Designing for Local Communities: A Guide to Freelancing and Empowering Groups in Your Neighborhood

Want to begin taking on freelance design projects, but you’re unsure of how to start? Maybe you’ve looked at a few resources on building a design business, but their advice seems too big, overwhelming, or out-of-reach for what you’re hoping to achieve right now? If you’re looking for freelancing basics, truly for beginners, to give you the confidence to take on your first few independent projects, Designing For Local Communities is for you.

Designing For Local Communities encourages the reader to find their first clients in their local community. By working with small businesses, the designer can build a freelancing portfolio, while simultaneously investing in their neighborhood. Lessons are tailored for working with these small-scale clients, with examples, interviews, and exercises that will build a strong foundation for an independent design practice.

Dispelling the myth that you must live in a big city or work for huge brand clients to be considered successful in the design industry, Meaghan Barry celebrates the benefits of working directly with small businesses and non-profits, building value for designers and the businesses on their doorstep.

Meaghan Barry serves as both an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Oakland University, USA and a Partner at Unsold Studio, a Detroit-based branding firm that specializes in working with small businesses. Through her work, she was chosen as a ＂2020 Notable Woman in Design＂ by Crain’s Detroit Business, has represented the USA as a UNESCO City of Design Delegate, and been recognized by Graphis Design Annual, Indigo Design Awards, Creative Communication Awards and Detroit Commerce Design Awards. Her writing has appeared in AIGA Eye on Design and Design & Culture.