How to Hire a Graphic Designer Freelance & Not Regret It

Over 90% of designers in the US have freelance careers. So, there’s no shortage of quality candidates. But how to find freelance graphic designers that are just right for your business? How much do freelance graphic designers charge? Find all the answers here.

TL;DR

When you hire a graphic designer freelance, you can get someone with just the right skill set, at any price point. However, hiring freelancers takes loads of time, and costs pile up quickly when you pay per project. Unlimited design services provide a much more affordable, and efficient design solution for the long term.

Where to find freelance graphic designers?

How to get freelance graphic design that’s right for your business? Let’s start with the most obvious question: where can you find freelance graphic designers? Here’s a list of the best places for freelance graphic design.

• Behance: This portfolio platform allows you to contact  freelance graphic designers directly or post a freelance graphic design job. 
• Dribbble: Similar to Behance, Dribbble is a portfolio platform with “snapshots” of projects. It’s an ideal platform to search for logo designers or motion graphics designers, thanks to a number of helpful filters. 
• Toptal: Toptal has a slightly more rigorous vetting process, so the hourly rates for freelance graphic design are a bit higher, around $50 per hour. 
• 99 Designs: Although you can hire a freelance designer from their community, 99 Designs is best known for its design contests. This means you can post a project and get solutions from dozens of designers bidding for the gig. If you like something, you can purchase the design or get your money back if there’s nothing that suits you.
• Design Hill: It’s one of the largest creative marketplaces, with different services, such as hiring freelancers, starting a design contest, buying an existing design gig, or purchasing ready-made designs. ‍
• Design Crowd: Like 99 Designs, this crowdsourcing platform allows you to get heaps of ideas and design solutions for a specific project. It’s risk-free, meaning you get your money back if you don’t like any of the designs.

How to hire a graphic designer freelance in 7 steps

If you’re wondering how to hire a graphic designer, we’ve broken it down into seven simple steps.

1. Define your design needs

There are numerous types of graphic design, and a designer is often specialized in only a few.

Let’s have a look at some of the most common graphic design projects:

• Logo and brand identity design
• Advertisement design
• Social media graphics
• Website design
• Product design
• Print collateral (flyers, brochures, business cards, etc.)
• Graphic illustrations
• Infographics

2.  Set a budget

The cost of design is a big topic since pricing can range from $15 to $150 per hour. Once you specify what you need, the ballpark should be clearer. But, there are still multiple factors at play, such as the years of experience and location of your designer.

3.  Find freelancers

With your design needs and budget specified, it’s time to look for your perfect match. You can opt for one of the many freelance platforms to find a graphic designer online. However, these platforms also attract a lot of newbies.

A better option is finding someone through word-of-mouth. Ask around because it’s always a good idea to work with someone with a good reputation.

4. Vet their work

Vetting your designer’s work is a crucial step in finding high-quality design and avoiding scams.

It's wise to brush up on your design knowledge. Knowing a thing or two about good design is a skill that will come in handy more than once.

The most important part of the vetting process is assessing their portfolio. Here are a few parameters that you need to consider in a design portfolio:

• Overall look and feel: A consistent-looking portfolio shows the designer took time to curate their work. On the other hand, newbie designers often include every project they've ever done.
• Simplicity: Creating visual solutions to a specific problem is the make of a genuinely skilled designer. Look for maximum results with minimal elements/
• Relevancy: A portfolio should be relevant regarding the type of design you need (experience) and adherence to relevant design trends. ‍
• Originality: Ask the designer to explain their design process and choices. A reverse image search on Google is also useful.

5. Establish a management style

Many people forget that when they hire a freelancer, they need to manage them. There is more to it than sending your design brief and hoping for the best.

Who in your company will be in charge of managing the freelancers?  How much time should they spend on it? 

It’s also advisable to hold an interview with freelancers before you hire them. Although not critical, strong communication skills and other soft skills help freelancers work better within a team.

6. Hire a freelancer

Your graphic design freelancer will be a part of your business, even if you only hire them for a single project. Therefore, it’s wise to consider setting up a contract and possibly a non-disclosure agreement.

7. Evaluate

It’s not time to kick back and relax just yet. Evaluating your freelancer’s work and providing useful client feedback throughout the process go hand-in-hand with high-quality results.

Setting up a quality assurance process for your freelance graphic designers is highly recommended. An example is a checklist with topics, such as:

• Has the designer used your brand style guide?
• Did the designer stick to the design brief?
• Are there any spelling errors in the design?

How much do freelance graphic designers charge?

One of the main reasons why many businesses outsource graphic design work is to cut costs. But how much do freelance graphic designers charge, and does working with one necessarily mean you get to save up?

It’s not an easy question to answer.

For starters, freelance graphic designers have vastly different per-hour pricing. According to Upwork, the average rate is $25. On the other hand, data from Designers Union suggests an average of $40 for junior, and $100 for more senior designers.

So, clients pay anywhere between $25 to $150 for a freelance designer’s hourly rate.

The location of the designer is another factor that impacts their hourly rate. Designers in Eastern Europe and some parts of Asia charge a fraction of what freelance graphic designers charge in Singapore, Western Europe, Canada and the US.

Finally, the complexity and duration of the project also determine the final price you pay for freelance graphic design. Here are some ballpark figures for common design projects.

• Logo: $100 – $2,500+
• Branding Package (visual identity and brand guidelines): $1,000 – $5,000+
• Social Media Graphics: $50 – $500 per set
• Web Design (UI/UX design, no development): $1,000 – $5,000+
• Marketing Materials (Brochures, Flyers, etc.): $100 – $1,000+
• Packaging Design: $500 – $5,000+

An easier way to get design

We hope this guide answers your questions about how to hire graphic designers freelance. While they bring many perks to the table, freelancers are often unpredictable and expensive in the long term.

If you pay a couple of hundred dollars for each project, you’ll end up paying close to $1,000 a month for just a couple of designs a week.

Subscription-based design services are a much faster, cheaper and more reliable alternative. Our team of designers can handle a wide range of projects, from social media and web design, to illustrations, book covers, and much more!

ManyPixels is a leading unlimited design service, with over 7 years of experience, and thousands of design projects under our wings. With a relatively small but select team of design experts, we don’t just deliver on affordability and speed, but quality too. 

Starting at just $599 you can get a wide range of designs for the money a freelance designer charges for a single project. Best of all, unlimited revisions are included in the price, so you never have to compromise your vision.

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Do you still have reservations? Give us a call and we’d be happy to chat with you about your design needs.