The creative workshop or the free-lance, as we want to call him, has certain risk conditions for the advertiser who hires him, which I will mention below. The creative freelancer, on the other hand, in all his legitimacy and talent, must be seen with an eye on some dangers presented by his hiring and his commercial figure.
In the context of my most sincere and honest respect for people who dedicate themselves to free-lance advertising, I must say that in general, the free-lance is not a brand builder, does not build brands, does not focus on emotional connections between brands and people, does not commit to exclusivity, and does not always look at the width and length of a brand. The freelancer lives from the ad of the moment, from the design that is ordered, from the emergency that is requested.
It is vital to be aware of this harsh reality: the freelancer lives on the client’s approval, and that is why his mission is to design what is requested. Here is the biggest risk: a brand manager who prefers the usual complacent position of the free/lance, as opposed to the emotional rational that the agency or the brand’s team proposes. The free/lance does not argue too much and, in general, obeys the client’s orders. In the same way, almost always, whoever hires him, prefers people who say yes, and this by itself, is an incalculable risk with serious consequences: more of the same, materials full of information, amateur designs.
The freelancer generally does not build a relationship for the brand. What he does are designs, ads, flyers, activities, in short, whatever the client asks for, as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible, often for exactly the dollars available for the job. As he does not have high fixed costs, he generally works from home and without schedule, and for this reason, the free/lance is effectively cheap in the first instance, because the expensive part is then in effect what the brand suffers, its personality, its consistency and projection to create loyalty.
Likewise, when several free/lancers are used, the result will be obvious. Salads of logos and their applications, of typographies and styles, of creative and graphic tastes and preferences, lead brands to lack personality, because they do not sustain consistency in their way of being. They never manage to mean the same thing, and because of this, these brands fail to connect with a single market segment.
In addition, freelancers are often hired to get people out of trouble. Or rather, when there was no planning and the emergency is for yesterday. Therefore, the urgent once again relegates the important, and hence, what is achieved when things are done “on the run”. Or, to the acceptable in total renunciation to the excellent. Because, in addition, the free/lance team regularly approves what is rejected by the brand team in the agency.
Of all this, however, the free/lance is necessary. We hire them when the volume of our projects gets out of hand, but always under our close, strict and careful direction, both strategically and creatively. In the case of the creative agency, when it hires a freelancer, it supports and assists, without surrendering its commitment to building emotionally powerful brands. Usually, on the contrary, when the client hires a freelancer they do it out of haste or convenience, and often, to finally do things to their personal taste, which does not necessarily guarantee the best for the brand.
We have to tell it like it is, and of course, the freelance or the creative workshop are born of needs unmet by the agencies, such as the renunciation of the design or the value of what is generated. Perhaps the need translates into cheaper designs and artwork, faster logos and brochures, or brochures and print more to the advertiser’s personal taste. Perhaps, however, it is due to agencies not solving what the advertiser wants, and over-defending what the consumer prefers.
What is certain, to conclude, is that there are risks inherent to the figure of the free/lance and a lot of creative workshop that should not be ignored, because in effect, not few can be a necessity, as not few turn out to be a calamity. What is certain and indisputable, however, is that a brand deserves all our respect, time, talent and investment, as it is woven with fine stitch in the highest world couture. And this, normally, a free-lance does not know how to do.