How To Earn Money Graphic Designer Online

Though you may not realize information technology, graphic design is almost everywhere you await, it'south a skill and career that is alwaysvery much in demand. If you're wondering how to make money as a graphic designer, this guide will aid yous, whether y'all're just starting on your journey or you've already begun.

It's effortless to earn money online designing.

Present, you lot don't even need to have a degree in graphic pattern from a university to get started because there are so many online platforms that tin assistance y'all learn techniques, such equally Teachable, YouTube or Skillshare.

I've managed to brand design i of my largest income streams after recently graduating from university with a dual degree in Media Arts and Graphic Design — only, as I said, yous don't need a degree in social club to become into this career.

I accept been studying graphic design and using what I've learned in the real world for the past 7 years, and my journey is simply just getting started.

If you're wondering how to become a freelance graphic designer, read on to learn the ins and outs of my personal experience in the industry. It really is one of the best, loftier paying online jobs, and is bang-up for those who are looking to find work they tin practice while travelling.

Here's how to make money as a graphic designer.

What is Graphic Design?

Before nosotros begin to reply how to make money equally a graphic designer, it'due south essential to understand precisely what graphic blueprint is.

From billboards and logos to the packaging of your food products. That'due south all graphic pattern.

Essentially, graphic design is finding visual solutions for a specific purpose, whether that'south to brand someone desire to purchase a product, sentinel a telly show, or come to a large event. Graphic blueprint truly encapsulates almost every visual aspect of your life.

Within graphic blueprint, in that location are a few different buckets that you might cull to specialize in, including package blueprint, layout blueprint, branding and logo design, or fifty-fifty typography if you're interested in making fonts and playing with type.

Each bucket is every bit as important, though some niches might pay a bit more depending on your skill level.

Essential Graphic Designer Tools

If you lot're wondering how to become a graphic designer, you first need to make sure that you have all the proper tools. A lot of these tin can easily be purchased online, but go along in heed that graphic blueprint is an expensive business to get-go in.

The showtime affair y'all're going to need is aestimator, which can be either a laptop or a desktop of any brand. The bulk of professional graphic designers will tell you lot that it'due south all-time to use Apple products and have a desktop instead of a laptop.

I started out using an Apple MacBook Pro, and I had no qualms with it, simply I recently purchased a Mac desktop with a much larger screen, and it's so much easier when designing tiny details.See this post of the best laptops for remote workers.

You'll likewise need to purchase a membership to theAdobe Creative Deject. Prices for this depend on which package level you choose; I recommend purchasing admission to all of the Adobe apps considering you never know which one you'll need for a customer.

If yous'd rather purchase a monthly subscription, then consider ownership a package that includes admission to Photoshop (which is perfect for creating web images) and InDesign (geared more towards print pattern).

Students can purchase access for just $19.99 a month, while I spend closer to $50 per month to have access to everything.

The last graphic design tool that I recommend might sound a piddling lightheaded, only it's e'er great to have a rulerhandy, especially for print design. This style, you lot tin become a feel for just how big the printed detail that you're designing is — in case you don't have admission to a printer for practice prints.

x Ways To Make Money Equally A Graphic Designer

There are tons of ways to make money online as a graphic designer, no affair what niche you lot're interested in! If you're wondering how to become a graphic designer, have a expect at this list and start selling or making some of these items.

1. Create and Sell Templates

This is arguably one of the most profitable ways to get passive income for graphic designers. With this approach, all yous take to do is make templates of any kind, which could exist for ebooks, posters, invitations, or Pinterest graphics. So, sell the templates online.

Many small business organization owners and bloggers who are e'er in a time crunch or who don't take the skillset to create their ain designs from scratch love purchasing these products considering of how elementary it is to customize them.

Once you have your own template shop set upward and you put in the work, you lot could earn income without doing much else besides marketing your products.

two. Share Noesis Through Workshops or Webinars

Online learning is at an all-time high, and I'm sure many of you reading this would even attend an online workshop on 'How to Make Coin equally a Graphic Designer.'

If yous've studied graphic blueprint or feel that y'all know enough most it, and so sell access to online courses, workshops, grooming, or webinars where yous introduce others to the topic who may not know a whole lot nigh it.

Fifty-fifty if y'all only talk over basics, you'd be helping out many people and making some coin along the way. Learn about the best online platforms for selling courses here. Teachable is a great platform for creating online courses! Acquire more here.

3. Sell Stickers

Due to the contempo popularity of TikTok, modest sticker shops are on the rise. To make stickers, all yous need access to is Photoshop or Canva to make text-based stickers or an iPad for illustrative stickers.

The peachy matter most creating stickers is that you tin utilise dropshipping, which essentially means that y'all don't have to exist in charge of packing and sending them out if you don't want to be.

You can hire a third-political party vendor to manage all your sales, and you'll still get more money in your pocket at the terminate of the 24-hour interval.

The best places to sell stickers include Etsy, RedBubble, and Society6. Yous can as well consider hosting your own website with your designs on Shopify.

4. Be A Pattern Consultant

If you want to brand money as a graphic designer with high-ticket items, so becoming a design consultant might be the job for you.

With this, you lot essentially sell an hour or two of your time to someone who wants your opinions and ideas on graphic design for their ain business concern. Y'all prepare your hourly rate and jitney and advise potential designers — giving them advice and pointing them in the correct direction.

You can find jobs every bit a pattern consultant on FlexJobs, Upwork or Fiverr.

5. Pattern Fonts for Creative Market place or Etsy

Fonts are a great way to brand passive income for graphic designers if you're interested in typography. There are many ways to easily make fonts, fifty-fifty just with your own handwriting, which you can then sell for up to $100 on websites similar Creative Market or Etsy.

6. Make Pre-Made Logo Packages

Similar to creating and selling templates, you could create and sell a broad variety of different logos that are already set up as vectors.

This is a pop fashion that many smaller businesses that can't afford personalized branding packages create their own logos. All they take to exercise is open the pattern file and swap out the words and colours, and voila, they have their ain new logo.

7. Sell Customized Branding Packages

Branding is one of the other high-ticket services that you tin can offer every bit a graphic designer, as these tin cost up to $4000 if yous're in high demand.

These packages include a personalized logo, colour scheme, fonts, patterns, and other similar items that help brands define themselves.

8. Create and Sell Printables

Passive income for graphic designers is easy to come by if you create and sell printables online through a platform like Etsy. You could make printables for teachers, students, travellers, literally anything that you can recall of!

The smashing thing nigh printables is that they are adigitalproduct, and so all you have to do is automate your process to immediately send a PDF version of the printable once it's purchased. You don't even have to worry well-nigh shipping.

9. Work With Clients As A Freelancer

Working with clients is a not bad route to take if you similar a variety of tasks to work on.

Past working with clients, y'all could be designing logos one twenty-four hour period and so helping with the layout pattern of a printed magazine the next. More data on finding these jobs tin can exist found further down in this commodity.

10. Design Social Media Graphics and Highlight Covers

Social media graphics are another popular way to make money as a graphic designer. Anybody needs help with social media, and you could sell packs of social media templates or pre-made Instagram highlight covers for a minor toll which tin can add up over fourth dimension.

Where to Find Freelance Graphic Blueprint Jobs

Luckily, it's easier than ever to find jobs using online resources. Below are a few of the best places to search if y'all're wondering where to find a graphic design job.

Upwork

When I was first wondering how to get a freelance graphic designer, this is where I looked.

Upwork provides an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use interface where you can create your ain profile, prepare your rates, and connect with clients from around the globe. Plus, contracts are all fabricated for you, and you can ever guarantee that y'all'll go paid under Upwork's protection policy.

Read more in my detailed article: How To Make Money on Upwork

Fiverr

Similar to Upwork, Fiverr is another popular online freelancing platform that works the contrary way.

On Fiverr, the freelancer creates pre-made packages for services with a set price, usually starting at $5 and having tiered prices going up after that. There aretonsof graphic design packages that you lot could make on this website. Larn more than about making money on Fiverr here.

Flexjobs

Flexjobs is one of the best websites out there to find remote work-from-home positions. At that place are usually around i,000 graphic design positions on this website at a time, ranging between a whole bunch of different industries, and then you tin can choose what you're near interested in.

Click here for a list of the electric current graphic design jobs on FlexJobs. Apply promo code NOMAD at checkout and receive 30% off your FlexJobs membership.

Facebook Groups

Believe it or not, merely Facebook Groups are a great place to endeavor to discover open up positions for graphic designers. There are many nomadic job groups and freelance groups where y'all can find posts daily of people who are looking for assistance.

Just think ever to do your research and make certain that a posting is legit before applying.

This social media platform is frequently disregarded as a great spot to discover freelance jobs, but their jobs posting board has a fair amount of freelance gigs.

LinkedIn is also a dandy place to go to connect with other minor business owners who may crave your services in the futurity.

How Much Coin Do Graphic Designers Brand?

The average graphic designer salary is around $45,000 per year, simply that's if they work full-time hours. This equates to virtually $22 per hour, but this can quite obviously change depending on a designer's skill level, specializations, instruction, and more than.

If y'all desire to make money equally a graphic designer, I recommend that you create fixed-price packages for your services rather than working by the hr.

This way, you tin business relationship for all overhead expenses that may occur during the procedure, and often clients prefer that yous do stock-still toll and then that they know how much it's going to toll them in total.

Recollect, as a graphic designer, it'south pertinent to allow your client know the number of revisions that you will brand per deliverable, or else yous could quickly be taken reward of. I recommend assuasive ii revisions maximum and putting it in your contract with the client for precaution.

When I do hourly work, I charge at the minimum of $25 per hr merely accept had some clients where I've charged up to $twoscore.

It truly varies, and as a freelancer, you lot can also sometimes ask your customer what their budget is earlier yous give them a difficult number for your charge per unit. I accept also done a wide variety of fixed-price projects, which is what I prefer doing. This varies depending on what the project is.

I mainly specialize in layout pattern (workbooks, lead magnets, ebooks, print books, etc.) and charge on a scale.

Here's an case of a recent workbook I made, where I created the following tiered system: 30 pages for $600, 31 to 40 pages for $800, and 41 to 50 pages for $1,000.

Tips For Beingness Successful as a Graphic Designer

To be a successful graphic designer, there are a few guidelines that you lot should hold yourself to.

Be Realistic

The commencement essential thing is being realistic well-nigh what you can accomplish, and belongings yourself accountable to any deadlines and agreements. Don't give yourself deadlines that you don't think you lot can easily make, and ever be in communication with your client in case something comes up.

Create Contracts

If you observe that you're working outside of a platform like Upwork and you've managed to snag a client of your own,alwaysmake sure that y'all create a contract for legal reasons.

Some of the best websites for storing and creating these include And.Co and Honeybook. PayPal Business organisation is also a feasible option.

Proceed A Spreadsheet for Taxation Season

I can't recommend this enough: go on runway of all of your income and expenses every bit a freelance graphic designer.

These will come in handy later on in the year when it's fourth dimension to pay your quarterly taxes (or almanac, depending on how much you make).

Stay On Top of Industry Trends

With whatever creative service-based business organisation, you must stay on top of what'south currently popular. You don't want to create something for your client that isn't going to appeal to today's audience unless information technology's genuinely what your client wants.

Set Your Own Guidelines

Equally a freelancer, you lot get to prepare your own guidelines, which is something to keep in mind.

You decide how much work to have at a given time, you help to set deadlines with your customer, and you create your ain work hours. If you find that some part of the puzzle isn't quite working out, then change it!

Pros and Cons of Earning Money Online Designing

Like with many jobs out at that place, beingness a freelance graphic designer has its own pros and cons. Some parts of the work I love, and others I don't!

Pros of Working as a Freelance Graphic Designer

Here are a few of the pros:

1. Piece of work from Anywhere

The chief pro for being a freelance graphic designer is that you can truly work anywhere. I e'er said I wanted to make my dream of being a freelance designer work and so that I wouldn't be tethered to one location. This is i of the best remote jobs.

two. Set up Your Ain Hours

Equally mentioned before, freelance graphic designers are essentially in charge of themselves because they're their own boss. I beloved existence able to set my hours, but it can be challenging if I accidentally overbook myself.

3. Work With Clients Worldwide

Being an online freelance designer allows you lot to connect with people that you might not accept had the chance to connect with otherwise. For instance, I've worked with clients all over the United States and likewise in the United kingdom.

Cons of Working As A Freelance Graphic Designer

Here are a few of the cons:

i. Takes Upwards A Lot of Storage Infinite

The amount of storage that graphic design files accept up is crazy. I swear that my computer is a lot slower than it used to be because of all the stuff I've had to do on it related to graphic design.

A way effectually this is to buy an external difficult drive or using an online platform like Dropbox or Google Drive, but fifty-fifty then it all the same takes up a lot of storage.

two. Some Clients Aren't Easy to Work With

Some clients aren't amazing… in that location, I said it. Every in one case in a while, you lot sign a contract with a customer that you lot cease up non being very happy with considering they keep trying to add on extra work.

Exist certain to always refer to the contract and remind them of the services that you initially signed for.

3. It's Expensive

Being sure that you ever accept the proper equipment and tools to exist a graphic designer can add together up. I pay $l a calendar month for Adobe Creative Suite in addition to having an Apple desktop reckoner and laptop, which is another couple thousand dollars.

Merely, those things are an investment. And, depending on your tax situation, they can be a write-off.

Charging stock-still prices is always a good idea because you lot can summate how much you are spending on expenses per calendar month and add that into your rate.

Decision

It's a lot easier than you might recall to earn money online designing! At that place are so many great educational tools out there to go yous started in the process, and the number of chore boards makes it easy to connect with clients.

If y'all're a artistic private, possibly graphic pattern is something y'all can get into. As I mentioned, take a look at platforms such as Flexjobs and Upwork and commencement making money online today.

The royalty-complimentary images in this mail were sourced on Shutterstock.