Freelance vs In-House Graphic Designer
FIRST, WHAT IS A FREELANCE (OR CONTRACT) GRAPHIC DESIGNER?
A freelance graphic designer is a designer you hire on a contract basis. Freelance designers are not full time employees of your company, therefor are not on salary and do not require a benefits package. You can contract a freelance designer in a few different capacities:
1. Projects
Most freelance designers or agencies can be hired for large one-off projects such as designing a website or creating your visual brand identity. For these types of projects, you can expect your designer to set a flat rate that covers the entire scope of the project. It’s also very typical for your designer to require a deposit of half the total cost up front followed by the final payment at project completion, which protects both parties.
2. Hourly
If you need a go-to graphic designer but your projects are on the smaller side (i.e. one pagers, sales decks, social media designs) and on a not-so-consistent basis, hourly work is the way to go. With this setup, you simply contact your freelance designer when you’re in need of a small project or two and they bill you for the hours of work spent on the designs. Your freelance designer will be more than happy to give you a general hours range they plan for the projects to land in so you’re not met with a surprise invoice in the end.
3. Retainer
This is the best option if you know you need consistent, reliable graphic design work but have chosen not to hire an in-house designer. A retainer is simply a contract between graphic designer and client: the designer sets aside X amount of hours per week or month and the client pays them X amount of dollars. The freelancer will also give the highest priority (and sometimes a small discount!) to their retainer clients, so you can expect a much faster turnaround and a really great working relationship.
The Pros and Cons of Freelance Designers
Pros:
COST-EFFECTIVENESS:
Hiring a contract graphic designer is typically much more cost-effective, as you only pay for the work that needs to be done, rather than paying a full-time salary and benefits package. Contract designers are not employees of your business, so there’s no training cost, healthcare, or yearly salary.
Contract designers can also be easily scaled up or down depending on your business's needs, which means you’re not paying a full-time designer when you don’t actually need 40 hours/week of design work.
EXPERIENCE & OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE:
Another advantage of working with a freelance contract designer is their range of experience. Contract designers typically work with business of all sizes and in a wide variety of industries, which means they bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to each project they work on.
Since contract designers are not tethered to your business and visual brand, they’re also much more likely to keep up with current trends, think outside the box, and bring in a fresh perspective to your designs. In-house designers, really to no fault of their own, tend to go on auto-pilot after working on the same brand every single day.
FLEXIBILITY:
Contract designers are often more flexible in terms of availability and can be brought in for short-term projects, as-needed work, or consistent monthly work on retainer. This can be particularly helpful for businesses with fluctuating design needs or a limited budget.
If it’s in the budget, getting your contract designer on a monthly retainer is the way to go. This will allow the most flexibility as they will prioritize quick turnarounds, fast edits, and efficient communication for clients retaining their hours. And, as I mentioned above, most designers will offer a discount on their hourly rate for retainer contracts.
STILL PART OF THE TEAM:
There’s a misconception that freelance designers will feel like a complete disconnection from the rest of the team, but that’s definitely not true! Your contract designer will get to know your brand, project management, and business inside and out, just as an agency or in-house designer would. Contract designers tend to work very closely with your marketing team and are happy to jump on calls and really feel like part of the team.
HOW DO YOU FIND FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNERS TO HIRE?
Luckily, there are tons of places to find amazing contract graphic designers. If you’re open to working with someone remotely, freelance websites like UpWork or Fiverr are a great place to start. You will immediately have access to designers all over the world with a wide range of skills and pricing.
If you’re looking for someone in your area or for a very specific service, try Googling it! Most great freelancers have invested in SEO and should pop up on the first page or two of Google if they meet the keywords you’ve entered.
You can also hire us! Amanda has owned and designed for AJM Design Studio since starting the business in 2016. She’s a full-service graphic designer specializing in branding, Squarespace website design, and becoming an extension of your team through monthly contract work.
Cons:
Although we feel pretty passionate that there are more benefits to hiring freelance vs in-house, we have to be fair here. The biggest challenge with hiring a freelance designer is finding a good fit for your team. When you hire someone in-house, they go through an extensive interview process and interact with the team on a daily basis.
But guess what… you can do that with your freelancer too!
We always suggest having a Zoom interview with anyone you’re considering working with, as well as working on a few trial projects together (PAID, OF COURSE!) before deciding they’re the one. And once they’re part of the team, make them feel that way! Be sure to add them to your Slack channel, include them in important meetings, and let them know they’re appreciated.