The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
Working with US 🇺🇸 and World clients as a designer from Argentina 🇦🇷 changed me more than I expected.
🤔 What’s something you had to adjust when working with clients abroad?
I thought the challenge would be the design itself. Bigger brands, faster timelines. But that wasn’t the hard part, it was communication.
I remember replying to emails with things like, “I’ll try to have it by Friday.” To me, that meant commitment. But over time I realized that in most abroad teams, that sounds uncertain. They don’t want “I’ll try.” They want “Yes, confirmed.”
It’s not about being cold. I had to adjust and be more direct. Once I did, everything flowed better.
Working across cultures hasn’t just made me better at design, but made me more decisive and more confident in how I communicate.
I’ll try’ vs ‘Yes, confirmed’ is such a subtle but career-changing shift.
100%
Exactly 🙂 Tiny framing decisions like this quietly reshape how clients perceive you.
Communication is often harder than the design itself.
All the clients I’ve worked with have told me the same thing that clear, direct communication made the biggest difference. And honestly, maintaining a strong level of professionalism throughout the project is just as...
Couldn't agree more!
Thats interesting! any other insights you've had?
Yes! Another big shift for me was speed and iteration. At least on MY experience, US business culture tends to move fast.
Decisions are made quickly, and iteration is often preferred over perfection. At first, that felt a bit chaotic to me. In many LATAM contexts, we’re used to...
I think it's both, the west is full of pressure and it's all about speed in all aspects
Yes, I agree!!
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
me because i now work for myself again but i'm onboarding new clients, as i'm figuring out how i want operations to be managed, as i'm trying to do my taxes as i also need to actually do the work i'm being paid to doooo 😭😭😭😭 #help
I still think about a moment when one of my first clients asked me to redesign the hero section on their website.
I couldn't believe they thought they had a better idea for the design.
With my version, it was a great photo of an employee, smiling, wearing the uniform with the logo showing clearly… it was perfect.
With theirs, it was just the portrait of the owner.
I thought they were crazy, but I wanted to make them happy.
Years later, I see it different now.
Their focus was clarity and familiarity with the owner because clients wanted to see who owned the company, I was focused on was aesthetics.
The best design isn’t always the most beautiful one, it’s the one that works for the right audience.
What do you think about this balance of expectations? And which version of the hero section do you think is better?
I like the designer version, but I'd go with the client version because I understand where they're coming from. The customer is always right. *
* = but only sometimes, though.
Landing that first client is arguably the steepest part of the freelance journey. It’s the classic "chicken and egg" scenario: you need projects to build a portfolio, but you need a portfolio to land projects.
At Onfer Studio, we realized that the secret isn’t waiting for the perfect opportunity; it’s creating the evidence yourself:
Treat yourself as a client: Build your own brand with the same rigor you’d apply to a high-ticket contract.
Concept projects: If you don't have the client yet, solve a real-world problem for a brand you love and showcase your workflow.
Leverage trust: Often, that first "yes" comes from someone who already knows your work ethic, not just your CV.
It’s tough, and the ghosting/rejection phase is real. But once you break that first barrier, the momentum takes over.
I really can't wait to break the first barrier
Trending
maxearnings
The next frontier of payments is live on Contra. How are you maximizing revenue?
micrographics
Micrographics started as utility - barcodes, packaging, instruction labels. How would you use them?
aidesignflow
AI tools are redefining how designer work. What does your workflow look like?
aivideo
AI video tools are moving at warp speed. What tools are you using?
whennotai
As AI accelerates, creative judgment matters more. What part of your work stays human?