A studio, a freelancer, or an in-house designer: how to choose
Gideon Awolesi ·
If you need product design help, you've got three options: hire someone in-house, bring in a freelancer, or work with a studio. We're a studio, so we're not neutral, and some of the time we're not the right answer. Here's how we'd think about it if we were in your position.
01When to hire in-house
Hire in-house when design is a core, permanent part of your product, and you have enough work to keep someone busy for years. An in-house designer builds up knowledge of your users and your product that nobody outside can match. The trade-off is time: hiring takes months, and one person can't cover research, interface design, accessibility, and front-end work equally well.
02When to bring in a freelancer
A freelancer is a good fit for a well-defined piece of work with one clear skill, like redesigning a flow or building a component library, when someone on your team can manage the work. Check what happens if they're ill or booked up, and who reviews their work, because a freelancer often works alone.
03When to work with a studio
A studio makes sense when the work needs several skills at once, like research, design, and engineering, or when the result has to hold up in front of someone else: a regulator, an accessibility audit, or investors. It also makes sense when you need it done in weeks, not months, and don't want to manage it day to day. You pay more than for a freelancer, and you should expect a fixed scope, a fixed price, and a team that answers for the result.
04Questions that decide it
- Will you need this skill every week for the next two years? If yes, hire in-house.
- Is it one well-defined piece of work, and can someone on your team manage it? A freelancer is likely enough.
- Does it need research, design, and engineering together, or have to hold up in front of a regulator? Look at a studio.
- Is the deadline weeks away rather than months? A studio or a freelancer you've worked with before.
If a studio is the right answer, our prices are published, and we reply within one business day.