Penguins and PowerPoint

Last week I met a penguin.

This week my freelance business turns 9.

I’m not sure which feels more surreal.

I feel very lucky to be able to say it’s been a good year, especially knowing that’s not the case for so many businesses right now. Whenever the anniversary of that first tentative step into the unknown comes around, it does make me pause and reflect.

One of the best parts of the last year has been trialling a five-days-in-four working week. For the most part it’s worked really well. I managed to take quite a few Fridays off and do fun things. I tried a silversmithing workshop, a fused glass workshop (let’s not speak of that) and last week a penguin encounter. Hence the photo.

Being more intentional about taking time off has actually made me more focused on work days. And trying new things has brought a bit of creative inspiration away from the screen. My best ideas definitely don’t come from sitting at a desk. They usually appear on a walk around my local park, or while I’m ticking things off my never-ending DIY list.

My creative brain never really shuts off, but I am getting better at finding some balance.

Over the last year I’ve worked with 25 clients, and I’m hoping to squeeze in number 26 before the end of the month.

Looking at the numbers, the work mix isn’t quite what I expected when I first took the leap into freelancing.

28% infographics and graphics

21% marketing materials

19% artworking

19% presentations

7% branding

If you had told me I would spend almost half my time on artwork and presentations I probably would have said, I think I’ll stay at this nice branding agency with my regular salary, thank you very much.

But those numbers don’t tell the real story.

PowerPoint might not be my favourite design tool, but it is just that – a tool. I can still bring all of my design expertise, typographic obsession, colour theory, storytelling skills and brand thinking to the party.

Tidying up presentations or rescuing a last-minute deck has opened quite a few doors this year. Once clients see the difference good design makes to their slides, they often come back with other projects.

So as I head towards my first decade running my own business, I’m planning on taking more Fridays off, having more mini adventures and continuing to find inspiration away from the screen.

And if you ever need a presentation brought back to life, an infographic that actually explains something clearly, or a safe pair of hands for your marketing materials, you know where to find me.

Nine years in, and still happily getting the work done – design without the drama.

P.S. The penguins in the photo are African penguins. Fun fact: the black dots you can see on their chests are as unique as our fingerprints and that’s how you can tell them apart. The coloured bands on their wings also helped! However, my favourite were the flamingos though. Those guys bring the drama!