Lauren Moriarty vs Rick Nichols
Although Lauren and Rick work in different areas of design, their aims are quite similar; To make a living through art and design.
Both Lauren and Rick work as individuals. From hearing both of them speak it sounds like Lauren is far more at home working on collaborations as she said she loves hearing other peoples ideas and points of view and it is always enjoyable working with new people. However, she went into quite some detail about doing a job in which there are a large group of people who all have a say in each stage of the design process. She explained that this can sometimes mean that the final outcome is nothing like what you would have done yourself and it can be quite frustrating. A particular project she did for Camden council started out with her having brilliant ideas but then after everyone in the council had picked her design apart and made it into exactly what they wanted there was nothing left but the very simplest form of her initial idea. Rick also spoke about working in groups and working with a group of clients on one project. He, like Lauren explained how your design can start as something you are very happy with but throughout the creative process and taking into account what the clients want and don't want, all the good things seem to vanish and at the end you are left with a very simplified, dumbed down version of what you initially had in your head. Rick is currently working on a collaboration with some other designers which he seems happy about but from the way he spoke it seems that he is happy when he is left to do his own thing. Lauren enjoys working alone but I feel she would be happy in a collaboration because she seems to like working with others as long as the group size isn't too large.
Both practitioners, unless working with others on a project, do everything by themselves. Lauren explained how she liked being able to do things herself as it is quicker, cheaper (eventually) and because you get the chance to play and experiment. She likes to own all the machinery she will need so that when she needs to use something, like a photocopier or vinyl cutter for example, she can do tryouts and experiment without being charged extra for it. Also, by having the equipment at home it means you don't have to put the effort in travelling to use somebody else's machine. Rick doesn't use as much equipment in his work but says it always helps to have friends with equipment just incase you need to use it.
Both designers are very self motivated, both work for themselves and do what they want to do and both take great pride in their work. From their talks it is obvious that they are both very professional in their approach towards work. They both self promote, although Lauren went into more detail on this subject talking about how keeping your clients happy is the most important thing. She told us how it is vital to always be organised and have clear pictures of everything you do so that if somebody shows an interest and asks for a sample of your work you can get it to them in a matter of minutes. Lauren told us to always keep our website up to date and always make sure to be polite and friendly to our clients. Rick, I feel does not promote himself as best he could. Purely from searching for him and his website on the internet and finding nothing at all shows that he could be doing more to put himself and his work out there. Lauren however, has a range of images and information that come up when you type her name into Google. Lauren has many contacts with shops and companies that sell her art and products which points me to the conclusion that she has put more effort into promoting her work and getting her work sold. Rick on the other hand doesn't seem to have these kind of contacts and sells his design work personally. This though, may just be due to the fact that both people are from different pathways and Lauren's work and products are easier to sell in shops.
Both practitioners spoke to us about how difficult it can be to get started and get noticed in the industry. Rick, as far as I could gather, seems to rely on contacts he knows to get work and doesn't seem to do many things that would get his work noticed. Lauren on the other hand does a lot of work to promote herself such as going to shows like new blood etc., doing interviews whenever she can, keeping in contact with magazines that print articles about her and by contacting shops to get her work seen by a wider range of people. In the design world now there are a lot of artists, illustrators etc. all trying to get noticed and it is generally the people who put the most effort into promotion that do the best. Lauren, although not the most amazing designer I have ever seen, seems to have got herself completely organised and seems prepared for anything that comes her way. She spends her spare time doing the work she likes and also trying to sell her work in different ways such as contacting new shops and also by setting up websites to sell her work from home. Rick did not speak about how he sells his work/ gets his clients but I do not doubt that he has his ways. Overall I feel that if I had to follow in the footsteps of one of these designers it would be Lauren Moriarty. This is because she does something that she loves, she is organised, motivated, has the right attitude, knows exactly how to promote herself and how to treat clients and customers, and also she seems like the kind of designer that will do very well doing what she does. Rick, who I feel is the better artist and possibly the better creative brain out of the two, does not seem to try as hard which seems like it would be a problem as a freelance designer without an agent. If you are going to do everything for yourself you must get out there and do it because nobody else is going to do it for you. I like Ricks work and I do feel like he is intelligent and knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to design but as a freelance you have to do more than be good at art, you have to be the whole company, designer, advertiser, promoter etc.
Both practitioners are extremely talented at what they do and have taught me that I must be organised and most importantly, motivated if I want to get somewhere with my design work. I know I need to do something I enjoy in order for me to do the best job I can and I am prepared for clients to not always think my work is perfect and I need to be more open minded and able to accept changes that clients put forward. If you think about working for a client you are never working alone, and this may be something I need to get used to.
I'd like to thank both practitioners for giving up some of their time to talk to us.
