Laura knows design and about freelancing. Having worked on various other freelance platforms before she discovered ReFUEL4, she shares with us the reasons she finds the ReFUEL4 platform different and rewarding.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself? Your professional background as well as your personal life that gives us an insight of you as a designer and person. What makes you tick?

Laura: I'm a creative designer with over 20 years of experience. I have worked in many different industries. My design experience has been primarily as an in-house designer. Working and creating in a non-agency environment has been exciting and challenging. Working with non-creative individuals broadens your perceptive and exposes your creative message to a more diverse audience. I've learned a lot by being in such diverse settings and my design has continued to grow.

2. What made you become a designer?

Laura: I was very inspired by my high school art teachers and was interested in pursuing a career in the art field. Being immersed in art was a way I expressed myself. However, to make a living at it was to me a dream.  I was introduced to logo design and marketing and fell in love with the process of conceptualizing a message visually. My amazing, art and design teachers, Mr. Young and Ms. Sullivan, encouraged me to take design chances and try new things.

3. What inspires you to do what you do and what fulfills you as a designer?

Laura: The conceptualizing process of design is where I find the most satisfaction. Defining the need, analyzing, and illustrating the resolution. This is where I find the most joy in designing. Making all the pieces fit to create an end result which is the visual piece. This is very rewarding and satisfying. What tops this for me is when I create a design piece that receives a positive response from the audience.

4. What you were you looking for? The reasons you were looking? How did you discover RF4? What compelled you to start working with us?

Laura: I was introduced to ReFUEL4 by a former colleague. She was working with ReFUEL4 and was very successful. She knew I was looking for more freelance work so she made the introduction. I was a bit hesitant at first and didn't see how I was going to make money. But I was very interested because they had many big name clients and my work would be on Facebook and Twitter. I was a bit worried as I didn't like freelance bidding sites. Those sites make you feel like a number and not a designer. I want to submit my work and contribute to my client's success. If I'm not, I want to try and improve so that we are all successful.

At ReFUEL4, from my first brief, I felt that uploading my designs was an accomplishment. I had submitted my work and there was a very good chance, it was going to be selected. I wasn't going to have to downgrade my value to get seen or spend time resubmitting bids. I could just design and that is what I want to do.

5. What has been the experience of working with RF4?

Laura: I would have to say I've had an amazing experience working with ReFUEL4.

I was never a fan of those bidding sites and felt the process was very demoralizing. It took time away from designing but at ReFUEL4 you can submit work to as many briefs as you want - and to many different types of clients. One day, I will be working on a brief for a game software and later in the day, I will be working on a brief for an online retailer.

Popular briefs can be competitive. However, my ideas (which I would have spent many hours working on) won't be underbid by another designer as the client can select the work of more than one designer for every brief. As designers, we want to create and present our ideas and we want those ideas to be seen. When I design for ReFUEL4, I know my designs has a chance of being on Facebook and viewed by millions.

6. What can we do to make your experience with RF4 more fulfilling? How can we grow together?

 Laura: Continue to increase the number of briefs you offer designers and the number of diverse clientele. I love the diversity of subject matter you offer. Continue to work with designers by offering them tutorials and ideas. Possibly create a ReFUEL4 University and an onboarding process to welcome new designers. This makes them feel more connected to ReFUEL4 and more invested.

I love the showcase of designers. Maybe do a monthly or quarterly feature on a successful ReFUEL4 designer, on the site, highlighting their story and their ReFUEL4 design success. Work with local universities and colleges on an internship program.

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