How to be a Freelance Designer and Artist - Ash Huang

Join the freelance community, newsletter, private Slack group, and also stay up-to-date on the release of FREELANCED, the documentary on freelancing I'm filming at freelance.tv
*Huge thanks to Sony for the support on the gear. Highly recommend the gear if you're looking to get started in film geni.us/sonystuff *
*Huge thanks to InVision App for the support documentary being filmed. A must have for sharing your design work geni.us/invision *
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Ash Huang is the Senior Experience Designer at Adobe as well as an Artist and Author.
ashsmash.com/
/ ashsmash
/ ashsmash
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Subscribe for more videos on Freelancing & Design.
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A documentary on freelancing called FREELANCED is currently being filmed. For more information check out freelance.tv.
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Questions:
[0:14] So tell me, what does freelancing mean to you?
[1:04] What was it like when you were getting started? What made you want to even try freelancing?
[1:43] But why freelance and not doing full-time work?
[2:13] What do you think it takes to become a freelancer? Not necessarily a successful one, but to just become one in general.
[2:57] Do you need to know business in order to become a freelancer?
4:09] Can you make a lot of money freelancing?
[4:47]. What do you think about pricing? How do you charge clients?
[6:49 What are your thoughts? Do you need to be a good sales person when freelancing?
[7:19] How do you promote yourself? How do you get all that work?
[8:27] How do you still connect with people, when you’re all alone (sometimes) as a freelancer?
[9:02] How much of an important role did San Francisco play in becoming a successful freelancer for you?
[9:27] What made you go back full-time this time?
[10:45] Anything you’d like to say to other freelancers out there or anyone thinking about making the jump?
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Thank you for watching this video I'm Dann Petty, a freelance designer in San Francisco, CA with past clients like Google, Medium, National Geographic, Airbnb, Nixon, and many more.
/ dannpetty
dribbble.com/da...
behance.net/dan...
/ dannpetty
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This video was shot by myself with the following gear:
(View all geni.us/selffil...)
MAIN CAMERAS
SONY A7SII geni.us/a7sii
SONY A7RII geni.us/a7rii FAVORITE (epic photos + video)
OTHER CAMERAS
SONY RX100 V geni.us/rx100v
GOPRO geni.us/smallca...
MAIN LENSES
24-70MM geni.us/2470mm
16-35MM geni.us/sony1635mm FAVORITE (always on)
OTHER LENSES
55MM geni.us/sony55mm
85MM geni.us/sony85mm
90MM geni.us/sony90mm
70-200MM geni.us/sony702...
AUDIO
ON CAMERA MIC geni.us/sonymic
LAVS geni.us/lavs
OVERHEAD SHOTGUN geni.us/shotgunmic
RECORDER geni.us/recorder
TRIPODS
MAIN geni.us/manfrot... FAVORITE (so easy to use)
HEAVY DUTY geni.us/sachtle... (worst purchase)
ACCESORIES
BATTERY GRIP geni.us/sonybat... FAVORITE (a must)
EXTERNAL MONITORS FAVORITE (best investment yet)
SMALL HD 502 geni.us/smallhd501
SMALL HD 702 geni.us/smallhd702
Edited in Adobe Premiere CC

[@alexhuxley4399]

Freelance is hard bloody work. Staying focused and disciplined sinks most people that I’ve known. I’ve been freelance for coming up on 20 years. You have to stay current and learn new things constantly. When the client says “can you do this sort of thing?” It’s good to ba able to say yes. The downside is sometimes you spend too much time working or just in front of the glowing rectangles. Need to learn to put the brushes down. Good luck to all! Oh yeah ... get a great accountant - it will cost you and literally save you.

[@happylife-tk5ed]

Kqndmmssmlqkqlaasl

[@Jez1963UK]

What a lovely face she has ! Loved watching just her face, and then I remembered to listen as well, and that was great too !

[@GarrettBroadnax]

This series is very insightful even years later. Thanks Dan.

[@naominene6554]

Thank you! Great video. She started freelancing around my age, I'm 22 just finished design school, hoping to be ready to enter the freelancing scene by end of this year. She is goals can't wait to have the sense of direction she has built for herself in her career.

[@landoncooper8184]

This video is incredibly honest. I love it. Well it's even safe to say this entire series, has a unique vulnerable take on the Freelance portion of the creative industry. Very helpful and insightful. Thanks Dann!

[@ludovitnastisin]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:02 🎨 Freelancing offers control over projects and schedule, allowing for exploration and choice. 02:19 ⚙️ Being organized and self-motivated are crucial for successful freelancing. 03:41 💰 Freelancing income can be substantial, but managing finances and taxes is essential. 05:16 💲 Pricing can vary based on project scope and personal valuation; self-confidence is key. 08:14 📢 Building a network and using word-of-mouth is effective in finding freelance opportunities. Made with HARPA AI

[@andybrown7579]

Dann, this is brilliant. Keeping it pretty short means the insightful stuff is pretty packed in, which is great. The balance of shots is great too. It just let's me hear Ash's story without overdoing the quirky creative shots which i think these shows can overdo. Really nicely paced. Thanks.

[@alyssaparmenter2038]

Dude this is awesome! Congrats on freelance.tv and doing all these interviews holy smokes!

[@explorewithdianachannel]

It requires a lot of discipline but if you really love it you can be successful. You need to live with it, have the passion to innovate all the time and learn new skills. The problem is that some people just want to go to work, do their job done and then do something else. It is easier if you just follow task and don`t need to always think what to create. If you have the right support of people around who understand you, then it is kind of a dream life.

[@mariahagstenmichelsen1225]

Great video and an awesome project. I'm just starting out as a freelancer and it's very inspiring to hearing about other people's experience in such a well-composed and clean video. Great work!

[@jaetok]

Did freelance for a year and a half. Very hard staying discipline and just not knowing where to start with getting myself out there and then when business did come I made an excuse. I was terrible.

[@HousePlant_Ambient]

Honestly very inspiring, motivating.

[@eliffiorodriguez3573]

Great video, great interview and GREAT project. Keep it up!!

[@gulamsulamanchoudhury1372]

Inspiring !! thanks dann for this series !!

[@mahmoudqamar]

Thank you for this episode !

[@manojkumar-zc1jm]

Hi Dann, It very inspirational, thank for this

[@oceansense]

tell me about it it’s so tricky.. but u are motivating and inspiring ♡

[@foundations]

Love it Dann.

[@lecreativecontent]

This is an amazing channel 🙂

[@design-nikita4986]

Thank you very much for such a nice content! Ukraine with you!)

[@chris21taylor]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@MrsJak-eb3yy]

Hi! I would really like to seek help from you as a freelancer.. I want to inquire in which field should I specialize as a graphic designer as per clients' demands?

[@gelatogirl24]

wow, look at that wacom tablet!

[@sriganesh_ninja]

Good Video ~ Thanks for some freelancing experience of yours. Smile when you charge for freelance works ! :)

[@TyrantTitan.]

wow, awesome