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.
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