Comments on: My view on freelance design today

By: State of the web for 2007

State of the web for 2007 — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 02:21:11 +0000

[...] a proper service. You get what you pay for. This article on devlounge raises some good points about freelance being ruinedd which inspired some of my [...]

By: Justin D

Justin D — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:55:46 +0000

If you’re trying to support yourself, as an adult in a major city, as a freelance web designer, you shouldn’t be in competition with the kind of people who sell designs at this level. The people buying these designs are not interested in really investing in a web site. I work with photographers all the time on their portfolios and none of them would take a designer seriously if they charged so little. What we’re really talking about is value vs. cost, and the clients you should want are those that understand that relationship and aren’t looking to get something for nothing.

If you’re just getting into blogging, or setting up a site to sell the tea cozys you knit, that’s one thing. A serious freelancer should be looking at gainfully successful businesses and individuals, and leave all this to the geeks on the street.

By: Olly

Olly — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:03:19 +0000

Fair enough

By: aj

aj — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:47:10 +0000

@Olly – The bulk of my work comes from clients (not premade), but I took a few months off during the DL sale and then while I was getting some other things in order, and to get back into the swing of things I have put together some templates over the last few weeks, sometimes based around upon what I see is hot and selling quickly on forums and marketplaces, but because it does not look the same as these other designs, the items aren’t selling.

By: Sam Brown

Sam Brown — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:45:19 +0000

I have to say I agree with you on many levels AJ. I really don’t see much money in template design anymore, not for the lack of demand or designs but for the lack of quality and integrity.

By: Olly

Olly — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:57:00 +0000

You make a few good points. Alas “Any time I’m fooling around in Photoshop and I end up throwing together a template” knocks your credibility a bit for me. There’s a few ways you van go though, such as:

A) Drop your prices so you’re competitive in the template market.

B) Switch your creative process right around, so it’s tailored to the customer. The problem with generic templates is that you’re creating them without knowing if it’ll actually suit someone’s needs. Instead, why not speak to the client first and build a bespoke site that’ll suit their requirements?

By: Nico Zwemstra

Nico Zwemstra — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:35 +0000

You definitely have a point here. Also see Armin's post on Speak Up. I think part of the problem is that new designers just think that's the way to do it, because a lot of well-known webdesigners do it that way. They suppress their own creativity and follow the herd, just to get their designs to look like those famous ones. Unleash your creativity!

By: Sydney

Sydney — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:29:16 +0000

Definitely agree with you. I’m ready for these people just to vacate the web, but I doubt it’s going to happen. I am appalled at the incredible amount of idiots who actually buy a certain WordPress rockstar’s ridiculous “premium themes” when they can get much better work for free. It’s just…sad.