I wrote an article awhile back on the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a freelance graphic designer, but never published it. So here it is! Your company is in need of a design whether it’s a logo, marketing material, banner, flyer, or maybe even a website. With ideas in mind the question becomes who to hire to create stunning designs to represent your business. Which raises the question: Should you choose to hire a freelance designer or a design firm? In this article, I would like to outline some advantages and disadvantages of choosing a freelance graphic designer. Advantages You will most likely save money. Freelancers do not have the overhead that larger design firms do, and can offer their services at a lower rate. Lower prices don’t necessarily mean lower quality, as many freelancers are very experienced, and understand that their clients are their lifeline. When working with a freelancer you know who you are working with, beginning to end. It allows you to develop a more personal relationship with the person(s) you hire. A closer business relationship allows ideas to be communicated more freely. With a freelancer the person you meet with is more than likely in charge of all processes such as; sales, marketing, design etc. lowering the chance of information being miscommunicated in transfer. Another perk of a freelance relationship is personability. It is an issue when working with some larger corporations that you are just another project, just another number. You are more likely to be treated as an individual with a freelancer, as they operate as a small business within itself and understand the importance of how each individual relationship develops. Freelancers can usually offer more flexibility with their schedules when working on projects. If a short deadline is at hand, a freelancer is not restricted to only working during regular office hours. Communication may also be more flexible as a freelancer might offer being contacted outside of office hours as well. Response time is always something to consider. With freelancers being able to be contacted and work outside of normal office hours the time frame for revisions to be made can be much quicker, sometimes even instantaneous. Disadvantages A freelancers’ level of expertise is a factor depending on the needs of the project. Not to say that a freelancer may not be as experienced, but usually a single freelancer will be an expert in one field and not so much in another. Whereas a design firm may have a team of designers, each being experts in their respective fields offering collaboration to fill in any gaps in experience. The availability of resources for a freelancer may not be as extensive. A freelancer might not have a large network to fall back on which could be useful for review, marketing etc. It is always possible the reliability of a freelancer is in question. If hiring a freelancer with unknown references you run the risk of a loyalty factor. You may hire a freelancer that’s punctuation and work ethic is amazing. You may also find a freelancer that is late on deadlines, slow on responses, and is just plain unprofessional. Hopefully, this article outlining some advantages and disadvantages of hiring a freelancer will assist in future decisions. Although each project may weigh differently, this list should provide a brief explanation of what to expect. Remember to always support local and small businesses.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 01:31:55 +0000
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