Getting Started in Freelance Design – 5 Mini Designer Interviews

With easier access to the tools for the job than ever before and clients who are now willing to hire freelancers from around the world, the design profession is more popular than it has ever been. In this interview, we talk to 4 designers from around the world to learn how they got into their field.

Aart Tanner (Netbloom Studios, USA)

How did you get started in design

I guess it all started at an early age, my childhood dream was to become a cartoonist as I loved to draw and make people laugh. My first encounter with digital art came from using Microsoft Paint on my father’s computer. I used to take doodles I had made and recreate them in Paint using the basic shape tools, the eraser and fill bucket.

Then I moved onto making basic animations and story telling using Microsoft PowerPoint. I know its not exactly “industry standard software,” but it’s all I had, and I managed to pull it off using the basic shape tools and frames… lots and lots of frames.

How did you learn about design, what training did you get?

When it comes to web design, I was pretty much self-taught to begin with. I used to spend hours and hours reading digital art magazines and practising with Photoshop, which evolved into a fondness for website design. I got my first real training experience when I worked as an intern for a small website studio called RDS Networks.

While I was there my boss Ramangave me a professional insight into the basics of web design and print design, and a crash course in XHTML and CSS. After my time at RDS I used what I had learned and started designing websites for people I knew, small businesses and well, anything I could get my hands on.

My second training experience came 2 years ago when I was offer a job at an award winning design agency called TVS Media. These guys were an amazing team, very professional and a lot of fun. I learned more about design and a lot more about the principles of more advanced dynamic coding, but most importantly I learned the value of productivity, time management and how to conduct business with clients. My experience at TVS was a pleasant one and it gave me the tools necessary to be where I am today.

Elisha Leo (Canada / Indonesia)

View this designer’s portfolio.

How did you get started in design?

I grew up in Indonesia and moved to Toronto, Canada early this year. I didn’t know the job existed until thirteen years ago my friend told me about her brother being a graphic designer. Drawing portraits and cartoons are what I love best, besides designing logos. Some of the styles that inspire me are Swiss style design, vintage, gothic, and web 2.0.

How did you learn about design, what training did you get?

I was working as a designer before I learned it formally, so it was like a backward process.

Stuart Burns (sD, Australia)

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How did you get started in design?

I was always good at drawing. My first award was a “Certificate of Merit” for a cartoon competition when I was 10, been winning awards ever since through school. I graduated my tertiary studies with a Diploma of Visual Communication and went from there.

How did you learn about design, what training did you get?

I studied at Croydon TAFE in Adelaide and leaned a great deal from great teachers.

John Poppert (Konsepts Creative, USA)

How did you get started in design?

I originally started thinking up humorous t-shirts, pressing them, and selling them myself. That somehow morphed into logo design.

How did you learn about design, what training did you get?

I’ve had no formal training… just the interest and willingness to learn from books, articles, and other designers.

Arun Bhattacharya (James Brown Design, India)

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How did you get started in design?

After college, I had taken an initial training in design and multimedia course. Which helped me to learn designing tools such as Photoshop, illustrator and other designing tools. A friend of mine wanted a simple leaflet design and which turned out to be quite good. I believe that I always had a good eye for color and that helped me to come up with professional looking designs as I could criticize my own designs.

How did you learn about design, what training did you get?

I had taken a short course on design and multimedia and that is how I learnt using the tools. I believe to be a designer its more important to have an eye for good things and to understand “good” and “bad” in terms of a design. It helps one to realize what should be sellable and what is not.

Want to get yourself started in design?

All of the above designers use DesignCrowd’s freelance design jobs board. You can use DesignCrowd to submit freelance graphic design bids to potential clients from around the world.