than I have in a while, and it's exhilarating. Sure, there is the possibility for failure. I know it's a risky move, but part of this move is having enough faith in myself that I can do it.

Of course, if you have any suggestions, words of wisdom or even a project that you might be interested in working with me on, feel free to drop a line. I'd love to chat more.

Tags: branding, career change, freelance, full-time, graphic design, interactive

Freelancing: The Six Month Recap