Confessions of an In-house Designer

My name is Jack Hernandez, and I am not a full-time freelancer. But, I'm glad that I'm not. The idea of being a fully dedicated freelancer is as romantic as an artist making a living without commissions... only a designer can't hawk brochures in Soho on Sundays. Don't get me wrong ... I still freelance, and I enjoy it immensely. Having a daytime alter-ego means I can have more fun doing it.

Working for a national association in D.C., I've had the opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects. Because of workloads and time restraints – the quality of my work varies, but occasionally a project comes along during a slow period after a conference or an internal client gives you copy well in advance (bless em). It's those projects that I love ... I can dedicated my creativity to developing a design without using templates. The best projects inspire me to create original artwork. The reward of working on such projects is the creative freedom ... the trust that a department manager in you to make his/her program look good ... and seeing the end result when I've achieved that goal.

Some samples of in-house work for the National Association of counties ...

Working for a firm is probably the best way to get your hands into high-profile projects, but working within an hierarchy isn't for everyone. If you ever get an opportunity to work for a company or organization with an in-house graphics department ... take the job, especially if you're a newb hungry for instant experience.