If you haven’t considered outsourcing design work to a freelancer or creative agency in the past, this might be the perfect opportunity to start looking. It’s about time after all because the gig economy is booming? Don’t believe me? Here’s some quick stats on the industry:

These are unbelievable numbers and will continue to rise, especially in this economic climate. Welcome to the new normal. Now that we’ve established just how vibrant this industry is, who should you hire? A design company or a remote solo designer? Before jumping the gun and going all in, let’s be honest here. It really depends on your current situation and needs.

To be clear, we’re talking about remote hiring here, not a local agency or freelancer that you’ll be meeting in-person. You must be wondering why this suggestion was given. Well, we’re in the year 2020 aren’t we? Why are you still tied down to one location where you’re fighting with other employers for talent? Everyone is going remote with a talent pool that is no longer tied to a specific area. Now that we got that cleared up, let’s get into it. Here are a couple of things to consider before making the choice.

TL;DR Bootstrapping and only need an extra pair of hands? Hire a freelancer. Need a suite of services and don’t mind paying a little more for comfort? Upgrade to a design agency. Want a self-serve platform for agency quality designs? Hire us.

Do You Like Hand Holding?

Like all relationships, it starts with the basics and this is no different. Both the agency and freelancer path would provide you with some level of communication but how much attention do you expect from this relationship? A freelancer is an independent consultant who will have some level of experience working for a big company in the past. This will be one person on his or her own meaning time is of the essence and there won’t be enough to go around if you’re expecting communications around the clock. There’s also the freelancer’s workload that’ll need to be taken into consideration. Overwhelming workloads may result in challenging communication. If you’re comfortable setting up milestones and schedule check-ins in advance, this is a possible option.

A digital agency is a larger team of design professionals and other complementary operational staff. Expect more proactive communication from the team as agencies tend to assign a dedicated sales executive or project manager to their accounts. This also means that the person you’re in touch with will understand your business needs better and can translate the given information into executable tasks for the team.

Let’s Talk About Money.

Freelancers may look more cost effective in the short run but that may change depending on your scope of work. You’ll be billed on an hourly rate and there’s a chance of an overrun. If it’s only smaller edits or design work, this is a great choice.

Do you value the dedicated support and input by a whole team? That’ll come at a price. Find out what you’ll be billed up-front for the scope of work needed. This might be a little higher compared to only hiring 1 person (you’re literally hiring a small team of people), If that’s fine, you’re in good hands.

Apart from that, the quality of the work should be great. This is of course under the assumption that you did your due diligence and reviewed the sample of work provided by the freelancer or design agency.

In the nutshell, the choice is entirely yours and depends on what your requirements are. Do your research and you’ll find the option that works best for you.

If this is your first time hiring a creative agency, we’ve compiled a couple of helpful articles here:

– Find out the tips and tricks you can use to help you find the right agency for you

– Learn how to give helpful design feedback

There’s Another Option

If you’re not entirely fond of human interaction but still want exceptional design at an affordable price, you’re in the right place. There are many hybrid design service companies that aren’t exactly agencies but can still provide you with agency-level work. One of them would be us. Send us a message if you want to learn how we can help you with design.