What would you do !
Hello everyone it's been a while since my last post and I‘ve been made redundant. Yippy !
I’ve decided to give freelance a proper go of it now.
I’m trying to approach the matter as positive as I can and I figure if it doesn’t work out
at least i’ll know that I’ve given it my best shot and it won’t be nagging me in the back
of my mind anymore. My company image is now coming together and i’ve sorted out
a small promotional leaflet to send out to local businesses and my website is 70% complete.
Some of the best design work I have done so far has mostly happened over the past 2 years
and I would like to use some of this on my company website to promote myself and abilities.
It’s mostly advertisements that I want to use as I worked for a local newspaper. I know the
artwork belongs to the newspaper, but what I want to ask you all, is what would you do
to promote your work here.
I figure there are 4 options for me to take here.
1. (The Honest) I could ring up the company I did the artwork for and explain who I am (I have met
some of them before) and ask would they mind if I used the artwork on my website. I can’t see this
being a problem as its free publicity for them. Then I could ring my previous place of employment
and explain that the clients are ok with me doing this and would they be ok with it too and I don’t
mind putting a note on the bottom saying who the artwork belongs to.
2. (The Slightly Less Honest) The same as option 1 but keeping hush hush to my place of work
because it’s possible they could be unreasonable and say no, then replace the work once I have
better stuff 6 months later, or I could slightly alter the artwork so it is not the same as what was published.
3. (Re direct them) I could just re-direct them to my personal portfolio website. I don’t want to
do this, as people would wonder what was going on and not sure where I stand on this.
4. (Forget it) Even though I give it my all and did everything right whilst working for the company.
They we’re arsey about giving me a written reference because someone sued them in the past and they
don’t want it to happen again. So why should they look after a small time designer trying to make their
way in the world.
I’ve decided to give freelance a proper go of it now.
I’m trying to approach the matter as positive as I can and I figure if it doesn’t work out
at least i’ll know that I’ve given it my best shot and it won’t be nagging me in the back
of my mind anymore. My company image is now coming together and i’ve sorted out
a small promotional leaflet to send out to local businesses and my website is 70% complete.
Some of the best design work I have done so far has mostly happened over the past 2 years
and I would like to use some of this on my company website to promote myself and abilities.
It’s mostly advertisements that I want to use as I worked for a local newspaper. I know the
artwork belongs to the newspaper, but what I want to ask you all, is what would you do
to promote your work here.
I figure there are 4 options for me to take here.
1. (The Honest) I could ring up the company I did the artwork for and explain who I am (I have met
some of them before) and ask would they mind if I used the artwork on my website. I can’t see this
being a problem as its free publicity for them. Then I could ring my previous place of employment
and explain that the clients are ok with me doing this and would they be ok with it too and I don’t
mind putting a note on the bottom saying who the artwork belongs to.
2. (The Slightly Less Honest) The same as option 1 but keeping hush hush to my place of work
because it’s possible they could be unreasonable and say no, then replace the work once I have
better stuff 6 months later, or I could slightly alter the artwork so it is not the same as what was published.
3. (Re direct them) I could just re-direct them to my personal portfolio website. I don’t want to
do this, as people would wonder what was going on and not sure where I stand on this.
4. (Forget it) Even though I give it my all and did everything right whilst working for the company.
They we’re arsey about giving me a written reference because someone sued them in the past and they
don’t want it to happen again. So why should they look after a small time designer trying to make their
way in the world.
Comments
Regardless of the employer's position on it, if the client now owns the work, they're the people you need to get permission from for redisplay.
the right answer is to ask the company that you just left for permission to display the work (and giving appropriate credits and information), to keep the relationship sweet, innit.
It's a dog eat dog world out there... leap forward aggressively with your teeth showing and a hungry belly and you'll do fine!
and sinars quote " leap forward aggressively with your teeth showing and a hungry belly and you'll do fine!"
ha ha ha - I'm going to do exactly that !!!
I was just typing this out before......
Regarding the redundancy, I had a so called none speculative "skills interview" for my job place and
apparently I wasn't ranked high enough, "you just missed out" they said !!!.
I'm still quite cut up about it because I took my portfolio along to the interview and tried to open it 3 times to back up some of the skills questions, each time they refused me. I do a lot of different types of design work outside that job and I wanted them to see that, and realise I could be an asset to the company. It's what would have set me appart from the other designers. I've really hammered flash over the passed few years and although I've a lot more to learn, this was the next logical step for a static advert. Trying to offer this skill to the company was almost impossible. I had a studio manager who was jealous off me (from his own admittion after a final drink), and a advertising manager who was from a sales background, who chatted briefly to us once a month, if luckly. (No studio meetings) Oh and a invisable MD.
I'm a quiet/none pushy person and this proberly hasn't helped my case, also because the UK newspaper advertising industry is in decline at the moment, I feel it's breeding selfish people, with there own interests at the heart of every decision, The truth is, I'm better off out of there, it's just, I really didn't need redundancy at this stage in my life!
I just recently became a Dad : ) and there doesn't seem as many hours in the day as there use to be !!!
Never mind find the time to set up a business.
I'm in the process of doing up my divey office room at the moment and I've just had the new phoneline fitted today
Yippy !!! my mac is sat on the dinning table with the baby crying in my ear (well sometimes!)
It'll be tough, but I'm won't crack easy.
I'm ready for the challenge !!!
You said "written reference because someone sued them in the past" but that is in a different league altogether. Companies are being asked to write references and then any detail in it is material for legal wrangling. However, you're just asking for permission to use material that you created for the company, something they should be likely to appreciate, as long as it hasn't been changed or shows them in any bad light.
If you can - Option One, the totally honest one. (Also means you don't have to remember at some later time what you might have said now!)
This is all fair use, I don't believe you need permission from either party to use this for portfolio use.
i'm really sorry about the redundancy, Chinchilla. as our economy slows here, graphic design is getting cutthroat. people are losing inhhouse postions, and many of the the freelancers are fighting for scraps.
i encourage you to not only get in touch with your inner aggressive self-promotion aspect, but to also get in touch with your inner rigorous financial management and documentation aspect.
and... get a room with a door you can shut. when you're working, you aren't available to watch the baby, etc.