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You will have designing needs and will require the expertise of a graphic designer regardless of the type of business you’re running. Here’s a complete guide on how to hire a freelance graphic designer, all you need to know about their rates, where you can find the best talent, and what to expect when you find them.
How to hire a freelance graphic designer?
There are several aspects to finding the right freelance graphic designer for your business needs. Let’s break things down into the most important things you will have to consider while hiring them.
But first things first – even before you start looking for designers, you need to know what you want them to do. Are you looking for a logo designer or someone to give your website an upgrade? Or are you looking for someone to illustrate your ideas?
What to look for in a freelance graphic designer?
The first thing you must look for in a freelance graphic designer is if they do what you want to hire them for. If you’re looking for someone to design your website, search for designers who specialize in web design.
Remember that while all designers know how to design, they’re not experts at everything. A web designer may not necessarily be great at logos or illustrations.
The next thing you want to look for is how much experience they have and if you can afford it. Designers with a lot of experience will certainly give you the best service in the industry, but their rates will also be equally high. So, you want to look for a mutual fit of experience and rates.
Finally, you want to look for someone who can at least complete the current project on time and hopefully someone who would be great for a long-term relationship.
How to find the best freelance graphic designer for your project?
One of the easiest ways to find great talent is to ask around in your circle. If a freelance designer comes highly recommended from someone you trust, you’ll likely find the right candidate in half the time it would take you to scour for them on job sites and marketplaces.
Another convenient option is to post your requirement on social media. You might end up finding a freelance graphic designer within your immediate social media circle faster than you could any other way.
A great option would be to look for freelance graphic designers on marketplaces specifically made for designers, such as 99designs. You can choose the type of design you want to hire for (logo, website, illustrations, cover pages, and so on) and also filter out designers with fewer years of experience.
Remember to be as specific and detailed about your design requirements as you can while scoping for designers so that you can find the best talent for your needs. Also, remember to review their portfolio of work to ensure that their style matches what you’re looking for.
How to negotiate a contract with a freelance graphic designer?
Once you’ve found the designer you want to work with, it’s time to hash out a contract. Keep in mind that negotiation is about finding a mutually good fit in terms of budget, timelines, quality of work, post-design elements like a revision, and any additional services you can bundle into the contract.
If you go into a negotiation thinking you’re going to get the designer to work for you at the lowest price possible, they may end up rejecting your offer altogether. It’s important to pay them for the hard work they’re going to do and to respect their experience.
The thumb rule of any good negotiation is that neither of you should feel cornered. You must be able to discuss all the factors of the contract openly and honestly and come to a mutually agreeable conclusion.
How to pay a freelance graphic designer?
Depending on how the designer you selected works, they may either charge you per hour or per project rates. If they’re working with you for the first time, they may also ask you to pay them upfront for the full or partial amount, depending on the total cost of your project.
The rates will be agreed upon before they start working on your project and will be a part of the freelance contract so neither of you will have to worry about it later. But should you prefer to pay them per hour or per project?
That depends mainly on the kind of project you have. If it’s a small project, you may benefit from choosing someone who charges you per hour because the project won’t take them long to complete. However, if it’s a big project that will need the designer to work for several hours, it might be beneficial to agree to a per-project rate. That way you will pay them a fixed amount regardless of how many hours they need to complete it.
Do remember to pay them for any extra work they may have to do that wasn’t included in your original brief.
Graphic designer rates
Now that we know that freelance graphic designers charge either per hour or per project, let’s take a look at all the factors that influence their rates and how much you can expect to pay them.
What factors influence the rate that a graphic designer charges?
Several factors influence the rates graphic designers charge such as experience, the type of project, overheads, and so on. Here are the most important factors that have a direct impact on freelance designer rates:
· Experience: a freelance designer with several years of freelance or full-time design experience will charge significantly higher than someone new to the field.
· Scope of work: you will have to pay less for simple projects such as designing a logo or a PDF file. But if your project is complex, requires several meetings and strategy discussions, and is time-consuming, you will have to pay significantly more.
· Project value: designers consider the value a project will provide to your business and price their services accordingly. For example, designing a sales page will bring you direct revenue whereas designing a simple PDF won’t. So, the designer will charge more for the sales page. Experienced designers may prefer this since they are fast and charging by the hour won’t pay them enough for the value they bring to you.
· Overheads: freelancers will and should factor in the overheads they have to bear such as design software and health insurance into their per hour or per project rates. However, they won’t charge you for everything – their costs are divided and split over all the projects they work on.
· Type of work: freelance graphic designers that charge by the project will charge differently depending on the type of work you need done. For example, designing a logo may cost you anywhere between $100 to $5000. But designing a website can easily cost you at least $1000 and as much as $15,000.
Typical hourly rates for freelance graphic designers
Per-project rates depend on the type of work you need done and will vary largely. However, per hour rates are more popular and usually fall between a specific range depending on the designer’s experience and skill level. Let’s see the typical hourly rates for freelance graphic designers.
· Junior designers (>2 years’ experience) - $15 to $25 per hour
· Mid-level designers (2-4 years’ experience) - $35 to $70 per hour
· Senior designers (4+ years’ experience) – $75 and upwards
How to negotiate a rate with a freelance graphic designer?
While the rates mentioned above indicate a range you can expect to pay freelance graphic designers, it is possible to negotiate the rates with them. Again, this does not mean getting a ton of work done for cheap. It just means you can negotiate to pay them slightly less than they ask for in exchange for another perk.
For example, if you like the designer’s work and think you want to work with them long-term, they may be willing to lower their rates for you in exchange for a retainer agreement. It’s a win-win for both of you as you get a talented freelancer on your team and they get a good, long-term client.
You may even try to negotiate with them to include another service into the bundle for no or low extra charge since you’re already paying for the main service you hired them for. They may also be willing to negotiate a slightly lower rate if you pay them upfront instead of paying at the end of the project.
However, while negotiating the rates with a freelance graphic designer, do keep in mind that they’re working, just like you, to earn a decent livelihood. It’s not fair to ask them to provide a lot of free services or expect them to lower their rates excessively.
Job sites and marketplaces for freelance graphic designers
Now that you know all about how to hire a freelance graphic designer, how to negotiate a contract and everything about their rates, it’s time to focus on actually finding the right talent!
Which job sites and marketplaces are the best for finding freelance graphic designers?
You can find the best talent in graphic design at any of these top 5 freelance websites. Some of them are job sites while others are freelance marketplaces where freelancers may bid on your project and you can choose the one you like best.
1. Upwork: it has consistently been one of the best freelancer marketplaces. You can find graphic designers with varying levels of experience and expertise here. The website charges a 3% fee from you when you pay your freelance designer.
2. Fiverr: it’s a good freelance marketplace for small businesses to find freelance graphic designers. The site does not charge membership fees and you can find freelancers charging as low as $5 for their services!
3. Freelancer: it’s another great freelancer marketplace where you can find varying levels of talent in varying price ranges. The platform charges a nominal membership fee per month starting at $0.87 for the most basic plan.
4. 99designs: this platform is specifically for freelance graphic designers. You can find the best talent suitable to your requirements by submitting a project brief to the platform. They charge membership fees starting at $199 per month.
5. FlexJobs: it’s a job site where you can post a requirement for freelance designers to work for you from anywhere in the world. The platform charges membership fees but can connect you to talent around the world.
How to post a job for a freelance graphic designer on a job site or marketplace?
Posting a job on freelancer marketplaces such as the ones listed above is fairly simple. You need to sign up and become a member (if the platform requires). Then, you can post a job listing using the guidelines for each platform.
On some platforms such as Freelancer, you can directly search for freelance graphic designers using their search criteria and filters and reach out to people you find suitable.
Just remember to be as clear in your listing as possible about the nature and scope of work, the remuneration you’re willing to pay, and the level of experience and area of expertise you’re looking for.
What to expect when hiring a graphic designer through a job site or a marketplace?
The first step is to expect freelancers to bid on your job posting on reach out to you, depending on how the platform functions. Once you’ve spoken to some good candidates, you may finalize the talent you like best and work out a freelance graphic design contract.
Depending on the nature of the work and the terms of the contract, the designer will be in touch with you regularly and deliver the project by the decided date. You will have to pay them upfront at the beginning of the project or partially at the beginning and the remaining on completion of the project, depending on the contract you negotiated.
You can then choose to enter a long-term retainer contract with the designer if you’re both happy working with each other!
