Interior designer Dani ArpsCourtesy of Dani Arps
Once you’re in the door, there’s plenty of advice floating around about style, project management, budget and all the rest—but how do you actually get the job in the first place? We’re asking designers to peel back the curtain and walk us through how they landed a project, step by step. This week, New York–based designer Dani Arps shares how she became the de facto queen of startup design.
Give me the backstory on this project.
It was a happy accident. When I graduated, it was basically the recession, and very difficult for me to find work, just like it was for anyone. So I was online, looking for any freelance job I could. One of the jobs I came across on Craigslist was for a 6,000-square-foot startup office in Chelsea that ended up being for Codecademy [a platform that offers free online coding classes].
They were just posting they needed a designer for their startup?
The now-defunct Homepolish was trying to connect clients with designers, so they posted the ad. [In the startup world] they have meet-ups where founders come together and talk about different concepts and share ideas. And they always have these events at each other's offices. So, because I had done Codecademy’s office, my name started to spread within that world. I feel I’d gotten there at the right time when everything was still kind of new. It was easier to get your name into the right circles because the circle was much smaller.
What did you bring with you to that initial meeting with Codecademy?
I had a physical portfolio at the time. I used InDesign and put together a mood board, essentially, of what I wanted their space to feel like as part of the meeting. It definitely had an industrial vibe to it. The space they were looking at potentially had exposed bricks.
How do you typically pitch clients now?
It's kind of similar, to be honest, but I'm lucky that I'm at a stage where people can see my work in person. And usually, they come to me because they've already seen projects I've done, and they like the aesthetic. It's less of me pitching my services to them, and more me explaining how I work and them deciding if that makes sense to them and if they want to move forward with me. We usually meet at their office: I come in, say this is who I am, this what I do.
What do you typically wear to these meetings?
I am pretty casual. I've worked with a lot of startups, and it’s not the type of environment where you’d want to wear a suit or anything like that. I typically wear some jeans, a cool-looking top from one of my favorite designers right now (like Reformation), and maybe Tamara Mellon high-heeled boots. I think that's kind of my go-to—it's casual, but it's cool and it still looks appropriate for most settings.