Before founding Unleashed , I was a down-and-out web designer looking for work. I was fresh from being laid off from Fish Marketing (due to financial constraints) and was searching for a new employer.

Portland is full of great agencies, many of them are medium sized firms that service a wide variety of noticable clients: Nemo, Second Story, and Razor Fish just to name a few. I was hoping with my newly bolstered resume and additional experience that I would be a shoe in for a junior developer position at one of these great firms. However, what seemed to cost me was my lack of connections. As many of you know, its hard to get an interview based on the merit of your resume alone. Typically one has to have some kind of interior connection that can get you in front of a creative director or even the company CEO.

After what seemed like months of searching I was getting a little nervous. Our savings were starting to dwindle and my employment search wasn’t turning up a whole lot. I understood that with all of these agencies in town, there were other well trained designer/developers out there looking for work. Reminding myself that getting my job at Fish Marketing initially meant that I had to out-interview and out-perform a field of roughly two hundred applicants.

Eventually my luck changed. I had interviewed twice in the previous week and I was looking forward to the biggest one: Planet Argon. First, let me say that I only applied to companies whose work I respected. Planet Argon was no exception to this rule. After trolling the company website I fell in love with their unique blend of playful and professional aesthetics. For those of you that know me, I’m a bit of a ‘hard-ass’ when it comes to design. My standards are ridiculously high and I am very critical, so when I say I feel in love with a particular style of design, you know I’m not kidding around.

I submitted my resume and waiting diligently. During the waiting period, I had interviewed at a handful of other companies, but admittedly, wasn’t too excited about any of them. After two weeks, I had decided that Planet Argon was probably out of reach.

Until the phone rang.

It was Allison the creative powerhouse behind Planet Argon. She was asking if I had time to interview for the positiong. Emphatically, I said yes (trying not to sound TOO excited). I had jokingly implied that I had been waiting for a while, only to find they had been moving to a new office, and apologized for the delay in response. A week later I was sitting in front of Allison and Robbie trying not to sweat too much. Both were very professional and kind, I felt right at home.

I was asked questions typical to interviews: ‘Why do you want to work here?’, ‘Do you take direction well?’, ‘What was the last book you read?’, etc. It wasn’t until the fated ‘What’s your dream job?’ question, that I had felt like I had blown it. Afterwards, I had thought a desperate candidate would have said ‘Working here, of course!’, but oh-no not Dan Selleck. Surely Dan Selleck wouldn’t say something so obvious.

‘Jedi’, I said without thinking.

I can’t remember the reaction, I think there might have been a slight chuckle. The interview came to an end after a short round of questions from myself, but walking down the stairs, I couldn’t help but think that my well-intended joke had just cost me what could have been a very rewarding place to work. For a moment I thought about going back up stairs and trying to explain the gaffe, but thought better of it and continued my decent.

Its been over a year now and I’ve never had a clear explanation of why I didn’t become the new UX Designer at Planet Argon. I remain convinced today that my youthful day dream of becoming a lightsaber wielding force for good had cost me what could have been a great opportunity. Although, I feel as if the word has come to illustrate more about me than I had ever known. Perhaps the well intended joke was my subconscious telling me I wasn’t meant to work for someone else or it was as simply a off-kilter comment. In either case, I’m glad it happened.

Starting Unleashed and collaboration with a host of various clients has been the most enriching experience of my life. I understood that I was simply looking for a job so I could make money, not fulfillment. I knew deep down that as a professional I had always felt suffocated working in someone else’s office as an employee. Now, as an independent, I’m able to name my rates and garner satisfaction from the work I’ve produced. Planet Argon continues to make great work and I’m sure that Robbie, Allison, and the rest of the staff are the consummate professionals I remember during my brief visit.

We were pleasantly surprised today when we found a recent client, DanSelleck.com, was accepted into the One Page Love web archive. One Page Love is a gallery website which specializes in archiving the web’s best one-page websites.

I’m really happy that I was able to apart of the One Page Love gallery. Unleashed did a great job on making my illustrations the primary focus of my portfolio. Fellow illustrators and art directors have been praising the update as it allows them easy access to my work.
~ Dan Selleck, Illustrator

DanSelleck.com was recently redesigned in order to give his clients a more concise view of Dan’s work and increase the accessibility of his illustrations. Through the power of CSS3 and JQuery, DanSelleck.com has become an easily update-able portfolio which features Dan’s unique illustration style.

DanSelleck.com is a gentle blend of geometric presentation and supple design philosophies, you can see his work at danselleck.com and comment on his archived sketches.

Additional WordPress Integration

We were able to create a fully functional WordPress platform that allows Dan to archive and display sketches without having to crop or edit his illustrations in Photoshop. Each thumbnail is created with a Php short-code that automatically crops and repositions the image for the best possible display.

Integrated JQuery and a lightbox platoform allows visitors to view Dan’s illustrations quickly and with minor loading time. The same Php short-code used to create thumbnail images draws directly from the SQL database unique to WordPress. Each image, whose information is then stored in the database, is pulled quickly and without error from the pre-existing directories.

The entirety of the uploading process is streamlined by WordPress’ easy-to-use interface and takes very little time and effort. Dan is now able to create and upload his illustrations in very little time due to our automated integration of Php, SQL, and JQuery.

Working with clients is sometimes a delicate waltz in which designers have to chose their words, actions, and presentation very carefully. Establishing a permanent connection with your clients is like being in a relationship.

Here are several tactics that I tend to stick to when either approaching a new client and helping pre-existing clients solve new problems:

Avoid The Use Of Absolutes

This is one of the big ones. I try not to use terms like ‘always’, ‘never’, etc. These terms imply that you are rigid and inflexible. Absolutes are typically used as a ‘threat device’, warning someone that they are intruding or close to something sensitive. True, there are boundaries that are ‘never’ to be crossed, such would be the case if your client were trying to convince you to do something illegal.

We want our clients to work closely with us, not fear us or our opinions. Use ‘I can look into that’ instead of ‘no‘ or ‘I’ll see what I can’t dig up’ instead of ‘we have never offered that service.’ By deterring the use of absolutes, you are implying to your clients that you are willing to work with them, not against them.

Watch Your Tone

I know this one sounds basic. The implication of petulance or the slightest display of regret, hostility, or annoyance can send the most loyal of your clients packing. When dealing with a client, either in negotiations, daily interaction, or during a pitch, you want to maintain a calm throughout the situation.

If you have too emotional a response, a client could become leery. ‘My designer seems too excited about our new idea, is she going to try to steal it?’ or ‘Why don’t they seem to care about what I’m telling them?’ You want to be as indifferent as an assassin and as cool as iceberg.

Physical Mannerisms

Just like sitting at the dinner table with your parents, you need to mind your manners. Sit up straight, chest forward, and don’t put your feet up. Clients want their freelancers to be confident, knowledgeable, and trusting. You won’t get any of these things slumping in your chair, sitting with your shoulders forward, or putting your feet up on your client’s desk.

Much like your tone, your physical state needs to be calm, cool, and collected.

Your Appearance

It might not seem like it, but as a freelancer, you are your own best product. Clients don’t see your business when you’re sitting in front of them, they see you.

In order to instill confidence in the minds of your clients, take care of yourself! If you have crazy facial hair, trim it. Maybe you put your long hair in a pony tail or cut it a little shorter. A little over-weight? Go to the gym and start to get into shape. Need to update your wardrobe from your college clothes? Do it. These are all things that can help you appear more viable as an unbiased entity trying to help your clients solve a problem.

Conclusion

I hope all of these things can, in some shape way or form, get through to the majority of freelancers working in the market today. I know its hard to interact with clients after working alone in the studio all day, but clients are what makes our lifestyle possible. They need to be treated with the same respect and dignity as your fellow designers.