Curated By... Chis Sayer - Sheffield Hallam University Talk

Chris Sayer is an animator who's worked for companies such as Nike, WWF, Levi's and Honda. Whilst I'm not really interested in animation, my recent thoughts about potentially doing freelance work after uni made me want to go to the talk to see what he had to say about how he ended up working for these clients. The key points I took from the talk were:

1. During his degree he identified which skills he'd need for the future, resulting in him finding a job 2 weeks after graduation.
2. In 2006, 6 years after gaining this job he set up and ran his "dream company" with two friends who's skills complemented each others. They stopped in 2012 because the company wasn't profitable enough to be feasible.
3. One of the biggest jobs his company did was for the Honda Crossrunner, which was a brief he gained after the studio he worked for post-graduation suggested to Honda that they contact him.
4. He suggested that when working freelance you should "go with the flow - until Pixar e-mail you".
5. His main advice while working freelance was that make sure you address amends in the contract, as it makes working with clients easier, if you want your concept to be approved by a client, prove that it works when pitching it, be prepared for rejection, and maintain good relationships with previous employers/business partners as they may pass work on to you.
6. He got his job at Levi's because someone was looking for help with a project on Twitter, and one of Chris's friends pointed them in his direction.
7. Levi's was "the perfect job" because there was plenty of time, a decent budget, and the client was involved in the creative process, which made all communications easier.

In relation to my own practice this advice can be applied in the following ways:

1. If there's a particular field of design I want to work in, try and become accustomed to the skills and processes required in those areas. This is particularly applicable to the process of creating an app interface, so a placement with The Distance would be really useful.
2. Consider the finances of working freelance with some care - something which I would like to think I'd always do anyway, as highlighted in Taking Care of Business last year.
3. Try and maintain contact with Square.One, Harri Larkin and Freya Williams in the hope more work will come from them and their networks.
4. If freelancing is going well, don't feel pressured to take a job until it seems like a good time or opportunity.
5. Get used to doing all these things.
6. See point 4.
7. Try and involve the client in the process as much as possible.

Seeing Chris's presentation also made me think a bit about my self-promotion - despite him not having 'branding' as such, it was clear that his website and his presentation were done by the same person and had the same features. I'm trying to avoid branding myself, and devising a system where everything I produce is clearly from me will be a key way of doing this.