As some of you know by now I am working on starting my own branding firm in the near future. I started a design company once before but things don’t always go so well when there are partners involved. So without getting into details, things just didn’t work out so I sold my share of [...]
Open Source Designer
Posted By Arron on October 24th, 2008
I wanted to write a little something for aspiring designers out there. I know how difficult it can be starting out as an independent designer and I want to share a few resources to help you along the way. This will be aimed primarily at graphic design (print) and not so much for web designers, but hopefully you will find something here that helps.
Software
A serious FREE alternative to Adobe Illustrator. I have played around with this program a bit and it does pretty much everything you need from a vector app. I do prefer Illustrator because that is what I am familiar with, but this is a very close facsimile.
An open source option for page layout. Similar to Adobe InDesign, this app lets you manage multi-page documents and has PDF support. I have not used this program yet, I will be trying it out tomorrow so I can give you more details.
The open source Photoshop clone. Like Inkscape, I have used this a little and I have to tell you that it does virtually everything you will need in Photoshop.
This office suite rocks! I have used this in place of MS Office and you can hardly tell a difference. This will include Writer (Word), Calc (Excel) and Impress (Powerpoint) among others.
A great email app nearly equivalent to MS Outlook from the makers of our beloved Firefox.
Workspace
I wont presume to tell you how to set up your work area. As humans, we all have our own style. As designers, we have our own style + hardcore OCD. You should have the basics covered though: decent computer, good mouse and keyboard and as high resolution monitor you can afford. Ideally you you might have a Wacom tablet (I’m still waiting John). You really should have some sort of backup system in place too. Bottom line though is set your area up how you like it. After all you are gonna spend a lot of time here.
Networking
As an independent designer you are going to need all the networking you can get. Try to join the local chamber of commerce and go to the events sponsored by them (many are free). You are also going to want to build your online rep. Use these to do that:
An amazing networking tool. Since joining last month I have over 100 people actively reading my blog. That’s pretty good. Once you get your account (it’s free) follow me at http://www.twitter.com/arronlock
This is a great place to show people what you do and join many awesome design based groups. Add me!
Another good place to generate buzz about what you are doing. Be my friend!
You really need to have a spot of the internetz to call your own. You can get web hosting for $5.99/month from my buddies company (shameless plug) but if you absolutly can’t afford it there are other options. You can use a hosted WordPress or Blogger account for instance. I use WordPress hosted on my own domain.
As always, surely there is more to add. I know there is and don’t call me Shirley. Anyone who has a suggestion to get these aspiring designers started, please put it in the comments.
Tags: design, independent designer
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Comments 2
November 16th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Well, I’d highly recommend all of the above, and a few others:
Pidgin or Adium for your MSN and every other chat protocol
Linux! try Ubuntu or Kubuntu, and you don’t even have to get rid of the operating system you’re using.
And chances are it will come with half of these pre-installed anyway!
Give it a shot, even if you still buy commercial software like me, it’s always nice to have extra tools in your toolbox - use them each according to their individual strengths!