Where and How to Secure Graphic Designer Freelance Jobs

One alternative to the job search for Graphic Designers is to find work as a freelancer. Rather than working for a firm and having graphic design work assigned to you, freelancers will build their own clientele and operate as if they were running their own small business. This comes with some perks and some added responsibilities. Freelancers will be able to have more control over the kind of work they take on. Plus, you will be able to set your own hours and work schedule. However, you’ll have the added responsibility of needing to handle the administrative parts of your work, liking finding clients and processing invoices.

One of the most challenging aspects of starting work as a freelance Graphic Designer is the challenge of entering the marketplace, since it can be difficult to find your first clients. While some designers may be able to get by on their own networking skills and prior engagement with potential clients, most freelance Graphic Designers will need to take other steps to build a clientele.

For the next sections, do some research on where freelance Graphic Designer work opportunities are typically posted. Some of these sites, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, will be the same across career fields. Others will be specific to the industry a person wants to work in, and freelancing often requires a significant degree of hustling and self-promotion to attract opportunities.

How Do I Start a Freelance Career in Graphic Design?

Once you’ve decided that freelance graphic design is the right path to starting your career as a Graphic Designer, there are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you succeed. Professional freelance graphic designers will need to take into consideration several factors that studio designers won’t have to consider.

Learn Graphic Design Skills

The first and most important aspect of working as a freelance Graphic Designer is having a firm enough understanding of graphic design skills. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate proficiency in skills like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign so that clients will be convinced to contract your services. This may seem obvious, but if you aren’t incredibly comfortable with the skills involved in graphic design, you will find it difficult to break into the marketplace.

One way to learn these skills is to enroll in a Graphic Design training course or career-certificate program through Noble Desktop. These courses are excellent places to start learning graphic design skills, a wonderful way to build a sample portfolio and provide students with useful networking opportunities.

Establish a Place in the Market

Once you are comfortable with your skills, the next step will be to establish your place in the market and start advertising your work to build a clientele. This will depend on the platform and contracting method you are using, but you’ll need to make yourself visible in the crowded freelance design market. This will often mirror the structure of a digital marketing campaign, as you use platforms like Instagram and Twitter to build a following. It may also involve personal networking projects designed to help find contracts. 

Some Freelance Graphic Designers will also use digital posting platforms and client aggregating web services, such as Upwork or Fiverr. These webpages are a good place to start building a portfolio and connections to clients who may be interested in employing your services in the future. They are also a good place to potentially build relationships with other freelance Graphic Designers. Even though you are competing with them in specific marketplaces, it can be useful to a network of contacts, particularly if there isn’t a great deal of direct overlap between your styles, since it will create a community of designers who can reference one another to prospective clients.

To learn more about aspects of the marketing world, such as digital marketing and social media marketing, students should consult the training options available through Noble Desktop. While these aren’t as necessary to learn as graphic design skills, it will make building a brand identity much easier.

Build Relationships with Clients

Once you’ve started working as a freelance Graphic Designer, you’ll want to be sure that you are building good relationships with your clients and providing them with the kinds of work that they are requesting. This is vital to the long-term success of your freelance work, since you will be able to lean on these clients at later stages for more work. Plus, they will be more willing to recommend your services to other clients, which is an important part of building a stable of consistent work. This relationship building can also lead to more easily establishing relationships in other parts of the field, such as helping you find additional employees or better contracts with existing clients.

Expand Your Freelance Work or Apply for Advanced Positions

At a certain point in your career, you will need to decide whether you want to continue working as a freelancer and eventually expand your freelance work into a legitimate studio business, or if you want to take your experience and expertise to a firm that is looking for an experienced Graphic Designer. If you’ve worked long enough as a freelancer, you may have become comfortable with the life it entails. At the same time, anyone who began freelancing to build a portfolio and seek more stable employment may find it an ideal choice to pivot to a more structured, higher-paying position in a mid-level to high-level graphic design job. 

Learn the Skills to Become a Graphic Designer at Noble Desktop 

If you want to start a career in graphic design, the graphic design classes offered by Noble Desktop are an excellent place to start. Students can take all their classes remotely or in-person at their Manhattan campus. For students who want to start slow by just learning one popular design program, Noble offers an Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, an Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, and an Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp. These beginner-friendly courses take just a few days to complete and will provide students with foundational design skills.

For those who feel ready to dive into a more comprehensive program, Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate might be a better fit. Students will complete hands-on assignments using popular design programs, including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. This program is ideal for those hoping to start a career as a Graphic Designer. Certificate students at Noble Desktop receive individual career mentorship, where experts in the design industry help craft resumes and portfolios and provide helpful tips for finding lucrative employment. 

If a class isn’t feasible for your current schedule, Noble Desktop has a host of resources on its website to help start your graphic design career. You can browse their collection of articles about Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign if you’re curious about how each program works. You can also review information about other design tools to see if another field might interest you more.