Experienced freelancer Nick Pattison shares insights on positioning, sales, and creative direction. He discusses automations for focusing on sales, lessons from running $15k brand sprints, growing creative muscles, presenting work to clients, and more. Learn why he stopped writing proposals and delve into his freelance playbook.
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Quick takeaways
Optimizing brand positioning through $15k/week brand sprints and tailored presentation strategies.
Efficiency through automation and streamlined processes, freeing up time for creative growth and client relationships.
Deep dives
Investing in Logo Animation for Premium Branding
Logo animation is highlighted as a key component to elevate the perception of a brand's quality and premium feel when launching a new project. The speaker shares their experience of investing in logo animations for websites like Dive, Figma Academy, and Maven to enhance branding. Previously, using After Effects for animations required hiring, whereas now tools like Jitter simplify the animation creation process. Jitter's capabilities include easy animation creation, importing from Figma, a user-friendly editor, and the ability to export various animations, videos, and gifs for websites.
The One Week Brand Sprint Approach for Positioning as an Independent Designer
The episode delves into Nick Paterson's one week brand sprint model, emphasizing the significance of positioning oneself as an independent designer. Nick narrates his experience with a significant branding and web project that fell through after a long sales cycle, leading him to reevaluate his approach. Inspired by streamlined experiences like Sweet Green's branding, he shifted to a pre-packaged model for branding services, focusing on specific industries like health and wellness to establish a niche.
Streamlining Brand Sprint Process for Efficient Deliverables
Nick details the structured workflow of his brand sprint process, emphasizing efficiency and client collaboration. The process begins with a detailed questionnaire sent to clients, followed by team inspiration sessions and design ideation. The sprint unfolds over five days of dedicated work on two brand design directions, culminating in refined mock-ups and a comprehensive brand book deliverable. Nick's emphasis on clear client communication and streamlined production timelines enhances the speed and quality of deliverables.
Automating Administrative Processes for Operational Excellence
Nick discusses the evolution of his operational efficiency, integrating automation and hiring an executive assistant to streamline administrative tasks. Automation of scheduling, client communications, and invoicing has optimized workflow predictability and client interactions. By delegating administrative duties and focusing on sales and creative direction, Nick enhances his effectiveness in project delivery. The strategic use of automation and tailored support structures allows for increased focus on creative excellence and client relationships.
Ready for a masterclass in positioning? Nick Pattison has been working for himself for well over 10 years... but recently he's laser-focused on running 1-week brand sprints (and it's working). So this episode is a deep dive into his new freelance playbook:
- The automations that allow him to focus on sales and creative direction
- Lessons learned from running 25+ brand sprints at $15k each
- How Nick focuses on growing his creative muscles