Ask Me Anything: Your Q's, My A's | #1

Happy Friday y'all!

Last time I thought it would be great and useful to have a quick AMA "session" with you all to answer your questions about freelance, client management, or anything else you had in mind. So here we go!

"How do you know your client is going to like your work?"

In most cases, clients come to me for my style, which they see in my portfolio. This is initially the best success strategy for them - this style is natural for me and helps them envision what they'll get in the end. If my portfolio were very diverse, it would certainly raise questions from clients like "how can I know what I'll receive?" But that's not my case.

Rarely, clients come saying "I really love your style, Irene!" and then send me examples of what they want, which is completely opposite to my work 🙃 In this case, it's important to explain that they're coming to me "for me" and this is how I can do it. However, I sometimes also guarantee we'll do it the way they want, because through Deeply studio I have connections with many artists, and here what's important is visual knowledge and responsibility to find someone who will clearly execute the task.

"How to make sure your illustration work is aligned with your client's marketing goals?"

The very first thing I do before even starting any creative work (even mentally) is studying the request. What exactly do they want? How and where will it be used? For what purpose? What's the goal of the entire project? What does success look like to them? All this helps me understand the project goals, and based on them, I create illustrations. For me, there's no option where it doesn't work in the end, because the process is set up in such a way that we all understand the goals and objectives of the project and results.

"Where were you born?"

I was born and raised in Ukraine, in the coastal city by the sea - Odesa. I love this city very much, but a few years ago (after the war started) I had to leave, and currently I'm located and working from Calgary, Canada. Who knows where I'll be in a couple more years, but I'm warmed by the thought that someday I'll be able to return to my hometown, at least for a visit.

"How to stand out as a newbie among a large number of other designers and creatives?"

Great question! Actually, this is a very broad question that needs to be approached comprehensively. As a beginner, you should build a strategy to appear on the "radars" of potential clients (and of course colleagues) more often. This helps you stand out from the crowd over time. Working on your recognizable style, social media marketing, publications and interactions, participating in competitions, working on your portfolio, attending events. This is just a small part of what's important, but it would be a great start for anyone looking for "where to begin"!

Small steps yield results over time, and these things, started now, may seem useless, but eventually you'll see how you've "stood out" more compared to those who didn't do this.

"Do you have agency experience? What made you make the jump to freelance?"

I have experience working with agencies as a freelancer. I often collaborate with agencies looking for help for a specific period. But that's not why I became a freelancer!

For most of my career, I've balanced full-time employment with my freelance business. But I always thought about "full-time" employment as an illusion of stability. Especially when it's just one source of income. Employers can say kind words and promise they need you, but when it comes to a budget, they actually don't care – and that's understandable, they care about the sustainability of their business. I can't say about every company of course, and it's only my opinion.

I personally love managing both freelance business and full-time/part-time work in a team, and I always do my work great no matter if they decide they don't have a budget for my position tomorrow or in a year. I just feel that with such an approach, I can freely work on what is important most to me, combining this with my passion for illustration/design and continuing to grow in my personal business.

Currently, I only have one business – my freelance and studio projects, and despite "peeking" at options for additional full-time or part-time employment, unfortunately, I don't see anything that might interest me (both in terms of company and pay).

If you enjoyed reading this, let me know. And feel free to ask your questions in the comments (or DM me) for the future AMA session as well.

For those who have more than 1 question, I offer personal consult calls where we can discuss basically anything that concerns you. More details on my website here. (I also offer a discount for students!)

As always, thanks for reading,

Illustration created for the Greater Than studio