Today in the graphic design industry there are two different parties that need a wake up call; the designers and the clients. Before going any further this is not attacking people personally or the entirety of both groups. This blog post is more of look at the over all design industry and where it is heading. Now that is out of the way let us get started.
Graphic Designers and Client Issue
In today’s market clients are expecting work to cost a lot more less then it would normally be. This is due to the rise of websites like guru.com and odesk.com. These websites started off in good intentions of making it easier for clients to find designers and other freelancers for their projects. What it has turned is clients wanting multi-page websites expecting someone to design the website for under $1000. The designers who have picked these projects are from the Middle East and India. There is nothing wrong with these people pick up these projects or doing them for cheap because of two main points.
- Not every person has a large budget for their project and some people just need to get something to hit the ground running.
- In those other countries $200-$500 of US money translates a to a larger amount.
Where this system get abused and the graphic design industry and designers get screwed over, is when businesses who can pay designers what they are owed for a project only say they can pay $300-$100 for the project. This hurts designers in two ways; one being the simplest designers do not get paid enough for what they are worth, the second is it sets the designers who have not yet figured out how stick by their guns in spot where they can not say no to the prices. This sets a new standard where clients think that design work worth less than it is and designers having to accept what clients are willing to pay.
Graphic Designer Solution
Is there any way to stop this from becoming the standard for the graphic design industry? There are some solutions. The main fact to keep in mind is that some or not all of these solutions may work for you but can help started in the right direction.
- Do not rely on guru, ondesk, or other freelance websites to get your entire client base
- Work on getting clients that you had from the sites to work outside of these platforms. A lot of these sites frown upon this and you can get kicked off them for doing these things.
- Start working with clients in your local area to help with establishing your brand.
- Go to network meetings to meet local businesses that are interested networking and growing together.
- Stand by your prices and tell your clients how your services, personality, and process stands out.
Client Solution
If you are a client and are looking to nickle and dime designers for projects. This is not only morally wrong, but it is hurting an industry every business needs. The truth of the matter is if you want good quality work then you need to pay what you are getting. This goes for any business or product, why should design be any different? You need to treat a designer or design studio like you would treat any of your employees.
