Outsourcing…the Good, Bad and Ugly for Designers
An article in the Wall Street Journal, titled Outsource Your Life (June 2, 2007), brings home (quite literally) the concept of outsourcing. Of the seven outsourced examples from the story, only tutoring didn’t involve some sort of design.
Yes. It’s a tough pill to swallow…or is it? Where there’s a threat, isn’t there opportunity? While I contemplated ways to integrate outsourcing into my own design workflow (who wouldn’t like to be able to take on more work, be priced more competitive and not work nearly as hard), I suddenly realized what this meant for all of us designers out there who, in addition to our day jobs, and side jobs, get these other job requests. Suddenly outsourcing sounded good.
These other job requests typically come from a relative wanting a logo for their business idea (not yet launched), and they only have $50. Or a mechanic your mother knows, also sells car parts, and wants to get a web site up. Oh and they have an idea, just needs someone with skills, and it shouldn’t take but two hours (since they know web design). “Say, does $150 sound good?”
The list continues, and I’m sure we’ve all donated our share of time because we found it too difficult to say no. Now we can confidently say - outsource to India. Or check out some designers in Romania. They do some great work.
You have more time. You’re uncle get’s his interactive Flash birthday card that illustrates the bad joke he’s been sharing for years.
And everyone’s happy.
In the meantime I’m going to continue contemplating the potential to outsoure real design work. Not because I want to, but because I feel that the trend toward outsourcing is going to happen, eventually. Economies are globalized. As a designer, you can fight the tide, or ride. It’s a lot easier to ride if you’ve found your groove early.
I don’t think serious design outsourcing will happen overnight - not even in the next few years. But in 10 years I could see myself brokering design work to a designer in Brazil, while a Czech design firm tries to attract US clients through my own design firm.
Then again, 10 years ago, I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t have even been designing. The idea of working with Photoshop 4.0 just isn’t appealing.
