A Graphic Design Student's Guide to Freelance

Chapter 2

Why Should You Freelance?

Balancing Creativity and Commerce

Getting paid and bartering for your services is great, but there are also other reasons why freelancing is a good idea. Learning to balance creativity and commerce is a skill that is valuable, but one that can be difficult to learn outside of a business setting. Learning to work creatively while accepting certain financial constraints is a way in which you can stand out in a sea of designers who are vying for an employment opportunity.

Creativity often ebbs and flows. Commerce gets right to the point and often focuses on the bottom line. Absolutely every company I've worked for has its own formula for the amount of time spent on creative pursuits versus maintaining a profit margin. Graphic designers act as problem solvers in many cases and need the freedom to experiment and fail. Failure can be difficult to bill a client for (they tend to want results), but it is a critically important component of the designer's creative process. Generally speaking, creativity doesn't follow a direct path to a solution. Finding good solutions requires a designer to experiment, play, engage, question, challenge conventions, and sometimes fail. Many business models are highly structured, time-tested, and financially sound, but they have been known to stifle creativity. I'm convinced that the key to success is to strike a balance between being a creative designer and a shrewd business person. A great way to learn to achieve this ...