Pro Bono
I’ve taken on a couple of “Pro Bono” projects recently. One project is for the Church where I am getting married next year. The other is for a charity based in London that is “dedicated to improving the life chances of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds”.
Both projects are for worthy causes. I, of course, wouldn’t do free work for anyone.
I feel it’s important to do these things once in a while. Not only does it give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside but allows you to experiment with some design ideas you may have had buzzing round in your head for a while, but never found quite the right fit in your commercial projects.
That’s not to say you should shoe-horn said ideas into the pro bono designs. Like any commercial project there is still a target audience to satisfy. For example, I have a couple of ideas that would be more suited to a website for a band or funky clothing shop than a Church.
I like to use different colour schemes for different projects where possible. I find this helps to prevent me from falling into a rut. As such I will be pushing a green theme for the Church website. I think green is a suitable colour for a Church (especially considering this one’s rural setting). This is an example of one small, but significant, mutual benefit from doing pro bono.
Oh, and, of course, it’s another website to put in the Portfolio and wow potential clients with. Plus it makes you look more approachable, friendly, considerate, accommodating and willing. Surely traits any prospective customer is looking for in a web designer.
DA
