One of the most important aspects of being an ally and showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement is recognising when it is (or, more crucially, isn’t) your turn to speak.    As a white person, I appreciate that I have never personally had to deal with systemic racism or racial microaggressions. For this reason, I would never want to speak on behalf of people of colour regarding these issues.    Rather, we wanted to hear the perspectives of black creatives in the freelance game, in the hopes of promoting greater empathy, understanding and allyship within the world of freelancing. We spoke to two awesome photographers, who shared their thoughts and experiences.

Professional Animator and Freelancer Club member, Kerrie Portman delivers a masterclass in animation using Adobe Illustrator. Learn how to create animation for a range of projects to add to your set of skills.

How does it feel to be a model on a photoshoot? Taking direction, having makeup and hair put on, changing outfits throughout the day. Modelling is often seen as a glamorous profession, however, it can also feel like you're nothing but a clothes horse. Professional models Saskia and Natasha provide the insights.

From Monday July 13th, beauty salons, tattoo studios, nail bars, massage studios, spas and tanning salons can reopen for business. Appropriate PPE and other restrictions will be required to ensure safety, and the decision may be reversed if there are local spikes in coronavirus cases.  For many, this news comes as a huge relief. However, this announcement has also stirred confusion and disappointment for other beauty businesses, whose services remain banned. 

We’re gradually coming out of lockdown. Cue massive sigh of relief.  Restrictions are easing and we’re out and about that bit more. I’ve been meeting family and friends who I haven’t seen in months (at a distance of course). Others are heading to parks at the weekend to escape the apartments they’ve been cooped up in for weeks.

The global pandemic has thrust everyone into some pretty bizarre and unexpected life situations. Whilst working remotely from home has become the new norm, not everyone’s home workstation is ideal. 

I’ve seen some pretty poor graphic design briefs during my time working in ad agencies.  As an account executive, I was the point of contact between clients and our design team. When a client wanted a new piece of content made, they’d send me a brief which I‘d pass onto to our designers. To be fair, most of the clients I worked with supplied plenty of useful information in their briefs. However, we received a fair chunk of pretty awful ones too. 

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s the value of human interaction. Whether it be in person or through a screen, it’s something many of us craved during lockdown.    What can startups learn from this? That creating a strong company culture based on positive, regular communication amongst staff is extremely important.