The PROS & CONS Of Working With A Freelancer
We are in uncertain times, where new methods of working together and offering our services have changed and are continuing to adapt to our new circumstances. With a bigger focus on remote working and social distancing, more businesses are having to find new ways to engage with their audiences and operate internally. With these changes, comes the need for businesses to have design solutions almost on an on-call basis. In this, a dependable Freelancer can be a great solution.
Why Choose A Freelancer?
Working with an experienced freelancer is a great choice for small to mid-sized companies that either don’t have an in-house designer or have the budget for sometimes expensive design agency fees. If you need work that is done well, at sometimes very short notice, a working relationship with a freelance designer is a huge benefit. Unlike an agency, freelancers can often accept work at very short notice to meet those tight, unexpected deadlines. Most freelancers have worked for a number of years in busy agencies or as in-house corporate designers before choosing to work for themselves. You can expect top quality work for a very reasonable price. So for many businesses, a freelancer is a choice that makes sense.
Benefits Of Working With A Freelancer
Time and project depending, a freelance designer can be booked as and when you need them, quickly, and at short notice. Having a trusted designer ready to meet your needs as and when required, makes your life easier. Not needing to coordinate with a large team, most can process revisions or changes to your graphics quickly. More direct contact = less hassle! There is also a level of consistency you can expect when employing a dedicated designer.
Some considerations:
Working with a reliable, skilled freelancer can be a highly valuable resource, just be certain your freelancer is open and honest about whether they can deliver your needs
There is always a risk when choosing to work with an individual entity for the first time, and those risks can go both ways. How do you know you can rely on a Freelancer and entrust a potentially time sensitive project to?
As a freelance designer myself, there are those that go under the same title that may be less qualified, unreliable, or seem to sell a skill they can’t follow through with. This hurts all of us as it has the potential to sow distrust between a business and all serious freelance designers as a whole. There are a few critical signs that you can look for between finding a designer and beginning your initial talks. These signs are clear indicators in whether you are dealing with an experienced, skilled designer or one that may prove to be lacking.
Do they have a solid online presence?
A serious freelancer has to run their brand like a small business. A good indicator of this is an online portfolio, a business website and at least one official social media presence. Some freelancers may choose to run their business solely on one platform like Behance or Dribbble, and this is fine too. As long as there is a solid portfolio of work and case studies that make their professionalism and skills clear. However, remember that many freelancers may have work that is under NDA and can’t be shared. In this case, feel free to ask for any client testimonials and/or references that can back up their claims.
Are they asking the right questions?
Depending on your needs, and the scope of your project, your potential designer may ask you some weird and wonderful questions at the start of your negotiations. This is normal! As designers, we create solutions and bring value through visual media to your business. To do this we need to understand your needs, and your business, to be able to deliver. A designer should be asking the right questions to determine your intent, as well as to get the full scope of the project, your ideas, and indeed whether they are able to deliver. If this is not happening, this could be a very clear indicator that your potential designer does not have a great deal of experience and may not be able to deliver what you need.
Is there a contract in place protecting both of you?
This will differ depending on how you are working with your designer. Whether it be through contacting them directly or through a marketplace like Upwork. Whatever platform you are using to work with your designer, there needs to be a clear contract in place that you both agree on. This should include all deliverables and formats required, time scales and milestone payments. This is in place to protect both parties and should always be in place, regardless of the size and scope of the project.
Can they be contacted reasonably often during the project?
Your designer should supply you with at least 1 (preferably 2) different methods of communication before project work is underway. Open and frequent communication is absolutely crucial in any project lifecycle. You need to have assurances that you can contact your designer at any time during the working hours stipulated in your contract, and expect a quick response in return.
Working with a reliable, skilled freelancer can be a highly valuable resource. For a freelancer In these uncertain times, having a partnership with solid clients who know our worth and value our work ensures we can continue to offer our services without having to undercut our fees in order to compete against less skilled, cheaper alternatives.
Have a project?
I have years of experience in working in a very busy media environment to tight deadlines whilst juggling multiple projects. One thing that never suffered was the quality of my output. I work well under pressure and have, and always will, deliver. I am always on call during normal work hours to my current clients, and you’ll never deal with anybody but me. If you’re contacting me for the first time, I’ll aim to reply to you within 2 hours. I will always speak to you in plain English (no creative jargon here!). Unlike creative agencies, I have no overheads so my prices are fair with no hidden charges and costs, all you’re paying for is my time, and my skill. Working with me will result in projects that cost less and get done faster without sacrificing the quality you’d expect from an experienced design firm.