Hiring a design agency vs. hiring a freelance designer
Whenever you want a new website designed, or you need a couple of new banners or a brand new logo, what do you do? Do you hire a design agency/company that specializes in web design? Or do you hire a freelancer? In this post we’ll compare the two possibilities and see which option might be best for you.
A graphic design agency guarantees high-quality work and timely delivery. They form teams of experienced and skilled professionals, leaving no room for unpleasant surprises. Both freelance graphic designers and agencies have their advantages and shortcomings, so it’s up to you to analyze their offer and choose the most suitable option.
Freelancers?
There are a few advantages when hiring freelancers, but usually the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Now let’s take a look at the pros of hiring a freelancer:
Although they belong to the same class of graphic designers, most freelancers develop completely different professional interests. Some of them become experts in e-commerce design, others prefer art and sports, etc. So whenever hiring a freelancer, ask for their portfolio first. Make sure they’ve done that type of work before.
Pros and cons
Cost. Reducing operational costs is one of the biggest advantages of working with freelancers. Of course, it is crucial to negotiate the price before you establish cooperation with the graphic designer. They may be less expensive than agencies, but they don’t work for free, so you need to be clear about the terms and conditions of collaboration.
But when it comes to advantages… that’s about it. Lower cost and maybe flexibility. Now let’s take a look at the cons of hiring a freelancer. Each freelancer has a certain set of skills that fit your needs at the time of hiring, but what happens if you realize that you need more than planned? In this case, a graphic designer’s professional limitations could become a big impediment.
First of all, he might not be able to get the job done properly, which could jeopardize the entire project. Secondly, you will have to pay some extra money for new tasks, which could jeopardize the budget. This is an awkward situation that you should think about before sealing the deal with freelance graphic designers.
Second, responsibility. The most successful freelancers are very precise and accurate, but you could face a reliability issue if you can’t afford top rated graphic designers. Some people just disappear when they realize that the project is too difficult for them.
They aren’t afraid of earning bad reviews – they don’t care because they will probably delete their profiles sooner or later. For this reason, you should be very careful when hiring a freelancer even if it means spending extra time testing their skills and willingness to work responsibly.
Design agencies
This is why we would recommend hiring a professional design agency/company.
Design companies don’t delegate duties to one person alone. On the contrary, they engage an entire team to work on your project. They also use state-of-the-art equipment and ensure data protection, so you don’t have to worry about copyright and intellectual property.
As a team, agency professionals can brainstorm various ideas and find alternative solutions for your business. In case you need any kind of additional advice, they’ll be able to answer all of your questions. In a nutshell – this is the complete package and experience. If you want to get the job properly and professionally done, this is your best bet.
Also, given that design agencies work in groups, they are usually much faster and more productive than a single freelancer. This is particularly the case when you change demands and think of a new idea. In such situations, agencies can adapt quickly and offer alternative solutions to the problem because they have enormous experience with similar projects. They know how their clients think and behave, so they can propose different design suggestions and get the job done efficiently.
You can always reach someone from the team because agencies don’t allow everybody to unplug at the same time. Customer support is among their top priorities and most companies really appreciate this fact.
Sure, it can be said that professional design agencies are a bit more expensive than freelancers. But by hiring an agency, you can rest assured that everything will get done exactly like you want it, in the given time-frame.
Bottom line
As an entrepreneur, you have to be really clear about your needs and the final result of this work before making a decision who to hire.
While freelancers (especially top-rated ones) can be a great alternative to budget-minded businesses, we would almost always recommend a professional design agency. The level and quality of work is just better and faster than any single freelancer can ever accomplish.