Secret to success in networking for graphic designer

WHEN Angela Martinez started out in graphic design she was using paint brushes and drawing by hand, but now it's digital

graphic designer

WHEN Angela Martinez started out in graphic design she was using paint brushes and drawing by hand, but these days all her work is on the computer.

The Narellan Vale local started her home-based business, Bella Arts Graphic Design Studio, in 2000, after eight years as art director for an advertising agency.

"Every good place where you work is in the city or North Parramatta," Mrs Martinez said. "I had two young children, I was struggling, leaving work at 7 at night. So I thought I could try and work from home and spend more time with my children.

"I did struggle for the first three years. I knew how good I was and thought people would knock at my door and I would get clients straight away. I quickly had to learn how to network.

"I did a mentoring course with the Macarthur Business Enterprise Centre in 2002 and it was just for women in business and from then I got a lot of contacts and I made business friends."

The 50-year-old said a lot of her work involves designing logos and marketing campaigns.

She likes that every day is different as she works on designs for shopping centres, builders, coffee shops, dentists, lawyers, accountants and hairdressers.

"The challenge is trying to come up with something different that will work and is better than the opposition," she said.

"Some people say what graphic designers do is make (things) look pretty, but it's a lot more than that.

"You have to make sure the clients can get exposure and sell their product.

"It's not like an artist where they make a beautiful painting and have no restrictions. I can make something, but it actually has to work for it to be good."