Online selling research

It is important for an artist to decide whether to sell their art online, and if so, which website is the best one to suit their needs. There are a lot of different types of online selling, so in order to choose the right one for me, I am going to conduct research into a few of these types of online selling sites.

Online art galleries are websites where you can discover new art as well as selling your own. An example of an online art gallery is SaatchiArt. When an artist sells their art through this site, they recieve 70% of the sale price for their original works, and 70% of the net profit for Saatchi prints. The "Saatchi Art Sales Agreement" between the seller and the site is non-exclusive and the site has no membership or competition submission fees. 

SaatchiArt delivers art globally and offers global and domestic shipping at a discounted rate. On top of that, SaatchiArt pays for the marketing for your artwork. The site itself has extensive search options for artwork and advertises new art on the homepage, in a professional and easy to navigate layout. As the site gets a high amount of traffic, it is no wonder SaatchiArt is such a popular option.

Print on demand websites offer small quantities of prints for customised items. One example of a print on demand service is RedBubble. This site doesn't charge artists sales fees or commissions, but takes a base price from each product you sell depending on service and manufacturing fees. The profit margin for the artist on their products is fully adjustable, which is different from traditional online selling sites.

RedBubble delivers products globally and offers global and domestic shipping at the standard rate. The company's printing partners manufacture specific products and service particular parts of the world, so RedBubble ensures that products you order are printed in the most convenient location for you. This makes sure their shipping services remain fast and affordable.

Crowdfunding is the monetary funding of a project by a large group of people. Patreon is an example of a crowdfunding site. This site doesn't charge you to start a Patreon page, so the money you make from other people's monthly pledges is all yours. Unlike most online selling sites, Patreon is not specifically for artists, but all creators to make money from what they create.

Even if creators don't reach their monetary goal, they will still get paid the money that patrons have chosen to pledge.Patrons can opt to choose to pay their favourite creators monthly or every time they create new content. This system is especially attractive for YouTubers, but not so much for artists. 

After researching this small selection of selling sites, I have decided to use the print on demand service that RedBubble offers. This site is the best for my current needs as a professional illustrator, although this could change later on in my career and it is good to know that I have the freedom to switch between sites however I like. This research not only encouraged me to use a print on demand service, but it helped me to know about some of the other types of online selling available to artists. 

Business card research

Business cards are important for any business/company to establish a public image with potential clients or customers, by providing an outreach that easily connects with people, in a physical, enticing and non-obtrusive way. Artists use business cards to advertise their own artwork or small business, and the design of these business cards often differs greatly from those used by professional companies. Even in the art industry, there is a vast array of business card designs that are unique to each artist, which helps in portraying their own individual image to potential clients.

One example of these types of business cards comes from Alteroy Design and is a business card that is in the form of a DIY sheet, complete with removeable elements that represent what the artist does.

I believe this design is effective because it subverts the expectations of a business card by retaining the shape but adapting it to the artist's practice. The card being made out of cardboard or wood further emphasises the homemade nature of this promotional item, and makes it stand out against more standard designs.


Production of more artistic business cards can be done through several ways. An example of a more unorthodox method of production is metal cutting. This can be seen in business cards from Cement Solutions, which are metal business cards that double as bottle openers.

I believe this design is effective because it incorporates promoting a company into a client's everyday life - the bottle opener will advertise the company every time it is used. Also, the logo is built into the opening in the metal, which is a clever way to present the design and further ensures the memorability of the company.


There are various sites that offer printing services for business card designs, which also cater to unique designs created by artists. While not handmade, these cards are printed with various factors in mind, that can be controlled by the artist to produce a more professional yet individual finished outcome.

MOO is an award-winning print and design company that specialises in premium promotional materials for any kind of business. It has an easy to navigate site that appeals to anyone who wants to design and print these materials quickly. MOO offers a range of business cards that vary in shape, paper thickness and finish quality, which can be ordered in quantities of up to 8,000 business cards. The site also has easy to follow design guidelines for creating your own designs and is very consumer-friendly.

This site is a strong option for my business cards because it balances the professionalism of their service with the welcoming colours and layout of the site itself. MOO can print and deliver business cards with Next-Day Delivery, which already puts it above the other sites, as it would mean more time for artists like me to promote themselves, rather than waiting around for the cards to arrive.


Vistaprint is an affordable and high quality printing company that focuses on customised designs for more than just promotional or business materials. Their expansive product range gives choice for those who are looking for specific products within their budget. In terms of business cards, Vistaprint offers card designs by industry and gives tips on how to make your cards more creative and attractive to potential clients, while having slightly more production and printing options than MOO.

This site is not a strong option for my business cards because there isn't a clear emphasis on them, and the site itself looks more bland and less friendly than other sites. Vistaprint seems to be more about simply ordering promotional materials than enjoying the experience on their site, and this can be a turn off to creatives, such as illustrators.


Instantprint is a smaller print company that uses the latest digital and lithographic print technology to produce professional promotional materials for any budget. They have an independent atmosphere with a clean and friendly site, which could be more inviting to people who are inexperienced with designing and printing their own promotional items. Instantprint offers business cards that have a variety of types and finishes, along with a substantial amount of tips for selecting and designing the correct type for the person's needs.

This site is also a strong option for my business cards because it achieves the same balance between professionalism and friendliness that MOO does, and is even more accessible with the offered help on the site itself. Instantprint ensures customers can order their business cards the way they want, but lacks the range of production and printing options that other sites have.


Overall, I have researched into the types of business cards and printing services that are available to me, and have concluded that the most relevant site to my practice is MOO. I will now finalise my designs and use the site to order my business cards. Conducting this research has helped me to discover the options there are for promotional printing, as well as understand the near-limitless potential of what a business card can be. This will assist me in my future career when I decide to promote myself outside of university.

Website research

One platform that is essential for promoting an illustrator's portfolio of work is a website. It is important to chose a website host that is right for you, as well as know how to promote your work through this online medium. Through researching different hosting services and domains, I was able to understand how to own and maintain my own professional website.


I began by researching a free portfolio site known as Portfolio Box. The site had a clean, professional design, which demonstrated that it was for stylish clients, with an emphasis on supporting creatives who have a range of images. As a dedicated portfolio site, clients would receive free portfolio space and a host of features. However these features were restricted to paid memberships, in the form of premium accounts. This included not being able to have a custom domain name in the free basic plan - which is critical for directing traffic to your portfolio and making your site truly independent. The price for a custom domain name was listed at $8.90 USD per month, and non-premium members would receive the free default domain name ending in 'portfoliobox.com'.

This site was not something that could promote my style of work, and I didn't like the amount of restrictions on non-premium members, so I moved away from dedicated portfolio sites to see what other options were available.


Next, I researched a website builder called SquareSpace. The site had a sleek, modern design that gave it an exclusive feel that was directed more towards young creators. As a site builder, it had a wide range of categories and templates to choose from when setting up your own site. Clients can use the 14-day free trial and have the option to switch out templates as often as they like for free. These clients would receive the free default domain name ending in 'squarespace.com.'  The site builder itself uses minimalist menus which can make it seem confusing as to how to edit the site for the less tech-savvy clients, though they do give the option to network with other social media sites for better exposure and promotion.

This site was not something that I felt lent itself to promoting illustration work, and was too modern to be practical in constantly updating the site with new work. With this in mind, I moved on from website builders.


Then, I researched a blog site called WordPress. The site has a simple, formatted design that showed it was direct and easy to use - not putting an emphasis on any demographic. As a blogging site, it gave clients full control over the design and content of their site, as well as the freedom to use it without having to upgrade to one of the payment plans. There are three paid plans that offer a huge variety of features, that range from the 'Personal' plan at £2.50 GBP per month (includes custom domain name), 'Premium' at £7.08 per month (includes site monetisation), and the 'Business plan' at £20.83 per month (including removing WordPress site branding). The site offers networking with more than just social media sites, and gives the client independence in how they choose to promote themselves on the site.

This site was something that appealed to my interests and allowed me full control that I could design a site that perfectly suited my style of work, while giving me a simple way to update my portfolio. WordPress is the site I will use to promote myself as an illustrator, and I am going to create a site with it to act as my portfolio of work.