Who advocates artworking?

First posted by Duncan Todd – Freelance Creative Artworker – on Linkedin

Because someone has to.

I’ve seen it all—from total apathy to Artworking 101. Plenty of companies have artwork departments. Are they valued or is it a case of having them there just because?

The pay’s lower. The pressure’s higher. And when something goes wrong, it lands on the artworker. The final eyes. The last line of defence. A missed space. An unlicensed image. No bleed. Deboss vs emboss. If the artworker misses it, it’s their fault.

So who are we?

We’re the ones who make it work. We take the vision and make it real. We fix broken files, manage endless amends, and deliver perfection – because in print, perfection isn’t optional. Anyone who’s wrestled a 38dpi image into a press-ready doc knows that.

Printed space is expensive. Per square inch, newspaper ads can be the most costly. A full page ad in the New York post costs c.$70k and that’s just for putting it in there. That doesn’t take into account the Copywriting, Design and Artworking that goes before. Mistakes cost money. A missed bleed, slug or incorrect gamut. Accuracy is everything. A creative artworker exists to deliver exactly what the client wants, on time, and on budget.

So – who advocates artworking?

We do.

Every artworker does. We’re just busy explaining what an artworker is – because everyone knows what a graphic designer is. One doesn’t exist without the other. Anyone who says otherwise possibly doesn’t know or care about the craft.

FACT.

Chris Eaton

About the Author

Chris spent seven years as a creative artworker - taking other people's initial designs and turning them into accurate, print-ready artwork. When nobody would take a chance on him to step into a full design role, he decided to take matters into his own hands and branch out on his own.
Since then, he’s spent over 30 years working as a freelance graphic designer in and around Sheffield. Along the way, he’s collaborated with some of the best studios in the region and worked directly with heaps of brilliant clients..
In late 2025, when a local client went into liquidation, Chris saw an opportunity to step in and help out the clients who were left stranded. He took the plunge and launched his own agency to make sure those businesses had the ongoing support they needed.