Hi
I'm Vicky,
a freelance Graphic & Web Designer based in the South Manchester area.
I grew up in quite a creative family, my dad and brother were both designers, my dad designed toys, every kids dream right! I would love watching him come up with a concept and see it evolve into an actual finished product. I get that same buzz when I’m creating someone’s branding, taking an idea or thought from a clients head and the reaction when they see the final logo for the first time. Love it!
My background is in the print industry, I have worked for small family run print companies to larger online printers working on a wide range of printed material. Working in this industry gave me a real working knowledge of how to set artwork up properly for print.
I also have 3 children, who all keep me on my toes, part of the reason I am now freelance. Work life balance means everything, happy mum, happy designer!
No two days are ever the same which is another thing I love about what I do, I design and print everything and anything, big or small. Logos, business cards, letterheads, websites, brochures, magazines, newsletters, books, packaging, leaflets, banners, signage, posters…
...if it can be printed or published I design it!
Why Choose VCM?
Why use a professional Graphic Designer?
There is a lot to consider when you are entrusting vital business projects to a Graphic Designer. Whilst there are plenty of graphics packages around which will allow you to 'do it yourself', your business's look and feel will really benefit from creative professional Graphic Design from the outset.
Using a Graphic Designer will:
Save you time, allowing you to get on with running your business.
Give you a consistent look across all of your work, promoting your brand professionally and making you stand out from the rest. Designers pick up on the small details which your prospective customers subconsciously use to judge your business.
Save you money, by giving you access to expertise in expensive design software and application packages; a cost that can be difficult to justify for most businesses. If you are spending hours of your time mastering that free software package you downloaded, couldn't you have paid a pro less than that time has cost you, for a better result?
Make Printing much more cost effective. Nowadays we can print on a huge variety of media, but printers will want files properly created and formatted in the right software. Using freely available packages will often put printers off and will certainly have them racking up the bills. And proofing and even re-printing work that contains errors you didn't anticipate costs you time and money.
Bring fresh ideas and innovation to your promotion. Designers are pretty creative people who have lots of experience of promoting business. Good designers will have the skill to help you market your business and product.
So why use a FREELANCE Graphic Designer?
Once you have made the decision to commission a Designer's services, how do you choose whether to use a Design Agency, or an independent freelance designer? Perhaps the most obvious starting point for most is the consideration of budget?
Cost. A freelance Designer will not have the expense and overhead of maintaining premises, staff and equipment, and this will be reflected in what they charge the client. Typically this means a Freelance will charge many times less for the same project. Why pay an agency a daily rate several times higher than a freelance particularly when,
A freelance designer does it anyway! Really? Many Freelancers offer their services to Agencies to cover for busy periods, maternity and holiday. We also bid for work offered by agencies who don’t have the in-house expertise or capacity to deal with it! An independent freelance is also a
Single point of contact. Working with Agencies can sometimes feel a bit like 'Chinese Whispers'; You brief an Account Manager, who then goes back to brief the Graphic Designer, Web Designer and Web Developer. The Graphic Designer makes a start, but goes on holiday the following week having handed over to a contractor (our freelance again!) who has been drafted in to cover. With each retelling your company's story and brief is watered down and changed. A freelance designer is like a part of your business, like a trusted employee who knows your image, mindset and aspiration. A freelance has an understanding of your business but can be responsive, available and not restricted to standard 'nine to five' hours.
Your success is my success. All Designers like variety in their work, that's one of the reasons that they become 'Jack of all trades, Master of all trades'. But commercial reality is that much of their business is repeat business. We want to help you grow your company so that we will see more of the work your success will bring.
Consistent, custom design and compelling marketing materials help your business appear professional, credible, and dependable. Investing in professional graphic design services also shows your prospects and clients that you value yourself and your services enough to invest in them, so they should too!