Being mobile, thinking computer power & support for backup – the life of an illustrating designing freelancer

Support is power

I´m a Laptop guy, I work mobile. But of course I also work from home. After all I am a freelancing business owner. Its just me, no other bosses. My office is where I am. So, that said, I am about to consider buying a small desktop. And basically I am thinking at this point, on the ever present question i-Cores. CPU. I know that an i3 on a desktop is faster than a i3 on a laptop. Heck, most probably an i3 on a desktop is faster than an i5 on a laptop. And i5 on a desktop is way faster than an i7 on a Laptop. So with this sort of knowledge, why am I even asking the question on what to choose, when considering a possible buy of a back up desktop, slim, at my home. Well. One thing, I need a backup to my laptop. My older laptop is – well its old and worn out. And my old desktop is much older. Not even used these days. So I mostly relay on my newest Laptop and my external moniter/computer screen connected to it, and external harddrives when working from my home office. You may see me sit and work mobile with a coffee cup at one of the local coffee shops/cafés, but I do work from home as well.

I am a Freelancing Illustrator, designer & artist, and this is what I have to have in mind when making decisions. Lift it a notch, and big and small and conglomerate corps need that as well. just so much more personally affecting you when you are a freelancer.

In the subject title to my blog article I wrote: “Being mobile, thinking computer power & support for backup – the life of an illustrating designing freelancer” says in plain text what its about.

Through the years, ever since I first started out as a freelancer in the late 90´s, I have been relaying on my self learning at least the basics of computer hardware and software, via the internet, forums and friends and freelancing collegues. I have been forced, but also wanted it, to be my own support division. The forced and want is because I like to learn and be independant, but also because support cost money. One of the big things therefore, is to choose a computer hardware product who can offer the basic and advanced support deal included into the price when buying any computer hardware. To me, all software support I easily manage myself. And what cost time in crucial deadline situations, delivering illustrations, design and art to my clients, are hardware failures and support to fix them. Thats why I choose big corps such as HP and Dell. I think that the swedish sales division at Dell have been preetty useless, but the TECH support have been brilliant. And the Tech support is what I need and want. And after having relayed on HP since the late 90´s, decided to move on to Dell two years ago when I bought my first Dell product, a Laptop, and now recently an external desktop monitor/computer screen. And the tech support helped me once again. Not the sales division, in deciding in the end. But of course, without tips and responce to my suggestions and questions from and with friends, all in all, I would be stranded.

One person working as a mid level team leading boss at a big international copr, ridiculed beta testers, as those who dont make money and not enough work. He was probably not making that remark too seriously, when I chit chatted with him and his cloes friends at his weekend Barbeque. But some probably was his view anyway. I said, I know a guy who is a retailer and support company in asia for software he sells. To him, beta testing is probably crucial as he sells knowledge and be on top of his game. So his clients keep coming back to him, again and again. If there is someone in his country in Asia who knows the ins and outs of the software, its him. And thats why he deliver the best support service. No pre-written answering manuscripts. But instead the core knowledge. Beta testing also give him the network with people from all over the world and the core people at the software company he beta test. Go to him and your company and business is saved when the shit hits the fan.

Going back to my own situation. I am here and need to decide which product to buy, and what capacity it has. I dont always need to know every nuts and bolts in a computer setup. But I need to know that I get at least the very basic so my work move on forward.

As of now, the main companies and solutions i need to illustrate, design and make art to my clients, of a wide varity, i´ve chosen Corel and their computer graphics solutions, and I have moved away from HP for now, and hope Dell will work fine. I hope that they together with Wacom pen tablets, never stop making great products and offer at the least a great basic support. I say great basic, because it has to be at least great. No one is perfect. So I can accept glitches off and on, but not always. And these three companies have shown to deliver that right now. Corel most certainly since 1997 when I started using their graphics software.

Michael Dell was claimed around 2013, to try to buy back his baby: Dell Computers. And in the article I read he was aiming to focus much on services. Whatever that services actually is and was, it is in many ways what is so important: Service = Support. Let see if that is what he delivers now.

When this fail, it all falls down.

I have worked all my life with service and communicating with people, giving service, even as an artist, designer and illustrator I do that. I dont sit in a dungeon and hide from people. And I know from years of dealing with all sorts of people and situations, from various type of work I have had through the years, that one word means so much, and the WAY you say it. One feeling, and HOW you deliver it. If  it is just talk, it will fail. You have to deliver what you say. And still so many CEO´s and various bosses seems to fail in understanding this.

Okay, a PS. Why all the i3, i5 and i7 and the speed? Well when working with images, it is very important to have power. Not so much if you are a writer. Computer power is the thing for any digital artist. There is no way to come around it. Images weighs more than plain text. Basically.

Have a fab day wherever you are.

Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator, grapic designer & artist
www.stefanlindblad.com