The holidays pose several challenges for graphic designers. You want to spend time with family and friends, but you also have to balance your work with the frivolity. Depending on your workload and your preferred activities, follow these tips to take advantage of the holiday season.
Some graphic designers receive fewer assignments during the holiday season. Their clients are organizing holiday parties and finishing up end-of-year reports. To fill your workdays, concentrate on administrative tasks. Organize your invoices, retool your contract, and file essential paperwork. An organized freelance graphic designer can respond to clients faster, submit invoices more accurately, and keep track of expenses easier. If you create an organizational system over the holiday season, you can continue to follow it long after the New Year.
If you want to make some extra cash during the holiday season, put your graphic design skills to work. Create printables that you can sell over and over again on stock sites or from your own websites. Printable greeting cards, calendars, gift tags, and even coloring book pages often perform well at this time of year.
Printable designs offer two advantages: you get full creative control and you can earn residual income for years. One afternoon of work could continue to pay you 10 years from now.
You can put your designs on a number of holiday gifts, from T-shirts and coffee mugs to mouse pads and smartphone covers. Get creative. You can make holiday designs as well as more generic designs so your gifts will appeal to as many people as possible.
Not only can you sell your designs on holiday gifts, but you can also use them for presents in your personal life. Your parents, kids, spouse, and other loved ones will appreciate a gift that showcases your special skill.
If you don’t have any paying gigs over the holidays, become your own client. Create mock-ups or other designs that you can showcase in your portfolio. While you won’t receive payment for your efforts, you can use those designs to score work in the future.
If there’s one thing the holidays do well, it’s social engagements. From friends and family to colleagues and clients, you might start receiving invitations to social gatherings. Accept those invitations, tuck a stack of business cards into your pocket, and use the opportunity to network.
Don’t force business into every conversation. If someone asks what you do for a living, simply mention that you do graphic design work and casually slip a card into his or her hand. Make it an informal exchange of information instead of an aggressive pitch.
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