Best Freelance Graphic Design Practices : A Realistic Guide

Freelance Graphic Design Beginner's Guide

Freelancing is, and has always been, a rage among people. Especially us designers. Go to a designer today and ask this question - ‘Is freelancing worth it?’- and you will get all sort of mixed answers- ‘it depends’; ‘only if you land a good client’; ‘only if you have good connections’- blah blah blah But one thing is for sure- if done in a right way, freelancing can outshine your regular monthly salary- which, honestly, a graphic designer generally doesn’t get much.

But let me tell you, freelancing done the right way is a thing! And it is not something which requires a lot of hard work with no-to-minimal returns. I’m talking good client onboarding , workflow and good off-loading. But the question which pops up in your mind immediately after reading this is ‘but how ?’. Let me help you with this question, in this blog.

Starting as a Freelance Graphic Designer

Now I’m not saying this is the ultimate list of things I’ll put forward for you to grow as a freelance designer. You can google any article today and get multiple articles and blog pop up for your reference to begin your journey. What I’m putting here is my journey as I started freelancing, but with a full-time job. Yes. Full-time role. See, that was my priority. I needed a steady income till the time I was busy establishing myself and starting with it. Newsflash, I still am. Because I took a break in-between from freelancing to focus on other things like studying or certifications.

Step 1 : Increase Your Arsenal

Now, coming back to the point- how to start as a freelancer. If your are a graphic designer, skip to portfolio! A beginner must know a set of tools, or softwares, to start creating and offering their services. Major tools are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I’m sorry, Canva is not the one. Canva is more for emergency purpose but certainly not for hardcore graphic designers. It is just not the tool. I advise to use it only if the client needs you to, otherwise, never.

Learning software won’t automatically turn you into a designer. All you know is ‘this is an axe and it is used to cut things’. You won’t know to use that axe to turn a log of wood into a furniture. You need to feed your brain with what numerous things can you create with this ‘log’ or here, the softwares. Daily dose of design inspiration can give you ideas and help you with your work. The godmother for designers is either Behance, Dribbble or Pinterest. These three have all kinds of inspirations you can think of, especially Behance and Dribbble for graphic designers. Pinterest also has a lot of other industries for which you can take inspiration from. Few other libraries include Mobbin and Sootworld. Although Mobbin is for UI UX primarily, but you never know where you get inspiration from.

Step 2 Need of the hour- A Portfolio !

One thing which is universal for a designer to have is a portfolio. You read it right. A portfolio! Probably many of you have it listed as a 2025 resolution. Now, this is not something you should be scared about. It should be exciting enough for you to loose your sleep and get started with it immediately. Portfolio has to be updated on a regular basis as well, but that is a matter for another day. Currently, you need one portfolio. Now for a portfolio, it can be anything, and I mean it when I say it can be anything. It could be a PDF file which you created in Adobe Illustrator or a website like Ayvahb where you can showcase your work AND work over other stuff as well. First you need to decide what will suit you the best and how much can you handle once you start sharing it. Sharing a PDF file is an easier thing since all you need to do is attach a file and send on across.

A website on the other hand has it’s perks and disadvantages, but let me tell you- the perks outweigh them. A website can be used to create an experience rather than just showcasing your product. The advantage would be in presentation and the thing which is presented well, is perceived well! Custom templates, highlighting your potential along with the projects would definitely give you an important edge by making you appear more formal, and well established.

Step 3 : Networking, networking and networking !

This is an important step, because, hey ! You have everything, except a client. And that is what your are trying to achieve. That one final step before you actually enter into graphic designing field as a ‘freelancer’. Networking is important for anything in your life. Even though the term sounds so formal, but networking has been something which you’ve been doing since ages! Be it with friends, classmates, colleagues, you name it. Making contact. Increasing your contact list in your field or related ones, that is networking.

Don’t get overwhelmed. The process is simple and you get a hang of it very, very quickly. There are numerous platforms where you can begin with. For example LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a goldmine if you have ever used it wisely and extensively! If not, go today and make a profile, all you need is a Google mail ID and voila! You’re in. There, search for people who are looking for a freelancer or who have an opening. Send them connection request and a small note which comes before sending the request finally. Tell them your intentions of working for them as a freelancer. If the word count allows, send your portfolio link.

Another good platforms are Upwork and Fiverr. They are extensively used to hire freelancer on project basis. You can showcase the same projects which you have listed in your portfolio (and maybe a few extra just for a wow-factor) and price them. That way you can give the potential client an idea of how you can accommodate their budget and expectations. You can visit other designers profile and preview what they are offering to get an idea of pricing for yourself.

Step 4 : Price Yourself Right and Draft It!

The freelancer faces tons and tons of problems when it comes to pricing. In some countries, where creativity is not the top priority of the client or the company, the freelancers often struggle to find pay worth their work. For starting you may take low budget projects to create a name for yourself, however, please note that once you start getting steady flow of work, you have a guideline or ratecard defined for different types of projects along with number of iterations. Post a certain number, feel free to charge ~30% of the project fee (hey, you are investing more of your time). Or if you have an hourly rate, you can simply charge as per the number of hours you invest. A generic fee tends to be US$ 8/ hour.

But these things should be taken in written with the client. Either over mail, over a message where you have official communications or as an agreement for the project. Best is to send across an agreement and detail out everything which you might or might not entertain along with your terms for the unintended termination of the project where the client is liable to pay you even if it doesn’t go through. Mind you , payment is the biggest pain point of any freelancer and the main reason why most people don’t venture into this territory. So before you onboard a certain client, make sure they are legit. Have more than one way of communication with them, like a Zoom call or even a telephonic one.

Doing More For Yourself

Apart from this, you can go for few certifications and courses where you can learn the tools and tickle your grey cells at the same time. Many sites offer an aamzing array of courses, but the ones which stand out are Coursera, Udemy and Skillshare. Other platforms are LinkedIn Learning, Udacity and edX (mostly for university courses).

A good designer will keep themselves updated with the current trends, tools and requirements. What you see most is what is loved most. And it also wanted the most. So, look out for them. Example, carousel posts were a rage when you could upload more than one image on Instagram. So these things will affect what the client may want or the way you design things for them.

Another unsolicited big-sis advice which I can give is that you need be prepared to handle some negative feedbacks. Don’t let them get your spirits down. Take them as a learning and incorporate it in your next project. But don’t over apologise, when you feel you are right, take a stand for it. Without coming off as arrogant. Be polite. They are your clients and even though they need your help, you need them more to get started with your freelance carrier.

Goodluck designers ! Do tell me how it goes !

Ayvahb offers freelance branding, graphic design services for your next big branding project. Not sure about it? Hop on a call with me and we can take it from there. Book your slot here today !