Fee-free vetting website connects big brands with freelance illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, animators and other creative disciplines.
Creative hiring platform Easle, launched late last year, has changed the way freelancers get noticed by big brands. By vetting all talent and matching them to clients with online discovery and management tools, Easle has helped creatives avoid hefty agent fees. And as of today, Easle has added a raft of new categories to its list of disciplines.
Started by Nick Gubbins (CEO) and Scott Wooden (Head of Product) in 2016, Easle uses ambassadors to review all applications to the site to maintain a high standard.
Initially, Easle only catered to illustrators and graphic designers, but from today it has expanded its reach to cover photography, animation, filmmaking and product design.
As well as giving opportunities to more creatives, Easle has also updated its management process with the addition of a rolodex function, team collaboration tools, plus better contract building and invoicing capabilities.
In addition to stringent vetting, the platform has adopted a portfolio-first approach so candidates are judged on the strength of their work (so you might want to follow our tips to create the perfect design portfolio before you sign up).
With clients like Netflix and Penguin Books, Easle is doing something right
"Hiring creative talent is more than looking for checkbox skills - just because someone can use the Adobe suite doesn’t mean they’re right for the job," says Gubbins.
"You need to understand their style and visual personality. Portfolios have been used to hire creative talent offline for years - but for some mad reason in tech platforms they’re not such a consideration. We’re bringing them back.”
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To keep up with the challenge of vetting new incoming talent, Easle has enlisted four new industry leaders to join current ambassadors Claudine O'Sullivan and Sam T Smith. The new gatekeepers include photographic director Rebecca McClelland, animator Daniel Britt, filmmaker Fred Scott, and ustwo co-founder Matt 'Mills' Miller.
"What immediately drew me to Easle is the immense opportunity that the platform offers, to easily source and commission from a carefully curated pool of talent," says McClelland. "The team at Easle are looking to make the process more transparent, faster and easier by using technology whilst keeping the visual work front and centre."
With its project management tools, Easle hopes to be the first answer in high quality, low cost talent sourcing.
Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.
