Freelance resources

Thinking about going it alone—or at least getting started as a freelance designer?? There are hundreds of resources out there to help you get started.

 A favorite of mine is the book “The Business Side of Creativity” by Cameron Foote. This book offers practical advice on getting started, preparing contracts, doing your taxes, and even incorporating yourself. If you’ve never heard of this book, you have now. Pick it up.

Recently, a designer asked me how I approach the copyright issue when approaching a new project. The best advice that I could offer—without scanning and emailing a page from the book above –was to direct her to the AIGA Documents page. AIGA has a huge offering of sample contracts and advice for the freelancer. Members must login!

Graphic Design Forum also has a post that includes one of the most comprehensive list of contracts and documents that you might need.

Speaking of the interweb, Envato notes directed me to an awesome blog that they also produce, http://freelanceswitch.com/. This blog is pretty comprehensive and offers answers to questions that working designers come across all the damn time.

Another great blog –as I ALWAYS say—is Bittbox.com. Jay Hilgert is a designer/developer who spends all his time creating and finding various tools for the graphic designer. I’ve bookmarked him and check in every week to find tutorials and vectors that might help in my design work.

Good luck, y’all!