10 examples of studios/designers and various methods they use to distribute work.
Facebook//
Jeff Josephine designs.
Strengths
Thousands of people around the world use facebook so you can make yourself known to a massive audience.
Really easy to use and update with work.
Can easily be found on search engines.
Usage of facebook is free promotion effectively.
It's a well known platform.
Weaknesses
Pages can be shut down really easily if someone decided to report them.
It's not a very professional platform//more casual.
If they knew how, people could easily access the account.
Uniform layout doesn't give much chance for a personal touch to be added.
Images can easily be taken from the homepage.
Opportunities
Theres a real chance to impress because potential employees may look to facebook as a sort of head hunting method or to find more out about a designer.
A huge audience of all ages uses facebook so you can aim your work at everyone or specific audiences.
A chance to make yourself known in countries you may not be within reach of.
Self promotion.
Threats
Theres the chance you could be hacked.
Everyone is using facebook so how do you make yourself known over other designers?
Images can be taken if they don't have watermarks/copyright on them somewhere and not much can really be done about this.
Blogspot//
Reetsweet.
Strengths
Easy access to blogs through search engines.
Relatively easy to set up and maintain.
Interface is simple to understand.
Can be edited to look really unique and make yourself stand out.
Is a free service (subject to the amount of space you need)
Can set up multiple blog pages and link them together easily.
Weaknesses
If there is a lot of content on the pages, the blog can seem to go on forever so may not keep an audience interested.
More like a diary rather than a direct point of impact.
Not particularly popular with the younger target audience.
Opportunites
Can be easily found so is a good opportunity to impress.
A unique edge can be added so theres chance for you to tell the audience exactly what you're about through visual communication.
Elements can be tagged so using this to your advantage means people can see specific elements over others.
Threats
Images can easily be taken from the blog.
The work is really easy to access and may not be linked back to the original source.
Pinterest//
Andreas Krapf.
Strengths
A huge network of people are now using this platform so work will be seen by many.
Anyone can pin anything up on this platform so there are no limitations.
Things are passed down a 'chain' because if someone pins something on their page, then a friend may see it and re-pin.
Websites can be linked to pinned work, therefor using it as a form of self promotion.
Weaknesses
It's quite difficult to navigate to find anything specific.
It's a relatively new platform so many people may not have heard of it.
The homepage seems quite busy with work so how can you make yourself stand out?
Opportunities
Making something really worth pinning means that your work will be passed through the grapevine.
Can link work back to your website in order to make people visit it.
Can gain inspiration from this site and also make sure you are doing something unique.
Threats
Pins are not always linked back to their source so people may find your work but your name won't be on it/with it so they won't get to out about you.
Postcards//
Robbie Porter.
Strengths
You have freedom to place any samples of your work on the front and there is always lilkely to be something suitable.
It may encourage people to look into your work further if they like what they see.
They are pretty cheap to produce and easy to make multiples of.
They wouldn't take long to design.
Weaknesses
If someone is not familiar with your work and this is the first thing they see then you only have one opportunity to impress.
Can sometimes be seen as 'junk' and may be thrown away, not nescessarily on purpose.
Only really works for a print based designer in terms of showing what you are capable of.
Opportunities
Contact information etc. can be added as a form of self promotion.
Can be sent out to potential clients in order to impress so works well as a piece of direct mail.
Threats
There's no copyright as such unless a watermark is included so ideas could be taken.
Sending elements like this in the post could mean they could get lost.
Print//
Eskimo.
Strengths
Using print can really showcase some of the skills you may have and because there are so many, this could reflect well on you as a designer.
Clients like to have something to hold and interact with.
Print can be kept and admired.
Weaknesses
Print can be costly depending on if you are using particular finishes or stock.
If it does not impress the client it is being sent to they can easily discard it.
It could get lost in the mail and you would never know.
It can be damaged easily if it isn't looked after.
Opportunities
When networking print is one of the main forms that is exchanged in the form of a
business card.
Can be used as a way of putting yourself out there by sending samples of your work in
print form.
Print gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with a printer if you use it often enough within your practice, therefor extending your contact base by they may be able to pass your name on to other clients.
Threats
If your name is not located on the work somewhere people may not find out about you unless they already know that it's your work.
Twitter//
Mule design studio.
Strengths
Twitter has a huge worldwide audience.
The target audience ranges so if you're aiming at a particular one someone is always likely to come across your work.
It can connect to other online elements so you can really get yourself known.
Many creatives use this method so you can make new contacts.
It's really easy to use and set up.
Weaknesses
There is a limit on the word count of each tweet so you have to keep things short and simple. Not always good.
It's quite informal so not really too professional.
It's not a very good method of posting your work up unless your linking out to another portfolio site.
Only a small personal element can be added, the overall look is quite uniform.
Opportunities
Twitter can be used as a tool to link out to other sites that can display your work in a more professional manner.
Self promotion.
A chance to make yourself known to countries that may physically be out of reach.
Threats
Twitter isn't a very professional platform so work could easily be taken and you get no credit for it.
Accounts can easily be hacked if someone knows how.
Self promo//
Mark Hudson.
Strengths
There is a huge opportunity to make something really unique.
You can communicate your personality and likes or dislikes within the industry.
It shows some of your skills as a designer.
Clients like to have things to hold so this is the perfect solution.
Weaknesses
The work within self promo has to be quite self explanitory as a minimalistic approach works best.
A lot of designers are taking this approach so ideas may have been done before.
You can only include so much work without it being too much.
Opportunities
It gives you the opportunity to do something really fun and something that really represents you as a designer.
Theres an opportunity to be really direct with a client.
This can be updated as you develop as a designer.
Threats
If sent to clients and/or studios in the post, it could get damaged quite easily.
Etsy//
Purple cow posters.
Strengths
It's another form of self promotion in a sense because you are showing people what are able to do.
You can make a small fortune from sales if your work becomes popular enough.
You can connect with other freelance designers because this tends to be what the store is mainly made up of.
It's easy to set up and also easy to manage.
You get worldwide clients.
Is a good starting point to getting yourself known.
Weaknesses
The pricing is in US dollars so you have to be able to work out how much this would be in GBP.
Sometimes there are millions of works for the same subject so you can spend quite a while trawling through. How could your work be recognised first?
With managing your Etsy account, you also have to manage a PayPal.
Opportunities
It could be an opportunity to be head hunted by studios if they notice your work.
You can promote your store through other online sources such as facebook and twitter.
Threats
Unless you place copyright somewhere on your work, there is a chance that people could steal your ideas.
There is a chance that your work could eventually be 'lost' on the site because so many things are added all the time.
Website//
Punch Creative.
Strengths
This is one of the main ways clients and studios tend to make a connection initially.
A website can hold all the information that clients need to know about you.
A website is global.
Easy to manage once you know how or you could get someone else to help you out.
Hosting and domains are reasonably priced.
You can do almost anything with the look of a website so can make it really unique.
Weaknesses
You only have a matter of seconds to impress a potential client before they give up on your website loading.
Something you may like, others may not so they won't stick around to view the full potential of your website.
There are so many websites out there, how can you stand out from the rest?
Opportunities
You can link any other online presence you have to your website to build a huge network.
It can be an initial place you direct people to when you're applying for work placement and wanting feedback on your work.
As your portfolio progresses, you website may also do the same to fit with any new interests you may have.
Threats
If file size is too big or websites have too much content then it may take too long to load.
There could be the odd person who doesn't have access to the internet, therefor not reaching your full target audience.
It needs to be able to work on mobile too as a lot of people use this over laptops nowadays.
Your work in magazines//
Creative Review.
Strengths
It's one step further to reaching your target audience.
It shows you are active in more than one way and haven't dismissed paper forms of promotion.
It's another form of self promotion.
You are showing you can design for print, so showcasing skills.
Weaknesses
There a lot of other creatives using magazines to promote themselves so you really need to be able to stand out.
Promoting yourself in magazines such a creative review can be very expensive so you have to be earning well before considering this.
This is probably a last port of call for potential clients as most turn to the web nowadays.
Opportunities
Large scale distribution happens with magazines so you are likely to cover a vast area of the target market.
A lasting impact could be made.
Threats
The 'adverts' for designers are usually at the back of the magazine so how can you garuntee someone is going to see this or definitely read that part.
