David Hackett is the creative director of Nomadic Multimedia, a company which was set up in 2009 after moving to Singapore. Prior to this he worked as a self-employed graphic designer in Washington, DC, Buenos Aires, London and New York City.
Q: What is the best part about being a freelancer?
A: Freedom. I am mobile, and can work from anywhere in the world. There are so many ways to stay in touch – email, VoIP and Skype – that I never miss a beat. The salary cap is higher also.
Q: How do you find clients?
A: My most successful method has been word of mouth. A lot of people’s first reaction when I tell them what I do is “Oh! I have a friend who needs a logo, or my boss is looking for a new website.” Clients often pass my info along when people ask them who did their work. I have replied to ads for people looking for work on sites like Craigslist, but I have been extremely lucky with work finding me rather than me finding work.
Q: How did you make the switch from employee to freelancer?
A: I had a one year overlap where I was doing both, but when the opportunity came up to move overseas, I chose to quit my fulltime job and keep on freelancing. This was in 2004, and I am still going strong. I have no regrets.
Q: What does your typical day look like?
A: Typically, I check my email on my cell phone before getting out of bed – if there is something urgent to take care of, I go straight to work. If not, I have breakfast, walk my wife to the subway and come back to begin work. That is my morning commute! I prioritize my schedule according to when clients need work back. Living in Singapore, I am now on the other side of the world for the majority of my clients and am often up late to insure that all deadlines are met. I also make an effort to make myself available to talk on the phone. There are some advantages to this for my clients as they can give me work at COB and have it ready for them first thing in the morning.
Q: Do you have any time management tips for a busy freelancer?
A: Outlook is a life saver for me. I have all my emails categorized by clients. Never delete them – pulling up old emails is essential. Post-it notes are good also!
Q: Where do you go for design inspiration?
A: Design museums. Book stores. Surfing the internet.
Q: Do you participate in social media?
A: Not for work. I use Facebook socially, but that’s about it
Q: What hardware/software do you use for design?
A: I’m a rare designer that uses a PC. I have a Mac also, but spend the majority of my time on the PC. Everyone insists Macs are better, they aren’t. They are completely equal – OK fine, they look prettier. I primarily use the Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash and DreamWeaver. And, when I absolutely have to, I use QuarkXPress, which is by far the worst software I have ever used. Back to my Mac vs. PC rant – once working in any of the above applications, it makes no difference what operating system you are on. It’s simple, I chose to save $2,000 and buy a PC. It is easier for me to stay current with the latest software as I only need to purchase one license for myself. Companies tend to put it off as it is non-essential.
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