Freelance vs. Agency vs. In-House - Which is Better? What's the Difference? Where Should You Start?

[@Kittldesign]

Thanks so much for sharing Kittl! We are very excited for more people to get in and start using it! Cheers! 💪

[@WaltDisini]

Summary for my convenience IN-HOUSE: - "working in a company/corperation" - FREELANCE falls under in-house - working in one brand, not much room for variety - you get a specialised job description Advantages: 2:03, 2:27 Disadvantages: 3:08 AGENCY: - "working for someone else's agency (small or large agency)" - lots of variety - you get to see how all the roles and designers in an agency work together - you'll eventually start seeing design as a business - higher stress and longer hours Advantages: 3:55 Disadvantages: 6:05 Other important notes: - "if you eventually start freelancing or having your own agency, you are gonna be doing all those roles." So in summary, working in a small agency would be beneficial before freelancing cuz you get to understand the roles and responsibilities, the financial aspect and what skills you'd need to be able to freelance Benefits: 6:58, 7:07, 7:27 - Easiest way to get a job early in your career: "Work through graphic design staffing agencies" for short term exposure without a full time job

[@OneDollarApologist]

This is a very helpful video I hope startups will take very seriously!! IMHO As a Creative professional with 30 yrs experience, I spent the first 15 years (from the grassroots level) grinding my way up the ladder (old school) when digital graphics were still in their infancy (Illustrator 7), but that experience helped me demand a better package when I moved to In-house 15 years later having Design, motion graphics, Photography, Creative Direction under my belt. Now I work less hours and get paid more for it.

[@eveanddell]

Very valuable information- thank you! As an in-house designer for the financial services industry for many years, I can agree there's less likely to be promoted/ or have a clear career path a senior designer can transition to within the company- hope you can discuss this topic at length in a future piece.

[@unmiss-com]

Thank you for your hard work and your cool blog! It's always interesting to listen to! Every time I highlight something new for me!

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Anatolii, You're very welcome. Be sure to check out the other videos in my catalog. There's tons of great stuff there!

[@kamin76]

An excellent summary of the pros and cons of the key paths into the design industry. As someone who's worked in-house, agency and freelance (side gigs), I concur with all the points you've made Phil. My own experience with in-house also afforded me the opportunity to be exposed to a broad range of tasks in the project lifecycle. This included everything from conceptualisation to artwork production. For myself at least, it really helped to heighten my awareness of taking a project right through to completion, and knowing what it took to achieve each milestone along the way. Thanks!

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Thanks for the add-on Kash. That’s an excellent point. I’ll be sure to append my pov to include the project lifecycle aspect to the agency “pros” list.

[@krazyarts]

very helpful video Philip.. thanks a lot

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Krazyarts, Thanks so much!~ Can you do me a favor as a small thank you? Please share my video with a friend or two! I'm trying to build my subscribers. More to come!

[@giovannirabuffetti3393]

Very helpful 🤩 I love watching content such as this 🤙🏻 thank you for sharing Philip! 👏🏻

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Thanks Giovanni!

[@rickharold7884]

Super cool points ! As always!

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Rick - great to see you brother - as always.

[@patrickgarner3246]

Hi Philip! Love your videos. I wanted to suggest a another avenue that I suppose would fall into the “in-house“ category: working for the Federal government. There are a wide variety of agencies with many in-house communications and design departments. It can be a rewarding career of using one’s skills as a designer and be a dedicated public servant. Plus the benefits are great!

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Hey Patrick - thanks so much for your comment! I am really curious about this sector. Are you a member of my Brand Design Masters Facebook group? I'd love it if you joined and did a post about it for the community describing what it is you know about the Government sector graphic design career avenue. Would you be interested in that. It doesn't have to be a long article or anything. Or email me through my website and we'll set it up. (pls include a note about where we connected...thx!)

[@SalawuIbrahim]

I'm a simple man. I see your thumbnail, I watch your video.

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Hey Ibrahim! That's enough for me. Ad subscribing to my channel to that lst as we're good! Thanks so much for checking out my video! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Keep tuning in!

[@SalawuIbrahim]

@@PhilipVanDusen You’re welcome sir!

[@barnabyfunk]

What if I don’t have a degree but I do have freelance experience? My portfolio and most of my commissions have been digital and graphic illustrations so I don’t have much to show for graphic design.

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Joshua, there are graphic staffing agencies that place illustrators in in-house and agency environments also - you don't' necessarily need to be a graphic designer. They also place people in video and sound editing roles, animation, copywriting - just about any creative specialty. It's a great place to get your career started working NOT on your own.

[@barnabyfunk]

@@PhilipVanDusen thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment and for the information, I’m looking into that now.

[@PhilipVanDusen]

@@barnabyfunk Happy to!

[@parpelstudios7]

or i can get someone like you to help me start and structure my studio....😁

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Yes, I do that all the time. philipvandusen.com/brand-consulting

[@renebas852]

I like Your new look.

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Thanks Rene. I'm trying to branch out a little 🥸

[@renebas852]

@@PhilipVanDusen Let's not exaggerate, your previous voice tone and speed of speech was very good for me.

[@corallall]

@@renebas852 as to me, Philip"s voice tone and speed remains the same.

[@tanmaysharma1364]

Joaquin Phoenix teaches creativity.

[@TheMoestyle]

Too long ad for kittle.

[@shuvagrapher]

Best Video WOW _________________ Best Video WOW _________________

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Thanks Shuva 😎

[@jeffreyuthale6193]

Thank you so much for the valuable information , How should a freelance graphic designer frame the contract ? Is it necessary for a "freelance " graphic designer legal get a contract ? What would be the legal points if the designer and clients are living in two different countries?

[@PhilipVanDusen]

Jeffrey, yes, contracts are very important in an freelance engagement. Watch this video I did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3yugpaam5p1i6s