For many years I've encouraged design students and independent professionals to avoid using the "F word" ("Freelance" - it almost makes my skin crawl to use it...) when describing what they do for a living. One of my long-time Jeffisms is:
Freelance’ is a nasty little word. It seems to imply an individual doesn’t have a ‘real’ job, can’t get a job, isn’t truly professional in their field, and is willing to work for ‘free.’
Many designers, including a few at my recent AIGA Oklahoma talk, have shared that the public and business perception of their design efforts has improved as they stopped making use of the word in marketing and promoting creative services.
Yesterday, in adding my thoughts on the matter to a Put Things Off blog entry, I sparked a bit of a debate with my opinion. In response, Put Things Off author Nick Cernis has posted Shock! Horror! Are You Using The F Word Around Your Clients? - a look at possible negatives and positives of using the "F word."
© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
