Designing relationships: What fosters and hinders a successful collaboration with clients in freelance visual communication design from the designers’ perspective

Abstract

As freelance work becomes increasingly common, early-career designers face opportunities for skill development, as well as challenges related to work insecurity and underdeveloped workers’ protections, making the management of client relationships a crucial aspect of professional success.

The thesis investigates what fosters or hinders successful client-designer relationships, how trust is developed and maintained, what communication practices are used, and how such skills are acquired. Research is positioned at this inter-section of visual communication design (VCD), freelance employment, and client communication. Within the context of this study, VCD is defined broadly to include work which produces primarily visual outcomes, and freelance is described as independent work without long-term commitment to one employer and includes a spectrum of formality and employment commitment levels.

Through semi-structured interviews with seven VCD professionals, qualitative data is collected, themed and mapped. Findings indicate that relationships are central to both professional satisfaction and project outcomes, built on trust, mutual respect, and clear communication. Motivation to freelance is most often driven by experience and freedom rather than financial gain, and communication skills are primarily developed through direct practice and professional net-works. The study aims to provide new insights into the interpersonal dynamics of freelance design work and offer potential guidance for emerging designers.