Alessandra Oliveira – Graphic and Web Designer

Our head of the week, Alessandra Oliveira, is a freelancer with a load of experience under her belt. She has worked as a graphic designer and art director for over 15 years and in freelancing, she especially enjoys being able to have a direct contact with her clients. She also believes that a good briefing at the beginning is the alpha and the omega of a successful cooperation between a client and a freelancer. Curtains up for Alessandra Oliveira from Brasil…

1) First off, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a multidisciplinary graphic designer and art director with over 15 years of professional experience and a focus on brand identity and interaction design, advocate of user centered design approach and responsive web design.

I come from Rio de Janeiro, but I go anywhere. That´s one of the reasons why I am a freelancer.

2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you would type in the search bar?

Responsive Web Design; Branding; Increase Sales

3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?

I have started freelancing while I was still in college. I have worked as an employee too and it has it´s perks, but being in direct contact with clients is energizing and rewarding. It fuels creativity and a design process focused on results. Clients and business owners can provide great insights about their target audience´s needs. A smart client is aware of their public behavior and of problems and obstacles their users face and good design should propose solutions to those issues.

4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?

Design for web, print media and video.
Developing the visual identity of events, workshops and TV shows.
Logotypes and stationary.
Illustrations.
Interactive hot sites, responsive web pages, newsletters, banners, menus, icons, landing pages, user navigation flows and wireframes.

5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?

Yes, working as a freelancer allowed me to collaborate with developers, illustrators, animators and print producers. I can count on a network of trusted professionals I´ve worked with before when a job eventually demands those extra hours in a short time span or requires a specific expertise.

6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?

Most of my freelance projects come from word of mouth. I also have a portfolio website for displaying samples of my work. I tried cold calling once but found it particularly difficult to filter contacts from a random list in order to find leads for my freelance business.

7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with our IT-network?

I have just joined Freelancermap.com and had the impression that it´s truly making an effort to connect freelancers and clients. I have been long looking for a fair trade freelancer website. There are lots of businesses trying to find qualified professionals and also freelancers out there looking for a company to represent them. I would like to see more graphic and web design jobs posted here.

8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What makes you special?

I offer great value at a very small investment rate because I am interested in the mobility and freedom that telecommute allows. This presents an opportunity for clients to hire a professional with the background of having worked both for tech and media companies and as a freelance professional with many years of experience.

I strive to keep improving my skills and give my best at each job and I believe that working remotely will boost the creation of outstanding work. Things like a better life balance and an inspiring working environment reflect positively on graphic design work.

9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in the IT-market?

Zurb, Webdesigner Depot and Skillcrush. I read many blogs on web design and technology, but those three are the main ones that I follow.

10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?

It all starts with a good briefing.

To other freelance designers I would say, it pays off to be honest to clients when it comes to defending a layout solution or idea. It´s part of the designer´s job to point to the best solution and to be able to explain why a certain visual won´t work for their business or why you made those visual choices when questioned. Reviews are part of the work, but don´t expect the client to art direct you except you´re being hired by an art director for following a defined visual style. Discussions should aim at getting the best result possible.

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Where to find Alessandra Oliveira?