John White , Liverpool, United Kingdom

I have always had an interest in art and design and after studying it at college and university I decided that I really wanted to get into the design world and make it my job. After a lot of hard work and persistence I managed to get my first job as a “graphic designer” in a design studio of a packaging/printing company. I loved it straight away and very quickly got up to speed on the software and printing processes, as well as developing my creative skills as a designer. I worked in the studio for 3 years with a variety of clients and then the opportunity came up for me to be able to freelance for myself. I decided to give it a go as I really wanted to explore what else was out there, as most of my experience so far had been print and packaging.

I set my self up and started looking for work. At the time I was heavily involved in a local lifeboat charity producing their fundraising materials, and at the same time making a lot of good contacts. The work that I had done quickly lead onto other jobs with new clients and slowly I built up my portfolio and client base and got involved in a wider variety of projects.

As I started to get busier I was lucky enough to be “discovered” by a Fortune 500 enterprise client. The first job quickly led onto more, and from here my work changed direction and I started getting involved with different kinds of projects including corporate internal documents for HCP and POS material.

10+ years on I am still really enjoying what I do! I love the variety of the work and the challenges it pulls up. I still work with all different kinds of clients (some are still my “first” freelance clients!”) and I have been lucky enough to meet and work with some amazing people along the way that had helped shape my career as a freelance Graphic Designer and Art-worker.