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What is a freelance designer and how to become one
Whether we are talking about industrial design or visual communication, a designer is a creative professional who comes up with ideas for objects, packaging, or layouts. Working as a freelance designer means you are not employed by one company but work on your own, for different clients, on a project basis.
There are many different aspects of design. You can be a graphic designer creating product illustrations or visuals for brand identities, a user experience designer making easy-to-navigate websites, software, or applications. You can design interior spaces, or special effects for the entertainment media, or clothes and accessories for the fashion industry.
Whatever the case, as a freelance designer, you are basically an entrepreneur and find your own clients, take care of accounts, and the promotion of your services for yourself and in exchange, you enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working on your own time and your own terms.
What general advice would you give to a freelance designer?
Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.
Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida
Avg. Salary $57,260
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 3%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%
Asian 10.42%
Black or African American 3.42%
Hispanic or Latino 10.63%
Unknown 4.99%
White 70.17%
Genderfemale 51.96%
male 48.04%
Age - 37American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 37Stress level is moderate
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Freelance designer career paths
Key steps to become a freelance designer
Explore freelance designer education requirements
Start to develop specific freelance designer skills
Skills Percentages Sketch 10.75% CSS 6.88% HTML 6.48% Adobe Photoshop 6.33% Adobe Illustrator 5.90% Complete relevant freelance designer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New freelance designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a freelance designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real freelance designer resumes.Gain additional freelance designer certifications
More About CertificationsFreelance designer certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific freelance designer certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.
The most common certifications for freelance designers include Master Certified Web Professional - Designer (CWP) and Certified Interior Designer (NCIDQ).
Research freelance designer duties and responsibilities
- Lead the transition from paste-up, typesetting, pasting up page layout to digital ad/page building and web printing.
- Hand-Code HTML, CSS, JS and PHP for custom design solutions and form processing, validation, and animations.
- Provide identity and stationery design, web design, HTML / CSS development and WordPress integration (content management system).
- Image manipulation in platforms such as Photoshop and illustrator as per assign.
Prepare your freelance designer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your freelance designer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a freelance designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable freelance designer resume templates
Build a professional freelance designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your freelance designer resume.
Apply for freelance designer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a freelance designer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first freelance designer job
Are you a freelance designer?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average freelance designer salary
The average freelance designer salary in the United States is $57,260 per year or $28 per hour. Freelance designer salaries range between $39,000 and $83,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do freelance designers rate their job?
Freelance designer reviews
Creative work feels more like playing rather than working. It's delightful to make something that is from your own imagination that is truly unique. Even when the work it challenging it can still be very rewarding in the end.
There are slow moments in this business, therefore a designer must prepare financially for down times. In between seasons is when you find the time to be more innovative with the processes of jewelry design.
There is so much to like about working as Graphic Designer ... the seeing how all the elements of words, space, colors, visuals (photos, graphics, charts,...) come together on a page...sharing info with others to learn and use
When working with others who can not make up their minds as deadline approaches nor take responsibility and blames others for their own "misdoings".
Creativity, Innovation, Intact Brand Integrity through Brand Guidelines
Interference in mid of work.
Updated January 8, 2025
