STEVEN BONNER

I’ve been writing out the answers to a couple of magazine interviews this week.

I really don’t mind doing them at all – in fact I’m actually very grateful when someone asks me for my thoughts on something. It’s a bit of a compliment that someone out there thinks my opinion is worth a damn – and the publicity never hurts either.

However, they do serve as a reminder to me that I should’ve listened a bit more at school. Where is it appropriate to use semi-colons? How many times can I get away with using the same word in a paragraph? Why are my fingers so clearly dyslexic? That sort of thing.

They are a great way of forcing your thoughts onto paper though. If no one ever asks you about your opinion on what design trends are this year (and do I care?), or whether you think clients are receptive to startups, would you ever really sit down and formulate your definitive opinion on the matter? Or would you merrily go along and just get on with work? I find they are a good way to focus on where I see my own business going; a way to break everything down in my head and channel all the random crap into some sort of plan for the future.

Just don’t tell the grammar police.

Anyone who knows me will be aware of my opinions on speculative work. It’s a strange practice that seems to be accepted in our industry for some even stranger reason. I’m personally in an odd position, because although I don’t take part in pitches when approached by private clients (I prefer to politely refuse and give my reasons for doing so), it’s not uncommon for me to work on them as part of my coommissioned work. In those situations my reasoning behind it is that I’m being paid to do the work, so if the hiring agency chooses to free pitch, then that’s entirely their decision. Some agencies have built themselves up from nothing using the free pitching model so it’s not my place to chastise them, but personally, it’s not for me. It's not as if I can look down from a position of smug superiority as there have been times in the past where the lure of a great client has been too much to ignore and I’ve dumped my principles at the side of the road and jumped in with both feet. A failing I’ve addressed in recent times.

However, pitches aside, the thing that’s been concerning me more and more lately, is the increase in people not only asking for free work, but trying to convince us that they’re actually doing us a favour. Seriously, I get at least half a dozen emails a week from companies asking me to spend time and effort on the basis that it will be a great opportunity for me to bolster my folio. Really? Sorry but if I want to bolster my portfolio, I’ll do some personal work. It’ll be completely driven by me with no input from anyone and will be my vision – not theirs.

Then follows the promise of exposure. Why didn’t I think of it before? I’ll do some free work for a small startup company, then more small startup companies will see it. They’ll then ask for the same thing and at some point it'll all pay off because eventually, somewhere down the line, one of them might actually pay me half what the original fee was worth. It's foolproof.

Anyway, how many companies have you seen telling anyone who'll listen that you did the work for them? If you want exposure, ahem… expose yourself.

During one masochistic moment a few years back, I saw the 'opportunity' to design a new, exciting magazine on a creative community site. I emailed them to ask for more details and find out what budget was attached so I could make an informed decision on whether to apply or not. The reply I got back was that there would be no financial rewards but it was an “exciting opportunity to see your creative work in print”. They wanted concepts, research, art direction, layouts, style sheets, production and artwork for free, but wait, I'd get to see it when it came back from the printers! Hold on, isn’t seeing my work in print just the end product of me doing my job? Well, sometimes it’s screen based but you get the gist. It’s not a perk, it’s part of the process.

Out of respect for the site that hosted the project I won’t mention any names, there needs to be greater care in what is allowed to be placed under the banner of an opportunity.

The sooner creatives realise that doing these projects just proliferates the notion that spec work is acceptable, the better. Between spec work and crowdsourcing (don’t get me started on that), we’re digging our own graves. Time to throw away the shovels.

When I first began working, I’d go into the studio at 9am and would usually leave again at 6.30pm, missing the odd lunch hour on the way. At the time, I thought these were normal hours, and still do, despite my 9-5 friends telling me I should’ve been walking out the door at 5pm regardless of whether the work was done or not. I left business development to the heads and waited on projects being handed to me. Bliss.

Now as an independent things are different. You’d be forgiven for thinking that a designer’s role is now that of business development first, and actual design second. To an extent this is true, as the sheer number of other creatives out there looking to secure the same clients as you can be overwhelming. One look at twitter and facebook is enough to tell you that – and that’s before you even get into the creative-focussed portfolio sites and social hubs baying for your attention. Just to keep up, a creative can be fooled into thinking he or she has to become a social media whirlwind.. I got suckered into them all. A Behance account. Twitter; Facebook, Krop, Carbonmade, Veer, as well as all the usual routes of self promotion like good old letters and mailouts. This constant barrage takes time, and while used well it can feed back into client gains, you still need to find time to do that work too which means tipping into an unhealthy life/work balance. Suddenly the good old days of 9-6.30 seems far away.

So now I'm scaling it back and being more strict with how much time I spend online. It’s time to find a more targeted promotional track and take some time back for me and my family. The behance updates are less frequent, and there are days when you just don’t see me on twitter. Facebook is gone, as are the other, superflous hubs. I don't need them, and I don't miss them. I’ve gone back to a more personal way of reaching out to clients. While you press the ‘like’ button on Facebook, I’m sketching out ideas, and refining my work to make it better. For me, the route to better clients isn’t social media, it’s good work. If the work is solid, the word will get out there regardless of how many followers you have on Twitter.

As the Mighty Pencil says: “The key to illustration success isn’t Twitter, it’s talent.” Use it, but don’t rely on it.