Graphic Designers: A Change is a Comin' - "Forbes" Tells Business Owners How to Slash Design Costs

Economy got you down a little? Are you looking for a some good news from the corporate world?

Well, you might want to look away now if you're a creative freelancer (graphic or web designer) and a little squeamish.

For the rest of you bold, strong types that are ready to take on anything thrown at you, buckle your chinstrap...

I stumbled on this article written in Forbes on February 16th called, "The Creativity of Crowds,” by Christopher Steiner.The article highlights two Chicagoans and their company called CrowdSpring.com.Their plan is to help entrepreneurs buy allowing them to hire design help at a fraction of the cost a talented freelancer would charge. Good news if you're a business owner. Bad news if you're a creative freelancer trying to get paid a fair price for your work.

So what's the big deal? eLance and Guru have been around for years
True, however a new idea, "hire an amateur designer," is slowly creeping into the business mainstream.

Whereas years ago not too many business owners (besides the technically savvy ones) didn't have any clue about sites like eLance, Guru or CrowdSpring.com, they either know now or they're going to know really soon.

What's driving this trend?
Simple: the economy is pushing businesses to save money - hard.

Business owners are looking to shave expenses at every corner and the truth is the first cuts they ALWAYS make are in areas that don't directly produce revenue. Can you say design? Creative support and marketing are always the first to get cut when a company hits hard times.

Sites like eLance, and CrowdSpring are ruining the creative freelancing industry!
Well, no, not really. They're essentially providing opportunities for anyone and everyone to compete against you. The influx of "wanna-be" designers who'll create just about anything for a bus pass and an Arby's coupon is driving down the price of design work and causing a bit of a panic on the freelancers' side.

Freelancers are throwing their arms up in the air saying, "How in the heck can I compete with some college kid that's happy making $12/hr. when I am trying to run a business?!" These web sites are leveling the playing field between the accomplished designer and someone who just got Adobe's latest Creative Suite last week as a way to make a few extra bucks.

Trust me; these wanna-be's don't need a degree from a fancy design school to find work in this economic climate where almost every businesses is looking for a deal. If their work is passable and they are priced at a fraction of the cost of a professional, there will definitely be some cost-conscious, risk-taking business owners that'll give them a chance.  

I checked CrowdSpring.com's web site on a couple of weeks ago. They had 170 open projects available and 14,845 registered people looking for work. All other things considered equal that comes to a 1.1% chance that you'll get a project over the rest of the field. In Mr. Steiner's article he references a marketing consultant that offered just $250 for a logo, 5 days later she had 112 designers to choose from. That's devastating news considering you'll find similar odds on other online job posting sites for creative freelancers.

So if you're a freelancer trying to get paid what you're worth, you're doomed, right?
The good news is that there is a tremendous opportunity for creative freelancers that can adapt and compete on a new playing field; one where the out-of-work Mom/Dad, college kid or the recreational designer can't possibly compete with you on.

That playing field is all about generating sales and revenue with good design.

Trying to compete on lowest price, artist talent or great service is a sure ticket to the unemployment line - there are just too many other options spouting those platitudes, and there isn't enough demand to keep up. The truth is, if your creative talents can consistently bring your clients more revenue and more sales- and you actually make rather than cost your client money, you will always be able to find work. That's how you compete with these low-cost designers.

Any person with Adobe Photoshop, access to online tutorials and a template can easily crank out a logo, business card, advertisement or even a web site. Heck, I've seen kids in junior high do it. (Scary huh?)

The real question is, can their work bring in clients and create revenue?  

It's a brand new world out there and whether you or organizations like nospec.com like it or not, change is coming. The choice is to either adapt to fit the market or find yourself a new line of work.
I don't like it either guys, but stopping this trend's is going to be like holding back the ocean with a broom. "Competition will always be nipping at your heals. If you stop running or rely on the status quo - you'll get swallowed."

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Comments

[Ross Kimbarovsky]

Hi Jeremy,

This is a refreshing and pragmatic view about crowdSPRING and change in the design industry. You are absolutely correct that it's no longer about whether the industry SHOULD change - change is here and it's important for designers and the industry to evolve and embrace the change by looking for opportunities to "adapt and compete on a new playing field."

Best,

Ross Kimbarovsky
co-Founder
http://www.crowdspring.com

[JM Tuber]

Thank you for your comments, Ross.

When I first started designing years and years ago, a girlfriend who'd been in the industry for awhile chided me for not charging enough. She told me that I was bringing down the industry and hurting other freelancers. Rubbish. There are ALWAYS going to be lower-priced options out there - successful freelancers will learn to find a competitive advantage over them.

I know a lot of "professional" freelancers here in the States are hurting (I really do feel badly for these folks), so I don't want to be insensitive to their plight, but arguing, trying to regulate fees or complaining about things won't help - see recording industry VS. MP3s. I understand the frustration freelancers have with the economy and with additional competition but there are always ways to effectively compete against less expensive products and services.

Ross, I wish you and your site well - come back and visit me soon. I wish my fellow freelancers well out there too - I know things are tough but I am here to help you guys.

[Not a CS Fanboy]

For once I must agree with the Mr. Kimbarovsy. The bad news for him is that part of "competing on a new playing field" with services like Crowdspring is educating businesses why working with professional designers is better in the long run and why sites like CS are a very bad way to have anything designed.

Thankfully, the reasons are legion.

- the extremely high risk of copied or improperly licensed artwork. For which Crowdspring claims to have no legal responsibility.

- having design developed in the 'open', ripe for copy by other competing businesses BEFORE copyright and trademark protections are in place.

- your design work being sold by same designer, to another business on different site, sometimes on the very same one

- shoddy technical support for which CS takes absolutely no responsibility as the people that work on CS aren't employees of Crowdspring, nor does CS accept any legal responsibility for their activities, services rendered or design work delivered

- use of illegal and improperly licensed software. Actually discussed openly in CS forums. Whether this has any impact on the legality of artwork created is anyone's guess, but it's certainly a bad vibe and Adobe probably aren't too cool with it

- the idea that your company is partaking in an exploitative practice that engages teenagers, desperate designers and people from overseas looking for any way possible to earn money, and one that seems to be getting a lot of critical attention at the moment. At some point some graphic design organization will start 'outing' companies that have had their logos, brochures and websites created using developing nation wage levels to do so. Any publicity is good publicity they say, but remember Nike and slave labor? That wasn't so good.

Now that you mention it, I think I like this 'new playing field'. Freelance designers never had so much sales ammunition to use against their 'competition'.

[JM Tuber]

You're right; there are significant inherent risks to working with sites like this.

This is an excellent point that you can bring up if you meet a potential client that is considering using your services or one of these online bidding sites.

The key is to build your case to clients as to why you are the best fit for their project. If you can do this you get the business if you can't, you don't.

PS - If all a freelancer has to sell is "good design", they're in trouble.

[Logo Design Guru]

interesting post. It's true how it is hard to compete out there, especially with an economic crisis at hand. Everyone has no choice but to adapt and make changes with their business choices. Hopefully we make good ones and can ride it out till things get better.

[Jason]

As a creative muse for crowdSPRING (http://99designs.com/contests/321) and the largest online marketplace for crowdsourced design, we appreciate your level headed view.

All the best,
Jason

99designs

[Cheap Web Design]

Very good article. I have used elance a few times and can attest that there is thousands of individuals out there offering a very low price on work. However it really is true that you get what you pay for. I decided to give one a go and spent more time editing and communicating back and forth that it would have been cheaper to get a professional to do it right from the beginning.

[JM Tuber]

Good comment (C.W.D.). You're right, you do often get what you pay for. It's funny, I've heard both freelancers and business owners say, "You get what you pay for" in trying to convince a prospect to choose to work with them. While true, prospects don't typically like to hear this. This is a tired and empty phrase that has lost meaning.

But telling your prospect that you've found that people that use eLance end up spending twice as much time and energy getting a project done would make a difference to them. Use this type of logic in your sales pitch.

Thanks for allowing me to use your post as an (C.W.D.), great observation!

[Lakia]

Thanks Jeremy. Somehow I had missed this post, but stumbled on it today. I was feeling a bit doomed today, so it was just the pep talk I needed! : )

[householdname]

Sorry to say this train has already left the station.

The issue is not about creativity, it's about economics. And this (below) is the best analysis of why crowdsourcing is the monster that will eventually eat your job:

"The introduction of outsourcing platforms that makes worker productivity portable and portable global capital leads to global labor arbitrage (which neatly guts the theories of comparative advantage upon which belief in the beneficial effects of modern trade theory is based). In short, exploiting the differences between the wages of the western middle class and those in developing economies is now costless and risk free (which makes it an arbitrage opportunity).

Arbitrage opportunities, once found, typically reset to zero quickly (the differences in prices are brought into parity). The result in this case will be a globally normalized wage where the same price is paid for labor no matter where it is located geographically. Almost certainly, given what we are currently seeing right now, the biggest shift will be in the collapse in the incomes of the Western middle class instead of upward movement among low wage competitors."

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See also "Pyramids to pancakes" by Josephine Green Senior Director Trends and Strategy at Philips Design.