Blogged To The Eyeballs

From running my own 2 businesses Kamara Clothing & Wright DZN I decided to take the plunge back into the 9 to 5 (Full-time employment) role as an experiment to broaden my experience and skill set as a designer within a new market sector. I also wanted to discover if I’d been missing out on all that 9 to 5 action. My goals were pretty clear from the outset; to create and produce websites dependant on delivering a healthy return of investment. Once delivered (twice fold), I moved on to pastures new becoming a freelancer again. So the question beckons; taking into consideration all of my past 9 to 5 jobs, start-ups and freelancing days which is best suited for a designer, full time employment or Freelance?

Let’s start off by saying that a designer is generally attributed with the skill of being a creative. Wikipedia describes ‘creativity’ as:

Creativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts, creativity is fuelled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness is that it is simply the act of making something new.

If we look at this particular statement ‘creativity is fuelled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight,’ we can begin to understand the possible complexities that may arise by being a creative within a 9 to 5 job. The simple fact is that being a creative means that your minds constantly geared to create, there are no bounds or limits to the imagination just free flowing strings of ideas being connected together to create something new. This concept is the first I would like to tackle. Unlike being freelance, when do you actually stop working as a 9 to 5’er and if you do overtime who actually benefits and how can this be measured?

My brain switch is stuck on!

Whether it be freelance or a 9 to 5 job the truth is that most creative’s can’t switch off. The short & curlies of being a 9 to 5’er is that there is no yard stick to measure extra time of work. Most full time employment contracts negotiate the necessity of working extra hours as staple into their contractual agreement. Unlike freelance work where you can charge extra for additional time spent on projects there are generally no grounds to ask for more money as a 9 to 5’er, only the hope that you may get rewarded for your extra work. If you do, grab it with both hands even if it’s a free meal at your local kebabery. ‘I’m so upper class….’

As for who benefits, if you’re doing a good job then the company benefits, that’s why they employed you in the first place and that’s why they pay you a salary for financial security. So if you are a 9 to 5’er be prepared to give away more of your time for the ‘just cause.’

The ‘creep of the creative sleep.’

Having worked in a multitude of SME’s and corporate big boy & girl offices I’ve observed a funny phenomenon I like to call the ‘creep of the creative sleep.’ The creep of the creative sleep occurs when the creative embers of an individual drops, this in turn pulls productivity down with it. I’ve witnessed this on several occasions and have fallen victim to it myself. I’m sure you’ve got a few people like that in your office. People that turn up dead on at 9am and leave dead on at 5.30pm, some people like to coin these people as non team players.  This couldn’t be further from the truth this is actually a cry for help, ‘I need to express myself creatively.’ The simple fact is that the 9 to 5 routine is not built for creative’s and that’s why people like Google and DreamWorks have spent millions of dollars creating creative environments for their employees. Google even has a ‘one day to work on your own product’ policy. Google obviously benefits but this has been accountable for some pretty snazzy developments in Googleland.

The creative gene

If there was a gene for a creative, I would like to think that it would be spontaneity. The ability to just get up from your desk: have a cup of tea; play snooker; chat with friends; throw some darts; eat food then come back refreshed/inspired and ready to blow the computer apart with fresh wave thinking. The problem is that there aren’t many 9 to 5 jobs that allow you that much freedom without being scorned upon. Being freelance means being ‘free,’ to do whatever’s necessary to get the job done successfully. It’s having the ability to go and get inspired at a flip of the hat, 9 to 5 becomes anytime.

The creative’s free-flow of conscious is his life’s work

Like an artist a creative develops their skills over time maturing into a style that typifies their creative being to distinguish them apart from other creative’s. Monet, Salvador Dali, Michelangelo, Picasso where pioneering greats in their different artistic style movements. There unique interpretation of art didn’t happen overnight, it was born from years of endless self discovery of wants, needs, passion & experimentation of different styles and mediums. This is the same path a creative embarks on.

However working in a 9 to 5 environment can be a hindrance to the natural progression of a creative because it could mean the capping of a creative’s natural thought process to grow. As a creative I believe that it’s more fruitful to work on multiple projects from different arenas at the same time in order to keep inspiration levels at an all time high. Therefore working for a particular company within a specific market arena can actually slow your designer progression of idea generation within a broader field to benefit the existing. Being freelance is the complete opposite - it allows complete freedom of undeterred cross-linking & amalgamation of ideas from past & present work in multiple arenas to create something new. Like the great artists of our time being freelance holds no bounds or constraints to creative evolution or control, unfortunately in most non-creative working environments it does.

So which is better Full-time employment or Freelance?

I say... both, because both environments will harness and grow your creative spur. In my opinion once you’ve gone freelance and foraged in the wilderness for business amongst ball crushing competitors the 9 to 5 job becomes a walk in the park - a controlled environment where you can exercise your right to develop your skills and generate a sound return of investment for your employer. When your times up, jump back into those comfy old freelance slippers and go for a walk to hatch out the next chapter of your career and stretch, breath and walk on. Who knows you may get lucky and stumble upon an idea that’ll make you & others financially free