Over the past 6 months, I have been getting more and more emails from students asking me questions and for advice about freelancing, web design, illustration and such.

Unfortunately, as my career has progressed, I've become busier and busier with client work, meaning the time I have spare to give advice and answer questions has become less and less.

I was a student myself (Art Foundation in 1999, Graphic Arts Degree 2002) and I remember, myself, emailing a number of companies and individuals with questions. I remember how much I appreciated a reply, and how I felt disappointed if I didn't get one - even though I knew it was nothing personal and probably due the recipient being too busy.

All the emails I have received have not been binned or totally ignored. They have been put in a folder called 'students', and I am now going to list the main questions and try to answer them as best as I can.

But first, an apology ...

Here are the names of most of the people who have emailed me. I understand they may now have graduated (or even had a long career and now retired :P), but I thought this would be the right thing to do. So here they are:

Jenny Copeland, Rachel Johnson, Rebecca Kevill, Kim Read, Darren Fletcher, Vincent Furey, Sarah bates, Glenn Foo, Tom Humphries, Simon MacRitchie, Karen Rowell, Damian, Abs Hans, Chidem Kaya, Kim Jones, Stefan Kwiecinski, Stuart Gannon, Matthew Leak, Steven Yu, Darren Powell, Lucy Birtwistle, Casey Fernandez, Billy Flynn

So yeah. Soz :)

And now, the questions ...

Should I get any more questions emailed, I will add them to the list below. Also, feel free to ask any questions within the comments of this post. Here we go then:

Could you write me a project brief?

One of my favourite projects at university was the following:

• Take an A3 sized piece of paper and create 6 boxes - 3 rows of 2
• Allocate a descriptive word to each box (examples are words like bony, furry, mechanical, fat, leafy, happy - make them quite varied and obscure)
• Draw something in each box to represent the descriptive word
• Create another 6 boxes on another A3 piece of paper
• Shift your chosen descriptive words 1 box to the left, and recreate your original designs but alter them to encompass the new word (for example, a design could now be mechanical and fat)

Here's another brief:

Find an article of interest in one of this week's Guardian newspapers and produce an editorial illustration to go with it - be as expressive, creative and free as you can with it. Then re-lay the page out to accommodate the illustration (either totally or subtly). Main emphasis is on the illustration in terms of your role.

How do you decide how much you are going to charge for each client?

I cost each project out based on the specifics of a brief, and at my hourly / daily rate. If a project has a very tight deadline then it usually has a higher cost.

On average how many hours do you work in a week?

Heh! More than I possibly should.

I try keep to about 8 hours a day, and to keep weekends free. But when you are freelancer, and you have to do all your admin and such, you often have to work longer hours than if you were employed in a regular 9-5 job.

Do you ever have more than one client at a time and how do you manage your time with them?

Yes. Often. Good communication from both parties is the key to keeping on top of things.

It is important not too take on more than is possible, and to correctly schedule work so that deadlines can and be met and quality kept high.

What types of insurance do you have?

With very large projects I take out "professional indemnity insurance", although a confirmation email (of go-ahead on a proposal) is in itself a contract. Purchased orders are often raised with new clients and with fairly large projects.

I is also important to be as clear as you can about what you will be supplying in your proposals / contracts, and also what the responsibilities of the client are in the project.

What, in your opinion, is the best software and/or materials you use in your work?

My pens, pencils and backs of old envelopes :P

I really do enjoy it when I can get back to basics - we're all far to dependant on technology nowadays and it's a shame.

I won't lie to you though, having a dependable fast computer and some professional design software is a must for all professional designers and developers.

Remember though that software packages are just glorified pencils and that great design is not about process but about 'ideas'. Process just makes a great idea a reality.

How did you initially find work? ...

... did you register a limited (or any other type) company before you started or after you did a few jobs? Also, can you recommend any agencies?

I had a full time job, and did some freelance work. I then sub-contracted for a design agency and built up some more freelance clients. Then went "full freelance" when I was getting regular enquiries and had a number of regular clients. So I built things up slowly.

I'm not a limited company, although I got some help from a council organisation which gave me a small start-up grant and some decent advice. I did this straight away.

I was with an illustration agency but that didn't work out - I had too many web related projects on the go to justify having an illustration agent.

Does hand drawn mean someone sat down with colored pencils and drew stuff, then scanned it, or is this just an effect built in Adobe?

Hand-drawn is, indeed, traditional pen/pencil and paper. I then scan it and apply further colour / texture / compositional treatment the relevant design software.

I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to start up in this industry? ...

... for example: what to say in a portfolio when it's fairly empty, and what information to give on the about page?

Well, you need to build a portfolio up - even if you do personal projects with dummy briefs. Remember though that it's quality not quantity.

In terms of an 'about page': be honest. I feel a lot of prospective clients are a little tired of jargon and, therefore, find a nice dose of honesty refreshing.

Do you offer work placements for post graduate/ junior designers ?

No. Sorry. I work from home in my own home studio. Space is limited unfortunately.

How important do you consider a person's portfolio ?

Very, very important. Much more important than 'qualifications'. Although the process you go through to get a qualification is often the best route to getting a decent starting portfolio. You can read more about the importance of qualifications in my post: "Degree, or not degree?".

Did you work for a web development company or have you always been a freelance web designer?

I worked for a web development company, then sub-contracted for a design agency, then went "full-on" freelance with all the trimmings. You can find out more in my "Let's talk about me" article.

Would you recommend me trying to gain employment with a web design company to gain experience, or do you think I should give freelancing a go?

Hmm. It depends on a lot of things. I can only talk from experience. You can learn a lot from being employed, and perhaps get your freelance presence started in your spare time - to test the water.

Is there always work out there for freelance web designers?

If you're good and work hard then yes :P

How do you promote yourself? i.e. Website, brochures, postcards, etc.

It is mainly through search engines, referring sites and word of mouth.

Have you got an identity?

... if so, how did you come about creating it? Who created it? How did you decide what image you wanted to give across?

Yep. And it is my name. I believe in using my own name because it means that I have to maintain a high quality - there is no hiding place.

I created it myself, and I have given it a hand-drawn and grungy feel, as that is what 'floats my boat', and it is also in keeping with my illustration style.

What way do you present your portfolio?

My main portfolio is this website, and also my kevadamson.co.uk site.

I also have a printed illustration portfolio but - with the web a more accessible option - it is rarely used to get work.

What I am wondering is: do you look for freelance work online?

... if so where, as I am having trouble finding client adverts.

I get enquiries through my website and currently have no need for websites advertising projects.

I am contemplating actively looking for more illustration work, as I seem to be getting more enquiries for web than illustration at the moment, so I would like to address the balance so I don't get 'stale'.

In terms of sites that post jobs, try:

• jobs.37signals.com
• yourwebjob.com
• freelancer.co.uk
• ifreelance.com
• viewcreatives.com

I'm sure there are loads more sites that could be found with a few targeted Google searches. I have also never used any of the sites above so they aren't recommendations as such.

What route did you take to get where you are? What qualifications do you have?

You can find out about my qualifications etc. in my "Let's talk about me" article.

Any books I should read?

To be honest, your best bet is to go on www.amazon.co.uk and do some searches. I find the customer reviews very helpful and quite accurate.

What course should I do?

That's a tough question as - when I was studying - there were very few web related courses. I did an Art foundation course, followed by a Graphic Arts degree.

You may find my post: "Degree, or not degree?" of use in deciding whether to get qualifications or not. As for which course and where, I can really only speak for Liverpool John Moores University which is a brilliant uni and city. Well, it was in 2002 anyhow :P

Universities are more than happy to send out prospectuses, of which may help you make the right choice.

That's all for now folks ...

If you have any feedback on the above, or any more questions, feel free to comment. Fankoo.