Is it better for designers to work freelance for an agency or work solo? This discussion thread was started on LinkedIn by graphic designer Jonathan Harper. The designers who took part in the discussion were unanimous in their answers – designers can make a better living if they worked for agencies as freelancers. Most of the designers also concluded that solo freelancing careers don’t offer the same guarantee.
Illustration: Flaticon/monkik
Why is that? You would think that a solo freelancer would better off. However, design experts say that a solo freelance career isn’t as glamorous as we may believe. It is true that freelancing makes you your own employer. However, you might not be able to pay yourself on time or as much as you like.
This forces me to think –
- Is it really easy for designers to make a living as solo freelancers?
- Can a solo career guarantee consistent revenue?
- Are designers who work for established agencies better off?
In the previous post, we discussed why professionals don’t use MS Word for designing. This week’s discussion focuses on how working for agencies allows professional freelancing designers to make a better living as compared to solo careers.
An Agency Is A Reliable Source Of Income
The work of a solo freelancer doesn’t guarantee consistent revenue. A solo freelancer is able to make money out of a solo career. But a solo career might not always pay enough to make up the cost of the groceries. Professionals like David Sierra argue that agencies are more reliable since they pay freelancers higher wagers. He explains why –
“I think freelancing is a hard road to take, I did it for a few years and regret it, I have some friends who tried it and some liked it and some didn’t. To date only one keeps at it. Your chances of getting pay are about 2 points higher with an agency than on your own.”
Graphic designer Neil Quinn echoes this sentiment –
“I’ve found freelancing for agencies to be quite beneficial. If you can get in there with a couple of decent companies, who pay OK and are more importantly, on time, then you have a nice reliable income source for a while. You’re then able to use that sustainability to build your own brand and do your own marketing or developing your skills, without worrying about how to pay your gas bill!”
How Agencies Pay More
But how do agencies manage to pay freelance designers regularly? There is a simple explanation for this. Creative, design, and even podcast advertising agencies use a budget to pay for overhead costs. They do not pay their designers out of this budget.
Agencies pay designers half of what they charge their clients. They also pay for overheads themselves. In this way, freelance designers who work for them are always assured that they will be paid fixed salaries. A solo freelancing career doesn’t offer this guarantee.
