Paul Buck
Graphic DesignerCould you give a brief overview of what your various working roles are?
Freelance Graphic Designer - Design and layout for product promotion literature for campaigns linked with high profile movies and TV Series like: The Apprentice, Devil Wears Prada, Bridget Jones and more recently Stardust. Fast paced studio environment with tight deadlines.
Designer/Print Management - I am starting to build up a design and print business with my various contacts in the industry (designers/printers). Essentially I produce the design myself, I then outsource printing and take a management fee.
How secure are you, or do you feel, in the way you work?
Security in a job is never a given... not even in employed work.... so I don't really think about it!
What’s it like juggling more than one role?
It is really great to have variety. Of course there are parts of my job that I love doing more than others, and it always seems like the fun stuff is in short supply.
What was the first freelance job you got?
My very first freelance position was for a cosmetics company designing point of sale material and packaging for health and beauty salons.
I then got a contract in a more corporate environment, at 3M, I worked with some awesome people and I owe them big time for their influence.
When you first started out, what was the first step you took? Was it deliberately thought out?
After living for two years in London and finally deciding my band was never going to get signed.... I had various pretty crappy jobs but things started to make sense when I began employed work as a platemaker for a printing company, this gave me a very strong understanding of the print process - which I think a lot of graphic designers lack. After a short time and a lot of nagging I was given the opportunity to do some artworking. I got a lot of tips from co-workers and progressed very quickly and after only a year I felt on track. I moved to a small design and print company and I was thrown right into the scary stuff and was made Studio Manager within two months, I was managing studio workflow for a company turning over approx £1.5 million a year. I felt a lot of pressure at this point and my responsibilities soon exceeded my pay packet. That was when I decided to become self-employed and work freelance, and it was the best decision I could have made. I got to work with what I call proper graphic designers, people with raw talent. I learnt so much, so quickly and as a result of being inspired by some great people I think I'm actually not that bad at what I do now. I wish sometimes that I had gone to uni and got my degree in graphic design, but I think if I had done that I would have missed out on other aspects of the job.
How do you deal with the practicalities, how did you find out what to do about things like tax…
Basically I ask a lot of questions and read up (tax is super dull, get an accountant)!
At the moment I am dealing with the practicalities of promoting myself a bit more, with my own promo stuff due to go out next month…but then I've been saying that for nearly a year. I’ve become a bit complacent in a couple of freelance roles which is such an easy trap! In terms of distributing the mailout, I’ll be trying a website called marketingfile.com – they’re apparently good for getting contact info for specific companies to target. I’ve also recently listed a business profile on a number of websites.
If you had to pick out one good bit and one bad bit of what you do, what would they be?
The Good!
The Buzz of managing/organising simultaneous projects but mostly I like the money.
The Bad!
Unpaid holidays
The Ugly!
Accounts and cash flow.... Boo!
Would you have any advice for someone considering embarking on a “portfolio” career?
Get an accountant and be organised. I think the most important thing, is to recognise what your strengths and weaknesses are, if you blag it you will fall flat on your face. If you are doing something that you think you could turn into a business make sure you master it first.
Don't get hung up on the security issue - if it’s a worry for you, then you are probably not suited to going down this road.
