Presentations and Panel Discussion
Having not studied anything about business before I did not know what to expect from this lecture and panel discussion. Business is not something that has ever interested me, it all seems like a bit too much admin but nevertheless I was interested to hear about the ways you could set up a potential future design studio.
Studio Moross (Studio Operation) - I thoroughly enjoyed Kate's talk about the studio she established. It seems not only like a forward thinking innovative studio but also like they treat the staff incredibly well. The best jobs I have had have been ones where you feel valued by the company so it doesn't surprise me that this is the cornerstone of Kate's Studio Moross. Perks such as paid overtime, and a bonus scheme I think would make any staff member working there feel like their time is valued.
Another thing I found interesting was in the breakdown of fee structure, Kate discussed that there were some jobs they were willing to lose money on on purpose - for example charities or artists they think will be big one day but don't have the budget now. I like the idea of discounting projects because you really believe in them and want to support them. However, critically thinking I don't know how I would feel about this if it was the opposite way round. For example I am completely pro choice, if a company was discounting pro life campaigns that would be unacceptable to me. I would immediately cut off an affiliation or stop using their products because of a belief that I think is morally wrong. By taking a stance on a political issues you are excluding potential clients. But if their beliefs are that different from your own this may be a good thing, particularly if in your goals as an organisation is to work only on projects you really care about.
Something else I found inspiring was the fact that Studio Moross have actively challenging and addressing structural inequalities within the design industry as one of their company goals - this is definitely something I want to do as I stated in the previous workshop challenge. I would be interested in finding out more about how they actively do this at Studio Moross.
Ustwo (Agency Model) - Ustwo is a massive operation with 7 studios and 250 employees. Hearing Neef talk about the different strands of the company was interesting as I had not heard of a design company having an investment fund for ventures before. This is actually something the charity I work for also does - invest in ventures that will become profitable in the future. It is a great way of encouraging smaller companies to be creative without worrying about funding.
It seems like the experience Ustwo have in the creative industry really benefits them when driving profits. They seem to have many different avenues, for example games, studio and adventure all of which make money in different ways. In the panel discussion Neef added that this is to ensure the longevity of the business, if one area starts to slow, there are still many more to keep it afloat. This is an element I would like to consider when developing my business proposal in this module.
Lovers (Creative Collective) - Lisa gave a really interesting presentation about the creative collective Lovers. There is a central team which essentially creative directs the "lovers" (freelancers) into teams to complete projects. To me this sounds like quite a chaotic business model as people are constantly moving around to different projects and are scattered all over the world. However this model does allow people the creative freedom to do projects they really care about. In this way it seems to have satisfied the need it identified of people leaving agencies because they wanted to work only on projects they cared about, this is why Lovers was created in the first place.
One thing Lovers has that I would definitely want to use in my own business is the idea of creating your own in-house tools rather than using the cookie cutter tools that already exist. It seems like the best way to manage projects exactly the way you want and need.
Theo Inglis (Freelance) - This is the only model I was really familiar with as it is something I have been doing for five years alongside being an in house designer. I hadn't thought about all of the extra jobs a freelancer does, for example accounts, production and finance. This is the worst part of freelance for me - the dreaded admin and when I establish a studio I plan to employ people to do this side of it.
The panel discussion - I found this a very valuable part of this lecture as there was some sound advice for setting up a studio and how they should run. It was also interesting to hear some of the downsides of the different models. For example, freelance being lonely. It was also interesting to see the different ways people work too. Such as Kate Moross saying that she likes working on multiple projects at the same time, compared to Ustwo who only focus on one project at a time. I was interested in the idea that the culture of the studio and the way of working comes from the person ho sets up the studio. While a certain way of working might not work for everyone, it will attract like minded people to the company.
My final takeaway from the panel discussion was that work shouldn't be your family, a good business lets you go home to your family. Work life balance and mental health is so important and should really be at the forefront of a companies values.
Professional Practices in Graphic Design
I found this reading [1] extremely informative and dense - this took me the longest out of all the reading we've had so far as it is not my forte. The first section which was about the standards of professional practice was informative and I was especially interested in the section about a designers responsibility to society and the environment. It's interesting that this is included because it seems like a reasonably recent thing that companies are taking their impact more seriously and introducing schemes to improve this impact. It is also something that is important to me and that I would want to take seriously in any future practice I may have or be involved in. This particular section made me think about Kate Moross' studio - this definitely takes this point and interweaves it into it's values - as Kate described, one of their goals was actively challenge and address structural inequalities within the design industry. I will definitely use this as inspiration when thinking about my studio.
The setting fees section was very helpful especially for this weeks workshop challenge - it is not something I have had to do outside freelancing and if I'm being completely honest a lot of that has been guess work. This section of the reading will really help me formalise this and work it out in a strategic and logical way. It also pointed out expenses I never would have thought of/remembered. For example, legal services and subscriptions. I will be using this as a reminder list when working out my fees.
The legal structures was the most challenging for me to get through - I found it extremely complicated when discussing the minutiae of different structures for the design firm and it is not something I have ever been interested in. I persevered and now at base level understand the differences, This is something I will need to do more research about when setting up a practice.
I am reasonably well versed with the legality of fonts as it is part of my job as an in house designer at Catch22. I had to extensively research this when I started just over a year ago. Overall this reading while not incredibly interesting was very necessary and useful to this module, it has so much information and tips that I will take through this project.
Further Research
I spoke to my friend Dean who set up his own freelance business five years ago. He quit a job as an in-house designer to go it alone, this is what he had to say:
So, Dean. How hard was it to start a freelance business?
I'm not going to lie, it was extremely stressful - worrying where I was going to get the clients from and if I'd made a massive mistake quitting my job. I spent probably the first three days crying and procrastinating then pulled myself together, after all I only had myself to rely on. After I got my first three clients it all seemed to slot into place. I worked really hard on keeping clients especially in the early days and I think that really helped establish me in the freelance industry.
Do you ever regret it?
Not for a second. It's still stressful at times but the freedom you get from being our own boss is unbeatable, I reckon you would love it too! Being an in-house designer was good for a few years but it got a bit repetitive and mundane. I guess some freelance jobs can be too but the variety has always been worth the switch for me.
What's the worst thing about being freelance?
Admin, definitely the admin. Invoices and tax and it all just gets a bit much. I have an accountant now which has really helped because finance is awful. If there's one piece of advice I could give to anyone going freelance it's to get an accountant.
What made you choose freelance instead of setting up a studio for example?
Cost for one thing - I started looking into it and there was so much to think about - rent, bills, employees, management, overheads. I think once I establish myself and save more I possibly will try and turn my freelance into a studio - you always have to have something to reach for. When I started freelance I just wanted to get onto projects I cared about, I felt like I didn't really stop to think about the kind of business I that would be best and just went for the most straightforward one. It did work out in the end, who knows if I'll have a studio or anything in the future. If I do I hope I still get to design as much!
Any advice?
Get an accountant and do what makes you happy. Wow that last bit was cheesy.
Reflection
From my conversation with Dean I realised that my view of design is very much the same as Dean's - we both love designing and hate admin! I've been friends with Dean for 15 years and while we're both designers we have never actually talked about work. I remember him being pretty stressed when he set up his freelance business but we've never talked about our motivations or ambitions so this was a really interesting chat.
I feel like in-house designers often move to either agencies or freelance or setting up a studio after a few years. In my opinion this is because of a lack of variety and creativity involved in being an in-house designer. I know I've been doing it for 6 years now and I am ready for more creativity and variety in my career. Freelance seems like a good way of breaking the cycle and mixing it up.
It was really interesting chatting to Dean about his motivations, ambitions and fears when it came to freelance and really gave me some things to think about when it comes to company set up.
Workshop Challenge
Map a resourcing model for budget and staff allocation to deliver a project or creative initiative of your choice.
If you are thinking about a generic project budgeting exercise, the example below gives an indication of the parameters for consideration. As the last week of this project brief requires you to write a more substantive strategic plan, please ensure you choose a topic or client that is most suited to your own practice interests.
My first thought when I saw this workshop challenge was oh, no, this is not in my wheelhouse. The first thing I did was look for guidance about how to pick a design practice - I thought looking at it from the other side of the coin would be an interesting and an informative way to start, by understanding what the client wants I can better understand what I need to do to fulfil their requirements.
The Design Council have a Design Buyers Guide so I thought this would be a good way to start. [2]
This was a good way to start and gave a good indication of what is expected from a studio. I found the project milestones (left) very helpful and I will use this to form a timeline of the project I am quoting.
This is also a useful document because it clearly sets out what is expected of you - also allowing you to quote more effectively and both get the best outcome for the client and the practice. A project isn't just about the finished product or the printed brochure, it is about the whole process and the smoother this process the more likely the client is to use you again. I actually think it is a mixture between an enjoyable experience and truly understanding the impact and importance of design that makes the best projects. A survey said that rapidly growing business are three times more likely than the rest to consider design crucial to success [3], which supports my point and shows that design is an important part of business.
The next thing I decided to do was work out the day rate of my studio based. This required a lot of time and research into the company structure as I want to create a social business with Apprenticeships and training schemes.
After many frustrating hours researching salaries, rent, electricity etc I found my hourly rate was coming out very low. I asked on the ideas wall and Richard also suggested the £50 p/hr that I was getting was incredibly low, especially for a London based studio. I did this again and again and could not figure out what was going wrong - there must be some expense I am forgetting to include.
Luckily it was then time for an incredibly helpful webinar - just in time! Richard talked through how to work out each level of designers hourly rate. I cannot express how much I needed this webinar. It surprised me how interesting I found it and once I had the formula from Richard it was far easier and more satisfying to complete.
My next step was to work out what each of the day rates was again - hopefully it will be right this time. I used the same formula that Richard used in the lecture.
This definitely gave me more accurate day rates for every level of my practice. Having the overhead set at £10k really helped with working it out as I wasn't getting bogged down with minutiae. These are the rates I will use to estimate the brief.
I then realised that I was missing one pretty important part - the brief. I then decided to pick a client and create a brief from their perspective. The client should be someone I hope to work with and a project I am excited about. I hose Greenwich observatory and wrote this brief:
Greenwich Observatory is hosting an evening of wonder to celebrate the European Space Agency’s (ESA) satellite launch. The evening will be hosted by Tim Peake and involve talks from leading industry experts, planetarium shows and models of satellites and rovers.
The Observatory have requested marketing materials for this one-off event. These are:
32 page programme (x1000)
Traditional billboards (x 5 to be placed around London)
A0 Posters (x50)
Digital banner
My next step was to cost the project. I decided to split the project into pre-production (this includes research and design) and production (this includes printing and making).
I am pleased with this quotation. -I think it is accurate for this brief. The next stage is. to design an attractive PDF to help the client understand who we are and what we do.
Reflection
I started this week being skeptical as to how interesting I was going to find it. The reading was a struggle to get through - I'm not used to reading things quite as dry. However it was extremely useful and I can see how it will aid me in future development. I really enjoyed the presentations and panel discussion about the different types of design business. I found Kate Moross' the most engaging and similar to what I would want to create - from the way they treat their staff to the type of projects they take on, it's an inspirational company.
The workshop task I truly struggled with at first - numbers and organisational skills are not top of my CV. However after seeing the webinar and really putting a lot of effort in, I finally started to grasp how this would work. I think my quote is accurate and a true reflection of what a studio would charge. I am really pleased with my final PDF, I like the design and colours I used. -I think this is in part because space is a subject I am very interested in and this is a project I would love to do. One thing I would add given more time would be a visual representation of the process to help the client understand how it will progress. I also think given more time I would look at the timeline closer and put in more detail.
Overall I am really happy with how this week turned out, from such a difficult start I feel like I really made the best of the materials and research this week and produced a quote I am happy with.
References
[1] Crawford, T. (ed) (2008) AIGAProfessional Practices in Graphic Design, New York: Allworth Press.
[2] Design Council. (2020). Design Buyers Guide. Available: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/Design%20Buyers%27%20Guide.pdf. Last accessed 14/6/21.
[3] Design Council. (2007). Design Fact Finder. Available: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/TheValueOfDesignFactfinder_Design_Council.pdf. Last accessed 14/6/21.
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