What is your major (if in college), college/university/school, city/state/country/etc, and what do you do in your freelancing?
We are Graphic Design Media students who both focus on illustration and we study at the Colchester school of art, design and media in the sunny county of Essex in the U.K.
As well as studying we run a freelance design collective designing promo material for small businesses, charities, bands and club nights.
How long have you been freelancing and what made you start freelancing as a student?
We have been freelancing for about a year and a half now, we got our first job as a collective via our university working for the NHS on a drugs and alcohol awareness poster, after that we soon realized that working for clients was the best way for us to build up our portfolios so we started taking up as many jobs as possible for little or no money.
What are some of the best parts about being a student freelancer?
Again building up your portfolio and your C.V, our C.V’s are twice the size of most designers our age and we haven’t even left university yet. In the current financial climate leaving and looking for work is pretty scary but freelancing allows you to hone in your skills both as a designer and as a person uni and it gives future employers some proof of ‘real’ work rather then just uni briefs and grades. Also that little bit of extra cash never hurts.
What are some of the challenges you have found being a student freelancer?
Clients that don’t pay on time or try and pass off you contracts cause your a student is the most annoying, also people asking you to free pitch is never very cool.
Where do you hope your freelancing career will take you in the future?
We are currently looking at studio space and in to buying print machines like a letter press, screen beds and a gocco. We honestly hope to just make an honest living and create some work we can be proud of.
Where can our readers see your work and read more about you?
http://hiddendingbat.blogspot.com/
The Hidden Dingbat Collective can be contacted at hidden.dingbat@live.com.
Want to be featured? If you want all the fame, please feel free to email us with the subject “I want to be interviewed!” We plan to feature one student freelancer a week.