Well hello,
I realized the other day that I haven't posted here for about a month, I want to apologize to my dedicated fans (Mother) and give an insightful reason why that's been the case.
Well this past month has been crazy busy, I've been making out card orders and invoices, 4 artwork commissions and a host of other small bits and bobs that made me lose track of this beloved blog.
Then it occurred to me.
It's April. Of course. It's so bloody obvious!
I'll elaborate, (slightly nodding to a previous blog post about trends) I've noticed after the last few years of doing freelance (coupled with working in an art gallery/retail environment) That times of the year peak. It seems obvious now you think of it, different parts of the year are obviously more popular than some parts, with some being in particular very slow and inactive. I have made this rather amazing crude line chart based on my experiences, to give a better visual example to what I mean:
You can see that the most popular time of year is April and November - December.
April - beginning of the new tax year, people will be tight leading up to this but soon as you pass go again, it all kicks off.
November - December: Leading up to Christmas, hugely popular and busy.
Least popular months are January and July.
January - Everyone will be a bit sore after Xmas and the New Year, so wouldn't necessarily indulge in art and design bits and bobs.
July - This is a bit of a vague one as June and August can apply too - it's holiday season. The majority of people would rather spend their hard earned cash on a break away and with a few cheeky cocktails in the sun.
Like I said it's seems completely obvious when you notice it, and explains why freelancing in a creative career can not only feel massively inconsistent but can also feel like your career is a living manic depression.
Point is - for anyone who'd like to take my advice that is - don't get discouraged. It's bloody hard, but helping notice the trend in your field (I do feel that chart above can apply to a lot of different areas) can help you address where you need to improve. For me, I needed something that sold consistently which is how the greeting cards came about - because everyone has a birthday! This has proved to be a successful venture as I've sold 480 cards in the past 12 months (more than a card a day!) I'm sure you can find your 'greeting card'..
Anyway, enough of me trying to solve life's problems. I'm going to do a follow up blog post later in the week so you can get your fill of stimulant for your visual palette.
Apologies for a more wordier blog entry than usual - it feels good have to a small break from making/thinking about visuals to be honest. But nonetheless reminds me of what my old tutor used to say me at art school, in his thick Belfast accent:
"We're visual animals Jamie! We need to be taught how to read but not how to look"
Until next time. Toodle do.
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