Different Ways to Earn a Living as a Designer

I frequently come in contact with students who are studying design or designers who are interested in pursuing other ways to work with their skills and experience. In this post we’ll take a look at some of the many ways that it’s possible to earn a living as a web or graphic designer, and hopefully this information will prove to be helpful to those who are looking at the possibilities that exist.

For each method listed below I was able to connect with a designer who is making money in this manner, and there is a brief statement from that designer on the subject of what they like about their job. A list of pros and cons are also provided for each method. Of course, the pros and cons will vary depending on each person’s circumstances, and I’m sure other things could be added to the lists (feel free to leave your own pros and cons in the comments).

While each of these methods is capable of producing a full-time income, in reality many designers use a combination of the methods. With that in mind, some of the cons listed will not be so significant if there is another source of income.

1. Client Work

The most common way for designers to earn a living is to work for clients. This could be work as a freelancer, as an employee of a design agency, or if you’re really ambitious you could start your own agency.

Pros:

• Variety. You get to work on a lot of different projects.
• Exposure. You can get solid exposure that will lead to other opportunities.
• Flexibility. You can do client work as a freelancer or as an employee.
• People. You get to work with and meet a lot of great people.
• Growth. A career path with continued growth is possible.
• Tangible. You get to see the impact your work has on the client’s business.

Cons:

• The client is really the boss and you may not always agree with decisions that are made.
• Although most clients will be great to work with, nightmare clients do exist.
• Working for clients is trading time for money.

Designing website and web application user interfaces for our clients is extremely satisfying when we are able to see the direct benefit of our design work positively impacting important metrics. Whether it be through an increase in our client’s quality website traffic, an increase in their revenue, or overwhelmingly positive feedback from their users, any measurable improvements that are the result of our design work make this part of the job extremely satisfying and fun.

Matt Jurmann: CHROMATIC

2. In-House Designer

For those who want to work as an employee, client work is not the only option. As an in-house designer you could do all of your work for the company that employs you. Typically these positions exist with larger companies that have enough work to sustain a small team of designers.

Pros:

• Security. Although no job is totally secure, as an in house designer you’ll have steady work and a steady paycheck.
• Focus. Working for one company allows you to focus completely and give everything to the projects at hand.
• Growth. Career growth is also possible as an in-house designer.

Cons:

• Many designers prefer to work on a more diverse group of projects than is possible as an in-house designer.
• Depending on the company you work for, you may not get as much exposure as you would working for a variety of different clients.
• You’ll have to work on the projects needed by your employer rather than having the ability to select your own projects.

I absolutely love being the in-house designer at eleven2. I see the website I created changing each and every week, because we constantly perform design upgrades and implement new features. I love monitoring how users use the site, and making the user interface easier for them to use.

Compared to working in a web design agency, I prefer being an in-house designer. You are the face of design for that brand, and not only web work, print work too! Whenever a new creation comes up for the company, its all hands on deck. I love it!

Andy Johnson: Eleven2 (portfolio: Authentic )

3. Template/Theme Sales

With the increased popularity of marketplaces like ThemeForest, a growing number of designers are earning all or part of their income from template sales. New WordPress theme shops are popping up every day as more designers also look to pursue this opportunity.

Pros:

• Flexibility. You can work on your own schedule.
• Proven Platforms. Marketplaces like ThemeForest have shown that full-time income is a possibility.
• Industry Growth. Newer marketplaces like Mojo Themes and ThemeGarden provide more opportunities for designers.
• High Income Potential. The top-selling template designers can earn a very significant income.
• Choice. Without having a client, you can make the decisions on the project.

Cons:

• Customer service can require a significant portion of your time.
• Although the income potential is high, there’s also a chance you’ll make nothing at all.
• You’ll face stiff competition from a lot of other designers attempting to sell templates.
• Many designers prefer to work on some client projects rather than spending all their time on stock resources.

I love the fact that I am in full control of all decisions, that wasn’t the case when I was a regular freelancer. I have no particular client to satisfy and no deadline to meet, so I can try to deliver my absolute best with every new piece of work. No deadlines also means that I am able to learn about a particuar problem, research the options that can solve it, and then choose the best option, not the fastest. I love it when I know my code or layout is as perfect as it can get, even if no one else will ever notice the difference.

Kriesi: ThemeForest and Kriesi.at

4. Stock Graphic Sales

Similar to selling templates or themes, you could also earn a living by selling stock graphics. In fact, Envato, the parent company of ThemeForest, also runs GraphicRiver, a similar marketplace for buying or selling graphics. Most stock photo sites, including iStockphoto, also allow you to sell illustrations, icons, and vector files.

Pros:

• Flexibility: You can work on your own schedule.
• Proven Platforms: iStockphoto and GraphicRiver in particular have proven to be good income sources.
• Choice: Without having a client, you can make the decisions on the project.

Cons:

• Competition is strong at the major stock marketplaces.
• Prices of stock graphics can be pretty low, so you’ll have to make a lot of sales to make it worth your time.
• Many designers prefer to work on some client projects rather than spending all their time on stock resources.

Compared to custom work, it can be much more rewarding selling stock resources because you can reach a much wider audience than you could working with one client at a time. And, when you are fortunate enough to accurately gauge the market, it can pay very well.

Alex: WebTreats ETC (GraphicRiver)

5. Blogging

A countless number of design blogs have been launched in the past few years, and a growing number of designers are earning full-time or part-time income from blogging. This can include writing design tutorials, articles about design concepts, inspirational posts, or any other type of blog content.

Pros:

• Flexibility. You can work on your own schedule.
• Multiple Opportunities. There are number of design blogs that hire freelance bloggers, or you could run your own blog.
• High Income Potential. Blog owners have the potential to earn a very good income.
• Building an Asset. If you’re managing your own blog you are building an asset that can be sold in the future.
• Springboard. Having a successful blog will open up other opportunuties.
• Exposure. Blogging is a good way to gain exposure in the industry.

Cons:

• Although the income potential is high, a very low percentage of bloggers make it to the point of earning a full-time income.
• The responsibilities of blogging can take away from your time for designing.
• Blogger’s burnout often leads to a lack of motivation to continue, which kills many blogs.
• Whetner you are maintaining your own blog of freelancing for other blogs, there is a constant need for new content.

I love the fact that, through a blog, I can reach and help tens of thousands of people on a daily basis. Whether it’s helping them find a tutorial or providing a design tip, knowing that I made their work a little easier is very rewarding.

Also, by being able to reach so many people, WDL has become a great brand building tool, and a launching pad for other business ventures. When I start a new design related business, I can put it out there in front of my readers and know that many of them will become customers. This has been invaluable to me.

Then there is the freedom and flexibility of running a blog. Of course I have to make sure that articles are posted on a regular basis and other related tasks are taken care of. But I’m my own boss, and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Henry Jones: Web Design Ledger

6. Membership Sites

Membership sites, like our own Vandelay Premier, are another way to sell stock design resources. Rather than selling at marketplaces like iStockphoto, GraphicRiver, or ThemeForest, you can set up your own membership-based site to sell design resources or templates/themes.

Pros:

• Recurring income. If you have a solid base of members you’ll have a reliably source of income each month or year.
• Variety. You can work on a variety of different types of resources for your members.
• Choice. You can choose the projects that you work on, although you will need to keep members happy.
• High Income Potential. With a large number of members you can make a good income.
• Flexibility. You can work on your own schedule, although you will need to work enough to produce new resources.

Cons:

• There will be a constant need for new resources in order to retain your members.
• The level of competition is increasing quickly for design-related membership sites.
• Some customers who buy stock resources are hesitant to sign up for recurring payments.
• Although the income potential is high, there’s also a chance you’ll make nothing at all.
• Many designers prefer to work on some client projects rather than spending all their time on stock resources.
• Setting up your own shop takes a significant amount of time, and possibly expense.

Premium membership allows us to constantly expand our business. From the new users growth rate we can test how much a new product is appreciated, which events mostly affect the growth and other important information. Users fidelity is the key. So what I like are people who decide to renew the subscription, because it means that our service is useful.

The main advantage is that, if premium subscription is related to a valuable product, of course, the income of a month can represent the starting point of the income of the next month.

Sebastiano Guerriero: WeGraphics

7. Stock Resource Shop

Running a stock resource shop is a combination of selling stock graphics at marketplaces and running a membership site. You’ll be selling resources at your own site, but instead of on a membership basis they are sold individually or in packs.

Pros:

• Flexibility. You can work on your own schedule.
• Less Commitment. In comparison to running a membership site, there is less commitment to constantly release new resources.
• Choice. You can design whatever you want.
• High Income Potential. A successful resource shop is capable of earning a good income for the designer.

Cons:

• Although the income potential is high, most small shop owners don’t make a lot of money.
• Many designers prefer to work on some client projects rather than spending all their time on stock resources.
• Setting up your own shop takes a significant amount of time, and possibly expense.
• The level of competition is high due to the number of marketplaces and small shops already out there.

The best part about selling design resources online is the passive income it generates. even though it may take a lot of initial work to get the images online and working correctly, Once its done,  its set it and forget it. The sales will not be tremendous at first but if you advertise a little, have a little patience and have a product(s) that people want , the sales will come.

Chad: Chadlonius

8. Texture Sales

For designers who enjoy photography, creating and selling textures is another opportunity. This can be done at many of the major marketplaces, including iStockphoto and GraphicRiver, or it could be done through your own shop or membership site.

Pros:

• Travel. Photographing different textures will take you outside and to a lot of different places.
• Flexibility. You can work on your own schedule.
• Multiple Opportunities. In addition to selling to end users, many design blogs also buy texture packs to release to their readers.
• Options. You can sell templates through proven marketplaces or you can develop your own shop.

Cons:

• Textures are a current design trend, but their popularity may fade.
• Focusing only on textures rather than a variety of different stock resources means that you’ll have a smaller potential market.
• Many designers prefer to work on some client projects rather than spending all their time on stock resources.

I guess what I enjoy most about selling textures for a living is knowing that the images I make are going to be used in the awesome work of thousands of other designers, it’s quite a satisfying feeling seeing my work in the wild. Another great thing about selling textures on stock sites and through my blog is that it provides a source of passive income. There have been times when I’ll be out to dinner and I’ll check on my sales only to realize that I made enough money to pay for the dinner while I was eating it. It also frees up time to work on other projects, which is nice.

Caleb Kimbrough: Lost and Taken

What’s Your Experience?

Please feel free to share some things that you’ve learned about the different ways to make money as a designer.

You may also be interested in:

• 40 Sites for Finding Web Design Jobs
• 33 Marketplaces to Buy and Sell Stock Photos and Graphics
• 13 Ways to Challenge Yourself in Your Career as a Web Designer
• 15 Proven Ways to Gain Exposure for Your Design Portfolio
• 10 Extremely Useful Time Management Tools

Published April 14th, 2011 by Steven Snell