What Are The Pros And Cons Of Being A Freelance Graphic Designer?

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Being A Freelance Graphic Designer?

For those who want to try it, graphic design provides an enticing mix of innovation and potential. The career exists at the nexus between art and business and provides an extremely realistic means of earning a living for artistic individuals. Businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes frequently rely on graphic designers to deliver high-quality work, frequently through contract staff and freelance designers. Get a chance to study graphic design with Blue Sky Graphics online!

Although freelancing can be an attractive way for designers to earn money, as in any job situation, there are benefits and drawbacks. If you are interested in learning more about the possible benefits and drawbacks of working as a freelance graphic designer, you have come to the right spot. We also compiled a list of the most popular drawbacks and upsides of working as a freelance graphic designer.

5 Disadvantages of Freelance Graphic Designer

Freelancing is not for the faint of heart—so let us put aside the positives for the moment and focuses on the aspects of this job arrangement that you do not like.

1. You are your own marketing, accounting, and human resources staff.
Freelance graphic designers are expected to wear several hats—and not all of them are a good match! As a freelancer, you are responsible for non-design work that is usually delegated to professional professionals. Although this does not mean you may need the same level of experience as a CPA or prosecutor, you will need to extend your comfort zone or request assistance.

Conduct research to establish the essentials for getting started—things like contract models, a portfolio website, and tax preparation, among others, can become very difficult if you are unprepared.

2. You might be doing significantly more than a 9 to 5 job.
It may be beneficial to work outside of the constraints of a typical work week. However, as a freelancer, you can discover that your job demands far more than the average 40 hours per week required by an organisation. Be prepared to put in more work hours than you would in a traditional workplace, especially early in your career.

3. There are times of feast and times of drought.
Working as a freelancer implies that there will be days when you earn a lot of money and times when all your ideas dry up. Depending on the economy’s health and world affairs, you can find yourself on a rollercoaster of market ups and downs.

And seasoned freelancers will encounter sluggish times. Although you cannot dictate how demand for your services fluctuates, you can control your preparation. Investing in a rainy day fund during the good days and providing a contingency plan for stable jobs would be critical for navigating the frequent cycles of shortages that you will encounter as a freelancer.

4. There is no pre-existing professional network.
Daily happy hour, it turned out, was more than an opportunity to play darts with your co-worker next cubicle. The typical workplace fosters the creation of a social network that fosters mentorship and collaborative professional partnerships. As a freelancer, it is critical to search out and maintain these relationships—something that can be far more challenging without the daily encounters that occur in a non-freelance environment.

5 Benefits of Freelance Graphic Design
With all of the difficulties associated with working as a freelance graphic designer, how come it is such a common choice? Here are five things that will help get things back into order.

1. You are in control of your own timetable.
Perhaps you have support for a family member who is reliant on you during a regular workday. Perhaps you have young children who are not even old enough to attend kindergarten or day-care for a whole day. Whatever peculiar demands on your time exist, a freelance job will assist you in creating a timetable that is tailored to your unique circumstances.

While maintaining relatively consistent work hours is always a smart thing, it is great to be out of the everyday grind of getting up early, battling traffic, and working through a full day if you are not feeling well.

2. You establish the worth of your work.
If you have ever worked a hard day for a paycheck that did not appear to match the commitment you put in, you can understand. As a freelance graphic designer, you have complete control of the price you charge for each project you accept. This can be especially enticing for existing designers with a steady stream of demand for their work since they have more flexibility to decline deals that they believe do not adequately compensate for the amount of effort involved.

As a freelancer, you have the ability to discuss your worth with each new customer. In a salaried full-time graphic design role, you are essentially locked in, and the job will continue to flow—there is no way to say “Thanks, but no thanks” without resigning.

3. You acquire new skillsets
The same difficulties that need you to double as a company administrator or a sales specialist do have a silver lining—the “stretch” associated with these responsibilities offers an outlet for professional development.

As a freelancer, you will learn to plan your personal budget, prioritise assignments logically, and connect in a polished, competent manner—all of which will benefit you regardless of where your career takes you.

4. You choose your clients
You do not have the patience to be picky with your clients early in your career as a graphic designer. However, once you develop a successful freelance career, you gain the freedom to select your clients. You carry on whatever projects are delegated to you in a big organisation. You have the chance to partner with clients you trust while you work as a freelancer. If all goes well, you will be able to establish relationships inside a niche in which you have a strong interest—which may allow you to establish a unique brand as an independent graphic designer.