Computers and technology

Freelance or design studio

Deciding which computer hardware to buy is dependent not only on the type of work a designer does, but also on whether a designer intends to work alone, or as part of a design team, in an agency or studio environment.

The requirements for working in a home-office, as a self employed freelancer, can vary in many ways from working with a team in a collaborative environment. From a technology point of view a freelance graphic designer needs to ensure that they have a reliable computer, printer, backup hardware, broadband internet connection and so on.

A design team requires all of the above, but they also need to think about ways to share files and information with each other. This involves thinking about computer technology such as file servers, network connections and information managers.

A collaborative design environment also requires more planning when it comes to backing up files. For example, many design agencies will use special backup software and DAT tape drives, rather than manually backing up data.

Some design, computing and technology discussions in the forums

• Macintosh forums
• Windows graphic design forums
• Studio management forums
• Design software forums