questionnaire analysis (Appendix 1)

 

This analysis of the three questionnaires is best understood with reference to the questionnaire papers themselves. It is possible to print or download a copy of the questionnaire from the web-site :

http://csm.u-net.com

The web-site also holds a Microsoft access database with a full set of forms and graphs to

show the findings in graphic and percentage forms.

 

questionnaire analysis

Freelance Textile Designers

 

Part A. general questions

 

• 81 Respondents , 3 papers spoiled and discarded
• 20 are working as part-time freelancer designers
• the majority have only ever worked as textile designers

Wovens	Knitted	Printed
24	11	24
11	12	15

(17) people did mixed disciplines

 

• 5 others produced embroidered , felted or tufted fabrics. Additional materials and products were accessories, and clothing born of their fabric designs, hand-painted clothes etc.
• reasons for becoming freelance: 53 respondents cited that to be independent was prime reason .5 cited only lack of company openings ( 4 of them were weavers )
• only three people cited the sole reason for becoming freelance as to increase their income. Since these were the most mature and presumably successful respondents at 33, 31 and 23 years of practice respectively.
• One person said that they had become freelance to be a frontrunner not a follower.
• Of the fourteen others who also said that they were unable to find openings the underlying reason is possibly (given the nature of the respondent’s work) that the work was incompatible with commercial considerations. The embroiderers and embellishers were in this group. Also one respondent with particularly distinctive style added: that they wished to market a particular technique, another commented that there was no available job that they wanted to do. Another said that they wished to keep flexible and versatile - Can it be inferred from this that employment is seen as antipathetic to creativity ?
  • We asked how the following aspects of working freelance were perceived if applicable:

   

	Negative	Neutral	Positive
Independence	1	21	53
Home working	15	22	31
Flexihours	4	12	61
Own equip etc	4	44	26
Spec work	7	42	19
Variety	0	23	50
Agents	21	30	15
Payment time	23	40	7
Travelling	0	27	46

 

• Some had their own studios ( or shared ) Of the 3 people who did not like flexible hours two enjoyed their independence - one had been a designer for 21 years the other for 16 – perhaps the isolation was beginning to pall? One comment made from a designer of 16 years was that it was easier to combine working from home with having a family but the disadvantage was she felt rather solitary. ( compatibility with family life is often cited – some see being an employed designer as a clear choice between family and career.)

 

• There is more ambivalence over the freedom to purchase their own equipment and books significantly the 26 who rated this highly were the older group (with 5 exceptions .)
• Of course the outlay of equipping a studio is both expensive and a high risk activity until the business is proved.
• It may be that the question rating the advantage of the speculativenatue of freelance work was not understood two respondents put question marks here and 11 did not answer.
• On the question of variety it was missed off 5 of the questionnaires but 3 others chose not to answer this- one had only been working for a year, however it is significant that 49 rated variety highly and that the emphasis is towards the positive. It may be that some designers have a particular product or style – so obviating the condition of variety.
• Working with agents -this was n/a for 14 otherwise the division was very mixed as between disciplines, length of practice .
• Travel opportunities is viewed as a benefit – this is clarified in later sections as some designers who have agents will inevitably travel less.
• General the positive end of the scale was used most by those just starting their carrers and also those who had been working as designers for a long time. The middle ground was filled by those mid-career.
• Additional negatives offered by one designer of 14 years were exclusion from employer benefits, pension provision, healthcare etc –Lack of varied social interaction. I report on this in Program findings , but it is possible that at the outset many freelance designers are ignorant of the financial disadvantages of not being under the unbrella of common-place employee protections and pension arrangements and only latterly come to appreciate this.
• How do they keep informed of developments in the designfield ?

  41 people ticked all four boxes-other methods of keeping in touch were: networking(usually put as talking or wordof mouth ), textile magazines,craft fairs, degree shows and textile exhibitions, travel, trend presentations,(one person mentioned shopping and this is of course and extremely helpful test of consumer interest.) Feedback from agents.( this is variable but evidently invaluable ).

• 15 people did not read fashion magazines but amongst these were the designers with either a particularly distinctive furnishing or interiors style or those whose fabrics could be described as art fabric or gallery installations.

 

 Part B. Finding Work

 

• Sources of work:

 

• Trade shows etc.
• 48 rated this most highly for only 9 it was the least used approach of these 9 - 5 had agents and the remaining four were mostly getting repeat work from established channels.

 

Approaching companies direct

• 25 said this was not a source of work- unclear whether they have tried it.
• 30 said that it was (other end of scale ) this group also had a correspondingly high score for work and repeat work through established relationships. Of this group 12 did not have agents.
• Very few promoted themselves through magazines but it is possible that this question was answered in different terms by those who had been featured in magazine editorials.
• 60 said they didn’t advertise ie it was the least popular form of promotion–we didn’t specify or clarify as to whether this also meant editorial. Even those who had an identifiable product were not clearly using the media.
• Of the 18 who did promote their work this way 12 were designers of no more than 4 years standing.

 

• 65 respondents said that they promoted their work 23 didn’t of these 20 had been designing for over 14 years, one knitwear designer simply sold locally by word of mouth.

The remaining two were just starting out.

• The most popular methods of self promotion in order; Exhibitions and trade fairs were the favoured mode for self advertising, then postcards and mailshots. 13 people had entered and been placed in competitions.
• Other methods used :Brochures, Artists slide index crafts council etc. workshops open to the public, cold calling, mailshots, sending designs direct to buyers.( this was an unusual response and flies in the face of the usual guarded care that designers showed over the selling techniques they used.)
• Others also mentioned editorial coverage but not whether they had then used this for further self-promotion.

 

• Portfolios and collections consist of, in order: ‘artwork’, screen prints samples / swatches, computer printouts, croqius ( it is possible that this is an unfamiliar term to a younger generation of designers !) alternative products. A large group failed to identify their product at all.

 

• Some respondents produced products rather than design work this was described variously as :scarves, interior textiles , meterage ( sic ) furnishing and fashion items. Framed embroidered collages and wall-hangings. Hand tufted rugs, screens blinds, wallpaper, trend-presentation boards, consultancy packages, knitted garments, woven blankets, shawls and throws, table linen and towels, handwoven and hand-dyed scarves, and a few instances of "I don’t do a collection – just one offs."( of what ?)
• 50 people replied that they would not send work to prospective buyers additionally four commented :’ never’ ,’no way’ ,’too risky.’
• of the designers who had, or were prepared to send work they were hedging their bets ‘

  " there is a process involved when pieces are commissioned that involves approving samples ". Some will send photos, some send photocopies ( to be returned.)

• One person claimed that their designs were registered for security. Clearly it depends on who the client is and the relationship. Perhaps we should also have asked here- how they find out about prospective clients and their reliability.(We were also looking for instances of differing work practices as between knitters printers and weavers )

 

 

• As to providing examples of end uses of designs to potential customers
• 25 never did this.
• 28 sometimes did this
• 24 it was usual practice

. Even split?…

• 21often mentioned other customers.
• 36 sometimes did and
• 16 never mentioned
• previous sales or markets. 6 did not fill in this box (curiously). It is possible that there is an issue here that designers find difficult to resolve in balancing confidentiality and marketing.In practice some feel they may jeopardise a sale if they make any comments.

 

 

How do they perceive their status? HIGH, FAIR or LOW

(Five of the forms did not have this q. by omission)

• Of all the respondents – only 5 responded HIGH . Five did not answer but commented variously- It appears that the ‘ textile artists had some difficulty with this question or had never considered themselves in a context.ie. "I don’t have a status- I’m a textile artist."

And " No idea."

• 32 thought they had FAIR status. comments here – " we are valued for innovation but not for business acumen." " It is a buyers market." " Encouragement is need for more designers to be commissioned." " Status varies depending on the market sector." "It takes some considerable years to build respect." And that "designers do not get sufficient recognition in the ( marketing ?) end product." One respondent put that " lots of design studios create competition"-It is not clear as to whether this is seen as good or bad.
• 31 felt they had LOW status- two knitters mentioned that their work might be considered craft and that craft was low status.

 

 

Part C. working with agents

 

• 45 did not currently use agents.
• 33 did. Curiously almost all of those using agents also felt that designers had low status.

 

• Number of agents used

  One = 15, Two = 8, Three = 8 ,Four = 1, one has 20 ?

 

• Relationships with the agents were mostly characterised as semi-formal followed by informal.( It is interesting to compare this with the agents reply to this -which is that their relationships with the designers are mostly informal.)

 

Which services the agent provides

• Most agents charged between 30 and 45% as a fee on the sale of the design . Some designers said that the fee varied according to the work.

 

• Almost all were satisfied with the service the agent supplied. One said that she had" only been using an agent for 6 months and needed to renegotiate the percentage charged but would continue."
• 3 said that they would not be interested in alternative ways of selling and one stated that she was more than satisfied with the agent.
• Additional services provided were trend and feedback information- especially highly valued valued were foreign sales trips.

 

 

 Part D. selling designs

 

• Most likely ways of selling designs-( see graph )

 

• one designer "sells his time- not a product." N.B. this is of course a popular method of freelancing within graphics but rarely in textiles ? why is this?

 

• Where sold: 64 = UK + overseas, 6 = overseas only, 7 U.K. only

 

• Which countries ? ( see graph )
• How = Trade fairs, shops, press, word of mouth, post, fax, telephone, travelling, -those who had agents sold through them, but not exclusively.

 

• How often do companies inform you how they have used a design?
• Are you interested? Only one person was not interested in knowing how the design purchased is used. Some are sometimes interested, most would like to know- a large no of companies did not volunteer information. Some felt that since the agents will not tell them whom they sell to they rarely find out.

  The responses indicated that it was really a matter of ones own attitude:-

" if you ask they tell you", or "its up to the designer to get all the information necessary on paper." " I usually write a brief for the company as they rarely do"

These comments are indicative of the enterprising nature of some designers but also possibly of an indifference or arrogance on the part of the manufacturers.

 

• 66 said that they had been commissioned to design- of the information given by the commissioning party - typically at least three boxes were ticked indicating that a dialogue exists – Colour range, theme and fabric type – are the most frequent.
• Some required technical info – mill constraints etc.some companies require graphs (knit )

  It would therefore appear that the weave and knit requirements are more closely discussed than those of the printers.- market level . N.B.this is a very important consideration but only mentioned by 2. Packaging and storage of the product was mentioned.-and fire regulations !

• With commissioned work inevitably the information given and the conditions differed widely from client to client.
• Notice of dissatisfaction was a question not always answered, Do we deduce that it was not an issue – if a job is cancelled – My anecdotal understanding of this is that textile designers are more willing to walk away from these situations than are other design disciplines. One respondee said this was a stupid question !
• 30 days was the most common payment period although 3 and 6 months were quoted –one person added that although 30 days was expected most didn’t pay until the 2^nd reminder.i.e. 3 months in practice.

 

• where variable was ticked regarding length of payment time it was difficult to tell within what parameters.One person stressed c.o.d. However almost nobody charged for late payment ?

 Part E. Legal issues

 

• The impression given is that designs are almost never registered. This is extremely worrying – perhaps not to the designers but amongst those who said it didn’t apply were designers producing meterage – ie fabric. And ‘ one offs ie exclusivity could be jeopardised by copies.
• It seems that in selling to American companies designers are frequently asked to verify originality of designs by signing a form – it could be useful for this to become a standardised form offered by the designer- adding some professionalism and security to the transaction.
• As to whether copy-right is signed over-in practice this differed some designers felt that copyright resided with them but since they in some cases also ticked the box stating that these matters were not discussed it there is some ambiguity over this.
• Design credits were not applicable in fabrics that became installations or furnishings.

  It seems a pity not to push the advantage as fabric that could have the name of the designers printed on either the selvedge or on marketing bumph.

• Those whose fabrics fell into the arena of art textiles kept copyright often these fabrics, and they were often also featured as postcards and other printed material so capitalising on the product?

One commented : "I retain all copyright/ design and production rights."

Another designer kept all preparatory work as future proof of origination. One differentiated between selling to stores and manufacturers- retaining rights except on specially negotiated commissions. One stated that she would like to have more control over the copyright – is this more than just a matter of negotiating skills?

The very fact that a large number of designers had some difficulties differentiating between the legal terms of these questions is more likely a function of their ignorance of the issues than our questionnaire.

 

• some weavers and knitters did not think that copyright applied to them

 

• 50 designers had a very relaxed attitude to this state of affairs? Or is it that they are not sufficiently well organised enough to make greater demands on their market. The remark made whilst discussing the questionnaire by one of the respondents that "there are now too many people doing textile design so there will always be someone to undercut you or behave unprofessionally with clients - unlike the old days-" is telling.

 

• Some did not care what happened to a design once sold. One commented that this is what she employed her agent to cover – We are unclear as to whether this was an effective strategy but also begs the question to what extent do agents see this as their responsibility ?

 

• A number of ambiguities were flagged over the legal questions. E.g. Designers who had ‘ ‘ never used contracts’ but who had had recourse to the law for copyright and payment issues.

  On the question as to whether one had ever had designs copied – quite sensibly one respondent pointed out that one couldn’t really be certain of this.

• Those who were unsure about the future use of standardised legal contracts tended to be the more mature designers who also fell into the category of those who had a larger proportion of commissioned work and set their own contracts.

  It could be that as a community Trextile designers are not a litigious group. Many seemed to regard this series of questions as barely applicable – yet to what extent are they failing to protect their own interests ?

• One commented that bad debtors and problematic companies eventually get frozen out because of the grape-vine. Is gossip effective ? -consider the amount of damage that is done in the process- not only to the victims but possibly to the company who may be misrepresented in their dealings.

 

• There was inevitably some correlation between replies satisfied with the trustworthiness of their clients amongst those who worked close to home and had personal dealings as opposed to those who sent their designs out with greater attendant risks either abroad or through agents and effectively had less control.
• Two mentioned that they used the D.T.I. to collect debts.

  It might be useful for other designers to know not only what financial services are available but also how effective these are in practice .

 

• Help from funds came from the D.T.I., Crafts Council and Enterprise allowance scheme.

Part F. technology

 

• 43 answered that that they had computers in their businesses.
• 23 did not use it / them for designing. Accounts and stationery were most frequently cited uses with archiving, word processing , mail order and desk top publishing ,stock control ? communication listed as further uses.

  Computerised knitting machines were added by respondents. Microsoft Word was the most frequently mentioned software used.

Fewer respondents used Macs but here the software was Claris works. One respondent used an Amiga

File formats were not listed – textile designers being "un-nerdy" as one put it. However one respondent had custom designed software.( but not used for design ?)

 

• Weavers were using computerised looms (dedicated systems and software: APSO ,AVL, swiftweave, weavepoint and Design and Weave) and were generally the most familiar with computers, followed closely by knitters with ‘ computers ‘ built into their domestic machines.
• Software

  One respondent used Pointcarre ( weave software for weave, print and knit purposes)
  Printers mentioned Photoshop, Corel Draw and Illustrator and Foresight ?
  Excel and Lotus ami pro were also cited – presumably for accounts ?
  One respondent said that "I would like to use my computer for design but I don’t know where to begin !" "I’m new to using this technology and rely on my children to help me a lot of the time."

 

• The internet

Was described by one as ‘A future issue not relevant at present ‘ ?

One respondent was currently setting up a web site.

One company saw the Internet as useful for targeting a market.

One respondent replied that ‘ the internet is great but most clients do not use computers let alone the net.’

• Of the other communications systems :None used ISDN , most used FAX and also courier deliveries .
• 8 respondents gave email addresses

 

• All those who had computers answered the section on the use of computers to freelance designers positively. They also saw the internet as useful but some had reservations about the security of designs – only one was using digital watermarking or encryption for these purposes. Understandably, the computer owners were more aware of the issues and limitations than those who didn’t have computers but responded enthusiastically.
• Of the 34 who didn’t have computers:
• 14 were very positive and saw the future use of a computer as helpful in most areas.
• 2 said they were just about to buy systems.
• 12 were interested but chiefly doubtful about collaboration or the security of designs.
• 10 respondents did not see any use for themselves in having a computer or access to the internet.
• 3 respondents had computers for office and graphic use but so no further use for them as communication or design and marketing tools.

 

questionnaire analysis

Textile Design Studios and Agents

 

 

Part A. general questions

 

• 40 responded
• varied in longevity.( see graph)
• Some took mixed fabrics but the majority offered print.
• They employed comparatively few on thepayroll, most taking freelancers on a selected basis.
• There was a curious disparity between the number of designers taken on by knit agents-i.e. many more- up to 100’s, this is probably because there are far more agents specialising in print- greater choice.

 

Part B. Selling designs

 

• Advertising in magazines was the least helpful as a source of sales although clearly some did use advertising. Word of mouth was stated as a useful source – since commissioning staff move from job to job etc. Verbal recommendations were valuable.
• Some agents were very clear about never sending designs to prospective buyers ‘ we never let a design out of our sight until sold.’ ‘I always keep the collection with me .
• Or ‘Yes – only if the relationship is secure and we trust the company- intuition is extremely important.’ The question of trust was key here One company admitted to sending designs on approval for two days to those companies with whom they had a faithful relationship.
• Some agents had additional agencies who dealt with sales further afield or in particular locations .This would entail sending designs which would then be returned when not sold.
• Countries which were named as difficult to trade with were the U.K. ( no money,
• a nightmare, Lower rates than elsewhere.)
• Germany, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Japan(except through trade shows )India, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan, the Phillipines and Hong Kong were all cited as not prepared to pay enough for designs and the Far East was problematic for late payments. However a number of respondents indicated that they would do business with any customer willing to pay the right price immediately - also one stated ‘ I would not prejudice a customer on the basis of nationality !’

  To be fair this was a question more to do with national patterns of business practice and rogues can be encountered anywhere.

 

Who buys the designs ?

• Some respondents commented that we should have split fashion fabric from fashion designers , ie converters v fashion wholesalers. We think that this is a fair point

(see % pie chart graph.)

• How many designs sold in a year- most kept this confidential or were offended at being asked
• 6 studios answered this question the highest figure given was 2,500 + designs per annum

 

Marketing techniques

• agents were much less likely to use examples of end uses of designs they have sold in the past to market designs to new customers than to mention previous clients. One put ‘out of date.’ This is ambiguous as certainly it could be counter productive – indicating that the designs or concepts were not fresh – or did it mean that this practice is out of date.?
• Clients obviously varied quite considerably as to what they asked for or indicated they needed in the way of alterations and future qualities.
• Some of the questionnaires asked for more details on commissioned designs in this respect.
• Those who answered this section gave much the same responses as freelance designers i.e. it was variable according to client. However there were a distinct few who indicated a reluctance to design to commission – ‘ we refuse ‘ ‘for the past 15 years we have refused to do commissions or any service work. We just sell originals.’,it seems that there are more things that can go wrong – often the clients requirements are not clear etc.
• One suggested that it was often a request to do a copyright safe knock-off or further developments on an existing theme.

 

 

C. working with freelancers.

 

• Varied numbers- see data chart
• Background- this question wasn’t on all the questionnaires however it appears that the greater no. do come from a design background,
• 3 also had business studies skills.
• one was from a business background..
• Almost all described their relationship with their designers as informal - based on trust, very close-, long term-, that the ‘relationship is very important as many freelancers work from home and need the contact with the outside world. "has to be trust based as it wont work any other way."
• One commented’ We do not consider ourselves as an agent as we are very involved in the design process with the freelancers.’
• One had great difficulty finding designers to represent.
• 2 advertised for them in the Drapers record and Guardian newspaper.
• Two large established agencies were more usually approached by designers than looked for them- a mark of their success perhaps. As a result of their scale they operated in a more formal way but stated that ‘ we try to build a friendly casual relationship through the art director.’ Another stated that the agent needs ‘ to be formal to compensate for the informality of designers.’
• N.B. it could certainly be deduced that so many of the designers were unprofessional in their naivety and needed the interface of a more formal approach to business. This is a valuable but unstated aspect of what the agent provides.
• On the services provided section we made a mistake in putting ‘ buying’ designs rather than selling .This was pointed out by a large number of resplies We feel it is safe to assume that all the agents sell designs, although / ticked that they buy designs.

 

• Additional services provided by the agencies to their freelancers were : -mounting work, use of extensive design library, access to books and magazines etc. advice, materials, experience, the cachet of selling within a particular portfolio. Other services offered by the studios/agents to clients were forecasting, colour research, trend directions for styling and merchandising.

 

 

Part D. Legal issues

• After we had sent out 50 of these forms we improved this section of the questionnaire so the answers are not therefore uniformly represented. Also a number of responses did not fill in this section – possibly regarding this information as highly confidential ? However it is possible to say that whilst the studios and agents had a good grasp of the differences between the legal terms than the freelance designers and had in often taken advice – nevertheless, for the most part they were not covering themselves with registration or contracts.
• Only 6 used their own terms of sale.
• One agency had informal contracts with their freelancers to ensure that everything they were sent was original.
• This same agency ( U.S.A.) stated that in 27 years they had only failed to be paid when a company went bankrupt or filed a chapter.11 ( insolvency stand-by arrangement )
• Some used their own terms in conjunction with clients terms.
• None would like to see standardised legal contracts but most were open to more information about this.
• Almost all transfer copyright to the buyer and some fill in legal documents of copyright – particularly for the American market.
• All would be interested in more information on these matters. We refer you to our web- site : www.csm.u-net.com

 

 

Part E. Technology

 

• 27 of the studios and agencies used computers in their business.
• 14 used a P.C./s
• 12 used a Mac/s
• one used both platforms
• 13 of the above only used the computer for accounts and stationery.
• The remainder were using the computer for CAD, colorways was specifically mentioned three times.
• There was a wide range of software mentioned- most popular choice was Microsoft Word and Office ’97, followed by Excel and Quicken, Photoshop, Corel and Freehand, Filemaker-pro, Touchbase, Netbooks, Quickbooks,Wordperfect. One ( Dutch) agency was running the dedicated Textile/ Fashion software- Moda-CAD.
• Only two respondents knew which file- formats they used regularly.
• Of these computer-using respondents :
• 6 had no interest in using the internet.
• 11 were interested. – some were already using it – 2 e-mail addresses.
• The remainder would like more information. ( we will be following up this report with regular updates of information on our Central saint Martins website and the project website – see above )
• All stated that their current ways of working were satisfactory and there was a wariness as to the security of designs marketed on the internet.
• Only one of the respondents had a website but one stated that they were in the processof putting one up.
• One used an ISDN line and fax/modem.
• All used Fax and courier services.
• Of the non-computer owners:
• 7 did not have an interest in computers or the internet.
• They were satisfied with their current working practice and 4 of them were unconvinced of the security of designs on the internet.
• All but one in this group used fax and courier services.
• The remainder were interested and would like more information.
• They also used only Fax and Courier services.

 

We suggested that perhaps the agencies and studios could supply us with the names of freelance designers who could further help us with the study. In fact no-one took us up on this and two respondents stated that they did not wish to divulge the names of their freelancers.