Task 4 - Who Else is Out There - How Good Are They?

I have chosen to evaluate Split (Oli Bentley at www.split.co.uk) and Kyle Bibby (www.kylebibby.co.uk)

I chose these two as both are freelancers based in Leeds and relative to me and my practice. Oli Bentley is a student at Leeds College of Music and Kyle Bibby graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2009.

I've found the SWOT analysis to be beneficial as it breaks down the key components of your competition. Using these particular examples (although it may seem limiting to not analyse more established graphic designers) gives me a more clear understanding of my direct competition.

From this I've come to realise my earlier idea of incorporating Flash on my website would work against me, in terms of loading time and incompatibility with mobile phone internet. Split has also reaffirmed my idea of a shop section on my website selling posters, as the Split t-shirt designs work well as promotion.

I found Split's website although very professional, lacked a personal tone. The 'About Split' section reads 'Split provides a flexible, friendly service...' whereas Kyle Bibby's 'Services' reads 'I like a challenge, and consider myself a quick and confident learner...'. The tone of my website will be more akin to Kyle Bibby's as this is part of my USP and approach to clients, of being personable.

The second key element I've taken away from Kyle Bibby's website is the 'Passion Not Profit' section, a concise, easy to digest discussion of ideas on graphic design. He talks about the responsibility of a graphic designer and his own aim to work with those who are 'more passionate about making a difference than making money.' This is his mission statement, but it is communicated in a non-aggressive way, that I believe doesn't cause offence to potential clients, and rather would spark an interest in working with him.

The analysis has made me more confident of my USP - to be personable, offer a photography service, bundle pricing for charities, and my ethics (using sustainable materials wherever possible etc).

Task 3 - How Will I Promote Myself?

To market myself I will primarily use Personal Selling. Clients are looking for the personality behind a creative product. They need to be assured that whom they are employing is someone they can engage with and enjoy the process. It is your reputation and personality as a freelancer within the creative industry that will carry you. By visiting exhibitions and events I will meet people and begin networking to build a base of clients. Here, it is important to have a stand-out business card (or alternative take-away information piece) that represents and reminds the receiver of you. By employing this methodology I can gain a fuller perspective of my target market and the type of work they are looking for and the service they expect.

To follow this process up I will need to employ Direct Marketing. I will invite potential clients to an event showcasing my work, or perhaps an event I am part of. Alternatively, I will alert them to new work on my website via email.

Which brings me to the Internet. The Internet is an essential tool to utilise for self-promotion and garnering business in today’s creative industry. This is where my clients will expect to find freelance graphic designers to employ.

My website will be my main form of promotion to my clients. It needs to represent me as a graphic designer and the style of my work and unique selling point. Firstly, the website needs to appear in the top search engine results under ‘freelance graphic designer Leeds’. The website itself needs to be easy to navigate whilst creating a warm atmosphere and demonstrate my professionalism and skills. It is important to establish a warm ‘tone’ on a website, so as to put across your personality, and also to engage your audience. Time is precious and people often rush through life, therefore my website needs to catch my target market’s attention (perhaps through interactive Flash design) and easily yield the information they require. I have found a number of freelancer’s websites have ‘Freebies’ such as a downloadable desktop background*. This will provide an excellent way to exhibit my work and reach a wider audience. I have also found many websites have an area where they sell goods, such as prints. I would hope to sell screenprinted posters, which although the profit margins of which would be small, would again be getting my work in to people’s homes, which, combined with the desktop backgrounds would reach a larger audience and therefore more potential clients.

As well as maintaining an up to date website, I will run a blog. The blog will contain work that has inspired me, as well as events and exhibitions I have attended, reviews, interests and current work. In this way I begin a dialogue with the creative industry whilst also self-promoting. Producing a blog gives a more personal insight in to how you operate and think creatively and from my research, is more likely to garner awareness and therefore clients. I will also promote myself on Point & Anchor (pointandanchor.co.uk) a website that is updated daily containing a micro article on recent graduates. From this I would hope to be featured on a design website such as It’s Nice That (itsnicethat.com).

* Bobby Solomon (www.kitsunenoir.com) Runs a Poster Club where you can buy prints, The Desktop Wallpaper Project run weekly with guest submissions and also Kitsune Noir Mixtape a weekly downloadble mixtape.

Task 2 - Where Are They - How Will They Find Me?

My potential clients are located in the Leeds and West Yorkshire area. As a city, Leeds is thriving, with a considerable financial sector and large student population. The 2001 census indicates Leeds population to be 715,404 (Leeds.gov.uk).

I believe it is economically viable to work as a freelancer in the Leeds and West Yorkshire area, as it is an area of economic growth. The strong financial district feeds to smaller businesses that have the budget and need to expand and employ graphic designers to increase their profitability. I have decided to base myself in England, rather than abroad as it is suggested by analysis from NESTA that the UK creative industries will grow by 4 percent between 2009 and 2013. This is double the rate of the rest of the economy. Furthermore, it expected the sector will comprise of 180,000 creative businesses, estimated to contribute £85 billion to the economy. (ukinvest.gov.uk) However, I wouldn’t turn away overseas work as long as it is economically viable.

My product is aimed at modern small to medium sized businesses and charities, with my practice suitable for print or web. For this reason I believe my potential clients will search for freelance graphic designer’s on the Internet. It is therefore key I centre my promotion around a well designed, navigable and content rich website. This will be the base for my clients to find me, look into my work and my principles. It is important key words clients use will produce my website in the top search results, such as Google. To broaden my promotion I will also list myself through business directories, such as the Yellow Pages and Yell.com. My research shows many freelance graphic designers list themselves on here and direct potential clients to their personal website. I found it easier to search for graphic designers on yell.com than Google, as this produced web designers for the top results. Another way to reach and reassure potential clients is to become a member of the Chartered Society of Designers.

Leeds has a significant art scene, with various art galleries, specialist degrees and international events contained within the city. The arts are supported, particularly young talent – a case in point is the collective Nous Vous who are relatively recent graduates and were commissioned towards the end of 2009 to produce all the promotional material for the city-wide Light Night event. Having lived in Leeds for the duration of my degree I also feel I would be able to produce work which wouldn’t cause any offence to the audience and I understand cultural sensitivities.

The 2001 census indicates there are 365,149 25-64 year olds living in Leeds. With this large number of working-age people combined with the art scene in Leeds I believe there to be a need and acceptance of my business.

To remain competitive with other freelance graphic designers it is essential I employ up-to-date, relevant technology and also keep abreast of technological advances in my field, by research, such as regularly reading technology supplements in The Guardian, for example. One issue is technology compatability. I need to use new software, such as the latest Adobe Creative Suite to match the needs of my client. Technology can be used to benefit interaction, such as conference calls through Skype to clients, when travel is unfeasible or costly. This saves time, money and is better for the environment when ideas can be discussed in a more personal way than email with ideas shared and mock-ups sent.

My potential clients are working in charities or businesses in Leeds, and therefore likely to be middle class, from a variety of backgrounds. They will be design aware, with a social conscience and looking to increase their profitability and profile. They will wish to communicate better with their audience so as to strengthen relationships and build customer loyalty. I am within the ‘self actualisers’ group – ‘focused on people and relationships, individualistic and creative, enthusiastically exploring change, 'in a framework of non-prescriptive consideration for others'’ (Businessballs.com) This refers to Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs, and it is important I am aware of my clients needs to tailor and deliver my service to them.

Bibliography

Leeds 2001 Census http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Council_and_democracy/Statistics_and_census_information/Census_of_Leeds_2001.aspx

UK Invest figures

http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/Creative-industries/en-GB-list.html?nav

Chartered Society of Designers

http://www.csd.org.uk/

Nous Vous

http://www.nousvous.eu/

Business Balls

http://www.businessballs.com/demographicsclassifications.htm

UKTI

http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/UKTI-publications/4046337/en-GB.html

(not referenced, but helped inform this task)

Task 1 - Who Am I - Who Are They?

My product is that of a freelance graphic design service. This will include providing design work for various clients, particularly charitable organisations and small businesses. My design practice will include:

• Branding
• Logo design
• Web design
• Promotional
• Design for Print
• Photography

I will work in a variety of mediums, both hand-rendered and digital, to provide unique, high-quality results. As a designer I will offer a photography service, which gives me a bundle-pricing package to compete with other freelance designers and save the client outsourcing a photographer when commissioning me.

I will be based in a home studio in Leeds, as this will mean low overheads and primarily work from a portfolio website to garner work. Leeds is a good location for its established print industry and design scene. As well as Leeds being a creative environment with other freelancers and exciting exhibitions, transport links are very good to other creative networks found in Manchester and (via a direct train to) London.

I will promote my product mainly via the website where clients can contact me for a quote and get an idea of my previous work and visual language. I will centre my practice around the website as this is the quickest way for a client to search for a designer and get an idea of their work before deciding whether or not to make contact. This brings my product to where my target audience can be found.

My initial pricing will be that of a penetration strategy, starting with a relatively low fee, but high quality to gain clients and recommendations. Once a solid reputation has been built I will employ a market-oriented pricing strategy, which is similar to cost-plus pricing, but is constructed specifically around the target market.

Enterprise & Innovation

This blog will document tasks set in the brief Enterprise & Innovation