Enterprise Task 3 - How will I promote myself?

The first point of call in terms of marketing and self promotion will be a self identity as this is what will give any potential clients or collaborators an idea of me and my aesthetic style. I believe that a really strong personal identity is invaluable, as it's usually the first thing that anyone will see of yours and will use to make a judgement about whether or not they want to work with you. This will focus, I think, upon the business card. Just as I mentioned before it's the first thing that anyone will see of your work and can have a huge impact on how they see you. They are also really useful, being able to carry them with you where ever allows you to take advantage of any opportunity that may arise, and leave people with something that they'll hopefully remember you by.

This means that in attending any exhibitions, trade fairs, print fairs, or festivals which I also intend to do as part of my personal promotion. I will be able to take advantage of any situations that come up by giving out business cards.

The next part to my self promotion would revolve around building and constantly keeping up an online presence. Firstly, an online portfolio which would be given as a point of contact on my business cards so that anyone who receives one would have access to more of my work. Online is such a predominant vehicle for promotion due to the speed and ease at which it can be accessed. The fact that it is an intrinsic part of most peoples lives, and is used throughout industry only improves the chance of it having an impact. Especially in the areas in which I'm interested in working, design for music, culture and the arts etc. The other elements to this online presence would include the upkeep of blogs, outlining where my interests lie in the design world and also social media such as twitter, which allows you to follow studios to keep up to date with what they're up to. Most studios now have twitter accounts as it also helps with the contact of clients.

I think building relationships with clients will also be an important part of my practice, as promotion through word of mouth and testimonials that can be put onto my website will be massively influential in terms of whether a client chooses to work with you or another designer. These give people a sense of trust and help them gauge whether you'll be a worthwhile investment.