Freelance

In my four-member community in Pohnpei, we frequently use dinner time, community nights and anytime for that matter to engage in discussion that usually turns quickly into a debate. One such debate topic that has been comical addresses the validity of a freelance professional.

For example, not to long ago there was a freelance writer working on some pieces in Pohnpei that we had some short interactions with. Whenever I hear "freelance writer," I chuckle a little bit. In the journalism program at the University of Misssouri, if you said you were a freelance writer, most people understood that to mean unemployed.

One of my community mates, Luke T. Lavin, hates the adjective and thinks it is has no purpose. So, when I announced my career as a freelance designer for Fr. Francis Hezel at Micronesian Seminar, the debate swelled up again.

While I love my students and my classroom, I quickly found that my passion for design did not dwindle after graduating from MU. After I got my feet settled, I started mentioning the skill set I brought to Pohnpei as a journalist and designer and I got some quick feedback.

People need designers in the Pacific. I just wish I could devote more time and energy into it.

One opportunity that presented itself was to do some volunteer (freelance) designing at an NGO that focuses on Micronesian history and development. I have mentioned the organization, Micronesian Seminar, in some previous posts. I usually interact with the director, Fr. Francis Hezel, at Sunday Mass, Tuesday spirituality night or weekly basketball.

Fr. Hezel is well published and currently writes scholarly articles in a series called "Micronesian Counsellor." The Counsellors were designed heavily with clipart and needed an update. So I stepped in with my go to font family, Franklin Gothic, and got to work. The goal was to set up an easily editable framework on the Microsoft Publisher program. Small tweaks to column size, photo treatment, pull quotes had a big effect on the final product. The last three issues covered topics that were great for design and really applicable to my personal experiences here in Micronesia. The topics were: The Path to Heaven, Swimming with the Tide - Small Business Development in the Pacific, and Education Reform for the Islands. (note: I will upload these covers when I get back to Pohnpei in August)

Last year, I was designing 1A, Sports and Weekend Editions for the Columbia Missourian as well as features and covers for Vox, an entertainment magazine. I absolutely loved it but I felt called to try something completely different for 2 years. It seems that even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a tiny island, I have found my way back to a G4 and the Adobe Creative Suite.

My favorite project for Micronesian Seminar was for a public health awareness campaign. In Micronesia, there is a large concern for diabetes due to exposure to western foods. Kool-Aid and Ramen (dry, mixed) is the favorite for many of my students and is downright terrible for you. One issue for people with diabetes is foot care, especially on an island where shoes just don't make sense to people.

So the project was this...
1. Three brochures detailing ways to take care of your feet (in English, Pohnpeian, and Chuukese)
2. One 24" by 36" poster (the instructions were to do whatever would grab peoples' attention)

The brochures went fairly quickly and I am happy with their utility and ease of navigation. The poster was much more challenging and took many thumbnails and drafts (Yes, Jan and Joy, I'm still drawing first!)

The idea that was approved was a text treatment creating a footprint out of the slogan "Take care of your feet, especially if you have diabetes." We used some simple blues and a touch of white to draw attention to the tagline. I think was able to grab people's attention very well. One thing I didn't know was that these posters would be sent to Hawaii, Guam and the other states within the FSM to be displayed in medical facilities. I don't think my old Missourian designs got that kind of readership.


I don't know if my career path will lead me back to full-time designing. Deep down, I hope it does. But until then, I am happy to consider myself freelance.