Parker Pierce
A Freelance Platform
Summary
Managing the workflow as a freelance artist is often a messy pile of tasks on top of the hectic process of making art constantly for a variety of clients. Many Artists have their detail spread across a number of platforms that aren't specifically designed to handle their specific needs, compiling together a solution that sorta-works but not well. A hub of general details, tax management, status, wips and related would make the survival of an artist easier.
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Objectives:
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Enhanced Personalization:
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A fully functional page to fill out basic info on who the artist is, to the extend they want customers to know
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Section to list project interests, wont-do’s, and custom sections to add/remove.
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Streamlined Booking Process:
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Develop a complete process for visitors to add all information needed for the artist to invoice and begin the process of working on the requested art
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Include the ability to see if the request was accepted, denied, or requested updates or changes to be sent back to requester.
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Auto adding accepted projects to work list, and auto filled invoices using info filled out in request, such as paypal, with option to fill out or review manually.
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List of comm types, requests, and slots available
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Manage income, Tax, and projections with what-if numbers
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Auto adding of all income from projects by year, and option to search by date range.
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Estimated taxes by quarter based on income, with option to calculate from range.
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Estimate calculator to project taxes based on hypothetical income, with option to break it into quarterly.
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Links to government tax docs and a break description of their use, and why typically needs them
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Commission queue
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Order received, order doing, custom list types for organizing accepted projects, as well as invisible options.
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Color coordinating for stage or status of comms, with ability to turn off all, or chosen projects
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Terms of service
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Social / contact
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Ability to add website, email, bluesky, tweeter and custom social media, as well
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Posting schedule / auto
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Load art, choose site, add text, and pick time when the post goes live.
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Ability to add reminder posts for comm openings, streaming etc
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merchandise
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Page to add sections for merch types, add items/description/price/stock
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Check out section with go back/remove/cancel, card info and complete
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Faq
Expected Outcome
This hub will streamline freelance artists' business operations, minimize repetitive admin work, enhance client transparency, and give artists more time to focus on creating.
MVP Must-Haves
​​​Commission Intake
Clients can submit commission requests and get instant, clear responses — accepted, declined, or needs edits.
Project Tracking
Visual, simple status updates for every project. Clients know where their piece stands; artists stay organized without extra admin work.
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Unified Communication
All updates, revisions, and messages happen in one place — no more chasing DMs across multiple platforms.
Research
Survey Questions​
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Survey Questions: https://forms.gle/PtzxRVWMdb7bUqt86
Goals of The Survey were to confirm/update the experiences I’ve had as a freelancer to get a more confirmed sense of what an average freelance artist wants out of their commission workflow. Information around time usage, organization, what an artist would want or expect.
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"Q1:How much time do you spend managing your work vs doing your work?" VVV
This helped estimate how heavy the cost to the user in time, and thus how much savings they could get and how valuable this solution would be to a user, or business
"Q2: How do you currently manage your comm business?" VVV
This question uncovers the expectations verses the reality of the user, as well as an idea of what current workflows could be addressed.
"Q3: How do you track / report your project status for your clients?" VVV
This question also informs me on was the status quote currently is, and any clues as where to stear this solution.
"Q4: What things do you usually manage in your business" VVV
This question is an elaboration of Q3, the former in relation to a client and the Q4 as a general self. It helps cast the net out broader after a specific target.
"Q5:How much do you think your business front affects your amount of business?" VVV
This question get a vibe for what users think about their payout for their personal set up and if they feel like they have a strong need to address.
"Q6: How well do you have a handle on freelance taxes?" VVV
This question gives us an idea about branching out to address related topics, or just including some basic resurveys for the average user.
"Q7: Are there any ways you think most artists could handle their business better?" VVV
community based observations that have yet to be addressed.
"Q8: How much do you value visual customization on productivity apps/sites?" VVV
Important to find out if a task like variety visuals/themes are worth it
This question was important because it blah blah
"Q9: What part of freelance work do you find the hardest to manage?" VVV
This question helps focus the person in to revealing the most needed in addressing.
"Q10: How interested would you be in having a separate party manage your busywork?" VVV
This question helps test the idea of external hand offs of tasks, that can be done from in-app
"Q11: "How do you determine your rates for different projects, and do you feel they are fair for both you and your clients?" VVV
This question allows the user to explain how they categorize their business, in a way that can be applied to the Informational Architecture.
"Q12: "How do you approach marketing and attracting new clients to grow your freelance business, and are there any tools you might use to help with that?" VVV
Another way to draw out the needs and current uses for addressing those, which might be included in the app.
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Survey Insights:
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Most artists spend 10+ a week managing their work.
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Work isn't universally found on one platform/location.
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A lot of work is tracked with Trello and Bluesky.
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Most artists think their business front playes a big role in receiving business.
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Most artists don't handle their own taxes, but use paid services.
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Visual customization on apps/sites are appreciated but not usually a high priority.
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Most artists don't want someone else handling their busywork, so a good way to do it yourself is more of a want.
Wolf Fox
Molly Weather
Wolf Fox - the alternate scene artist
A nerd from the Furry scene who does commissions on the side, working on a Chemist Degree.
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Molly Weathers - the Social Butterfly
On track towards her BA, trying to figure out who she is and networking with all sorts of folk.
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​Billy Miller - the fantasy fan
Your typical LOTR/GoT/DarkSouls fanatic who aspire to publish his own art and storys.
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Sue Travalot - the nomadic worker
Taking on odd jobs and seeing the world, Sue likes to use art to remember her adventures.​
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These Persons are designed to catch a good range of art communitys as a whole, (and an excuse to work on some portraits). As a professional artist, I have been or worked alongside versions of these characters. Every piece of wood has to be treated different for a woodworker, but every "type" of wood shares characteristics with it's "species of tree" (paraphrasing from Jocko Willink).
Billy Miller
Sue Travaloy
Summary
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Freelance artists often juggle chaotic workflows from spread out tools used to meet their unique needs. Most existing solutions only address isolated parts of the creative and administrative process, forcing artists to patch together partial systems that barely hold up. This project aims to centralize key elements—such as project tracking, tax info, WIPs, and client communication—into one intuitive hub. While the initial version focuses on simplifying survival as a freelancer, the framework is designed with growth in mind, allowing for future expansion into a full ecosystem for independent creatives.