Tips for Hiring Freelancer

Despite how creative non-creative people may think they are, you should, without hesitation, insist that your Web client use professional artists, illustrators, and photographers to create any custom visual graphics and photographs that will appear on their site. The only exception is if the client is a graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, or artist, in which case you may welcome their graphics and other artwork.

Ask the client whether he intends to use established contacts for the graphic art that will go on his site. Some clients already have an established relationship with other graphic designers, artists, illustrators, and photographers and will gladly get any needed site graphics, such as icons and illustrations, directly from those people. Other clients, however, will look to you for direction on these things. If you are an artist, illustrator, or photographer as well as a Web designer, definitely offer your services to the client for an additional fee. Otherwise, be ready to suggest some local artists, illustrators, and photographers who would be happy to create the needed art and photos.

Of course, you could leave the hiring of such people solely to the client, but many times the client will want or need you to take on this responsibility because you are the one with the vision for how the site will look and function. Fortunately, your role in this part of the content-gathering process can be as big or as small as you feel comfortable with. For instance, you might suggest that the client buy a digital camera and create her own photographs. Likewise, you may recommend that your client purchase or license stock art for the site. Or, you may simply want to steer your client toward a particular handful of artists you have worked with before and are confident in their services.

Whatever the client’s preference turns out to be, create a list of freelance artists, illustrators, and photographers that you like and keep this list handy. You can then choose to selectively contact people from the list on a project-by-project basis, or simply turn your list over to your client and let her vet, select, and hire someone from your list. You can simply make your list using community websites. Or, even using Twitter. These days everybody using Twitter accounts and you can %90 find very good freelancer artists there.

You may even find some up-and-coming artist types through a local university; lots of student artists are eager to work for a reduced fee — sometimes even for free — while they build their portfolio. If these tips doesn’t work for your list, just ask to me again.

Above all, remember that each project is unique, so be open to making suggestions and let the client decide what works best for her, given her project’s time frame, needs, and budget.