1. At this stage idea generation, photography and typography from the editorial and layout side are what drive me, so hopefully my current skills and all those that I am yet to learn will match the customers needs and wants. It is obviously going to be better to have skills that people are looking for, than trying to find people that want your skills.
2. My understandings of design software, print processes and digital design are vastly improving as I feel I can pick up new skills and listen to how technology works quickly and productively, so I am constantly broadening what I can offer my clients.
3. I hope to be northern based but work on a national scale as well as local. Clients expect face to face contact to show them that you professionally care and give them that 'try before you buy' meeting to seal the deal so I aim to be willing and available to travel to discuss work in person.
4. Customers want to get value for their money, but for it to be reassuringly expensive to know you are better than competition in your field. With that in mind I will not sell myself short just to attract more sales, but think about other approaches, such as advertising to get my name out there, and using direct selling and marketing techniques.
5. Direct selling approaches will help me build a relationship with the client and make me more memorable. It is no good just sending design firms emails, no matter how personalised you make them. People like to think they're special so face to face contact is where I can add value and having a strong contact list is vital for future work.
6. Direct marketing could be costly and involve time, effort and research on my part to know what they need and to come prepared, but simple things such as designing the perfect business card, having a strong and well selected portfolio of work or tailored promotional packages to hand to clients in person is an option that is of great importance to how I wish to work.
7. I definitely aim to create a well designed website to attract online clients to view my portfolio, and for those who may be internationally based to see how I work.
8. As well as keeping my online portfolio up-to-date, it needs to be easily accessible. Potential clients looking for a reliable designer shouldn't see my competition before seeing me. Including key words in the website increases my chances of it being found in general searches. Advertising on popular sites, such as social networking sites, in the form of banner links down the side panel is another place and form of promotion within the Internet to target potential customers.
9. I could see myself designing work for a variety of markets but I have strong design interests in magazine work, in magazines such as Creative Review, Grafik Magazine, Blueprint, creating layout based work for them.
10. Designing work like magazine layouts will more than likely mean working collaboratively with a group of other designers or for a company, which I definitely would choose to do over working for myself, as I would feel more structured, organised and enjoy inputting my skills into a group project, no matter how small a cog I represent in the wheel of the company. I would never rule out freelance, but would feel more comfortable working for a design business that's already set up and successful.
Overall services I can offer against my clients (magazine companies) needs:
My skills in layout design, software skills, such as Photoshop and InDesign to work digitally as well as initial hand drawn ideas showing skills quick idea generation. A great interest and growing knowledge in typography, general organisational skills and (soon to learn and create my own) website design could all make me stand out from my competitor. I will be readily available in terms of my services ie travel, to add a personal touch.
Saturday 12 December 2009
Friday 4 December 2009
Who else is out there – how good are they?
When researching into my existing competitors in the design industry I chose two and analysed their strengths and weaknesses using the SWOT analysis.
The first design agency that I looked at was a local business in Leeds known as Studio Belly Timber Design. I was immediately impressed with their approach on the website and how professional they came across, but not in a dull way. Their strengths included a simple, fresh layout on the website's homepage which was easy to navigate and wasn't overloaded with text and options. They are a design team of just two designers, each with over a decade of experience which makes them feel personal but very capable. The casual but professional language used, especially in the About section helps them come across to potential clients as friendly and approachable, ie. 'Oh, and did we mention we LOVE what we do?!' Their clients are mainly yorkshire based but are vastly different; from Save a Life Give Blood campaign and NHS to Leeds City Council, and etc magazine. The agency also offer a full printing service to ensure 'care of your print from the creation of artwork to delivery at your door.'
Their weaknesses are few and far between but what I did notice was the lack of a clear 'portfolio' titled section. There are images categorised into projects of their recent work but it would be nice to see a collection all at once, as its time consuming flicking through the list. They also keep their business local and haven't seemed to venture onto a national or even international scale. Whether this is through their choice or not, I think a wider client base looks stronger when a potential client is browsing the website. The 'About' section, however friendly, was quite short and there's no imagery of their studio and the environment they work in to get a feel for what they are saying.
The second design agency I came across was Pure. I was immediately disappointed with the website that is all that represents them initially to a potential client. Their homepage is difficult to read as the introduction text is far too small and there are two option links; one which is 'contact' (something very valuable to a potential client) are written in white text on a pale blue blackground - very illegible and nearly missable. The portfolio sections are split up into three areas which may look organised aesthetically but each project is only shown by a small image icon so again, like Studio Belly Timber Design it's a time consuming way of searching through their work. Another big downfall is that there is no 'About Us' section in detail - all the viewer has to go by is the opening paragraph which keeps everything fairly brief and I am left unsure of how big the company is and how many years of experience they have etc.
However with all that being said, aesthetically it is a contemporary, organised layout - very minimalistic. The introduction explains how their work is on an international scale 'serving clients in Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, the UK and overseas.' They also show their diversity from design for print, to 3D work and digital interactive web design.
Their strengths are what I need to compete with, but their weaknesses are my opportunities to recognise where they've gone wrong, if they have, and correct it, if I can. For example where Studio belly timber design show their weakness in an easy to view portfolio means that I can simply ensure that my website will display cleverly selected work all together found simply under the title 'portfolio'. I will also attempt to branch out further onto a national scale for a variety of clients and a stronger client list. And in the case of Pure, I will always make my website legible, simple and inviting but ensure I have enough detail describing who I am and what I can offer so the potential client is left with no questions to ask and a happy service.
The first design agency that I looked at was a local business in Leeds known as Studio Belly Timber Design. I was immediately impressed with their approach on the website and how professional they came across, but not in a dull way. Their strengths included a simple, fresh layout on the website's homepage which was easy to navigate and wasn't overloaded with text and options. They are a design team of just two designers, each with over a decade of experience which makes them feel personal but very capable. The casual but professional language used, especially in the About section helps them come across to potential clients as friendly and approachable, ie. 'Oh, and did we mention we LOVE what we do?!' Their clients are mainly yorkshire based but are vastly different; from Save a Life Give Blood campaign and NHS to Leeds City Council, and etc magazine. The agency also offer a full printing service to ensure 'care of your print from the creation of artwork to delivery at your door.'
Their weaknesses are few and far between but what I did notice was the lack of a clear 'portfolio' titled section. There are images categorised into projects of their recent work but it would be nice to see a collection all at once, as its time consuming flicking through the list. They also keep their business local and haven't seemed to venture onto a national or even international scale. Whether this is through their choice or not, I think a wider client base looks stronger when a potential client is browsing the website. The 'About' section, however friendly, was quite short and there's no imagery of their studio and the environment they work in to get a feel for what they are saying.
The second design agency I came across was Pure. I was immediately disappointed with the website that is all that represents them initially to a potential client. Their homepage is difficult to read as the introduction text is far too small and there are two option links; one which is 'contact' (something very valuable to a potential client) are written in white text on a pale blue blackground - very illegible and nearly missable. The portfolio sections are split up into three areas which may look organised aesthetically but each project is only shown by a small image icon so again, like Studio Belly Timber Design it's a time consuming way of searching through their work. Another big downfall is that there is no 'About Us' section in detail - all the viewer has to go by is the opening paragraph which keeps everything fairly brief and I am left unsure of how big the company is and how many years of experience they have etc.
However with all that being said, aesthetically it is a contemporary, organised layout - very minimalistic. The introduction explains how their work is on an international scale 'serving clients in Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, the UK and overseas.' They also show their diversity from design for print, to 3D work and digital interactive web design.
Their strengths are what I need to compete with, but their weaknesses are my opportunities to recognise where they've gone wrong, if they have, and correct it, if I can. For example where Studio belly timber design show their weakness in an easy to view portfolio means that I can simply ensure that my website will display cleverly selected work all together found simply under the title 'portfolio'. I will also attempt to branch out further onto a national scale for a variety of clients and a stronger client list. And in the case of Pure, I will always make my website legible, simple and inviting but ensure I have enough detail describing who I am and what I can offer so the potential client is left with no questions to ask and a happy service.
Saturday 28 November 2009
How will I promote myself - what do they want to hear?
When looking at the promotion and place aspects of the 4Ps of marketing I used the Marketing Communication Mix to analyse which method of promoting myself and my skills would be the most promising. Personal selling seems the strongest and most direct form to getting clients/design agencies to notice me, especially when starting out from scratch with no experience. 'The difference between a good designer and a successful designer is self promotion.' (Computer Arts, Dec '09) It will help me build a relationship with the client and make me more memorable. It is no good just sending design firms emails, no matter how personalised you make them. People like to think they're special so face to face contact is where I can add value. It is considered one of the most effective promotional techniques as the designer can show their skills but also listen to feedback and a successful sale through a good relationship could mean further sales with that client in the future. Having a strong contact list is vital to getting myself out there and my name heard.
However I can't just rely on direct selling as a way of promoting, as it is time consuming and I need to be producing at the same rate as I'm selling. Another way to target my clients and build stronger contacts, that could also be seen as time consuming and costly, but very worthwhile is to use the direct marketing approach. This is a highly effective way to show how you can add value to their company but it requires research on my part to know what they need and to come prepared. Simple things such as designing the perfect business card or tailored promotional packages to hand to clients in person are vital for them to remember you. If I was to freelance especially, business cards or magazine inserts need to clearly show my name and what it is that makes me stand out from competition. I don't want clients being unclear about my skills saying; 'What is it she actually does again?'
There are other approaches that could all be relevant in some way, but by choosing the most effective distribution channels to reach the market it saves a lot of money, time and effort instead of advertising on TV or via a poster and the only people that end up seeing it are those who aren't even looking for design work, for example, or selling yourself short just to attract more sales.
This is where the idea of 'place' comes into consideration. As well as personal selling and direct marketing, the Internet is an indirect but vital place in the design industry that I should look at. Having a clear, simple website to show my design portfolio is much needed but as well as keeping that up-to-date, it needs to be easily accessible. The last thing I want is to be on the 12th page of a Google Search, where potential clients looking for a reliable designer never see me. Including key words in the website increases my chances of it being found in general searches. Advertising on popular sites, such as social networking sites, in the form of banner links down the side panel is another place and form of promotion within the Internet to target potential customers. Using the Internet as a placing strategy also has another advantage. My website can not only show off my work and skills but there could also be an area of it for dealing with customer services, enquiries etc so that any comments can be voiced and any problems can be dealt with. This is another reason for clients to feel satisfied and want to use my services and skills time and time again.
I believe you are what you do, so on that note through direct selling, marketing and indirect marketing - via the Internet, or even via an agent once I become more experienced and can afford to pay them (who can do the selling for me), I will hopefully get my name out there, build up contacts and successfully promote myself through the right places.
However I can't just rely on direct selling as a way of promoting, as it is time consuming and I need to be producing at the same rate as I'm selling. Another way to target my clients and build stronger contacts, that could also be seen as time consuming and costly, but very worthwhile is to use the direct marketing approach. This is a highly effective way to show how you can add value to their company but it requires research on my part to know what they need and to come prepared. Simple things such as designing the perfect business card or tailored promotional packages to hand to clients in person are vital for them to remember you. If I was to freelance especially, business cards or magazine inserts need to clearly show my name and what it is that makes me stand out from competition. I don't want clients being unclear about my skills saying; 'What is it she actually does again?'
There are other approaches that could all be relevant in some way, but by choosing the most effective distribution channels to reach the market it saves a lot of money, time and effort instead of advertising on TV or via a poster and the only people that end up seeing it are those who aren't even looking for design work, for example, or selling yourself short just to attract more sales.
This is where the idea of 'place' comes into consideration. As well as personal selling and direct marketing, the Internet is an indirect but vital place in the design industry that I should look at. Having a clear, simple website to show my design portfolio is much needed but as well as keeping that up-to-date, it needs to be easily accessible. The last thing I want is to be on the 12th page of a Google Search, where potential clients looking for a reliable designer never see me. Including key words in the website increases my chances of it being found in general searches. Advertising on popular sites, such as social networking sites, in the form of banner links down the side panel is another place and form of promotion within the Internet to target potential customers. Using the Internet as a placing strategy also has another advantage. My website can not only show off my work and skills but there could also be an area of it for dealing with customer services, enquiries etc so that any comments can be voiced and any problems can be dealt with. This is another reason for clients to feel satisfied and want to use my services and skills time and time again.
I believe you are what you do, so on that note through direct selling, marketing and indirect marketing - via the Internet, or even via an agent once I become more experienced and can afford to pay them (who can do the selling for me), I will hopefully get my name out there, build up contacts and successfully promote myself through the right places.
Friday 30 October 2009
Where are they – How will they find me?
When looking at the question 'what do you need to communicate and how does it match the clients need?' it involves asking myself many other questions about my ambitions as a designer - Who do I want to work for? Who are their clients? Who's the competition? At this time I feel I want to stay based in the Leeds area and my ambition is to work for a company/ as part of a team designing work for magazine publications. There are many different client groups within the design industry that, no matter how bad a recession we are in, will always need graphic designers to get themselves noticed. Potential client groups could be anyone from local businesses, supermarkets, fashion shops to publishers, magazines, companies that need packaging design, logo design, nightclubs/bars who need promotional material to survive, or even the music and TV industry to advertise. With this being said, I have researched into a client group that interests me as a potential direction to aim towards: magazine publishers. I have found examples when researching on a local, Leeds Guide Ltd, national, Forward, National Magazine Company, european and transnational scale, Condé Nast, August Media etc. but have narrowed it down for further investigation and chosen to look at Women's magazine publishers, such as National Magazine Company, on a national scale.
In terms of approaching this client I would need to consider what I would communicate and how, such as showing them I understand the magazine publishing market and know their client base, that my practice is national, which also means local to them as I am willing to travel to discuss work in person, and that my services include what they are looking for in terms of design skills. However, magazine publishers also have considerations towards their client base, so that they understand how to be successful within their market. Obviously publishers in the UK have various 'types' of clients e.g. women gossip readers, teenagers, men's health, older home living readers, creatives, business people. However, according to Nat Mag publishers, who publish over 20 various magazines, 61% of their readers are women aged anywhere between 15-55 so I decided to look at Women's UK Magazines in more detail for my analysis.
When analysing the clients' needs I looked at a few consumer types and used the segmentation template to compare two, before choosing one to look at more closely. Demographically my chosen customer type is the working class woman reader, aged 22-40 on an average income. They commute to the city centre for work, are professional, but relaxed, and a fashion/gossip magazine lover. On a geographic national scale, these clients could be found anywhere in cities around the country so magazines would be found in newsagents everywhere or could be promoted/sold on public transport to be seen on their commute to work. Because these clients read fashion/gossip magazines they have a need to fit into society and be up-to-date with trends/news which means magazines, as products, are important for their esteem and love & belonging needs.
In my PEST analysis I have shown that UK Women's Magazine publishers should consider political issues, such as the environment in that they can gain green credentials by supporting and raising campaigns with editorial coverage and ad campaigns, for example, or printing on recycled paper. Economically they would have to consider distribution trends - is the magazine published monthly to allow them more of a thorough and valuable content that reflects in the price or weekly and make it cheaper for the target market? Options to subscribe for a year/2 years etc makes it cheaper for the reader instead of paying weekly high street prices. The home economy situation is also a factor as economically in times during a recession like we're in now, the target audience may cut back on buying luxury products like magazines if the recession has affected their living standards. Their security and physiological needs become more important than their esteem and needs for self actualisation. On a social level the demographics and lifestyle trends of the clients also come into consideration. City centre working class women on an average income leading busy lives commuting to work should be targetted differently than 55+ women that are retired and receiving their magazines via the post, for example (see segmentation table). Technological development, such as online magazines, are forming competition for the traditional, newsagent based printed magazine. Women (in my chosen example of publishers client base) can now browse through them on lunch breaks online at work for free without even having to go outside. Innovation potential factors like this e-mag idea, or fashion/gossip websites could be used to improve the success in this market. The idea of different ways of printing to bring the price down e.g. using recycled paper/ non glossy etc or using a brand extension of a well established brand are all technological issues that is/could be brought into the market.
In terms of approaching this client I would need to consider what I would communicate and how, such as showing them I understand the magazine publishing market and know their client base, that my practice is national, which also means local to them as I am willing to travel to discuss work in person, and that my services include what they are looking for in terms of design skills. However, magazine publishers also have considerations towards their client base, so that they understand how to be successful within their market. Obviously publishers in the UK have various 'types' of clients e.g. women gossip readers, teenagers, men's health, older home living readers, creatives, business people. However, according to Nat Mag publishers, who publish over 20 various magazines, 61% of their readers are women aged anywhere between 15-55 so I decided to look at Women's UK Magazines in more detail for my analysis.
When analysing the clients' needs I looked at a few consumer types and used the segmentation template to compare two, before choosing one to look at more closely. Demographically my chosen customer type is the working class woman reader, aged 22-40 on an average income. They commute to the city centre for work, are professional, but relaxed, and a fashion/gossip magazine lover. On a geographic national scale, these clients could be found anywhere in cities around the country so magazines would be found in newsagents everywhere or could be promoted/sold on public transport to be seen on their commute to work. Because these clients read fashion/gossip magazines they have a need to fit into society and be up-to-date with trends/news which means magazines, as products, are important for their esteem and love & belonging needs.
In my PEST analysis I have shown that UK Women's Magazine publishers should consider political issues, such as the environment in that they can gain green credentials by supporting and raising campaigns with editorial coverage and ad campaigns, for example, or printing on recycled paper. Economically they would have to consider distribution trends - is the magazine published monthly to allow them more of a thorough and valuable content that reflects in the price or weekly and make it cheaper for the target market? Options to subscribe for a year/2 years etc makes it cheaper for the reader instead of paying weekly high street prices. The home economy situation is also a factor as economically in times during a recession like we're in now, the target audience may cut back on buying luxury products like magazines if the recession has affected their living standards. Their security and physiological needs become more important than their esteem and needs for self actualisation. On a social level the demographics and lifestyle trends of the clients also come into consideration. City centre working class women on an average income leading busy lives commuting to work should be targetted differently than 55+ women that are retired and receiving their magazines via the post, for example (see segmentation table). Technological development, such as online magazines, are forming competition for the traditional, newsagent based printed magazine. Women (in my chosen example of publishers client base) can now browse through them on lunch breaks online at work for free without even having to go outside. Innovation potential factors like this e-mag idea, or fashion/gossip websites could be used to improve the success in this market. The idea of different ways of printing to bring the price down e.g. using recycled paper/ non glossy etc or using a brand extension of a well established brand are all technological issues that is/could be brought into the market.
Saturday 10 October 2009
Who am I - Who are they?
Based on what I have learned from the first introductory lecture, I have thought about who I am as a designer and whether my skills relate to what is needed in the industry and what other skills I am going to need to develop.
As a designer, I consider myself to have good basic knowledge and skills in a number of areas, all of which have much room for development. These include; concept research and development, layout, typography, photography. My research, idea generation, software skills and knowledge of print process are improving and I think my strongest are my organisational skills.
I need to know more about what is out there in the industry today so to do this I aim to continue researching into designers, design agencies, and look at editorial layouts and creative type in particularly in more depth to find their range of clients to give me a wider understanding in my interests.
After learning about the 4 P's - Price, Product, Placement, Promotion - I have put into place a version of the marketing mix about me as a designer (as realistic as possible) and relating that to what the customer would be looking for:
Product
Service as a graphic designer - idea generation, conceptual thinking, typography based, packaging or editorial and layouts are what currently drive me, so hopefully my current skills and all those that I am yet to learn will match the customers needs and wants. It is obviously going to be better to have skills that people are looking for, than trying to find people that want your skills.
Place
Northern based - hope to be based in Leeds, with wider based contacts allowing me to travel to anywhere in the UK. I would obviously need to research competition in the area and be flexible, as a client would expect face to face contact to show them that you professionally care and give them that 'try before you buy' meeting to seal the deal. They would also prefer to have convenience instead of adding delivery costs onto the overall price.
Price
The cost of living exercise showed I spend around £11,000 per year, based on last year's living. I would probably aim to set up a studio in my home to cut costs down, but there will of course be additional costs, equipment costs etc, all part and parcel of being a graphic designer. So with that in mind, I want to be aiming at starting on a £20,000 salary to be comfortable. As for what I charge clients for my work, it would depend on whether I worked at a fixed salary rate for a design company, or solely relied on freelance (something I don't particularly wish to do). Customers want to get value for their money, but for it to be reassuringly expensive to know you are better than competition in your field.
Promotion
At this point, I am still finding my way, but I think the best way to promote myself would surely depend on what specialist area I choose to work in, or whether I promote myself as a general, broad graphic designer. Also, what type of clients my work is aimed at, and where they are based. If they are web based, I will obviously advertise digitally, or a small business would perhaps appreciate a more direct print advertising approach. There are many vital things you would need to take into consideration; what the people read, where they go, what messages they hear etc.
As a designer, I consider myself to have good basic knowledge and skills in a number of areas, all of which have much room for development. These include; concept research and development, layout, typography, photography. My research, idea generation, software skills and knowledge of print process are improving and I think my strongest are my organisational skills.
I need to know more about what is out there in the industry today so to do this I aim to continue researching into designers, design agencies, and look at editorial layouts and creative type in particularly in more depth to find their range of clients to give me a wider understanding in my interests.
After learning about the 4 P's - Price, Product, Placement, Promotion - I have put into place a version of the marketing mix about me as a designer (as realistic as possible) and relating that to what the customer would be looking for:
Product
Service as a graphic designer - idea generation, conceptual thinking, typography based, packaging or editorial and layouts are what currently drive me, so hopefully my current skills and all those that I am yet to learn will match the customers needs and wants. It is obviously going to be better to have skills that people are looking for, than trying to find people that want your skills.
Place
Northern based - hope to be based in Leeds, with wider based contacts allowing me to travel to anywhere in the UK. I would obviously need to research competition in the area and be flexible, as a client would expect face to face contact to show them that you professionally care and give them that 'try before you buy' meeting to seal the deal. They would also prefer to have convenience instead of adding delivery costs onto the overall price.
Price
The cost of living exercise showed I spend around £11,000 per year, based on last year's living. I would probably aim to set up a studio in my home to cut costs down, but there will of course be additional costs, equipment costs etc, all part and parcel of being a graphic designer. So with that in mind, I want to be aiming at starting on a £20,000 salary to be comfortable. As for what I charge clients for my work, it would depend on whether I worked at a fixed salary rate for a design company, or solely relied on freelance (something I don't particularly wish to do). Customers want to get value for their money, but for it to be reassuringly expensive to know you are better than competition in your field.
Promotion
At this point, I am still finding my way, but I think the best way to promote myself would surely depend on what specialist area I choose to work in, or whether I promote myself as a general, broad graphic designer. Also, what type of clients my work is aimed at, and where they are based. If they are web based, I will obviously advertise digitally, or a small business would perhaps appreciate a more direct print advertising approach. There are many vital things you would need to take into consideration; what the people read, where they go, what messages they hear etc.
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