Why work for free?

David Airey recently wrote an excellent post on his blog about doing pro bono (i.e. free) work in order to add work to a design portfolio. You can read his post here: http://www.davidairey.com/pro-bono-design/

He makes some excellent points, which I won't go into here as it's better to read his post, but I thought I would explain a little about why I offer free and reduced rate services to charities and NPOs. Basically, it's because I have grown weary of companies that have lofty aims ('world peace', 'eradicate disease', etc) while doing little more than repeating those lofty aims. I decided to make pro bono work a key part of K Creative because, aside from supporting myself and my family, I'm not really interested in building an enormous business or being filthy rich. I'd like to be able to give time and/or resources to people who are genuinely trying to make a difference. Pro bono work is a good way of supporting good causes while doing something you enjoy, plus it has extra benefits:

1) Boost your portfolio. As David points out, it can add real-life work to a portfolio. This is especially important when just starting out or when jobs are few and far between. It keeps you in the game, as it were, and allows you to update your online presence with recent work.

2) Support a cause that means something to you. You do not have to give money to support a good cause; giving your time and skill is very worthwhile and will be appreciated.

3) Add new skills. You could offer to redesign a website or logo and find yourself being asked to give advice on the content of the site or a marketing strategy. Don't shy away from such approaches as you may be able to learn new skills. Conversely, don't weigh in on things that you don't feel sure about.

4) Get more work. This may seem a little bit cynical, but you may get paying clients through the client you do free work for. I don't suggest that this is a reason for deciding to do pro bono work, but it might be another unexpected benefit.

Some things to bear in mind:

1) Don't do it just to boost your portfolio. As stated in number 2 above, find a charity or NPO that you really want to support. It is much easier to be positive about a job when it means something to you.

2) Start small. Try a local charity or NPO to begin with: they are more likely to be working on a restricted budget and the proximity means that you can discuss the project in person. You could even offer to give advice or do some work for a friend who is trying to establish a business or website, but cannot afford to pay.

3) Treat them as you would a paying client. Just because you are doing something for free doesn't mean that you can do half a job. If you offer to do something, do it to the best of your ability and always stick to deadlines (if you cannot meet deadlines, give plenty of notice).

4) Be honest. As I mentioned above, don't accept work that you are not capable of carrying out as you are wasting your time and your client's time. It is good to learn new skills, but if they ask to give advice on something that is totally unrelated to your skills and experience, don't be afraid to say so. They will appreciate your honesty and you will not be perceived as a jack of all trades.

Good luck!

We offer three packages: 'Cheapskate', 'Loser' and 'The Package you Really Want'

I understand that businesses offer levels of service or packages for, perhaps, ease of pricing, but I wonder about the message it sends to potential clients and it's not something I like to do. Imagine you've got three 'levels' to choose from, you're on something of a budget, but you want to get a professional job done and you see something akin to the following:

Basic Package: We'll give you the basics, but not much else.

Standard Package: The basics, plus some extras.

Deluxe Package: This is the baby - this is what you really want!

Although offering packages has never been the way I wanted to do business, I never really felt compelled to say why not until recently; it was simply my way of doing business. (I equally don't like sales talk or boasts that a product or service is 'the best', but I might talk about that at a later date). The reason I feel compelled to write about it now is that a client has basically asked me to. This client was referred to me through another client and immediately asked about my levels of service as this was what she was used to. She said that when she saw levels, this is what she invariably thought:

Basic: You're basically a cheapskate if you choose this. Although we might do a professional enough job, we won't put much effort into it.

Standard: Standard is for losers. Don't you care about what you want done? Do you want to be like all the rest?

Deluxe: Unless you're a cheapskate or a loser, you'll choose this. If you choose the other services, don't blame us if you don't get what you want.

I have to say I agree. I don't like placing people - especially clients - into categories, as I would similarly not like to be categorised so easily myself. I had a very interesting conversation with my client (who wanted editing and writing work done) and I explained why I don't go in for levels for the services I offer. Starting with editing, if I receive a manuscript which requires major editing, but the client has only gone for the 'basic' proofreading package, am I supposed to ignore the glaring grammatical and style problems and just fix a few spelling mistakes? For writing, should I just write something mediocre for a basic package, a bit better for standard and only write something decent for the deluxe package? If I'm designing a logo, would a bit of clip art do for a basic package? All of these things seem unprofessional at best, elitist and dishonest at worst.

She then asked about the language programmes I offer as they come with what she perceived to be a 'price range' and she's right, but the prices range only in terms of how far I have to travel, how many people I teach and if there is any specialist material to be used which requires extra preparation.

To be honest, when K Creative was getting going, I did use list prices in terms of packages, but I soon found out that each client is different and their requirements would often overlap between the 'packages', so I had the choice of either forcing them into the more expensive package or not giving them what they wanted. I decided to do neither. Instead I gave them what they wanted. It makes me feel a lot better about what I'm doing and my clients appreciate it.

Jil Sander to become Design Consultant for Uniqlo

Is Uniqlo, the no-frills bargain brand, now vying for a place among fashion's elite? The recent TV commercials airing here in Japan are very stylish, if somewhat reminiscent of Gap's campaign from a few years back, and they continue to expand both in Japan and abroad.

In the latest extraordinary move in their meteoric rise, Jil Sander has agreed to act as a design consultant for Fast Retailing's flagship brand, under which she will involve herself personally in all aspects of the design and making of Uniqlo apparel products and develop a special Uniqlo collection.

It is not the first time that Uniqlo has teamed up with famous designers – it has previously released garments featuring Keith Haring illustrations and recently introduced the UT t-shirt series featuring the work of a whole host of designers from all over the world.

Uniqlo expects that products created in cooperation with Sander will be available from the autumn/winter 2009 season and we expect the Uniqlo star to be burning even brighter from now on.

This article was originally written for Storm From The East

K Creative PR & Consulting

Here's some more information about our pr, research and consulting services, describing a little about how we go about our work.

YOUR FEET ON THE STREET IN JAPAN

We specialize in getting people together.

We believe in genuine interaction and most of our research is carried out through either face to face interviews or correspondence with carefully selected individuals.

We contact individuals who we identify as likely to be interested in your message and use the information to plan a unique strategy based on your needs and wishes. You identify your target group and we go out and meet them.

We are, in short, your feet on the street in Japan, seeking out the people and places that are likely to be interested in what you offer.

RESEARCH

We spend our lives in Japan immersed in design, media, promotion and sales. Our eyes and ears are always open and focused on new and innovative ways of spreading messages.

If you want to 'test the waters' in Japan before diving in head first, we can go out and physically ask people for their opinions about your product and service as well as giving our own evaluation.

Our research is not for the faint-hearted: If you don't want to hear the truth, you should ask somebody else. We don't believe in sycophancy to attract clients – if we don't think we can help, we'll tell you.

After we have conducted research, we will analyze the findings and give you an honest, no-nonsense appraisal and suggest – where appropriate – recommended media, retail outlets and promotional strategies.

View the consulting & research page.

K Creative processes

I am occasionally asked things like 'How do you go about designing a logo?', 'What is your approach to language education?' or 'What is your business philosophy?', so I thought I'd write about the thought and practical processes I and the people I work with use when planning and executing a project.

The thing is, I don't like FAQ sections because I think they're lazy, impersonal and slightly condescending in a 'I know what you're going to ask, so let me save myself the pain of repeating myself' way. Therefore I've decided to start writing about some of the projects I have been involved in and others that are in the pipeline, giving my thoughts and opinions along the way.

You may agree, you may think I am a talentless idiot, but I hope you can at least enjoy the articles on some level.

Thanks,

Richard.

Email: Are you too good to reply?

Email is probably the most commonly used communication tool available today, but it is all too easy to ‘forget’ to reply to an email. I think this is rude and unacceptable.

 Answer this question honestly: Do you reply to everybody who sends you an email, or are you too ‘busy’, only replying to people who will make you money and/or further your career? I would hope that most of you reply to genuine emails, but in today’s world of self-help, you-too-can-be-a-millionaire, books and gurus, the advice is all too often ‘limit your contact to those who can further your aims.’

I receive around 100-200 emails per day, including personal emails, business emails and a vast amount of junk. Many of these I do not need to reply to – news updates, press releases etc and, obviously, spam. The rest I endeavour to reply to as soon as I can. Sometimes there is a need to prioritise who I reply to first, but I try to reply to everybody, from paying customers to people asking a question or just saying hello. I sometimes get email from people who read this blog or storm from the east and want to ask something about living and/or doing business in Japan, design, writing or asking me to promote their product (design) on SFTE. I am flattered to get these emails and I will not fall into the trap of thinking that I am above any of the people who write to me just because they want my advice.

Replying to emails is common courtesy and it only takes a few seconds. If you don’t reply, you will be perceived as selfish, arrogant and unprofessional. Of course we all want to further our aims (especially those of us working for ourselves), but how do you know who can and cannot help you? More to the point, how do you know who is willing to help you if you ignore those you dismiss as ‘unimportant’? (More on ‘networking’ later.)

Having said that, I have been having problems with my email service recently, so if you have emailed me and I haven’t replied, you have my sincere apologies.