Themify - Drag & Drop WordPress Themes. Money, Taxes and Contracts for Freelancers. Become an Artist >> Browse Articles >> Contracts & Agreements Become an Artist >> Browse Articles >> Freelance 101 Featured Author: Michelle Taute Michelle Taute is a freelance writer and editor based in Cincinnati who often covers design.
A member of HOW magazine’s board of advisors, her articles have appeared in Metropolis, Better Homes and Gardens, USA Weekend, The Artist’s Magazine and many others. Whether you’re a designer, painter or illustrator, you probably started freelancing because you wanted to make things. I’m headed into my tenth year as a freelance writer, and while I’d much rather be writing this article than keeping up with bookkeeping or reading a 10-page contract, those administrative tasks are what allow me to work for myself without sweating the mortgage. Show Me the Money Most new freelancers focus all their energy on finding enough work. So what’s a hard-working designer to do? It’s also crucial to become better at managing your money.
Next: Don’t Make the IRS Angry → 5 Free Freelance Design Contract Templates. The most important and essential document a freelance designer should have is a rock solid and reliable contract.
The worst thing is though, freelance web designers or graphic designers, especially when they are just starting out, can ill afford the expense of paying a lawyer to draw up a decent contract. As a possible cost effective solution for you, in this article, we have highlighted some freely available contract sample templates you could use. You are allowed to use the sample in their entirety, by simply filling in the relevant personal, client and project details, and use it as your own. Keeping a Graphic Design Contract Simple. I have a confession to make.
I don’t like lawyers. A few years ago, I was in contract negotiations for buying a new home and found it an important investment to use a lawyer to draft the necessary contracts and conduct the related negotiations. During this process, I fell in love with a lighting fixture in the new home and asked my lawyer to include the fixture in the sale. My lawyer spoke to the property owners’ lawyer, who supposedly spoke to the owners — and the answer was no. I then chose to call the owners directly. Lawyers just complicate situations by “obfuscating” real meaning in legalese, and they can become roadblocks to building a trusting client relationship.
Free Design Business Contracts and Templates – Sessions College for Professional Design. Free to Use Contracts and Business Templates for Designers A designer who can navigate the intricacies of contracts and client management will stand out as a true professional in the graphic design or Web design business.
We know it can be a challenge to decipher which forms are essential for your own design career; that's why Jason Vaughn of Creative Public has provided the free design business templates below! The forms cover everything from pricing to job management and creative strategies. Many of the forms below should be customized for your own business. Check out our video tutorial on adapting the forms to meet your own needs. The files below are available in AI format for editing in Adobe Illustrator and/or XLS format for use in Microsoft Excel. Popular Forms Listed below are some of our most popular forms for designers. Print Questionnaire. 8 Contract Clauses You Should Never Freelance Without. Quick question: Did you have a freelance contract when you first began freelancing?
Yeah, me neither. Well, you should. Working without a contract is an invitation to be taken advantage of. A contract doesn’t just save you from being fleeced, it also helps streamline your work around a schedule as well as all those clarified details of what was agreed between you (the provider) and the client from the beginning. More importantly, it prevents you from double work and headaches down the line. (Image Source: Fotolia) The Deeply Graphic DesignCast.
Five Free Productivity Tools to Help Run Your Small Business. As a small business owner, it’s great to have productivity tools at your disposal that make your life easier at a low (or no) cost!
Here’s a list of the five amazing (and free) tools that I use on a daily basis to run my business. 1. Evernote Evernote is an excellent way to collect and jot down your notes, organize your ideas, and sync all of that information across every device you use! With Evernote, you can save favorite web pages, snap photos within the application, collaborate with your friends and colleagues, and so much more. Evernote can be extended into a very advanced productivity tool, too. Best Workplace Designs for Freelancers. Become an Artist >> Browse Articles >> Freelance 101 Become an Artist >> Browse Articles >> Life as an Artist Featured Author: Elisha-Rio Apilado Elisha-Rio Apilado is a Chicago based graphic designer/illustrator and studio artist whose paintings and drawings have been featured in various exhibitions.
Elisha studied studio art in Dallas, TX and moved back to Chicago where she obtained a B.F.A. in Visual Communications at the IL Institute of Art. Her portfolio and blog of random art findings can be found at erioapilado.com. Photographed by Daniel Driensky. 10 Great Places to Find Graphic Design Jobs. Articles April 21, 2008 If you are a graphic designer looking for freelance graphic design jobs or full-time graphic design jobs then you have come to the right place.
Below is a list of 10 great places to find graphic design jobs. Most of these sites will also be extremely useful for other creatives such as web designers, animators and illustrators. What if I’m not looking for a job yet? One of the best things you can do is research jobs you might be interested in for the future. Write down what the requirements are such as technical skills and years of experience so you can prepare yourself better. Top Ten Websites to Find Graphic Design Jobs 1. Corflot hosts over 80,000 graphic design portfolios and currently has over 700 job listings. 2. The Behance job board is new, but growing fast so be sure to check their listings before the competition gets even rougher!
3. 17 Tips for Designers on Starting a Freelance Business. Get the FlatPix UI Kit for only $7 - Learn More or Buy Now As I interact with readers of my blogs, I continually encounter designers who are just getting started in the world of freelancing.
In some cases they are very experienced designers/developers who are going out on their own for the first time. Others are trying freelancing part-time to see how it will work for them, and some are planning for a transition process but have not yet started to freelance. Since a large number of readers are facing issues that go along with getting started as a freelancer, I thought it would be helpful to share some tips from my own experience. The tips in this post will cover all aspects of freelancing and the lifestyle that comes with it. 1. 40 Tips for brand-new freelance designers.