8 Responses to Link Love: 1.24.13

1. Francine says:

   Okay I was totally expecting the “never go wrong with scallops” article to link to a bunch of scallop recipes lol. Whoops.

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   • Melinda says:

     Me too! No worries! lol

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   • Shauna says:

     Francine: Haha! Either way, scallops rule.

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2. Caroline Royce says:

   Nubby, I’d be interested to hear your opinion sometime on young designers (like me) doing work for free. I’ve done “freelance” for about 3 1/2 years now, and rarely get paid for it. While it does get me down, I can’t help but think I have a leg up on many others in my field that are my age (Minneapolis, man. There are thousands of us). Because of the work I’ve done for free, I’ve gotten a lot of exposure, padded my portfolio, and now know a lot of the movers and shakers in this design community.
   I probably strayed a little there. But I bring it up because two of the links (asking for what you’re worth, 10 years of freelancing) were of significant interest.
   On Monday I’m going to start my first real, grown up Freelance job. I got advice of how much to ask for per hour (for this specific job), and when I did I was terrified. It was so high! More than double what I’ve asked from most potential clients. They came back with an offer that was just a little lower. I didn’t think it could be that easy.
   Whew. Anywayyy.

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   • Shauna says:

     Caroline Royce: This is a conversation for another post entirely (far too much to get into!) but for a multitude of reasons I don’t condone free or spec work. Bottom line is that you should be getting paid something for your time, even if it’s a small sum. Doing work for free not only devalues the industry as a whole but also devalues you as a designer because if people can get work done for nothing, they’re most likely not willing to pay for your services in the future — it sets a precedent. Design is just like any other trade and we don’t ask plumbers to fix our leaky pipes free of charge, and exterminator to come over for free and so on. I have taken on a few projects at reduced rates when there was something specific I needed to round out my portfolio and the client couldn’t afford my full priced services but that is very, very rare. Designs rates per hour, especially freelance need to cover your lack of health benefits and the lack of taxes being set aside so it should be pretty high. Good luck with your new gig!

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3. Chantelle says:

   I always love your links, and thanks to the ‘scallop’ one I discovered Note to Self. So beautiful.
   In addition, I’ve been pretty tough with PR companies/companies in general trying to take advantage of my little audience & blog. I can’t believe how mean some people are! (And how quickly others will bend to your will. That was a nice surprise.) Again, thank you for the helpful links.

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   • Shauna says:

     Chanelle: I understand on the PR company front — these days I flat-out delete 9 out of 10 emails that come my way…the worst are the ones entitled “Dear Blogger”!

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4. Stefi says:

   The DIY wallpaper reminded me of the polaroid frame wall at Palihouse. Such a cool idea!

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