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.