Forum: How to Start a Freelance Product Design Consultancy

Designing products for clients on your own is fun—but it’s not without its risks. For one, there’s the time pressure that comes from working for a company or client; while you have the creative freedom to work with vague guidelines, having to start from scratch can be a daunting challenge for the uninitiated. Second, with great design freedom comes great risk; doubly so if you’re working as a freelance product designer without the ability to bounce ideas off of a larger team.

Magnus Skogsfjord is one such brave designer setting out on his own.

After leaving his previous company to establish his design consultancy, he spent the first few months building his brand and working on two pilot projects: a lighter render for an Instagram challenge to gain better exposure for his brand, and a lamp design in Blender for a client.

Both projects were posted on a KeyShot forum post, where fellow product designers offered their support and advice for the new businessman.

Aside from exchanging shop inquiries on the techniques Magnus used, there are also tidbits of helpful advice on starting up a design company, most of them from designer Bill Gould (KeyShot username: ‘Speedste’).

Gould gave Magnus some brilliant advice on qualifying clients and setting out on your own: charging clients appropriately, communicating with them effectively, and being honest with them about the hours required for the project at hand.

There’s a fair bit to read through in the forum post, but it’s definitely worth the time for anyone looking to go into freelance product design.

Read the entire (insightful!) forum post over at KeyShot — then let us know in the comments what you think are the most critical skills a designer or engineer needs to have before setting off on their own path.

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