The Big Leap

August 17, 2020
Freelancing is well within reach for most creatives, as long as they’re willing to act like entrepreneurs, argues graphic designer Flor (The Golden Secrets of Lettering) in this disappointing guide. As she notes, there are many upsides to working for oneself—setting one’s own schedule, accepting only the work one wants to do, and getting out from under the thumb of unpleasant managers. But, Flor warns, successfully transitioning to the freelance life requires developing skills that may not come naturally to creative people, and which they may not have much training or previous experience with. Freelancers must project-manage their careers, acting as their own boss and managing their workload. Using a highly designed graphic presentation that alternates between blue and pink text and plentiful illustrations, Flor covers freelancing basics, including generating income, finding clients, doing admin, pricing work, and getting paid, as well as softer skills, such as learning to say no to work. Unfortunately, the advice offered tends to be unhelpfully general and sometimes wishy-washy (she discusses, for instance, either jumping into or gradually easing into freelancing as the two main options for readers, anticlimactically concluding that “neither approach guarantees success or predicts failure for your business”). The book suffers from too much attention on presentation and too little on substantive guidance.

September 1, 2020
Renowned graphic designer Flor owns her own studio and has received international acclaim for her lettering and custom typography work. But her career had a less-than-auspicious start: a prestigious design firm declined to hire her as a permanent employee after finishing an internship there. Less than two weeks later, she struck out on her own. There's a steep learning curve to starting your own business, and Flor works hard to demystify the process here. She covers most of the basics: for example, she provides a section on how to figure out if it's possible to quit the day job or to start a studio or to start one during off-hours. She also provides information directed to her niche target audience?younger artists with an entrepreneurial bent?like design-specific methods to earn passive income and frank details on how to price your work over the life of your career. Flor's book is simple and contemplative, never patronizing. It's also beautiful in both layout and illustration?a thoughtful touch from a talented designer and role model.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)