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01 Case study | Graphics International | 2015 Case study | Graphics International | 2015 03
How to crowdfund your next
design project

Kick-start that brilliant idea with our expert guide to acquiring 1 2 3 3 | 4 | Showing Design
all the funds you need. 4 5 5 | Pantones and tests
1| The Six Mile Pencil
2| Kilometre Verson

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It’s a sad fact that brilliant ideas often remain just brilliant ideas when weakness. As such, it pays to make the right choice before ploughing on spin on funding. Importantly, the member firms have all signed a code So whether you’re looking to publish a book, create your own
there’s no money to transform inspiration into a product. Even some- and launching your funding drive. of practice. T-shirts, or sell a series of art prints, the following sites offer a tried and
thing as seemingly simple as taking some Moleskine notebook sketches The most simple style of funding is the donation model. Here, - Market yourself tested way to make the most of your design work and start generating
and turning them into a run of posters or T-shirts can be a shockingly supporters give cash to a start-up and don’t have any expectation of a With the hard business decisions made, you now need to move into an income from it...
expensive aspiration. return. Just Giving’s Yimby.com is a prime example of this. marketing mode – you need to get your message out as far and wide as Art Web is an ecommerce site that specialises in selling art online to
But let’s say for a moment you’re determined to turn your ideas into Next up, we have reward-based crowdfunding, where givers donate possible. buyers around the world. A community of different artists and creatives
a reality. What are your options? Well, you could go cap-in-hand to the with the expectation of receiving something in return. Kickstarter is, of Funding sites will generally let you produce a shopfront page on use this online platform to network and share their work, as well as
bank, borrow from your friends and family, or – if you’re really zealous course, the best known platform of this type. David Lesue – a graphic their site where you can tell your project’s story. make money from it. The service works on a no-commission basis, and
– live like a monk, save and fund your scheme that way. None of these design and art director, used Kickstarter to fund his Stately Type project. One of the most potent ways to improve this page – and so your there’s a free plan that gives you an online gallery with up to 15 images.
options are, if we’re honest, terribly attractive. Through Stately Type, Lesue sells city, state and country themed chances of hitting your funding goals – is to produce a video pitch. It’s There’s also a paid-for version that gives you more images and a profes-
There is however another way to find cash to fuel your business typographic T-shirts and posters. He told us: “I decided to crowdfund by far the most effective way of telling prospective funders what’s great sional-looking website.
dream: crowdfunding. You’ve probably heard the term and maybe even the project because it seemed like the perfect way to prove the project’s about your product. Bouf brings together creatives, artists and designers who create
toured sites like Kickstarter. If not, crowdfunding lets you present your worth before I invested too much of my time, money, or energy.” With your video make and your pitch page complete, it’s time to em- unique products to sell their works to consumers who are bored of the
business plan to a huge audience of internet users and ask them for Looking at his project’s Kickstarter page, he offered – as most proj- brace social media with a fervour close to madness. The key is to have a mass-produced items on the high street. Featuring designer home and
small donations or investments. ects do – a sliding scale of donation. A dollar bought you a handshake, constant output of messages. Don’t splurge and then go quiet. garden items, quirky accessories, and ‘gifts with a twist’, the site is selec-
- Crowdfunding: the basics $10 a printable PDF and $150 a pack of six T-shirts, with lots of options - Tell your friends and family first tive about who sells through it, so you first need to go through a simple
Crowdfunding and other alternative methods of raising finance make between these three points. Finally, before you launch your project, talk to friends and family, and application process.
for a huge market. A report by Nesta called The Rise of Future Finance If you are interested in this kind of funding, try exploring Crowd- persuade them to back your project with some small contributions. Want to see your designs come to life by applying them on design-
stated that the UK alternative funding market grew from £492m in 2012 funder, Indiegogo, Zequs and Sponsorcraft platforms. And, of course, When your campaign goes live, their financial support will give your er skins for iPads, iPhones and so on? Then head to Gela Skins, which
to £939m in 2013. The report predicted that £1.6bn might be raised in Kickstarter. project an instant lift. features some gorgeous designs and explicitly aims to “support and
2014. - The loan or debt model This is beneficial because investors generally don’t like to be the promote independent artists everywhere” through their business.
There are lots of different crowdfunding platforms. Despite their Next up is the loan or debt model. Here a business borrows funding first to back a project. They’re more likely to smile on a project that’s got Designers and artists who are looking to publish a book or graph-
differences, they work in much the same way. You create a page on the and promises to repay the money with interest. Abundance Generation, some momentum and is heading somewhere. ic novel – but don’t have the funding – should make a beeline for
platform’s site detailing your project, set a funding target and watch the Funding Circle, Funding Empire, Money&Co and Trillion Fund offer start- This article first appeared in Computer Arts 235: Branding Secrets, Unbound. Like a kind of Kickstarter for books, this site helps you find
promises come flooding in. ups access to this kind of funding. a special issue exclusively revealing the brand strategy secrets at the people to fund your project and see it come to life.
If you’re lucky, you’ll achieve or surpass your goal and this will The fourth type of crowdfunding is equity funding. Here, support is world’s biggest agencies. Launched in 2004, Big Cartel is one of the most popular platforms
trigger a process that culminates in the funds heading your way. If you provided in return for an equity stake (or share) in the business. Crowd- Why work for a boss when you can sell directly to the public? These for any creative looking to sell design work online. Unlike a lot of
don’t hit your goal, your page will be taken down. In the main, you cube, Seedrs, Angels Den and Syndicate Room embrace this model. websites make it easy. websites, it allows you to build your store and customise it to give it a
won’t receive any money if you fail to achieve your target. If you’re struggling to choose the type of funding model you’re Whatever kind of design job you have, the time comes when you ask unique feel as well as it adapting to your existing website.
For their trouble, the funding platform levies a fee. This ranges from going to pursue, it’s worth considering the scale of your funding drive. yourself: “why am I working for a boss when I could sell design work I’ve Giving you all the professional tools you need to conduct market
4 to 9 per cent of the total funds you’ve been promised. You may also Donation and reward models tend to raise smaller amounts of money. If created directly to the public?” There are loads of ways to make money research – such as a tracking and social networking – you’re given total
have to pay admin changes and VAT too. you’re looking to launch a more complex project, loan and equity based from your talents, and it’s simpler than ever to sell design work online. freedom and control over the ways in which you choose to sell and
- Picking the right type of fund models are more applicable. You no longer have to invest huge amounts of time and money promote your work. The price plan ranges from free to $29.99 a month
Despite being the best known funding platform, Kickstarter is just one building your own online store: there are many existing ecommerce depending on the support and facilities you wish to use, as well as the
of many services on offer. There are, in broad terms, four different types Heading to the UK Crowdfunding Association’s website is a good websites which will allow you to reach a wider market and sell your number of products you are offering. It could also be characterised as a
of funding platforms available. Each approach has its strengths and place to start. It has nearly 40 members, each offering a subtly different products. folksy version of eBay.