The Freelancer Life: Meet Benjamin Brown
It wasn’t a case of us discovering Ben, instead he discovered us! Thanks to the spiders of Google he stumbled upon us and on a whim signed up to find out more about The Doers….fast forward a few months and the right design brief landed on our desk and we knew it was the perfect opportunity to get in touch.
Ben is Creative Director of Citizen and design seems to have been with him right from the start giving him a great eye, astute vision and a style which is all his own. His skills range from brand identity, design, UI and UX to animation and app design, he has an incredible list of podcast recommendations and has worked on some very cool projects. Family sits at the very heart of what he does - from spending more time with his wife and kids to working with his brother, and his top 10 tips for anyone starting out in the freelance world are a must read.
Also turns out he’s very good at writing, so grab yourself a drink and enjoy a deep dive into the world of Ben Brown….
“Around 10 years ago I left to set up Citizen so I could spend more time at home, and have more control over the kind of work I was doing. 10 years later here I am, still looking at letters on a page trying to figure out what looks beautiful”
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for.
I think I've always been doing this, I started designing logos when I was very young before I even knew what they really were, I remember typing a word in Helvetica on one the first Apple Macs and thinking how beautiful it looked against the white page.
Since then I gradually found my path, through magazine design into an agency where I eventually became a Creative Director. Around 10 years ago I left to set up Citizen so I could spend more time at home, and have more control over the kind of work I was doing. 10 years later here I am, still looking at letters on a page trying to figure out what looks beautiful.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
At the time I thought I particularly disliked my boss, but it turned out that I just really don't like bosses at all. Then I met my wife and learnt a whole new stratosphere of bossing that I kind of enjoyed, so it's been a roller coaster.
I've also always had a thing about account managers telling me how things should be and what the client expected, I wanted more creative control, and to work directly with clients, to clear the smoke screen between me and them that made everything flatter and uninspired.
“I’ve also always had a thing about account managers telling me how things should be and what the client expected, I wanted more creative control, and to work directly with clients, to clear the smoke screen between me and them that made everything flatter and uninspired.”
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home?
I only work in my office at the top of my garden, it's pretty perfect here. I'm on a hill, it's peaceful, I can hear the birds and nobody disturbs me and Roxy my dog.
In the summer I have an outside space where I can work in the shade, and in the winter I have a heater to keep it toasty, while the rain on the metal roof makes a satisfying drone.
Share your struggles - what do you find hardest about working for yourself?
The isolation is sometimes a problem, my house is chaos with three kids, a wife and a puppy, and when they've all gone to work (the puppy is currently unemployed) it's so quiet it can get a bit lonely.
I do miss working with a creative team, having that second pair of eyes on an idea, and a wall to bounce directions off; collaboration always pushes the work to a better place. I have found ways of dealing with this, the best one being to sleep on a design before sending it, it's amazing how fresh eyes can see things that need work that you've missed previously.
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself?
Seeing my kids grow up and being able to go to all of their school plays, taking a nap in the afternoon, only working with clients I like, having lunch with friends, working hard and directly getting the benefits. Most importantly I feel proud that I've built a real business for over 10 years that I enjoy working for and has been good to me and my family.
“I feel proud that I’ve built a real business for over 10 years that I enjoy working for and has been good to me and my family.”
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
Leave your job, cut your ties and put some pressure on yourself at the start, this fear will drive success, you cannot do it without 'the fear'
Do things properly, paperwork, VAT, accounts, tax, invoices, keep everything in order
Treat every customer well. Nearly every £90 job I've done has eventually turned into a much bigger project
Delete that snarky email about the 17th round of amends
Manage expectations, make sure at the start of every job your client knows exactly what you're going to deliver
Don't bullshit people, stick to the things you can do, and do them well
Get dressed, put your pants on and work normal hours, your customers don't want responses at 2am, they want to work when they're in the office
Back everything up, archive your old work, then back that up off-site.
Keep throwing that line out, even when you're busy try to have one eye on your next brief
Stay on top of your mental health, talk to friends, family or professionals when you're getting low, and do everything you need to do to make sure you don't suffer in your office alone.
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration?
I mainly listen to Podcasts all day long, here's some of my favourites;
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, and the Adam Buxon Podcast - are great for some fake company.
Endless Thread, Reply All, Full Disclosure, This American Life and Infinite Monkey Cage - are all really interesting background inspo for when you're deep into a project
How Did this Get Made?, Gossipmongers (NSFW) and Heavyweight - are good when it's all getting a bit much and you need a LOL
What role does collaboration play for you?
I work with a company called Canyon Studios, it's run by 90's E-List celebrities Adam and Jason Perry, famous for being in the rock band A, Bloodhoud Gang and writing and producing songs for McFly and other pop bands.
Whenever they set up a new project, or come up with a new idea (which is literally every 90 seconds by the way) I work with them on the branding, visuals and identity. We've done some amazing work together, and as collaborators they're incredible, positive, energetic and honest with feedback, always grateful and constantly alive to new directions. They've consistently pushed me to my best work over the years, through their sheer force of positive energy, I've never met anyone like them.
What do you love to do?
I love working with start-ups, finding someone who is driven and listens to my experience guiding them with pace though the early parts of setting up a brand and helping them grow into something bigger.
I love designing a poster, leaving it on my screen and coming down in the morning opening it up and thinking 'it's finished', this guttural sense is the one thing I have that feels special, I know when it's done and it's good, and a 10 second endorphine boost is my reward.
Aside from that I love walking the dog in the sunshine, riding my bike really early in the morning, winning at Mario Party on the Switch with my kids and hearing my wife sing in the kitchen, I also like a mint humbug after my dinner, and decluttering a cupboard…
“‘It’s finished’, this guttural sense is the one thing I have that feels special, I know when it’s done and it’s good, and a 10 second endorphine boost is my reward.”
What’s your marketing superpower?
Brand Stories, UX and UI design, brochure and presentation design, animation and App design are all skills I'm good at. But what I'm really good at is building relationships, doing everything somebody wants, and when they want it, to a standard higher than they expected, and keeping these relationships going. It's an old idea, but it's true, business comes down to people making decision about people, and it's so easy to be honest, nice and reliable, and there's always a reward for this.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
Probably working on the identity for the Channel 4 show 'Dead Pixels' with my brother Jon, the writer and creator. It was a very proud moment to see it on the screen for the first time, and for season 2 we've pushed it a little further it's looks great, and should be out later this year.
My brother's an award-winning genius, and works on some of the biggest shows on TV here in the UK and in the US, we always did everything together growing up, so whenever we get a chance to work together we make it happen.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
My wife and I also run a wedding invitation business called 'Wedding Tea Towels'. We invented this idea for our own wedding 10 years ago, and it's still a thriving little business today, take a look at www.weddingteatowels.co.uk
If you’re looking for a super cool designer to create anything from your brand identity to your UI or posters, Ben’s your man. Check out his portfolio and get in touch with him over on his website citizenstudios.myportfolio.com