How to get the Clients you want to Work With

This is an issue almost every young designer runs into. It can be especially frustrating after coming out of school, where you were encouraged to find your style, be creative, and push the limits. Then reality sets in as you struggle to find freelance work, let alone projects that push you creatively, or something you'd want to put in a portfolio. 

In general, a strong portfolio is an absolute to consistent work, and getting you the work you actually want. Making a few bucks is great, but making money doing something you like, while growing is far better. These are a few tips on how to craft yours to attract the kind of people you want to work with.

Projects: This is the most important info I can give you. People seek you out based on the work they see you do. That's it. If you have three killer tattoo shop rebrands in your portfolio, guess who's gonna seek you out? Probably not the guy that needs his doggy daycare branded. That's a good thing, it's going to narrow the field of prospective clients and sort out people that don't fit your aesthetic. This filters projects for you. This works and feels a bit serendipitous when it does. You'll understand when you post a whiskey label, then have three distilleries contact you inside a week. Use the right bait for the fish you want to catch. 

But What About "Blank": At least a few people just went “well that's great and all but I can't get one client I want, let alone enough to fill a portfolio”. That's a valid point, and here's how you get around it. Make it up. Nothing is stopping you from creating a brand. Pick a cool name, sketch things out and design away. Present it as a real thing (within reason, don't start selling stock to investors) and you’ll have a portfolio piece that is purely you. The IRS won't come knocking for back taxes, and better yet no client putting their fingers on the scale. I would almost consider filling your portfolio with these kinds of projects over real ones, client work inevitably will be influenced by the client. You want people seeing you, that's what they'll pay for down the road. 

Portfolio: A portfolio can come in a few different forms. A website for me is crucial. Something with your name, contact info, and a few of your best projects. Seriously, just a few, 3-5 is plenty. When you go overboard things will get messy. Use the museum effect, each piece has its own place with plenty of white space and context surrounding, it implies importance and respect. Beyond a place to show your work, a site gives you a sense of establishment early on, it shows you’re serious about what you do, and (probably) won't run off with their money. 

Social Media: I’ve talked about social media a bit in the past, it cant be overvalued. Plenty of great designers use their Instagram as a portfolio, and in general that works for them just fine. Its a more cost-effective option, but again, in my opinion, the benefits of both outweigh the initial costs. Other than a second-place to show, this is where I meet nearly all the people I work with. Like-minded people tend to gather, this is true on social as well. I get the kind of projects I do because people see and want it for themselves. Just take a quick look through Instagram, there are thousands of small businesses out there. If they follow your work and are ever in need of a designer, guess who they're going to DM. SEO is pretty much dead for us, no one is googling “graphic designers near me” and hiring, at least no one you want to work with. 

Once things are up and running you'll find more often than not having to turn people down. Here are a few extra tips on how to pick and choose. The main purpose of all this is to grow, get better at your craft, gain some recognition for your work, and ideally, make a living. Ask yourself these questions. Does this project get me excited? This should be evident without thinking, the best work comes when you care. Next, is the money worth it? While id like to be an idealist and say if you're not in love at first sight, turn it down. But let’s be realistic, everyone has bills. It's ok to occasionally follow a bigger check on something less exciting. Obviously, don't sell out your morals and design a "let's burn the rainforest together" logo. But you have to weigh the worth of happiness vs money. Arguably the most important piece to consider is growth. Is this project going to make you better, bring you recognition, or create connections later.  You may need to think deeper on this, sometimes a low budget project has far more intangible upside than you think.    

If you have any questions or want to talk about things that have worked for you, I'd love to hear from you. Shoot me a DM or email and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Thanks for reading!

- James