One of our long-time designers has earned $2 million from participating in design contests.
Anand Thangavel, also known as PB, is the engineer turned designer who joined the DesignCrowd marketplace in May 2011. He has been at the top of the graphic and web design community for years.
To celebrate this huge milestone, we sat him down for a quick chat. You'll pick up a lot of things from one of the most hardworking talents in this community. The UK-based designer shared his work motivations and even the struggles that he faced along the way.
Thangavel has been featured on the blog many times over the past few years. Like when he ranked number one on the leaderboard and when he surpassed the one million mark. PB has been on the radar of many clients for a good reason.
His specialties include web design, landing page design, banner ads, WordPress design, and a whole lot more. Take a look at some of his best work below!
Judy Valentine Web Design by pb
Iconic Fitness Web Design by pb
Bold Email Marketing Design by pb
Tadco Foods Shopify by pb
Asset Web Design by pb
Congratulations Anand! How does it feel to have hit $2M in earnings on DesignCrowd?
It was a stupefying moment. I was flabbergasted the moment I saw the earnings counter turn to $2M.
To be honest, this wouldn't have been possible without your support and the Lord.
How do you plan to celebrate?
I wanted to celebrate it and call out a toast. But with COVID19 and cities under lockdown, I thought it would be better to stay low.
However, I gifted myself with an opulent gadget that I coveted for a long time - Apple Black Magic Mouse.
DesignCrowd’s pb with his Apple Black Magic Mouse
You trained as an electronics engineer and then switched to graphic design, eventually leaving your safe full-time job to try working off a crowdsourcing platform. At the time, friends might have thought you were taking a big risk.
Looking back, do you have to pinch yourself to think it would end up being so lucrative?
Never had thought of it even in my wildest dreams that I will be a millionaire one day.
When I turned to a designer, there was a ruckus at home, which later turned to a rampage. I chose the path of crowdsourcing, and everyone around thought I was naive. I was advised to get a full-time 9-5 job and not sit idle all day long in front of the computer.
I felt crowdsourcing was the future and started as a freelancer. Now there is no turning back. I feel I have taken the right step at the right moment and in the right marketplace.
Tell us, what is the secret to your success? How dedicated do you have to be to turn freelancing into a viable alternative? How do you stay sharp and keep your design skills up?
Firstly, Dedication is the key. I hardly sleep. Though currently being in Indian Standard Time (IST), I keep myself responsive during PT, ET, BST, AEST timings.
In fact, these time zones were a compliment from a client who once wrote on a surprise, "Mate, I see you online on all the time zones. Are you human or bot?"
Secondly, learning is also the key to success. You need to keep yourself updated, or you'll get outdated. I spend a few hours every day going through new design elements/ ideas/ creative concepts and learning new coding technologies. I keep it as a daily routine to learn something new every day.
We know you're a workhorse, with over an average of 20,000 designs submitted a year since you joined in 2009, but how do you sustain that level of productivity year in and year out without burning out?
I had a rough patch when I was just starting out. I underwent some serious health issues. But as time passed, I got accustomed to the job. I found my footing and developed a work-life balance. I soon realized that this was the path for me.
I made it more of family work with my sister and brother supporting me and helping me out during work pressure. Yoga helps a lot to get rid of some stress & work constraints. A 20-minute workout keeps me running for the next 12hrs. It helps keep me focused, as well.
What design tips would you share with aspiring designers in the community?
I have six tips for aspiring designers right now. They are as follows.
- Don't go with your gut instinct designing.
- Think of the old adage. Measure Twice, Cut Once.
- Always go through the client brief extensively. Every time you read, you find a hidden feature the client is looking for.
- When you present the client with such a design, he gets overwhelmed, and the chances of your design getting selected increases.
- Be patient and listen to client requests and fulfill them on time, every time.
- Always remember quality speaks and not quantity.
What do you love about working on DesignCrowd? What's good about the platform, the clients, the support?
I would say DC has a vast diversity to offer. You get requirements from startups and, at the same time, from high-end technical businesses. So there is a vast base of clients you can work with.
Also, the designer support is remarkable. With the support team working round the clock, every query or difficulty gets addressed immediately. The fake projects are also minimal as DC deploys thorough financial fraud prevention algorithms.
Can you remember a time when you went above and beyond to help a customer with their design needs? (tight turnaround, or last-minute changes or something else)
Not just once. There were times where I worked under last-minute changes. There was this event launch for the company scheduled on Monday, and the site was complete. However the C-level management decided to trash the design and use one other design, so I was asked to re-encode from scratch and make it ready in under 24 hours. This took a toll on my sleep. I woke up and started to code the design ASAP and put in all the contents, and migrated their site.
There also have been various instances when a WordPress website will be all ready, and the client suddenly changes their mind and chooses to go with an alternate framework. WordPress to Wix, WordPress to Shopify, and I have to start off from scratch and get it ready before the deadline. I accept it as part and parcel of my work.
Are there any projects you're most proud of that you can share with us, and tell us why they matter to you?
Every project I have worked on is important to me, and I'm glad the client has chosen to have my design as their website.
What's next for you?
I will strive to work even harder and work towards a £6M target. That will be my next agenda. I want to bring in more creative ideas and concepts. With technology growing in the geometric progression, you need to be agile and keep up with enhancements.
As in the words of Robert Frost, "I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep."
Conclusion
PB proves to be worthy of winning the contests with his attention to detail, technical skills, and patience. Like the happy clients that chose PB's work, you can also source a winning design. Meet the best designers by starting your design contest.
DesignCrowd is a crowdsourcing platform where you can collaborate with freelance graphic designers who will submit over 50 bids. Starting a design contest for custom logos, t-shirt design, web design, and more is easy. From the submissions, you can find the best one and use it for your project and campaign. Try it today.
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Written by DesignCrowd on Monday, November 16, 2020
DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.
