Be it in graphics, web design or even writing, freelancers these days are multiplying at an alarming rate, it’s not even funny. Many of these so called freelancers are popping up all over the place from all over the world don’t even know what they are getting themselves into. Now I am not a writer, so I will refrain from commenting on the Freelance Writers out there today, those that provide so called original articles and content, so I will talk about what I know, graphic and web design.

I am a designer, so I have high expectations of designers. Just last month, I worked with a designer, James Croft on a clients site, islandmix that can be found in my design portfolio. I expected him to know how to listen to my ideas, then take my sketches and concepts combining them with his own to present me with at least three sketches of possible solutions to the design problem at hand, then collaborate together some more. I expected him to know something about the website in general–what they were supposed to accomplish–and to balance his creative urges with the clients needs. I expected him to be prepared to go back and forth with me and our client as we refined the design, and to complete his assignments as agreed.

James, by the way, did all of these things and we produced a striking and effective website design that blew the clients minds away (literally speaking of course, no not really.)

My point is, you can’t just hire the first freelancer that sounds cheap and seems to know what he/she is doing. Always ask around, google up his/her portfolio, ask to see sites that are online that he/she has worked on, and if there is not a “Designed by; designers name” somewhere on that site, email the site owner and ask for confirmation. Most of the time, using one of the ways I suggested above, will end up saving you a lot of time, heart ache, and money.

So many kids are popping up these days calling them selves designers, just because they downloaded a 30 day trail of Photoshop and have a couple fonts under their belt to flash at client in an attempt to impress them. It’s a sad truth, but clients that look for a designer, usually know very little about design, therefor get sucked into a whirl pool of banana manoosha (which means bull shit in baby language). Beware of fake designers, they are everywhere, behind you, under your bed, in the mail box. Sniff them out with common sense.

Another thing when hiring a freelance designer is Ego. A designer needs to have a rather large ego, but needs to keep it under control in service of his/her client. Many do not do this well. When working with a new client, it’s wrong to force ones opinion on a client, but one should rather give it, and better explain the point at hand, accepting anything the paying client has to say of course. If a designer can’t do these basic tasks, then you’re better off without them.

Inability to listen and really hear, inability to surface assumptions (his/hers or the client’s) or to clarify them are all things that you should watch out for in a freelance designer. And, of course, many designers are simply poor communicators, either in writing, phone or face-to-face. However that’s not always a sign that the free lancer is not a talented designer, but I promise you, it will not be an easy task when it comes to communicating with him/her about the project.

There is no room to trust your gut instinct when it comes to hiring a freelance designer, just go with the facts and what you see in front of you. Reputation plays a big role, so do past projects, check and check again, get a phone number if you can, check the contact page on their portfolio for an address. Only then can you be sure that you’re getting what you paid for!

“Happy freelancer hunting!” - Michael Kane

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