Alessandra Oliveira - Graphic and Web Designer

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• Alessandra Oliveira
• Graphic and Web Designer

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Alessandra Oliveira

• Our head of the week, Alessandra Oliveira, is a
  freelancer with a load of experience under her
  belt. She has worked as a graphic designer and
  art director for over 15 years and in
  freelancing, she especially enjoys being able to
  have a direct contact with her clients. She also
  believes that a good briefing at the beginning is
  the alpha and the omega of a successful
  cooperation between a client and a freelancer.
  Curtains up for Alessandra Oliveira from Brasil

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 1) First off, can you tell us a bit about
  yourself?
• I am a multidisciplinary graphic designer and art
  director with over 15 years of professional
  experience and a focus on brand identity and
  interaction design, advocate of user centered
  design approach and responsive web design.
• I come from Rio de Janeiro, but I go anywhere.
  Thats one of the reasons why I am a freelancer.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 2) If you would search for your profile on
  Google, which are the three keywords you would
  type in the search bar?
• Responsive Web Design Branding Increase Sales

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 3) What was your inspiration and when did you
  actually decide to become a freelancer?
• I have started freelancing while I was still in
  college. I have worked as an employee too and it
  has its perks, but being in direct contact with
  clients is energizing and rewarding. It fuels
  creativity and a design process focused on
  results. Clients and business owners can provide
  great insights about their target audiences
  needs. A smart client is aware of their public
  behavior and of problems and obstacles their
  users face and good design should propose
  solutions to those issues.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 4) What kind of services have your clients asked
  you to provide?
• Design for web, print media and video.
• Developing the visual identity of events,
  workshops and TV shows.
• Logotypes and stationary.
• Illustrations.
• Interactive hot sites, responsive web pages,
  newsletters, banners, menus, icons, landing
  pages, user navigation flows and wireframes.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to
  provide skills that you dont possess?
• Yes, working as a freelancer allowed me to
  collaborate with developers, illustrators,
  animators and print producers. I can count on a
  network of trusted professionals Ive worked with
  before when a job eventually demands those extra
  hours in a short time span or requires a specific
  expertise.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that
  are interested in your services?
• Most of my projects come from word of mouth. I
  also have a portfolio website for displaying
  samples of my work. I tried cold calling once but
  found it particularly difficult to filter
  contacts from a random list in order to find
  leads for my freelance business.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us
  a little bit about your experience with our
  IT-network?
• I have just joined Freelancermap.com and had the
  impression that its truly making an effort to
  connect freelancers and clients. I have been long
  looking for a fair trade freelancer website.
  There are lots of businesses trying to find
  qualified professionals and also freelancers out
  there looking for a company to represent them. I
  would like to see more graphic and web design
  jobs posted here.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 8) How do you set yourself apart from your
  competitors? What makes you special?
• I offer great value at a very small investment
  rate because I am interested in the mobility and
  freedom that telecommute allows. This presents an
  opportunity for clients to hire a professional
  with the background of having worked both for
  tech and media companies and as a freelance
  professional with many years of experience.
• I strive to keep improving my skills and give my
  best at each job and I believe that working
  remotely will boost the creation of outstanding
  work. Things like a better life balance and an
  inspiring working environment reflect positively
  on graphic design work.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 9) What are the top three books, blogs or
  magazines you read to stay up to date in the
  IT-market?
• Zurb, Webdesigner Depot and Skillcrush. I read
  many blogs on web design and technology, but
  those three are the main ones that I follow.

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Alessandra Oliveira

• 10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like
  to tell our readers?
• It all starts with a good briefing.
• To other freelance designers I would say, it pays
  off to be honest to clients when it comes to
  defending a layout solution or idea. Its part of
  the designers job to point to the best solution
  and to be able to explain why a certain visual
  wont work for their business or why you made
  those visual choices when questioned. Reviews are
  part of the work, but dont expect the client to
  art direct you except youre being hired by an
  art director for following a defined visual
  style. Discussions should aim at getting the best
  result possible.

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