Jose Hernandez / 04431821
MFa Thesis Project Academy of Art University / Graduate School of Graphic Design + Digital Media SprinG 2022
Jose Hernandez / 04431821
MFa Thesis Project Academy of Art University / Graduate School of Graphic Design + Digital Media Spring 2022
© 2022 Jose Luis Hernandez. The author retains the sole copy right to his contributions of text, photos, and design.
The most challenging and rewarding design project of my career so far has been my thesis project. i am very grateful to those who have supported me throughout my studies. My twin brother and my son have been there for me the entire way. Both have seen my struggles and rejoiced with me in success. They are my guys.
Another person i would like to give thanks to is William Culpepper, who inspired most of my copywritten material. His suggestions helped me to generate clever names, which added originality to my project.
Also, a special thanks to Jeremy Stout who was there for just about every step of this project. He kept me on track since the very beginning. i’m very thankful and appreciative for all his guidance throughout my journey. Thank you so very much.
Design network is a creative network of designers where they share tools, business skills and best practices. Design network’s goal is to provide a community for the thousands of freelance graphic designers, globally.
There’s 135,000 freelance graphic designers in the united States as of 2022.
There are at-least 135 thousand freelance graphic designers in the U.S. as of 2022. Freelance designers often work alone which they do not get regular interaction with other designers. Through graphic design, freelance graphic designers will learn from one another, network, create community, and gain valuable knowledge about the business of design.
174,500 Graphic Designers (2022) 135,000 Freelance Graphic Designers (2022)
do not make it about yourself, your product or service. Make it about your client. give them the capacity to open up and feel understood by you. be the person they can trust.”
“ — Chris do, Freelance Designer, Los Angeles, CA
in the research phase, i noted thought leaders in this profession to see what they were doing to advance freelance graphic design for possible insights and potential opportunity gaps upon what is already existing in the real world. After doing some research and analysis i documented my findings. Further more i interviewed a handful of freelance designers to gain further insight of their profession. With these research methods, it helped gain much insight which allowed me to structure the path my pro ject went.
My first insight was where my first deliverable was derived. Freelance graphic design is very popular among graphic designers. it provides them with a good source of income and they can just work from their home office. Yet, it’s an isolating profession and mostly communication with other designers is non-existent. inSiGHT 1
freelancer designers need a social network to have more communications with graphic designers alike.
After interviewing with freelance graphic designers we had a nice lengthy conversation about how we each price our work. Everyone had different criteria depending on the individual. They all mentioned something about experience and also the amount of work needed as consideration to bill your client.
inSiGHT 2
beginning freelance graphic designers don’t know how to price their work properly. They could use a device to gage their prices.
After reading articles of the pros and cons of freelancing i have found that many beginning freelancers do not understand how to start, let alone, how to maintain a business.
inSiGHT 3
deficient business knowledge hinders the success of freelance graphic designers in their own business practice.— Ben Burns, Freelance Designer, Los Angeles,
CA
if you charge for your time, you have no motivation to finish on schedule. More hours equals more pay. This doesn’t set your relationship up for success.”
“
My audience are 22 to 42 year old beginning freelance designers who work from home. They have a passion for design and have invested inter est in their career.
After observing the broad audience spectrum from one end to the other, and careful deliberation, i set out to define my target audience. The audi ence member i chose is a beginning freelance designer who is motivated to invest into their career. This persona is goal oriented and tech savvy. i chose letters with nicknames to name the personas because typography and character are part of a graphic designer’s unique world.
My personas are designed as business cards because of the connection the professional world. The highlighted personas here are the Workaholic, and the Artist. Both represent a motivated and career minded individual.
The various personality traits of these personas reflect 22 to 42 year old, new freelance graphic designers with a range of profession experience levels, hobbies, and life experience. one thing they have in common is they have a strong passion for design and have invested interest in their career. They have a strong work ethic.
— Mike Kus, Freelance Designer, UK
i don’t feel that layout is much of an issue. it’s really the content of the website that’s up for grabs.”
“
After deciding my final direction, desired outcome and audience, the following steps were set, which were to outline insights, strategies and deliverables of my Thesis. The outline was devised as the foundation for my Thesis.
Topic: Freelance Graphic Design
Goal: A creative network of designers where they share tools, business skills and best practices.
Audience: My audience are 22 to 42 year old beginning freelance graphic designers who work from home. They have a passion for design and have invested interest in their career.
inSiGHT 02
A lack of business knowledge hinders the success of many freelance graphic designers in their own business.
STrATEGY 02 help freelancers by providing them the antiquate tools and resources essential for running their home business.
DELiVErABLE 02
The design network is a social network for freelance designers. it provides resources and tools for their home business.
• A Business Lecture Depository archive of freelance videos and articles.
• The Virtual Cafe: a social network for all freelance designers. it has an user profile, live-stream, & video meetings; ideal for feedback and critiques. it’s also a great place for networking.
• pricing Calculator that factors deliverable, estimated expenses, and experience level, processed and calculated through a digital algorithm.
• App walkthrough video
• A Business Lecture Depository archive of freelance videos and articles.
• The Virtual Cafe: a social network for all freelance designers. it has an user profile, live-stream, & video meetings; ideal for feedback and critiques. it’s also a great place for networking.
• A Work Environment page, where designers can post their work space, get feedback, and communicate with other designers about their office setup.
• pricing Calculator that factors deliverable, estimated expenses, and experience level, processed and calculated through a digital algorithm.
in this portion of the journey there was much to uncover of my ideas for digital products. Features and functions were derived from this process.
in addition, i also laid the structure for the Ui architecture. The first thing i addressed was an User Flow that just took the user through small com mands of the actual frame work of the digital products, Mobile App and Website prototypes.
For the user flow section, i structured the navigation for 3 main features for my Mobile App and Website; the Business Archive, The Virtual Cafe, and the Calculator. The 3 main features are the Business Archive, The Virtual Cafe, and the Calculator, which was copy written as the Gigulator.
The Business Archive Depository is a collection of videos and articles to help run a home business of graphic design. The Virtual Cafe is a social media platform where designers can post work and receive feedback. it has video features to connect designers face to face. And the Calculator gives beginning freelance graphic designers the tools to help price their work in an engaging way.
This mapping of user journey was very useful and it provided a unique per spective of my digital products. i illustrated scenarios a freelancer might find himself in when using the Mobile App. one important thing i kept in mind is how the digital product should be fun and easy to use. And above all else, it should be just as convenient.
User Pablo - The Workaholic 38, Single, Graphic Designer
sCenarIo
it’s the end of the week. pablo needs to create a logo for a new client but only has sketches. He needs to make a decision as to which ones are most engaging. pablo needs much needed feedback.
TIMe oF day early day
1. Walks to desk
Uploading is easy and I can do it from my desktop! The Virtual Cafe is full of great work from a variety of designers!
User
sCenarIo
After a very long weekend of design work, Javi gets up early Monday ready to take on his busy schedule as a freelancer. He is preparing to negotiate work and price with his client later on in the after noon.
TIMe oF day early day
For my App i continued applying my visual system and refining the interface. once finished i sent the jpegs to XD and put linked everything together. next, i forwarded the link to my audience and they returned some feedback to me. The link is meant for your mobile phone to give the User the proper UX.
For my Website i included the wireframes sketches and a screen shot of the Adobe XD wireframes. in addition i continued applying my visual sys tem and refining the interface. The next step was to create my clickable links for my prototypes.
Website Wireframe Sketches
prior to Thesis 3 my project had two names before deciding on Design network. The name i initially had in Gr 600 was Design House. The second name from my intial Thesis 1 was Freelance Grid. Due to some factors, and electing to retake Thesis 1, i started the whole process over again with another renaming exercise.
Design n etwork
Freelancer Guide
Side Gig Design Commerce Design Line Design p ursuit
Under the Table Freelance Job
Side Work Design Work D Biz Design Biz Freelance Grid Design House i ndependent Design Design Manager
The Freelancer Design p al
DesignDX (Direct) Design Assistant Freelance Grid
Freelancing Systems Viz Biz
DesignerConnect
FreelancingGo
DesignDX (Direct)
SoleDesign
GraphicBusiness Design i ndependent CommunityDesigner
CommunityConnect
Home Design Design Live Design Station Freelancing Live Design Assistant Lone Designer Designer to Designer Client/Designer Connect Designer n etwork Journey Man n omad
Home o ffice n etwork Desk Community Home Boss Home to Home Home Design Design Community Home Director Design to Business Freelance Network Network from Home Network Design Design Journey Design Independent Community Contract Contract Connect Temp Agent
The process to reveal keywords was very important to how i came about creating the visual design system. Each word provided inspiration which led to tons of visual exploration.
i chose the word inviting because i want my audience to feel safe and wel come to my platform. Connect was chosen because i needed a bridge for designers to cross over to the Design network. And Support because this is a community of a range of designers; some new and some experienced with much in the middle.
Going another step further, i archived much more visual inspiration and set up moodboards for each keyword. This helped me seek a style to develop the aesthetics of my visual system.
i had made over 60 sketches of logo ideas, however, some were not even included here. it was most exhausting, yet, rewarding effort. Most grati fying was the original sketch of the thumbnail i decided to move forward with was an initial sketch.
For direction purposes, i was very mindful to give the thumbnails a con nected and network feel when creating them. Below; the chosen thumbnail sketch which has a half-tone pattern inside.
This logo was created with the thought of a network which builds up the freelance graphic designer. it has a retro feel, yet integrated to a modern design. The condensed typeface adds another layer of connec tivity and structure for aesthetics.
Mark digital comps
— Jon Contino, Freelance Designer, new York, nY
i think that as a creative person, if there is a finish line, you’re done being a creative person.”
“
i included some older exploration of a different design system. This one was the Freelance Grid exploration portion on the top left page.
in this week’s exploration, i explored with dot patterns, connected dot graphic applications, and other patterns on photography. i went a few weeks doing this and it was an exhausting process. At the end, i found a system less busier then the first round of exploration.
in this part of exploration i had decided on a Sans Serif typeface. next, i asked myself which font family would i like to be the face of my thesis project? i approve the idea of a condensed font because it feels more con nected. The font i decided on was Trade Gothic. it’s an under used font, and it’s nice and modern. The feature i like most about this Trade Gothic is that it has high contrast
This is an initial dot/half-tone pattern that was made prior to exploring the logo. i wanted a Grey background with a half-tone build up onto the Black Bold Sans Serif typeface. This exploration inspired the look of the new identity to Design network.
Exploring iconography was actually pretty fun. i enjoyed trying new looks, weights, color, etc. My approach was consistency, even early on. These still needed tons of refining.
The idea behind these connected dots are to communicate a network of designers. The goal was to depict a business feel but with twist of random ness for individuals and design. i spent almost an entire semester trying to figure out how these dots were going to appear, much less function within my visual design system.
The photos in the applying the system section are a where this design began. i made my own early on. They started as half-tone graphics. Then i contacted a graphic designer on Fiver a few weeks in because they were becoming too time consuming to figure out on my own.
i had a few rounds refining my pictograms. The first set was just a modest approach. i had not figured out my visual design system at this point, so the initial ones lacked personality. You can see after application these had more of a uniform look.
Exploring color early on was a hit or miss process. i was not getting the focus needed for a cohesive visual system. orange was an integral part of my design system early on, but eventually phased out completely.
As far as photography, i went through a whole lot of different photos early on in the development phase. These photos were too generic and i wanted my project to be original. Mostly stock, i was merely using them as place holders until i could tap into a fresh set of photos. Snapping my very own photos crossed my mind, however, i do not have the resources nor the skill to pull off a professional photo shoot. At this point there was no question i was going to contract a professional.
For my project, i hired Ukrainian photographer/Model, Elijah o’Donnell from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, from pexels. (The picture to the right is Elijah, photographer and model for this project.)
The photographs were captured just weeks prior to the russian invasion. Currently he is in the “safe” zone of Western Ukraine. However, in a recent conversation i had with him, he was seeking shelter from air raid sirens.
The majority of the photos displayed in this process book were taken by Elijah. The location for some of the photos that were from his own collec tion were done in Chernivtsi, his home city, and at Ukrainian Fashion Week (Kiev). The photos that were contracted by me were taken in empty shops from Covid-19 lockdowns. And so private locations were also used.
i directed my photographer by sending him my visual system guidelines with logo and content so he can get a feel for my brand. i informed him the details, as well as showed him plenty of examples of lighting i was partial to. in addition, i gave him the artistic license to use the lights in the first set of photos. He has great vision and intuition as a young and aspiring photographer.
do
seek to
has come before. Seek to create that which has not.”
“
on this section i was able to do user testing for my App and Website from two participants. i have another one scheduled for early next week. For my visual design user tests i will be gathering feedback from my visual content early next week as well.
My user testing report will be a an interpreted analysis based on what my users uncover. For it i made a template for pertinent information for User personal info, completed tasks and feedback and i placed it at the end of the pDF presentation.
one thing i have not mentioned is how i directed my photographer. i sent him my visual system with logo and content so he can get a feel for my brand. i informed him who to photo and what, but he took it upon himself to set up the compositions according to my requests.
i gave him the artistic license to use the Green lights in the first set of photos. He has great vision and intuition as a photographer. i also showed him examples of photos i needed, example, i sent him a photo with the lighting i was wanting.
prior to user testing i had been using stock imagery, as well as orange within my existing system. The stock photos were from Unsplash.com. it’s a website with good quality images. i use this site sparingly.
post user testing i decided to hirer a photographer to snap images for pro ject. The first round of photos came out pretty cool. A little dark, but i will see how many of these photos i can actually use. i also limited the use of the color orange because i concluded that it works better within my visual design system.
This group of freelance graphic designers were very insightful. i was able to gather feedback from a wide variety of geographic designer. Some are South African, one from Belgium, and the other from netherlands, while two are from here, the United States. Each had their own unique, but logical assessments.
i owe tons of credit to my user testers. i feel they gave me great visual and Ui design feedback that my project has greatly benefited from. This was an added perk; to have more sets of graphic designer’s eyes to look at my whole body of work.
T ESTER: ADriAn dAT: 11/12/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: XD
P R of ESS ion: SEnior GrApHiC DESiGnEr
A GE : 28
Loc AT ion: SoUTH AFriCA
T ESTER: ToBiAS dATE: 11/24/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: XD
P R of ESS ion: Ui DESiGnEr
A GE : 35
Loc AT ion: nETHErLAnDS
T ESTER: MUnDiA dATE: 11/15/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: SoCiAL MEDiA
P R of ESS ion: GrApHiC DESiGnEr
A GE : 29
Loc AT ion: SoUTH AFriCA
T ESTER: WoUTEr dATE: 11/20/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: XD
P R of ESS ion: GrApHiC
DESiGnEr
A GE : 38
Loc AT ion: BELGiUM
T ESTER: MAnUEL dATE: 11/17/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: XD
P R of ESS ion: FrEELAnCE GrApHiC DESiGnEr
A GE : 42
Loc AT ion: UniTED STATES
T ESTER: nipon dATE: 11/20/2021
G E nd ER : MALE
M ET hod: XD
P R of ESS ion: GrApHiC
DESiGnEr
A GE : 38
Loc AT ion: UniTED STATES
i need to focus on a system that is going to make things easier to design. Hierarchy needs to be established, icons and color need consistency. And, Trade Gothic should be utilized to its fullest capacity, in all regard.
information tables, dashboards, media players, homepage, buttons, etc need to be more intuitive. research for some of this is further needed to move forward.
My logo may be problematic at different scales. The dots inside make the text hard to read, and a bit muddy. So i redesigned the entire thing.
i made the Letter-forms in White and developed a Mark to lock-up everything up.
Adding more screens and levels is something i would like to add, but only once everything is addressed, and this might not be until our winter break.
over all consistency, hierarchy, and structure is what i will focus on addressing over the next few weeks.
User testing came and went and i received much visual system feedback during these sessions. Their responses were honest and to the point. All my user testers have had training from different institutions. i was able to notice some difference in approach in regards to Western vs European design. Here in the U.S. we stick to a grid, and very rarely do ever design other wise. From testing with my Belgium tester, he was all about struc ture, but he said it’s oK to break it on occasion. He says elements become more welcoming when you do it right.
My other European designer that had a look at my Ui was also very knowl edgeable in his respected field of Ui. He went through every app screen and gave me concise feedback. He always refereed his comments back to intuity. When creating for digital products it’s very important to create intuitive components. Users already have a preconceived notion on how a website and App should function, so we as designers need to honour that every time.
i had a few user testers refer to how dark and “techy” my imagery and content was. Which is not to say i cannot have that in my system. Gamers are part of my audience, however, i have to find a balance.
Them, i edited the next round and created something lighte, less dark and techy. in addition, i also removed the graphics, but they may come back onto the website. At this point in my project i am far from done. My visual system is no where near i would like to at this point in the thesis project.
After user testing round 2, i needed to address the landing page. To make it more welcoming, i brought a hero image onto the screen.
other feedback comments were to make the “enter” button on the landing page, more prominent. i then set out to mat the “enter” button stand out so the user can enter the network easily.
For this last session of user testing i was looking forward to hearing how far my project has come and that the service itself would be utilized by freelance graphic designers to network, share tools and best practices. i was able to gather some affirmation with positive feedback to validate my hard work. it was a breath of fresh air to hear my project would appeal to my target audience and to see them have genuine excitement about it. Some of my testers were curious to know if i planned to move this project forward at some point.
QUoTE #3
QUoTE #4
QUoTE #5
QUoTE #6
“your project has a welcoming tone.”
“i actually like the halftone logo that is from the old world to the digital world. it’s inspired from vintage and made to modern.”
“This has great potential for the business market.”
“don’t let anyone steal your idea!”
— Craig Ward, Freelance Designer, new York, nY
you are not beholden to other people’s schedules, you bring your own quality control to projects and set your own taste level.”
“
The logo is broken up into two parts, the Word Mark and the Tag-line. Displayed here are the Vertical and Horizontal displays. Each can be placed on different formats, which makes the lock up a versatile suit.
This mark is used on occasions. it is typically used for identity on the top right corners with the proper clear space, 1X. And another location you will see this mark is on the loading screens for the Mobile App, favicons for the Website and Marketing Material.
For legibility purposes, the logo is to be always kept at a minimum clear space. The clear space helps to detach the mark from any competing visual elements such as graphics, or text that may obscure, or convolute or minimize the importance of the mark. The point is to ensure that a
logo maximizes visibility and impact. This is the minimum space, but should not be limited to. More space should be used if necessary. The minimum clear space is interpreted as the height of the lower-case b in business of freelance and is shown as 1X. This minimum space must be supported around the mark. The mark should not be used in-line with text or integrated with other logos.
The logo may be used on photography, but each option should proceed with caution to ensure the logo is legible and clear space is respected. in most cases, a one-color version of the logo works best on images. in occasion where there is insufficient contrast, a Black or White version should be used.
1. Do USE the logo on high quality photography with sufficient contrast in the background
2. Do USE the Black or White logo on inconsistent contrast on backgrounds 3. Do noT reproduce the logo all White or Black with tagline 4. Do USE the White logo on lighter flat backgrounds 5. Do maintain the specific amount of clear space around the logo
The Black & White versions of this logo exist in the smaller instances where the original logo provides less to little contrast. These versions should only be used only when the original logo will not work onto a specific background that is too busy.
The smallest the primary mark should be represented is .3” tall.
To obtain smaller sizes, the mark may be used on it’s own.
part of a strong brand identity is color. A steady use of solidifies the unity of the brand and translates the brand soul. The secondary color brings flexibility within the visual design system. All colors are tech based with a modern and tasteful approach.
The photography will have one individual in the frame. it is also to dramatic lighting to highlight the introspective nature of a freelancer. Content in the photos maybe figurative or conceptual in depiction. Models should be doing some kind of freelance action, like on a desk or a device. occasional photos that show down time are acceptable.
This set of pictograms are made for the Design network’s products; Digital, and Social Media. Simplification of shape is needed. And also a slight dimension created by a Green gradient creates form.
The icons are made on a 8 x 8 artboard on Adobe ii lustrator. They are to be as minimal as possible with a 28 pt stroke for the main line and the lines reserved for detail should be set at 12 pts. Also, please note the use of a consistent rounded corner.
Here you can see how the system is applied through out all of the deliv erables. Green on a Black background is an important attribute of my visual system.
Landing p age
Home p age
For my calculator section of my digital products i created these buttons for an information field screen for the purpose of gauging the experience level of the freelance designer. Thumb use was considered. The way i made the info graphic was by creating a thick 100 pt ellipse cut it in half, in Adobe illustrator. Then i made some margin bars and evenly dispersed them around to cut the shape out of the now expanded shape. in addition to this graphic, i also created my own mobile phone template for my mocks.
it was not until Thesis 2 that i was able to get these graphics to a good place. in this design, there are 3 different sized dots, small, medium and large. The graphics are all connected by a series of geometric lines and dots that make up a network visuals.
SprinG 2022 174 DESiGn nETWorK GrApHiCS
Carousels
Social Media App Loading Landing & Home p age
J. Hernandez 175 MFA THESiS Brand Guidelines
— Matt Cannon, Freelance Designer, Los Angeles, CA
your job as a graphic design professional is to fulfill other people’s visions, get into the client’s mind before you start any project.”
“
The Design network Mobile App is great freelance designers on the go. Designers can create estimates, video call, listen to the Design network podcast, and much more!
• A Business Lecture Depository archive of freelance videos and articles.
• The Virtual Cafe: a social network for all freelance designers. it has an user profile, live-stream, & video meetings; ideal for feedback and critiques. it’s also a great place for networking.
• pricing Calculator that factors deliverable, estimated expenses, and level of experience, processed and calculated through a digital algorithm.
• App walkthrough video
Client Dashboad
The Design network Website is a great tool stationed at a freelance graphic designer’s workspace. They have access to the cafe to upload images right from their desktop, among many more features.
• A Business Lecture Depository archive of freelance videos and articles.
• The Virtual Cafe: a social network for all freelance designers. it has an user profile, live-stream, & video meetings; ideal for feedback and critiques. it’s also a great place for networking.
• A Work Environment page, where designers can post their work space, get feedback, and communicate with other designers about their office setup.
• pricing Calculator that factors deliverable, estimated expenses, and level of experience, processed and calculated through a digital algorithm.
Landing p age
Home p age
Client p rofile
Gigulator p ages
Gigulator p ages
The Design network Marketing reaches out to their target audience via social media with a social media campaign, and workspace with mugs, pens and sketchbooks. These deliverables are meant users back to our digital products.
• purchasable items; Coffee Mugs and Sketchbooks and pens.
• Content for Social Media 2 instagram Carousels 6 images per each Carousel
1 Facebook Banner
1 YouTube Banner and profile pic
3-5 Static images for social media Social Media Design Contest
• Business World images
• podcast
The Carousels are tailor made for a beginning freelance graphic designer who is in need of business direction. Each carousel features a different function, however, it ultimately leads to the website or to download the mobile app.
The purpose of this Carousels is to communicate Design network and it’s tools to users. The website site is the call to action.
This Carousel is meant to attract target audience by explaining to users that this product is for beginning freelance graphic designers alike. We end it with a look at our identity.
Youtube Channel Banner
My social media banners are for different social media channels like Facebook and Youtube. The Facebook group is a a place freelance graphic designers can post their work and explain it. others can learn from these posts. And the Youtube channel is a resource that freelance designers can educate themselves with the many business videos archived in there.
My social media images are intended to connect to my target audience through popular social networks like Facebook. The images direct free lance graphic designers to my website, app, podcast and a design contest held by Design network.
The Design network Business of Freelance podcast is a podcast channel where beginning freelance graphic designers listen to the experiences of other freelance designers and learn from them.
Design network was created to help make a positive impact for graphic designers all over the world. As the creator of Design network i have the aspirations to bring this idea into fruition.
To market out to freelance graphic designers, my marketing campaign also consists of custom sketchbooks, mugs, pens , and miniature note pads. Freelance designers will find great use of all the products. These are items they would have in their workspace.
They are branded as part of the Design network. My mugs are labelled as the Virtual Café to expose my audience to my social media platform. i also have the sketchbook branded as Design Sketchbook. And the pens are branded with Design network identity.
This journey has been a memorable experience. There is only so much time i can put into this. i’ve learned a design is not ever finished. Yet, i’m hanging my hat on the positive reviews left by my user testers, my target audience. My project has left them a lasting genuine impression. in closing, i will reach out to AiGA and look forward to sharing my thesis project with them.
design network is a creative network of designers where they share tools, business skills and best practices. Design network’s goal is to provide a community for the thousands of freelance graphic designers, globally.
