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After I graduated from design school for the first time, I realized that I needed some prior experience before I could get hired for a full time job. So, I thought that freelancing would be a good way to get some experience.
Boy, did I get some experience!
FYI: When I graduated, my web design skills were basic (read: crappy); however, I thought that they were pretty good at the time. This was also my first (and only) freelance job.
Anyway, my clients were a New Age couple interested in starting a web site for their services. I was all excited and they let me do whatever I wanted for the site.
So I put in my time, effort, and limited knowledge of HTML and Frames and VERY little knowledge of CSS to put together the best website that I could possibly imagine for them.
This is where the crappy part of my bad web design comes into play. I had three frames. The center had all the main content while the sides were menus. Because I, at the time, had no idea how bandwidth worked with images, they took forever to load. Finally, the menus were set on gradient background that made them almost impossible to read.
It took me two months to put together a crappy website that they never complained about before. The really crappy part came when we were discussing payment. I suggested $400 (because I was just a student and my website was bad). Guess what I got instead?
$200 AND AN OLD (AND BROKEN) PALM PILOT!
I don't remember you ever complaining about images taking FOREVER to load. Nor do I remember you asking me to change the menu background so that the items would be readable. I don't think we even had serious meetings (other than the first few) to discuss the progress of the website! And all I got out of my hard work was $200 and a broken Palm Pilot???
This is why I never asked for another freelance job again. I prefer a steady paycheck; but I DO admire those who have the courage and experience to do freelance work.
Boy, did I get some experience!
FYI: When I graduated, my web design skills were basic (read: crappy); however, I thought that they were pretty good at the time. This was also my first (and only) freelance job.
Anyway, my clients were a New Age couple interested in starting a web site for their services. I was all excited and they let me do whatever I wanted for the site.
So I put in my time, effort, and limited knowledge of HTML and Frames and VERY little knowledge of CSS to put together the best website that I could possibly imagine for them.
This is where the crappy part of my bad web design comes into play. I had three frames. The center had all the main content while the sides were menus. Because I, at the time, had no idea how bandwidth worked with images, they took forever to load. Finally, the menus were set on gradient background that made them almost impossible to read.
It took me two months to put together a crappy website that they never complained about before. The really crappy part came when we were discussing payment. I suggested $400 (because I was just a student and my website was bad). Guess what I got instead?
$200 AND AN OLD (AND BROKEN) PALM PILOT!
I don't remember you ever complaining about images taking FOREVER to load. Nor do I remember you asking me to change the menu background so that the items would be readable. I don't think we even had serious meetings (other than the first few) to discuss the progress of the website! And all I got out of my hard work was $200 and a broken Palm Pilot???
This is why I never asked for another freelance job again. I prefer a steady paycheck; but I DO admire those who have the courage and experience to do freelance work.
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