I've been a photographer for about 8 years now and a graphic designer full-time for about a year. Working from home is actually new to me, like a lot of other freelancers & professionals (thanks pandemic!), and it's really grown on me! However, it wasn't easy to transition overnight into the routine I have now, especially when it comes to organization and being efficient.
I figured I'd share what I've learned over the last year with you to give you some insight on an affordable, efficient workflow that I am constantly still improving.
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
2. Organizing Tasks - Digital & Paper
Alright, I'm a sucker for notebooks and list-making. Getting into the habit of making a digital to-do list rather than mine constantly getting lost in my 10 notebooks wasn't easy! However, I have a combination of both that seem to really work well for productivity.
As a graphic designer, my tasks can really vary from project to project as far as the medium I'm working on for the client. So, this might mean I need to Market Research or mockup their website in Adobe XD, or create social media content designs. Because of this, there are so many different little tasks within those bigger tasks that need to be done in a certain order.
I use a Project Action Notebook (from Walmart for $3!) to outline each project and the tasks within the project to write out any spur-of-the-moment ideas I may have throughout the day and to just jot down whatever new things come up. This is kind of like the paper version of using my favorite to-do list organizing program called Trello. Trello has a free program, which is what I use, and you can actually make workspaces for individual clients and then share those workspaces to collaborate and stay on track. It's effective and super easy to use!
2. Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe, which has been my best friend since I was about 16 and just starting out as a Photographer, is really the powerhouse here. I can't tell you how many of my days consist of having 2-3 Adobe programs open at one time as I jump from project to project! Adobe is essential to designers and photographers and it really is the industry standard in my opinion.
If you're a student, you get a really nice discount per month and trust me, it's worth it! On a daily basis, I'm using Adobe Illustrator, XD, Photoshop, Lightroom, and sometimes Premiere Rush or InDesign depending on the scope of the project. The features and integrations for all of these programs are boundless and I truly enjoy working within each interface. Is it a perfect software without any glitches or errors? No. But what is? I gladly pay my $30 a month - it is essential to my business!
3. Illustration Tools
So, I'm rather new to the illustration world. Since I was a kid I always enjoyed drawing and painting, and still do watercolor paint on occasion. However, digital illustration has been a new thing for me that I'm still very much learning. It's exciting! Getting an illustration onto a printed package? So. Cool.
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Here are the gadgets I use:
• One by Wacom Drawing Tablet - The one I use is the small version with a stylus. I
started out with this last year to learn how to draw in Adobe Illustrator for simple
drawings. Since I didn't have a real tablet or touch screen laptop at the time, this was
a great starting point and it's only $50 to purchase!
• iPad Pro - I actually use this as my second screen/laptop as well! This is what I'll
take on the go or when I don't need my full desktop to work on simple tasks and more importantly, illustrate! My husband, who's a digital artist (check him out here!), has used his iPad for years now and it's fascinating to see how his illustrations come
together on the screen. I was tired of asking to borrow his and I didn't want to drop
thousands on a new laptop, so getting an iPad Pro was a good compromise! It's
lightning fast and honestly, it's one of the best tools for illustrators and designers,
hands down. I use either Procreate ($10 one-time purchase) or Sketchbook (free). I do
wish it had better compatibility with Adobe software, but hopefully in the future!
4. Meta Business Suite
Hopefully you'll know what I'm talking about! Ever since Facebook acquired Instagram and they've integrated the two, they released what they call the Meta Business Suite. This is a huge tool for content creators, influencers, and small businesses for their social media and even ads.
Here's a look at my dashboard:
I started really utilizing this Suite in the Spring of 2022 because I was fed up with companies like Later limiting the number of posts per month and just getting money hungry for monthly subscriptions - as if the people who are using the service don't pay enough for the other subscriptions it takes to run their business!
Anyways, Meta has really made my life a lot easier since learning it & I know that there are a lot more tools in the software that I haven't explored yet! The features I mainly use are:
• Social Media Posting Schedules - Synchronized posting between Facebook and
Instagram with suggested posting times for better reach! As someone who spent a lot
of wasted time researching "best times to post" for my last job, this saved a lot of
headaches for me! You can also differentiate the captions and hashtags between
platforms.
• Analytics - Super important data here! In the 'Posts & Stories' tab/page, you can
review every single post you've made to see the number of accounts reached, likes,
comments, and overall engagements. This is great for those who really utilize data to
learn what type of content is working and what just isn't.
5. Sites for Gathering Inspiration
This is absolutely a part of my daily routine that I think plays a critical role in my creative flow and prevents me from getting creative block. One thing I always have to remember as a graphic designer, web designer, and photographer is that I'm always going to be learning. I'm never going to be the "best" in my craft and that's true for anyone! But in order to get better at my craft, learn more about who I am as a creative and serve my clients better, I have to study and explore.
• Pinterest - Yes, it sounds cliche but these days? Pinterest is not what it used to be...In
fact, it's become a huge tool for content creators and small businesses to get more
engagement, drive traffic to their site and essentially, get more leads! For creatives
though, Pinterest has become a huge mod-podge over the years to gather inspiration from other designers' and photographers' work. I primarily use Pinterest to explore different design styles and poses for models when I'm preparing for a photoshoot. I
also usually have a board for each client.
• Dribbble - Okay, if you're a designer or illustrator and you've never heard of or
aren't using Dribbble, what are you waiting for?! Not only has Dribbble given me so
much motivation to try new illustration styles and become crazy inspired by the
UI/UX designers, but it provides resources for us and serves as a portfolio for us too!
From creative design prompts to their own job board as well as being able to offer
your freelance services directly from the site, it's a no-brainer to at least get your free
account set up! Dribbble is run and curated by a team of creatives just like us, so
they're constantly adding new stuff to really help us in our craft and business.
Thanks for reading! I really hope this was helpful to you! All of these things I've mentioned are affordable and really have made a crucial difference in the way I work everyday. :)
Sydnee
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