With a lot more companies moving to remote working environments, you’re perhaps asking yourself, are graphic designers able to work from home?
Now more than ever before graphic designers have the opportunity to work from home or – alternatively – anywhere they want in the world. While many organisation in the past required their designers or teams to be on site this this is no longer the case. Now companies are allowing designers to work from the comfort of their homes and occasionally even outside of the country.
While working from home may very well sound like a dream come true it also requires a level of discipline if you’re working with a team or your own clients. In this article, we’ll go over some of the benefits of working from home, how to be the best graphic designer when working from home, where to find more remote jobs as well as some tools that will assist you while you are working from home.
How Can You Work From Home As A Graphic Designer?
Even though many companies now have remote work arrangements, a lot of graphic design jobs do need you to be onsite. This is particularly true in publishing houses – as well as branding firms – where your work has to be aligned with a larger project. For instance, when you design a magazine, you’ll have to coordinate with the writers, editors and photographers. It’s far easier to collaborate on page spreads when all people are in the same place.
This is also true for in-house designers for companies. As an important member of the team, you’ll probably be expected to maintain regular office hours as well as participate in project meetings. Your work and the whole brand development will go hand-in-hand so you’ll become an expert in the organisation’s visual identity.
If you genuinely want to work from home, you’ll probably need to join an agency or establish your own firm. This will allow you the freedom to work remotely on a number of different projects. As a part of an agency, you’ll possibly need to do some in-person activities such as pitch meetings as well as proof reviews so be prepared to leave the comforts of your home studio often.
Of course, a lot of graphic designers are totally independent and do all business virtually. If you run your own firm or are a sole proprietor, it’s quite easy to work from home.
What Are The Qualities Of A Remote Graphic Designer?
There are notable differences between a graphic designer who elects to work remotely as compared to an office-based one. In spite of this, the qualities of a good graphic designer are still the same as they need to be a good communicator, multitasker as well as punctual in their work.
What Is Effective Communication?
The term ‘effective communication’ which means getting your message across in a manner that the receiver is able to easily understand and give feedback on. This means that you should speak in such a way that the client is able to easily digest the information. This includes not utilising any technical jargon so guiding them through the process and utilising the appropriate method of communication.
Multitasker
As the world of graphic designing becomes more competitive it isn’t uncommon for most to multitask. This may mean going back to back from Illustrator to Photoshop, or InDesign to Adobe XD and then back again.
When working from home this becomes a far more demanding task as you would need to juggle multiple responsibilities at the same time. Often, you’ll find yourself cooking dinner while making that one last adjustment or trying to calm your children down while giving a presentation.
Punctual
Most individuals would think that working from home allows you the freedom to wake up whenever you want and begin working when you feel like it.
It is very true that working remotely allows you to have a flexible work routine however it is very important for you to deliver on time – always.
Punctuality is very important and you should learn to prioritise your work and allocate time to what’s important. You may have to give up some downtime to meet the deadline and often you should enjoy the weather and allow for some time for yourself.
Being punctual is all about finding balance and then making sure your client gets the work and you get paid.
Become An Advanced Graphic Designer With The Digital School of Marketing
Do you want to become an advanced graphic designer? If you do then you need to sign up for our Advanced Graphic Design Course. Follow this link for more information.
