First she displayed the ups and downs of working in the creative industries with her own story. There were a lot of downs that out ways the good. However by the sounds of things she is well off at the moment and has a relatively happy life.
Client comes to you and ask you make a couple of ideas. "Couple of ideas" is degrading to your own creativeness because to them is nothing and they may have asked more than 10 designers that you don't know about. This means they are demeaning all of these peoples creativeness.
After education. Who benefits from internships...the company. "It's like slave trade but in front of computers". A lot of companies need people with 2 years experience so you do 2 years of unpaid work. She believes that free internships are mentally damaging because you are being told subliminally that your work isn't good enough to be paid for. It's also sleezy because of the amount of money they make and you get none of it. You are entitle to minimum wage with set hours and tasks so it's illegal.
After every education year there is a new wave of students asking for free internships.
If students refuse to do free work then companies will change because they need young new ideas from students. Good ideas are proven to come from stress free lives so pay is necessary so that they don't have to be concerned about bills and loans. Studios will nurture these talents and won't want them to leave. Instead of working for someone else for free, work for yourself.... This is what she believes.
You need to be good at getting clients and making a name for yourself. People from college and university will be future networks because you know where their talents are.
How to get work
Started on tumblr and was really honest. Any studio that promotes that there are lots of good things that are going on is usually lying. She got a reputation for being honest and humble. A lot of clients come to them from word of mouth. They went to events where they knew their customers would be. To try and get contracts she first sent clients items that they had made previously and became buddy buddy with specific people who are influential in the client company. She wouldn't talk about work or jobs for 6 months so that they trusted each other.
Charging
At the start they were guessing. Time sheets will keep track of your hours. 60% of the time is actual work. The rest is talking to other clients, spread sheets, etc. She charged £35ph at the start, a mentor that was asked for help said £90ph average when he does a job, but she only charges this for massive international companies. You need to really know what you need to support yourself and charge appropriate. Ask client what there budget is; this will determine whether they have enough to work with you however this is flexible depending on who the client is.
I find her work and the way she works very confident and educated. The advertising and magazines shown above are very bright and vibrant which draws the viewer in. I find that the work from Well Made is treated more as a piece of art than just a product. Lines and colours seem to be used heavily which would attract a range of audiences.
Gemma@wellmadestudio.com
