… I like having the power to choose what my days look like and who I want to help with my work. Being independent introduces me to a much wider group of people, too. It’s a must change faster pace, too, which I like.

The trade-off is scale. I’d like to work with much bigger clients, too, but larger clients really do require an agency or full-scale design firm to support them. Over the years, working as a subcontractor for large agencies has brought me some of my most fun experiences—I still get to fiddle away in my studio, but I get to do it with the power of a big machine behind me.

Stefan G. Bucher.