Anyone have any experience with freelance graphic designer sites?

[NoahsDad]

I'm wanting to get a few things designed for our site, and I was curious if anyone has any experience using any of the companies online where you can hire graphic designers.

It looks like a lot of these companies use people over seas, and although some of them are talented, I don't think their styles are the same as I'm used to here.  (Hope that doesn't sound bad...I'm not meaning it like that.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good company to use online? Thanks.

[DanielFreedman]

Some good suggestions here. I'd add a few more.

First and foremost, make sure it's very clear who is expected to do what.

Some designers are great at coming up with a concept and creating the basic layout of the interior pages. But they fall down at the detailed execution level. Some designers think it's the job of the client or consultant to actually populate the pages, position the images, and futz around with fonts.

One designer said to me: "You know WordPress. Just go ahead and insert the content."

Umm, no. I do know WordPress, but I'm not a designer. That's why I hire designers. My understanding of the scope of work is not "some assembly required." I want to buy a furnished and decorated house, not plans and a pretty picture of what the finished product MIGHT look like.

But: my bad for not making this clear. The designer in this case was an honest and competent guy. He just had a different idea about the scope of work.

You should also try to get a feel for whether the designer will be doing the coding himself or subcontracting to others. Sometimes the subcontractors do shoddy work. Many are offshore and are paid a pittance.

Finally, I would never hire a designer until I had detailed  telephone conversation with two or three previous clients (who are NOT friends or relatives.)

[406lucy]

I am in a similar situation to Noah's Dad & a respected colleague recommended CrowdSpring (www.CrowdSpring.com) - I have not worked with them yet, but am wondering if anyone can comment specifically on past experience with their work?

[EGOL]

I have gotten great work, very nice work, from oDesk.

HOWEVER.... you really need to write very tight specifications, show them samples and look at their portfolio.   Also, check their screenshots to be sure that the job is not jumping off track.

But, I have been very happy with almost all of the work I have gotten there.

[stevefidelity]

I agree. It's ridiculous how little some of these designers make. It seems that all of them are overseas though. If they make $100 it means a hell of a lot more than $100 means to the average North American.

My uncle owns a pretty prominent graphic design firm that has done work for very large organizations across the globe. For the logo design projects that I've done through 99 designs, he said he'd have to be paid $3k just to consider the project. And I believe I got the logo done for $300. When he looked at the finished product, he had his fair share of critiques, but his observations weren't ones that the average consumer would notice.

[imageworks-261290]

99 designs is cool. Traditional graphic designers don't like it htough. Compare em to sweat shops, and say things like "you have to worry about if its copied work on sites like those"

however it depends what you are trying to do!

[NoahsDad]

Thanks man. I'm certainly check it out.

[Marcus_Miller]

Odesk is half decent as the people have profiles, reviews etc.

Have you ever been to TK Max store? There is some great stuff, but it's kind of hard to find and requires some real rummaging around. Well, ODesk is kind of like that, there are some great people on their, but be prepared to spend a few hours looking!

http://www.odesk.com/trends/graphics

[NoahsDad]

Thanks man. Do you know of any sites like that off hand?

[matbennett]

I'm lucky in having an in-house graphic designer, but I have used these sites for side projects and to help me out of a corner in the past.  I can't imagine that my experience is true for everything, as they wouldn't be sustainable otherwise - however I've not had great results.

The problem for me has been that so many of the freelancers using the sites focus on how little they can do to meet their obligation. It's not entirely their fault to be fair: Many of the sites are set up like reverse auctions that only serve to drive prices down and that is never a way to ensure quality.

if I was going down that path I'd find sites that specialise in design freelancers rather than general odesk/freelancer type sites. Particular places that let people use the site as a way to build their reputation rather than just as a way to generate lots of leads quickly.

I am sure that plenty of great designers use them. If you can find a site where the proportion of the good ones is higher you'll probably save a lot of time.

[stevefidelity]

I've used 99 designs and I've been quite satisfied with the end product. They do all sorts of types of design work from logos to wordpress themes.

If you don't like what the community of designers provide you, you can get your money back.

There's a few shady people in the community. I had one or two designers on logo design project that just copied something and tweaked it, but within their community, it was caught and that person was disciplined.