After some years working in very different design-related backgrounds, enterprises and projects, I have made clear my decision to work remotely, as much as possible, as a freelance designer. I appreciate being surrounded by a good team, preferably groups of people with very different profiles, interests and hobbies. It is very important to have diverse insights, questions and opinions to establish proper project development, which in turn ensures the richness of the final result.
Luis Llerena / unsplash.com
When sharing the creative process with professionals that master the same tool or have a thorough understanding of the relevant knowledge area, it will likely guarantee that the project is carried out. In terms of creativity, however, being on the safe side is not the most effective strategy when trying to solve problems.
As a multi-disciplinary designer, I hardly ever like to define what my professional fields of activity are. As a visual communicator, I am passionate about the beginning stages of brand creation, especially when thinking about how to give them a soul, a physical appearance and the possibility to be born. Brands are ideas and attitudes. They are living things that connect users to services or products which make their lives a bit better every single day. That is why it is futile to refer to independent skills as a single unit. The fruit of a creative mind is the achievement of new solutions, insatiable learning, appealing interfaces and functional structures, while simultaneously choosing the best typefaces, colors and icons that define the language to be used. It is a deep process of finding and creating the most stunning imagery to represent a brand as it is perceived by consumers. It is an endless process of considering all the ways that a user would like to interact and play with a brand.
Rayi Christian Wicaksono / unsplash.com
Those are the main issues that can be solved when having a close relationship and good communication directly with the client. As a freelancer, you have the right and the duty to act as a brand psychologist, identifying the problems that need to be solved and the strengths to be enhanced. As a result, your function is not only to manage a specific aspect of a project, but also to contribute to its development as a whole. You can choose who to ask an opinion from. As a freelancer, you can take your professional contacts list and decide which is the best match to allow every project to evolve. That is why I like the idea that Toptal's portal is creating very much.
If it was only up to me, I would definitely say that I want to join the Toptal Visual Designers Team. I want to be part of the designers who have the chance to collaborate on amazing projects while helping great clients that believe in the power of design to create a more organised world.