On the Go

Well, as of yesterday, I am officially employed as a freelancer. I was approved as the designer for the FRHH (French River Health & Housing) media package and website. The first cheque should be in the mail.

I've realized that this project will involve a fair amount of research and copywriting on top of the design work, although I may not have quoted enough for that on my approved estimate, I will definitely remember to estimate more for that on future projects.

I will also have to break down the business plan that I was presented with in order to develop the copy for the brochure and website, focusing on the benefits and features to showcase for the target audience. I love that every process we, designers, undertake requires us to learn new things and create different solutions. It isn't about the skills we have with software, although that doesn't hurt, it's about the idea, the communication, of our client's service or product to their designated audience.

Many times, maybe even all the time, it's also about the bottom line; clients want to know how much this is going to cost them. Tony Jurgilas, A teacher I had in school, once said, "There is a big difference between Canadian and American clients, Canadian clients want to know how much something is going to cost them; American clients want to know how much they are going to make."

I was lucky, I think, on this project. I didn't have to haggle over the estimate, which intrigues me and scares me at the same time, perhaps I didn't charge enough. That being said however, I priced my estimate on how much time I figured this project would take... and charged accordingly, so my conscience is clear.