Experienced digital creative Christopher Farrugia has started his own design agency, chrissfarr design, after he left his role as Head of Design and User Experience (UX) at IT services provider Flows last week.

Following this, WhosWho.mt reached out to Mr Farrugia to speak about his decision to make the move to freelance, something that has grown in popularity, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased shift towards remote work that it brought about.

“After 16 years of working for companies, I felt the time was right to at last try something new,” he said, before adding: “I’ve always dreamt of working for myself and being my own boss and I felt if I didn’t make this move now, I never would.”

Over the years, Mr Farrugia worked at a number of firms at various senior positions in design, including Head of Design and UX at Gaming Innovation Group and Head of Design at Scandinavian fintech company Skilling, among others.

One of Christopher Farrugia's casino interface designs / Website

While the transition towards freelance work might seem daunting to many, particularly due to set-up fees, it has been made “quite simple” by the fact that “most of us already work from home,” he said. However, Mr Farrugia said that it is important to have some financials available to fall back on if needed.

Mr Farrugia earmarked “getting yourself out there and investing in yourself” as some of the primary challenges when making the shift. This includes “buying some adverts, posting on social media, and gathering your network together to source projects”.

However, delving into the freelance world has been relatively facilitated for Mr Farrugia, as through his experience working for “some of the biggest names within iGaming”, has made a name for himself in the local design scene. Such experience has also involved him “not staying put within one role”. “I encourage all designers to move around and experience all different types of work environments and most of all work on multi-products, not just one,” he said.

When asked which skills are crucial to making it in the creative design industry, Mr Farrugia replied “communication and drive, as well as being curious to create something new and different”, which are all “key to gaining more experience” in the industry. “Communication is one of the most important aspects of being a designer. I can’t stress how important the ability to sell yourself and your work is for your future within design,” he added.

Freelance work’s popularity has been on the rise for a few years now, and Mr Farrugia feels that there is “no better time to try something new than in today’s world, where we are mostly remote and so the transition to freelance can be seamless”.

In a message to all those that are hesitant about leaving their current job to pursue a freelance career, he said that “the biggest thing is self-belief, believing in yourself that you can do something for yourself”.

“Mindset plays a massive part in your journey in being your own boss,” Mr Farrugia concluded.