graphic design, freelancing, illustration, advertising, web design

A guest post by Milosh Zorica

A major concern for most freelancers is establishing a place to work from. While working from your bedroom has its advantages, plenty of people, including myself, feel their productivity is lower at home. Simply put, home is not meant to be a place of work.

I’ve worked in a lot of different environments. From cafes (unfortunately, the UK hasn’t got as many places with free Wi-Fi as the USA does) to client’s premises, to shared offices. All of them, Different places with one thing in common – lack of community feeling and non-existent support for start-ups, freelancers and thriving entrepreneurs.

Imagine a place with great networking opportunities, where people with a creative approach to their work (though not necessarily involved the creative industry) congregate – a place that serves as a kind of business incubator. I’ve been imagining, in fact, dreaming about such a space.

Recently I came across The Creation Factory. A nice shared office in a very cool area (an abandoned brewery, just on Brick Lane, a short way from Liverpool Street and Shoreditch). The Old Truman Brewery itself is a great place, and home to many creative businesses. There are plenty of things to do after hours or when simply popping out for a boost of inspirational energy. The area has got various venues (shops, pubs, restaurants, clubs, galleries, records store, etc.) most people would love to have on their doorstep – definitely an interesting eco-system for unleashing creativity.

The biggest advantage of TCF is its added value – people! You have an opportunity to meet people doing wide variety of work, who share common values and hold a creative approach to their work. TCF is a sort of business incubator aimed at helping freelancers and start-ups grow in their own individual manner. People meet, share ideas, discuss and some even cooperate. On the first and third Thursday every month, ‘Show & Tell’ takes place at TCF; A session that runs for a few hours, where individuals can talk about themselves and what they do for 10 minutes each. Each participant shares their thoughts with others and receives valuable feedback. It also serves as a place to establish excellent connections and hopefully turn some great ideas into a reality. S&T is open to everyone, not only TCF members. Actually, some of us became members by visiting S&T first and then falling in love with the idea behind TCF.

TCF is really diverse. By being international (French, Serbian, German, British, etc.) and having its members do the various work (designer, 3D/stereography guy, writer, web hosting guru, value management expert, photographer etc.). Members are either permanent desk holders or ‘Gym Members’ (infrequent hot deskers). All have 24/7 access, with certain limitations subject to the type membership they hold.

This is one of the rare businesses where profit is not the main drive, but helping its customers earn more is, which subsequently is more beneficial to the company as a whole. They are quite picky about who they take on board. If your business seems to be unethical or they don’t like your attitude, you’ll be turned away. But, most likely you’ll enjoy the place and your work there.

Doug Mather, an experienced entrepreneur and a business coach, is more than willing to share his experience and knowledge and give you some great advices as to what might help your business grow.

The other chap behind TCF is Rob Chant. A physicist, designer, web developer, free thinker and a great source of ideas and inspiration. He shows up once in a while, so don’t miss the opportunity to catch him!

TCF is supposed to be an eco-system where members interact, communicate and cooperate, helping each other grow.

A great concept worth checking out! At least on S&T sessions, which are absolutely free and open to everyone.

http://www.thecreationfactory.co.uk

This post is from Graphic Design Blog

I was contacted by a company the other day who were looking for a web designer, they were keen to hear from any one interested in a full time web design/developer position (the job is posted on the free graphic design blog jobs board), but especially from female web designers to balance out their development team. They expressed that there seemed to be a lack of women web designers. I must admit it is something I have never really thought about.

So is it true are more web designers/developers male and why is this? Is it because many women are put off by the coding aspect of web design and prefer the more creative freedom of print? My partner works in construction which is a male dominated area, but he has said that in the last few years women are coming in to the industry more on the management side. When he started in his old job there were no female quantity surveyors, when he left there were several including his boss. This was due to promotion of the industry to women. Maybe web development needs the same push?

What are you thoughts, is the area of web development male dominated?

This post is from Graphic Design Blog

I have just added a simple job board to graphic design blog.

If any one has a graphic design or creative job they would like to advertise for free, post it on the jobs board.