How do you stand out from the crowd?
© Birdsong by Nina Pace
How can you direct and shape your freelance business to help you stand out?
The key to standing out from the crowd is in investing your efforts into your personal intent.
Here are five top-tips to help you stand out from the crowd.
Take time to get to know yourself. When working one-to-one with artists, I am often asked to identify the strengths and weaknesses in an artist’s portfolio. For me, it’s not about strengths and weaknesses. It’s about identifying the aspects of the world which you respond to. What is important to you as an artist?
What do you see in the world which makes you feel passionate and inspired? How can you apply these aspects to your creative thinking, to the messages you communicate, and the art that you make.
Identify the things which you would feel lost without. What anchors you and makes you feel happy and aligned? Conversely, what are the things which niggle you or are definitely not on the to do list! It’s really helpful to identify what you are not interested in. It’s one less thing to think about in the huge amount of options which are out there.
What makes you tick? Be specific. Understand this and you will have an effective decision-making tool in both your visual expression and the direction of your business. There are always so many decisions to make along the way and it can be over-whelming.
Apply and refer to your personal intent consistently in everything that you do. The artwork you create. The visuals you use in your marketing. The content that you write. It will give your work depth and consistency in what you do.
Be consistent - Effort is a talent in itself.
We look for the same qualities in emerging and established artists.
Personally, I look for artwork with a defined personality. It’s important that I both respond to an artist’s work personally and see potential for the clients we work with. This helps me to do the very best job that I can for my artists. It also helps me to give specific support and art direction along the way.
We are working in both areas of Illustration and Art Licensing so our ideal is for an artist to be interested in working in both of these areas. In practical terms this means an artist’s work is really interesting for us if it has both an illustrative and a decorative quality. And a sparkling sense of colour! I love to work with artists who are pro-active and positive with a high level of attention to detail and an investment in quality.
I am inspired by colour and conversations. I would always recommend that an artist present both their story
and their art. I love it when an artist submit’s work with an individual point of view. It’s inspiring and is a wonderful starting point to explore new ideas and creative collaborations.
Jehane x